Merry Christmas!

Nothing like a few snowflakes to change one's travel plans . . .

We are scurrying about trying to get things in order to cross Snoqualmie pass before Sunday's monstrous snowstorm, the one that's supposed to dump 7-10 inches in Moscow and carry twice that, with 70-mph-hour winds, along with it. We drive a Prius. Good little snow car, good in a little snow. Not so much, maybe, in the true-blizzard state that's coming. Of course I'd appreciate your prayers. However, we're packed so tightly that I'm not sure any harm could come even if we did crash.

I hope that each and every one of you -- those who know me from Moscow and those across the country who hope never to meet me, those of you who heartily applaud what I say and those of you who believe I need a trip to the ecclesiastical woodshed pronto -- have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year. If you celebrate Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, accept my sincere wishes for joyful times with your families and friends. And if you just like snow and extra baked goods, with no religious significance at all, please know that I wish you all the best as well.

Emmanuel, God with us. It never ceases to astound me . . .