Well, first of all Merry Christmas to all my readers. Second if you are in ‘last minute’ mode, the Island Store is open on Christmas Eve until 2 p.m. and closed Christmas Day. On New Year’s Eve the store will be open all day, better to buy your spirits, but closed New Year’s Day.

On Christmas Eve, instead of the gathering at All Saints by-the-Sea, a worship service filmed this fall at the chapel will be available for viewing at allsaintssouthport.org, beginning at the usual time 10 p.m. The film of the service will be archived so that you can also view it later. You can also attend an in-person, candlelight worship service at the Southport United Methodist Church beginning at 4 p.m. To comply with Maine CDC rules you must wear a mask and stay six feet apart. Only 35-40 people will be able to enter the building.

I hear that a group of Southport Island Association (SIA) board members and other ‘munchkins’ as well as Mrs. Claus, delivered 18 Southport Island Store pies to islanders who live alone. A picture of this group appears elsewhere in this paper. Anyone on the island needing help during this winter and pandemic time may call SIA President, Alice Mutch, at 410-353-3861 or SIA’s Helping Hands at 207-841-0577. Confidentially is assured.

I hope you had a chance to view the Southport Central School children’s concert last Friday, If not, you may still be able to view it virtually by clicking on https://drive.google.com/file/d/
1iqUyiLbhyph9LXrxPC4S6lvw16A8Y_HM/view?usp=sharing. The children and their teachers were quite creative bringing into the concert both the subject matter they have been working on this fall as well as some holiday songs. For example, they began with the topic, “Citizenship,” and saluted our military folks by singing the well known”Military Medley” and then sang the Bill of Rights. They wrote and performed some of their own compositions and illustrated a variety of rhythms. For the final moments they sang more traditional Christmas songs such as “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Raindeer” and “Jingle Bells.”

This morning, Monday, the youngsters were having a great time sledding down the school hill.

I hear there was a chimney fire last week on Cross Road, caused at least in part by the build-up of creosote. Our Southport fire department with the help of a ladder truck from Boothbay Harbor, were able to put out the fire without it spreading throughout the house. Well done, everyone. Good idea to keep your chimney clean.

Certainly not affected by the fire is a snowman that you can see when you are driving west on Cross Road. Near the eastern side, look left to see the three-balled figure sitting in the yard of a home you can see through the trees. I think he has a tall carrot on his head for a hat.

The outdoor day at our Alpaca Farm was lots of fun. The animals did not mind the snow, and when I was there, were burrowing their heads in the hay and raising up to look around while munching away with pieces of hay stuck to their heads creating hats. The youngest addition, named Dahlia, after the flower, has a lush tawny coat of fur into which I yearned to bury my hands, but instead, I had to be content to bury my hands into the furry dolls and soft sweaters. With hot cider and alpaca shaped ginger cookies to munch on, I finished my Christmas shopping. Thanks, Mike and Anne, for your generosity in donating a portion of the profits from the day to
charity and also collecting canned goods for the food pantry as your entry fee.

Hope you all enjoyed our lovely snow fall last week, so light that shoveling was not much of a problem. Unfortunate as it melted, it left a lot of ice on roads, driveways and walks, but perhaps warmer weather will melt it fully. Seems Santa will have to contend with a lot of rain this weekend. Stay safe all.