Each year around this time a wonderful thing happens in our community. Many people from Amissville come together to help others by way of the community Christmas baskets. I don’t have the exact year this tradition started, but clearly there’s a history of Amissville being a very caring community. The project was started by the Ruritans who were soon joined by the Amissville Methodist Church. Other churches eagerly joined followed by the fire department, the boy and girl scouts and now it’s truly a community endeavor. Everyone has the opportunity to get involved by contributing food in the boxes that will soon appear at various local places of business including the fire department and the post office. We were just reminded of how much we have as we celebrated Thanksgiving. Here’s our chance to share with some of our neighbors who may not be quite as fortunate. The boxes will stay out until the week before Christmas and then will be collected. A group of young people will get together to assemble the boxes of food that will ultimately be delivered to the needy here in Amissville. In a typical year about 25 boxes of food are distributed. Next a group of local women will assemble to put together baskets of fruit. The fruit baskets, along with poinsettias will go to elderly neighbors, shut-ins and anyone they know of who has lost a spouse in the last year. So watch for the boxes and be generous! None of us knows when it might be our turn to need a little help from our neighbors!

This Saturday evening between 5 and 8 p.m., you’ll have the opportunity to continue eating your way through the holiday season! But this time you’ll be able to use the excuse that it’s for a good cause! The Amissville Volunteer Fire Department is once again holding their annual ham and turkey dinner. Whether you go for the country ham, the turkey, the wonderful side dishes or the homemade desserts you are bound to have plenty to eat. While I’m a big fan of the food, I’m also looking forward to running into some of my neighbors that I may not have seen in awhile. It’s a great place to catch up on the latest news. The cost of dinner is $12 for adults, $6 for children 6-12 and free for children 5 and under. Remember that the money goes to help the people who will help all of us when something goes wrong.

Gray Ghost Winery is holding a Holiday Open House on Saturday and Sunday, December 2^nd and 3^rd. You’ll have the chance to see the world’s largest cork Christmas display with over 50,000 corks! And there’s a 10 foot Christmas tree as well. The event will, of course, feature great food and great Gray Ghost wines. Those of you who have made this an annual event will also have the opportunity to get the 12^th in a series of holiday glasses. The cost of this event is $15 per adult and includes the food, wine and collectible glass. The cost is $7 for those under 21.

Tis the season for family and friends to come visiting! While there’s none of that to report at our house, there seems to be plenty of company coming elsewhere in the neighborhood!

Don and Valerie Jones of Amissville welcomed their daughter Camilla Anne Jones Corn and her husband, John Wing Corn from San Diego. Camilla and John are newlyweds and were back to celebrate an early Christmas on the 21^st here in Amissville. They were joined by the Jones’ daughter, Courtney, who currently lives in Midland and her husband Patrick and their children. They all enjoyed a sumptuous buffet and 8 kinds of cookies baked by Valerie. Camilla and John then headed by car down to Murfreesboro, TN to celebrate Christmas again with more family there.

Roy & Myrtle Jenkins were glad to have their son Jeff, his wife, Pat and their two boys home for Christmas. Jeff and his family live in Ohio and make it back here for most major holidays. The Jenkins two other children, Bev and Terry, and their families live nearby and were also on hand to celebrate the holidays. Myrtle even baked her special chocolate cake for the occasion! Rumor has it she may be saving me a piece!

With Christmas already behind us, most of us are already thinking ahead to 2007 and what the next year will bring. I’d love to predict here that it will bring peace on earth, but I don’t see much evidence to support that. So, I thought I’d focus on what the New Year will bring closer to home. I’ve been asking people what changes 2007 will bring in their lives.

Mike Suess initially told me his life was “awfully good just the way it is.” But upon further reflection he decided 2007 will be the year that he’s able to get two cars in his garage. I’m guessing Mike’s not the only one with that on his agenda this year!

Hazel Zinn-Day was excited to tell me that 2007 will make her a great aunt twice! Hazel is the niece of Dorothy Hackley and the cousin of Brad Nicholas who runs Hackley’s store. It’s nice to see their family continue to grow. Maybe one of these babies will be the next generation of those keeping Hackley’s alive and thriving here in Amissville!

Kit Johnston from Madison went out of her way to tell me that 2007 will bring more time for her and her border collie at Mountain View Training Center in Amissville. She raved about the work that Averil and Ken Ring do there. I hope to feature more on this local business in a future column so stay tuned!

There were a few people who were happy to tell me about plans for 2007 anonymously! Here are some of their contributions:

“I’ll be joining the new Weight Watchers group in Rappahannock County.”

“Christmas in 2007 will definitely be less crazy at our house! Enough already!”

“I’m going to get more involved in my community.”

“My kids will do their homework immediately after school if I have to tie them to their chairs!”

As for us here, our 2007 will hopefully bring no snakebites, a great garden, more time for family and friends and a continuing column about Amissville! Happy New Year!