First of all, I want to say that some of the apprehension that I was already beginning to feel with the coming of fall and the Halloween stuff in the stores, has started to melt away just from reading the wonderful things that have been posted to this thread.

There's nothing more healing to the heart than friendship and good people. (And laughter)

rabbitrunning...love the Christmas music. (Love Dr. Demento)

Mrrzy...ditto, the music. Love the game ideas. Enjoy thinking about the other distractions. We've got plenty of those already, so I don't need to put much effort in there. I'm sorry about your loss.

M Ted...so glad to encounter someone else who has one of those trees. Love your description of Scandinavian Christmas. It sounds beautiful.

marshman...thanks for the tip. I like all of those artists. And it sounds like they understand.

BigDaddy...thanks for your thoughtful advice and your good wishes.

Ebbie...thanks for your suggestion. We sometimes get big snow here. Now I'll know what to do with it instead of complaining.

Rich...I totally agree with you about the good deeds in secret thing. I really appreciate the sentiment. I'm guessing that you feel the same way I do about extending that practice to cover the whole year.

Jim Dixon...thank you so much for the links. I once heard a TV chef of Norwegian ancestry say about the lack of spice (or color) in Scandinavian food, "if you put parsley on it everyone will think you're a communist".

That's ok, Spaw. Thanks for posting.

kat/katlaughing...I read the story. It's beautiful. (Believe it or not, I actually like spiders...most of the time.)

LR Mole...I've saved you for last. I'm going to put a trace on this thread. In my most funky moments during this upcoming holiday season, I'm going to read your post. And I will bask in its warmth and its beauty. I think that will help get me through. Thanks so much. (And thanks kat/katlaughing for joining in the sentiment.)

Best wishes to everybody,

Carol