Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Each year, in the family holiday tradition, my wife and I venture out to buy our Christmas tree. We’re lucky enough to live across the street from a big tree lot so we don’t have very far to go—we can walk right over. It’s very convenient. It’s also …
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Category:Holidays
Happy New Year’s Day from The Pen in Hand Blog
Geoff Carter and Company wish you a very Happy, Prosperous, and Safe 2025!! Attribution: HitomiAkane, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Auld Lang Syne by The Choral Scholars of University College Dublin
Kickass and Dryer Flying
Attribution: Baron Maddock, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper welcoming the new year by announcing that from where he most often does his best planning he can hear the clothes dryer out in its hall closet and as it heads into the spin cycle it sounds …
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The Pen in Hand’s Guide to the Movies: Ringing in the New Year
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash By Geoff Carter We’re almost there. We only have one more day of 2024 to endure. It’s been a year of firsts. Some we would like to celebrate, others not so much. But New Year’s Eve is a time to look forward to fresh starts and renewed aspirations. It’s a time of hope …
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Kickass and Grandchildren
Attribution: Eric Ward, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes the keeper’s inability to deal with the fact that his first grandchild was born 50 years ago when Katie came into the world as a flawless “19-incher,” the keeper at the time being heavily into trout fishing and its …
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Kickass and Kevin’s Game
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that as part of Xmas entertainment at the keeper and Phyllis’s Vista West place there was a “game” introduced by Phyllis’s son Kevin in which each player antes up $10 with the kitty then triple wrapped and taped and retaped in a cardboard …
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Kickass and Christmas Memories
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, pauses on this Christmas Day to paw through a few memories with the keeper. The keeper goes first: A cold backseat ride in a rattling old Model A Ford through a brittle, star-lite night from Grandma and Grandma Helgeland’s farmhouse, after lutefisk and lefse …
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Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah from The Pen in Hand Blog!!
Attribution: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Happy Holidays and a Safe and Prosperous New Year to All!!
The Pen in Hand’s Collection of Unconventional Christmas Moments: Auggie Wren’s Christmas Story
Attribution: Marek Slusarczyk, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter 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 are what makes our holidays special. We are lucky to be able to celebrate …
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Christmas Card
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Phyllis and Bill pass along their Christmas list to aid family and friends in their gift selection: *TIME! Though they have accumulated generous individual supplies they would still like more. And if you can fill any of it with a visit, they are at Vista West on Madison’s …
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The Pen in Hand’s Collection of Unconventional Christmas Moments: “Christmas on the Border, 1929”
Attribution: YIRO5005, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Christmas on the Border, 1929 by Alberto Rios By Geoff Carter 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 are what makes our holidays special. But …
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Kickass and Polar Plunge
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis did not participate in the Winter solstice activities on the banks of Black Earth Creek in Mazomanie and therefore missed the opportunity to dive into the creek following the great bonfire. Many of the keeper’s family members, however, did …
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