Well, folks, another year is about to end. Looks to be ending on a bright sunny day here in Ohio. We have no particular plans for the evening. But we never do. Usually I like to make a special repast for the evening but as of this writing I'm not even enthused in doing that. The Muckheads will be in bed pretty early because they have to go to bed when Addy does for the evening just so that they can try to get their round of sleep in before she wants to be fed again. No sleeping through the night yet for them.

I let Minnie, the outdoor cat, in yesterday just before Bill came home and the little trickster managed to find a hidey hole downstairs so she wouldn't be put out for the night. Why did I let her in? Because I had a moment of soft-heartedness. We all trekked off to the Alcapulco Mexican restaurant for dinner and I completely forgot that she was in the house. We couldn't find her when we got home. Not even I could coax her out of the storage room which I knew she was in because Kaboodle tipped me off on that one. Todd managed to spy her back in the realm of boxes but he couldn't get at her. So she got to stay the night in the warm comfort of the house. I was able to get my hands on her at 7:00 this morning. After a thorough petting, I slipped her out the door again. I'm on to your ways now, Minnie. You'll have to appreciate that heated condo on the bench now more than ever.

Bill and I visited Bunny Heaven just before Christmas Day. There was still bits of snow on the ground and the bridge that crosses the creek. I was glad of it because we saw numerous little raccoon footprints in the snow, on the bridge and on the ground under the bridge. Oh, joy, oh, joy! Could it be my coonie gals? I like to think so. Now I'm thinking of going out there with another little bag of dog food to give them a treat since I saw definite signs of raccoon activity. Even if it's not my coonie gals, at least some other raccoon will benefit from the extra food.

It will be nice to get the Christmas tree out of the house. The older I get the more I wonder why the heck do I bring a tree in the house? Oh, it's pretty and all when I get the lights and decorations on it but I still sit there and think about what an odd custom it is. As a kid, it fills you with wonder. As an adult without any kids in the house anymore (well, young kids), it fills you with pine needles that you pick up off the floor in your socks. Bill hates that. That and having to vacuum, vacuum, and vacuum and he still can't get those pesky needles out of the rug. Okay, Bill, that's why I got you an artificial tree for next year. Heh heh. But I will still wonder why I keep doing this year after year. Maybe if I could just find a really nice looking 3-foot tall tree I wouldn't feel that it was so imposing. Maybe if I could be a kid again, it would be wonderful again.