Nope, not AWOL.....

.......felled by a wicked case of pneumonia.

At first, I thought it was possible I had blown another disc in my thoracic spine -- it was the kind of pain that is reserved for ice picks in the back. But an x-ray in the emergency room turned up a pretty bad case of pneumonia. My response? Couldn't be! I don't have time for this!

Goes to show ya what the holidays can do if you run yourself truly ragged.

Thought I was over it when we left for Christmas at grandma's house, but I was knocked down again.

Other than that, Christmas was lovely in North Carolina with family and friends -- we added a new member of the Daly clan -- a lively Jack Russell terrier puppy named "Margaret Thatcher" or Maggie, for short. She has more energy than our three year old and 18 month old combined, which is saying something.

Lots of catch up blogging to do today and tonight so stand by for a firehose. I've been sans outlet for a couple of weeks now -- column will restart on Monday here and radio show will be live again next Wednesday here -- so there is lots of news to comment on and lots of tidbits floating about Washington that merit discussing.

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh. It's good to be back. Y'all miss me?