Hello, bloggers, and happy holidays to you!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving up on the farm in Wisconsin.  Everyone came, and we had a great family time of togetherness and sharing.

All of the Thanksgivings and Christmases that I remember from my childhood were either at my Grandmother and Grandfather Lamb’s house or at our own home above the funeral home my parents owned.

Because we were in the funeral business, it was always a bittersweet time.  Because we lived above the funeral home, we would in many cases invite the bereaved families up for dinner.

Also, because it was a family-owned business, all the employees wanted off, so most holidays were interrupted by my father and me having to go to somebody’s house or to the hospital to pick up the deceased.

Christmas and Thanksgiving were more of a challenge than a joyous time for me personally, because I was trying to do many different things at the same time and divide myself between family and the funeral tasks.

After I became an artist, things changed considerably.

Rose is a real holiday person, so our Thanksgiving now is absolutely incredible.  We all have figured out our rituals.

Everyone arrives carrying food...  Everybody has their own recipes...  Joe and Sheila bring the ribs, both boiled and barbecued, and homemade sauerkraut...

Rosemarie and Colleen bring their different dips.

They take Rose out shopping and they have a great time seeing how much food everyone including the entire Russian Army can eat!!

Then, that evening, we always have a great dance fest, where somebody brings the music, which is raucous...  REO Speedwagon, REM, Pink Floyd...  and we all dance and sing and have a great time, singing our songs for hours, until we’ve completely physically worn off our dinners.

Then we eat again.

Finally we plop into bed, waiting for the next day, for Rosemarie and her friend to make great homemade biscuits and gravy with sausage, and then an egg and cheese omelette that’s to die for!  (All of these meals are highly endorsed by the National Funeral Director’s Association!)

Then comes the main course, the dinner, and then sandwiches later on...

In the meantime we play basketball and go for long walks.

Kevin brings his all-purpose vehicle and we ride through the woods looking for foxes and coyotes and deer to look at.It’s an amazing, wonderful family time.  Every year is the same, but every year is 100%.

While we were up there, I also worked some on my new storage facility where many of my paintings will be stored.  Here’s a picture of Rose and me “cutting the ribbon!”

So that was our Thanksgiving!

Christmas always seems more structured, with everybody running around trying to see everybody else.  We always really enjoy seeing our son Matt, who comes on Christmas.

Rose and I leave right after Christmas for our home in Florida, where I work most of the time.  So that’s more or less a capsule of what we do.

Ho ho ho, and away we go!

Matt