“It’s the holiday season, so hoop-de-do and dickory dock”.
Good Lord, song lyrics were so lame in 1963!
Now you know why Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is already a classic and a perennial chart-topper! (These photos are from the amazing Christmas concert I saw in Las Vegas in December 2017.)
So, let’s start again. It’s the holiday season!
To me, this means putting up my Christmas tree and decorations for three months, while many are getting their Halloween on!
I hope this finds you happy and healthy! Some of us keep in touch year around through social media and some of us only once a year with Christmas cards. And, I love and appreciate each and every one of them!
I’m very grateful for all I’m blessed with in life.
I’m still the morning meteorologist at the NBC affiliate in Decatur, Illinois. I’ve been here almost four years and I have another year left on my contract!
My dear sister, Tammy, had another health scare this summer. She had a stroke and a risky, emergency surgery and is in physical therapy now. Once again, she was told she definitely has to stop smoking, exercise, and eat right. Sadly, she hears “blah, blah, blah”!
She also spent another week in the hospital before Thanksgiving and it’s been a struggle bouncing back. She told me she hasn’t smoked since getting out this time!
Since my cards go out Thanksgiving week, let’s start where I left off last year.
Last December, Tammy and I visited one of my favorite cities, Palm Springs, California. I hadn’t been there since the late-1990s. (And, I started a mustache and kept it through Labor Day weekend!)
I love the Marilyn Monroe statue!
And, it was great seeing my friend, Robert, again. We met through our dearly departed friend (and “Mom”) D’nell over 30 years ago in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Thank you again for lunch, Robert! I loved my turkey burger at Billy Reed’s.
And, in October, we took a road trip to Branson, Missouri, to chill out.
I cooked a couple of our meals and we ate out a few times.
Tammy chose Lambert’s (the home of the Throwed Rolls) and we also had a seafood buffet and a nice Sunday brunch.
I splurged with dessert — half blackberry cobbler and half peach cobbler with ice cream, caramel topping, chocolate chips, and chopped nuts.
We took several photos around Branson on the Strip. I absolutely loved the gorgeous octopus outside the Aquarium.
And, the parking lot of Ripley’s was fun!
While we were there before fall foliage was in full color, our balcony view of Table Rock Lake was stunning.
So, why didn’t I travel internationally in 2023 after visiting Greece in 2021 and Costa Rica, Cancun, and Turkey in 2022?
It’s all thanks to a little four-pound bundle of energy coming into my life in late February!
That was February 25, 2023, when I picked Xanadu up in Taylorville, Illinois!
So, my hints over the past few Christmases, “maybe it’ll be in ‘Xanadu’ – ♪♪♪ “a place where nobody dared to go” where “a million lights are dancing and there you are – a shooting star” ♪♪♪!”, were to let you know something about “Xanadu” was in the cards!
Yes, I finally got my pug, so #Pug20-something became a reality!
It’s been an interesting nine months!
Xanadu is absolutely adorable and she has the most expressive little face.
However, she’s a total nightmare. I described her on-air one day as “17 pounds of mischievous”.
She has no boundaries and I now know why pugs are described as little “dictators”! But, look at this little face! 🙂
As I look to the future, I hope to calm Miss Xanadu down some and to be a great dog dad.
My next birthday is a milestone one and I hope to be spending it in Las Vegas seeing Kylie Minogue in concert.
While she started her Vegas residency in early November, I was unable to snag a ticket!
My friends, I wish you love, peace, health, and happiness in 2024!
“May hope and faith conquer fear and hate this Christmas”
Anthony & Xanadu
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