See page for author, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports on a belated clan Christmas gathering focused around Mike’s chili and Phyllis fruitcake during which the Clan dog Boo made an authoritative territorial statement and a bevy of young cousins shook Vista West out of its vintage-age slumber with …
Read
Category:Holidays
Kickass and New Year’s Resolves
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash Kickass, the doorstop dog, sympathizes with the keeper over his New Year’s resolution dilemma in that after a long life of multiple, long-standing character flaws that demanded annual resolution-making, the keeper has finally emerged as a perfect human being, whereby making any New Year’s resolutions would be extraneous and ridiculous. The best …
Read
2022: A Year of Extremes
Photo by Planet Volumes on Unsplash By Geoff Carter Last week, just before Christmas, we were bombarded with news of a possible “cyclone bomb”, a megablizzard that could bring record snowfall, dangerous windchill temperatures, and hazardous travel conditions. We were warned. Winter Storm Eliot was bearing down on us. And, for some parts of the country, it was …
Read
Kickass and the Day After Christmas
Lulu Hoeller from Pittsburgh, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, was again unable to stop the keeper from expressing his seasonal impressions: “Twas the day after Christmas and all through the place, not a creature was stirring–nobody showed face. “Phyllis in her robe and me in my rags …
Read
Kickass and Jim Hoyt’s Tuba
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis on this grand package-opening morning that features kids by the millions, to note that there was a recent adult package-opening that would have been fun to see: it was Jim Hoyt opening the package that contained his new tuba. …
Read
Kickass Plays in the Snow
Photo by Tessa Rampersad on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, will be spending the day with the keeper playing out in the snow and so the post for the day will be the Xmas card as shared with Phyllis. Happy Holly! Phyllis and Bill wish the very best for everyone, except, oh, you know who …
Read
The Pen in Hand Presents a Michael DiMilo Production…
Babs and Knuckles in their Holiday Special Deck the Halls Artwork by Michael DiMilo Video and Story by Michael DiMilo In memory of Dave Bolyard The holiday season is all about family tradition. Whether it’s about going to Midnight Mass, carving the Christmas ham, avoiding the mother-in-law’s homemade eggnog, or sampling Grandma’s oyster stew, traditions …
Read
Kickass and Wisconsin Weather Adjustment
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, tries to stay out of the way as the keeper and Phyllis–well, mostly Phyllis, do the final adjusting necessary to get their book “Treeson” into the hands of clamoring readers–at least the keeper claims that there is clamoring. What he hears may be friends …
Read
The Pen in Hand’s Guide to a Vintage TV Christmas
“Oscar the Elf” Photo by Geoff Carter
Kickass and Believing in Santa
Virginia O’Hanlon , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in responding to a mysterious letter from someone named Virginia that was apparently misdirected by the USPS due to the keeper’s column-writing notoriety. “Dear Editors: “If I were still alive I would be 133 years old, and I would still be …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: An Embarrassment of Scrooges
MGM, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter It’s only about a week until Christmas, and we’re into the full swing of the holiday season. Shopping, decorating, traveling, baking, wrapping, entertaining, and all the other painfully joyous activities are part of the annual hustle and bustle of the holidays, but another huge part of …
Read
Blue Christmas
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter (Originally posted December 2020) As we were trimming the tree last weekend, my wife asked me to bring in the laptop so we could listen to Christmas music. I complied—as any trained husband will—and set up the sound system in our dining room. And so we trimmed the …
Read