The end of it. I long for spring! I love spring, summer and fall…but dread winter each year. I used to be one of those people who insisted “I just HAVE to live where there are SEASONS!” I’m over it. Oh, yeah, it was 8 degrees here last night, but at least we have no snow! Thank goodness for that!

Everything is done except the cinnamon rolls I will bake for Christmas morning. Thank heavens for Amazon!! No stores for me! Everything I ordered was delivered in four days or less, using standard shipping!

I would see that none of the earth’s children were without food, good health, and a proper home.

Marlo! That is EXACTLY how I ski! When people ask my husband if I ski…he says “Yes…she loves to ski the “Mahogany Ridge”…it’s her favorite run..!” Meaning…I sit at the bar in the lodge and have drinks while he and our sons whoosh down the slopes!

Like many of you, I love dogs more than people…my Father used to say “There’s no better way to spend an afternoon than with a good dog and a cold beer.” He gave me my love of dogs…big ones..! I have been lucky in my life to have old dogs…my most memorable was a Rottweiler-Springer Spaniel mix…she looked like a small rottie and was so smart it scared me sometimes! She helped me raise a few dogs, and lived to be fifteen. Now we share our home with an old mix, she is eleven…and she is patient with our six year old lab-coonhound mix and our two year old Rottweiler…on my mantle, in a mahoghany box…are the ashes of my ten year old Rottie I had to put down three years ago…when I told his vet I didn’t know where to scatter his ashes, she said “That dog lived and breathed to be with you…to watch over you…so you keep him with you.” She was exactly right.

I inherited two silver spoon raised stepsons just over three years ago. My husband, like many before him, “over-compensated” the children due to post divorce guilt. These children had everything you could imagine…a playroom outfitted with two computers, playstation two, dvd player, handheld video games, and they expected to hit the toy store every other Sunday to buy whatever they wanted. Our first “married” Christmas, they handed in their Christmas lists and I was stunned to see that very few of their “wishes” came in under three hundred dollars. I talked to my husband, pointed out just HOW MUCH they had, and we decided to “scale back” Christmas. Oh..Lord. After opening gifts that had set us back over six hundred dollars, our ten year old announced that “Christmas Sucked!!! We didn’t get ANY electronics!” I made a mental note…”Okay, you un-grateful, spoiled thing…you think THIS Christmas sucked?? Wait till next year!” And that is how it has been going…Christmas has been getting smaller each year. If they want the latest video games etc. they can save up for it with the cash they get for Birthdays etc. I have spent many years working with “at risk” children who are happy to have even ONE package to open at Christmas, so, to see my stepsons and their level of disrespect and un-grateful attitudes…well, I thought it was time to send a message. This year, they will go with me to drop off toys and food at our church, and they will spend some time in a soup kitchen as well. As I said on another thread…parenting.

Belinda…Thank You…Well Said.

On the contrary…while many of my classmates dropped out because of teen pregnancy etc. I led a charmed life…I will be 50 next year. What “real good time” did I miss?? Drugs? Teen pregnancy? No, my Father did not keep me in a cage…and there is no reason for you to pity me…are you a parent? It makes me wonder! I am, as I said before, grateful for my Father’s watchful eye…Mothers and Fathers should mind their own business??? WHAT?? To what end? No Thank You! My children’s business is MY business until they are out on their own, supporting themselves as adults. As long as they are under MY roof…everything they do is MY business…again…its called parenting. Let me know when you’ve done some of it.

Exactly Patty!! I was raised by my Father, his Mother and our cook/housekeeper…all were vigilant! I was NOT allowed to go out with a boy until he had been to the house and had dinner with us. I’m surprised I had any dates at all! This was the early 70’s - !! My Father had a firm belief…if a boy didn’t want to come and have dinner with us in order to date me…he was simply not worth my time. The refusal of the dinner invitation spoke volumes to my Father…oh…and there were NO second chances…one invitation only. Again…I’m stunned that I dated at all…but I’m grateful for my Father’s vigilance and caring.

The only flying I do anymore is the 45 minute Dulles to Savannah flight…I have the luxury of keeping clothes at our house on Hilton Head, so I usually fly with just my purse…however…on my last flight I lost my mind and took my needlepoint as carry on…as soon as I laid the bag on the conveyer it hit me…”Oh No! I have needles and a teeny pair of scissors in there!!” Whoosh! It sailed right through! Imagine my relief! When I told an Aunt about this later, she glared at me and then told me about being wanded AND patted down after they found her needles and teeny scissors in her needlepoint! She is in her 80’s…I am almost 50…she said “It must have happened to me because I look old and dangerous!” Hah!

This is what I know…when I was dating in High School…(when Dinosaurs roamed the earth…) any boy I dated was vetted with far more skill than McCain’s camp used when vetting Palin. My Father made a point of knowing as much as he could about the boy’s family…that went for any friend that I spent time with. Its a parenting thing, kind of like teaching kids about the consequences of un-protected sex…! It is the same with my children now, are my sons allowed to hang out with the kids around the corner whose parents routinely brawl in the front yard after too many drinks? NO! Is it fair to punish a child for an adult’s behavior that is beyond the child’s control? Perhaps…but I have to do what is in the best interest of my children. Its MY JOB! I know their friends and I know their friend’s families. Oh…and living in a small town helps…people talk…and my town is a hell of a lot larger than Wasilla!

We will be at home, and as I do every year, I will make a huge pot of vegetable beef soup, put out different breads and crackers…our friends will come and go all evening, eating and drinking…by the time midnight rolls around, it is always just the two of us, watching Dick Clark and sipping champagne. Wouldn’t have it any other way.

There was a time when I sent out over 200 cards a year, each with a hand written note…they were mailed, without fail, the day after Thanksgiving. Then one year, just for the heck of it, I counted the cards I received…26. Soooo…now, when I get a card, I send one in return to that person. It just makes sense to me.

Caitlin - I believe Ikea sells similiar tables, I have seen them many, many places…perhaps not as “chic” but they serve the same purpose for a reasonable price. You won’t be able to have a Yo-Yo Table…and sadly Caitlin…I won’t be able to take my husband for a weekend in Dubai either…but there is a strong chance I can treat him to lunch at Sonic after our weekly trip to Super Wal-Mart! Merry Christmas!

Many years ago, my oldest son told me he would be in Germany on leave when his Birthday rolled around. With the help of a friend there, I arranged to rent a Porsche for him. He had dreamed often of driving on the autobahn…he had the car for four days, scared himself only once and decided high speed driving was not really all it was cracked up to be…especially when every driver around you is driving just as fast or faster! Still, he remembers that as one of his all time favorite gifts. Now, he is married, and in the military…so he and his wife LOVE my annual Christmas gift…I give them a weekend at a lovely inn, with champagne and a gourmet dinner included. I do a different inn every year. Its something their budget does not allow, and it is easy for me!