I will put over 1000 lights on it.  I still have to get those lights up outside.  Our “deer” family is outside but not plugged in. 

With only three weeks til Christmas day from today, I am starting to wonder that once I get all the decorations up will it be time to take them down?!

Economically that makes sense, but it can paralyze us when we get accumulating snow, sometimes as little as 1/2″, remember 2005!

Well up north they get enough snow that they have sufficient equipment to handle most snowfalls.  I grew up in Chicago and this article amused me today.

They had about a 2″ snowfall earlier this week and it cost the city almost $500,000 to clear that for them is a minor snowfall.  In these tough economic times the mayor now wants to ban overtime pay.  So if you live in Chicago and you are waiting to get plowed out and it’s quitting time; you will have to wait till the next morning during regular business hours.  Oh well just remember it’s 5 o’clock somewhere. 

I do love following astronomy, but this slipped by me. But how neat, Venus and Jupiter were within 2 degrees of the moon and in some parts of the world the crescent moon was under the two planets making it look like a smiley face. Tonight the skies should be clear and in the evening the moon will be farther away from Venus and Mars, but the sky should still look cool.  Just don’t forget to bundle up.

At our house the stuffing and sweet potato cassorole go first, we still have some squash cassorole left. Mmm.

Now that December is here, its time to move on to egg-nog and all the good food that Christmas has to offer.

That weekend was the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, I was working at WTVD at the time and had been off for the last four days.  I watched the weather that Sunday night to make sure everything was fine and to get caught up to speed before going back to work that Monday morning.  (Remember there was no Internet back then.)  I remember that night that the weather was eerily warm and humid for a November 27th.

The phone rang around 1:30am informing me that a strong tornado had struck near Umstead Park in Raleigh.  It was a surprise, since the chance of a tornado had not been mentioned as a possibility the night before.

Needless to say I got in to work in a hurry and we broadcast reports on the tornado continuously until 12:30 pm.  Later that week I got to fly over the damage; and it is, to this day, the closest I have ever been to the damage of a killer tornado. 

Anytime that I drive down US-70 and pass the Walmart near Pleasant Promenade; I remember that storm.  I think how unbelievable it seems that that storm literally flattened a massive store that was a Kmart and took the lives of people, all without any warning.  I will never forget. 

I haven’t made it yet, but tonight it will be made and tomorrow it will be tasted; hopefully by more than just my niece!

However, our house is subdued when you think of some of the houses out there that go all out.  Nothing blinks or pulsates in our yard and we use all white lights.

We will buy our tree the day after Thanksgiving (tradition), then start the process of lighting and decorating.  I must stay motivated this year; because Thanksgiving is later than last year, and as of today, I only have 30 decorating days until Christmas! 

Here it is, it’s simple.  Mix 1 stick of butter with 1/2 cup of brown sugar.  Then stir in 1 cup of flour.  This makes a crumbly mixture that you sprinkle on top of the pie.  I gently press it down to cover the apples completely. 

Typing this makes me want to rush home and eat another piece.

Our seats are on the north side, which is the sun side this time of year.  There will be a huge difference from folks sitting in the sun versus those in the shade.  In September, and October usually, being in the shade is a benefit.  Trust me sitting in the sun, it always feels 10 or more degrees warmer than it actually is.  So I guess tomorrow will be pay back for having sun seats during the hot weather.

While tomorrow will be chilly, I remember a UNC, Duke game in the 90s that was colder. 30s and snow flurries.  When I shiver a little tomorrow, I will try to think back to that game and try to feel warmer.   

Here is her report from this morning.  (It takes a few seconds to load.)

 I was really hoping she could make it to the top.  As I mentioned in a previous blog I got some altitude symptoms at 14,000 on Pikes Peak back when I was 20.  I didn’t mention that on that same trip we back-packed one night near the continental divide.  Why I mention only one night?  Well it was that we never made it through the night.  Two of my com-padres got sick from the thin air and we had to come back down from the mountain that night.  That was no fun, they were kind of delusional and it was dark. 

I still love the mountains, especially the North Carolina mountains.  Why?….no altitude sickness!