Good Nisse, God Jul

God Jul! God Jul! It's feeling like the holidays now with my son and daughter-in-law newly arrived at the house and the stockings on the mantle gradually filling and bulging with promising little packages. According to Scandinavian lore, the fellow pictured above is a nisse - a rather elfin-like character who feeds and cares for animals in the cold winter months. A person who is mean to animals runs the risk of invoking the nisse's mischievious wrath and all sorts of inconvenient things may start to afflict him or her - losing keys, forgetting one's grocery list, suffering a sneezing fit, all rather minor annoyances but with a cumulative punch. Our rash of bad karma with cars just keeps on rolling. The Eurovan is spending day 3 in the shop and it will cost a cool grand to spring the steed later today. GHIW's Subaru is once again flashing its "check engine" light after being at the garage for four hours yesterday. What gives? I've been nice to animals, really! I mean, even that mouse I swear I heard in the walls last night is still cozy in the insulation since I haven't had time to lay the mouse traps and poison in the basement. Merry, merry to all.