What lies ahead:

23	Days
13	Hours
21	Minutes

Thats right, actually by the time you view this, it will be less than that. Im taking advantage of this day off to dig in and begin the transformation. From the generic autumnal decor to the minimalist Christmas I like to run. What? Why are you looking at me like that? Allright - so I decorate every part of the house. How could you not?

I'm more likely to celebrate this in grand style than I am my own birthday. Then again, who wants to celebrate the fact you lived long enough to pay more taxes and spend more than you save?

Yeah - Im overjoyed by birthdays.

Allright - lets start digging into my stack o' Christmas stuff.

Every day Im going to pull out an ancient memory of something from Christmas past. Like today. Im 30. That puts my birthyear as 1975 - the middle of the disco era, I came into my own musically when I hit about 7 or 8, and could figure out how to work the radio. I had records and plenty of them. With my little Fisher Price Record Player, I was my own DJ. One of the first albums I really became attached to, oddly enough, was "Perry Como sings Merry Christmas Music."

Ok - go ahead. Laugh if you must.

The album opened with Perry reading "Twas the night before Christmas..." and if I remember correctly, I rarely made it past that before falling asleep. There was something warm and magical in Mr. Como's voice. I would fall asleep to Perry talking about sugarplums dancing and wake up to the scratching of the needle on the label.

Very little modern holiday music has moved me the way Mr. Como did, and apparently according to Amazon - these recordings are over 50 years old now. So when it comes to the holidays, short of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, theres not much modern I like. Call me a curmudgeon, but its true. Damn kids... AND GET OFF MY LAWN!

As my boss pointed out yesterday, Im a big old softy when it comes to the holidays. Well, considering my taste in holiday music - its not exactly shocking as to why. Sentimental? You betcha.

Forgotten-Roanoke will be at the tree lighting Friday night, come cold or wind - I was at the County one last year - in the rain and wind, and was dissappointed at how "inner circle" it seemed. Most of the activity was inside a small tent which did not seem for the general public.

And now if you'll excuse me, I have a townful of buildings that needs a home.