With the bite of early winter nipping here and there it's time for the scribbler to look a bit harder at the finer points of the season.
Yes, another Christmas is around the corner, and while everyone is keeping a tight watch on family budgets during this long and often painful recession, there will still be plenty of holiday joy. That is because there will always be a Santa Claus for all of Innisfail's little Virginias, who never cease believing in miracles.
There is, after all, much to be grateful for. Here in Innisfail, town council is proposing a zero per cent tax increase for 2017, despite the looming provincial carbon tax that will bite further into hard pressed family budgets. Everywhere holiday season events are going ahead in earnest, as witnessed last weekend with the annual Hometown Christmas and Christmas Farmers Market. There will be many more to come around town, and for the third year in a row, the CP Holiday Train will be arriving Dec. 9, a fundraising event targeted for the growing number of needy that rely on the Innisfail and District Food Bank.
As for me, the early winter bite brought its own special joy.
A few weeks ago, a nice lady from a nearby rural farm dropped by the office to place an advertisement that she had barn kittens to give away. I have wanted to get a tiny kitty for my Top Cat since her brother Spyryt passed away 18 months ago. There were a couple of opportunities to get one much earlier but unforeseen circumstances forced a delay.
But now there was nothing stopping me, especially since I recently moved into my own lovely new home in Bowden. I said yes to adopting a homeless kitten unseen. Two days later the kitten arrived, a little long-haired furball that warmed the hearts of everyone in the office.
I then had to choose a name. I thought about a YouTube video I watched some time ago that had a cat on a boat playing and nuzzling with a dolphin that had popped out of the sea. The kitten's name was Thunder, and that was it. The little guy was going to his forever home with the moniker of Thunder.
For the past two weeks, Thunder has lived up to his name, racing everywhere, exploring his new digs, and bewildering a very alarmed Top Cat every chance he gets.
But perplexed or not, Top Cat finally has a new forever playmate. As for me, the early winter nips and bites from a new furry family member is a sign there is always goodness about. We just have to really look.
