Greased Lightning

I haven’t thought about the Middle Georgia Speedway in years. Back in the early days of NASCAR  they used to run races down there. When I was in high school Richard Pryor filmed the movie Greased Lightning there, about the first black NASCAR driver. The film also featured Julian Bond and Beau Bridges. Our high school marching band was in the movie, playing the national anthem and then also in lots of the crowd scenes. The race track is in Byron,  just east of Warner Robins. I had stumbled across an article about the race track, but no where in the article was the location of the race track mentions – just that it was south of Atlanta.

Speaking of Greased Lightning, John Travolta has revived that old Grease favorite in his credit card commercials. They left out a key line so as to not offend.

My other favorite commercial is the GMC Sierra commercial where the girl gets the puppy.

NBA: will the Hawks trade Trae Young? Will they trade for Anthony Davis? Is it worth paying a high price for Davis? Sad that last year’s number one overall pick has failed to develop, and is on the trading block. Watch him get traded and turn into a superstar.

Saw about two minutes of the Atlanta vs NYC indoor golf match the other day. I started following The Atlanta Drive on social media – because they run contests. NEWS: a week or two ago I won an Atlanta Drive t-shirt. Forgot to tell you.

On Sunday I drove C down to Ponce City Market, which is always a zoo. I found an easier side entrance. I sat in the car while C returned some items. From there she needed to go to Lenox Square. Another zoo. While C shopped I did go inside to check out the sneakers and caps. Saw a cool pickup truck.

Back home I washed and waxed both our cars, a good workout. It was dark when I finished. Watched two episodes of Peyton’s Places.

Had trouble sleeping Sunday night, then took a pill and slept hard until 710 am. Thanks to light traffic I made it to work less than 5 minutes late. Nothing going on at work though. The 5 people who sit closest to me are all on vacation. Already got my in box down from 48 to 24. Worked hard on Monday to get my in box down to nine emails.

Monday supper: beef stew.

Denison: Iran is rapidly working to rebuild its ballistic missile arsenal. On Saturday, Iran’s president claimed his country is in an all-out war with the West. On Sunday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the launch of long-range strategic cruise missiles. Monday China launched its most extensive war games around Taiwan as the country expands its nuclear warhead manufacturing capacity.

Denison: according to a new Gallup survey, 88% of Americans observe Christmas. Only 47% attend church on Christmas, down from 64% in 2010. Now consider two other recent headlines: “US Mental Health Ratings Continue to Worsen” and “Americans End Year in Gloomy Mood.”

Article: Signs a person has poor social skills.

1. Interrupt or talk over others.

2. Body language doesn’t match their words.

3. Dominate conversations without realizing it.

4. Struggle reading emotional cues.

5. Rarely ask questions about others.

6. Fail to pick up on conversational cues to wrap things up.

7. Overshare personal information too quickly.

8. Poor active listening skills.

9. Stand too close or too far away during conversations.

10. Struggle to realize when they make a social misstep.

Pop Tarts Bowl

Pop Tarts Bowl: would’ve been a tall task for the Jackets to have beaten a team many thought should’ve been in the playoff.

BYU took the opening kickoff and matriculated down the field – but Tech engineered a nice goal line stand. Jackets rushed for seven on first down, then decided to pass. Run the dang ball. Cougars came to play. Not sure our inner city Atlanta kids have seen little white Morman boys who could run so fast. Those BYU receivers catch passes that might not be perfectly thrown. Refreshing.

You gotta like a QB who wears number 47 – because that’s the number he’s worn since he was 8 years old. The BYU QB has his favorite receiver – number 20. Jackets need to cover him.

Tech drives. More passes than runs, though the runs have worked – even on the slow developing late handoff plays. BYU spots a trick play and calls time out, with only ten defenders on the field. Jackets run the play after the whistle and expose the halfback pass. King is forced to get rid of the ball quickly, and throws two incompletions. Jackets gamble and go for it on 4th and goal, The RB stretches the ball across the goal line, and the game is tied at the end of the first quarter.

Another Tech drive and the King TD pass makes it 14-10. Then BYU fumbles the kickoff return and Tech recovers. On the first play King throws another TD pass and all of a sudden the lead is 21-10. Lots of game to play.

After halftime the Jackets threaten, only to fumble the ball away. BYU returned the favor, throwing an interception in the end zone. So many things going Tech’s way. GT assistant coach Chris Weinke doing a good job calling the plays after the departure of OC Brett Faulkner. Perhaps the former Heisman Trophy winner Chris Wienke will be promoted to take Faulkner’s place.

I hate it when announcers call a kicker “Mr. Automatic” right before the attempts a field goal. Almost invariably the kicker misses. What happened to GT kicker Birr.

BYU drives the field and scores, then cuts the lead to three by converting the two point conversion. Momentum shift starting with the blocked field goal. All those things that were going Tech’s way are starting to tip toward BYU. Jackets are stuffed on first down. More mo to BYU. King’s third down pass misses “by the length of a pop tart” calls announcer Roddy Jones, the ex-GT RB.

Cougars wearing their classic royal jerseys with the same stripes they’ve worn for decades, the same uniforms worn by Jim McMahon and Marc Wilson. Tech wearing white helmets with the gold outlined GT logo that simply cannot be seen on TV, unless on the close ups. Sad. At least the white facemasks look better than navy or gold masks. Nobody in the upper decks, but plenty of crowd noise coming through my TV speakers. The Tech band made the trip, playing the same old tired tunes they’ve played the past 50 years. Like half the other teams in the nation, they also keep playing the one line from Beauty & the Beast. Sorry that one got old quick.

BYU punt pins Tech deep. Jackets fumble the ball away, and the Cougars take the lead. Then Tech’s decisive final possession. Many moaned over the horrendous clock management, and it was. Huge chunks shaved off the game clock. Key stuffs his three timeouts in his back pocket. Legendary GT QB King standing around, not rushing the offense up to the line of scrimmage.

MY TAKE: it wasn’t poor clock management that cost Tech the game. King looked hurt. Might’ve had a concussion. Looked dazed. Refused to run the ball. Was that on King, or on the play caller?

But King completes a miracle bomb on 4th & 15. More poor clock management. Wide open yardage for King to run down the sidelines, where he can gain 5-10 yards and get out of bounds – but King refused to run. Instead they ran four dropback / sprintout pass plays. Tech didn’t run out of time. They ran out of downs. BYU dserved to win, but Tech made it easy for them.

Pinstripe Bowl: Penn State has been moving the ball better than Clemson, but only led 6-3. Many were predicting not much offense. I napped during the first half, and have been cleaning out junk emails and looking for books to read. Evidently Clemson’s punter decided on his own to fake the punt - a bad decision. Penn State’s uniforms look good with the grey face masks and large numbers. The stripe on their pants looks better than no stripe.

Zero offense from Clemson, and eventually leaks sprung in the Tiger defense. Clemson had 29 players opt out, or miss the game due to injury – including 11 starters.

South Carolina went 4-8 but are thrilled to have three of their top players returning for next season, including a QB who ranked 61st in the nation. Might’ve been good to let him transfer. The receiver is fast but more of a track star than football player.

More Christmas Photos

 More Christmas photos. Ceil loves her tiny photo book.

Matthew's country ham and biscuits made from scratch.

Will carved the roast beast.

Ceil made "Phil's red stuff" - a cherry pudding dessert.

Will's cranberry Old Fashioned.

What's wrong with this picture?

Anna the High Country reindeer.

Christmas Day (& Friday)

Christmas: we left for W&MC's at 830. Zero traffic. Made it all the way to I-75 without having to stop. A&C were wearing matching pajamas. A had a new camera, and was snapping lots of pictures.

The girls were ready for us. Shivy was dressed in a ballerina outfit. She was so excited to learn her parents had signed her up for ballet classes.

Caleb fixed sausage pinwheels. M baked biscuits from scratch, with country ham and gravy. Ceil had brought fruit.

I hadn't done a good job of communicating what I'd wanted for Christmas. M did get me the all black Braves cap I'd wanted. Anna ordered me a stand to mount my Olympic torch on the wall in my home office. C got me a new wallet, but not the one I'd wanted.

MC created a children's board book entitled "All About Sissy" full of photos of Ceil. Also a tiny bookcase with three miniature picture books of the girls. I got Ceil an Apple Watch. Came back home and took a nap.

Friday: AM golf. Got home and worked around the house all day, straightening up. So another long day. Lots of steps. Anna and Goose were the first to arrive. A didn't have to work. High Country is always closed on Dec 26. Caleb had to work but it was a slow day. He arrived while C and A had gone out shopping.

W&MC arrived with the girls. Will prepared a tenderloin, cooked creamed spinach, and mixed cranberry old fashioned (not my favorite). Shivonne admitted to eating lots of candy on the way over, though she and Millie were well behaved. Anna had brought them dress up clothes. They loved their angels wings.

When the girls opened Anna's present, glitter went everywhere. All over the floor. MC had glitter in her glass of wine. She drank it anyway.

Matthew finally arrived, and prepared the dough for the beef Wellington. Quite the feast: mashed potatoes made from scratch, grilled asparagus, tossed salad, and a long time Miller family holiday staple: a cherry pudding dish we call Phil's red stuff. For dessert C had baked a chocolate cake. A fun evening.

Saturday:  teed off at 6:55 am. Really too early. I just need to make it to the fifth hole by  the time it is light enough where I don't have to use the light up balls any more.

1. Hit two off the tee. Neither were great. But a good long shot from the fairway. Two passable "chips" and lag putts. "Bogey".

2. Tee shot drifted way left. Also flubbed two light up balls into the brush, that I had to dig out. Hit one good chip, out of three. Then I sank two straight 18 foot putts, and a third putt to within an inch. "Par".

3. Pulled two tee shots left. Two decent chips. Good lag putts. One might've dropped. Can't remember. "Bogey".

4. Hit two straight tee shots. The first rolled down the slope to the left rough, the second rolled to ten feet from the hole. Found a ball as I went to get my ball from the rough, so I practiced chipping from there. All passable, two were decent. Couldn't sink a birdie putt. "Par".

5. Lined one tee shot left. Another was passable. Then four nice chips. A couple of good lag putts. "Bogey'.

6. Hit two good drives. Was in a spot where I couldn't go for the green so I punched a couple of good shots with my rarely used 4 iron. Only one good chip out of three. Bogey.

7. Hit one great drive, one good one, and a third that wasn't as good. Then hit a real good 4 iron. Hit three chips: one was good and two were okay. Then a three putt. Double.

8. I'm finally figuring out how to hit a driver. Two were decent but the third got good distance. Only one passable chip. Good lag putts.

9. Hit one good drive, out of two. Three poor approach shots. Tough putts on the sloped green. Put me down for another double bogey. Finished at 8:27.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve: left at 4:35 for the service. I was driving. C had the directions, but of course as soon as we got on the road she got a phone call, and completely forgot that I needed to know where to go. I just got the directions on my phone instead.

The Redeemer Church is located at 881 North Ave, about a half mile west of Northside Drive. About a hundred in worship was my rough guess. The focus of the service was the birth of Jesus. Mostly traditional Christmas carols were sung. Lots of young couples with children, so W&MC fit right in. About 75% white. A few older people. The young pastor (40) had grown up in Johns Creek. He’d played golf with Will at least once.

After the service a pot luck supper was served. We took Honey Baked Ham and a tossed salad. While we ate the children put on a play about the birth of Jesus, with lots of audience participation.

Long day. After golf Wednesday morning we worked around the house all day. I finally cleared off all the remaining leaves, and washed and folded several loads of laundry. 14000 steps, over 6 miles. Tired.

Wednesday morning: I wasn’t sure if the Candler Park golf course was open or not. Sometimes it’s hard to tell. Didn’t see anyone until I arrived at the 7th tee. Teed off at 7 am. Took my time and played 2-3 balls.

1. Pulled a 7 iron left, then a worm burner right. Two more worm burners from the fairway, then a nice long shot. Hit 2 of 3 chips onto the green. Decent lag putt. “Bogey”.
2. Decent 7 iron, then 2 flubs. One passable chip out of three. Decent lags. “Bogey”.
3. Hit three 8 irons off the tee, all slightly left. Three poor chips. Not sure that I sank a bogey putt.
4. Tee shots were okay, but they all tailed left of the green. Passable chips. Sank my first putt. “Par!”
5. Hit three tee shots: one slightly left, one right, then one straight but low. One passable chip out of three. Good lags. Bogey.
6. Pulled out the driver and hit three good drives. Didn’t find one of them, but thought that one I had hit the best. Hit two low 5 irons from the fairway, then crushed my third try way down to the front fringe. Two putt for “par”.
7. None of the three drives I’d hit were good. Crushed a 5 iron from the fairway but never found it. Two nice chips onto the sloped green. Tough putt. Missed all three tries.
8. Hit a good mulligan. Two of my four chips were good. Good lags. “Par”.
9. Not sure where either of my tee shots went. Thought both were passable. Flubbed three chips, but hit a couple of good lag putts on the sloped green. Finished at 8:35. It was the first time I was able to play golf in like 3 weeks. I was home by 9 am.

Tuesday night we ate leftovers and did a bunch of getting ready. I had to go to the grocery store. C had gone to Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s earlier in the afternoon. Watched a Christian themed movie titled Faith Hope and Love. Co-starred Corbin Bernstein and Michael Richards.

I have to say that perhaps more than anything, Ceil’s calling in life is to be the world’s best grandmother. Like Edie used to do, C will drop everything to be with those girls. I need to enjoy them while they’re at this age. I’ve been told that we’re traveling to Nashville for a late April Ben Rector concert.

Looks like Ceil’s family is planning another beach vacation for this summer. It will be soon after four new babies have born, with seven little ones in all if everyone were to attend. Will be crazy. I’ll be down at the beach.

Anna saw Connie and Danny at Taqueria earlier this week. We're headed there after the Tech game.

HAL NEWHOUSER  [SABR Bio] In the 1944 AL MVP vote, the Tigers Dizzy Trout—with his MLB-leading 10.9 WAR—got ten first place votes against Newhouser’s seven. The final tally was 236 to 232 or 70% for Newhouser and 69% for Trout. Pleased to be 1^st & 2^nd and not really much of an embarrassment. Newhouser’s #16 was retired by Detroit on 2 7-Jul-1997 the first Tiger pitcher to have his number retired. He finished with Cleveland 1954-1955, pitching with all-time greats Bob Feller, Early Wynn & Bob Lemon.

It Takes a Village

Throughout my life God has used many people to help mold and shape me – and he continues to do so. It’s hard to list them all. I am leaving out many. Ceil and I have been so very blessed to have such Godly people in our lives.

Childhood: Charles Hasty. Jim McNaul. Cotton Chaffin. Mrs. Grenga.

High School: my coaches and teammates. Don Lott. Chuck Smith. Bob Brewster. Catherine Hendricks. Bill Jackson.

GT BSU: Yearwood. Al Rahn. Bobby Evans. Wayne Smith. Don Sells. Kirkwood. Patty Caudell. Dino. Fred O. John Rose. Steve Norman. Dave Stewart. Kleppin. Leuze. Mike Jackson. Brett. Harp. Warren Hammonds. Billy Brundage. Harriet. Mary. Sharon. Jim Johnson. Wilbur Wiggins. Dave Travis. Jeff Summers.

SPdL: John Condra. Craig MacKenzie. Bob Marsh. Val Robinson. Reid Whitaker. Edie. David Downing. Catherine Ritchie. Kelly Curran. Tony Korey. Jim Watterson. Brooks Maddux. Carroll Glover. Jim Suggs. Rob. The Huberts. Don Head. David Hurt. Marty. Mark & Leah Stephens. David McKeithen. Teem. Bruce. Lang. All the kids at Camp SPdL. Ceil. Mr. Miller. Jay Buck. Mr. Railey.

Ryerson: Apostel. John Martin. Bill Robinson. Dave Schwenk. Todd Harris. Rodney. Eric McGill. Shane. Eric Jones. Steve Garrett. Lanney Walls. Sweat. Baldwin. Michalski. Neil Hollingsworth. Kevin Richardson. Danny Roberts. Hugh. Jeff Best, Jim Madden. Buck. Ben. Renee.

North Point: Andy Stanley. Louie Giglio. Rob Wallace. Bryan Coley. Doc.

Mt Paran baseball: Tim Turner. Jay Smith. Henry Bartlett. Frank McIlwain. Warren Stubbs. Mike Tamucci.

Living Science: Lance & Penny Davis. Sandy. The Hoffers. The Arps. The Switzers. The Taylors. Sandy. David Cain. Andy Whorton. Jeff Pipe. The Arasmiths. Tom Gilbert. Lee Bailey. Mary-Clayton.

Johnson Ferry: Lee. Reid. Steve Watkins. Steve Falis. Bryant Wright. Clay Smith. Rob Chiles. Dan Rice. Joe Mayfield. Brian Fox. David Cox. John Harrell. David Hong. Jim Key. Buddy. David Reynolds. Preston Cho. Shawn Brasfield. Rob Brown. Matt Williams. Caleb.

AL KALINE [SABR Bio] had the longest career spent exclusively with the Detroit Tigers - 22 seasons. He was the first player to collect his 3000th hit as a designated hitter, on 24-Sep-1974 in Baltimore, his hometown, off Dave McNally at Memorial Stadium. Kaline joined Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Harmon Killebrew as visiting players who have hit at least 30 home runs at Fenway Park. Mantle tied Ruth when hit 38 at Fenway. Killebrew hit 37. Kaline’s 30 put him in this very small club.

Norm McDonald joke:

I asked a guy that I’d just met what he did.

I’m a professor of logic, he said.

What’s that mean? I asked.

Well let me give you an example. Do you own a doghouse?

Yes, I do.

Well by using logic, that probably means you own a dog, right?

That’s right!

And if you own a dog, you probably have a family, right?

Right again!

And if you have a family, you probably have a wife.

I do have a wife. This logic stuff is amazing!

Well if you have a wife, then you are probably a heterosexual.

I am!

There you go. I used logic to figure that out.

Later my friend asked me what I’d been talking to the guy about.

Logic, I replied.

What’s that? He asked.

Let me give you an example – do you own a doghouse?

No, my friend replied.

Well that means…

Christ Our Savior is Born

Ceil and I wish you the most merry of Christmases. May you be able to experience and worship the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Like many of you, us Murphys had a busy but fulfilling 2025, going through events both good and bad.

In January we happened to be keeping Shivonne & Millie when a rare snowstorm hit town. We had a blast introducing them to the powdery stuff. Ceil still makes a mean snow angel.

On February 19th we were devastated with the news that Mary-Clayton’s dear dad Tommy had passed away, completely unexpectedly – a loss we’re all still mourning to this day. We celebrated his life on March third in Cartersville.

April: Mary-Clayton delivered a 4H speech in Jackson Hole, so Will flew out with her. After celebrating Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday, we ate a late family lunch at Kimball House in downtown Decatur, the Michelin rated restaurant where Matthew creates delicious desserts, pastries, and other dishes.

We spent a restful week at Pawley’s Island in late May. Winnie loved the beach. Anna and Goose joined us for the first half of the trip. Little Melina turned two in June. She so enjoys life and keeping up with her big sister, leaping headlong into everything she does, with great delight. Will and Thomas attended baseball games in San Francisco, Sacramento, LA, Anaheim, and San Diego.

July: Anna vacationed in Idaho with her college roommates. Anna caught a big fish. Dave took a week off and “worked” behind the scenes at the MLB All Star Game and Home Run Derby, helping set up and break down for the pregame ceremonies, as well as at the fanfest across the street. It was like summer camp, sweating out on the field in shorts and t-shirts all day - periods of activity interspersed with time sitting around in the shade of the dugout. A preview of my next career? 

August: we all gathered in Hilton Head for several days with the Miller and Rollins clan – 25 in all, under one roof. So much fun to be all together after a few years without a big beach trip. Back home, Ceil kicked off another school year, teaching art at the Veritas Classical School in Alpharetta. After living with us for a couple of months, Matthew moved into a rental house in Smyrna. We immediately missed the gourmet meals he’d cook for us. Instead, he took a turn as the clubhouse chef at the PGA Tour Championship at East Lake.

September: Ceil flew up to northern Virgina for a dear friend’s baby shower. We were able to be with Ceil’s beloved Aunt Corinne when she passed away. In October we returned to Jefferson for her funeral.

October: Anna had a weekend getaway to NYC with her college roommates. Will & Mary-Clayton flew the girls out to San Francisco to visit with Uncle Thomas & Aunt Holly. Shivonne turned four at the end of the month. She and Millie wore princess dresses to trick or treat with the little Norman boys.

November: Will & Mary-Clayton took the girls to their first game between the hedges. Dave & Ceil took the girls to an open house at Truist Park, where the girls had their faces painted and proudly sat on Blooper’s lap “without being scared”. Caleb roasted the turkey, and Matthew and Anna helped Ceil prepare a fun Thanksgiving dinner. The day before we joined Mary-Clayton and her family at the National Cemetery in Canton to bury her father, with full military honors.

December: Dave drove down to Macon to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his high school football team’s state championship. Mary-Clayton flew to New York City to help 4-H ring the opening bell at NASDAQ. Christmas with the family here in Atlanta.

Ceil and I so enjoy our lives here in northern Atlanta, serving and doing life with dear friends and family. We look forward to an exciting new year. In a few weeks Dave will be retiring after 38-1/2 years in the metals industry. Work hasn’t been quite as stressful this past year, thanks in part to having an understudy to train. Can’t wait for the next chapter in our lives – the calendar is already full of fun and needed things to do. Will starts a new job at Emory University Hospital, with less crazy hours than he’s had in the ER. Anna & Caleb are expecting a baby girl in April, their first.

Should be a great new year. We hope yours is as well.

Bad Santa

Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. Former coworker Bill Baldwin. Anna made the rounds in a reindeer outfit.

I love Peyton and Eli. Sure they are everywhere. Might as well strike while the iron is hot. Stretch out for 15 minutes for as long as they can. Sweet to see Eli helping his dad.

But I sure wish Peyton would stop running those old videos hos dad took of his young sons playing football out in the yard back in the day. That's what's jumped the shark. Peyton shows them on the Manningcast like every week.  Give it a rest. Where are the kiddie videos of young Arch? 

Hall of fame nominees include Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, and Blake Griffin. No Detlef Schrempf. The only players with more points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks than Schrempf: Karl Malone, Kobe, MJ, Durant, Kareem, Duncan, Westbrook, Paul Pierce, Garnett, Barkley, Bird, Drexler, Giannis, Scottie, Magic, Jokic, Kidd, and LeBron. Maybe I'll get those Detlief iSlides after all.

Former Texas QB Quinn Ewers did well in his first start for the Dolphins, but evidently not good enough to trend on Twitter like some other rookies. Averaged 13 yards per completion. Shedeur averaged 7.8 yards per completion. Quinn looked good in the Dolphins throwback uniforms.

Monday there was a power outage down near W&MC's house, so MC brought the girls to our house, and MC worked at our house. I think. Hard to get the full story out of Ceil. By the end of the day Ceil was worn out. I stopped by the Parkaire Kroger on the way home to get ingredients for spaghetti, her comfort meal. In the Kroger parking lot I also stopped in Dollar Tree and the library, to renew my library card. Fascinating reading, huh?

Watched another episode of A Man on the Inside. So good. Then some of the 49ers@Colts.

Tuesday morning's snowflake surprise at Chickfila: a free yogurt "parfait". Nice, but five bucks for a little cup of yogurt with a few pieces of fruit. They make a killing off these.

Worked until 3 pm. Off until next Monday. Plenty to do at work but I'm trying to get my protégé to do everything.

Now That's a Pickup

I'm not really the pickup truck type. F150's are cool, but too big. Pickups get poor gas mileage. I am more of the SUV type. Honda CRV. I like the Honda Ridgeline pickup and the Jeep pickups, but if I were forced to get ne, I'd drive a Ford Ranger or Toyota Tacoma. But this weekend I saw a Hummer pickup. Super cool. $100,000.00. I know, dream on.

The war on Christmas: Monday morning a lady in my office sent an email to a vendor, wishing her happy holidays. The vendor emailed back, replying "Merry Christmas". I loved it.

UPDATE: the office lady stopped by this morning to see who was working. When she left she said "Merry Christmas!". 

We had talked about all this yesterday in Sunday School. When I receive a Christmas card from a company at work, I throw it away if it says Happy Holidays and keep it if it says Merry Christmas. Unfortunately, I work for a Happy Holidays company.

Watched the end of Sunday's final round of the PNC Championship golf tournament, the annual "father son" tourney. Matt Kuchar's son is headed to TCU on a golf scholarship. They shot 18 under yesterday and like 33 under for 2 days. Nellie Korda and her dad shot a 59 yesterday. Team John Daly and Team Davis Love were in contention. Annika's kids are still too young to really be competitive.

After work Friday I stopped by Wendy's, Best Buy, Dave's Hot Chicken, and Kroger. Watched several episodes of Georgie and Mandy to catch up on season two, before flipping over to the game at halftime. C didn't get home from her party until 10:30. 

Saturday morning C fixed me an eggy boy sandwich on her homemade sourdough. Then errands: the UPS Store, Kroger, Dollar Tree, Walmart, Home Depot, RaceTrac, Wendy's, the bank, and Publix. We had the girls over on Saturday night so not much else. After church Sunday I got all the Christmas cards addressed and stamped. Saw David Hall after church. Stir fry for lunch.

Didn't sleep well Sunday night. Waited until 9 am to eat supper. Big mistake. Ceil was in by the Christmas tree wrapping presents, watching Hallmark movies. I stayed on the couch watching football. Then I forgot to take my pill before bedtime.

Mailed off all our Christmas cards. C did a good job designing them. While I was stuffing and stamping them, I realized how wordy and long my Christmas letter was. The best Christmas letters are short and readable. When they're so long and detailed, people don't want to take the time to read them. Better to be short and sweet. I will probably re-write my letter, just for fun. As usual, I only mailed the Christmas letter to a few people, like the people who send us a letter. I did send one to Mary Hubert.

Agave is closing after 25 years. Mary Mac's is finally reopening after a roof collapse repair.

During church Sunday I was thinking how I wanted to compile an exhaustive list of people throughout my life that God used to help mold and shape and teach me.

Money-Saving Habits Retirees Swear By.

I have been taking off from the gym. Need to go back. My Chickfila is giving away a menu item this week with purchase, so I have been going there instead.

 "People don't resist change—they resist being changed." —Peter Senge.