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“And the night smells like snow. Walking home for a moment, you almost believe you could start again. And an intense love rushes to your heart and hope. It’s unendurable, unendurable.” ~ Franz Wright 

 

As Christmas gets closer and closer, I’ve avoided falling for the fruitcake bait that looms in every grocery store: endless arrays of different kinds. It definitely helps control the fruitcake urge that Fresh Market remains closed locally due to flooding from Helene. 

There, I was tempted by one fruitcake brand with more nuts than candied fruit (no remarks from the peanut gallery, Dear Reader). No eggnog has jumped in my cart either, not one drop. It helps that the refrigerator has given up the ghost twice since Helene, and after losing food both times, I hesitate before getting anything that needs refrigeration. Yes, I know…fruitcake keeps forever (and ever). The stuff is eternal with an afterlife. 

In tossing out another round of refrigerated food after Thanksgiving, one thing led to another. Plastic containers—those things multiply in the dark when you’re not looking! Out, out, the multitudes went. I thought, how MANY does one woman need as I sorted a few out to keep. After battling with tossing food and containers, then sorting through cabinets (with flashlight in hand) where forgotten cans and boxes get lost in the no man’s land in the ‘way back,’ I was done in. 

Of course, the day is right around the corner when you need one of those containers, and can’t find it…nary a one to be found. I’m still wondering where I stashed that much neater and smaller pile of containers, all with matching lids. I’ve quite managed to hide them from myself. Let no good deed go unpunished, a certain woman mutters to herself as she roots around hunting once again. 

No matter what, we can find a good laugh at ourselves as the holiday daze sets in, and we need a smile. I’m sending you one, Dear Reader, from my heart to yours, that no matter how you celebrate, you’ll tuck that smile into your day and stay far away from taking on those tossing-out projects for a while! 

 

• There will be a Community Christmas Potluck at 1 p.m. on December 25. If you can, bring a covered dish. 
• It’s hard to believe, but after 130 years, the historic Saluda Presbyterian Church is closing. December 29 is the last service, and the congregation invites all to attend at 11 a.m., with a reception afterward. The church is located at 54 Carolina Street, directly behind the Saluda library, where parking is available.
• Congratulations to the newly-elected Board of Directors of the Saluda Pantry: Kate Bush, Lynn Cass, Debi Thomas, and Merry Trask. 
• The Saluda Visitor Center at 20 W. Main is open daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. through December. Winter hours start in 2025. 
• Mountain Page Theater is selling tickets for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which will premiere on January 10. The cast includes actors ages 4 to 68. Visit www.mountainpage.theater for information or tickets. 

 

Saluda Sympathy goes to the family of Rich Igoe—Rich and Rita made Saluda home for many years, even after their three girls grew up. Many of us remember them at music events, their beloved dogs, and huge hearts. 

Happy December birthday to Judy Ward, Holly Wilkes, Theresa Wilkes, Perry Ellwood, Donnie Hunter, Jeff Bradley, Preston Mintz, Carolyn Morgan, Susan Casey, Nikki Ammerman, Cas Haskell, Mary O. Ratcliffe, Laura Fields, Lord Blanton, Beth Brand, Jim Carson, Susan Ansley, Tom DeKay, and Ana Lilburn. Remembering Jeff Jenkins on his birthday this month. 

Feel free to contact me at bbardos@gmail.com, (828) 817-6765, P.O. Box 331, Saluda, NC 28773, Facebook, or visit bonniebardos.com