For auld...

It's almost time to sing this again...
are you ready?

Snowfall ... so cool

As one of the lucky ones who is on vacation this week, my daughter was able to snap a few -- well, a lot -- of photos out at our place on Monday after the snowstorm.
The snowfall looks so lovely on these photos ... I'm sharing a few here.
I wasn't feeling quite this appreciative, however, when we were shoveling and then when I was maneuvering the drifted roads on my way to work Monday morning.
But enjoy ... the snow always looks pretty on photos, doesn't it?

the day after...

Hope you're enjoying the holiday weekend, despite the snow...




AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Peace, love, kindness, compassion.
May all your Christmas wishes come true!

Simon's Cat in 'Santa Claws'

Anyone with a cat -- or multiple cats, as I do -- can relate to this scenario.
It's almost Christmas -- has your tree survived?
Sit back, relax and chuckle ... even if you don't have cats, you should love this!

Wow... lunar eclipse on the winter solstice!

OK, so I admit I did not get up in the middle of the night to see the lunar eclipse. But I did catch the tail end around 4 a.m. today -- does that count?
Truly is cool that the full moon was on the winter solstice AND we had an eclipse!
Enjoy these Associated Press photos.
The huge moon photo shows the view from Stedman, N.C., taken with a 10-second time exposure.
The series of photos was taken over an hour-long period in Overland Park, Kan.

According to the AP, a total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth casts its shadow on the full moon, blocking the sun's rays that otherwise reflect off the moon's surface. Some indirect sunlight still pierces through to give the moon its eerie hue.
The totality phase — when the moon was completely immersed in Earth's shadow — lasted 72 minutes.

The last time a full eclipse occurred with the winter solstice was on Dec. 21, 1638. It won't happen again until Dec. 21, 2094, so I won't be around for that one!

Want to help stray cats?

It's so easy to do.
Stray Cat Blues, the local nonprofit, no-kill cat rescue, could possibly win $2,000 WITH YOUR HELP.
One of the Stray Cat volunteers works for Digitas, which is awarding $2,000 each week in December to charities with which their employees are involved.

Stray Cat Blues is one of the charities in the running to win $2,000 -- wouldn't that be a great Christmas present for the kitties! -- and you can help make that possible by voting for them.
It's easy... click here http://www.facebook.com/digitashealthgrouphug
to go to the Facebook page, click on POLL, vote, hit SUBMIT at the bottom -- and REPEAT!
Contest ends on Friday at 11 a.m. so spend some time every day putting in as many votes as you can! And spread the word.

And here's some info on the project:
Digitas has started what the company calls Group HUG (short for “Helping U Give”), to recognize their employees and the charities that they aid.

• You are invited to vote for your favorite charities under the “Polls” tab. Hit POLL, vote, go to bottom and hit SUBMIT.

• Each week, Digitas Health will award $2,000 to the charity with the most votes, for a total of $10,000 donated during December.

HAPPY FESTIVUS!

Everyone ready to air your grievances and perform feats of strength?
Have that festivus pole ready?
OK, me neither...
But in the spirit of the "holiday," let me wish you a Happy Festivus!
And just to lift your spirits on this day before Christmas Eve, here are a few photos of Christmas decorations brightening our house, graciously provided by my daughter.
Enjoy!

Oh, Tannenbaum!

This year we decided to do something different and more personal when choosing our Christmas tree. When we visited my sister just after Thanksgiving (thank you, Mother Nature, for spoiling our actual Thanksgiving Day plans!), my brother-in-law was kind enough to cut down a "wild" tree for us.
First was the exciting ride on the back of a tractor to high atop a hill on their farm -- on a VERY cold day. But it was a lot of fun and we just love the tree.
And in the next photo, you'll see that our cat Zombie really loves it, too!
There was nothing quite like transporting it from Catawissa in the back of my Explorer -- the aroma was wonderful!
Hope we can do this again.
And if you're wondering what that is near the top of our tree, in the bottom photo, it's a Belsnickle ornament.
If you don't have any Pennsylvania Dutch in you, that may leave you scratching your head.
Hey, I'm sure you can Google it and find out the whole story!
As for this tree, we'll be sad to say goodbye after the holidays.
It may be our most favorite tree ever! Nothing cookie-cutter about it; totally natural.
You gotta love it!

Pets like Santa, too

Come on, you know that your pets are part of your family.
So of course you want them to see Santa, right?
You have your chance again this year, thanks to Stray Cat Blues, the local no-kill cat rescue, which once again is working with PetSmart for an annual fundraiser.
For $9.95 you get a digital photo of your pet with Santa and a holiday frame. Five dollars of the price of the package is donated to Stray Cat Blues, a very worthy cause.
This year Stray Cat Blues volunteers will be covering this event in two locations on the following dates:
Dec. 4 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., plus Dec. 11, 12, 18 and 19 at PetSmart at Witchwood Drive and Knapp Road, Montgomery Township; and on Dec. 11 and 12 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at PetSmart Providence Town Center, Arcola Road and Route 29, near Collegeville.
So gather up those cats, dogs, ferrets, snakes -- what have you.
Santa is waiting!

RAINY START TO DECEMBER!

OK, everyone has shopped on Black Friday (but me) and Cyber Monday (but me) and all those shoppers are in the holiday mood (me... a little).
And now it's Dec. 1 and the rain is pouring down.
Relax, enjoy the music and the fire ... snow will be here soon enough!
Happy December, Happy Hanukkah and an early Merry Christmas!