Sudokuaholics Anonymous 8

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

One line at a time was taking too long.

I was going to contribute more lines, but I got distracted by my power tools.

Now to make up a nice cup of hot cocoa and relax in bed.

I also need a pain pill. I overdid it.

At least I don't have to do any heavy work until next week. Anything that needs to be done in the meantime can be done by my tractor.

I'll be back to chat in a few hours.

Hmmm...that was 8 hours ago .... hope that means that the pain pill worked and that you are sleeping soundly...

Knowing Heidi, she found something else she had to do.

Hi everyone. So the race is still on to get to 500 pages.

The pain pill worked, and I slept for 10 hours straight. I feel MUCH better now.

Yes it is, Nola. We've got 20 1/2 pages to go.

We're still plodding along.

Sometimes we do speed thru' the posts.

To all.

I have made the salad and a fruit platter.
Just love the stone fruit,cherries lychees etc that we have at christmas here.
I am waiting for Greg to wake up so that I can have a shower and then I am all ready to go.

Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas.

I can't remember if I ever told my Santa Claus story here.
I believed in Santa Claus a LOT longer than most kids do..... why? Because I actually SAW Santa descend down the chimney one Christmas Eve!!! I was about 7 years old at the time. My bedroom window overlooked the the part of the roof with the chimney. Something like 2 am I awoke to hear scuffling sounds on the roof. I looked out onto the freshly snow covered roof and saw a large silhouette lower itself down the chimney and vanish from sight. Not wanting to disturb Santa, I waited in my room for about half an hour, then snuck downstairs. Lo and behold, Santa HAD been there!!! The stockings were filled and presents were under the tree! The next morning when I awoke, I looked out onto the roof. All the snow had been disturbed on the peak of the roof and around the chimney!

It wasn't for a bunch of years later that we discovered that there was a family of raccoons living in the chimney.

True story.

Great story Heidi. I am sure it left a lot of happy memories.

It does still give me a good laugh. The way I discovered the raccoon was a good story as well. My bed was up against the window. In warm weather, I would sleep with the bedroom window open. I would also remove the screen. I would place the pillow on the windowsill and sleep part way out the window with my arm hanging down. (I've never been afraid of heights) One night I was awoken by a funny feeling... a BIG raccoon was licking my hand! I went downstairs and got a piece of bread and fed it to him. From then on, he would regularly beg food from me. Once I told the rest of the family about him, they started feeding him, too. I think I even have some pictures of "Rocky" Raccoon somewhere.

Heidi, that is a funny story. Not many people would have a pet raccoon. You get bonus points for naming him Rocky.

Rocky eventually found a girl friend, and she, too, took up residence in the chimney. They raised several litters there. In case you're wondering, the top of the chimney had 3 openings. One was for the fireplace, one was for the furnace and the 3rd was a dummy. A dead end. That was the one the raccoons lived in. It was always warm in the winter so it was a smart idea of Rocky's to live there.

My step-father got annoyed at having them there, tho' they damaged nothing, and eventually had them removed. My step-father was a jerk. (I'm trying not to use the worst curse words I know, this is a family site.)

Heidi, what did you name Rocky's wife?

We all have relatives we can't describe on the site. I have an Idiot uncle who I have not spoken to since February. Mitchell asked me to invite him to his Bar Mitzvah. It will be interesting to see if he actually says anything to me. I have no intention of saying anything to him. He owes me an apology but will not admit to it. The family agrees with me on the apology. (this is my mom's younger brother)

If I remember, we called Rocky's wife Racquel. She did not have his personality and never ate from our hands. The babies were all shy and never approached.

What a nice story Heidi.Both about Santa and the raccoon family.
Tami...hope you get that apology.

I'm outa here.Bye for now.

Nola, I will get that apology when h*ll freezes over.

That sounds just about right, Tami.

It is going to be a very interesting day at Mitchell's Bar Mitzvah. Usually the guests will congratulate the parents. How much do you want to bet that IU will NOT come over to me or hubby. Did I tell you he arranged to take the boys to dinner and a movie. He used my brother as the intermediary. He stopped the car at the end of the driveway and honked. I told my brother what he did and my brother replied, "you know how f***ed up he is." My brother uses very precise language.

Don't worry about it, Tami. He'll just prove to the boys that he really IS an Idiot Uncle. The two of them are pretty sharp and will see what he really is.

Heidi, they have already figured that out.

Maybe I should add a few more and turn a new page.

Almost there. If we don't CP occasionally it will take forever to get to 500.

This should be the bottom of the page.