Here is our tree. Hobbie wanted me to show you. As in the past, he made me bring down all the teddy bears, bunnies and other stuffed animals to lay around the base. Doobie keeps running away with them, so I have to replace them a few times each day.



I put all the candles and a few of Bisbee's wind-up water globe music boxes on a square coffee table. They are too heavy for Doobie to move. Bisbee would like the arrangement but this Christmas is our first without the little guy. He always loved the pretty tree.

Busy continues. I have to pay bills today. Very late this month. And tonight is our Art Guild Christmas dinner - this time it is at a member's home and it is potluck. On Saturday I made a large pan of a pasta casserole with ground sirloin, penne rigate, my September pasta sauce (Bolognese!) and lots of cheeses (Ricotta, Mozzarella, Asiago and shaved Parmesan on top.) Secret ingredient: just a hint of pesto!) I cooked it for about 40 minutes at a low temp as I will bake it done before I take it to the bash.

I froze it in the pan with its lid and two layers of foil. It is thawing right now and I will bake it again just before I go over to the party. I will carry it wrapped like a baby in foil so it is still hot when I get there at seven pm.

Crappy weather. Rain and at night it freezes black. There are fools who go out in cars on it. Life is too short and much too expensive to go for a pizza or beer on black ice.

Good Sunday night football game. Giants and Eagles are usually two teams I could care less about but they played a tough one in the cold of the Meadowlands. It may be the last time you see the Meadowlands stadium on TV. They will rip it down after the season. There once was a rumor that Jimmy Hoffa's body was buried in concrete somewhere in that stadium.

The place is only about 30 years old. In this country we rip down 30-year old structures because they are obsolete. There are stadia in Europe where they play sports and have concerts that are over 400-500 years old. Somebody is getting their money's worth!