Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

Happy New Year from the mil10s!

Everything Old is New Again

Yesterday the mil10s traveled to Canton to see all of the crafts and wares that were being peddled at First Monday Trade Days. It was great weather for walking around and doing a lot of looking. Somewhere amongst all of the stuff, we saw a typewriter. EK was pretty sure he needed one. We talked him out of it because they were pretty proud it.

You may be wondering why a ten year old would be wanting an old fashioned typewriter. Never mind that the boy has fairly constant access to multiple computers and laptops, he was sure that he needed a typewriter so that he could write super hero stories.

After contacting someone about keeping an eye open for an inexpensive but working typewriter at estate sales, we were soon contacted that there was an old typewriter available for our use! This morning we went to Baby b's and Auntie M's to pick it up.

 EK was so excited to have a typewriter that he carried it all the way home. He didn't want to let it out of his hands.

The first thing that EK "had to" type was a thank you letter.

This was the first thing that he wanted to type.

Random thoughts on Christmas Eve

-Tonight was the annual Christmas Eve service at oil church. It opened with Oh, Come All Ye Faithful and closed with Silent Night. These are two of mr. mil10's all time favorite Christmas songs! The service is always a nice time to concentrate on the real meaning of Christmas and to observe the Lord's Supper. I must say that this is the first year I have seen a man wearing a kilt to the service.

-At this point in the season, I guess I can give up any hope of catching A Very Brady Christmas on tv this year. If it hasn't come on yet, I don't figure it will. Yes, it includes a touching moment when everyone sang Oh, Come All Ye Faithful. Yes, those Brady kids grew up and they had their own grown up problems. I don't think everyone liked seeing them like that, but they had to grow up some time. I guess it doest help that I am a sucker for tv reunion movies. Anyway, I thought I would settle for It's a Wonderful Life, but mrs. mil10 is changing the channel. She says he does too much screaming. I thought that was just at the end of the movie when he hollers at all of the buildings as he runs through the street. "Merry Christmas, movie house! Merry Christmas, Emporium! Merry Christmas, you wonderful old Building and Loan!" While looking for another "Christmasy" movie, she found War of the Worlds and Jaws. Come on television companies. I am sure you are not looking for a big audience on Christmas Eve, but there is probably something a little more appropriate to the season in your library. Probably. She found The Santa Clause. We're watching it again. I think this is at least the third time we have seen it since Thanksgiving.

-I think the whole hoopla over the silver polar bear Coke cans was silly. For the first time ever, Coke cans went white and silver to promote saving the habitat of polar bears. I cant say that this is something that I am that emotional about, but it was at least interesting from an artistic viewpoint, as much as soft drink cans can be interesting. Anyways, people were not happy with the white and silver cans. What was all the fuss really about? The name Coke is on the can. The box said Coke as you took each can out. Just because the can is silver doesn't automatically make it a Diet Coke. Coke caved to the whining and changed the Coke cans back to red. Hey, Coca-Cola, here is an idea: let's ditch the polar bear cans next year and just bring back the Santa packs. You know, the cute cans with the nostalgic Santas that looked like something that Norman Rockwell would have painted. Sure, some would argue that Christmas isn't about Santa. It isn't about polar bears either and I don't see Coke cans with a baby Jesus on them coming to a Walmart near me anytime soon. Can you imagine baby Jesus Coke cans one aisle over from the beer? As neat as that would be to see, I don't think it will happen. What would you do with a Jesus can anyway? Throw it away? Crush it? Recycle it? Because tossing those cans aside seems odd, would you keep them and have an ever-growing collection of Jesus cans? All of those options seem kind of weird. Santa packs, please.

-Who would have thought our ten year old would have been so into Elf on a Shelf? This was our first year to have one. Several of his friends had one this year so we got one as well. Peer pressure, I think! It has been fun to see him get up each and every day this month to find out where the elf was and what he was doing. Reading a book, hanging out in the ice box, rearranging the throw pillows in the living room, or hanging from a ceiling fan. That elf was always up to something. The bad thing is that if he comes back next year, he will have to find over twenty new things to do!

Enough for now, it is almost Christmas morning. Rest is needed for those three Christmas celebrations tomorrow!

John Michael Milton