When it starts to get cold out...like it is today...we take the house from its Summer state of open windows and doors to a tomb-like state of air tight, weather insulated isolation. Having the house closed up offers the opportunity to fill the house with fantastic aromas when you are cooking. When I come home from work in the Winter...I can tell if there is some fantastic meal waiting just by the smell...or...the lack of one means that my wife is on her way out that night and I am cooking...or...we are all packing up and headed somewhere for dinner. My two star chefs in the house made some Molasses cookies this past weekend...and they did their job of filling the house with wonderful smells.

I think one of my favorite things about Christmas is how much things like the tree, holiday candles, holiday cookies and the richer type foods we tend to cook around that time, place such memory filled aromas throughout the house. I always complain that Christmas is over promoted way too early by businesses trying to sell things...but this year I am looking forward to an early and long Christmas season. Times are tough from an economic point of view and I hope that whether people can afford to buy a lot of gifts or not...that this year they don't. This is a good year for truly embracing the Christmas spirit...sharing the spirit of love and friendship with family and friends...helping others that are less fortunate...and most importantly...taking the time to be thankful for that which we have...and less focused on those things we don't have.