It is the Friday before Thanksgiving, less than 1 week away from the food, the parades, the football and most importantly, the visitng with friends and family.

I can smell the aroma of turkey, ham and pie as well as hear all the activities running through the house. And don’t forget the dogs following every step you make in the kitchen waiting for that scrap of food that just happens to fall on the floor.

It is the end of Fall and in many parts of the country orange and yellow leaves are still dropping from the trees. After dinner activities will include walks to exercise off some of that great food. In other parts of the country, such as Denver where MINES & Associates is based, we have already had 2 heavy snows; 10 and 20 inches each. Which brings me to some traditions. While many people head off to start their Christmas shopping the day after Thanksgiving, also known as “Black Friday”, many of us have another tradition…..head up the mountain for the first skiing and boarding of the season. Most of the Rocky Mountain ski resorts are open for this long weekend. Yes, I can smell the fresh scent of snow, the clean brisk air of the mountains and see the beautiful blue ski and white snow covered mountains.

No matter what the activity or tradition you are going to follow this next weekend, please think of the people that are less fortunate than us. Provide some food this weekend to your local food bank or donate some money to help provide food for all.

And last, this is the begining of a fun and exciting, yet hectic time of the year. We all try to do too much and easily start running around in frantic style. Take a few minutes to check out the MINES & Associates web site www.minesandassociates.com for ideas on how to cope with these hectic holidays. We have lots of ideas that will help make the holidays go more smoothly for you and your family. After all, the objective is to enjoy the holidays, not be stressed out over them.

Happy Holidays!

Allan Benson
apbenson@minesandassciates.com