Happy New Year!

This is it. The last Hurrah, stick a fork in it, it's done! Vaya Con Dios 2009!

Thank Goodness that is over. For many, this year has been a bust, and we can finally put a bra on it and constrain it! We can look at it and say, "Nice!" or we can glance it and put our heads down and go on. Whatever it was to you is what it was.

I am so excited about getting the New Year started. My first act will be to go to California and get companion for my daughter's dog, Akkadian. Debi has decided that one is not enough, and two can live as cheaply. The more the merrier, cheaper by the dozen? I don't know about all that; all I do know is that "The K" is going to get someone to play with and whom he can talk to. I wonder if he will teach the other dog to rub his butt like I do?

When Debi first got Akkadian, he was so small he could fit in the palm of her hand. Now, he barely fits on the couch! He is a 90 lb lapdog and he thinks that he should have my attention and everyone else's attention 24/7. Boy, is he in for a rude awakening. But if we get the right dog, he and his companion will continue to give us a great deal of love and twice as many laughs.

Going on this trip with Debi is kind of symbolic of the new year, too. We have an inkling of where we are going, but we are not sure, and the outcome of the journey is not assured either. Will K like his new friend? Will his new friend like us? Will Dorothy find the new friend as funny and grow to like it as she has Akkadian? We are jumping into this with both feet, flying forward on a highway that is the unknown and the unknowable, hurtling towards God knows what.

That is what makes the New Year and the new Decade exciting. Adventurous. People can get a new start and reshape themselves and recreate a direction. The past is definitely in the Past. Heck, the Cubs could win a World Series this year! The Bears could go-all-the-way! And my book could be best seller! Could, could Could.

Can you feel it? The excitement, the tension, the glass is full expectations.

Or, maybe that's just gas....

Happy New Year!
Doughnut

2009 Finally Ends

And so, it has arrived; the end of the year 2009. Put a fork in her, she's done. Our first full year in the 'Zona is complete. And what a year it has been! After leaving teaching in the summer of 2008, we have had quite a ride through the trying times of adjustment to retirement. There have been some very exciting things for us (maybe not you).

The year started with the kids in the house. Jim and Deb lived here as did our grand dog Akkadian. We had plenty of room, we got along and the laughs were constant. When the housing market out here and everywhere was in the pot, Debi looked into buying a house and found one about a mile from us. She asked her brother to move in (and pay rent), and so they moved in the summer. The downside is, they took my grand dog who is now relegated to visits and Grandpa dogcare while Deb is at work. I'll take what I can get!

I started off the year in a position with Westwood One Radio as a newswriter, editor. I was working overnights writing stories for the East coast. It was a good job, but rather stressful and I was not happy doing it overnight. Had I been doing it during the day, I probably would have stayed. But, I left to work on a book which I should finish soon, and play homemaker.

Dorothy changed positions with her school, and is happier now. We have taken many side day trips to the area surrounding Phoenix, but our favoritie is Laughlin, NV, where we go out into the reaches of the desert and into the mountains to see various sights and ghost towns.

The Cubs disappointed me again. So did the Bears. The Diamondbacks were not much better than the Cubs, but they were not a tease. They started off bad, and stayed there. The Cardinals (football Cardinals) have given us many good Sundays and Jim and I now get together on Monday evenings for "Victory Pizza". Papa John's offers a cheese pizza with a topping for each TD the Cards score and doubles it if they WIN! Fat guys love this offer!

Another great thing about this year... I have started playing golf regularly. Don't be concerned though, I am still awful. It does give me something to do weekly and gets me out of the house. Golf here is not expensive in the summer, especially when you play in the middle of the day in the 110 degree heat. Jim and I have no one on the course to bother us, and we need the space, believe me! I get to see the entire course on some days, and on some days I actually play the middle. I have become friends with some of the people in the houses that rim the course.

As the year ends, I always try to put out new ideas for the next year. I hate to call them resolutions, because that means I have to try and keep them. But "ideas" are things that could be out there, if I so choose. So, here goes:

1.) I will lose weight. (notice I did not say how much.)
2.) I will finish the book and get it published. (By end of spring, I hope.)
3.) I will get a tan. (No problem with this one.)
4.) I will try and find a part time job. (I am running out of beer money.)
5.) I will exercise regularly. (Walking to the refrigerator will not count.)
6.) I will read my Bible more often. (Something everyone should do.)
7.) I will keep in better contact with friends. (They, in turn, will be better at contacting me.)
8.) I will love my wife more. (Is this possible?)
9.) I will cuss less.....(Allright, this is just a hope, but if I do #6, it might happen.)
10.) I will write my blog more. ( Meaning in a regular pattern.)

One final thing. I put out a call on Facebook for my friends to tell me what resolutions I should adopt. The one mentioned the most is, "Be nicer, especially to former students." Would you guys really want that? I mean, if I was any nicer, you'd think there was something wrong!

Love to all of you, and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Doughnut

Christmas Wish

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you have had a wonderful day filled with joy and laughter and family. This has been a good day for us, but we also have had an unusual day.

My kids came over early today and we opened a few presents and had breakfast together. Jim went to work around 11, but Debi did not have to go in as she had planned. She and I went to the new Sherlock Holmes movie while Mom spent the afternoon basking in the sun. Later, Dorothy's brother Jim is coming over with some friends and then we will have an informal meal of Sloppy Joes and potato salad. We will open some more presents when Jim gets off work, and then they will stay the night before returning to Prescott tomorrow. Not our usual Christmas Day.

Last night, Dorothy and I went to candlelight service at North Hills Church where we attend. The service started off in an unusual way. Instead of the old standby carols, we sang "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and a few other secular standards before getting to the more religious standards. By the time we got to these, everyone was in a singing mood, and the place resounded with joy. When we came home, Dorothy and I got into the hot tub, and watched the stars and wondered about their placement in the universe. All in all a fantastic evening.

My wife gave me a wonderful gift this year---a new Bible. I have long lost track of the Bible I had as a youth, and the one I had in college for religion classes. This was the best gift I received. it is not just a Bible, but it also has a study guide and historical notes, and helps with ways I can apply the message into my daily life.

Next up is New Year's. The time we make resolutions (do we ever keep them?) and get a new beginning. I know that Debi and I are going to get her another doberman that day so Akkadian can have a friend. And I am also promising myself that by the end of the year, I will be a mere shadow of this year's doughnut. Which means I may have to give up doughnuts!

One thing I would ask of you for the coming year... Make an effort to have every day be a Christmas day. Wear the joy and tranquility you feel today on your sleeve and put a smile on your face and Peace in your heart.

Doughnut

The Meaning of Santa

Simply by writing this blog today, I am putting myself at great personal risk. If Santa finds out (and he surely will) about this, I could get nothing but coal in my stockings. Or, he may just bypass my house altogether. But, since I promised to tell of a few Christmas origins, I must press on, and I am sure he will approve. So, "laying my finger aside my nose, "....

The Jolly Old Man that is preparing his sleigh for the big trip tomorrow has his beginnings in actually in a real man. Born in about the fouth century in Europe, Nicholas as a baby showed that he was endowed with abilities far beyond those of mortal men. According to legend, he could help the sick and lame, and even raise dead sailors. He became a bishop of Lucia and upon his death was cannonized and became.... St. Nick. He was also renowned for helping those in need by giving them presents and even throwing them money.

St. Nicholas went on as a Saint in the Catholic Church until the Protestant Reformation, when those goofy Protestants renamed hims Santa Claus. They did not want to recognized him as a Saint, but the traditions were deeply entrenched in society by that time, so the protestants dropped the "ST". The real Nicolas died, by the way in December, see the similarities?

Through the years, we have come to know him as Kris Kringle and Father Christmas. We did not acknowledge his toymaking abilities until the mid-19th Century, though. And the idea we get of how he looks originated in a painting by Thomas Nast called, "Santa Claus and His Works."

But we can thank the Coca Cola Company for their contribution to the picture we of him in the present day. In 1931, the company ran an advertisement in the Saturday Evening Post that gave the world a new picture of Santa as he took of his hat, "To the Pause that Refreshes.'
Coke inundated America with pictures in magazines, newspapers, and cutouts in stores which imprinted the image into our society. For the whole story, click here to go to the Coca Cola Website.

You've probably heard the phrase, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." That comes from an editorial in the New York Sun written in response to eight-year-old Virginia Hanlon's letter asking if there was a Santa Claus. The editor of the Sun, Francis Pharcellus Church, assured Virginia in a philosophical answer, " ...Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus and he exists as certainly love, devotion and generosity exist...."

And so, whle people decry the materialization of Santa, he exists to symbolize hope for us. He brings us to a place where we give ourselves and open our hearts to people. And, like the Magi, he brings gifts to children, our most precious comodity, in hopes that their hearts will be open and they will go forth into the world and help the less fortunate, the downtrodden, the sick, the poor.

Tomorrow night at our house, we will, as we always have since I was a kid, put out doughnuts and milk for Santa. We will leave a carrot or two for the reindeer, and we will thank him for the presents which he is trying to give to us. Trying, you say? Yes, he is trying to give us the greatest gift we can get...

An understanding and a relationship to that first Christmas, when we rejoiced in the birth of the Christ Child and heard from angels on high, "Peace, Good Will Towards Men!"

HO-HO-HO...MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

Doughnut

Happy Birthday to My Pal

Happy Belated Birthday to my old buddy Rudie! You all know Rudie, the 70 year old reindeer that will glide across the sky on Christmas Eve leading Santa on his journey? Rudolph has become one the big symbols of Christmas since his appearance in a Montgomery Ward's coloring book back in 1939. If you have one of those, you will be a very happy and financially stable person for this Christmas.

Now, I am not a young man, although some would think me sophmoric in my humor. I really had no idea where Rudolph originated, nor where the idea of eight tiny reindeer came from. But, being the wise English teacher and purveyor of knowledge that I am, I did some reading on the subject. I found myself totally immersed in the story. Thanks to several different websites (which I will cite at the end of this blog) I learned something new, thereby proving that an old dog can still learn new things.

The idea of eight reindeer probably orginated with the Norwegians who believed that Odin, king of the gods, rode around and delivered gifts in a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer. The names of the reindeer were, according to Clement Moore in "A Visit from Old Saint Nick" (Twas the Night Before Christmas): Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, Blitzen. Now, some folks, including Mr. Robert May who wrote Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer for Wards, say that the name was Donner, not Donder. But Moore, according to Donder.com , wrote in a note that the name of the reindeer was DONDER.

My friend, Rudie, was discovered by Santa when the Jolly Old Elf delivered items to Rudolph's family on a snowy evening that had severe sight distance problems. Santa apparently asked Rudolph to help him out because of the bright nose, and the rest in history.

Montgomery Wards had asked May to write a Christmas story for a coloring book, and he used a comglomeration of stories and his own personal experiences to create the character of Rudolph. It is not known if Mr. May had a large red nose, though. When the story became popular, May's brother in law Johnny Marks, wrote the song. Gene Autry recorded it after many had refused to do so, and his copy of the song has sold over 12 milion records. 500 others have recorded the song selling over 160 million copies! Autry's version is second only to "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby.

Click on Rudolph Red the Nosed Reindeer to go to a website and hear Autry singing the song on his show in 1949.

Rudolph first appeared on December 18, 1939. And seems to never age! We all should be this lucky. I hope this has you singing the song all day!

Merry Christmas,
Doughnut

Here are the links for your viewing pleasure;

Holiday Traditions
Donder.com
Happy Birthday Rudolph!
Holiday Fires

Mistletoe

As Cbristmas draws nearer, people will gather and celebrate with parties and making merry. One of the traditions in the western world is for two people to meet under the mistletoe and kiss, thereby sealing their friendship and love for each other.

When I was young, I had no idea about this unique tradition. At least no girls ever said, that I can remember, "Doughnut! Get over here under the mistletoe with me!" In college, I vaguely remember being mistletoed, but I was under the influence of eggnogg at the time, and could even venture a guess at who she was. Since I have been married for all these years, there really has been no need for mistletoe, as Dorothy and I practice the custom everyday without it!

The idea of kissing under the mistletoe began with the druids almost 200 years before Christ. These pagans used the plant (which is a parasite by the way) in their fertility rites at the end of the winter solstice to hopefully bring them a good crop of youngsters later in the spring. They apparently did not know where babies come from, and used this highly poisonous plant as a symbol to get the gods to help them beget children. The plant has no roots, and remains green during winter, so they thought that it had magical powers.

When the Romans conquered the Celts, they believed that two enemies who met under the plant would drop their weapons and become friends. Thus, the idea of the mistletoe being a plant of peace came into being. According to legend, when Christ was cruicified, the tree they cut into his cross was the mistletoe tree, and when this happened, God made the plant shrivel down into a vine.

There are over 200 species of mistletoe and all are considered ok to kiss under. Should the kiss lead to more affectation, then one might want to find an oak, or something rather leafy to cover the act from children.

One last thing to consider...the word mistletoe is of Germanic origin. The word "mist" in ancient Germanic languages meant "Dung" (pooh) and the word "Tang" is branch. The two words together mean "Dung branch" because the seed is carried from place to place in Bird Dooh and sprouts right out of the side of a tree that has been defecated upon by a bird. Although unproven, the idea that two people kissing under the plant and getting involved in a relationship that sprouts and grows, is probably dung.

Have a good Christmas, and when you kiss someone under the mistletoe, you should consider if your intentions are true, or if you are just trying to make Mary.

Doughnut

The Feeling of Christmas Every Day

Today was a great day! I am really in the holiday spirit. This is the second Christmas without snow, but I don't seem to miss it at all. There is something about sitting by the pool with a holiday eggnogg in my shorts that just helps me with peace, goodwill towards men. We have established new Christmas traditions out here, and the family is settling in.

One thing the kids (I say this because they are my children, but they are 28 and 30) have done that I am pretty proud of is that they are working on Christmas day so those with families do not have to. They both have jobs that require someone to be on duty, so they have taken it on themselves to work for those who have kids, or want to be at home. What a great gift to co-workers, and shows a bit of selflessness.

I have been doing some research about Christmas and how people spend it. Fifty percent of all people in this survey say they will spend the day at home with family. Twenty-five percent say they will be with their parents. Three percent of the people will spend it with in-laws, and five percent will be with friends. But on a sad note, seven percent will be alone or on the streets.

Can you feel the anticipation and the love during this next few weeks? It permeates the air and fills everyone with hope and joy. People walk down the street with smiles on their faces and say hello to perfect strangers. It is wonderful to feel this way, but disturbing when we wonder why we feel this way now, but not the rest of the year? Why now do we extend greetings. compassion, and hope for peace to our fellow man, yet during the rest of the year, we are oblivious to the problems we see.

This year, I will make a valiant effort to treat others better and to see the love and joy that is offered me. I hope you can feel the spirit of Christmas in all your days, also. Look for that star every night, that child of hope in everyone and let your heart be filled with joy each day.

Felice Navidad.

Doughnut

Holiday Preparations

I usually start my ramblings with a weather report that is somewhat a kick in the teeth to my friends in the Midwest who follow my blog. I let them know, in no-uncertain-terms, that I live in a vertible paradise where snow and wind and rain does not exist and everything is comfy cosy and I eat fruit from my orange trees and get cottage cheese and dairy from the cottage cheese plant we grow in the opulent backyard. Today, however, is different!

Today, it is cold here! While the rest of you dig out, I had to put on the heat for an hour here. It was almost 31 degrees when I woke up this morning; and when we went to the hot tub last night, there was frost on the top. Seems I am destined to be cold in the winter.

Scrooge McShields seems to live in my house, so the neighbors say. We do not put up outside decorations, despite the fact that most of our neighbors do. We have a simple tree that stands in the front window and is lit in the evenings for all to see. That is about it. No ostentatious displays, just a simple celebration of the season, unlike our area which seems to be blowup Christmas decoration heaven. Everyone has at least one, maybe two blowups on their lawns or their houses. One house about a mile from us, has so many decorations on it, they open their lawn at night so people can go out into their backyard and see all they have. During the day, it looks like a perpetual garage sale. But if their display helps them "Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards men" then so be it. We each find celebration in our own way.

In the next few episodes of the Doughnut Hole 503, we will take a look at Christmas celebrations and stories. If you would like to share one of your stories with me. feel free to send your story to coachn3@gmail.com I will read each one and hopefully be able to answer any questions you might have, or at least share your stories with the world.

Until then, stay warm and bundle up out there.

Doughnut

ps... Our family suffered a loss last week with the death of Colonel Jim Sawyer, USMC (retired). Jim was the brother-in-law to my Dorothy's Aunt Dorothy. She and Jim were the last two Oldies of our family, leaving only Aunt Dorothy as the elder of the family. Our prayers go out to Jim's immediate family. Go to a better rest, old soldier.

A Rockin' Weekend

Woke up this morning looking for that beautiful orb that hangs in the sky over my house, and found clouds! Talking about putting a damper on things! I had big plans, but now I must be relegated to the movie theatre this afternoon. Bah, humbug! I moved here to have sunshine,What the heck is this? Oh, I am told that it is one of the 40 days a year that we don't have sunshine and I should get over it.

After further thought on the subject, I am decided that my wife is right for this once... (just once, lest this a habit be.) I could be like my friends in Flagstaff and have to worry about snow that is 1-2 FEET deep! They are under blizzard warnings for today and tomorrow, so i am glad I am not them. Just goes to show you there is always a valuable lining to that grey cloud.

I went to a concert last night with Dorothy. She bought me tickets to Trans-Siberian Orchestra's (TSO) Christmas show out in Glendale. I have not been to a rock concert in about 40 years, so I was really excited. TSO is a group that takes classical music and updates it into rock, adds a light show and fireworks. They put one one whale of an event. I was amazed and astounded at how Bach and Beethoven sound as rock music! What must these masters think from their graves? I imagine they would surely be appreciative.

During the show, I noticed my wife just sitting and watching, but not really reacting with the same enthusiasm she had had when we had gone to see Joel Osteen just a couple nights before. But, I was enjoying it, and afterall, it was my gift. I had never had the masters come alive like that! The explosions the lights, the vibrations of Beethoven's Fifth and Bach's Toccata and Fugue resonated through my body. It was exhilarating.

As we were walking out, I asked her how she liked the Christmas music at the beginning of the show; they had played almost an hour of carols in the hard rock style they use. She said that she did not recognize any of the music, but she said she had fun watching the light show and the look on my face as I listened. She said I was like a kid in a candy store, trying to take it all in, but having some oozing out the sides of my smile.

To my former band teachers and chorus teachers, I say thank you. Thanks for opening up my mind to the music of the ages, for teaching me about the masters and their sounds. Tschkovsky, Brahms, Warner, as well as the other two "Bs" all make the heart race and the imagination run wild, especially when they are updated with the sounds, rhythms, and instruments of today. This makes them truly timeless classics.

Thanks to my lovely wife for a great weekend. From Friday with Joel, to Saturday afternoon with Ellyn, to church with you on Sunday Morning, to Sunday night at TSO...the whole weekend ROCKED!

Doughnut

Early Morning Thoughts

I don't know if anyone has noticed or not, but the days are shorter right now. That means that the sun rises later and sets earlier. I found this out this morning when I got up at 6AM to take one of my many trips to the bathroom that I take overnight. I thought the time was around four, but it was six! And suddenly I found myself wide awake. There were things to do, people to see, money to spend.

I had been thinking that my internal clock was off. For 55 years I had turned to the clock back in fall; but this winter I did not. Now, I am constantly on Central time while the rest of AZ is on some time other than that. I don't know what time zone I am in. I gets dark earlier and that throws me off. I can see why old people come out here, they think they are getting more sleep because they go to Sizzler when it gets dark for dinner, then off to bed! What they don't realize is that it is only 5:30. (Ok, it just took me five tries to find the shift key, I kept hitting the Enter key. Damn darkness.)

When I looked out the window, I saw the most beautiful full moon so early in the day. It was so bright, I could have worked in the yard at that time. In defference to my neighbors, though, I refrained and intead, sat down to pound out this. (Which I am doing by the light of the screen, because I don't want to wake up my wife. She is the bread winner now!)

The overnight temperature here in the Valley reached a low of 37. That is pretty cold, but the desert does strange things. Last year, we had our pipes freeze for the first time in our marriage. (I am referring to our water pipes, not my pipes) It was really goofy. I mean, I have lived where the temps got down to below freezing many times, and NEVER have the pipes in my house frozen! But they did last winter. I should probably move back to the midwest.

The golden orb of day will rise soon, and I have rocks to rake and a spa to put in. I bought my wife a hot tub for Christmas. I feel better about her using one during winter out here than I did back when we lived in Illinois. She was constantly out in that hot tub every night. Even when it snowed. But now, I feel better about it. I don't have to shovel the snow!

I hope you all have a great day. Remember---Where you are at, is where you are!

Doughnut

A Simple Idea

I try to keep out of politics and political conversations. My mom and dad taught me that there were three things you did not discuss with friends: politics, religion and sex. We all know that guys discuss the latter, as do women. I have few views on religion, and keep my politics close to my vest. I like to listen to the pundits and really watch what I say.

I find all of them, both progressive (read here Liberal and Democrat) and conservative (ditto,Republican and the right) to all have an agenda and all the comments are meant to be one big debate. A bunch of nerds discussing philosophy and trying to tie it all to reality. We are actually listening to people that we would ignore in high school because of the tape on their glasses and pocket protector for their pens. But now, because they have a microphone and talk REAL LOUD ON RADIO and have the wherewithal to demean anyone who disagrees with them, we listen and raise their ideas to position of having more meaning than our on thoughts.

Talk about Global Warming! If we could turn all the radio stations, AM and FM to music then we would be better off. TV should show just reruns of Andy Griffith or NCIS, and our heroes could be Andy, Barney, Aunt Bea, Opie, Gibbs, McGee, Abby, Diva and Tony as well as Ducky. We could all banter endlessly about nothing and remain oblivious to the world while solving intricate problems within an hour. And our problems would all make us laugh or at least give us a Gibbsian smirk.

Many of our radio "experts" have little background in their topic and really have no better grasp of what is going on than the rest of us. What they do have is people who research their side and feed them info through little headsets that they can use. Those people are not guarding the president with those things in their ears, believe me.

My proposal is simple. For one month, we do away with all broadcasting and telecasting. Limit newspapers to what is happening within a 100 mile radius of their home base. All other news must come to us through word of mouth. If it does, then we should surely get the truth. Stories will be repeated over and over; and surely no one will add or delete important information that we need to be informed. No one will exaggerate or falsify ideas or stats to enhance their story.

Then we will finally get the true story of what happened to Tiger.

Doughnut

The Most Happiest Season of All

'Tis the holiday season! Those of you who are back in the Midwest and East know this because you are beginning to have SNOW! That four letter word that gets dirtier the longer it hangs around. I hate snow, especially when it has been around for a while and it turns black from exhaust and blowing dust. But, it does highlight the season and it is pretty when it first falls.

My last winter in Illinois was one I will never forget. We lived at Lake Iroquois near Loda, Il. We did not live ON the lake, but rather BY the lake. This distinction was necessary when we went to sell the house. A house On the lake gets about 100 thousand dollars more than one by or near the lake. Anyway, it snowed so much one night, that we could not find the cars in the driveway of our house the next day. Everytime the snow would melt, another storm would come through.

One time my son and I went out and shoveled the pure white stuff off our driveway which was about 50 feet long and 25 feet wide. As we were nearing the end of the job at the bottom of the driveway, the snow plow came through and covered it back in! So, we spent another 20 minutes digging out what we had just thrown out. If i find the pictures of my attire, I will post them here. The temperature was in the low single digits, so I was dressed for warmth, not fashion.

Those types of days all my life drove me finally out of Illinois where I lived for 50 some odd years. (There were 3 glorious years in Southeastern Iowa.) Now I have to wonder not when we will get snow (We Won't!) but rather what pair of shorts and sandles to put on. This isn't hard, though, I only have two pairs of sandles, but a shitload of shorts and t-shirts. I think you can guess what is on my Christmas list...

Houses here do not have to worry about the snow, but they do have to worry about if someone is going to steal their blowup lawn decorations. Arizona must be the blow-up lawn decorations capital of world! People put these inflatable things on their roofs, their lawns, and I even saw one on a car the other day! Imagine my surprise when I was sitting at the stoplight and Rudolph went by on top of a car! His nose lit and everything! Folks put out Halloween blowups, Christmas blowups, Fourth of July Blowups... I'm waiting to see the blowup of Christ on Cross at Easter! Or, maybe they will have an empty cave!

One thing I have always said about living out here when people ask why I moved. "It's hard to shovel sunshine."

Doughnut