November 4: My Favorite Things, Christmas Porch, New Cartoon

Can you hear Julie Andrews singing?

Sunday means it's time for My Favorite Things.  I wish I could be Oprah and offer free things to you, like books and iPads and Kindle Fires.  Can't do that, unless Apple or Amazon wants some free publicity, and the last time I checked, neither company is really desperate for business.  No free stuff this week.

As you can tell by the photograph, I'm going to focus a little on Christmas for this post.  You see, yesterday afternoon, I put up the Christmas decorations on my front porch.  I always pride myself on being the first person on our block to put up Christmas lights.  That's why I always do it the weekend following Halloween.  Nobody is as ambitious (or crazy) as me.

So, my favorite thing this Sunday is decorating for Christmas.  I love doing it.  I love the work.  I love the result.  I love the feeling I get when everything is done, and I can stand back and admire the results.  Each year, one member of my family picks the theme for our front porch decorations.  This year, it was my wife's turn.  Her theme is "Silver White Winters," as in the song "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music:  "Silver white winters that melt into spring..."  Next year is my turn.  I'm leaning toward some kind of It's A Wonderful Life motif.  We'll see.

If you're walking by Saint Marty's house tonight, stop for a few minutes and enjoy the view.  Think of Julie Andrews on a mountainside.

Confessions of Saint Marty