"It's a twister. It's a twister!"

Okay, no, it wasn't that bad, but if you've been following the news (and I gather our local weather did at least make the national news), we had one of the worst windstorms ever to hit the Northwest sweep through the other day. We're still out of power (thank goodness my parents' place still has power, heat, and an internet connection — guess where I'm posting from, and will be staying for another night or two?), but the worst damage we have is a tree that fell and hit our car (you can see the damage here on my wife's blog), and maybe some ice cream that we'll have to throw out. We're in pretty good shape, and the insurance will take care of the damage to the car.

Today did give me a chance to look at an Oz-related book I've had sitting around for a while: The 2003 edition of The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, illustrated by Michael Hague. I didn't actually read it, as I've read the story a few times already, I was just interested in the pictures. And Hague does a terrific job. I especially like his take on Claus as a young man. I'm not sure about the wings on Ak, however. Still, it's a terrific edition, well made and put together, with nice illustrations. I think a lot of people would enjoy it, and I don't just mean Oz people.