Today is 1-2-3

• I got out of the shower this morning and Wendy said, "Today is 1-2-3. It's going to be good luck." It took me a while to realize she was talking about the date.
• I haven't elaborated yet on my new resolutions for the year, but I remembered taht previous resolutions have been about writing more. I think I've done a pretty good job writing this year in this blog, and a good job reading it, too. I feel like I've accomplished an objective.
• Property of fire: I like the way fire burns when I've got the fireplace going. There's little flame, but maximum glow and consumption of the fuel. It's taken me a while to learn how to get a fire started in our little fireplace insert, but now I've got a system that gets them lit pretty quickly. I start with a few sticks that are an inch or two in diameter and lay them in the basket side by side. I then put a milk jug on top of them (a trick that Wendy's father taught me) and light that on fire. The milk jug melts into a thick flaming goo that is basically the same as modern candle wax (just a higher molecular weight, says PhD dad-in-law) and covers the sticks nicely. Then I lay one more stick over this and, a little management and a few sticks later, a glowing furnace-fire.
  
• The holiday timing this year was great. Thanksgiving came late in the month, so it felt okay turning the day after into the first day of the Christmas season. Christmas Day and New Year's Day came on Wednesdays this year, too, which provided for the maximum relaxation. I had to explain to Wendy that if the Holiday falls on a Monday, Tuesday or weekend day, the official first day back to work is the Second. If it falls on another weekday, the official first day back to work for everyone seems to be the Monday following the holiday. Looking ahead on the calendar, next year is pretty good too--Thursday holiday and another late Thanksgiving.