December to remember?

Winter struck with a vengeance this year. COLD weather - nearly three weeks with daily highs below freezing. Then there were three weeks of snow cover - unheard of in this latitude. I put extra coats, gloves, and boots in the car as a precaution when driving out of town.

But we got used to it. The dogs love the snow, sending up sprays of snow as they romp around, and leaving wet spots in the carpet from snow encrusted paws. My daily early morning ball throwing with the dogs was limited to the driveway because of the snow. And, we enjoyed a truly white Christmas.

Here are some of the high points that stick with me today.

First, Todd flew home for a weekend of shopping - with retail consultation from Suz, the resident expert on what is just right for grandkids. He got stuck overnight in Columbus when his flight was cancelled because of snow - in Nashville. No one can recall the last time that happened.

Then, I enjoyed a visit from my college roommate, Steve Schwab. He stopped in Marietta after finishing a 2 week trip to the Rocky Mountain area. He likes to make this trip in December. There was some white-knuckle travel in South Dakota. But he otherwise dodged really dangerous bad weather. We had a great visit.

Five-year-old granddaughter Catrina was fascinated as I gave her a "tour" of the ornaments on the 10' tree in our entry way. Many of these are from families of our parents and grandparents; others remind us of places we have visited over the years. She kept seeming to notice new ones - "I never saw that one before," even if she had seen it a few minutes before. Most of the kids and adults take the decorations for granted.

Then there was the letter from Santa that I had to write for granddaughter Emily. She had asked Santa longingly for a pet dog - a real, live one. "Santa" explained that another dog would be disruptive in their house with their two other dogs, and that he was leaving her with a toy pet dog. That toy dog had a sensor which caused doggie sounds to emanate from the package every time someone went near it. Her favorite toy of all she received was that dog.

The woods were beautiful. The picture above captures the beauty of the frozen waterfall, along with Gabbie. The dogs had fun walking in the frozen creek. The snow and ice gave us a three week respite from cleaning their muddy feet.

As the month ends, I have the prospect of playing golf as we enjoy a day in the 50's. Life is good in these Bittersweet Woods.