All Hallow's Eve in the Nutz House!

Well once again it's been over a month since I got around to updating this blog. I was bound and determined to get an entry posted before the upcoming holiday, and it's getting very close to the wire, so here goes:

It's hard to believe that Halloween is coming up fast and furious tomorrow night. Growing up this was always a strange time of year for me. I remember vividly the sensation of having to face my fears when going up to the door to collect candy, all while being positive that someone lie lurking in the shadows to scare me so bad I soil myself. Ironically to me the scariest house on the block was my own, as my Dad and brothers were able to transform our carport into something far more sinister. I would have to confront my fears each Halloween as I would try to get from the sidewalk to the landing inside the front door; all the while avoiding the spooky Frankenstein Creature hovering just to the side of the door.

As I got older I started to enjoy that sensation, to a degree. Mr. Munk was making fun of me the other day when I brushed off his invitation to attend the Nightmare on 13th which is a local haunted attraction in Salt Lake. I added more fuel to his fire when he and I were watching shows from the Travel Channel that showcased the best of haunted mazes. I guess I can see his reasoning, I do enjoy being on the scaring side of the spectrum, but I would be the first to shy away from the rush of actually being scared.

Of course the last time I went through a haunted maze, the proprietors had close to 40 chainsaw characters chase you throughout the maze, and honestly it was so boring by the end of it that I seemed to have lost my taste for it. That, or Mr. Munk could be right and I'm just a wuss when it comes to being scared.

Of course I do enjoy a good scary movie, and I'm hoping to be able to go and participate in a ghost hunt at some point in the future, so maybe it's the excess of blood and gore that one encounters in the haunted attractions.

Before you argue that I commented on a disdain for gore while stating that I like scary movies, I would like to qualify that remark. I define a scary movie as something that is actually suspenseful on a psychological level, such as the 1963 version of The Haunting or Silence of the Lambs, as opposed to the overtly disgusting films such as the Saw series or Hostel. I am squeamish enough that I can't watch myself get a shot when I go to the doctor's office, so why would I want to watch some stoned teenagers get hacked to pieces by Freddy Kruger?

Actually this year we did attend one haunted attraction... or to be fair we semi-attended it. A few weeks ago Mrs. Nutz and I traveled with my parents to San Antonio on a weekend trip, and while there we visited SeaWorld, who was hosting their annual Howl-O-Scream festival. We ended up seeing all we really wanted to see during the day, and left the park before the spooky stuff started.

Our trip to Texas was a blast! It was the second time I'd been there, and I forget how much I love the Riverwalk. We had a great hotel right on the river, went to SeaWorld and the Alamo, and enjoyed ourselves as much as we could during our stay. It was really hard to drag ourselves away from the vacation; that is, until we got to the airport.

We had a flight scheduled for 8:15 am to leave San Antonio, so we got up at 5 am, dropped off the rental car, and made the shuttle to the airport at 6:45. At that point we were informed that our flight had been moved to 7 am. The rep checking us in said that she would get us on the plane and took our bags, though she left us to our own devices to work our way through security. We managed to get through and got to the terminal, only to be informed that we were too late to catch the plane. Apparently our rep sent a message to the terminal telling them to hold the plane for us, but the message was not received.

So my dad (Grumpy Nutz) and I sauntered our way back to the check-in counter, where we were informed that they wouldn't be able to get us on a plane for another 7 1/2 hours. Long story short, I got to enjoy the experience of falling sound asleep while sitting in an uncomfortable chair in a terminal.

I'm just glad that I don't have to worry about getting on a plane again anytime soon.

Well tomorrow the little goblins will be coming around to take part in that time honored tradition of Trick or Treating. Mrs. Nutz and I are getting ready to take part in our own tradition of eating home-made Broccoli-Cheese soup (yum-o) and watching the 7-hour live Ghost Hunters investigation. It's a fun way of celebrating.

Happy Halloween

There Goes the Neighborhood!!!

As events happen to me in my daily routine, I try to keep a mental note of things that I would like to blog about. At one point I was starting a post back in July that was going to be a movie review of the new Transformers flick (I liked it, but it was not as good as the first film.) Obviously that entry never came to fruitation. Eventually I would like to start posting on here more frequently, but time will tell if that ever happens. (Technically there's a few other things that I would like to accomplish with this blog, such as customizing the layout and including a possible webcomic, but I have other priorities at the present.)

While it would be possible to whip out a post that fills in all the details about what's been happening around the old Nutz House since my last entry, I honestly don't have the drive to do so. There was a great trip to Oregon that Mrs. Nutz and I took with her sister, or I could ramble on about our newsest addiction on Facebook... Farmville. Heck, I could even finally post about the trip we took to Walt Disney World back in February... although it would be nothing more than a moot point now.

No, rather than trying to fill you in with too many details of the past, I will just move on to the present day.

Today was an exciting day in the neighborhood. Our friends bought the house just around the corner from us (literally) and today they moved in. Since this is the first time I've mentioned these friends, I will furthermore give them the moniker of Mr. and Mrs. Munk. I have chosen this name for two reasons: first, it ties in nicely with the woodland creature theme I have going on (Munk meaning chipmunk.) Second, Mr. Munk is a major fan of the classic Disney Afternoon series Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers.

Mr. Munk and I met in animation class a few years back (2003 I think) and we developed an instant bond. Even though I know this is opening myself up for some severe teasing from my wife and brothers, I would maintain that the best example of My and Mr. Munk's friendship would be the characters Turk and JD from Scrubs.

Anyway, we had decided that we were both tired of being bachelors, and we agreed that we would encourage each other by setting a double date, both with ladies our families were setting us up with. Both of us married the gals that we took on that date, and all of us have been close friends ever since.

Now they've moved to a house whose property touches ours. This is going to be AWESOME!!

While coming up with blog IDs for my friends, I remembered one of the news articles from this week that got me thinking about a possible post update. CNN reported a story on Friday about bloggers losing their anonymity, and some of the points in it really got me thinking.

The article started out with the public outing of a blogger in Pittsburgh who went by the moniker PittGirl. She wrote for a local magazine and had become viewed by many people in the city as a sort of "masked superhero." She said that she had tried to maintain her secret identity, but people were starting to figure it out, so she decided to finally come out and tell Pittsburgh who she really is, especially before someone else did it for her.

There were other cases listed from bloggers who had dropped their cyber alter-egos for various reasons: one for publicity, and another who was ousted by a politician; there was even mention of a woman who blogs under her real identity, and was fired for it.

The thing that stuck with me the most from this article was a comment from the blogger who chose not to go by an online persona. She said, "I think if you're doing something anonymously you've got some issues going on. There's a reason that your hiding."

Are bloggers who go by assumed identities hiding? It makes for a provocative argument, but I don't agree with her reasoning. Am I hiding anything in my blog? Yes and no. I'm choosing to protect my family and friends by not broadcasting their personal information on the internet, but I don't post anything that I wouldn't say in person. I don't use the Mr. Nutz persona to change who I am, and I hope that those who know me would agree that I am genuine in my blogging.

Well, I guess I should call it a night and consider this another post successfully completed. I'm optimistic that there will be more postings in the future, particularly with the shenanigans that Mr. Munk and I will no doubt get ourselved into. Our wives have already consented to let us buy 2 way radios so long as we set a time in the evening when the radios will be shut off. Actually their first suggestion was the old-school telephone with 2 cans and a string, but I am much more comfortable with the grown-up walkie talkies. Mr. Munk is also pushing for a signal system using tiki lamps, but the jury is still out on that one.

Now Look at the Mess I've Gotten Myself Into!

Now I've gone and done it!

I've been fighting it for a long time, but I finally caved and joined the facebook community. No longer am I one of the few and proud who rebelled against the system... now I'm back to being a follower.

The irony is that this past semester in my English class I wrote an essay about the dangers of Online Social Networks. At the end of the semester, when the teacher asked the class what they thought of the idea of using facebook in the course, I was one of the few who maintained that it should not be a requirement because some people, like myself, would never want to join the OSN. Less than a month later here I am.

I truth, I don't object to online gathering places, I really just didn't want another excuse to waste my time on the computer. Mrs. Nutz has been a facebook user for a while now, and I have been debating back and forth for a while about whether or not it would be worth investing the time. What ultimately won me over was that friendships could be renewed and maintained without the limitation of distance, and some friendships could also turn into a great potential business network. The positives outweighed the negatives, and I finally decided it would be better to join. No sooner did I cave, then my buddy and his wife joined the fun. He apparently fought the battle as long as I did, and came to a similar conclusion.

Those who know me and Mrs. Nutz by our non-squirrel monikers should have minimal trouble finding us on facebook, but for the sake of anonymity I still prefer to maintain an internet ID on this blog. If anyone chooses to follow me from my facebook page, and you decided to leave a comment, please respect that anonymity. I really don't want to edit or delete posts from commentators, as I firmly believe in the freedom of speech.

Moving on...

I can't believe how long it has been since I last updated this blog. I was doing really well and getting posts up for the holidays, then three passed me by like a fat kid chasing an ice cream truck. First there was Cinco de Mayo, which I admit is not necessarily a real holiday for someone in my position. I am neither Latino, nor do I consume alcoholic beverages. Being a bonafide and sober Gringo means that the holiday holds no significant meaning to me; and yet I have a sense of admiration for the day that makes me want to honor it in some fashion. How does one who's heritage is NOT tied to the holiday celebrate it when alcohol is not involved? Simple, I eat Mexican food (or the fast-food equivalent) while watching The Three Amigos! Mrs. Nutz is not as fond of Mexican food as me, so this year we had our Cinco de Mayo meal at Chili's, and sadly I have yet to actually watch the movie this year, but I will be a temporary bachelor this weekend, so I may succeed at finishing off my festivities.

The second holiday was Mother's Day. Obviously this is the day devoted to honoring the women who brought us into this world, and things were no different around the Nutz household. We had a very pleasant day visiting both my Mother-in-Law, and my own Mother Nutz.

Most recently, we just celebrated Memorial Day. To most people I speak to, it seems that Memorial Day is the first chance to go camping; however my family is very big on using that day to gather together and honor those who had passed away in the family. My grandfathers were all WWII vets, and very proud of it. Mother Nutz's father, who fought in the war, passed away 2 years before I was born, and my Grandma remarried to my current Grandpa, who was a friend of the family. He was a career military man, and is one of the people who shaped my sense of patriotism. My Dad's father, Grandpa Nutz, was another great man who passed away just before Christmas in 1999. I could fill pages with my memories of him, and he will also be sorely missed. This past weekend my Dad, Brother, and I were in Grandpa Nutz's office, which is filled with his military medals, antiques, and memories.

Memorial Day weekend was also a good excuse to spend a day renovating. Mrs Nutz and I have slowly been painting the house since we moved in a year and a half ago. Our most recent project was the downstairs hallway and upstairs bathroom. We invited our friends (whom were previously mentioned as recent joiners of facebook) to come and help, mostly because my buddy is a 6' 3" artist who isn't afraid of heights. I could place him on the tall ladder where he could reach the tallest part of the ceiling and I could keep my acrophobic feet planted on more solid ground.

Our hallway is now painted the same color as chocolate milk, and the difference is dramatic, especially at night. The hallway always needed a light installed before, but now I would venture to claim that it is the darkest area of the house at night.

The bathroom... well that's a different story. We have opted to make it a Mickey Mouse themed bathroom, and we bought the Disney paint color "Main Street Light" to paint the walls. We also decided to paint the ceiling the same color yellow, and now the room is BRIGHT! The plus side is that we don't have to turn on lights in the daytime; the downside, when you turn on the lights at night as you walk into it (from the recently darkened hallway nonetheless) you gently sear your corneas before you remember to let your eyes adjust to the brightness.

It will look really great when we get the red trim, black tile, black shower curtain, and other accessories installed, and all joking aside it really turned out nice.

The big one will be this Saturday, as we will be laying cement in the backyard. Not only will we finally get the patio that we want (complete with place for a fire pit and fountain) but we won't have a dirt patch/garden of weeds leading to the grass. The patch had become so overgrown with weeds that we haven't been able to keep on top of it. Up until now Mrs. Nutz solution was simply to tackle it with a lawnmower, but that only cuts down the weeds. Last night though, I had the pleasure of taking a tiller to the ground, so that I could loosen up the dirt for us to get it ready to level out and pour cement.

Tilling the ground brought back an amusing joke I was told by a member of the congregation when I was serving a mission for my church in Oregon. This older brother was a cantankerous old farmer (which is pretty awesome when you understand that he had no legs.) He used to love to tell the groaner joke "How do you make Holy Water? You get a pot of water and boil the hell out of it."

Why did the tiller make me remember this joke? Let's just say that last night I turned that weed patch into holy ground!

Warewolves, Vampires & Six-Foot Tall Rabbits

It's been almost a month since I made my last post, and wouldn't you know that another holiday is upon us. Growing up I always used to really like Easter, though I remember never having the desire to see the Easter Bunny quite like I did to see Santa Claus. For some odd reason the thought of a large magical rabbit seemed more frightening to me than a jolly old fat man, even though both were delivering presents. It's even more odd to me to think of being scared of the Easter Bunny, considering that I was a Disneyland child who loved (to my recollection) going and seeing the characters.

I still remember my brothers and I dying the Eggs, something that I still enjoy doing and look forward to teaching to my own children soemday. Always the artist it wasn't enough for me to dye eggs the standard colors that came in the kit, I always felt the need to try and color the eggs in shades that I personally preferred. I would try and experiment with the crayon that came in the kit to create teal and earth-tone eggs because I thought it was pretty awesome that I could mix and match to create those colors. If I were possible I probably would've tried to create a black egg... doesn't that sound appealing?

Sadly, this year it feels like Easter completely snuck up on us. We didn't even start thinking about it until last weekend, and even after that we forgot about it on and off. No egg dying this year, no stuffed rabbits invading the house, nothing. Mrs. Nutz and I determined that we will have to get better about that when we have a family of little Nutz running around.

Last Monday night we decided to do a family activity, baking cookies. We'd both been craving chocolate chip cookies, and decided that it would be a fun thing to do together. I gathered the ingredients for Mrs. Nutz while she carefully placed them into the Kitchenaid and delicately added the flour to keep from covering the kitchen in a fine mist of fluffy whiteness. Because we doubled the batch, it soon became too thick for the mixer to do it's job, at which point my wife batted her eyes and asked that I saddle up to the bowl with a wooden spoon and start mixing.

I was a little less careful about my mixing strategy, allowing flour to escape from the bowl on more than one occasion. At one point in my vigourous attempt to mix the dough, I even broke one of our wooden spoons. Mrs. Nutz laughed in disbelief at that one. Finally after moving the bowl from one side of the sink to the other, Mrs. Nutz took over and demanded that I clean up the mess that I had made. I told her I was giving her practice, allowing her to see what it would be like baking with a child. She didn't argue that point with me...

That evening we finally got around to renting Disney's Bolt. I had wanted to see this movie, as I'd known quite a bit of the production behind the feature, and I'd heard some great things about it. We'd had several options to watch it on the Cruise ship, but circumstances had made us not able to do so. I have to say that of the big 3 animated films from last year (Bolt, Wall-E, and Kung Fu Panda) I thought this was by far the best of them. It was especially fun to watch with Iola laying on us in the couch, obviously jealous that we were paying so much attention to a dog that was not her.

Not this last Friday, but the week prior, we were determined to finally watch the movie adaptation of Twilight. We had been trying to find it in RedBox for the past while, and were never able. Having read the books, I was initially hesitant to see the movie, but friends and family kept telling me that they had done a great job with it, so I had developed a desire to see it. My more senisible better half had not caught the fever yet, and I figured she would eventually get to the books, but I knew that she would want to see the movie before she would be willing to crack open the novel. We had stopped at Walmart to check their redbox, and do some light shopping (I swear if we leave that store and haven't spent $100 we consider that a good errand.) While there I noticed that they were selling the single disc version of the movie for a reasonable price, so I convinced Mrs. Nutz that we should buy it anyway, and then we could always sell it off if we didn't like it.

We watched the movie Friday night, then again Saturday night. Sunday Mrs. Nutz watched the movie, then started reading the book that night. Monday night we made cookies and watched Bolt, then read in the books (I thought that reading with her would be fun, so I grabbed the second book in the series and figured I would keep a step ahead of her.) for a while. Tuesday she wasn't feeling that good, so she stayed home while I went to work and school. When I got home I found out that she was a little over half-way in the book, and had watched the movie a couple more times. Wednesday she watched the movie while I did my homework, and I'm assuming that she watched the movie again Thursday night.

By Friday we had both finished our books, so I thought it would be fun when we got back from our errands to have a quiet evening reading. During our errands we went to the store and bought Twilight themed candy hearts, and both the movie soundtrack, and the movie score. That night we read from 7 pm until 2:30 am. The next morning I got up late and went downstairs where my wife had been since Iola woke her at 9, and she was reading again. Since we had borrowed the books, I reasoned that we should go and buy copies of the last two books so that I could continue reading and still not hinder her progress. We went to the store yesterday and bought the last two books, came home and watched the movie AGAIN while we ate, then stayed up until 1 again reading the books. She's nearing the halfway mark in the 3rd tome, and I am just breaking the surface of the final novel. As I type this, she's in the other room reading.

I remember when I read through the books the first time thinking that she would like them as well, but figuring that she would in no way become as fixated on them as I had... I'm happy to say that I grossly underestimated the power of those books!

Well, I think that catches us up on the events of our recent weeks. My artwork for the Disney World trip recap is coming slower than I would like, but that's the rub when life (and apparently Twilight) intervenes. I'm still planning on it though, better late than never.

Happy Easter everyone!

Deflated Mouse: Happy St. Paddy's to You!

When we first got married and were living in an apartment, I would love to sped our Saturdays getting up a little bit later, maybe run an errand or two, do some light cleaning in the home, and overall spend the day relaxing. Now that I'm a home owner and have responsibilities, I prefer to spend Saturdays in springtime working in the yard; at least that's what my wife tells me. I admit it, I am at heart a lazy person. After a long week of work I would love to take the day off and lounge around on the couch with the TV and possibly a sketch book. This is not the case with Mrs. Nutz, who I often feel would be the best spokesperson for the Energizer corporation.

This past Saturday really was the first weekend that it really felt like springtime, and it was beautiful outside. Thanks to events throughout the week, we got to enjoy the whole day! It actually started Friday morning on our way to work. Mr. Nutz and I noticed a peculiar sound as we were getting on the ramp to go to work. At first we thought that it was something we drove over and were dragging along the ground, though Mrs. Nutz soon thought that it could be a belt. As we built up speed on the freeway the sound went away and we didn't give it any further thought until we got off the freeway by our work and started hearing it again. Mrs. Nutz pulled off the side of the road and had me check to see if it was the muffler dragging, and to our dismay we discovered that it was a completely flat tire. We were very fortunate to make the 45 minute drive all the way south without damaging the rim. This was also our first reminder that Friday was the 13th.

Saturday morning we got up early so that we could take the car to our local Les Schwab and get a new tire, at which point we dropped off the car and plowed through our list of errands. About 3 hours later we completed our marathon of shopping and returned to fetch the car, then made our way back home. We got back with enough time to do some mild yard work (with the heavy stuff coming this Saturday) and decided that it was time to finally finish taking down the Christmas decorations that had previously been covered under a foot of snow.

It wasn't until I was rolling up the large deflated Mickey that I realized how long it had been since I was able to get to this blog. I have really wanted to update this since we got back from the trip, and to my loyal readers I had promised a detailed listing (actually a 3 part tome) of our vacation, but time just isn't in our favor. The biggest hurdle is that there are some images that I want to create for those posts, and it's just going to have to wait until that time.

Then there was another issue: I had been so excited about getting to this blog when I got back, because I would finally be allowed to tell anyone following this that we were officially going to add another Nutz to the family tree. Mrs. Nutz and I had been trying to start a family for the better part of a year, and we were finally able to get pregnant; but unfortunately during our 8th week, we lost the baby, and became one of the 25% of first pregnancies that end this way. When this happened we were devistated, but now we have been able to move on and have set our sights ahead to try again. Mrs. Nutz was actually getting excited that I would be able to use this blog as a means of keeping a record of her pregnancy. I guess this means that I still have time to practice updating this blog in the meantime.

Saturday night we finally decided to relax and watch a movie, then proceeded to go through our backlog of TV shows recorded during the last couple of weeks. With life intervening, we hadn't been able to keep current with our CSI, CSI: Miami, and CSI: NY, so now was a good time to go through our episodes. It finally was about 2:30 am when we finally decided we had enough and went to bed. Our loving dog Iola, who spends most of the day sleeping on the floor, was most excited that we were going to finally go to bed as she was exhausted from all the sleeping that she did that day.

The next morning Iola decided that she was ready to get up and have breakfast around 8:00, so she started nosing Mrs. Nutz in the arm and was repeatedly shooed away. Not one to become discouraged when food is involved, she decided to leap onto the bed and proceeded to lick me all over the back of the head. Thrilled as I was to be roused in such a way, I curtly sent the dog outside and got her food ready. The sound of me getting into the food/treat cupboard apparently has the same affect to our cat Emma, as winding the key on a toy has. Suddenly she was awake and bouncing off the walls literally. We woundn't mind so much if it weren't for the mischevious streak that accompanies this energy burst.

The saddest part of all is that despite the amount of energy she possesses, Emma only lets us see it. If we have any company over, she will be a perfect little angel. Our families only hear the stories, but seldom get to see the wild side of that cat.

Well I'm sure that I've rambled on for long enough. It feels good to add another entry to this blog though. I think that this marks the first entry that I've done on an actual holiday, though because we don't drink, and neither of us are Irish, it doesn't mean very much to us except that we wear green so that no one feels the need to pinch us.

Anyway, Happy St. Patricks Day everyone! Here's praying that I manage to get another entry added before Easter!

M - I - C, See you real soon!!

I presume that this will be a rather short post. Time has not been our friends as of late, and with a definate deadline things just always seem to get pushed back as far as possible. Another school semester has started, and combined with work and personal life, things just get too busy for words. Fortunately the big deadline I wrote of is un upcoming vacation, and it feels like it's long overdue.

The Nutz clan is taking a major vacation to the great state of Florida, where we will play to our hearts content alongside Mickey and the gang at Walt Disney World resort. Those readers who know me personally know that my passion for all things Disney probably would be better qualified as an obsession. I developed a love for the Mouse house as a very young child, and today it easily embodies at least 25% of my daily thoughts. Mrs. Nutz would no doubt argue that the percentage is higher, but that's my story and I'm sticking with it!

On top of our 7 days at Disney World, we will also be taking a voyage on the Disney Wonder, which is one of their cruise ships to the Bahamas. This will personally mark my first venture outside of the United States, and I can't think of a better way to have that first experience. We are getting our stuff together, as we will be leaving in a matter of days, but I knew that if I didn't update this blog tonight, it would never get done.

After we return, I will allow the Disneyphile in me to take control for at least a couple of longer entries, and I hope that it won't be too boring for those readers who are not as fond of the mouse as I am.

Until then, there should be some HUGE posts coming when I get back. There is much to write about, so please hang on.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas and all Round the House, Not a Creature was Stirring, 'cept One Big A** Mouse!

It seems like just the other day my sister in law was asking me if I was going to update my blog anytime soon. I told her that I really wanted to get one done for the upcoming holiday, especially since I had already missed the previous one. The problem is: the holiday I was referring to was Thanksgiving. How the time flies!

A lot has happened since I last updated this blog. We've had two major holidays, elected the first African-American president, and my oldest brother (Big Nutz) and his wife (Lady Nutz) just gave birth to a bouncing baby boy (Little Nutz.) The whole Nutz clan has been very excited for this occasion, and I'm very happy to report that everything went great. Little Nutz is now home with his parents and big sister (a loveable ball of energy I'm choosing to call Lotta Nutz.)

I'm currently writing this on the evening of Dec 23, and I'm anxiously anticipating tomorrow, which is possibly my favorite day of the year. I have loved Christmas Eve for as long as I can remember. Every year we go to my Grandparents (on my mothers side, so they are not Nutz I'm afraid,) and enjoy an evening of dinner and merryment with all the cousins.

Growing up there was the adults table in the dining room, while us kids were reserved a smaller table in the kitchen. My older brothers would share stories with the older cousins about their high jinks during the course of the year, which usually resulting in the younger cousins lauging until our sides hurt. Every year we would use red and green plastic cups that my grandparents had bought, and at the end of the meal they would wash the cups and put them back into the cupboard until the next Christmas.

After dinner, the adults would go to the family room and visit while us kids would go downstairs into the basement to play pool. Grandpa and Grandma would always tell us not to look around down there, as they would have the family Christmas presents down there all around the room. They were already wrapped, put in boxes separated by family, and covered with sheets, but it was still fun to pretend that we didn't see them.

Pool was always interesting at their house. The ceilings are short and there's cabinets that are within close proximity to the table, so much that you would usually have to open the doors to aim at the ball from that angle (or use the short stick affectionately referred to as "stumpy.") My grandparents basement has older carpet in it that conducts static electrticity at an alarming rate. I'm convinced that you could power a small city just by walking around in that room. We soon discoverd that the metal pool cues we played with made great lightning rods, and before too long the game would take a shocking turn.

Before too long, the adults would call us kids to come upstairs so that we could do the gift exchange. We'd all try to race out of the basement first, knowing that the last person up would have to shut off the lights, usually getting an arc of electricity that would knock a moose off it's feet. Upstairs we would exchange our gifts, then Grandpa would let talk for a few minutes to tell the family how greatful they were for us. Visiting would commence for a little longer, and then we would get ready to leave for the night.

As we were going home, my parents would drive through the neighborhood to see all the Christmas lights that the neighbors had put up. Grandpas always raved about a couple of his neighbors that put on an impressive display, usually the result of one-upsmanship, and we were the beneficiaries. Then we would drive home, with my parents encouraging us to look out the window for Santa. I would swear that I could see Rudolphs nose as we were driving, but I know now that I was seeing a reflection.

When we got home, my parents made us wait at the landing while my Dad poked his head over the railing to make sure that Santa hadn't come yet. When it was safe, we would go to bed and try to fall asleep, anticipating the following morning.

Things have changed a little over the years. We still go to my grandparents house for Christmas Eve, but now that the kids are mostly married (and a few even have kids of their own) the adults table has grown. Now we have two large tables and all of is visit together. The games of pool have all but disappeared, though the table is still there. Now when we go downstairs, we don't close our eyes and try not to look at the presents, but rather we bring the boxes up for my grandpa, who is now in his ninties. Perhaps the most noticable change though, is that my Grandma isn't there anymore. She passed away a couple of years ago, but there still is a part of her when we gather together for the holidays.

I still love to drive through "the meadow" to look at the Christmas lights after we're done, a tradition that my lovely wife has enjoyed as well.

When I was younger, I always looked forward to the next morning. Christmas morning meant that Santa had come, and we would be leaping into a mound of presents; but now that I'm older, I realize that I look more forward to the night before. In the end, I think that memories are the real treasure, but once Mrs. Nutz and I start raising children of our own, we'll be able to start new traditions and build new memories.

We have received one Christmas present already. My other brother and his wife gave us an 8 foot tall inflatable Mickey Mouse which now graces our yard every night. Unfortunately I've never owned an inflatable rodent, and didn't realize that I had to tie him down in several places to make his stand up properly, so each night he inflates at a tilt until I get home and straighten him out.

I'll get it right for next year though.

Merry Christmas!