FUN FACT: They were originally called Meanderthals because they used to meander all around the place but somebody changed it to Neanderthals just because.

Gingerbread has never been a friend of mine. For decades I have tried to make gingerbread houses with very poor results. I now leave those houses to the experts and to the store bought kits that are easy to assemble. Oh, Target, where were you when I was a kid?

All I could think was how happy I am that I didn't have to lay out all of those drones. A planogram nightmare, for sure.

Hi Miss Cellania, I hope you and everyone at Neatorama are having a lovely, happy and healthy holiday season. And may we all have a Happy New Year!

Nothing like having to pull a piece of tinsel hanging out of a cat's bum to really get in the holiday mood. Every year, the same thing. I had no idea tinsel was so tasty.

Just for a bit of clarification, my MIL grew up in extreme poverty in West Virginia so her idea of elegance and class tended towards glitter and rhinestones and red flocked bathroom wallpaper which my mother said belonged in a whorehouse's restroom. Years ago my MIL bought a tinsel type of Xmas tree. It was white and it came with a plastic wheel you placed in front of the tree which was sectioned into 4 different transparent colors of cellophane that slowly spun in a circle with a light bulb that shone through the wheel so the tree was constantly changing color every 15 seconds or so. She placed it in front of the big living room picture window for all to see. At least it wasn't a plastic leg with a fringed lampshade. Tacky, tacky, tacky.

If I received some of those cards with dead animals or people trying to kill animals then I believe they would make me cry. They certainly don't make me think of happy thoughts for the holiday. Which makes me wonder WHAT THE HECK WERE THEY THINKING??

When I lived in Louisiana it was pretty common to see a batch of wild pigs/boars by the side of the road or highways. They ate the roadkill. But I never saw any dead pigs. Those animals are quite smart, IMO. And dangerous. And destructive to people's gardens.

Knocking on wood is an old pagan/Celtic tradition. They believed that trees had spirits living inside of them and 'knocking on wood' would get the spirit's attention and that hopefully the spirit would help the knocker avoid any unpleasantries.

I knew an old gentleman who was very good at guessing what sex your baby would be. He said that unmarried women who got pregnant were more likely to have their firstborn be a girl. But a married woman's 1st child would probably be a boy. He put it down to women's hormones and their strong sex drive would produce a girl. He said a lot of women that married were virgins and probably afraid of sex so their lack of 'desire' led to more male children being firstborn. He was spot on about me and my mother. Hardly a scientific study, though.

I've never known a child to not want a fridge or oven cardboard box to play with. They will spend hours coloring or painting them and turning them into all sorts of things like a pirate ship or a UFO or submarine or a dragon or a mini house, etc. And when the big box has been reduced to flat panels they use them to slide down hills, stairs or mounds of snow. Best toy, ever!

My great grandmother lived to 113. My grandfather was 97 when he passed (his 2nd wife did him in). My other grandparents lived into their late 80's and my mother passed at 99. So I am wondering what I will accomplish during my life span since I've got 30 years to go to get to 100. Maybe I'll go build a spaceship because it's good to keep trying new things. But I'll stay away from the Kraken rum for my 100th birthday because it tastes great but that stuff makes me crazy.