Looking at the weather forecast, I believe we will have a green Christmas. The shortest day of the year occurred yesterday and it will start staying lighter later — which will not upset me in the least.

Happy birthday to all who celebrated their day this past week. Big balloons go out to Mikhalia Lewis who celebrated on Dec. 16; Pilco Apaza, Shamere Coke, Michael De Freitas and Lochian Pearl, who all celebrated Dec. 18; Cooper Avakian, Asaph Braz and Kinzie Phillips, Dec. 19; Kaia Abreu, Dec. 20; and to John Motiary and Julia Oliveira, who celebrated on Dec. 21.

We were hit with some heavy rain and some really strong winds. The beaches took a beating and the trees were cleaned of bad branches. But we were fortunate that we did not lose electricity and no one was hurt.

This was my favorite week of the holiday shopping when I worked at Village Fair. We would watch husbands and fathers going up and down the street, going in and out of stores while trying to find the right present. It is probably different now with online shopping and wish lists, but we had some great chuckles.

As we go into the holidays, please keep our service men and women in your prayers for a safe return. Also, any time of year is difficult to lose loved ones, but these last two months have been very difficult for several families losing their members so close to the holidays. It is a reminder of how lucky we are to have our families to be thankful for. They are all in our thoughts and prayers.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. If you are traveling, please travel safe.

Have a great week and keep the home candles burning.