How the Cookie Crumbles

Life and scribbles on the far side of SIXTY-FIVE

Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas

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Have a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year;

Pockets full of money and a belly full or beer…or wine if you prefer.  

Can it be five days till Christmas already? I popped in to wish my special friends in Blog World a Merry Christmas, a fabulous holiday season, and a Hap-hap-happy New Year. Here’s an Oldie but Goldie for a sing-a-long to put you in the spirit of the season if you need a nudge. I do. We have no snow and it’s warmer than usual for December.

Credit:   ChristmasTimeTV

My granddaughter dressed my tree this year, and even put the lights on—her first time at not yet twelve—because I’ve had tendonitis for the past six months and needed help. She took it a little easy on the ornaments, but the results are a colossal success and I’m grateful she was willing. This means we’ll have less to take down before my trip to Vancouver three days after Christmas. (Can’t let the cats have too much fun while I’m away or maybe cut themselves on broken bulbs, though they’ve been good as long as I took away the tree skirt).

Do you know anyone born on New Year’s Eve? This particular sister I’ll be visiting has missed birthday presents for 60 years.

Credit:  Sarah Robinson

I had no idea my cat Dickens, adopted last January, had FIV and gingivitis. I found out about his health conditions when I took him to the vet shortly after adoption. He’s lost so much weight in the past few days, I took him to the vet two days ago. He’s lost more teeth and his gums have been a bloody mess.  He’s on pain killers and antibiotics now and already his coat looks less mangy today. How I hate forcing kitties to give them medication. On the other hand, it’s a bonus not to bleed to death myself while fighting with them. The pain meds are thick enough to smear on a paw, but the antibiotics are thin as water and he’s not forgiving.

Dickens is the tan one; Lady G. is brindle.

Dickens is the tan one; Lady G. is brindle.

November had me chained to my desk. I’d participated in NaNoWriMo though I hadn’t registered. At the last moment, a friend challenged me and unprepared, I dove in, thinking no way would I complete the task ahead. Had it not been for Karen, I would have given up by day ten—my first brain drain–but she, the competitive type, kept me at it because no way was I pooping out first. Now I have a book of short stories to edit in the New Year and maybe, maybe, I’ll complete that circle too. I tell you to stay accountable. November paid off much better than last summer had workwise.

If I had not had your kind and generous support all year, I have no idea how I might have moved forward towards my long-time goal: indie publication. Thank you. Thank you for the jab in the ribs whether you had any idea or not. I could not have done anything without you, my supportive community, and I plan to return the favor again soon in 2016. I have been mostly absent since the summer, but it has been worth it. I appreciate your kindness and thoughtfulness, each and everyone of you.

It’s been an unusual, but exciting year for me. Thank YOU.  Thank you. I had no idea what a wonderful world I’d entered when I began blogging four+ years ago. I am close to 500th posts. Close, but still a few to go.

 

Credit: gabychest

Or maybe you’d prefer a more honkytonk version:

Credit:  TheChiefEmperor

Happy New Year!

Hip-hip-hooray 2016

Hip-hip-hooray 2016

Author: Let's CUT the Crap!

I'm getting a little LONG in the tooth and have things to say about---ouch---AGEing. I believe it's certainly a state of mind but sometimes it's nice to hear that you're NORMAL. I enjoy reading by the truckload. I'm a grandma but I don't feel OLD although I'm not so young anymore. My plan is to stick it out as long as I can on this lovely planet and only will leave it kicking and screaming!

92 thoughts on “Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas

  1. Get post, Tess. Wishing you and your family very happy holiday time and may 2016 bring you days of laughter and peaceful nights. ❤

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  2. Happy Christmas and new year to you also Tess. May 2016 be full of success for you. All the best. Kevin

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  3. Wonderful to hear from you, Tess. 🙂
    Hope Dickens is ok, poor little mite. 🙂
    Sounds like you’ve been busy, thanks for giving us this lovely early Christmas gift! 🙂
    Happy Holidays to you and yours, Tess, all the best in 2016! 🙂

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    • Thank you, Donna. Dickens seems to be himself again but since I’m going away tomorrow, I’ll worry about him.
      Hope your Christmas holidays are wonderful and the New Year brings you all you need or want. ❤ ❤

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  4. Happy Christmas to you Tess from a ridiculously hot and sunny Spain. And a truly happy and inspired year in 2016. And I would sincerely like to thank you for all the much appreciated support you have given me over the last few years. xxx

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  5. Oh Tess, this was wonderful!!! It is a pleasure to know you my friend. You give back so very much.

    However, I’m sorry about Dickens. I know all too well how heartbreaking it is to have a kitty in poor health. And I know about medicating them too… unfortunately. Wishing him well.
    I hope you have a magical Christmas and everything you want in 2016. Mega holiday hugs!

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    • Humungous hugs and thank YOU, Teagan. I have so enjoyed knowing you as well, Teagan. Sorry I haven’t kept up with your entertaining posts.
      Dickens’s fur is soft and shiny again. I’m surprised he trusts me after all the capers I’ve pulled off medicating him. I gave up on feeding him by mouth–impossible–but continued to rub the liquids anywhere I could into his fur. The watery one was the hardest to get into his fur before it slid off like off a duck’s back. 😉
      Not at WP for long. Have company coming for supper. Still have to finish packing. Off on an airplane tomorrow.:-D ❤ ❤ All the best in the New Year: good health, happiness and much success!

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Good for you to get all that writing done!! Have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy your visit to the west coast. Wish I was there so we could have a coffee. Best of luck in 2016.

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    • All the best the New Year can offer you, I wish for you, Darlene.
      I wish we could sit for a coffee as well. It just feels that’s what we ought to do.
      The New Year will be a new challenge. My blogging may suffer a bit but not as much as these past six months.
      Company’s coming for supper, need to finish packing, getting on that plane in the morning. Tah Tah till next year.
      ❤ ❤

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  7. What wonderful music, Tess. You definitely put me in the mood. I’ve been addicted to Adele the last few weeks. My daughter played one of her concerts for Thanksgiving and I couldn’t believe that woman. Susan Boyle is similar–what voices!

    I hope your kitty feels better. It’s so sad when they don’t know what exactly is going on, just that they feel lousy.

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    • Thank you, Jacqui. All the best of the season and I wish you good health, happiness and much success in 2016.
      I know. Isn’t that something a bout Adele and Susan’s voices? Happy you enjoyed the music.
      Kitty appears to be coming along, Not so skinny looking, but then his fur is soft and shiny again. Will still worry about him cause I’ll be away from home for 10 days. ❤ ❤

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  8. Take care Tess, you’ve always been such a support to me. Hope Christmas proves a happy one. Jx

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  9. Merry Christmas Tess. Happy New Year to you as well

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  10. The cats look very content in front of the fire. So sorry to hear one is so sick, and I know that giving medications to cats is not fun at all. A very merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family!

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    • Thank you. Thank you. Dickens seems to be coming along. I stopped fighting him and smeared med on and into his fur any way I could manage. The watery one was the bigger problem but I guess he licked enough off to get the benefit of the meds.
      All the best of this wonderful season and may the New Year bring health, happiness and much success. ❤ ❤

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  11. Merry Christmas Tess! Here’s to health for you and yours, including your little Dickens 🙂 I send you wishes of joy, happiness, health and peace. ❤

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    • Thank you, Colleen. I’m late here and will be gone soon. The best of anything you want or need in the New Year, especially good health. ❤ ❤ ❤
      Dickens appears to be recovering.
      Company coming for supper tonight, packing to be finished and fly away tomorrow.

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  12. Merry Christmas, Tess. Teddy and Jack are purring for Dickens.

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    • Thanks a trillion, Patricia, as well as Teddy and Jack. Dickens seems to be in recovery. What a time for my going away.
      All the best to you and yours–kitties included. May the New Year be kind, grant good health and prosperity. ❤ ❤

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  13. Merry Christmas, Tess! And congratulations on completing a book of short stories! That’s a wonderful accomplishment. I love short stories. Wishing you much writerly success in 2016!

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    • Thank YOU, Laura. Hope you are enjoying this wonderful Christmas season (although balmy and green here). Wish you health, happiness and much success in the New Year as well. ❤ ❤
      Upon my return from the west coast, I shall visit those November stories. They are all first draft of course and though I'd scribbled a theme, which I kept, not the ideas I'd planned to I'd use survived. Now I don't remember what most are about. I look forward to editing. I love that part best.

      Liked by 1 person

  14. So nice to see you pop in here, Tess. Have a very merry. See you soon. 🎄

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  15. Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and Healthy, Happy New Year, Tess. Congratulations on the book of short stories. 🙂

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  16. Sending you my very best wishes this season and always Tess. I hope your tendinitis improves and your kitty’s health too! Good job on the writing!

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    • Thank you, Sue. Kitty appears in recovery. Tendinitis is better and only is a bother when I breathe. Will be going for physio when I get back from my trip.
      Wishing you both the ultimate best there is during this wonderful season and in 2016: good health, happiness and prosperity. ❤ ❤ ❤

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  17. Merry Christmas and a very healthy & happy New Year, Tess! Thank you for the lovely post with all the videos to get one into the spirit. I agree the weather here in USA has been entirely too warm for Christmas. I want some snow to get into the spirit. Blessings and may 2016 be a productive and successful year for you! Xo

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    • Thank YOU, Janice. The same back at you: d.o.u.b.l.e. Kind of you to drop in and your offering of season’s greetings since I’ve been here so little since the summer.
      Wish you health, happiness and much success in 2016, and to your loved ones. ❤ ❤ ❤

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  18. Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year – Tess!

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  19. May you have a fabulous Xmas and a positively brill’ new year… 😉

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  20. Best wishes Tess and hope you have a great time in Vancouver with your sister.
    Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year!

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    • Thank you, Joanne. Kind of you to visit as I have been mostly absent these last months. Wish you all the best during this fantastic Christmas season–though too green and warm for my liking (in the short term 😀 ). Hope the New brings your heart’s desire. To your good health, happiness and success in 2016, I raise this mug of coffee. ❤ ❤ ❤ (Yeah, 12:32 pm too early for anything else) 😀 😀

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  21. You don’t have snow? I thought, for sure, the snow would be deep in Canada.

    I do hope your Christmas is full of love and laughter, your trip to Vancouver is uneventful, and your time sister is a blast. 😀 ❤

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    • Thank you, Glynis and the same back to you with heartfelt wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.
      Some parts of the country do have snow but not around Toronto–not yet. We did have a light snowfall Saturday but it’s gone.

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  22. And a Merry Christmas to you, too, my friend. May your cats perk up, your writing flow easily and, your belly be full of beer.

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  23. Great to hear you’ve a book of shorts from Nano, well done and hope you have them polished in the new year. Have a lovely holiday period. Geoff

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    • Thanks a trillion, Geoff, for your visit and good wishes. Because I have been absent these past month, your kindness is much appreciated. Wish you the best of this wonderful holiday season and good health, happiness and much success in 2016. 😀 🙂
      I AM excited about my collection of stories and look forward to editing, the process I like best.

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  24. Much love to you, Tess, and a Happy Christmas. Here’s to good health for Dickens (and you, of course!) in the New Year. He is one lucky cat…

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    • Thank you, Noel, for for dropping by considering I’ve been absent often these past months. Wish you the best of what you would like for yourself in the new year, especially good health, happiness and prosperity.<3 ❤
      Dickens is lovely and appears to be recovering well. Surprisingly, he doesn't hate me for the antics I've tried on him to give him his meds. I gave up the recommended way (by mouth: impossible). I rubbed as well as I could into his fur as he fought and scratched. Seems to have helped.

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  25. Merry Christmas Tess. Can’t wait till next year when you return to us. Lovely post

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    • Thank you, Val. Seems forever since we connected. Plan to get my act together in the New Year. Lots to do–hopefully bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
      Wish you health, happiness and prosperity in the New Year, Val, all all good things you wish for. ❤ ❤

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  26. Tess it’s absolutely lovely to see you, a real Christmas treat and you’re so uplifting! It sounds like you’ve been having a really positive time. Have a very wonderful Christmas and may 2016 be happy, healthy and successful x:-)x

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    • Thanks so much for visiting and especially for your good wishes. Looking forward to 2016 and its exciting new challenges. 😀
      Wish you the best of what you’d like for yourself, Gilly, especially good health, happiness and prosperity. See you in the New Year. ❤ ❤
      Tonight, I have company for supper (my sister and her hubby with whom I'll be traveling in the morning). Still need to finish packing–not my favorite work. 😉

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  27. Well, this was so much fun to read (except for poor Dickens’ health concerns). I have a friend born on Dec. 26 – a bit of a bummer, so he became a minister. Always busy on Christmas Day – no gifts expected, but he loves them on his birthday. 🙂
    Have a lovely Christmas and visit to Vancouver. I look forward to reading more of your blog posts in 2016, and hearing about your Indie publication. Yes, we bloggers cheer each other on, and cheer each other UP, and keep us going in our writing endeavors. xo

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  28. Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
    Christmas Post Reblog.Have not been zooming quite so much the last few days as getting settled in for Xmas.. but delighted to spend some time today. Lovely to catch up, particularly with good friend to Smorgasbord Tess Karlinski. Really looking forward to promoting her book of short stories in 2016 and to also reading more of her indepth and entertaining posts on her travels.. Head over and check the rest of this wonderful seasonal post out.

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  29. Have a wonderful celebration, Tess.

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  30. Beautiful post, Tess (Hope Dickens get well soon). Merry Christmas to you and yours. (2nd time I wished you but hey can’t have too many good wishes.)

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    • Thank you for your kindness during this past year. Your comments have made me smile often and well. I’ll take all the good wishes I can get. Not a problem, John. Thank you again.<3
      Wish you the best of the best of this season a second or third time as well. Never to many times. 😀
      Yes, Dickens appears on the mend. Just need to finish packing, feed my traveling companions supper tonight and not party so we get up sober and frisky for our flight out in the morning. 😉

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  31. A wonderful post, Tess. I enjoyed listening to the Christmas songs. I hope your cat improves on the meds. Poor thing. My grandson’s birthday is on December 23rd. We’ve always made sure to keep his birthday separate and special. My dad and both of my grandmothers had December birthdays, so I grew up with stories of how in the hustle and bustle of getting ready for the holidays their birthdays were always forgotten.

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    • Wonderful you made time to drop by. Thank you and am pleased you enjoyed this post. Wish you the best of the season and fabulous things you wish for yourself in 2016. May you be healthy, happy and successful. ❤ ❤
      Kitty seems on the mend. Bless his little heart for not hating me.
      Refreshing to hear your family managed to separate December birthdays from Christmas gift-giving. -D
      See you in the New Year.

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  32. What a beautiful Christmas post Tess. Yay for you on the writing. I thought of you in particular when I drafted my New Year’s post (coming out next weekend). My year has been very overwhelming, and I already know what I have to accomplish next year, after coming back in March from my desert escape. I thought of you because you took off the time to do what you felt you must do and deal with. You checked in time to time to let us know you’re ok, and apologized for your absence. Well, I’m going to try and take a page out of your book (nice cliché?) lol, and enjoy my 2 months away with still posting, but not getting to read the usual 150 or so blogs a week I’ve maintained doing for so long. I’m going to learn how to do it without guilt, and without being overly concerned that this wonderful community will forget me or think I’m fading away. Thanks for demonstrating how we can maintain keeping our readers and getting what you need done.
    Happy holidays my friend. ❤

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    • You are too kind, Debby. I’d made up my mind after struggling from the beginning of this year to accomplish this first step of a complete work. I cannot serve two masters and had to drop one. Seems I cannot multi-task like I used to. 😀 As well, life has busier than ever and this darn shoulder has been at times too painful to type or even hold a book had I been home long enough to read.
      I admit I’m excited, but also terrified about the stories–you know what I mean, right?
      Enjoy your dry-weather getaway. Wish you good health, much happiness and ongoing success in your writing. See you in 2016. Keep smiling. Looks g.o.o.d. on you. ❤

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      • Thanks so much for the well wishes Tess. And I do know what you mean, but don’t fret. You have many friends here always willing to offer you helpful advice along the way, including me! I hope that shoulder gets better, but I know the darned dampness doesn’t help. Maybe you should be visiting me in Arizona? LOL Yes, I’ll be a bit scarce this week as I’m nowhere near ready to leave. Then I’ll do the best I can to try and catch up. 🙂 Happy New Year Tess! ❤

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  33. Masses of Hugs for Christmas Tess and then hopes of a spectacular New Year for you with publication.
    Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda.
    Cwtch xxxxxx

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    • Dear, dear and generous David. Thanks so much for your kind support and generous thoughtfulness in general in 2015.
      Whatever you wish for yourself during this Christmas season and in the upcoming New year, I flash my magic wand and give to you, as well as good health, happiness and prosperity. Mega hugs. XX

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  34. Congrats on your publication Tess! Sorry to hear of your health woes though (and poor kitty!). Sending you healthy thoughts for the New Year.

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    • Thanks so much, Karen. Wish you all the best this Christmas season and everything the New Year has to offer: whatever your heart desires, especially good health, happiness and much success. ❤ ❤
      Kitty appears to be improving. My shoulder seems better sometimes and not at others. Supposed to finally have physio after I come back from Vancouver.

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  35. God bless you happy Christmas and looking forward to seeing you in the New Year!

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  36. Happy Holidays and a wish for a great New Year 2016 for you and yours, Tess. Thanks for all the lovely music. 🙂 — Suzanne Joshi

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    • Lovely to see you, Susanne, since I’ve been away so much. Thank you for your kind wishes. Glad you enjoyed the music. Wish you all the health, happiness, and prosperity your kind and thoughtful heart can take during this wonderful Christmas season and in 2016. ❤ ❤ ❤

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  37. Happy Holidays. Lovely to hear Susan Boyle.

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  38. Hope you have had a wonderful Christmas with your family and are continuing to enjoy the festivities! See you in 2016 Tess, hope it’s a great one for all of us!

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  39. Seems I am connected to 12 people that gave you likes for this post. Trust your Christmas was splendid and Happy New Year.

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  40. Happy new year, Tess. I hope you’re feeling better (and so is your cat) and look forward to more writing and adventure. ♥

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    • Thank you, Olga. Happy, happy 2016 to you as well. Kitty appears on the mend and I have to set up physiotherapy.
      Your kind and thoughtful good wishes are much appreciated.May YOUR writing adventure continue and may you prosper yet again. ❤

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  41. That was a nice little round up! Wish you the best with the book of short stories and take care of your health Tess. Wish you a very happy New Year!

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  42. A very nice holiday post, and a great variety of holiday music. I definitely prefer the boogie-woogie Auld Lang Syne. It reminds me of some of Professor Longhair’s piano licks. And, as a matter of fact, Terri is a New Year’s eve baby. We wish you all the best for a relaxing holiday and a healthy and happy 2016. ~James

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  43. Happy New Year Tess – I wish you health, happiness, peace and lots and lots of love for 2016. Happy writing!! ❤ ❤

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  44. May your New Year be full of light and love, dear Tess!

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