Turned off clear last night... and then got cold of course. I spent yesterday afternoon, and it was nearly all afternoon, safely seated in a Cinema watching the latest Hobbit movie. Other than being 3 hours long, it was actually quite entertaining. The CGI stuff is pretty amazing, with wonderful scenes set in dark and evil forest's, to the dragon, Smaug, and his immense hoard of gold and treasure. Tons of violence of course. I remember reading all these books, several times actually, but even though I knew there were great battles going on, I never thought of all the implied violence that was written on those pages. Ah... the innocence of youth.

    Got out of the movie at about 5:30 and gave Rima a call. She was still working and was therefor still in town. Told her to meet me around 6:00 at the Mexican restaurant in Floyd and I'd take her out to dinner. I have now found several items on their menu there that meet my standard of what Mexican food should taste like. Mostly it means that there is a little 'heat' in it, and that they don't use Velveeta cheese. A product that I'm not even sure is actually food.

    Went over to her choir practice afterwards and read some magazine's while they practiced for their performance tonight. I don't like when she drives home in the dark these days. I know she doesn't see well in the dark and there are just too many deer out there wanting to commit suicide in front of your car. So I like to lead in my truck so she has some lights to follow, as well as sweeping the road ahead of her for any critters that might be wandering around. That came in handy last night as both a red fox and a nice white tail buck scampered across the road in front of me. There were also the 5-6 other deer that were in the driveway/pasture when we got back to the house. But they all ran off as soon as we pulled in.

    The deer were still in the area this morning. Several were laying out on the knoll just down from the house chewing their cud's. They stayed there pretty contentedly until Rima went out to feed the horses. I had my own wildlife crisis to take care of again this morning. Seems that after the rain finally stopped, and the weather turned colder, the mice started to head in where it was warm. Have managed to catch 3 in the basement so far. I think they like it down there by the furnace where it is warm.

   No real plan for the rest of the day. It is suppose to remain cold all day, but the sun is out so I think a little outdoor time is in order. I think maybe clean up some limbs and trim a few more. Maybe a walk later on would be nice. Merry Christmas to you all. Have a wonderful Holiday.