happy birthday from loyalty clubs!

Thank you, Bath & Body Works!

That Cherry Blossom body lotion is exactly what I recommended to my niece, Aubree, for her bday14!

With my AARP $5 gift card, all of this was mine for just $3.51 - woohoo!

Thank you, Texas Roadhouse!

The free Killer Ribs is what I eagerly await with an-ti-ci-p-p-pa-tion every year for my birthday, and this will be lunch tomorrow!

However, for today's lunch, I ate the Texas Chili poured over the baked potato, while it was all good and hot.

Oh, my, how absolutely delicious!!!

It's rather pretty, too, isn't it?

It's so good, too, while it's hot.

Sure, I've eaten it warmed up before, but nothing compares to it fresh!

Next time, I'll ask for sour cream for the baked potato - that will top it off very well!

Tonight, I'll dine on the House Salad for dinner.

That's the best part of that Country Dinner - I can get at least two meals off it!

And all of that lagniappe was $4.68 for me!

Thank you, Texas Roadhouse, for the free rib basket!

Thank you, AARP, for the $5 gift card!

Thank you, Tony and Laura, for that last little bit on the Christmas gift card!

 

letter to my (absentee) hosts

Dearest Dawn and The Koz,

I've had another vacation with your dear Stella and it's been so restorative for me.

I admit, I had some concerns, but tending to her needs has been very helpful in my continued recovery from surgery on the Day of Fools. 

She has made sure that I move around and bend and keep that H2O bowl filled.  

That reminds me to drink more H2O, too. 

Good girl!

Not that she made me move all the time!

We had lounging under the shaded back porch, soaking up birdsong on the warm afternoons... aahhhh!

Then we changed things up for a lazy Sunday, basking in sunshine to the melodious chimes on the front porch.

i thank You, God.

I'm looking forward to my next vacation with her.

with much love!

thank you, thomas, for the help

"I don't recall anyone named Thomas. Who is he?"

He's the young man who saw me struggling to mow my front yard who came to see if he could help me. I'd managed to get about half of the right side of the front yard done at that point. I admit, with this inguinal hernia, cutting the grass was wearing me out. He was outside doing yard work, too, three houses from mine, and walked over to ask if I would like his help.

"Wow. He sounds like a very well-mannered fellow."

Yes, he is. He wasn't trying to imply that I needed help; he simply asked if I would like some help. Very nice. What I gathered from our conversation is that he is the son of two teachers. Thomas and his wife, Hannah, moved in here by the park during the fall.

"Why did they move to Savannah?"

Actually, his folks are from here. His dad graduated from Groves in 1980, so he's about my age. Thomas said he and his wife had been living in Ardsley Park, but wanted to live over in this area. Perhaps they are looking to have children, and this area is near schools from elementary to high school, so that's good.

"Good for them for planning ahead, if that's the case. Did you ask him to mow the spiral pattern under your Japanese magnolia tree?"

Honestly, I was so relieved to have him doing the work that I didn't say anything about that. There will be plenty of time in the future for me to mow that back in place.

"I see that he's using your Ryobi. How did he like it?"

I think it's convinced him that battery-operated is the way to go. It's certainly a lot quieter! After the battery died, he just had a little bit left to mow, so he went home and brought his mower over here. I couldn't believe he did that for me! But it gets better. After he finished the front yard, he asked if I minded if he did the back yard, too.

"What??? That's incredible!"

He works as a personal trainer, he told me, and rarely gets outside. He likes working in the yard and he likes mowing grass. I'll say this: I don't think he even broke a sweat. He also seemed very laid back and calm. I tried to give him a bottle of water, but he said he has that at home. He was done with my entire yard within 90 minutes. He took his time, making sure it was cut well, and seemed quite content to be doing that. I am so grateful!

"I am happy for you, dear, that someone stepped up to help."

Thank you. I did make sure he had the address for the neighborhood's fb page, as well as my name. He said he doesn't do fb, but his wife does. I'll have to look out for her so I can say hi. He said she'll be "the red head walking the black puppy". (smile!)

women's history: take 3

In honor of International Women's Day, during this Women's History Month in the United States, Kiva was promoting loans to women, with a perk of $20 credit to loan to another.

Of course I jumped at that opportunity!

My first microloan of $25 went to Manuela Christina Olivia last night.

Moments ago, I followed that with a microloan of $25 to Ruth Nohemi.

Both are young women in their mid-20's in Guatemala.

Both do sewing and embroidery and have a loyal clientele.

Both are now hard at work preparing special works of Easter finery.

 

Both are making better lives for their families.

These loans would not be available to them without help from Kiva, and the support of its lending community, to a small finance company.

Both are enriching their communities.

By successfully gaining funding via Kiva, more people in their communities will be able to gain monies for their goals.

Their repayments will enable the small finance company to help others make the community a better place for all.

Both will have renewed self-confidence in their futures.

Both will be able to pass along that sense of self-worth to their children as well as to others in their lives.

By helping these two people, I have helped so many more.

I feel a sense of self-worth akin to that I had when I donated blood.

I am so grateful for that.

I could have spent that money on events this past weekend -

SCAD had "9 To 5: The Musical" at the Lucas Theatre -

BC and St. Vincent's had "School House Rock" at the Trustees -

Hindsight Film Festival had a variety of documentaries  at SCAC -

"The Sound Of Music" was at the Historic Savannah Theatre -

or I could have seen Savannah Rep's play again -

any of which would have run about the same cost as one of those loans.

I'm proud of myself for the choice to help young entrepreneurs, rather than to entertain myself.

I'll have plenty of other opportunities for play time.

(smile!) 

parting gift from my nutritionist

When I went in to the Savannah VA Center for the meeting with Elizabeth Carley, I had been expecting the news would not be good.

I knew my weight would be up.

Between the inguinal hernia pain and cold weather, I had not been moving as much and had been eating more comfort foods.

I had no idea that she was leaving.

She has a more exciting job working with a new company in New York.

In true form, she had made plans for switching me to a new specialist, but wanted to discuss the options with me first.

Such a professional with a heart she is!

But she did one thing that my new PCP, Tiffiny Duchene, should have: she followed up on the Community Care I was supposed to have received in December.

Elizabeth found out I was to have started that on December 23, 2025.

Instead, I had not yet heard from the local surgeon who was to repair the inguinal hernia that's been paining me since mid-August.

Elizabeth wrote down all the information: the phone number, name, and address of the clinic as well as the Community Care Authorization number issued by the Ralph Johnson VA Hospital in Charleston.

I called the Surgical and Bariatric Care clinic at Memorial Hospital as soon as I got home that day.

They didn't have the paperwork from Charleston, but would call them.

I immediately went into VA Health's website and sent messages to the Community Care in Charleston and also to PCP Duchene.

That was on a Thursday.

I waited until Tuesday, February 17th, and called the clinic again.

Yes, they had the VA CCN!!!

The first available appointment was March 3rd.

Later than I'd hoped, but it was still more progress than I'd had!

Today, I was at the office of Dr. Oliver Whipple thirty minutes ahead of time.

I'd spent forty minutes on Sunday night filling in all the paperwork for the online check-in, plus I'd filled in the eight pages sent to me two weeks ago. 

I gave him the disk with my CT scan - from November 18th - as well as all that paperwork, then we talked.

Mostly, we talked about my previous surgeries over the years, but in particular about the cardiac ablations I've had.

After a talk with Marsha, the one in charge of surgery scheduling, I walked out with pre-surgery paperwork, though a date for that hernia repair has not yet been set.

First, they have to get clearance from my heart doc, but that should not be an issue after the results from the heart monitor study.

Dr. Whipple liked that Dr. Cobb was down to seeing me every 6 months; that's a very good thing!

However, the biggest hurdle to a surgery date is Dr. Whipple's upcoming two-week vacation coming up... after next week.

Timing is everything.

So, now, it looks like I won't have the hernia repair until late April.

Then, there will be about three weeks of recovery, they say.

Dr. Whipple told me he will be using a robot-assisted laparoscopic technique to remove all the scar tissues in my abdomen, starting from the ribcage down to the right groin, then insert a mesh pocket to hold the abdominal contents in place.

I'm hoping that will all go as planned.

He was surprised when he heard about the scar from my tubal ligation, then surprised again when I told him about my Polar Express from the hysterectomy.

I just wanted him to be forewarned about all that scar tissue, and the adhesions from three abdominal surgeries, waiting inside.

I'm not looking forward to the surgery, but I can't wait to be rid of the pain I've had for more than six months. 

None of this would even be in progress without the aid of my nutritionist, Elizabeth, taking action on my behalf.

My gratitude to her.

I sure am going to miss her.

count it all JOY

That's the great lesson from the Figure Skating competition in Italy.

Count it all joy!

Alysa Liu had walked away from ice skating in 2023, after feeling that the sport had taken over her life.

Now, she clearly has that work-play balance not only restored, but the very thing that once caused her grief provides great joy to her.

As she herself has said multiple times, she is on the ice because she wants to be, because it is her choice, for herself and not for any other reason.

It is the canvas upon which she paints her gratitude for the world!

Wow!

For her Free Skate today, she earned 150.20, almost three points higher than the two next highest, giving her 226.79 including the Short program.

Not only did she place first in Free Skate, she won the Gold medal for Women's Figure Skating!!!

That hasn't been done for the USA for the last eight Winter Olympics! 

Shout out to Sarah Hughes for being there to see her do as she had done. 

The next highest score for the Free Skate, of 147.67, belongs to Kaori Sakamoto of Japan.

This was her final time in competition, as she is retiring from the sport.

Her total, including the Short program, is 224.90, which was the second highest of the 24 skaters.

She will be 25 years old in two months. 

So, this was a bittersweet performance for her on Olympic ice and she chose songs by Edith Piaf to mark the occasion.

Such a beautiful dance she had, full of emotion!!!

Now, she will forever remember this every time she hears that music, knowing this was the day she won her Silver medal in the Olympics!

Amber Glenn, of the USA, placed third in the Free Skate, with a score of 147.57, thanks to the encouragement from her fellow Blade Angels.

They told her to take the freedom to skate for herself, not for the competition, and to truly enjoy her time in front of the crowd.

That was very good advice after her disastrous Short program.

She was able to stay in the top five overall (total of 214.91) and that's definitely something to be proud of in Milan.

The woman who placed 4th in the Free Skate, as well as 4th in the Women's Figure Skating, was Mone Chiba of Japan.

I fully expect to see that 20-year-old at the 26th Winter Olympics.

So graceful she was for her "Romeo And Juliet" routine, so joyful to be there!

Her score of 143.88 for this part, and 217.88 for the total competition, will make her a favorite for the next time.

The next three skaters all scored within 0.5 points of each other!

Adeliia Petrosian, a Neutral Athlete, was absolutely fierce and was the only one who had two quadruples planned in her performance - WOW!

Even though she didn't complete them, she still placed 5th in the Free Skate (141.64) and 6th overall (214.53).

Imagine what her scores would have been if she had landed just one!!!

Yes, I will be watching for her next time, and so should everyone else.

Right close behind her for the Free Skate was Niina Petrokina of Estonia!

Skating to music from "Dune", she scored 141.19, just barely getting edged out (skating pun, y'all!) into 6th place for the Free Skate and 7th overall.

Ji-a Shin and Hae-in Lee, both representing South Korea, know all about getting edged out!

That's Hae-in, the 19-year-old, skating to the opera "Carmen", music she has wanted to perform with before but had saved for this Olympic moment.

She was fabulous, too!

She scored 140.49 and Ji-a scored 141.02, placing them 8th and 7th, respectively, for the Free Skate today.

Hae-in had the higher overall score (210.56), granting her 8th place for the Figure Skating overall, whereas the 15-year-old Ji-a had 206.68, landing her in 11th place for the competition.

There's another two that should return for the 2030 Winter Olympics.

And now, in 9th place with 140.45 for the Free Skate, is the lovely Ami Nakai!

In mirth and cheerfulness, she reminds me of Yuma Kagiyama!

"What A Wonderful World" provided her background music for this time of her expressing her joy of being on the ice!

Don't let that lower Free Skate score distract from her overall of 219.16!

Bear in mind that the Free Skate was just ten points below that of Alysa's today, but Ami's score yesterday gave her 1st place in the Short program.

Combined, the two parts made a whole that won her the Bronze medal!!!

That's two medals for Japan in Women's Figure Skating!!!

Brava, and brava to Alysa Liu for getting the Gold for the USA!!!

Now, before I sign off, I want to congratulate the skater from Georgia.

Was it because she secured 10th place in the Free Skate?

No, that honor goes to Sofia Samodelkina of Kazakhstan, whose total of 207.46 also secured her 10th place overall in the Women's Figure Skating.

Then why single out Anastasiia Gubanova for this post?

She made me smile with the inside joke of her skating costume and music.

(smile!)

The song was "Unchained Melody"... but she had chains all over her bodice and back with this free-skirted outfit!

She's 23 years old now, but I look forward to seeing her again in 4 years.

What a wonderful time I've had with these Winter Olympics in Milan!

i thank You, God!

getting some culture, part 1

My Lunch Lady friend, Sarah Logan-Reynolds, encouraged everyone on fb to "go and take in some culture" last weekend.

The Savannah Book Festival was in town, plus it was the Free Museums Sunday, with a wide range of activities to take in.

I chose to wait until today, when parking would be easier and the weather would be more conducive to strolling downtown.

See what I mean?

I'm wearing sandals!!!

I would have been at there earlier, but I had the house wide open for warmth!!!

Every room, every closet, open and unblocked to air flow!

Now, for the first time in months, my house is up to 72.

My gratitude to God!!!

So just where was I?

At the Jepson Center, where the exhibit of a portion of the costumes that Glenn Close had from her movies is on its last week.

This was my first time seeing them.

I would have liked to have been able to touch them, too, as I am such a tactile person.

Fortunately, there was an area just for that kid in me: the Barbara Matera Ltd. zone, with large swatches to match - and touch!!! - for at least a dozen of the costumes.

Magnificent!!!

I couldn't help but think of Edna Mode, the fashion designer for the Parr family!

That's because Barbara also supplied costumes for superheroes - very nice!

I'm so grateful that tactile game was there to satisfy my craving for touch! 

After all, I'd just spent almost thirty minutes absorbing all the wonder of the "102 Dalmatians" section, with no touching allowed.

That set of clothing was, by far, the largest in the exhibit.

There were a total of eleven outfits!!!

 

However, as much as I loved the Dragon Suit, the Flower Dress, and the Gown of Flames, this trio not only tickled my funny bone, but told a story.

First of all, that fabric pattern is obviously an inside joke!

That checker style is called Hounds Tooth - get it?

Dressing 'Ella' in that probably even helped her to transform back to herself.

So, in the first outfit, on the left, she's been released from prison and has been reconditioned to being a lover of animals, not just their pelts.

Then she hears Big Ben chime - DONG! - and the white beaded necklace becomes a black and white one, her hair gets mussed, and the jagged shoulder pads rise.

Again Big Ben chimes - DONG!! - and the spell enforced by the prison is completely broken, as is her grip on being placid and her calm composure, as Cruella returns, full force!

Bwah ha ha!!!

Honestly, I'm going to have to see about watching "102 Dalmatians" again.

I may have only seen that 2000 film the one time. 

I'm not nearly as familiar with it as I am with the 1996 live-action version of "101 Dalmatians".

That one, of course, I knew the story of by heart, having grown up with the 1961 animated musical all of my life!

 

The next display that caught and held me was for "Dangerous Liaisons".

That 1988 movie about seduction and deceit, set in Victorian times, really grabbed the attention of my 30-year-old self. 

Such sensually rich and luxurious fabrics!

Such intricate designs!

Such opulence within every inch and every stitch!

No doubt that influenced my design of my wedding gown when I made it in 1992.

That gown also influenced Glenn Close a few years ago.

She was going to the Met Gala in 2023 and wanted something suitable for the affair, which was honoring the late Karl Lagerfeld.

I think she definitely hit the mark with this one!

My question would be: how much does that voluminous outfit weigh???

My guess is at least thirty pounds, maybe more with the jewelry.

That's most def not suitable for dancing!

(smile!)

Let me end with this much more slimline design.

This is what she wore as 'Nova Prime' from "Guardians Of The Galaxy" in 2014.

How wonderful to be able to look closely at that fancy inset pleating in the shirt!

How delicate those gold buttons are on the jacket, lending it a military flair!

How appropriate to spend my last bit of time with this design from one of my all-time favorite science fiction movies!

Now, to rescue my car from the meter!

mama, you called?

Over the weekend, I took only one acetaminophen.

For whatever reason, the inguinal hernia had eased up on its near-constant cry for attention.

Then, this morning, I was awakened by it around 6 AM.

Yes, this has been one of those days when sitting is painful, standing is painful, everything is painful.

Sigh.

Plus, it's been cold outside.

I knew I would be meeting Carolyn for "Couples Retreat", our fourth in the NCG's Rom-Com Film Festival, but also knew I needed to already be out and about if I expected to be there.

So I got in the car and started driving, enjoying the warmth of the sun in that enclosed space... and found myself at Greenwich Cemetery.

I knew immediately why I was there.

The pine needles in the wreaths left on the graves of George and Billy were brown and dry, and the red ribbons were pale.

Time to do a bit of housecleaning for Mama!

I'm glad I had remembered to put bags in my car for the trash.

While I was there, I took care of the tattered Christmas ornaments and strewn flowers on the surrounding graves.

By the time I was done, I had two large bags filled with debris.

Everything was tidy after my visit with Mama, and I felt better, too.

Off to the cinema to meet my friend!

I was a little early, but that was okay.

And when I bought my ticket, I had an unexpected treat: enough NCG reward points for a nearly-free Kids Pack!

It cost me less than two bucks.

I think I'll go ahead and enjoy most of that warm and tasty popcorn while I wait and enjoy this sense of gratitude.

I can get a refill to share with her.

(smile!) 

weekend of hell: movies

Most of the movies were on PBS channels, of which I have access to seven.

Those are truly a Godsend.

I have made steady use of them ever since the pandemic limited my access to external forms of entertainment and knowledge.

 

Now, with the weather 

stranding me in Hell,

yet again, 

I express my gratitude 

to PBS, to GPB, and to SCE-TV 

for helping me stay sane.

I'll begin this post with a documentary about a strong woman and end with one about more strong women, with some men in between.

"Olympia", released in 2018, featured interviews and film clips with actress Olympia Dukakis.

She was in her mid-80's, talking about her career and life, mostly.

Toward the end of the documentary, she was back in Greece, and one of the things she did was attend the release of a turtle back to the Aegean Sea.

The turtle's name was Lola, so of course Olympia regaled us with a few lines from the campy 1955 song about a headstrong woman. 

Very amusing!

I felt a kinship with her during that segment, as turtle release events are something I hadn't known that we shared.

(smile!)

Shortly afterward, Smitty came by to change out my porch light.

It burned out sometime in the fall.

I'd mentioned it a few weeks ago, but let the matter drop.

He brought it up last night at the S&K Friday Fiesta.

"Did you still need that done?"

He arrived just before noon, at the door with the extracted dead bulb already in hand.

All he had to do was reach up to get to it!

I would have had to drag out the ladder and I didn't trust myself to do that with the inguinal hernia still active.

Knowing he was to come, I had the replacement (Ecobulb) ready for him, and he even cleaned the light globe and stayed to make sure the new light worked.

Then he was off to drip pipes at the shop and I went out into the low 40's and did the same here.

Good to know I won't have to be concerned about my front porch light for another seven years.

Thank you, dear brother! 

(smile!)

Then I watched a 2019 music documentary titled "Secret Song". 

Notice the red letters in the piece of music from Alban Berg's "Lyric Suite"?

Those notes indicate his initials, plus those of his mistress, Hanna Fuchs., and appear repeatedly throughout the "Lyric Suite".

In other words, as George Perle determined in 1976, the entire piece from 1926 documents the affair the couple had when Alban was almost 40 years old and she was almost 30.

The documentary was from the point of view of the modern-day musicians - the Emerson String Quartet and Renee Fleming - who were determined to play it with all the emotion and passion the Austrian composer had intended, acknowledging the heat behind the messages meant for his lover.

I found it all quite fascinating!

I wonder if they might be enticed to perform it in its entirety at a future Savannah Music Festival concert?

I'd love to see them perform again!

(smile!)

I decided to watch a movie from the reward stash that Comcast has bestowed upon me: "Love Actually", from 2003.

Alan Rickman, nearly two decades after his American film debut in "Die Hard", is a man in his mid-life crisis, much as Berg was, and, much as Berg did, he had an affair with a younger woman.

Perhaps Olivia Dukakis' character was right in "Moonstruck": men have affairs because they are afraid of death as they slide down towards it.

Nice segue, wasn't it?

Here's another: the movie I was watching was set at Christmas, with snow on the ground, snow falling... and then my first niece called.

She was watching snow fall in Hinesville.

Within an hour, I was watching snow fall here.

I tried to take photos, since that's what I do.

This one is the clearest.

Look closely at the tree trunk and its limbs...

there's a fine draping of white lines from snowflakes dashing through the air.

Sure, a magnifying glass helps, but the snow fall was still evident.

I decided to switch to something set during a warmer season.

Grit TV had a Kevin Costner movie from 2003 that I'd somehow missed!

Like with the Alan Rickman movie, "Open Range" has him almost twenty years after he was kissing a girl in "Silverado"... and he kissed a girl (Annette Bening) in this movie, too.

Robert Duvall didn't do any kissing, as he was busy trying to keep his men and free-grazing cows alive in cattle country.

This was another I know Daddy would have enjoyed.

Time to switch this film festival's focus back to women with a new documentary, "Coronation Girls".

This was amazing as it followed fifty young Canadian girls and women chosen to travel to England in 1953 for the crowning of the 27-year-old Elizabeth II as she, of a similar age as they, began what would become 70 years of her reign.

What an amazing time those girls all had on their 7-week trip that summer!

The movie looks into several of the reunions the group had as the 50-year mark was passed, then concludes with a dozen of the women, now in their 80's, unexpectedly having tea in 2023 with King Charles II on a second trip to England.

Wow.

That's one of those once in a lifetime events...

just as their earlier trip there had been.

I recently had one of those myself last year.

Those are to be treasured.

This view, however, is not.

Once upon a time, when snow fall was rare here, I did enjoy it, because it was not a common thing.

Now, for the second year in a row, there is snow on th ground in January.

Definitely not a treasure.

Good night, all. 

talking space travel with dood...

What great silliness at the S&K Friday Fiesta this evening!

When I came in, my youngest brother was at the other end of the table, chatting with Mark Kameron.

Neither Jimmy nor Addison were there at Jalapenos.

He was helping his sister with an electrical issue; she's back at school.

Everyone else was present, including Robin - hooray!

I haven't been to this gathering of brothers and friends since the start of January.

I was determined to be there tonight, to celebrate the start of longer days!

It was so wonderful to be in their company again!

Anyway, as I was saying, Tony was at the far end of the table when I came in, but he had Smitty and Robin shift down so he could sit by me.

And as we were talking about this and that and travel, he starts in with this story of his being in space!

Then he kept it up... and I played along, like it was all real... and I think everyone else just got to the point where they were listening to our nonsense.

Aliens that looked like Beetlejuice?

That was funny! 

Living in space for years and having at least 500 meals, with the main meat being cats because they didn't have cows?

So I countered with life in Panama and Okinawa, where meat was meat and that included dogs, cats, and iguanas. 

Coming back to Earth to find only a few hours had passed, so Laura hadn't missed him on his adventure?

Hahahaha! Long vacation, short travel time. That's the way to do it!!!

After all that talk of various meats, I opted for seafood.

That meant Shrimp Ceviche for dinner - and it was fabulous!

Perfect for this last warm day before the cold temperatures again prevail.

I'll take it, gratefully.

i thank You, God.

welcome Christmas while we stand, heart to heart and hand in hand

Fahoo fores dahoo dores

Welcome Christmas come this way

Fahoo fores dahoo dores

Welcome Christmas, Christmas day

Welcome, welcome fahoo ramus

Welcome, welcome dahoo damus

Christmas day is in our grasp

So long as we have hands to clasp

Fahoo fores dahoo dores

Welcome Christmas bring your cheer

Fahoo fores dahoo dores

Welcome all Whos far and near

Welcome Christmas, fahoo ramus

Welcome Christmas, dahoo damus

Christmas day will always be

Just so long as we have we

Fahoo fores dahoo dores

Welcome Christmas bring your light

Fahoo fores dahoo dores

Welcome Christmas, Christmas day

Welcome Christmas, fahoo ramus

Welcome Christmas, dahoo damus

Welcome Christmas while we stand

Heart to heart and hand in hand

Fahoo fores dahoo dores

Welcome welcome Christmas day

Welcome, welcome Christmas day! 

 

 

I guess it's clear what was on my mind!

Yes, I recorded "How The Grinch Stole Christmas", the original one, and watched it this morning.

This has been part of my holiday ever since I was 8 years old.

That little song in 'Seussian Latin" is ingrained in my brain after nearly 6 decades!

Thank you, Albert Hague, for those lovely, loony, lyrics.

Please know that I sing along every time!

Thank you, Tony and Laura, for hosting the Christmas gathering for your clan and inviting me to share the festivities!

Thank you, Hope and Damon, for coming with your children to celebrate and sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus for his 2025th birthday!

Thank you, Smitty and Mary, for joining us for the holiday spirit... and spirited eggnog!

And thank You, God, for this gloriously warm day to be together!