Ooooh goodie goodie goodie goodie goodie! There really is a Santa -- and a Chief Elf! Yayyyyy!!! Geez, I feel like a little kid on Christmas morning already. This is delightful!

Now, then, on to the serious stuff: the question of whether I've been good. Hmmmmmmmmm..... that depends on whom you ask.

My bandmates seem to be undecided since, although they say they think my songs are good, they are frustrated by my continual nattering about sticking to one tempo throughout any song that's supposed to have just one tempo (no racing, no dragging, no drag-racing!). Also, when I told them at our most recent rehearsal that if they were going to use terminology like "chorus" and "bridge", they should use the terms correctly, I was roundly boo-ed. I leave it to Santa to determine which band member is naughty! :-)

I volunteered to be elected President of the local folk-song society this year (i.e. no one else volunteered for the job so I ran unopposed); does that count for "good"? The other Board members think that my committee meetings run a bit too naughtily long for their tastes, but they're letting me volunteer to run unopposed for 2010!

My cat, if she could speak English, would say I am not good because I adopted a kitten from a shelter last spring (a birthday present to myself!) and the kitten has been driving her crazy ever since. He's constantly following her, watching her, batting at her, and chasing her when she tries to get away from him -- not a moment's peace for poor grumbly Maddie Mae for almost half a year now. My vet would probably say that I'm not on his good-list because I keep bringing Roo the kitten to him for problems that turn out to be no big deal; I think he's sick of seeing me in the waiting room! But heck, I haven't dealt with a runt-of-the-litter kitten since 1988; I've forgotten a lot!

There's nothing on the local police blotter with my name on it, but that just means I haven't been terribly naughty! I've been a really boring law-abiding citizen. I've been late in paying some of my bills, though, so I guess I deserve a little lump of coal in the toe of my stocking for that. ':-/

Anyway, Chief Elf, you are certainly on MY nice list for letting me know you're there and thinking of me! Thank you!!!
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