Originally published in 2016, this is a Christmas throwback:

The so-called War on Christmas is one of many contrived threats to America that has Christians circling the manger.  The FACT is, the only threat to Christmas is spoiled eggnog.

Donald Trump can stand in front of a thousand Christmas trees with a flashing Merry Christmas sign around his neck, but he still isn’t the savior of Christmas.  No one was ever out to steal your holiday.

Neither can Trump force Macy’s employees to wish customers a Merry Christmas.  They need to comply with company policy.

This past April, CNN’s Michael Smerconish interviewed some Pennsylvanians who recently jumped from the Democratic ship, effectively giving up on democracy.

Asked why these former Democrats decided to vote for Trump, a dull woman named Mary Lou Zimmer proudly announced that with Trump as president, she would be able to honestly say Merry Christmas.

image: smerconish.com
Mary Lou Zimmer, seated, far right

Had she been saying Merry Christmas dishonestly during the Obama administration?

When asked who was stopping her from saying Merry Christmas, Zimmer responded, The government.

Inexplicably, Smerconish failed to ask the obvious question:  What government?

People like Zimmer belong in a locked ward with folks who wear tin foil hats to prevent aliens from stealing their thoughts.

There was a time recently when you could not buy a nine millimeter bullet for love or money.  People were stockpiling enough for a hundred lifetimes.

Why? you ask.  Good question.

NRA President Wayne LaPierre and other proxies for the National Rifle Association and arms manufacturers had convinced the gullible that Barack Obama was coming for their bullets.

Buying a couple of boxes of ammo at the gun range became a thing of the past.  Your only choice was to throw guns at the targets, but that gets expensive.

It’s a time tested way to get money and votes.  Make up a threat and then leap to the rescue.  People with an agenda always seem to have a fix for things that aren’t broken.

Yesterday I was at a Secretary of State facility, the post office and a couple shops.  Everywhere I went, I departed with my usual Merry Christmas and received the same in response.

Network TV has been filled with holiday specials this past week, all of them replete with Christmas carols and the decorations and wishes apropos of the Christmas holiday.

This morning, Mika Brzezinski (who’s Jewish) and Joe Scarborough did their Christmas show in their pajamas, sitting in front of a fireplace adorned with Christmas stockings.

image: theblaze.com

Mary Lou Zimmer, it’s time to come clean.  Who the hell told you not to say Merry Christmas?

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Bill Barr has thrown  in the towel.

Not as wise, he looks like an owl.

As he goes out the door,

What is left on the floor

Is full of what’s left by a barnyard fowl.

Teddy is an adorable, talkative, active and fun, one-year-old, male tri-color Abyssinian guinea pig looking for a loving guardian.

Teddy came to Friends of Petraits Rescue when his human became too busy with work to take care of her pets. He lived with two other guinea pigs but they had to be separated due to aggression. He poor little ears are chewed down to nubs.

He hasn’t lived with other guinea pigs in the same cage since he was young, but he loves chatting with the guinea pigs through the bars of his cage.

Guinea pigs eat a diet of unlimited Timothy and Orchard hays; a handful of guinea pig pellets, and fresh vegetables including romaine, red leaf and green leaf lettuces, cilantro, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, etc. Guinea pigs, just like humans, can’t manufacture their own vitamin C, so they need to supplement with red pepper and many other vitamin C-rich foods. He LOVES his fresh foods and begs for them!

Please read up on guinea pig care and diet before adopting by visiting this excellent web site http://www.guinealynx.info/.

He would love a home with people who will handle him daily, keep him well fed, and keep his habitat nice and clean.

If you’re interested in possibly adopting Teddy, please fill out an adoption application at https://friendsofpetraits.com/guinea-pig-adoption-application/

He is being fostered in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood.

His adoption fee of $60 benefits the Friends of Petraits Rescue. For an additional $75, we’ll include a package of absolutely everything you need to care for him including a large cage, litter, pellets, hay, hidey hut and water bottle.

And, yes … Friends of Petraits is handling masked, minimum contact, socially distant adoptions.

Late last week ATTOM Data Solutions released their November 2020 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report which continued to show an 80% decline in activity from last year due to the pandemic motivated foreclosure moratorium in place. That FHFA moratorium continues to get extended and is currently in place until January 31, 2021.

It’s worth noting that, despite the moratorium, foreclosure activity continues at some low level and Chicago and Illinois manage to be at the forefront. The foreclosure report gives honorable mention to Illinois for having the second highest foreclosure rate in the nation and the second highest number of bank repossessions. Chicago was recognized as the metropolitan area with the highest number of bank repossessions and the third highest number of foreclosure starts.

ATTOM also updated their RealtyTrac data which allowed me to update my Chicago foreclosure activity graph below, which doesn’t really tell you much since it’s at such a low level.

Chicago foreclosure activity has declined dramatically since the housing crisis. However, the recent plunge is the result of the moratorium placed on foreclosures in light of the Covid-19 crisis.

However, when you look at the delinquencies out there you know that at some point foreclosures are going to come roaring back once the moratorium ends for real. The graph below is from Black Knight’s October mortgage data and it shows a slow decline in delinquencies after a huge spike earlier this year when the pandemic hit.

Mortgage delinquencies are very slowly trending downward after hitting an ugly peak a couple of months ago

Of course it’s good that mortgage delinquencies are drifting down but there are some segments of the mortgage market that are not doing even this well. The Mortgage Banker’s Association reports that the FHA delinquency rate was 15.59% for the 3rd quarter of 2020, hardly any lower than it was in the 2nd quarter. Keep in mind that this tends to be lower income borrowers that have been hit pretty hard by this pandemic.

Chicago Shadow Inventory

I’ve finally been able to update my Chicago shadow inventory (homes in the foreclosure process that are probably not on the market) graph below. It continues to show a steady decline to new record lows, helped by the fact that the spigot of new foreclosures has essentially been turned off. It’s dropped by another 331 units over the last 2 months.

The number of homes in foreclosure in Chicago continues to decline during the pandemic

#Foreclosures #ChicagoForeclosures

Gary Lucido is the President of Lucid Realty, the Chicago area’s full service real estate brokerage that offers home buyer rebates and discount commissions. If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market or get an insider’s view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email using the form below. Please be sure to verify your email address when you receive the verification notice.

The word on the street is that I have a new grandchild. Yep, it’s true. He just turned three months old on Sunday and he’s a very, VERY cute little boy. No prejudice on my part…he really is a cutie.

I met him for the first time when he only four days old. He was so little that I was scared to touch him, much less hold him. I’m pretty sure dropping a four-day-old baby wouldn’t have gone over well with his mother.

Since then, I’ve seen him a handful of times. I even held his body down and rubbed his legs during his bris. You’d think that comforting someone while they were getting their penis snipped would be a big-time bonding moment, but he most likely had other things going through his brain at the time.

Lately, the visitation opportunities have slowed down. You may have heard that we are in the midst of a pandemic. Yeah, we were in that same pandemic back in September and October, but the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths have escalated in recent weeks. The latest numbers are scary. Plenty of people are taking them extra seriously. They are taking extra precautions to keep safe. Among those people are my grandchild’s parents.

I’m okay with that. All they are doing is trying to stay safe and healthy while going through the learning process of raising their first child. Hell, being a first time parent isn’t easy under any circumstances. You’re learning how to do it on the fly. All the books that give you the so-called perfect advice, aren’t really all that perfect. Then, try to imagine doing it during a pandemic that has killed 300,000 Americans. Only folks who have had children born since March can tell you about how that works. Hmmm…maybe my daughter and son-in-law will be the ones to write that so-called perfect book for the next generation of pandemic new parents.

But all that said, how is a grandparent suppose to bond with their grandchild when you have limited contact? My guess is that Zoom isn’t an option. I’m pretty sure a three month old boy isn’t proficient in that technology. Psssttt…don’t tell anyone, but his grandfather isn’t all that great at it either. I did find a trick to get to see him…..HANUKKAH PRESENTS!!!

I know….pretty sneaky, right? These are desperate times and they call for desperate measures.

So Sunday, we brought over a bunch of gifts for the kid’s first Hanukkah. Nothing too special. Books and clothes. Just a few bribes to get in the door. Hey, I’ve learned a few tricks in my more than six decades on Earth. And actually, I wasn’t totally sure we were going to get inside until it actually happened. I thought there was a chance that once the presents were handed over, we’d get a look at the baby and then adios until the vaccine is distributed to us common folk. That’s the way it is with lots of people in America in 2020, why not for us.

Well luckily, we made it inside. Phew!

My daughter put her son in one of those bouncy chairs that can hold him up. I don’t remember those things being around three decades ago when my children were children, but then again I don’t remember what I had for lunch. Anyway, it was bonding time for Grandpop and grandson. The kid is a lot more aware than he was on day four and he kept giving me looks like who is this masked man? Well dude, I’m not the Lone Ranger, I’m your grandfather…yanno…the father of your meal source. I’m pretty sure he hasn’t figured all that out yet, so maybe we just go for something simple to start. Let’s hold hands.

As you can see in the above photo, my grandson is holding on to my finger…hard! That kid has a strong grip! And if you’ve never had the experience of a child/grandchild grabbing on to your finger and not letting go, it’s wonderful and heartwarming.

Bonding moment #? went great. I can’t wait for the next time. I’m not going to push it. I realize I’m lucky to get these visits whenever possible because of the pandemic. Like so many of us, I’m hopeful that the vaccine gets to us sooner than later so we can get back to things that are important and special to us.

So to my grandson, Happy Hanukkah and enjoy the books. Hopefully, you won’t be reading them to me the next time I see you.

Related Post: What’s the best name for a new grandfather?

I’m not sure what it is about staying locked in my house, but, somehow, I find myself thinking about food a lot now (I mean no disrespect to the countless people who actually can’t afford to put food on the table).

Not that I make gourmet meals night and day. But I get definite cravings and then go to town or, at least to the kitchen because, really, where am I going to go?

Last night, I was jonesing for French toast. In the morning, I made French Toast Casserole with Apples and Raisins instead.

It’s hard to believe, but this French Toast Casserole is not only healthier than regular French toast, it’s easier to make and more delicious than you can imagine.

It’s healthier because it starts with healthier ingredients– whole wheat bread, apples with the fiber-rich skin left on, and antioxidant and omega-3-loaded walnuts.

If you want the dish to be slightly more decadent, add the butter, which, eaten in moderation, is surprisingly good for you–containing important nutrients. Either way, the result will be a luscious treat.

In fact, think of it as an easier–yet elevated–version of French toast.

But how could regular French toast be any easier to make, you ask? Because you don’t have to stand at the stove waiting to flip each slice over at just the right moment. You just pour the ingredients into a casserole dish, bake and go do whatever you want.

You can even put it all together the night before and pop it in the oven the next morning, making it perfect for serving on Christmas morning or just an ordinary one.

Healthier French Toast Casserole with Apples & Raisins

4 slices whole wheat bread, broken up into small pieces
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1 medium apple, diced into 1/2-inch pieces with skin left on
1/4 cup of raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
optional: 2 tablespoons of butter, cut into 4 individual pats

In medium bowl, beat three eggs with milk and vanilla. Add bread pieces, apples, raisins, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix together until well combined and the bread is soaked with the milk.

Pour into 8-inch square pan that’s been coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle top of casserole with walnut pieces. Optional: place four pats of butter on mixture; spread each pat out equal distance from each other. Press butter down slightly into the mixture. 

Place in refrigerator covered with foil for 20 minutes or as long as overnight.

Preheat oven to 375. Place pan in oven with foil still over top for 40 minutes. Cook another 20 minutes or until top is firm in the center. Cut into squares and use spatula to remove. Serve while still warm. Serves 2-3. Serve by itself or with butter, maple syrup and/or jam.

Note: To serve 4-6, double recipe ingredients and place in 9″ x 12″ pan.