Missing Sodus
By Melissa White
mgoodcooke@yahoo.com

Well, we couldn't believe Christmas was coming so fast and now we can't believe it's over. Some people (we won't mention any names) have already taken down their tree.

Oscar made sure he was right in the middle of everything. He was into the unwrapping this year. In fact, he thought EVERYTHING was his. Sarah was so confused. Now, it's time for planning New Year's Eve. We usually get some decorations, rent some movies and get some munchies. No buying the expensive dress, no having to go out into the cold. We are in the jammies before the movies start at 6:30 or 7. At midnight, the noisemakers come out. (I cover Oscar's ears.) The bubbly (sparkling grape juice) helps ring in the New Year. It's a lot of fun and not expensive. If you wanted to, you could even make a special, favorite dinner to start off the evening.

News from Ralph Everdyke in Florida:

We had rather an interesting Christmas this year. On Christmas Eve, Mardee and Roger Watkins, who are always having parties, had all the people in the complex invited to cocktails, dinner and whatever for all to join in with. It was very nice.

On Christmas day we were having Micki and Ronnie Fagner coming over for dinner. About 7:30 AM Micki called and asked how the weather was. They had been hearing about the tornado warnings in our area. But about 8 AM they called and said they were on the way. They arrived with no problems. After they got here it started to rain quite hard and the tornado warnings were still on the weather channel but we had nothing but quite a bit of rain. We went to dinner and enjoyed ourselves at one of the local restaurants.

When we came back we were listening to the weather channel again and they reported a tornado had struck in San Antonio, which is about 25 miles north east of us. It damaged about 35 or 40 homes so I guess we were lucky that nothing happened here except quite a bit of rain.

And as Florida weather goes, right now the sun is shining again.

Sodus Free Library News:

DVDs recently put on our shelf include Ice Age 2: The Meltdown; How To Eat Fried Worms; Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest; Lassie; Barnyard; The Ant Bully; Air Buddies; Talladega Nights; World Trade Center; Superman Returns; The Fox and the Hound 2; Seinfeld, Season 7. With our new one-week loan period, there will be plenty of time to watch these new titles. You may put any of them on hold, or just stop by the Library, pick up one of our 'Circle the Video' forms, and we'll do it for you.

Some fun things to mark on your calendar at the Sodus Library:

• January 1 - Closed for New Year's Day
• January 8 - Preschool Story Hour, 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
• January 9 - Knitting Class (Sarah Harper), 2-4 p.m.
• January 11 - Library Board of Trustees meeting, 4 p.m.
• January 15 - Closed for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday
• January 16 - Knitting Class 2, 2-4 p.m.
• January 16 - Low-Income Tax Clinic (Rural Opportunities, Inc.), 5-8 p.m.
• January 18 - Friends of the Sodus Free Library meeting, 4 p.m.
• January 22 - Preschool Story Hour, 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
• January 23 - Knitting Class 3, 2-4 p.m.
• January 29 - Preschool Story Hour, 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
• January 30 - Knitting Class 4, 2-4 p.m.

A word from the Sodus Chamber about how beautiful the town looked for the Holidays.

Each business did a great job dressing up their windows with glittery garlands, bows, Christmas trees, ornaments and lots of lights. Some windows are sprayed with 'snow' or have painted murals like:

* Santa's sleigh and reindeer at Destinations Tours and Travel or the

* Charlie Brown Peace On Earth Gang on the windows at the DeValk, Power, Lair, and Wood Law Firm.

* The Barber Shop's display features a bench full of festive teddy bears with a Christmas tree and icicle lights in addition to Jim's always-great collection of plants.

* Northern Wayne Auto has a beautiful Christmas tree with frosty windows and a sign that declares 'Santa Stops Here!'

* Carter's Family Cafe's windows are outlined in blue garland accented by multicolored lights with an adorable display of Santas and snowmen, and

* giant bright red stockings look great against the new natural wood siding of the 1812 Hotel.

* Sun Rad and Poppy's Pizza both have beautiful Christmas trees in their large windows, and the window at

* Lizzie Mae's Shack is a sea of glittering gold.

* Flowers and Things provides a stunning display year 'round, and their holiday display is gorgeous.

* A miniature tree and reindeer and angel figurines greet you in Nichols Financial Services' window;

* wonderful light up snowman and Santa figures, wire deer sculptures and pretty packages make The Country Hardware's windows a real treat, along with a big red bow on the Harley Davidson that the Lions Club will be raffling in the spring.

* Clark Heating's eaves are lined with loads of lights.

* The Beautification Committee filled the storefront of the former bakery with a splendid display of antique wooden sleds and wagons, teddy bears and rocking horses and beautifully decorated Christmas trees.

So how on earth was a winner to be chosen? Seniors from the SHS National Honor Society were selected for the formidable task of judging on December 2: Jessie Lagasse, Teagan Lukacs, and Laura Rowe.

The winner was declared to be The Hair Menagerie; the building's posts are wrapped with red ribbon and green garland and there are festive red bows, a Christmas tree complete with wrapped presents, and lots of icicle lights highlighting the scalloped white gingerbread work.

Kudos to all of the businesses that participated, and to the continued efforts of the Beautification Committee! Yes...do take a stroll through the Village; the combination of the Village's decorations on light posts and in the park together with the efforts of local business people have made our town one of the prettiest around!

So, now we keep picking up the pieces of wrapping paper that we spent so many hours putting onto those special presents. Soon, the tree will be down and the living room will have so much space again. A new year is coming with new goals, adventures, new books at the libraries to read. You can start a new scrap book or journal to keep track of everything. Whatever didn't get done last year, I'm sure is waiting patiently for you to tackle this year. Have realistic goals. They are easier to keep.

Make it work for you and have fun.

And, of course, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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