'Twas The Night 'Fore...

...and all through the 'hood...

 

...not a porchlight was shining and that can't be good.

The gales of November had toppled a tree...

 

...and plunged us in darkness; how long would it be?

The candles were lit to brighten the hour...

...while we gazed with envy at those who had power:

So we sat by the fire, cozy and warm...

 

...sipped wine, shared stories, and weathered the storm.

Then off to bed early, no Hallmark tonight...

...with hopes that Consumers would turn on the lights.

We grabbed extra blankets and stoked up the fire...

...coaxing the room temp a tiny bit higher.

When Karen said, "Honey,"  'ere stifling a sneeze,

"We're buying a Generac so we don't have to freeze!"

 

That's our sad story.

On a frozen, blustery night when Karen hoped to make progress for Thanksgiving day festivities...

...instead we scrounged around for candles and flashlights, stored food in coolers, and waited for the lights to come on.

12 hours later they did and all was well, but it did accomplish two things:

* caused us to ponder how much more difficult life was for our ancestors sans electricity  -and-

* helped us appreciate just how good we have it now.

Appropriate at Thanksgiving, yes?

We should be truly thankful for the manifold blessings we enjoy and too often take for granted.

"Blessed be the Lord who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.  Selah."

    -Psalms 68:19

Ok, let's get this out of the way, shall we?

The Lions lost...

...again...which pretty much sticks a fork in their season.

They really need to pick a day OTHER than Thanksgiving to perform their magic...tired of the perennial damper they put on this holiday.

Sorry for that little bit of unpleasantness, because otherwise, Thanksgiving Day was fine.

My clan was unexpectedly flung to the four winds this holiday, but a few of Karen's were able to share the day with us.

Thanks to Bob Evans (and a bad assumption on my part), we had enough food to feed a division II football team...

 

...but happily Karen's Krew agreed to take a lot of it home with them, including some for her son who couldn't make it.

Safe to say a good time - and a good meal - was had by all for which we are, indeed, very thankful.

The recent 60 mph wind gusts didn't just knock out power all across West Michigan...

...they also grounded Santa and the gang.

That's them hiding behind the wall, out of the wind, not perched proudly on top of the wall.

Cowards!

So all my scheming on how to skirt the "No Christmas Decorating Until After Thanksgiving" rule was for naught.

Sadly, today's not looking so good weather-wise:

...and neither are the next few days:

...yep, that's 4 to 8 more inches of the white stuff.

I guess we can file all that under <the best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley>.

Outdoor Christmas decorating may be delayed, but it's a good bet the Christmas Decorating Tornado has her sights set on the innards of the Castle Frankenstein.

More to come, I'm sure.

yep, it's time

Let's do that 23 Skidoo thing...

we've got 3 cats standing at the ready to terrorize our Christmas ornaments

wurst accident ever...mustard been terrible, no bun intended*

from Larry's cottage, pre-Thanksgiving:  red sky at morning...

...sailors take warning.  that was right on this week.

one of the two bald eagles that make themselves at home around Larry's cottage

time to start spinning some Christmas vinyl on our 1962 Philco K-1526 Hi-Fi

waddyaknow?  they were right about us getting dumped on, and it's not even December yet.

while taking a break from clearing the snow, Karen made a snowman creature.  Instead of Frosty's top hat, corncob pipe, a button nose and 2 eyes made out of coal, Crusty's got a fall leaf headdress, a cigarette holder, a stick nose and 2 eyes made out of cigar butts.  I see a new children's classic in the making.

* I take neither credit nor blame...saw it in the Monday morning memes section of Townhall.com

On your marks, get set, Christmas!

I'd say "the race is now on" but then I can't explain what all the Christmas merchandise was doing in the stores before Halloween...warming up, maybe?

In any event, you now have 26 days until The Big Day, so choppety chop chop...

...time to put your big black running boots on and get after it.

And while you're at it, remember to channel your inner Linus, who explained to Charlie Brown what Christmas is really all about, way back in 1965:

later, mcm fans...

Only Because I Have To...

...here's the most accurate...and most popular summary of Commie Mamdani's takeover of the world's financial epicenter.

As much as I'd love to skip the politics, you just can't ignore an earthquake.

Think of it...a 34 year old anti-semite from Uganda who's never held a real job in his life and with no relevant experience was just elected mayor of one of the world's most populous and important cities.

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Chief cheerleaders in the Commie's large group of stupid people are a couple of similarly unqualified Mensa rejects:

AOC...

according to this famed meteorologist, we only have 6 years left before <the end of the world>; she hopes to spend them in a socialist utopia.

...and nursing home escapee Bernie Sanders:

according to Larry David, Bernie only has one pair of underwear

Defying both logic and the imagination, this perfectly illustrates the danger of granting idiots the right to vote.

It is exactly as the old saw opines: people who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.

And history is littered with examples of failed socialist countries: the USSR, Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea.

Soon we'll be able to add New York City to the growing list of economies sacrificed on the altar of socialist ideology.

The Post sold out immediately, and sellers put up signs saying "No NY Post Papers" in their storefront windows to stem the steady stream of frustrated searchers.

You can still get them on ebay, however:

...proof that in spite of the communist takeover of New York, capitalism is still alive and well.

For now, anyway.

Thanks to brain dead New Yorkers sealing their doom through exuberant youthful nescience, business is booming...elsewhere, that is:

Real estate brokers in Florida, Texas and Tennessee report being swamped with inquiries from panicked New Yorkers.

Consequently, Florida governor Ron DeSantis says they're going to build a wall to keep out incognizant liberals fleeing the predictable results of their lifelong political choices.

Governor Abbott of Texas says they'll slap NY refugees with 100% tariffs.

Governor Bill Lee from Tennessee adopted a <more welcoming stance>, reminding desperate New Yorkers that Tennessee is "open for business".

They're all in agreement, however...if you come to our state, check your liberal politics at the door.

You can pick them up on your way out if you leave, but don't bring your callow political claptrap with you.

It's time to rewrite Sinatra's signature song:

"I want to get away from it, New York, New York!"

Recently had new tile installed in our master bathroom by #4 son and one of my grandsons.

It went from this:

To this:

The best part is not just the new tile, though we love the look...rather it's that the floor is now heated.

Karen is thrilled since it was always freezing in the winter, and no wonder: turns out the old tile was installed directly on a cement slab...no backer board or anything beneath it...just cold, hard cement.

It's toasty now, and just before the snow flies.

Here's to Chris and Isaac who did a great job...

...thank you, gentlemen!

We have this little sign in our coffee nook:

And the sign says true:

...which leads us to the less popular 2nd verse of that little ditty:

"Every hour waking

Will now be spent raking!"

And so we did yesterday...got out the mower and mulched the backyard, then manned the rakes and cleaned up the front:

That's all well and good, but for all the work we did - and I've got the aching back to prove it - here's the problem:

Considering the overall task, we barely made a dent.  Most of the leaves will come down in the 2nd half of November.

But my greens are looking pretty good today...

Think I'll bundle up - it's 33° this morning - forget about what's still ahead...

...and walk a round or three on Ryan's Hickory Golf Course.

On Halloween, one of our trick-or-treaters greeted us with "Merry Christmas!"

His dad looked at us and shrugged, then told his son, "You mean 'trick or treat', right?"

I joined in with, "Don't rush it!  Thanksgiving is next."

"Nope," the little costumed rebel insisted, "Merry Christmas!"

And that's pretty much the prevailing attitude, isn't it?

Thanksgiving is little more than a speed bump on the holiday highway, a brief pit stop between Halloween and Christmas.

Given the strident political atmosphere of the last few years, you can almost understand people's desire to just skip it.

Who wants to risk a big family get together tinged with the threat of nasty ideological conflict?

I know I'd welcome Karen's TDS riddled brothers with the same enthusiasm I have for an abscessed tooth or a bout of the puking flu.

Their sickness is so advanced, they actually believe CNNLOL and MSDNC are news outlets and not just soviet style apparatchiks of the democrat party.

But putting the potential for a strife of tongues aside, it's worth remembering God calls us to be truly thankful:

"15  And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful."

    - Colossians 3:15

"16  Rejoice evermore.

"17  Pray without ceasing.

"18  In everything give thanks:  for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

    - I Thessalonians 5:16-18

Whether your upcoming Thanksgiving holiday promises to be peace and joy or political pistols at 20 paces, take time and give thanks to God in heaven "...who daily loadeth us with benefits" (Psalm 68:19).

later, mcm fans...