Cold Hands, Warm Hearth

...No one needs to know that we turn it on with a remote.

I was looking through the popular pages this morning and was particularly struck by the wonderful variety of images and stories found therein. There were weddings, and wildlife,  pampered cats and running, begging and sleeping dogs and panoramas of beautiful scenery. there were happy children, Christmas pies and holiday baking, There were some astonishing pictures of lacy hoarfrost, frosted windows and snowy fields and also of frozen bubbles. And there was Booky_Goatherd, sweating it out in her Christmas jumper in Belize.

But it wasn't all Christmas cheer and mulled wine. There were stories...slips on the ice resulting in  fractures, (Topsyturvy)  mothers and children waiting hours in the emergency room (amandoAlantejo's daughter) another mother staying in hospital with her youngest child and missing the ones at home with their father (MumOf4Wildings), a traffic accident seriously injuring a mother and two children (weeflecky's friend's niece), people living in the freezing cold who can't afford to turn on their heat, or who otherwise can't get warm (Gennipher, Munroist4113), and Max_Blazer doing the best he can in a horrible situation in Ukraine and sharing his experiences and impressions with the rest of us. My thoughts are with them and with all those who are not enjoying a 'perfect'  holiday season. May they have the support of friends and family at such a difficult time.

And then there was the World Cup Final. We didn't intend to watch it, but it started at 7am so we turned it on and then were hooked. I think the extra just about sums up the American relationship with futbol...