I’m keeping my paws crossed for good luck this year. The Newtown Rotary Club is getting down to the wire for its current raffle, which will send a 46-inch Sony flat screen TV with Blu-ray surround sound home with the winner early next week. Tickets are $20 and the drawing will be on Sunday, January 24. Additional prizes include a $500 Visa gift card, a Nintendo Wii console, a $100 Exxon Mobil gas card and a $50 Exxon Mobil gas card. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased from any Rotary members as well as at Newtown Savings Bank (ask for Bill Calderara or Brian Amey), Newtown Florist, and Black Swan Home Hearth & Gift. Rotary president Bill Calderara says “a significant amount” of the proceeds of those raffle ticket sales will be going into the club’s Haiti Fund.

Newtown Fire Marshal and Sandy Hook Fire Chief Bill Halstead had a birthday this week. I won’t tell you how old he is, but I will tell you that Monday was doubly special for the Chief. Not only was it his birthday, it was also the 45th anniversary of his joining the volunteer fire department that he has been a member of since he was 16…

Every week, The Bee posts notices of cats and dogs in need of homes, and the community responds by opening doors and taking in new furry friends. But out in the broader world are children in need of loving homes. If you think you can open your heart and home to a foster child, FAM, the Foster Adoptive Mission, is currently recruiting families to be foster and adoptive parents throughout Connecticut. Homes for teenagers, especially, are needed. Contact FAM at 203-706-0101 or view its website, www.fosteradoptivemission.org.

Newtown resident and chef Patrick Wilson shared this missive from Barcelona, where he is picking up some cooking tips — as well as a new way to hail at cab — to add to his extensive repertoire. While at the Restaurant Con Sole, near the former 1992 Olympic Park, he met up with the restaurant owner of the 100-plus-year-old eatery, Josep Marie Garcia.

“Josep brought me into the kitchen to watch the culinary team cook my dinner. I ordered Fideus con Vermells, a version of Paella made with vermicelli. The language barrier was evident, but in the kitchen, we were able to blend French, Spanish, Italian and English to get a general idea of our conversation and understand each other, if a customer watched. This dish was served in a steel paella dish, in the traditional presentation and accompanied with a side of garlic mayonnaise, which was mixed tableside by the wait staff. All this was paired with a bottle of white wine, Albarino from the Rais Baxias region of Spain. But the best part: Josep offered to drive me to the cab area in the direction he was driving to pick up his wife. On the way, Josep pulled up next to a cab, yelled out to the cab driver in Catalan and said, ‘There is your cab!’ I switched vehicles in the middle of a wide street and was delivered to my hotel. All in the name of researching new foods to bring to my job,” Patrick writes. No doubt he will have several other adventures under his belt by the time he returns stateside. I just hope he remembers not to switch planes in midair on the way home…

Like so many longtime Newtown and Sandy Hook residents, former Bee associate editor Kaaren Valenta was saddened to hear about the death of plumber extraordinaire Al Penovi this week. She dropped us a note from Florida, remembering Al: “The passing of an era. Sandy Hook just won’t be the same for many of us. Al would not only tell you how to fix something, he’d loan you the tool without taking even your name and address. He’d say, ‘Bring it back when you are done.’ It was the honor system.” Kaaren also recalled when Sandy Hook resident Chris Locke was seeking a gray toilet a few years ago. Al didn’t have one, but a few months later, “Chris was driving by and he saw a gray toilet sitting in Al’s driveway. He pulled in. Al looked up and said, ‘I knew you’d be back.’ He was really sharp.” Kaaren is also one of the lucky ones in possession of the popular postcard depicting Al’s landmark property at its finest — a tumult of plumbing fixtures cataloged in the plumber’s head.

Maureen Marion, spokesperson for the USPS, sent a note saying that Hawleyville Post Office patrons will have to have just a bit more patience before the Route 25 facility reopens. The interior work is progressing nicely, but delays on fabrication of the entry doors and interior casework are holding up the finish work. The USPS feels confident, though, that the March 12 deadline will be reached. That will be a great relief for all who have trudged from the far side of town to Commerce Road for their mail since the closing of the Hawleyville Post Office last Valentine’s Day.

Steven Dawson of the technology department at Reed Intermediate and Jill Marak, a teacher there, are going to share my Good Egg Award. Thanks to their help, 100 CDs with the voices of RIS students singing — part of a special shipment to troops overseas along with the St Valentine’s Day Project — were made possible. It seems Mr Dawson overheard music teacher Michelle Tenenbaum mention that she would need to buy the 100 CDs herself, and the next day showed up with a box of CDs to cover the recordings. Ms Marak provided invaluable guidance on all the aspects of recording, including editing and labeling. Thanks to their input, troops will soon be able to enjoy the lively music of our young Newtown singers. Jill and Steve, you are Good Eggs!

I’ve been enjoying the little January thaw this week that has allowed some green to peek through the snow and taken away a bit of the icy slick coating driveways and sidewalks. After the bone-chilling start to the month, it has been a nice respite. But this being New England, you can be sure that winter has not forgotten us for good.

You won’t have forgotten me for good, either, I hope, when next week rolls around and it’s time to…. Read me again.