Obviously he made a New Year's resolution to get in better shape.

HAPPY 19TH BIRTHDAY, CATHERINE!

We celebrated the occasion a few days ago since Catherine, David and Barb are now visiting Ken and family, and Richard is away on business.

Nineteen candles makes quite a glow, even on a gluten-free cake.

I hope you're having a wonderful day, sweet one.  Grandpa and I love you.

My Scottish granny always enjoyed a good Scottish joke.  Here's one she would have liked, and I can certainly relate to it.

A Scottish woman went to the local newspaper office to publish the obituary for her recently deceased husband. The obit editor informed her that there is a charge of 50 cents per word.  She paused, reflected, and then said, "Well then, let it read, "Angus MacPherson died."

Amused at the woman's thrift, the editor told her that there is a seven-word minimum for all obituaries. She thought it over and in a few seconds said, "In that case, let it read, "Angus MacPherson died.  Golf clubs for sale."

CLARA ANN FOWLER HAD DIED!

Those of you of a certain age will remember her as The Singing Rage, Miss Patti Page.  She was one of the top pop singers of the '50s and one of my favorites 

One of her top songs was "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?"  Go here to hear it. "How much is that doggie in the window, the one with the waggely tail."  Now there's a song for the ages!  Eat your hearts out, young people!

This was back in the days when a singer had to have a good voice, and background music was just that and not so loud as to make the singer shriek into the microphone to be heard over it.

Will I live long enough to see the likes of her again?

No.

WHAT DID I DO ON NEW YEAR'S DAY?

Don't ask

Sam started watching football at 11:30 a.m. (pre-game show for the first game).  He gave it up at 10:30 p.m., announcing he was not going to watch the last half of the last game. 

I puttered around all day, and I must admit it wasn't bad.  I can't point to anything much I got done, but I took care of some miscellaneous stuff and was happy with the way the new year started.

I hope this will be a good year for you all!

A DIFFERENT NEW YEAR'S EVE

Last night we were invited to an engagement party.  Fifteen people were there, and we enjoyed a lovely dinner.  As we were gathered in the living room afterwards, visiting with relatives and getting to know those we hadn't met before, there was an explosion in another part of the house.  Those who ran to see what had happened reported back that the head of the family business had been killed!  Oh no!  We knew the killer was among the fifteen of us gathered, but who was it?  We spent considerable time talking with each other, trying to determine who the guilty party was.  Clues were given to each of us secretly, and we could share the clues or not.  We could even demand money from others who wanted to see our clues.

Finally we were asked to write down who we thought the murderer was.  It turned out nobody had it exactly right.  There were two killers, and while many of us guessed one of them, nobody got both.  One of my clues all but said right out who the killers were and I still missed one of them.  No wonder I seldom figure out who the killer is in the mysteries I read.  I am usually - literally - clueless.

Yes, you guessed it.  It was a murder mystery party set in 1921.  It was written and produced by David, and it was brilliant.  Many of the guests wore period costumes, and we all had to stay in character the entire evening. 

This is Al Capone and his wife Mae.  "Al" is in reality the manager of a Christian radio station here in town.  Talk about playing against type.  He was so realistic, he scared me.  "Mae" was outstanding, with a New York accent, a cigarette holder, and all the mannerisms of a 1921 floozy.

Catherine played the best friend of the bride-to-be.  I told her she should wear this hat often.  It looked great on her

The invited guests, less Catherine and me. We were taking pictures.  David is the corpse.  Roxey was also playing dead.

Thanks to these four who made the evening such fun.  Great job on the script, David, and thanks to Barb for the dinner.  It was a lot of fun and surely a different way to ring in the new year.

Sometimes I'll start to read a book and the plot seems strangely familiar, but I can't remember what comes next.  I realize I've read the book before but I have not a clue how it ends.  So the decision has to be made - do I keep reading and have everything become familiar as I'm reading, which is annoying, or do I quit and never know how it ends. 

Don't laugh.  You'll be old someday too.

IS THIS GOOD NEWS OR BAD NEWS

Today I got a notice in the mail that I may qualify for the Funeral Advantage Program that will pay my family an insurance cash benefit up to $20,000 tax free in the event of my death.

Well.  While it's always nice to be a "maybe" qualifier for things, is this really what I want to qualify for?

I think I shall decline the honor.  My family would just squander the $20,000 on riotous living anyway.

WHO SHOT THE CAT?

CHRISTMAS WITH A BUNCH OF ENGINEERS

As  you can see, the secretary in the group was socializing.

We had a wonderful turkey dinner at Doris' with about 18 special people present.  After dinner we played a spirited game of Bezzerwizzer which my team won with no thanks to me because I knew very few of the answers.  I do best with the original version of Trivial Pursuit because the questions come from my era.

We finished up the evening with the traditional birthday cake for Jesus.  It was a lovely day spent with family and friends. Thank you Barb and Connie for all your work to make the day very special.  And thank you, Doris, for being "the hostess with the mostest."