Always like 60 Minutes and Andy Rooney.

He is a real curmudgeon ("a crusty irascible cantankerous old person full of stubborn ideas")

and one of my role models. Anyway, some Rooneyish comments on Christmas.

Have pretty much done the cards for this year. I make a list and go through it putting a hand written note on each one. This has been a good year but without a bunch of noteworthy events so the notes have been Merry Christmas, stay warm and safe, miss you, and a little personal kind of thing. To each his own, but got a few that have a jazzy printed out inserts with the past year's history. Found that I scan them but do not really digest them at all. Like the handwritten note idea, shows a little more care and involvement. What do y'all think?

Refuse to use the politically correct "holidays". It is Christmas, dammit,

even for my Hindu-Jewish-atheist-etc. friends. Respect and enjoy their special days, too. But most of all, refuse to be politically correct or anything even close to the p word. Politics is right up (down) there with crook, liar, cheat, bandit ............ In the middle of all that discussion about the budget, they still load up the tally with thousands of earmarks.

We will be off to The Big City to be with our daughters. And one of our sons is coming up, too. Family helps make special times special. And our kids are special to begin with. Christmas is next to Thanksgiving for a good reason. And there is nothing I give thanks for more than family

With a sort of large family, we have, for a number of years, now, had one of those things where names are drawn out of a hat (whose hat was that, anyway) for the presents. Everyone participates 'cept us. Annie likes to give presents.

She says she likes to get lots of them but the biggest reason we do not participate is that we like to give them. We have those discussions about who responds, who gave us a list, etc. But the biggest reason to enjoy Christmas presents - or any other gift type event - is the giving. Some ask for gift cards. My parents used to give us checks. They are a good idea but it is nice to put some personal attention to the gifts and give something that you think is neat. Giving gifts is expensive but worth every penny. But getting is sort of nice, too.

At any rate, Christmas is fun and always memorable. Really looking forward to it.

And, since we will be into a more active, Big City and family type mode, there will be even less time for blogging. So, planning ahead, Merry Christmas to everyone. Stay warm and safe. Write lots of posts about your Christmas experiences and thoughts and vent about all the juicy stuff.

Our daughter Nancy lives on a mountain above Front Royal and Winchester, Virginia. This is a picture she took in her front yard yesterday. Click on it. Has nothing to do with the topic but too good a picture to not include.

Returned from using our Laura's router on Thursday. And Verizon came through when they said they would. There was a little glitch in the cable in front of our house. I could have told them that. Several years ago, we found we were hearing our neighbor's phone conversations on our phone. Some insulation had deteriorated and our wires liteally got crossed. Infrastructure does not heal itself, alas.

We had another 'phone difficulty several years ago. A relative who had friends here told us about some news we had recently received over the carry-around phone we have at home. But we had not told anyone about it. The only option was that someone had eavesdropped on our phone. Googled it and found that is possible. Those carry around phones are little radios and all you need is a suitable receiver. The 'net does have warnings about this. Have a care, or even two cares, someone may very well be listening.

At any rate, we have our home 'phone and DSL back. Heard all about - with pictures and anecdotes - the wonderful trip to Argentina. Ate two Thanksgiving dinners, enough that am several pounds heavier but some things are worth it. Spent time with relatives and friends, grandchildren and granddogs, all of them memorable and highly rewarding.

And the smell is gone. Sounds like a song title "The Smell Is Gone". Back in the 8th Grade we used to make up words to songs. "The Old Masterbater (Masterpainter)From The Faraway Hills". Maybe someone can suggest words for "The Smell Is Gone". Guess the poor little mices corpses have decomposed or dessicated enough.

And the next crisis is ....

Oh, woe is me. Trouble, trouble, boil and bubble.

Came home to find our house smelling of dead critters. Searched the crawl space and poked into the insulation. Found lots of old spider webs but no corpses. Waiting for it to go away. Balsam and pine oil helps.

No sooner had I started to do some more blogging when Verizon did me in.

We had come up to The Big City to take care of our daughter's, Laura's pup, Callie, while Laura was touristing in Argentina (she loved it) when the remnants of Ida passed over the Tidewater area. When we returned home, found that our house phone was dead. And the DSL line, too. Did all the tests and found it was Verizon, not us. And that the repair man will come in over two weeks! Seventeen cotton-pickin' days! If Verizon had not been good, above and beyond the call of duty, at some other things, would have cut them off right then and there. We do have our mobile phone for phone service. Looked at getting Verizon wireless service for the computer but that would cost more than I make.

My laptop said there was another wireless router in the area. A secure one. Went all around the neighborhood but could not find where it was. How far away does a laptop have to be to detect a router? Anyway, did not solve the problem but did get to chat with the neighbors.

Went to our son's in Lynchburg for Thanksgiving. He has a router but too many things going on to do anything other than check emails and eat. Which is more significant, blogging and tutoring or fun with the grandchildren?

Now back up to Laura and Callie to use her router. Getting some tutoring done and a little blogging. But there is still too much to do. Another Thanksgiving dinner Saturday night. Friends over last night, Sunday, to reminisce about Argentina. And tomorrow is Laura's birthday dinner. When will I ever get down to business? This enjoying life stuff is getting in the way.

I'll worry about this tomorrow - or maybe a couple of tomorrows.