Thanksgiving 2024...

...is officially in the books. 

I mentioned we sub-contracted meal prep to our good friend Bob Evans - a family feast designed to feed 6.

That was the number of mouths we expected to feed, but by Tuesday Karen decided to make 1 or 2 additional side dishes, just in case.

Turns out momentum is a real thing: once she got cookin' and built up a head of steam we ended up with 2 more pumpkin pies, an apple pie, a green bean casserole, a sweet potato casserole, cole slaw, fruit salad, extra rolls, mac and cheese, some more stuffing made with roasted turkey, and...well you get the idea.

Personally I thought it was way overkill - how much food can 6 people eat? - but I helped where I could and stayed out from underfoot as much as possible while the magic happened.

And then Thursday rolled around...

had no idea Tigger even knew where we lived

...and those are a few of the folks who ended up sharing Thanksgiving with us.

Total head count when all the shouting was done:  17.

I'm so happy Karen doesn't listen to me; thanks to her everyone enjoyed a hearty meal with a side of smiles, laughter and love.

Plus, the Lions made it interesting but eventually won…

...and how cool is that?

Today is Black Friday...

...masquerading as White Friday...supposed to get up to 7 inches of the white stuff by Saturday morning.

How happy am I about this?

I may look happy, but...

nope, still not changing it

Since Thanksgiving was as late in November as it can be, the hop skip and a jump to Christmas is even shorter than usual...

...so I quick-a-minute got my MCM aluminum window Christmas tree up and (almost) completely decorated.

I bought some MCM ornaments from <The Retro Christmas Card Company> for it this year:

They came with strings, but I need hooks to hang them on the branches, so they'll go on the tree in another day or two.

The rest of the decorations are in place...the original color wheel, a Marx Commodore Vanderbilt train, Santa Box, Gift tower and the Grinch all present and accounted for, sitting on the Christmas tree skirt.

The question now is, how much more will we actually decorate in light of the short season?

Will Santa be up on the rooftop click click click...

...or grounded in the front yard?

And will the Christmas Decorating Tornado unleash its full holiday fury on the Castle Frankenstein this year,   -or-

"I never thought it was such a bad little tree..."
- Linus Van Pelt

- will cooler heads prevail?

Let the games begin.

ok, now I'm changing it

The rude appearance of winter has put the kibosh on me happily swinging my hickories.

Next best thing?

Reading / studying about swinging my hickories.

A great place to do that is at <Project Gutenberg> which has thousands of books that are no longer copyrighted available for free perusal online.

One of the books I'm enjoying is Harry Vardon's "The Complete Golfer", originally published in 1905.

It's a truly lovely tome, written in the flowery jargon of the Victorian era, and filled to overflowing with useful information about the art and science of hickory golf.

It also has pictures...lots and lots of illustrative photographs of the greatest golfer of that era, Harry Vardon:

the master addressing the ball from the tee

the top of the backswing - if you overlayed a compass on the picture, his club has traveled clockwise from the 180 mark to about 92 degrees and the clubhead is now pointing earthward, all while his head has remained still, eyes on the back of the ball where he'll make contact.  note his left arm: no idea when "straight left arm" became law in the golf universe, but the only man to ever win 6 British Opens - 3 in the gutty era, 3 in the "live ball" era - did not subscribe to that dogma

top of the backswing from behind...

...and the finish, facing the target

The miracle of modern technology, transporting me back to 1905.

Hooda thunkit.

Time to do the Santa Claus Run...

 

 

...through 23 Skidoo:

I miss the fall decor, but if you can't beat 'em...

that doe outside Larry's blind knew something wasn't right, but couldn't quite tell what

just because I like it

The earliest Thanksgiving can be is November 22nd, and when it is you have 33 days after that until Christmas.

This year was the latest Thanksgiving can be, November 28th, so you have the shortest possible time until Christmas - only 27 days.

People are panicking at the shortened season this year, and you might wonder why.

I mean really, it's only 6 days difference.

What' the big deal?

I guess when you think about it that way, a lot can happen in 6 days.

later, mcm fans...

Well, It Happened...

 

...the first snow of winter...and I'm not very happy about it.

At least it had the decency to stay off my greens...

...it's un-fun putting through snow.

no, I'm not changing to winter yet

Are you ready for Thanksgiving?

Karen usually prepares a big meal for us, but we're ordering out this year...

...same as we did back in 2017 when we were still settling in after our move here.

It was great food then and I'm sure it will be the same this year, but our reasons are different.

That year we didn't have a functioning kitchen yet; it was still under construction.

This year Karen just doesn't feel up to it: her beloved pet, Smokey...

...was attacked and mauled to death by 2 huskies running loose in our neighborhood.

Karen very bravely tried to fight them off, and when I heard her screaming I ran to the backyard and kicked the dogs repeatedly until they finally ran away.

But the damage was done, and poor Smokey met his gruesome end.

As you can well imagine, Karen is both traumatized and grief stricken, so I suggested we de-stress the holiday and let Bob Evans handle the meal prep, and she agreed.

And yes, we've contacted Animal Control and they're dealing with the owners and their dogs.

More to come, I'm sure.

If you're of a certain age, <you remember this>:

"Everybody's doin' a brand new dance now...c'mon baby, do the Loco-Motion..."

Well move over Little Eva, there's a new kid in town:

The Trump Dance!

Based on The Donald not exactly shaking his booty -

- more like standing in place while he pumps his arms a little - it's fair to say The Trump Dance is now a <global phenomenon>...at least in those part of the world that haven't outlawed men in favor of soy boys yet.

Football, soccer, UFC, wrestling...athletes are celebrating victories with The Trump Dance.

And of course the liberal media is in full on pearl clutching mode, suddenly so very concerned about the message being sent by sports icons to their impressionable fans.

The message?

We won big;  you got crushed.  Get over it.

Like every fad, this one will die out over time.

But for now, it's Trump's world and the rest of us are just livin' in it.

O how I wish I could assault your senses with another HGU, but sadly I have nothing to report.

That's never stopped me in the past, however...

...so <enjoy this video> about the upcoming 2025 US Hickory Open to be held in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Don't say I never did nuthin' for ya.

Time to grit your teeth and prove your mettle by enduring another 23 Skidoo:

a doe outside Larry's blind; apparently she's not woke enough to identify as a buck, so she lives to see another day

for no particular reason other than I like it...my dear Aunt Velma and her beloved hound Belvedere

that fall motif covering was gracing our ottoman just seconds before this "caught in the act" picture of Loki was taken

Less than a week from now we'll be enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday, hopefully with loved ones and those we hold dear.

Whether your life is sunshine and roses right now or you're slogging through challenging times, remember this truth from God's Word:

later, mcm fans...

It's The Most Wonderful Time...

 

...of the year...that is too often trivialized.

Sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas, Thanksgiving gets treated like a speed bump on the Holidays Highway.

It’s been reduced to a game bird with cranberry sauce ("Turkey Day"), some family conflict, maybe a parade on TV and a football game or two, then on to what really matters:

...worshipping at the altar of retail.

A crime, really, since it's God's explicit will we be thankful:

That's a command, not a suggestion that we muster up some ethereal warm fuzzies.

A half hearted "thanks" in private or public prayer won't cut it; we need also to do something - share a meal, donate time, give $$'s.

This year, especially - when darkness has been beaten back and our descent into totalitarianism has been stayed - we should prioritize being truly thankful to God for His manifold blessings.

Join with all of God's people and make this year a sincere and thoughtful celebration of thanks to God in heaven.

Why is this man smiling?

Because he's welcoming Hitler, a fascist dictator, a threat to democracy to the White House.

Does that make sense to you?

It does if you remember this fundamental truth:

Democrats are liars.

They screamed at rallies and from the presidential bully pulpit that Donald Trump is Hitler, that he's a fascist, that he's a threat to democracy, and if elected he will throw his political enemies in jail and there will never be another free election in this country!

Even Queen Ozempic railed from the stage that electing Trump would mean you may <never cast another ballot> again!

When one of their unhinged followers believed their tripe and came within a hair's breadth of assassinating Trump...

...did they apologize, dial down the hateful rhetoric and call for a sane return to reasoned debate of the issues?

Get serious. 

They knew their slanderous lies were dangerous but they were desperate to scare people into voting for them, since their record in office is atrocious.

Who in their right mind would vote for inflation, higher energy prices, never ending foreign wars, illegal immigration, rampant crime and censorship?

As it turns out - other than democrats - no one.

The people of this country - those with functioning brains - elected Donald Trump as president in a landslide:

So now Biden, who screamed that Trump will be the death of democracy, is smiling broadly and welcoming him to the White House.

You'd think they would be embarrassed at having their hypocrisy on global display, but like the emperor with no clothes...

...they're arrogant fools who possess neither conscience nor shame.

Remember this moment.

Never forget it.

Let it guide all of your future voting decisions.

If you do that, America will be fine.

I know you've been despairing ever since the golf course I frequent closed for the season worried you'd have to wait until Spring for another HGU.

Well fear not, faithful reader...I haven't quit golfing, just focused my play on Ryan's Hickory Golf Course:

Though the signage has been stored away...

teeing off on the par 3 #5

 

...along with all the flags...

my 1 putt for par.  the greenskeeper must have the day off.

...it's still a blast swinging my pre-1900 hickories.

I use wiffle golf balls from the tees and regular ones on the greens.

In spite of a few rough spots here and there...

the terminus of my tee shot on #9.  as Ted Ray opined in his day, "stymied by a monarch of the forest".

...I play them where they lie and enjoy the round...

my 1 putt for par on #9 to win the match

...win or lose.

What will I do when the snow flies?

Jump off that bridge when we get there, I guess.

Ok, hustle up for a brisk perambulation as we 23 Skidoo:

Larry's hunting up north...can you spot the partridge?

nature's camouflage

moonlight on the lake

mirror water

my beautiful 1960's Philco record player has developed a turntable problem, just in time for Christmas 😭

thankfully it's Captain Weltron to the rescue while I get Phil repaired.  Christmas (music) is saved!

I've used this meme before...

...because it's such an accurate picture of the year end holiday scramble.

Our mad dash from Halloween to New Year's, while exhilarating, is often crammed with obligations social and financial, accompanied by crescendoing stress.

That makes it the perfect time for this reminder from God's Word:

peace out, mcm fans...