Barbara J. Hamby

Holiday Season is Here

Our winter weather is coming in with a bang. We are ready here to hunker down, build a few fires if necessary (or even desirable) and work on our food reserves. If the snow that’s threatened arrives tonight and then we’re frozen in, we’ll be okay. We even have a bunch of movies to watch if the power stays on.

I always send a lot of Christmas cards just because I like to receive them. I even include those oft-maligned holiday letters in most of them. I don’t keep track of the cards we receive, except to note that, if we get one from someone I haven’t sent to, I add their name to my list. Those who don’t want to read my letters are free to toss them or recycle them. I read all the cards and letters we get and enjoy them.

Today we enjoyed one of the many pleasures of retirement—soaking in a hot tub while looking out at snow on the ground. Not in our neighborhood hot tub, but on a nearby mountain. The snow was scattered and slushy and not on the roads—the best kind for us.

Tonight’s predicted snowfall may be different. We are reportedly in store for several very cold days and nights after the snow so whatever we get may hang around for a while. If we can just avoid a coat of ice, or a silver thaw, it might not be so bad—at least not for us. Those who have to be out in it won’t be so lucky.