It's 6:00 a.m. and the temperature is... 14 degrees! Two nights ago we had a decent snowfall, and it has been pretty chilly since then. It should warm up a bit in the next few days, but they are forecasting snow on and off for the next week. The wave of white is here to stay.

This year for some reason I had most of my Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving. Usually, I wait until the last minute. Still more to do though because at Thanksgiving I discovered I might have to buy for a few more people, because a few family members who usually contribute more are in a financial crunch. So I'm buying for daughter, my mother, a few of my siblings, and six of my nieces and nephews (for anyone counting I have seven nieces and nephews, but no one has had any contact with my nephew in Japan for five years). I am not expecting any presents this year, and I'm ok by that. If I want something, I'll buy it myself.

As always, I'll get the tree for my mother. There are two Christmas tree farms right next door to me, so this weekend I'll step out my door, walk about the length of two football fields, borrow a saw, and pay ten dollars for a tree that I cut myself.

Not much else to report from my neck of East Bumfuck. Despite the apparent job security, my stress level at work is pretty high. I have a lot of cases that have gotten to critical points, while the structural reorganization at work is expected to take a lot of everyone's attention. I'm really looking forward to my week and a half of vacation at the end of the month.