End of Thanksgiving Day Weekend, Start of Christmas Season

Sunday, November 25, 2012. I've had a good Thanksgiving Day weekend. #2 daughter and son-in-law came down from North Dakota. Snow arrived this week: just enough to say 'winter is coming.' Some of my neighbors lit up their Christmas displays Friday evening, which is customary around here.


Sauk Centre this afternoon, seen through my webcam. November 25, 2012.


Christmas is coming: one of Sauk Centre's more thoroughly-decorated yards. November 25, 2012.

I posted two more images from my Small Town America: Central Minnesota webcam yesterday:

• Wind, Snow, and Pictures From My Webcam
  Sauk Centre Journal Blog (November 24, 2012)

The Our Lady of the Angels, St. Paul's, and St. Alexius parishes will be doing a special collection for folks affected by Hurricane Sandy. That happens next week.

Wind, Snow, and Pictures from My Webcam

Quite a few folks have their outside Christmas decorations up, and turned on the lights last night; a little snow arrived, along with wind and weather advisories; and I've posted two images from my webcam:


Mid-afternoon in Sauk Centre: Thanksgiving Day. November 22, 2012.


More snow, less wind, than last night. November 23, 2012.

Related posts:

• "More Snow, Less Wind, and a Long Weekend"
  Through One Dad's Eye (November 23, 2012)
• "Thanksgiving, 2012: Macy's Parade; Wind Advisory; Relaxing"
  Through One Dad's Eye (November 22, 2012)
• "Transitions, Thanksgiving, and Picture-Postcard Weather"
  (November 18, 2012)

Transitions, Thanksgiving, and Picture-Postcard Weather

Sunday, November 18, 2012. Thanksgiving is four days away. It's not "early," since the fourth Thursday in November is the usual date. On the other hand, this year November started on a Thursday: so Thanksgiving is a whole lot earlier in the month than I expected.

All of which has nothing to do with today's picture-postcard weather.


Sauk Centre downtown this afternoon. November 18, 2012.

I saw Wreck-It Ralph at Main Street Theatre today, with #1 daughter. That was time well-spent: particularly since it gave me an opportunity to use my camera.


A new(ish) store near the river. November 18, 2012.

A new (to me) store near the river is called Taste of Heaven. I gather that it isn't a '60s shop, and sells retro toys and candy. Maybe that should be 'retro toys, and candy.' I'm not sure that there's much of a market for retro candy.

Which reminds me: Hostess Twinkies, and all the other Hostess products, made the transition from current events to history this week. Some folks must take snack food very seriously, since the Twinkies Wikipedia page had to have its editing disabled: "due to vandalism."

Finally, I see that the Sauk Centre Historical Society is 25 years old. The Sauk Centre Herald has an article about them. (November 14, 2012)

Downtown Sauk Centre has Purseanality

Sunday, November 11, 2012. Veterans Day. Fog was a bit thick last night. Then a line of thundershowers came through: and today we had a few tiny flakes of snow. For Minnesota, this time of year, that's about par for the course.


Fog, seen through my webcam. November 10, 2012.

Street work downtown included putting in new sidewalks north of the Post Office. Maybe other places, too: that was the spot I noticed.


New sidewalks downtown. November 11, 2012.

There's a new store downtown: one I haven't noticed before, anyway. It's just south of Centre Floral. ("Store Hours Monday - Friday 9ish to 5ish...") The new-to-me place is called "I've Got Purseanality Fashion & Accessories." It's not the sort of place I'm likely to shop in: but I like the name.


Snow: just barely, Sunday morning. October 28, 2012.

Thanksgiving is coming, my household is collecting stamps on Coborn's 'turkey card,' and I'll probably be back with more next week.

Fall Back, Autumn Transitions, and All That

Sunday, November 4, 2012. The clock my computer's screen says that it's 11:39 p.m., the one sitting on the desk says it's after midnight.

We were treated to the 'fall back' part of Daylight Saving time. I am no fan of the biannual time change, and have said so fairly often:

• "Is Government Really Necessary?"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (March 12, 2011)
  Particularly
  • Do We Really Need These Guys?
• "Ben Franklin and Daylight Saving Time: Even Homer Nods"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (November 7, 2010)
• "Daylight Saving Time Strikes Again"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (March 8, 2009)
• "Daylight Saving Time: A Modest Proposal"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (October 26, 2008)

About "Is Government Really Necessary:" the short answer is 'yes,' which isn't the same as believing that everything a civil servant or politico does makes sense.

As usual, temperatures are dropping, the sun is rising later and setting earlier - which, combined with this nifty rule about time, means that it's dark a whole lot earlier than it was yesterday.

Aside from that, I haven't noticed much. Folks set up Monster Manor at the fairgrounds for Halloween, same as previous years. Halloween costumes are on sale in stores, Thanksgiving decorations are showing up in yards - and one neighbor already has a Santa statue standing near his back door.