The combination of winter and the holidays has always meant some time spent in the snow of the mountains for our family.

While we lived in Kansas City, we would caravan with other families to Colorado for several days. Skiing on Christmas Day was just about the most festive thing one can do. On those trips, crowds would be smaller, and the Santa Claus outfits would be more numerous.

My friend Bill James recommended we check out Red Mountain, near Rossland, British Columbia, for a ski trip, so we joined our children and grandsons for another holiday adventure in the snow north of the border.

No “wall” was visible, as it appeared we had to wake up the border guard to cross into Canada. BJ and I seem to have more evident and painful symptoms of age, with my bum hip and her suspect back, so for the first time in almost 40 years, we did not ski.

Instead, we happily watched, particularly the 5-year-old, and enjoyed the confines of the house we rented. Interestingly, the house is owned by friends of locals Katie and Tim Jablonski, something we did not know until after our return.

My Rotary Club’s Christmas dinner was a fine feast at the Old Alcohol Plant. Consummate entertainer (in his own mind), club president Terry Umbreit officiated the event decked out in a tuxedo. I accused him of dressing better than an undertaker.

It was a nice evening with additional fine entertainment provided by yours truly leading the singing of Christmas carols and being ably assisted by exchange student JJ Klaric.

JJ went home with BJ and me to be our guest for a couple of nights, so we spent the next day traipsing him around Port Ludlow. It started with the annual Breakfast with Santa Claus at The Beach Club, sponsored by the good folks at the Ludlow Homeowners Association. Jamie Bima did a great job as she provided most of the leadership in organizing the celebration.

JJ and I sat with local Max Painter. I explained to Max the restraints placed upon the exchange students known, as the four D’s and a T. There is to be no “drinking, drugs, driving, dates or tattoos” while in the U.S. We agreed to refer to the fourth D, dating in JJ’s case, as “dames.” It struck me as appropriate that we were discussing this with Max, one of the finer and notable “dames” of Port Ludlow.

BJ had minimal interest in seeing the new “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” so JJ and I took in the latest edition of the adventure and really enjoyed it at the still funky Rose Theatre in Port Townsend. A few days later, we went to see “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” I didn’t even take a nap during “Three Billboards”!

Finally, we turn to a “feel good” sports story. Obviously, it does not involve the Seattle Seahawks or the Mariners. Yep, it is the Kansas City Chiefs. The good folks in “flyover” country can use the team’s success this year to perk up the conversation on talk radio, if nothing else. The fact is the Chiefs are fun to watch.

As we trudge into the new year looking for ways to improve everything from our skills to our weight management, I would like to give you some advice from W. Somerset Maugham: “Excess on occasion is not a problem. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit.”

Love a curmudgeon and have a super new year.

Ned Luce lives in Port Ludlow and writes this weekly column about the goings-on in the community. Connect with him at nedluce@sbcglobal.net.