Good Morning!

I trust everyone had a lovely Christmas, in spite of the really awful weather preceding it.  Lots of folks were without power, and that is not a good way to spend the holidays, for sure.  Some still don't have power in remote areas.  We were truly very fortunate that the storm didn't hit the immediate Joe's Pond area; however neighbors not too far away had flooding and icing, and now we are all getting a fresh coating of snow - a little every day.  I measured about an inch yesterday, and the same today - light and fluffy, but enough to make roads slippery and add to the misery of utility workers trying to deal with getting power back on.  

While we were enjoying Christmas Dinner with family at Bob and Theresa's in St. Johnsbury, our niece in Syracuse, NY, delivered a son, so we now have a new grand nephew, yet unnamed, but he's a robust little guy and for now we call him "Baby T," for Tichich, his family name.  We know his mom and dad, Jennie and Nick, are pleased as can be with their Christmas bundle, a very special gift, two sets of grandparents are thrilled, and we, along with the rest of his family, are all excited and anxious to meet him.  I wonder how he'll feel in a few years having his birthday on Christmas . . .

There is nothing remarkable to report about our weather today - it's 22 degrees with snow showers.  Pretty normal for the end of December.  This picture is of our driveway - it's been snow covered, bare, icy, bare  and now snow covered again, all within about a week.  There is a nice strong crust that Fred says we can walk anywhere on, however, and we may try that out this afternoon.

As you can see above, I never did find anyone who wanted the biggest spruce - seen above with the smaller ones around it.  I was hoping someone needed a large tree to decorate for the holidays, and I had a couple of inquiries, but no takers.  Maybe next year.  

We didn't put up a tree this year - we usually don't have one unless it's our year to have the family Christmas.  We used to have one on the deck, but this year I ran a string of lights up the flagpole and had a large ball of white lights at the top.  We plan to lower it at midnight on the 31st.  Unless the weather is too severe, and then we may just watch the Times Square ball come down on TV.  If things work out, I'll post a video.  In any event, the new year is just around the corner - time to make resolutions and new starts.  At least, it's a time to review the year past and decide what worked and what didn't, what we should change, do better, or hold onto.  And then move on.  I don't make resolutions - I know I won't keep them.  It's a good time, though, to look back on the past year in order to remember and appreciate at least some of the events and people that were important to us, and be conscious that (hopefully) we  have learned from past mistakes and won't repeat them in the next year.