# 141 - December 17th, 2008

Greetings one and all…Are you sitting comfortably - then I shall begin…Finally we’re getting some rain! “We need it,” as everyone will tell you, although I’m sure the accompanying cold weather is not nearly as welcome. Don’t panic - I can help by warming up your brain with a Holiday Quiz? Answers at the end of the column...
1. Who starred as George and Mary Bailey in the Christmas film classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life”? What about the curmudgeonly Mr. Potter character?
2. How many of Santa’s Reindeer can you name – there are eight, or even nine...
3. Who wrote the song “White Christmas”?
Public Service announcement #224: Having previously forewarned pet owners of this possibility, I can now confirm that there will not be a visit to the Valley by the Vets from Mendocino Annual Hospital this month. It looks like you’ll have to combine a visit to the vets with Christmas shopping at Wall-Mart on the same day – sounds like a plan, eh?...And #225: There will be no Barn Sale until March, 2009. The ‘Gang’ at the Catholic Church who put so much work in on this every month are taking a much deserved rest and instead will be concentrating on the planning and presentation of the annual Crab Feed on Feb 7th, 2009 - the most social community event of the year bar none, in my humble yet informed opinion...
Whine of the Week – I have always had difficulty in understanding people who get puppies at Christmas on what is, all too often, just a whim. Many have no idea what they are getting into, resulting in an often sad and stressful situation for all. Pups are not another commodity, like a new iPod or bicycle, which can be discarded/ignored when the next fad that takes your fancy comes along. I believe we are their guardians, and as such should try to be their best friends – they will certainly be ours if treated correctly and with love. Little children cannot raise puppies and parents will end up doing virtually everything and therefore must be prepared to do so when taking on the new family member. Therefore, may I humbly suggest that if you are thinking about getting a puppy for Christmas, unless you intend to be its lifelong guardian, then please think carefully before doing so. It is a big commitment and I strongly suggest you think what this will mean to you and your family and how it will affect your lifestyle. What about the numerous little “messes” during house training? Do you know how to teach/discipline the dog? Will you have the space? What about the time, every day, to exercise your dog? Are you able to get dog-sitters for those weekends away, the vacations, the all-day potluck at which dogs are not welcome? Perhaps most important of all, if you do get a pup/dog, make sure you follow through after collecting it from the breeder/kennel and ensure that it gets all of its shots – I personally know of two local people, lovely folks but obviously not tuned in to their new responsibilities, who failed to do so and in both cases the pups went down with the Parvo virus, a potentially fatal disease. Both pups survived but only after some very expensive veterinary treatment...Enough already - I love dogs and I’m merely trying to help...Oh, and whilst we at it, do get the dog some tags – available inexpensively at www.TagXpress.com...
“What a preaching whiner!” you may be thinking. Well, you may be right to some extent but to me this stuff is a pet peeve – no pun intended...Onward to another item close to my heart - The Wine of the Week...For the second time in the recent past it’s a port - always a treat with some sort of chocolate-based dessert at this time of year. Last weekend I spent an evening at the venue in the Valley known as Cheesecake. Following a dinner featuring some of the most succulent roast chicken I have had in years, I sipped some of the 2002 Esterlina Port as I enjoyed a large slice of delicious chocolate pumpkin cake. Wow! I have to highly recommend this Valley port for anyone of you who enjoys a truly orgasmic experience. Trust me on this; you can thank me later...
Finally this week I must give a brief report on, and expression of gratitude for, my experience at the Independent Career Women’s Holiday Party – to which ‘outsiders with connections’ were invited. Well, I say ‘invited’, but when I arrived at 6.40 (fashionably late for a 6.30 event), everyone was already there. It had begun at 6pm – surely I wasn’t told the incorrect time intentionally?...But I digress...Anyway, I proceeded to have a wonderful time and, despite missing most of the hot food apart from the last few juicy chicken wings and some very tasty samosas, I more than made up for it by devouring vast amounts of fine cheeses and several of Ginger’s superb chocolate mousses. As always with members of the I.C.W., the conversations were stimulating and the membership very elegant in their Holiday best, not to mention that the ‘outsiders with connections’ had “cleaned up” very nicely...Oh, and for those wondering - yes, by the time most people had left (around 8.45pm), I was welcomed to stay and finish the wine with instructions on how to close up and turn off the lights from the staff - yer gotta like that! I finally departed at 10.30pm as Darlington Duck and Healdsburg Hen staggered along just ahead of me, with Hummingbird as our designated driver, of course...
Now I think it’s time to get my coat, don’t you?...Those wishing to get into the Christmas spirit should perhaps think about the Carols Sing-a-long with Lynn Archambault this coming weekend (Dec 20th) at Lauren’s in Boonville – I’ll be the one at the back with the voice like a drowning cat...Meanwhile, be careful out there; continue to avoid the shopping mall “death-crushes”; think good thoughts; and may your god go with you…Oh, and of course, one final request, “Let us prey”…Humbly yours, Turkey Vulture…
You can contact me with words of support/abuse by e-mail at turkeyvulture1 @ earthlink.net…
Quiz answers...
1. James Stewart and Donna Reid were the Baileys and Lionel Barrymore player Mr. Potter...Do you cry every time you se it? - like me!
2. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and in later years Rudolph, Donner’s son, was added.
3. The classic song was written by Irving Berlin.