It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

In our living room, anyway. Ellen and I cut down, named and decorated our Christmas tree on Saturday, to go along with our holiday window dressings. We found a cut-your-own tree farm a mile or so outside town, whereupon we trudged off into the dense copse of Christmas trees armed only with a hand saw and a hazy idea of the relevant dimensions of our apartment (doorway width, ceiling height, etc.). As it turned out, not only did we find a tree that fit perfectly, but a package arrived this morning from Ellen's mother containing a handful of ornaments. Talk about good timing!

We had a taste of the dark side of New Hampshire winters yesterday--literally--as there was a power outage in Enfield and some neighboring towns. No word on what caused the outage, but at least power was restored relatively quickly. Between flashlights, headlamps and candles, we were able to carry about our business with minimal disruption. Unfortunately, while our apartment is heated by propane, the heater itself runs on electricity. By the time the power was restored some two and a half hours later, the temperature inside had dropped six degrees. Dinner by candlelight was a definite silver lining to the whole episode, though.

Updating a previous item, I'm told that Lebanon, N.H. has restructured its budget so that the second fire station can remain open year-round. I haven't been able to confirm this information, but if it's accurate, I'll be pleased. Fire and EMS coverage are not things you want to opt not to pay for (or accept severe delays in delivery of service, as would likely have been the case here). Just ask Glenn Ordick.

In other news, tomorrow marks the winter solstice, which marks the official end of autumn and start of winter. That, in turn, means summer is only two seasons away. It's about time.