Christmas 2008 has come and gone, in November, we took the picture you will see below from our front door on November 2nd.  It's our first and only "snowette" of the season, and it happened in November.  That's unusual for these parts!  Our swimming pool has long since been winterized and awaits the warmth of spring.  True, we have some repair work to do on the deck before spring gets here but my point is, it doesn't snow in High Point in November.  

We started decorating for the season right after thanksgiving.  In past years, decorating was done in a panic.  The aim was to get it all done ASAP.  But this year we decided life's too short so, we did it as we could.  With Scott's able supervision (and frankly most of the labor), the outside has been done since the week after Thanksgiving, but the inside took a little longer.  We have been up to our ears in Christmas Movies like "It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th street, Love Actually" and countless others and our radios are now be overflowing with songs of the season.  Now it's time to think about the new year.  But I'm getting ahead of myself here.

Christmas eve, my son Perry and his bride Kristine came to visit.  Wish I had some pictures of that but for some reason the camera misfired and we lost them all.  Their present is our best addition to the Christmas decor here at Woods' Lake.  I won't spoil it for you but there is a picture of it below.  If you like the movie, "A Christmas Story" you'll appreciate the humor of my son's gift.

            <Our Daughter Tracey Showed up on Christmas just bursting at the seams with Christmas spirit!

            Meanwhile, Chef Jordan prepared his festive beanie weenie, Cranberry and ketchup casserole.>

There seems to be a lot of gloom out there this Christmas because of the tempest on wall street, the Auto industry collapse and a new administration taking over in Washington.  It's sad that we feel that way, it should be a time of optimism for us.  But Christmas came regardless and for a little while we'll all felt good again.  The holiday season means a new year is just around the corner and a new year means a brand new start for everyone.  It represents a new hope for a better tomorrow.  But that's up to us, isn't it?  

The new year will bring new beginnings, a time for us as a nation to begin to pull ourselves together after a very divisive political year as we begin to try and set things right.  A few lights and baubles aren't going to accomplish that but adversity does bring families together and it can also bring a nation together if we'll let it. 

For me the holidays always spawn remembrances of those Christmas' past when each of us was younger, safer, more secure and all we had to worry about was if we were going to get that Red Ryder BB gun at Christmas.  It's a good beginning if it puts us in the state of mind we'll need to be in, to do the things we must, to bring those wonderful days back so our children and Grandchildren can enjoy them.

Meanwhile, Sigrid and I hope that you enjoyed the glipmpse of our first snow and the season that followed as much as we did.  That snow was particularly nice to wake up to on a cold November morning.  It wasn't much, but it was a beginning which is what this season is about. Actually, we haven't had a good snow in the Triad in several years, perhaps this year will give us the beauty that accompanies those snowflakes, even if it wasn't destined for Christmas day. 

I've never actually experienced a White Christmas and I've gone through 66 of them, I went through another without one this year too (and not a flake in sight).  Every year I hope for a white Christmas complete with falling snowflakes, but I never seen to been in the right place at the right time.  Of course, I'll take a snowfall any time the lord sees fit to provide one.  I guess that's the price you pay for being raised in Miami.  It's actually kind of nice when it happens because we can all spend a little extra time with our families.  Like most of the south, Snow is an event and when it happens they roll up the sidewalks and everything comes to a halt.  It gives us the chance to reflect on, and enjoy the things that are really important in our lives which is something most of us forget to appreciate  every day.

  Once each of us stops to do that, we should be able to figure out what we must do over the next 12 months so that next Christmas is a little more like that magical Christmas that each of us holds in our hearts and memories.  Well, it's a nice thought, anyway.  I for one, am looking forward to the new year and the winter we each look forward to.  That's the time when I get to spend a little extra time with my bride here at home  where I can enjoy hers, and the rest of the beauty that surrounds us all every day when we're all too busy to appreciate it. 

Please allow me to wish you and your family happy holidays, all year long.  And for the record, "Happy Holidays" wasn't an attempt to be politically correct, it's just that we have quite a few holidays in a short period of time over the winter and like John Fox and the Carolina Panthers, I prefer to take them each, "one at a time". 

PW3

Tammy, Glenda and Dominic

...and Eat!

Becky and Barry

Christmas Day

This page last modified on Saturday, December 27, 2008