We hear from the Catherine Violet Hubbard Foundation of their appreciation for all who supported Senior Pet Adoption month. One delightful success story from the sanctuary’s Senior Paw Project is shared: “Sweet senior kitty Annie was adopted after being at the local shelter for a full year. Working with the wonderful team at Newtown Animal Control Shelter, our Senior Paw Program stepped in to help a senior woman with on-going veterinary support so she could adopt this wonderful cat. Annie now sleeps in her arms every night and couldn’t be happier. A true example of seniors helping seniors!” If you would be interested in learning more about the Senior Paw Project or would like to foster an animal in need, please e-mail info@cvhfoundation.org.

Fresh off her book signing event with The Garden Club of Newtown last Saturday in her hometown (and then a second one that same day at Griswold Inn), Newtown resident and brilliant decorator-designer-author Nora Murphy will be on the road again this weekend. Nora’s next event to celebrate her book, Nora Murphy’s Country House Style: Making Your Home A Country House, is scheduled for Saturday, December 8, from 4 to 6 pm, at RJ Julia Books in Madison. This may be the final event for a while for Nora, whose beautiful book (“Country Houses, Nora Murphy Style, Are Celebrated in Vendome Press Release,” October 12, 2018) was released in September.

Speaking of last Saturday, it was a very busy one with a surprising ending for Linda Jones. Linda spent much of her day at Newtown Congregational Church, where she helped organize and celebrate the Families United in Newtown Holiday Celebration. She was still at the church at the conclusion of a Community Holiday Concert that NCC hosted that evening, and it was her ticket that was picked for a seven-day cruise anywhere Royal Caribbean travels! Linda will also receive a voucher to offset some of her travel expenses, and she gets to take one guest with her.

There is still time to donate new, unwrapped toys for children and teens in need this holiday season through the Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots program. The Newtown Bee visited Toys For Tots drop-off location Murphy’s Pub/Hog Wild BBQ, located at 71 South Main Street, and found generous donors had contributed more than 20 Build-A-Bears, sports balls, dolls, and more to the program. Donations will continue to be collected at Murphy’s Pub/Hog Wild BBQ — and many other Newtown and Monroe locations — until December 15.

Feel like doing a little ringing? The Salvation Army bell ringers would love some assistance next Friday, December 14 at Bottle Stop, Queen Street, 7-8 pm; Pizza Palace, Church Hill Road, 7-8 pm; Walgreens, South Main Street, 5-6 pm and 7-8 pm; and Stop & Shop South (Bottle return side), 4-5 pm and 7-8 pm. Contact aroosterw@yahoo.com or call 203-417-3004 to volunteer. The money collected goes to help Newtown residents pay for heat, utilities, and other expenses.

Yvonne Grimes, who lives at Kearns Farm, 7 Bennetts Bridge Road, called this week to let us know that the Nativity scene she introduced at the farm last year was returning for another holiday season. The scene is simple, but stunning. It is set within one of the farm’s larger barns and offers a view of the familiar scene in the manger on the night Jesus was born. Last year, a single string of lights hung over the scene — featuring the wise men, a few sheep, a donkey, a pair of shepherds, and an angel, in addition to the Holy Family — which could be seen when the barn’s red doors with white trim were slid open. Floodlights filled the opening, catching the eyes of passersby for a few weeks. Yvonne said many people commented on last year’s presentation, so she just wanted to let everyone know that it was returning.

David Boyce of Sarasota, Fla. sent us a nice note and a Christmas card designed by and sent to him 42 years ago from his late brother, Joseph. It turns out that Joseph was an employee of The Newtown Bee many years ago, working as a job printer. The clever card has Santa and his reindeer tangled about a tall flagpole. I wonder where he got that idea? David Boyce also tells us that growing up in Stepney in the '40s and '50s, he would hitch-hike to Newtown to Edmond Town Hall for the movies. “Tickets were two for a quarter,” Mr Boyce recalls, adding that as he got older, a stop at the Yankee Drover (which was on the site now occupied by the Dana-Holcombe House) for a drink was part of the trip to Newtown.

Rep Mitch Bolinsky is hosting three Legislative Listening Sessions at the C.H. Booth Library, from 6 to 7:30 pm Monday, December 10; Wednesday, December 19; and Monday, January 7. The sessions are free, and Mr Bolinsky is encouraging all Newtown residents to attend.

On Wednesday, December 12, there will be a special “Candlelit Music and Yoga Nidra Evening of Remembrance” at Newtown Congregational Church, 14 West Street, from 5:45 to 7 pm. This yoga practice is the deep, restorative state of calm and will be guided by Joy Hoffman. For details and to RSVP, contact jhoffman@aol.com.

Ever wonder why our hometown children’s museum doesn’t have later hours? Wonder no more! Beginning this weekend, EverWonder Children’s Museum will remain open until 7 pm each Friday. But be quick this week if you are just realizing now that the first event is imminent, December 7.  The museum is kicking off those extended hours on Friday with a special program by NASA Ambassador Nick Poniros, who will share some of his knowledge about the sun and the objects that orbit it during a 60-minute program scheduled to begin at 6:30 pm. If weather permits, guests will even be heading outside to look at the night sky with one of Mr Poniros’s telescopes. Cost is $5 per person, with a family maximum of $20 (free for EverWonder members).The museum, at 31 Pecks Lane, is asking for reservations for the December 7 program, so give them a call at 203-364-1009. 

There’s no need to wonder what I’ll be up to — seeking out more newsy news for next week. Be sure to... Read me again.