Hail, Colby, Hail! As I write, it’s the last month of 2012! Hard to believe, but all of us are winding down, particularly those who survived the big storms last October. There are good and bad reports. But I was so glad to hear from those who wrote of their adventures! Thank you so much! We are all glad to know you are okay. * Harold and Betty Harris Smith were among the fortunate. They live in a condo development in Lincoln, Mass., on the edge of a forest! Trees did fall down, but in the other direction. Their town was hit hard. Now they can see more of the pond off their deck! * Anne Burbank Palmer was so lucky! Waterville only got a little rain and some thunder. She said, “No problems here.” * But poor Sandy (not hurricane) McCurdy Schultz had the most miserable time with no heat or light for six days in Old Lyme, Conn. Finally her brother in Philadelphia came and got her. Her children were blacked out, too. She said, “It was fun for a day, but then the novelty wore off. Anyway, all is well now. A lot of trees are down and it is a mess to clean up.” * Chad and Jane Whipple Coddington told of the 11 days they lived without electricity and with the friends who filled up their house since they had a generator. She reports, “We are almost back to normal in our part of New Jersey, but the shore is still really badly off. We live in sort of a forest, and three large trees are leaning and have to be removed soon. One fell so it made all three garages inoperable. For most of the time since the storm, you had to count on many streets being closed, so the ‘usual’ travel routes had to be re-planned to get anywhere. Hope to get some real news and that NJ doesn’t do this again next year. We had an early snow last year at almost the exact time and were out of electricity for five days!” * That’s about it for the storm reports! I hope everyone, in recovery or not, had a grand holiday season! We certainly have a lot to be thankful for, and a chance to celebrate! Happy New Year to all!