Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year, is practically here. Christmas is such a special time, a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus with many treasured traditions. Advent wreaths, Nativity scenes, Christmas carols, Christmas decorations and, of course, Christmas trees make the cold month of December seem much cozier.

Yami Sweeney said that if she knew how much she loved being a nail technician, she would have started a long time ago.

She also knows people’s past shapes their future, and previous decisions lead one to their current place in life.

Today, she is the owner of Painted Dock Nail Salon in Cecil, a business that held its grand opening Oct. 6.

Outside Madison’s Wingra School on a sunny fall afternoon, Ho-Chunk artist and horticulturist Lightning New Rider was busy measuring canvas and preparing twine.

He was there to help the students refurbish the school’s ciiporoke, a Ho-Chunk structure made with bent tree saplings tied together to make a frame and often covered with natural materials like birch tree bark or woven mats — or, in this case, canvas.

Cinnamon rolls are a sweet addition to any breakfast, and, in fact, are great to eat at any time of day. Although I enjoy the traditional cinnamon rolls served warm with a glaze, sometimes I also enjoy them cold with cream cheese frosting.

Legendary PBS painter Bob Ross never made a mistake while painting during his long-running “The Joy of Painting” show. He only had “happy accidents.”

A 5-point buck finally fell to my recurve bow, and it was a combination of 51 years of patience and a happy accident.

Editor’s note: Trick-or-treating and other Halloween festivities are barely in our memories when many start to think about, talk about and plan for Christmas. Often, Thanksgiving seems almost forgotten, sandwiches between a pair of major retail holidays that simply overshadow the fourth Thursday in November.