Today there is a taste of winter in the air. Nothing grand but tomorrow it will be 10 degrees colder. It does not seem possible autumn will soon be 2 months old. December in Southern Illinois is a winter month. Five PM seems late. It is dark. Nine PM is bedtime. Farmers customarily, in days of yore, went to bed in the dark and rose in daylight or before if they had cows to milk. Perhaps I should get a cow. For most of my life, I worked at night. When we took a Holiday we left at night. The night is quite peaceful and good.

Jennifer told us that being raised in Alabama they have warm clothes for winter and wear them for a day or two. Winter has shortened its grasp on SI. I remember snow at Halloween and many snow-covered Thanksgiving. Black Friday was a cold day to shop till you drop. We put up our outside Christmas decorations early knowing the weather was going to get bad. Now each day is a choice do I need a sweater or light jacket or will short sleeves do the trick.

Ice is naughty, not nice. I fell on ice a few years ago and broke 3 ribs. They hurt to this day. MJ tells me they will get better. I suppose I will not notice them 30 years from now. I walk like an old man in the snow. I am old but do not dwell on the condition. Jonathon got me a walking stick for the Woods. This may be the winter I start using it. I had a stick that looked a bit like Moses Staff in the Ten Commandments Charlton Heston Movie. I walked with it in Eldorado as a youngster. Moses had nothing on me.

Steve and I traveled to Eldorado in his Vintage Chrysler. We played Christmas In The Country on the radio. Cars used to have humongous steering wheels. You needed the large wheel to steer without the aid of power steering. On the way, we would stop and enjoy an Italian Beef sandwich at Mr. Snacks in Christopher. In the backseat, I had a lovely outdoor painting for Neva J that I had paid off $5 a week at Downs Furniture store.

When we arrived, Neva J had her Christmas Tree erected. It was a foot tall and festooned with little bells. There was Christmas Coffee Cake to enjoy. The antique coal stove was cherry red with heat. Once you entered the home, you were warm all over unless you left the kitchen.