We have lost count as to how many pancakes Dr Bob Grossman has flipped during the course of his 56 years at the annual Rotary Pancake Breakfast, but he had the honor, I hear, of turning out the first of the golden flapjacks this past Saturday. I wonder who got that tasty treat?www.facebook.com/groups/1043697552419753/.donations@housatonichabitat.org or call 203-205-0952. Pickup can be arranged for larger items. The repurposed items raise funds so that Habitat can build affordable housing for others - and your donations are tax deductible.Friday, 12/9 Yankee Wine (by Big Y) 6-7 and 7-8 ; Stop and Shop North 7-8; Saturday 12/10 Yankee Wine 2-3; Bottle Stop (by Caraluzzi) 1-2 and 3-4; Friday 12/16 Walgreens 6-7 and 7-8; Sal e Pepe 7-8; Yankee Wine 6-7 and 7-8; Bottle Stop 4-5, 5-6, 6-7 and 7-8; Stop and Shop South 4-5, 6-7 and 7-8; Stop and Shop North 4-5, 5-6, 6-7 and 7-8; Saturday 12/17 Bottle Stop 1-2 and 2-3; Walgreens 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4. Please call Anna Wiedemann at 203-417-3004 if you can help.propollinators@gmail.com to be placed on our newsletter mailing list," member Holly Kocet tells me. You can also check out the newsletter full of environmental information and fun facts - as well as how to order notecards designed by Newtown students - at www.propollinators.org. That's the buzz, anyway.Connecticut Cottages and Gardens (CTC&G) magazine with us this week. He is pleased, I'm sure, with the nice spread featuring the Newtown home that he and partner Trent DeBerry have renovated - beautifully - since purchasing it two years ago. You'll want to find a copy of the magazine so that you can appreciate the lovely photography highlighting this home and read about the duo, who have decorated with many creative and eclectic collections.eliza@thebee.com, along with your daytime phone number, and we'll see that the photo appears in the weekly Birthday Cake column. Plus, one winner each week gets a delicious cake from DOrazio Sisters Bakery. That's pretty sweet!

Lois Barber shares with me about a fun event that has been taking place in Sandy Hook for many years - when the Cullens family hosts an open house party for the whole neighborhood. Hot chocolate and cider, and homemade cookies are served, and seasonal songs are sung. "The grand finale," says Lois, "is the switch is thrown to one of the most elaborate winter home decorations for miles. It is quipped that the Cullen's house is the only made-made object visible from the moon with the naked eye." Lois is also responsible for undertaking the home outdoor holiday decorating contest underway; the Cullenses will enter this year's brightly lit display, and you can, too. Here's the Facebook page with the information you need:

Two trees lit up in Sandy Hook Center on Saturday, thanks to a Sandy Hook business person who felt tradition should be upheld, and hired a private contractor to string the multi-colored lights on the original Christmas tree in the Glen.

For those anticipating an influx of gifts that will exceed the home's ability to accommodate them, take heart. Housatonic Habitat for Humanity, 51 Austin Street, in Danbury, is happy to take your castoffs (or any of those household items you need to regift in coming weeks...). According to the director's report, the warehouse appreciates "your surplus furnishings and building supplies." Home furnishings of all kinds are accepted, even kitchen cabinets and appliances. Contact Michelle at

Don't forget that all of the unusual activity and decorations can create stress for your favorite dogs and cats and other pets. Just in time, a press release arrived this week with tips from the multistate Camp Bow Wow. I think they are worth sharing. Signs dogs are experiencing stress include:

Lip Licking and Yawning - Both are indicators of a stressed dog. If a dog is lying on the couch by itself and licks its lips or yawns, it is most likely not stressed. If a dog is being hugged, tugged on, etc, and begins to emit warning signs, this is a clear indicator that he/she is now anxious.

Wide Eyes and Averting Gaze - Wide eyes and showing the whites of the eye both indicate that a dog is stressed out. Often dogs with this expression avoid your gaze as well.

Hackling (spiking of the fur along the spine) - For a dog, this is an involuntary response to his environment and can mean the dog is nervous and anxious.

Growling and Snapping - Never try to get a dog to stop growling. If a dog gets in trouble for growling, it will stop and can go to biting.

Stiff Wagging Tail - A dog that is experiencing stress (and may bite) will wag its tail in a stiff manner. Look out for a tail that is pointed high and moves even more quickly back and forth.

Shivering or Shaking - A stressed dog may shiver or shake and appear to be cold.

Cowering or Tail Tucking - This behavior indicates that a dog is fearful.

Backing Away or Hiding - Whether the dog backs itself into a corner or tries to hide (under a chair, table, bed, crate, etc), this is a clear sign that the dog is uncomfortable and trying to escape. Leave these dogs alone.

Pacing and inability to settle down - A dog that is stressed may also pace around an area and not be able to relax into one spot.

Cats, as well as dogs, would appreciate your setting aside a quiet spot to get away from the hustle and bustle.

If you have an hour free in the next couple of weeks, the Salvation Army still needs ringers for these times for the 2016 Bell Ringing Campaign.

Newtown High School has created a "Kindness Tree" on a poster board in the school's main office. The tree is designed to highlight random acts of kindness in December that are done at the school. Some of the "leaves" already share kind acts students either witnessed, completed themselves, had done for them, or suggestions that others can do. One reads "Tied someone's shoes." Another reads "Hold open the door for someone." Another, "A friend helped me study!"

There's another bulletin board at Hawley School that caught my eye while wandering about this week. I noticed this friendly public service announcement (for any snowpeople to come this winter, that is), crafted by Hawley Elementary School kindergarten students. Each student created a paper snowgirl or snowboy and finished the sentence, "A snowperson should never, ever ..." So for all our friendly snowgirls and boys out there, in the coming months you should know "A snow boy shod nasr go out in the hot sun," "A snow shod never go to Florida and go in the pool," and "A snow grl shod navr drik hot choklit with marshmalos!"

Local environmental group Protect Our Pollinators has a newsletter now - Buzz Words. "People can contact us at

Interior designer Collin Robison shared a copy of the November

Happy birthday to who? That's what we want to know. Send your child's photo and birth date to

It would be pretty sweet, too, if you would be sure next week to... Read me again.