Advent beers part two

I didn’t want to show you all 25 of my Christmas Advent beers at once. Here’s the second grouping of the variety that I opened one package a morning and drank one beer each evening, starting Dec. 1. Thanks to the selection of my terrific daughter Elisabeth, this was.

Ellie B shows excitement about the present

The 5-year-old was excited on our first Christmas morning at A Bitty Better. Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle had her nose in everything. She had plenty of presents to open, thanks to my dear wife Karen, who seemed to not pass up anything that she thought our cherished rescue mutt might like in this first…

Let the gift-dining commence

One traditional gift on my giving list is a great Christmas combo cooked up by the folks at the Delta Sonic gas station. In a pretty little blue box they fold in three coupons for a car wash and one worth $20 toward dinner for two at Applebee’s. Every year I give one to my…

Oh, happy day

Elisabeth and George Three figured out the perfect way to keep Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle from acting like a lap dog upon their arrival at the Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood. They handed over her Christmas present. Peace on earth for the rest of us that Christmas Eve visit as…

Cashing in on the gift cards puts us in the Red

My smart and beautiful daughter Elisabeth and her terrific boyfriend George know I like lobster. My stepson Daryl knows I like lobster. My sister Dory knows I like lobster. I squirreled away their presents from my December birthday and Christmas for one big night with my dear wife Karen. I figured the $100 total plus…

Yes, Santa did

My dear wife Karen outdid herself this year. From the grandest gift to the simplest gift, she knows how to make everybody in the house happy. I think so. Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle thinks so. Daughter Elisabeth and boyfriend George thought so as we enjoyed family time for Christmas Eve last night. Son Daryl…

Football, basketball and a signed book for Christmas

The college basketball season started last night. Around here, Syracuse walloped a team from Kennesaw State, 89-42. If you’re interested, you can find a report about the game here. College football cranks up again today. Most teams have three games left in the regular season, then conference championship games before the first-ever four-team playoff to…

The Christmas gift question: Hide or entice?

‘Tis three days before Christmas And all through the house My dear wife Karen need not scurry For once wrapped, I place all her presents in full sight Does that make me a louse? OK, enough with the prose. There is a reason you will not find poetry as a category or a tag on…