December 23-26

As we expected the past few days were uneventful. Thursday morning featured an errand run, on Friday Jenny and I had lunch together since everything would be closed on Saturday for the holiday. I must admit to having little regard for this time of year, many years ago something happened to me in the month of December that thoroughly destroyed all feelings I had for it and I've never been able to get it back. It is barely a blip on my radar and if it wasn't for Jenny being a huge part of my life it wouldn't register at all. On Saturday I visited with her in the morning, the great-grandchildren were there. I gave Jenny two music CDs she wanted, she got me a Phillies wall calendar. Yes, the gifts were inexpensive but it's the thought that counts. We kept hearing about snow in the forecast for Sunday but the morning was clear. Talked to Mazi in the morning via the Internet, she was visiting friends over the weekend and was stuck there with a blown radiator hose in her vehicle. Ever since she came home from the rehab center in October she's had one issue on top of another, the issues actually started when she broke her ankle in July. I called Jenny and asked if her mother would like to go with us to Hershey since Mazi couldn't make it, at 1:30 I headed south to pick them up. On the way down it began to flurry, as we drove northwest we made a side stop outside of Elizabethtown. One of Jenny's friends lives in Ephrata and they rarely see each other, she was staying with her mother in E-town (and Jenny knows her as well) so we stopped for a brief visit. By the time we hit Hershey it was flurrying hard and the wind was strong. The Norfolk Admirals were in town for a 5:00 game, they are the AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Ads are another franchise with ECHL roots, they've been in the AHL since 2000 but from 1989 until then they played in the "E". In those days the club was known as the Hampton Roads Admirals but they were always based out of Norfolk. A few former Royals of various vintage on the Ads roster-Stefano Giliati and Alex Berry from last season, Levi Nelson played in Reading in '08-09 and Troy Milam was a Royal back in "04-05. Hershey won 3-1, we'll be back on the 31st for the annual New Years Eve game. After the game the snow was over in Hershey but the closer we got to Lancaster the messier it was. Jenny and Helen had packed an overnight bag just in case but I figured we could get them home without too much trouble. Driving on snow-covered roads is no fun (especially at night) but as long as you take your time, stick to the main routes and don't speed like a maniac you're OK. With it all I had them home by 9:00, I was home by 9:30 and glad to be there. It's supposed to clear out overnight and be windy on Monday but I have little planned for that day. The Royals returned from holiday break on Sunday with a 5-3 win in Trenton, the boys are at home on Tuesday and Thursday. Take care, thanks for reading.