The countdown really starts, and freezing rain is in the forecast for the weekend. Hoo-boy! I hope we don’t lose our power. Just in case, I will be filling my stockpots with water. I hate it when it rains in the winter. Given that we don’t lose our power, I will be making thumb print cookies and pie knots for the holidays. (Perhaps I’ll make them tomorrow, before the storm comes. Just in case.) Power or not, we can still make peanut butter balls, using our camp stove.

Yesterday, someone who shall remain nameless chastised me for wishing him a happy holiday. “You can say Merry Christmas, and I won’t be offended,” he said in a snarky tone.

“Happy holidays covers it all,” I replied in what I hoped was a breezy manner.

I remain unrepentant. Happy holidays does indeed cover it all. Not everyone is a Christian. Not everyone celebrates Christmas, and as I had just met Mr. Snarky a few hours before wishing him happy holidays, I had no idea what his inclinations or beliefs were.

Therefore, readers, happy holidays to you all. May your power stay on, may your celebrations be merry, and may you eat some wonderful food.

From NPR’s the salt: A nuanced look at meat and dairy consumption. One of the sensible conclusions: Those of us who can afford to eat meat should eat less of it.

From the Washington Post: An experimental way of growing rice in Maryland.

From the New Yorker: Whole Foods comes to Brooklyn. An interesting side note: John Mackey, the C.E.O., is a “staunch libertarian and free-market devotee” who nonetheless doesn’t object to federal subsidies for his stores. Sure thing.

From Salon: While we are on the subject of retail stores…Joan Walsh takes a look at “How America Created a Low-Wage Work Swamp.” According to research from the University of California-Berkeley’s Labor Center and the University of Illinois, “[f]ully 52 percent of fast-food workers’ families receive public assistance – most of it coming from Medicaid, food stamps and the Earned Income Tax Credit.”

On a happier note…from the Portland Press Herald: The winner of the holiday cookie contest—Kransekake Sticks Dipped in Chocolate. Sounds delicious!