Well, folks, we are two weeks from Christmas and closing in fast. As usual, I am not nearly ready. I did get packages mailed out of town and most of my other shopping done, but that's it. Not a cookie baked. No lovely decorations. And Christmas cards are but a thought at this point.

Just finished our two weekend run of Scrooge at the art center in Winnsboro, and that took up a great deal of time. Maybe now I can make a list of things I need to do to get ready for Christmas. Including taking time to reflect on why we celebrate. As Tiny Tim says in Scrooge, "It might be nice for people to remember on Christmas who it was that made blind men see and lame men walk."

Some of the people who have seen all three productions of Scrooge since we started doing the show in 2007, said that they are always pleased to find something new to enjoy. This year, we had several new cast members, including a new Bob Cratchit, and each actor brings his or her own sense of the character. Gus Gustafson played Bob this year with a bit of whimsy at times that was very endearing. The children responded to the sense of fun and the family dinner scene had a new dimension to it.

And we had a wonderful guest performer, Andy McCollum, who had years of experience in broadcast radio and used his strong voice for the Ghost of Christmas Present. What a delight that was.

Maddie Nittmo, gave a powerful performance as the Ghost of Christmas Past, and made Scrooge take stock of the miserly life he had led up to that point.

It was a joy to work with the whole cast and everyone gave such a strong performance it raised the bar for the whole cast.

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The Winnsboro Center for the Arts is continueing the Holiday Gift Shoppe until December 22. Local artists and crafters have items for sale, and I have signed copies of my book, One Small Victory on sale there. Books make wonderful gifts for people who like to read, so here is an easy way to start checking names off your holiday gift list.

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If you are interested, I do write regularly on my blog so you can always hop over there to catch up with me if I haven't updated this column in a while. I try my best, but gosh there is so much to do.