Salami in the Slammer

Thought for the day:  An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in; a pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.  [Bill Vaughn]

Happy New Year, y'all. As Oprah Winfrey said, Cheers to a new year and another chance to get it right.

A fresh start. Don't you like the sound of that? Not that I was bored with the old year, mind you, but isn't it exciting to embark on a new one, and to anticipate what may lie ahead? May this be the year we all get it right.

In the new year, may your right hand be stretched out in friendship, but never in want.

So, did you go out dancing, and wining & dining to welcome the new year? Eat breakfast at a crummy restaurant on the way home?

Did you go to a party... or host one... where a guest demonstrated a skill he mastered in college?

Peach drop- Atlanta

Did you spend the evening shivering with a huge crowd of people... partying, singing, and waiting... and then counting down while some object descended to mark another year's demise?

Me, neither.











Oh, we've done a lot of those things over the years, and hosted some pretty terrific parties, too, but now, we generally go out for an early dinner, and then spend a relaxing evening at home by ourselves. (This year, better yet! We steamed crabs.) Like a couple of old farts, we grumble about some of the so-called music they play on the TV celebrations, and then as the bewitching hour approaches, my hubby pops a bottle of champagne. It may not be earth-shattering, but it suits us.

Of all the New Year's Eves Smarticus and I have spent together, one stands out above all the rest, because it was so unique. You see, it was the one and only time we spent the night at ... the local jailhouse.




HA! Didn't know I was such a bad girl, didja?

Remember the Y2K scare? Even though there was a mad scramble, and a ton of cash spent during the nineties to fix a computer glitch that could've crashed computer systems all over the world, a lot of uncertainty remained as January 1, 2000 approached. And not just about the computer glitch. Emergency management personnel had other concerns, as well.

Enter amateur radio. At the request of government officials, amateur radio operators set up stations in every police station, fire house, hospital, public utility, and numerous other places I can't recall right off hand... just in case.

My hubby and I set up at the police station just inside those doors and to the right. We maintained communications with the other emergency stations around our county and state. We checked in with other operators set up in similar situations in other states... and in other countries.

The police couldn't have been nicer. They had a great spread of food set up to celebrate the holiday, and told us to help ourselves. The mayor stopped by and chatted with us. We had a blast.

We stayed until about 4AM, because by then, everyone was fairly sure all was well. Still, it was pretty cool. And like I said, unique. I'm sure others have spent New Year's Eve in jail before... but with a slightly different connotation. (And they probably didn't get any cookies, either.)

                                 What's the strangest place YOU ever spent New Year's Eve?


Now is the time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving the road to hell with them as usual.  [Mark Twain]

By the way, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We sure did. Here's a handful of pictures...

L to R: Aaron, Kymber, Devyn, and Jaiden

Nothing puts the magic into Christmas better than sharing it with family and friends... especially if children are involved. We had the pleasure of staying with our son and his family. Can you believe the kids actually posed for pictures before opening a single present?

Princess Kymber

The boys each got a Superman towel/robe thingie; Kymber got one of Ariel; and Devyn got Minnie Mouse. She isn't usually one to smile for a picture, but she reeeeeally loved her Minnie Mouse get-up.

With a little help from big brother Jaiden and a LOT of help from mom Tina, Kymber made a batch of itty bitty cupcakes in her new Easy Bake oven.

The three older kids got kid-friendly tablets from their other grandfather. I can't believe how quickly they picked those things up and started playing on them, as though it were intuitive. Aaron is only two years old, and he was navigating on that thing better than I was. ('Course, I realize that ain't saying much...)



Okay, enough. Christmas is over for another year, a whole new year stretches ahead of us, and... life is good.

Oh, by the way, for those of you who remember when the kids got rabbits last year, what can I say? All of a sudden, the little critters have been multiplying like... rabbits! Two babies were born a week before we got there, and four more were born two days before. After the first two were born, Tina took the older rabbits to the vet. All girls except for one very enthusiastic little guy, who got neutered. Too late! I'm telling ya, he was a really busy bunny! A couple days ago, seven more babies. Ah well, time to enlarge the habitat again...

                                Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.