Links... No two are alike!

Some more links to share:

First off, a page with even more photos from the ice storm the Northeast has been dealing with since last week.

Viennetta is back! Do you remember it?

For the doubting little Sheldon or Leonard in your life, here is the Science Behind Santa's Magic.

Not sure I would want to live next door to any of these 17 Jaw-Dropping Christmas Light Shows, but they are very cool.

VERY cool gingerbread houses.

Horror Hacker's guide to the Saint Nicks of Horror.

Disney lets you add someone you know to Santa's Naughty or Nice list.

Classic TV Sitcom Christmas episodes. Love to see some of these again.

Even more classic TV Christmas episodes remembered. Love some of the pics they have here.

The 6 Best TV Show Rip-Offs of "A Christmas Carol". Don't remember "The Six-Million Dollar Man" doing it, but I SO want to see it now.

This site counts the 5 Best & 5 Worst Christmas specials. I remember the Star Wars Christmas Special. Sadly.

This Christmas, there are some marathons on TV. And this site is doing it's best to list them all!

And this page lists the specials you can view online and where to view them! Can it get any easier???

Addictive/frustrating "Guide Lines" game.

Another addictive game, this one involves throwing people... into buckets.

Identify the five differences.

An interesting personality test.

Handy site to check if your ID is registered on lots of sites all at once.

The cast of "How I Met Your Mother" recreating some highlights from 2008. Hilarious.

A cool holiday card from the offical website of the Boston Red Sox.

Lastly, have you ever seen a more bizarre Christmas ornament?

Ice Storm

The ice storm - wow. What can I say? It was amazing and horrible at the same time. We went to bed Thursday night hearing the ice fall and thinking it was a normal, winter-y storm. We woke up to what I can only describe as our entire area broken.

We made out MUCH better than almost everyone we know. We haven't lost power, and our only damage is the far end of our wooden fence was split in two by the fallen top of a tree. We had a lot more branches and limbs down, large and small, but none caused any further damage, including the one that landed askew on our GLASS patio table. I am not kidding, it did not break. Wow.

The house next door to us lost power and has had a generator running. They have a huge, old tree in their large yard, and it lost a major chunk, which pushed on a pole and, I guess, knocked their power out. National Grid was outside for at least a full day, and yet I still hear the generator running this morning.

My brother-in-law lost power, as well, and had many, many trees down all over his yard. He finally got his power restored around 4:30 this morning. He said he has at least a day with the chainsaw in his yard alone.

Our 'niece' and her family also live in town, and have lost power, as well. They found a generator at Home Depot (luckily), but are still waiting for the lights to go back on.

Our good friends in Holden, which was one of the hardest hit areas, have a ton of issues. They are without power, had one tree uprooted, a basketball hoop smashed, a car rear windshield shattered and a flooded cellar. Luckily, a neighbor loaned them a generator to get their sump pump working, and their niece offered them shelter.

The amount of trees and downed power and phone lines is just amazing. As my other brother-in-law said, you thought people were exaggerating until you actually drove around a bit and saw for yourself. It looks more like a tornado blew through town than an ice storm. Trees and poles and wires, everywhere. Unreal.

School was cancelled on Friday and again for today. I know my daughter's school is being used as the shelter for our town, and I imagine that will continue until all power is restored. To give you an idea of what it looks like out there, my youngest son said he would have rather have had school than have it be like it is outside.

Estimates for power resortation vary. Some parts of town are nearly out-of-reach like my brother-in-law's, but he got power back this morning. So, I guess it all depends on what the repair people are able to do and when they are able to do it. Kudos to everyone who has been out there since Thursday night. The cold makes their job even worse, but they have been at it all this time, working to bring things back to normal. Smaller storms are due in the next couple of days, here's to hoping they don't make things worse.

Our best to everyone, take care & stay safe.

Some links:

Thousands Still Without Power Three Days After Storm

Local people sent in their own photos

List of area closings

Home slowly regain power