It's going to be 13 above tomorrow here in the big smoke. Hello. That can't be good. Oh gawd we are going to pay for this good weather in January and/or February. And today it's sunny and six above. I just got back from downtown. There are a few people. I walked by Dundas and Yonge Street and you can't actually walk, it's wall-to-wall persons. I wanted to buy a cd at HMV and it was no use. And of course it's the same in any mall in Calgary and Cranbrook. I can imagine the Overwaitea parking lot in Creston. And there is still a week to go until Christmas.

I don't work next Friday so I will do my 'christmas weather forecast' on Thursday morn. By the way I'm okay. I won't jump. I've never felt better in my life. Normally at this time of the year I'm suicidel but not this year. I've finally mellowed out. I'm sixty-one and I've mellowed out. I'm a slow learner I guess. I love listening to Christmas carols in the mall, especially with kids bawling their heads off in the background. Guess how many harried mothers I saw? 343,542. Guesss how how bawling kids I saw? 343,544. Obviously a couple of mothers dropped their kids off and then drove into Lake Ontario.

How would one like to be a Santa in a department store today? "Santa?" "yes my sweetness" "I"m growing up in a grow-op" "in a whom?" "a grow-op and my Dad knows Osama bin Laden" "whom" "Osama bin Laden and my mother works for M15, the British spy agency" "what would you like for Christmas my..ahem....sweetness?" "A BlackBerry" "I can give you boisenberries" "Santa" "yes my annoying, I mean sweet one" "I need a BlackBerry so I can access my boyfriend" "boyfriend?" "he's in Taiwan at the moment" "how old are you?"

Can anyone remember the exact time they realized the Easter Bunny and/or Santa Claus didn't exist? (don't let any young children read this) I don't either but it must have been traumatic for me. Hello. So I'm happily going along and someone says "no Easter Bunny" "no whom?" "easter bunny, nil, forget it, doesn't exist " "my chocolate rabbit and colourful eggs were there" "you really are naive aren't, no that was not the Easter Bunny whom hid them" This is late March so I've got several months to get over the depression of losing a dear friend. "mom?" when is Santa coming?" "soon dear" "can I get a bike?" "of course, Santa will bring you one" Mom was good, how she hid the gifts from me and Bob I'll never know. We go to bed and we get up and wow. To say we were excited was an understatement of all time. And of course as all parents are, she was completely pleased by our reaction. And Dad was there, that is a long, long time ago.

I remember decorating the tree, and Marlene was there too. After Mom and Marlene did the main decorating, me and Bob got to do the tinsel. It was a tradition. If there is anything I remember from those days is that both Mom and Marlene were completely happy at that time, they knew that me and Bob were going to pleased with the results and they just loved Christmas. Sometimes Mom and Marlene didn't along so well (as mothers and daughters are wont to do) but at Christmas they did.