Did everybody make it through the Holidays relatively unscathed?  Unfortunately, the holidays can be a very stressful and difficult time of the year.  It can also be a time of reunion, joy, and peace.  Fortunately for those of us here in Quackland it was the latter.  Mom held Christmas Eve at her house with a delightful dinner party for all our family, extended or otherwise, not to mention some very fun and lovely guests.  We sat at two nice round tables on her patio that was decorated to look like a winter wonderland, if you can imagine that here in Florida.  It was all glittery silver and gold right on down to the dishes.  She had our favorite caterer, Chez Gourmet, come to wine us and dine us, and as always they did a spectacular job.  We played games and we sang carols and it was a blast.

Christmas day of course took us all to Tim and Karin’s house, where Tim engages in an all day cook-a-thon making his signature crown roast of pork and all homemade green bean casserole.  Karin knocks us out with delicious baked apples.  Tons of conviviality and holiday cheer are had by all.  So there you have it, a brief description of Christmas with The Bice’s.  I hope your holidays went as well.

Now here we are well on our way into a new year and a new decade.  I myself am not a big fan of resolutions.  I know I always break them, not intentionally, but there you go.  So I just promise myself to try to do a little better this year than last.  It takes a lot of pressure off of me and allows me to do as I promised myself.  But I have a really good feeling about this year.  I think if we all can keep our hearts and our minds open, that good things are going to happen.  Here at Quack Central, we all believe that the world can change if everyone remembers to smile a little more often.  Be kinder to one another, and kinder to ourselves.  It takes way more of our personal energy to be nasty than it is to be nice.  And it is always returned a hundredfold.  Want to give yourself a boost of energy?  Let someone in front of you in traffic.  Thank a sales clerk with a smile.  Help someone across the street.  It costs you nothing and believe me you will be instantly rewarded.  We all want instant gratification.  Here’s your chance.  Give it try.  Kindness will win us the day!  Remember, here at the Quacker Factory we’re changing the world one smile at a time.

Hugs and Quacks,

Lee