Hello 2021!

January 3

The days before . . .

Ring out the false, ring in the true. ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson

So tonight I’m going to party like it’s 1999. ~ Prince

[Leading off, the babies, a/k/a, The Tasmanian Devils . . . ]

Cats are smarter than dogs. You can’t get eight cats to pull a sled through snow. ~ Jeff Valdez

[Well, I would have . . . except I’d just done my nails . . . ]

Don’t complain about the snow on your neighbour’s roof when your doorstep is unclean. ~  Confucius

I thought her as chaste as unsunned snow. ~  William Shakespeare 

Walking in a winter wonderland. ~ Richard B. Smith

Every new year is the direct descendant, isn’t it, of a long line of proven criminals? ~ Ogden Nash

[Laddie wanted to see Mom shoveling snow . . . ]

Good job, Mom! ~ Laddie

[Guinie went to a different room for a different view . . . ]

Lookin’ good, Mom! ~ Guinie

To be an ideal guest, stay at home. ~ Edgar Watson Howe

It always seems impossible until it’s done. ~ ​ ​Nelson Mandela

[Ooops, just missed the kitties!]

[Trial run, the Super didn’t beat the buzzer . . . ]

[The eve of her birthday when she and Meredith Wilson would share the number of trombones . . . ]

Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read. ~ Groucho Marx

[We had a Thurston Howell III and Lovey New Year’s in honor of Mary Ann. BTW, Ginger (Tina Louise) is 86 and the last remaining member of the cast . . . ]

Kiss me on this cold December night. ~ Michael Bublé

[Our champagne flutes were wedding presents from shortly to be 20 years ago . . . ]

[It took me a long time to find the pipe for a prop. I miss my old friend . . . ]

Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it. ~ P.J. O’Rourke

I took a speed-reading course and read War and Peace in twenty minutes. It involves Russia. ~ Woody Allen

[Family photo with Guinevere and Galahad who were just five month old . . . ]

[Kisses from Mom . . . ]

[It’s almost working . . . ]

[Nope, it didn’t . . . ]

New Year’s Day

You know those little snow globes that you shake up? I always thought my brain was sort of like that. You know, where you just give it a shake and watch what comes out and shake it again. It’s like that. ~ Gary Larson

[The new year began crisp, clear, and beautiful . . . ]

It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it. ~ John Burroughs

Kindness is like snow, it beautifies everything it covers. ~ Kahlil Gibran

Christmas in L.A. is weird. There’s no snow. It’s not even cold. ~ Ellie Goulding

The very next day . . .

I grew up thinking of snow as a luxury you visit. ~ John Landis

To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake, it is necessary to stand out in the cold. ~ Aristotle

A snow day literally and figuratively falls from the sky, unbidden, and seems like a thing of wonder. ~ Susan Orlean

I have never seen snow and do not know what winter means. ~ Duke Kahanamoku

I am always slightly mystified by the whole ‘Snow White’ story. What are the chances of coming across that many diminutive men living in one house in the woods? ~ Sandi Toksvig

Genius is an African who dreams up snow. ~ Vladimir Nabokov

I was a mailman walking in the snow six days a week, 12-hour days. Every two weeks, I’d get a check for $228. ~ John Prine

I’d never walked on snow ’til I was 50, you know. There’s no snow where I come from. ~ Paul Hogan

No state income tax, no snow, lots of golf courses, and ready-made gated communities make Florida an irresistible place for seniors – the ones who have the income level – to retire. ~ W. Kamau Bell

[Carlos Creek Winery, 20-degree weather, plenty of snow, bon fires, plenty of wine, beer, and soft pretzels, a whole mess of close personal friends we couldn’t see much in person in 2020. What better way to spend a couple hours on a January day in Minnesota?]

Out with the old, in with the new’ is a fitting expression for a holiday that is based on vomiting. ~ Andy Borowitz

You can’t get too much winter in winter. ~ Robert Frost

I love the scents of winter. ~ Taylor Swift

Winter is not a season, it’s a celebration. ~ Anamika Mishra

[No balls to be gotten . . . ]

[A substantial portion of the Theatre L’Homme Dieu board made more than a cameo appearance, arriving unchaperoned and without the usual security . . . ]

We shall find peace. We shall hear angels, we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds. ~  Chekov

There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow. It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray, every blade of grass, every spire of reed, every intricacy of twig, is clad with radiance. ~ William Sharp

Drink deep or be careful how you taste this December vintage. The first sip may chill, but a full draught warms and invigorates. ~ John Burroughs

So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their ending! ~ J.R.R/ Tolkien

[How best to take my leave – soft pretzels, cheesy dip, roaring fire, and a beverage of choice!]

I would quit all my bad habits for the new year, but then I remembered that nobody likes a quitter. ~ Unknown

I love Christmas. I really do love Christmas. I love being with my family and I love snow. I love the music and the lights and all of it. ~ Christina Applegate