Peace on Earth and Good Will to Mankind

About 12 years ago my daughter Leigh came home with a white pine seedling from her school's Earth Day celebration. I planted it just for fun. The tree is now almost 20 feet high, and is the winter decoration highlight of our neighborhood. It's getting harder and harder to get to the top to light it, it grows about two feet a year. This time I backed up the Volvo, climbed on the roof, and on tiptoes used a rake tied to a long pole. I joke that someday this tree will be in Rockefeller Center.

It's Chia Time!

I run across this little critter in the basement a few times a year. We bought it over a decade ago at Christmas time, and it hung around for a while longer. My wife tried to throw it out one day, but I was lucky to see its little head forlornly sticking out of the garbage. I immediately rescued it! Well, I had to scold her a little bit, and tell her the Chia was important, while she snickered at me.

There were "Chia-Chia" commercials every year around this time, but I have not seen one yet. I can take the easy way out and Google chia, but I'd rather be kept in suspense, and learn if they have survived through that old medium...non-interactive television. So I'm waiting for those commercials to show up.

There has always been something fascinating about the Chia Pet. I think I have nailed it down, it looks an awful lot like that timeless Giza Sphynx, when viewed from the right angle.

I just brought little Chia up from the basement, rinsed him off, and put him up on my bookshelf near another Christmas toy, our Furby. Yes, he opened his eyes, woke up and said a few words when I picked him up, though I have not touched him for many months.

It's coming up on that magic time of the year!