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We post this on Christmas eve so please forgive the repetition if you remember it from last year…

Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the store
The coffee was brewing
As friends came in the door.

The fly rods were leaning
In the corner with Bill,
And Danny had his eyes
on the reels and the till.

The waders were hung
on the wall with the boots,
And the customers came
in long jackets and suits.

We sold tools and books
and nippers and things,
fresh water patterns
and many with wings.

There were duffels and vests
and dry bags for Jim Wilson,
by Orvis and FishPond
and Simms and by Filson.

Some caddis and streamers
And hackle and flash,
The orders kept coming
For fly fishers to cast.

Customer questions
came out of the blue,
On Loomis, On Nautilus
on Patagonia too!

The day ended at four
with our staff on the run,
but the customers were pleased
with their boxes of fun.

As we gear up for the winter
We thank one and all,
for your business and friendship
In Spring Summer and Fall.

We hope you have enjoyed
your visits this year,
And want you to join us
in the New Year for some cheer!

Hugo will be in the office
inputting new stock and new flies,
And Sheldon will be here
To teach some new ties.

We have many things planned
that we hope will excite,
but for now it is Christmas
And to all a good night!

Thank you & Merry Christmas to all of our customers. We hope you and yours have a safe and happy holiday.

NOTE: We will be closed on Boxing Day but will be open on Tuesday December 27.

I attended a funeral service yesterday in Fergus for Tim O’Sullivan and was very pleased to see so many people in attendance. There were a few tears, a lot of laughs and it was a good send off for a man who was taken before his time. My mother passed away in August 2008 and I think she was a great lady. She was a bit of a fatalist and one of her favourite sayings was, “Things happen – and don’t – for a reason.” I could hear her speaking these words as I sat in the funeral parlor yesterday and, as usual, I took comfort in the memory of her voice. I also took comfort in the stories that were related of Tim and hope that his family was able to do so as well.

After the service I took the long way home so I could drive through the countryside and when I got to my computer I had the following link waiting for me that I thought under the circumstances was the perfect way to end the day.

Tim – here’s to you. And Mom, I hope you’re doing well… I am thankful for having known you both.

http://tedxtalks.ted.com/embed/player/container/1280/666/?layout=&content_type=content_item&playlist_cid=&media_type=video&content=S0V11804QXQR55CR&read_more=1&widget_type_cid=svp&referrer=http%3A%2F%2F36ohk6dgmcd1n-c.c.yom.mail.yahoo.net%2Fom%2Fapi%2F1.0%2Fopenmail.app.invoke%2F36ohk6dgmcd1n%2F9%2F1.0.35%2Fca_rogers%2Fen-CA-x-rogers%2Fview.html

I was at the Forks of the Credit on the weekend to see some friends who live in the area and was able to take a few moments to check out the river. It looked much like this photo except there was not as much snow. I have to admit that just standing there on the side of the Dominion Street bridge watching the water flow beneath me made my day. There may only be 6 shopping days left until Christmas but I spent the better part of the weekend thinking about seeing the Forks of the Credit.

I have a friend who is an avid angler and she once admitted to me with a bit of embarrassment that in the middle of the winter she sometimes finds herself taking her fly rods out of their tubes and just looking at them. When she told me this I smiled knowingly because, well, I get it.

Standing along the banks of the Credit River does the same thing to me…

Ok folks – it is the 2nd week of December and we do not yet have any submissions to this month’s photo contest so ‘man up’ (or ‘woman up’ if you are so inclined…) and send us your pictures for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate and get in some free Christmas shopping!

http://www.canadasflyfishingoutfitter.com/gallery-submission.php