Another year has come and gone. It goes by so fast. I look back at my younger years and it seemed like time moved at a much slower pace. It seemed like my school years took forever to get through. Nowadays I wish I could relive them. Like my first crush in fourth grade with a girl named Beth. Singing in the middle school choir at this time of year was always special. Four years of being in our Catholic High School. Four years in the Air Force. Marriage. Kids and now grand kids. It's like a snowball rolling down a hill. But I digress.
Christmas is such a special time of year. I love the snow on the ground and the houses decorated with colored lights. Inside our house, the tree is all decorated and presents surrounding it.
I love Christmas music. I have it on a lot when Lisa isn't around. I like the stuff from Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Mannheim Steam Roller or older stuff like Vince Guaraldi. This will be the first year without Moose. But he is with us in spirit.
The smells of the holidays also bring joy. Like the smell of baking. Today Lisa is make Krumkake. Pronounced "Croom-ka-ka". It is a traditional, thin, crisp Norwegian waffle cookie rolled into a cone.
Placing a dollop of dough on the Krumkake maker.
Once the dough is placed on the iron , it is closed for about 20 seconds.
Then the Krumkake is taken off the iron hot and rolled into a cone.
Once cooled they are a crispy delicious cookie.
The finished product.
This year will be the first time at changing our holiday meal. Normally we would have a ham with all of the fixings but we are going to change it up this year. We decided to go out for Chinese food at lunch and then have hors d'oeuvre's for the rest of the day. We all agreed that nobody ever complains of not having enough food at the holidays. Just the opposite.
Another new tradition will be our holiday game. The last few years we have been doing a saran wrap ball filled with all kinds of goodies. Last year, the boys each had their own and then two other for the adults because of all of the things inside them. 
Last year's Saran wrap balls and Stinky.
This year we have made a new game thanks to the influencers called Jim and Barb, aka, Jethro and Bambi. We are going to play "Shut the Box" and the lowest score can pick a gift plus they can pick a gift card from a stack I have. It will be like gift card roulette because the gift card may be full, empty or somewhere in between.
So with Christmas here, we would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May 2026 be filled with wonder and glory for all.
Wait a minute, Why would my first picture be of a package of bacon?
Let me explain the torture that I must endure. Last week Lisa and I went to Wallyworld to shop. She put in the shopping cart a package of bacon. My mouth starts watering and I'm thinking that there must be a special occasion coming up because she knows I would kill for bacon. So a few days later I come in from outside and I smell bacon. So I ask her if I can have a piece which is code for wanting all of it. (The package isn't resealable so that means it's a single serving, right?) Do you know what she tells me?
"You can have 'one' piece" She says. "That's her bacon".
"What?!" Her bacon. Her bacon?
If we ever get divorced I can now see a custody battle as to who gets the bacon. By the way, that's a picture of "MY" bacon.
