A Way to . . .

A lovely Christmas story. The true story of the author who wrote the story of Rudolph for his son who was ill and they went from rags to riches as it became not only a famous story but a song we all love to hear and to sing.

The puppy reminds me of how we will be after our feasting on the holidays.

When I received the picture of the stuffed lobsters from Walter, the fisherman, the writer, the jack of all trades and a master chef, I wondered when he developed a teasing nature to send this tempt tasting picture along to a lobster lover. It has been many, many years since I have had a lobster, but I remember the wonderful taste and the fun of eating one, and I am sure, like my friend, Mary Kay who taught us how to 'pick' a lobster with a tiny fork, there would be nothing but shells on our plate. Mary lives in Maryland now and I am sure she is enjoying not only lobster, but the soft shell crabs. I think I still have the recipe for crab cakes . . . um, think I'll look it up and maybe I can make some up when the family members arrive for the holidays. Now, if Walter would send a lobster or two, like the ones on the platter, I'm sure I could find a recipe for lobster rolls.

Daughter Pat and I went to the store yesterday to start on our list. The spiral hams are plentiful and expensive this year, but no more so than other years . . . they have a special way of making up these hams and the tenderness and sweetness makes it all worth while. We checked out the turkey breasts and they look good too but there was no sense in buying anything too early so we will go back mid week and finish our list. The regular list was short and that promised storm broke as we were leaving the store. One lady had a basket filled to the brim and she stood there in her high heels, wishing she had thought to bring her umbrella with her. She wondered which way to go and finally decided she would go to her car for the umbrella she left behind, but then had second thoughts, I guess, as she moved her car to where her filled basket was. Did she get out and pull the basket close to the trunk to unload?, no . . . she walked back and forth in the torrential rain and lifted a few bags at a time getting soaked to the skin while she was bemoaning the fact that it had to pour rain 'now'. I thought of helping her, but then decided I didn't want to get soaking wet . . . poor sportsmanship on my part, but, if she had pulled the basket to the car I would have been glad to help. I would have even pushed the empty basket back to the store. People are so funny. I stood waiting for Pat to pull the car up so I could unload my stuff and by then there was a lull in the storm . Of course by the time we drove home it started up again and I was not about to get off 'Scott free'.

This storm predicted to be one of the worst in years has been a puzzle. For the last three days we have had thunder and lightening with squalls, then sunshine and a sky filled with those pewter gray clouds that usually predict a hurricane or some kind of a massive storm before its arrival. We haven't had anything that dramatic yet, but a few minutes ago the lightening flashed, the thunder roared and the house shook as the rain hit it from all directions . . . sounded like the storm arrived . . . but it passed and right now it is very quiet.

So today, if you find yourself out in a storm . . . smile and dance in the rain. It is Monday, the 20th of December, our 2010 is ending. I hope it hasn't been all bad for you. The transitions periods are the worst of it and for one reason or another we all have to go through them. So work on 'attitude' today, it is what makes or breaks your day. Hugs to all.