Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Checking e-mails before going to bed and saw one from each Sis wishing a Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas to Sisses and Bros as well as all my other (millions of) blog followers.

The Husband and I had a nice quiet Christmas at home. We did take a little trip up the hill this afternoon to visit with our neighbor Don, who also celebrated a birthday yesterday. We brought a bottle of yet-to-be-released Game of Thrones Red Ale from Brewery Ommegang, and some Beer Batter Bread that I made this afternoon. Frankly, the Saranac Pale Ale chaser was just as good as the pricey Ommegang.

The dogs had a nice walk earlier in the day, so we left them home by the woodstove. It's still plenty cold up here, so the idea of wandering in the woods with them up at Don's house did not seem appealing.

These photos are from a few short minutes ago. I tried to get pics of the sleeping dogs, but the flash awakened them. The Christmas tree looks just fine with no flash, but you can't see the pretty wreath in the window that I won at the Adorn-A-Door auction in Cooperstown.

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas or Happy Holiday of your choice, and a very happy and prosperous 2014!

From frosty and frozen to mud and puddles

After a few weeks of really cold weather and plenty of snow, now, just in time for Christmas, everything is melting. At least the ducks are happy to be seeing unfrozen water and green grass.

I think Woody was happier with the cold. He was fascinated by all the tracks in the snow, following each and every track to the end. Only once did he find one of the track-makers, a sad looking black cat who wasn't going to back off from the big barking hound.

Since propane prices are out of control, I have been burning a lot of wood instead of using the heat. Problem is, I am not that good at keeping a steady temperature, and sometimes it gets to be over 80° in here. But that doesn't stop the Wood Man from getting up close and personal with the woodstove. I don't know how he can stay that close without burning up.

We have the tree up and decorated, most of the Christmas cards written and sent, but there are still a few things to get done before Wednesday. Unfortunately, the newspaper (where I work) needs to get printed before then as well. Work is taking up way too much of my Holly Jolly time...