View from the comfy chair

As I pulled up my comfy throw blanket and snuggled into my “Comfy Chair,” my mind began to wander, and I realized that I had not finished my Christmas shopping.I get it, Christmas is not about the gifts! It is about the birth of baby Jesus and the promise of hope fulfilled.

Holiday travel with a pet

DEAR PAW’S CORNER: We are bringing our new dog, “Mara,” with us to visit relatives in Ohio this Christmas. They are aware and said that our guest room is prepared with a dog bed so that she will be comfortable. However, we’ve never traveled with a pet before, and Mara is an energetic Border Collie.

Christmas Kindness Kudos

Due to “Distribution Day Set Up,” December 18, 19, and 20 at the Knights Of Columbus Hall; Christmas Kindness had only one office day this past week.Tuesday, December 17, was our last day at the Christmas Kindness building until our 2025 Season starts up.

Holiday glass

According to some traditions and a certain famous song, Christmas lasts for 12 days. And, at least in the song, with each day comes extravagant gifts; the first of which is repeated every verse: a partridge in a pear tree.

Strange but true

■ You’re more likely to have weirder, scarier and sexier dreams when sleeping on your stomach.■ The cymothoa exigua, a parasite that severs the blood vessels of a fish’s tongue and becomes a new functional tongue, is the only known parasite capable of replacing an entire organ.

Senior Center Information

215 S. Antler St., Gladwin Manager: Carrie or Deni, 989-426-6951 Dec. 3 – Card Bingo Dec. 6 – Live Music Dec. 11 – Lucky Plate Dec. 20 – Lucky Plate Dec. 23 – December Birthday’s Dec. 24 and 25 – Dining center closed Dec. 31 – Card Bingo Zumba Gold and Chair Aerobics every Wednesday 12: 45- 1: 45 p.

Picture-perfect pathway

See more pictures by Michigan state parks photo ambassadors at Instagram.com/MiStateParks. For more on the program, call Stephanie Yancer at 989-274 6182. This photo is by Sarah Goodwin, for the Michigan DNR, at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in the western Upper Peninsula.

May I Walk With You

Recently in the news I heard the term “cafeteria Catholic” used in reference to a politician who while claiming to be a good Catholic man, supports abortion, which the Catholic Church is overwhelmingly against. The person making the comment went on to say that a lot of Catholics are like that.

“Let Us Sing of Greater Things”

It is surely possible to be somewhere in the United States in the Christmas season without ready access to a performance of Handel’s “Messiah,” perhaps in the middle of Denali National Park or the Mojave Desert.The work is ubiquitous and deserves every bit of its popularity.

How heaters and humidifiers work together to combat dry winter air

When winter arrives, the air gets colder, and everything seems to get drier. You may notice that your hair stands on end from static, your skin gets itchy, and you wake up with a scratchy throat. It’s not your imagination!Keeping your home warm is only half the battle during the colder months.