THE YEAR WINDS DOWN

Christmas went quite well. Mary Anne, Steve & all the kids showed up. So did the West Wyoming kin. If Aunt Lauren & her family could have shown up all the northeastern Pa. relatives would have been here. There were all the usual minor irritations. The kids were somewhat ill & the food was entirely too fattening. Mary Anne & family were forced to go home early yesterday because of the big blizzard. Fortunatley it didn't amount to anything of any significance around here, other than slight snow & lots of wind. In New York, though, all the major airports were closed. I went to 8:00 Mass this morning at St. John the Evangelist in Pittston, with only insanely intense winds & somewhat slippery roads to bother me. Mike Aquilina, from EWTN, & his friend were there. Of course I got my annual card from Grace, Daren's mother, a few days ago. I'm still reading Cervantes' "Don Quixote". In only four more days, 2010 will be over. I still have to pay my K of C dues. It's just a matter of getting the money ready & sending it out to Wayne at my council.

COLD WEATHER

Thanksgiving worked out quite well. Uncle Frankie, Fran & Lisa showed up. So did Mary Anne, Steve & all the kids. Sam's & Bridget's braces are finally gone. Michael & I got into our inevitable debates about theology & philosophy. It was a fattening time for one & all. To my chagrin there are still leftovers even now. Mary Anne & family only stayed from Wednesday until Saturday because Steve's band, Spectrum, had to play at a concert in Long Beach on Saturday night. I recently finished reading a biography of John Henry Cardinal (now Blessed) Newman, by Fr. Ian T. Ker, & have started re~reading Virgil's "Aeneid". Lately on TV I've been watching old shows like "Peter Gunn", "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" & "Daniel Boone". I used to like "Daniel Boone" & "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" when I was in grammar school but can't remember "Peter Gunn" except by reputation, except for the really famous instrumental, by Duane Eddy, that's the theme song. Herschel Bernardi was in it. I remember him from "Arnie". I also watch a lot of old movies on channel 72. After a long spell of exceptionally inexplicably nice weather we've gotten lots of cold & rain lately. It even snowed a bit on Thanksgiving. My headaches really kick in when the weather changes. Uncle Frankie's been visiting Fran yet again for the past few days. That means I'm back to picking up his mail each day. Wayne, from my Knights of Columbus council in Luzerne, recently sent me a notice about my dues. I shall have to get them paid soon.

BLOOD DRIVE

Yesterday Barbara called to see if I really intended to attend Saturday's Carmelite day of recollection in Middletown, N.Y. Later last evening Rosemary called to confirm our driving plans. Rosemary & I shall have to meet at the Little Flower Manor in Wilkes_Barre at around 6:00 a.m. From there we shall join Barbara in Scranton. We just went to Middletown very recently. Judy & Yvonne will be at the meeting & they also have to come visit us next month. They show up once a year. On Tuesday I started re_reading Jane Austen's "Sense & Sensibility". Since I've already read it quite a few times, & seen the movie with Emma Thompson & Kate Winslet a few times, it gets a lot easier to figure out each successive time. The heat wave continues although today, so far, seems a bit cooler than yesterday. My car still doesn't have air conditioning although I tried a while ago to get it fixed. Some things are simply entirely hopeless. Yesterday I gave blood in Plains. My appointment for a double red cell donation was for 4:00. I got there around 3:00. Unlike the last time I went to the Waterfront Banquet Facility for a blood drive, it was exceptionally crowded. Yesterday hardly anyone showed up so I got finished slightly before 4:00. My New York K of C council gave each donor a full meal. Here we just get water, juice & muffins or cookies or something. They also gave out a free coupon, as usual, for three pints of Friendly's ice cream. One of the volunteers said she recognized me because she lives on Tenth Street & goes to St. Cecelia's. Fr. Leo McKernan is now the pastor at St. Joseph's & O.L. Sorrows. He showed up for 8:00 Mass at St. Joseph's this morning. He's our fourth in the past two years.