They're Calling It "Sleet"...

...but it's snow...and there's going to be 4" of it before the shoutin's done.

Had a week of January thaw, more or less...some rain, lots of high winds, temps even climbed up toward 60, but that was overnight.

And now it's time once again for the proverbial <lowering of the boom>:

And since I've been at this - with a few "cat interruptions" thrown in for good measure - here's what it looks like now:

I am so ready for <Spring>.

Don't usually delve into the world of pro sports on this blog; if the equipment being used doesn't look like this...

...it's rare for me to bother with it.

But today is the wild card playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears and I feel duty bound to chip in my dos centavos.

Why?

Because when I was a young lad rousting about the rural wilds of Pennsylvania, <Bart Starr> was one of my heros...

...and I was quite convinced I would someday be scoring TD's in the NFL just like <Jim Taylor>.

As much as I admired both those players, neither of them had anywhere near the impact on me as another Green Bay Packer.

And the true oddity is, he labored in relative obscurity for almost his entire career.

It has been well said, if you were on the lam in the 1960's and needed someplace to hide where no one would ever find you and no one would know your name, all you had to do was become an interior lineman on any NFL team.

Those boys labored in obscurity, making very little money while doing the dirty work so guys like Bart Starr and Jim Taylor could be "stars".

But this particular Green Bay Packer broke that mold wide open when he published his diary of the 1967 Championship season of the Green Bay Packers:

#15 Bart Starr, #31 Jim Taylor, #64 Jerry Kramer, #63 Fuzzy Thurston

That's right guard #64 Jerry Kramer, leading the famed Green Bay Sweep.

His diary became a best seller...

...revealing for the first time what it was really like enduring the day to day grind of professional football.

Over time my dreams of athletic greatness foundered on the unforgiving shoals of reality - alas, you can't put in what God left out - but in their place blossomed a lifelong interest in and appreciation for good writing: the kind that puts you right in the middle of something instead of stranding you on the outside looking in.

Jerry Kramer and his book are memorable mile markers in that early phase of my life journey.

And so, even after all these years, I still harbor a modest reservoir of good will for Green Bay and their Packers...

the 1920 Green Bay squad with their player/coach, Curly Lambeau, sponsored by the "Indian Packing Company"

...as long as they're NOT playing the Lions.

And since the head coach of the Bears, Ben Johnson, used to be the Offensive Coordinator for the Lions, today I'm all in for Green Bay.

I don't begrudge him advancement in his career, but he shouldn't have jumped to a long time blood rival in the same division.

Note: the above sign has a temporary one game license to appear in this blog, valid for January 10th, 2026 only.

Here at my home, home on the range...

...the clouds have been skydee all day, so I say it's time to 23 Skidoo:

Step 2 if the heimlich fails

a (very) rare sunny morning in January

an actual product advertisement, inadvertently highlighting the main problem with humanity

Loki, a cat who knows he's cute

In light of our inborn problem of all consuming self-love, I leave you with this command from God's Word:

14  For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

    - Galatians 5:14

Don't fall into the age old trap that many proclaim when quoting that verse.

It neither states nor implies that you must first love yourself before you can love your neighbor.

That's utter nonsense.

Our problem is we love ourselves all day, every day, so there's no time left for anyone else.

When we're cold, we warm ourselves.  When we're hungry we feed ourselves.  When we're tired, we seek rest; when bored, entertainment; when sad, comfort; etc etc etc.

Thinking about what we want and how to get it is the way we fill our days.

God says this:

"Stop thinking of yourself exclusively, and love those around you.

"Do so with the same fervor, enthusiasm and determination as you seek your own welfare.

"When you do, you're fulfilling the law."

later, mcm fans...

We're Making A Conscious Decision...

the countdown has officially begun to when even the dumbest democrat on earth (no names, but her initials are AOC) will have to admit "socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy whose inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." (Winston Churchill)

...to temporarily ignore current events... 

caracas burns...

...while narco-terrorist maduro enjoys the friendly accommodations aboard the USS Iwo Jima, on his way to face justice

...and focus instead on something that really matters.

It's time to de-decorate!

So we're going from this:

...to this:

From this:

...to this:

And from this:

...to this:

You get the idea.

Happy New Year, y'all.

In a brief return to reality - sorry, this will just take a minute - for the whiny libs, socialists and euro-weenies complaining about the supposed "illegality" of this snatch and grab, here are some helpful reminders from VP Vance and AG Bondi:

To his point about those indictments:

This isn't the woke, feckless dementia-fest of the disastrous Biden years:

Tens if not hundreds of thousands of Americans are dead due to narco-trafficking from Venezuela.

Biden - or more likely, whoever was actively running the country into the ground while Slo-Joe was napping and having his diaper changed - ran their mouth about standing up to Maduro, but as usual did nothing.

Trump - with the able assistance of the United States Armed Forces - just solved the problem.

It's so simple, even a democrat should be able to understand:

You kill our people, you pay the price.

I would love to bore you to tears with something -

- anything about hickory golf but alas -

- yeah, that.

Ok, not quite that much snow just lately, but winter hath made an unwelcome return so swinging my hickories will have to wait.

In the meantime, let's do that 23 Skidoo thing:

guilty or surprised?  you be the judge

and you thought California was the land of the fruits and the nuts; they got nuthin' on Minnesota and Somalian fraud

recently watched <this video> about corn cob pipes made the same way today as they were 150+ years ago.  worth a look.

and yes, I did order a corn cob pipe from them - <the shenandoah> - and have enjoyed a bowl or three of their "Missouri Pride" pipe tobacco. cigars are quicker and easier, but these corn cob pipes are sorta like shaving with a straight razor - takes some time, there's some skill involved, and you’re kickin’ it old school.

My journey through the Old Testament continues and one thing is very clear as you read through the books of I & II Samuel, Kings and Chronicles:  we're a disobedient lot, prone to self-willed wandering away from the LORD who calls us to obedience.

The consequences of our self-will are always the same and underline the truth of Romans 6:23 - the wages of sin is death.

So my prayers have turned into a plea that God will teach me humility and the fear of the LORD.

"13  He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great."

    - Psalms 115:13

later, mcm fans...

Gotta Love...

...small town newspapers.

That's the front page of Karen's hometown gazette.

I can pretty much guarantee neither Mr. Lamb nor his staff are getting rich off the publication of The Presque Isle Advance.

And there are those who dismiss the entire enterprise as a doomed, misguided attempt to cling to the past.  (Did you notice?  That newspaper has been around since 1878.)

Who reads newspapers anymore?

Not today's army of cell phone zombies, obviously.

But Karen does, at least that one.  And I do, too.

One of my happiest times of the week used to be Sunday afternoons spent reading the Sunday paper, front to back...

...and especially the comics.

My sons received many birthday and Christmas gifts wrapped in color comics newsprint back in the day.

And when I was videotaping my sons' sporting events I included newspaper clippings from local papers when creating highlight videos of their seasons.

Imagine that...actual journalism happening on the local level instead of curated, homogenous AP pablum digitally disseminated nationally.

Reading newspapers equated to productive hours spent engaging with the real world, using my God given analog senses of sight, hearing, smell and touch.

Taste, too, now that I think of it...those were good cups of coffee enjoyed in the pursuit of local, national and world news.

There's no question the world is a poorer place for the passing of the newsprint era.

I can tell you one thing for sure: Mr. Lamb and staff aren't kowtowing to the woke mafia nor compromising their beliefs on the altar of the almighty dollar.

And they haven't bought into the lie that technological advancement is the same thing as progress.

Have you?

<O Tempora, O Mores!>

With Christmas in the rearview...

...'twill soon be time for the unhappy task of de-decorating.

But as Karen knows, it's also a pretty good time for deals on Christmas decor, like the nativity figurines above...a Hobby Lobby find.

The matching stable was out of stock, so Karen bought a plant stand in the form of a small rustic chair...a little work with a rip saw and some brown twine and voila! 

A complete Nativity scene for a fraction of it's original price, and it wasn't even from Aldi!

I know...I'm scared, too.

In the "sad sack" department, the Lions officially eliminated themselves from the playoffs this year.

When you turn the ball over to your opponent six times...

...that's a pretty good indicator there's a loss in your immediate future.

I guess this means these guys...

...are still secure on their perch as the last Lions team to win it all.

1957 was an interesting year.

Eisenhower began his 2nd terms as prez:

Wham-O's Frisbees took the toy world by storm:

don't blame me...it was their ad

The Incredible Shrinking Man was a Sci-Fi movie hit:

never own a pet that would eat you if it could

The King of Rock and Roll purchased Graceland for his parents:

Elvis paid $102,500 for the iconic mansion...about $1.2 million in today's dollars

A couple of English lads named John and Paul met at a church fete in Liverpool and Rock and Roll changed forever:

The Mick slugged his 200th home run (of 536 total in his career) during a game against the Detroit Tigers:

"the glory of young men is their strength" (Proverbs 20:29)

Renowned Democrat racist Strom Thurmond filibustered against the Civil Rights Act, speaking for 24 hours on the Senate floor:

his racist rant was futile; the Civil Rights Act passed

The Soviets delivered a gut punch to our national psyche and pride, launching Sputnik - the first man made satellite to orbit the earth - and the Space Race was on:

The "Mighty Mac" bridge opened, connecting Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas for the first time:

the 5 mile long marvel was hailed as "the world's longest suspension bridge between anchorages"

And best of all, our beloved Lions won <the whole shootin' match> on my 1st birthday (thanks, guys!), December 29th, 1957:

The Browns were the NFL's elite team with rookie sensation Jim Brown, but the Lions laid a whoopin' on 'em, 59-14 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit

At the time I was living in Texas and a few years later my Dad would end up being a Tom Landry/Dallas Cowboys fan, but still...

As Lions fans have been saying for the past 67 years - c'mon, say it with me - "Just wait 'til next year!"

And speaking of Texas, let's 23 Skidoo y'all:

what kind of people dress up their Christmas spirits?

we were down 1 for Karen's crew, but made up for it in the 2nd wave when my side stormed the place

a young buck helping himself to our birdseed

the rains have set in, obliterating all signs of Christmas snow; but never fear...

...winter returns with a vengeance tomorrow

With the New Year just ahead, it's natural to reflect on past events and plan for the future.

As we do, we should keep in mind what the Apostle Paul told the believers in the church at Philippi:

"13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

"14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

    - Philippians 3:13,14

later, mcm fans...