Dear Friends,

We got the first substantial snowstorm of the season on Wednesday and that ties the record here in Vermont for the latest date of a snow accumulation. Ed got caught behind an 18-car pileup on the Interstate as all the commuters that had delayed getting snow tires and forgot how to drive in the snow were slipping all over the place. Thankfully, everyone was OK.

I am still on cloud nine from my visit to the White House last week. I was able to shake the President and First Lady’s hands and convey greetings from Vermont. I spent a lot of time wandering around the East Wing and talking to the Marine guards that were eager to talk about the history of each room. And yes, the food was awesome!

Tonight is the first night of Chanukah and I’ll be taking out the menorah and lighting the candles, especially when my grandkids come over. I got their wish lists and Khadija made one for Grace (Umama) and one for me (Gramps) and mine had the cool stuff with URLs and 800#s, too. Gotta love it.

Note: That’s a previous snowstorm in my picture. Fantail is looming large over the snow piles!