You learn something quickly when you move to Tennessee; it never snows on Christmas Day. Some years it never snows at all. Which I suppose is a good thing. No one in Tennessee really knows how to drive in the stuff.

Some years ago, our grown children and their families came out to visit at Christmas. The sky was clear; temps were in the sixties. It was more like early fall than Christmas. My daughter, who had come with her family the day before, ran three miles that morning—in her shorts.

In 1952, Gary Cooper starred in the classic American Western film, High Noon. During the course of this movie, a hotel clerk is heard saying,

“You’re leaving on the noon train, but your husband ain’t? It’s mighty interesting. Now me, I wouldn’t leave this town at noon for all the tea in China. No sir. It’s going to be quite a sight to see.”

Christmas is probably the most tradition packed holiday there is, and over the years I’ve enjoyed chasing some of them down to find their origin. One I’ve gone after is the Christmas stocking, which in present day has become a large, usually ornate sock shaped bag that is hung up on Christmas Eve so Santa can fill it with small toys, candy, fruit, and such.

When snow, ice and frigid weather blast into town, you should take precautions to prevent injury. Winter recreational activities can pose problems for the outdoor enthusiast whose body is not properly conditioned. Winter sports like skating, skiing and sledding can cause painful muscle spasms, strains or tears if you haven’t taken the time to warm up.

Knoxville TN: Local, multi-published author Russell Fine, Author of the Frank Carver Mystery books, has released his sixth book, The California Experiment.
The California Experiment takes place in 2025, after the democrats lose their third presidential election in a row. A California billionaire, who has used his wealth to buy the California legislature decides that California must secede from the United States and become an independent country. He makes it happen, but quickly discovers that he is not going to be able to create the utopia he expected.

Knoxville TN: Multi-published science fiction author Nan Klee has announced the release of DreaganDance, the conclusion of her DreaganStar Saga. Following DreaganStar and DreaganGrey, books one and two in this series, DreaganDance carries readers to the conclusion of the chaotic universe of Samantha Alexander due to her involvement with the first experimental faster-than-light (FTL) spaceship, the DreaganStar. Set in the five lunar colonies, DreaganDance tells of the espionage, intrigue, romance, and mad science surrounding the first FTL starship during its experimental stage.

When my Papaw E.O. was young, his father once told him that he would have to hire another farm hand just to keep an eye on him.
If you have read any of my articles or storytelling books, you know my Papaw E.O. was very accident-prone. Yes, I’ll admit it, I am that way too. But I think most of his came from the fact that he was easily distracted.

After a long day, with a few extra hours at work at the office, I drove home to eat a bowl of popcorn. It was lightly flurrying when I arrived home. After a pleasant hour and a half with my cat, wife, popcorn, and the local and national news, it suddenly occurred to me that I had forgotten to write and submit this article. Thanks to a phone conversation earlier this evening with a co-worker, I did have a topic for you, Faithful Reader. There are times that inspiration just doesn’t seem to find me, but luckily due to the lateness of the hour I don’t have writer’s block.

This recipe is so simple. We know you have turkey leftover from the big day. Make it when some time has passed and the leftovers are lounging in your freezer. Of course, you could make it with the leftover pieces of rotisserie chicken you picked up at Food City. It is good either way. I first made this recipe the Thanksgiving I discovered Brined Turkey Breast. It is a staple in my menu box.

How can a poinsettia be unhappy, you say? Let me tell you this sorry tale. It began Easter 2018 when I donated two Easter lilies for the altar at church. They were returned to me after the holiday. That is the usual procedure.
I sat the lilies, still with blooms, on a bookcase below a southern exposure window in my office at the back of my house. I watered them from time to time during that summer. By fall, the leaves had fallen and the stalk was dead. I stopped watering them, but they remained at the window. I cut off their stalks.