As Advent progresses

I am trying to teach Veeka what the Advent wreath is all about and why it's not something you blow out like birthday candles. We do have a Christmas tree up - the first I have had in many years as now I live in a place where there is room.
Getting it into the house was quite the process. After church, I'd picked up a scotch pine and was yanking it out of my car when one of the neighbors leaned out her window and asked if I needed help. Standing there in my nice shoes and stockings and nice coat with this huge tree, I guess I looked forlorn. We hauled the thing into the house, then discovered that the hole I had drilled for the tree stand had gone in wrong, hence my tree leaned like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. So this neighbor sent over her husband who sawed away and hammered and loaned me THEIR old tree stand and finally got the protesting piece of shrubbery up with many needles now on the floor.
I am fine although I have started yet another round of physical therapy because of bad rotator cuff problems I now have from lifting You Know Who. So that is 3 mornings a week. And our little doll has discovered the art of making faces. Look at the two photos with this post carefully. The little minx made one of her faces in one.
Work is fine - am grateful I am not in one of the zillions of newspaper layoffs this month - Gannett, one of the chains, is dumping much of its labor force just before Christmas. Lovely timing.
Book sales are up to 8,721. We just have to offload the next 1,129 and it's 2nd printing time, folks. The publisher still says they are very happy with how the book is doing and they've got plans to put it out in paperback. And for you Seattleites, I've landed a spot on Dave Ross's talk show on Dec. 29 (KIRO) at 10 a.m. as of course I will be in the Emerald City at that point.