It was a dark and stormy night. I always wanted to start a column with those words but could never really get them to fit my topics. I think they’ll work with this column.

We have sure had some real winter. Three weeks ago the moles were sure feeding and tearing the lawn up. Since this cold and snow, I wonder if this was a sign that the moles were giving us, of the cold weather. It seems the critters know if the weather is going to change.

The snow and frigid temperatures this past week got me to thinking this would be a good time to have a St. Bernard. I can speak with some authority on this subject because I had a St. Bernard for several years during the frigid winters of the mid 1970s.

We have been working in the carpenter shop, building small Cedar Chests. They are so pretty. I have written about the two outside cats, they sleep in the side of the carpenter shop. Each morning Richochette is at the door for his breakfast. I will call Summer, and here he comes walking.

We spent this past week in Florida visiting Yvonne

As the year 2009 comes to a close, it’s a good time to reflect back over the past year and also look ahead to what may be on the horizon for 2010.

Ruth Ann and I attended the Batavia United Methodist Church Christmas program and it was extremely good. Some of the young folks had the parts of the animals at the birth of Christ. These kids would make the sounds each animal made, one little one was the sheep and boy did they give it all they had. It was beautiful.

I can hear a resounding chorus of voices saying,

Well, here it is Christmas, it doesn

The economy and the internet may change the way we shop, but for those of us who are celebrating Christmas because it is the birth of Jesus Christ, it doesn’t matter if there are presents or not.