“Christmas Time is here” … and the Peanuts song is playing on a continuous loop through my head. Every deer I see is a reindeer. Every bearded man is Santa.

My kids got a postcard the other day, from the real S. Claus. He lives in Lapland, and I saw him just a year ago on a magical trip to the Arctic Circle.

He was sitting on a red and silver throne in the snowy village of Rovaniemi in Northern Finland. I watched as he spoke to children from around the world — fluent in many languages. Elves were at work in the smattering of buildings that dotted the landscape, each hut with a crackling fire that sent curls of smoke into the super-chilled air.

I often think back to my time spent in Lapland. Cold starry evenings in the Oakland hills remind me of my nightly search for the Northern Lights in the small Finnish village of Sirkka. Virtually alone as I walked on the softly lit streets, I pondered my place in this complex world. A blanket of stars seemed to comfort me. Christmas lights twinkled on glistening pines. And, I realized that what a person needs most during this time of year is a child-like sense of wonder. Whether we’re bathed in the light of an Arctic moon or gazing at the Bay Bridge off in the distance — we all have a lot for which to be awestruck and thankful.

P.S. My guide for last winter’s trip to Lapland was my friend, Kirsti Maki. If you’d like information on her Jan. 11-16 tour of the region, you can contact her by e-mail at kirstmaki@yahoo.com.

E-MAIL BAG: My item last week on the Oakland cop who lives part-time in Sweden prompted this letter from reader Bengt Anderson: “We do have arctic winters in the northernmost parts of Sweden,” Bengt writes, “But in most of the country, the climate is similar to Connecticut, where I lived and worked for 12 years.”

KID CARE: Two local realtors have come up with a clever concept for child care in Montclair. The Home Company Child Nursery on Thornhill Drive is a licensed daycare center in a real estate office. Started by two moms who needed to balance work and family, Jennifer Montague Clark and Suzanne Arballo Budowski opened an on-site center for their employees, clients and the local community. It’s working. Friends tell me the 3-1 care-giver-to-child ratio is exceptional, and it compliments the goals of the real estate agency, which are to serve local families in the best way possible.

THE TREE IS up, and there’s a snap in the air that says the holidays are here. It goes without saying that this should be a time of great cheer, when we go out of our way to be joyful and kind. Why, then, do I read about holiday stress seminars and angry altercations in shopping mall parking lots? Let’s all get a grip — and slow down for a few days this holiday season. Take time for toasting and carols and a concert or two. Put a wreath in the grill of your car — just to make people smile. Christmas comes but once a year. Grab the spirit.

FIREFIGHTER FRENZY: Just days after a near riot broke out at a hiring event for Oakland firefighters, the city is trying to make amends by taking the remaining applications on Jan. 12.

“I felt like I was at an ‘N Sync concert or something,” says reader Greg Saucedo, who says people were screaming and climbing on top of one another to get their papers in the hands of the one petite woman who was randomly selecting applicants. The whole thing was so unorganized; some candidates camped out for two days and still didn’t get picked.

BRRRRRR HUMBUG: Oakland’s time-honored production of “A Christmas Carol” has moved outdoors, for the first time in its 20-year history. Actually, it will be “toasty warm,” says producer Rebecca Faiola, who says the play will be inside a tent at the Oakland School of the Arts on San Pablo Avenue.

“We couldn’t return to Mills College (where the show originated),” she says, “because their theatre is full of pianos.”

But she guarantees the “big top” tent theatre will be awesome and quite romantic. Almost as if you were on the streets of London.

POLICEMAN’S BALL: Retired hills cop Taylor Miller says he’s looking forward to the big Oakland PD reunion in April. It’s being held at a casino in Sparks, and as many as 500 “uniforms” are expected.

“We’re scattered all over” says Miller. One former cop is even living on an island in Sweden. My guess is it’s just a summer home, since even the toughest Oakland cop wouldn’t opt for an arctic winter.

FREEBIE ALERT: A plethora of Prius’s is expected outside Oakland’s Parkway Theatre on Jan. 13 for the venue’s free movie “Who Killed the Electric Car.” The 1:45 p.m. showing is part of the Parkway’s Sunday Salon Series, designed to bring artists and activists (and just regular folks) together for thoughtful theatre followed by lively discussion. Beer and wine will be served.

ANIMAL TALES: When the air is filled with cackling, I know the Steller’s Jays are teasing my cat, Tonka. But reader Howard Smith has decided to tame the tormenting birds with a tasty treat of peanuts.

“I work with them and have finally gotten to the point where the blue jays eat off my lap,” he says. Smith has the time to train. At 94, he’s enjoying retirement at his Rockridge home, in the garden with his new feathered friends.

MONTCLAIR had its wonderful holiday stroll last night. There were warm, fuzzy feelings all around. But there’s trouble percolating in paradise and if something isn’t done — the character of our village will change forever.

In the wee hours of night, when the pubs are emptying and delivery trucks are making their rounds, there’s another element of society at work. Burglars, who use cover of darkness to break into businesses and spirit away goods, even as alarms are piercing the air.

It’s happened to Joe Sullivan twice since summer. Thugs have smashed his window at Montclair Pharmacy and grabbed, of all things, bottles of Codeine-laced cough syrup.

“They drink it to get high,” says Sullivan, who says they only got two bottles the other night — and one of them broke in the escape.

But what really irks this long-time shop owner is that no-one reported the alarm or the broken window to police.

“Someone must have seen something,” he says, “because they pulled the frame off the door and used that as a pry to get past the laminated glass. It wasn’t a quick smash and grab.”

And Montclair Pharmacy is just one of several village shops that has suffered overnight break-ins.

“Things in Oakland aren’t going to change until people help them change,” Sullivan laments. “Until people report what they’re seeing.” If we don’t, he predicts shop owners will have to resort to metal bars on their windows. Metal bars in Montclair Village ? Not very idyllic, is it?

CELEBRITY SIGHTING: Guess who bought one of the first Christmas trees at the Boy Scout tree lot on Moraga Avenue in Piedmont? The hills’ newest high-profile resident, Jerry Brown. Reader Terry Lee says the state attorney general and former Oakland mayor stayed a half-hour to talk to the boys, who run the stand annually as a fundraiser. By the way — the Scouts have gone green this year, selling energy-efficient LED tree lights which use 98 percent less electricity than conventional lights. And the lot is well-stocked with 300 more trees, after selling out completely last holiday season.

E-MAIL BAG: Thanks to reader Liane Scott for letting me know about a free trip to Japan for Oakland fifth-graders. It’s for kids who want to be Junior Ambassadors and travel to Oakland’s sister city, Fukuoka. The two week cultural exchange includes a home stay with a Japanese family and time at a global camp with kids from some 43 different countries and regions. It’s sponsored by The Oakland Fukuoka Sister City Association (OFSCA) and the Asian-Pacific Children’s Convention (APCC) and applications can be downloaded on their Web site at http://www.oakland-fukuoka.org.

DOG’S WORLD: The much-anticipated Glamour Paws pet boutique is open in Montclair and is fast developing a reputation for designer doggy wear. I saw several “well-heeled” pups coming out of there, the other day, with new houndstooth jackets. OK, maybe not houndstooth, but this shop does sell jackets, sweaters, tee-shirts and even tutus for dogs who want to lead the pack when it comes to style. And why not? With Montclair ‘s canine mayor — it seems only fitting.

STELLAAAAA!!! A cacophony of calls filled the air whenever they saw us. Riding with Stella was creating a scene — which was, in fact, the point. I was driving a Vespa pulling a sign saying “Stella Artois” through the streets of Oakland and Berkeley. Call it Guerrilla Marketing — a way of moving a beer ad through thousands of people and having them notice.

The company is called Scooter Media and I found the job on Craigslist. “Wanted: Scooter drivers to assist in mobile ad campaign. Must have motorcycle license and clean DMV record.”

I applied and was put through a rigorous training that included driving through several obstacle courses. I made the cut.

We rode in a pod of six scooters, making our way up Broadway and Telegraph to the Cal campus. It was raining but that didn’t stop us from winding our way through the crowds of football fans spilling out of restaurants and bars before the big USC game.

I felt like a rock star all dressed in black with my sunglasses and silver helmet. People were screaming and pointing and two guys kept trying to give us hugs in the middle of the street. To say we stood out in Berkeley was the ultimate accomplishment. And for me, it was an “odd job” I’ll never forget.

CLEANING UP: If you want something done, give it to a busy person — someone like hills mother of six, Jennifer Adam Bunkers. As if she weren’t busy enough with kids ranging from newborn to teen, she just launched a new line of skin care products for children. TruKid is natural and organic and free of the kind of harmful ingredients found in so many other lines.

“Young children absorb up to three times more chemical substances through their skin than adults do,” she says, adding her products teach kids healthy habits that will “hopefully last a lifetime.”

To that end, TruKid even has its own music CD, featuring her 9-year-old daughter, Haley, and 6-year-old son, Freddie. But when it comes to testing the face washes, sunscreens, lip balms and creams, the whole family gets involved.

“I bring all kinds of products home,” Bunkers says, adding she even uses the lotion on her 10-week-old son’s eczema. Trukid is taking off overseas, too.

“We’re creating a little cult,” she laughs, “and getting hits from almost every country on our Web site, Trukid.com.”

For Bunkers, it’s not just about keeping her own family healthy. TruKid is a concept with universal appeal.

ANIMAL TALES: When they call it a “toy poodle,” they’re not kidding. Reader Maria Ku says her tiny pooch Lala recently was scooped up like a rag doll by a hungry hawk. The bird swooped into her hills yard and snatched what looked like a tasty morsel, then dropped it on Crestmont Drive in front of her house.

“She was going to be run over by the very next car,” Ku says, “but luckily, my neighbor Patty Wooton drove by and saw a dog lying on her back with all four paws outstretched up in the air.” They rushed Lala to the vet, unconscious and bleeding, and the doctor was able to save her. Now Lala is indoors nursing her wounds — and the hawk is still looking for dinner.

E-MAIL BAG: Speaking of ruffled feathers, reader Peter Rukin says he was “stunned” to read my column item “which seemed to chide passers-by for not stepping in to prevent a theft in downtown Montclair.”

He writes: “As any law enforcement professional will tell you, it is extremely foolish to confront someone with a deadly weapon to prevent property theft.” Peter — the Town Crier never suggested a confrontation. A simple phone call to 911 would have sufficed.

WE HAVE EYES, but we cannot see. How else can one explain the shocking daylight “smash and grab” at Montclair Village’s Wheels of Justice? When I wrote about this crime in my column last week, I only told half the story. A youth used a handgun to smash the shop’s window and road away on a bike, with a passer-by following in hot pursuit.

“That was my husband,” a friend of mine told me after she read my article. “He had the babies in the car and was chasing this guy but he lost him.”

The alert motorist, the only person who reacted when the thug smashed the window during the Monday morning commute, was Lynn Beckwith. He’s the same guy I wrote about earlier this year when he recovered a stolen motorcycle on his street (and found its owner).

Beckwith saw the guy smash the window and grab the bike, then followed him around the block until the thief disappeared behind Safeway. He said he realized his first job was to keep the babies safe, so he gave up the chase and called police. But where were the other witnesses? There were plenty of people, he said, on the streets drinking coffee. Why didn’t anyone else report the youth, who was caught on security camera repeatedly bashing the window until it shattered? We have eyes, but we cannot see. Or perhaps we see, but feel helpless to respond.

HIDDEN KITCHEN:: Readers have been asking about the building going up behind the Caldecott Tunnel on Fish Ranch Road. It looks like a home but in fact, is a test kitchen for recipes featuring California Bay leaves. Tamara Attard and her family own the land, which is zoned for agriculture and tucked between the EBMUD watershed and the East Bay Regional Parks.

“The government tried to take it through eminent domain,” she said, “but it was some of the last farm land in Orinda.”

Attard’s specialty spice company, Bayseng, is pushing California Bay as the world’s best bay.

“Better than Mediterranean,” she said, because California Bay has a kind of cinnamon flavor. She’s looking for recipes they can use to market their bay leaves, which grow all over the hills. If you have a favorite use for bay, shoot her an e-mail at tamara@bayseng.com.

ALL SHOOK UP: Elvis had the perfect song to describe how I felt during last week’s earthquake. Working in one of Oakland’s historic old buildings, we were jolted out of our seats during what seemed like a full 30 seconds of shifting and swaying. It reminded me that many of us aren’t ready for the “big one” – but they are in Piedmont Pines. Several families in the neighborhood have bought emergency kits from Randi Lee’s home business, Early Bird Safety (www.earlybirdsafety.com). With everything you need for 72 hours, it seems like a smart, if not timely, idea.

WHERE’S WALDO?: Never mind Waldo – where are Benny and Harriet? The bunny and the guinea pig who have been living in a pen outside Studio Montclair have disappeared. Photographer Reenie Raschke says when the landlord complained, she moved them to her house, where they’re sharing a coop with five chickens.

“Benny is happier than he’s ever been,” said Raschke, who says her bunny rules the roost. But Raschke’s customers aren’t as thrilled. “Since he’s been gone, I’m not exaggerating, 35 people have come in, some sobbing, saying, ‘Where’s the bunny?'”

NOVEMBER IS HERE and with it, the start of the rainy season. The Town Crier likes rain, as it gives her a dewy complexion. But it’s not just about moisture-kissed skin. The rain marks an obvious end to a nervous time for hills folks — fire season. With each passing storm, the landscape gets greener. Tinder-dry brush turns lush — and takes on the look of an Irish countryside. It’s nature’s time for transition.

BRAZEN BURGLAR: It takes guts, or stupidity, or both to smash a shop window during daylight hours and ride off on a $7,000 bike. Even more surprising is how the thug broke the glass, with a handgun he repeatedly rammed against the front pane of Montclair’s Wheels of Justice. The good news is the “smash and grab” was captured on a security camera across the street last week. The bad news is the guy hasn’t been caught. A sharp-eyed motorist tried to chase him down, but the thief got away. I guess a $7,000 bike makes a pretty good getaway vehicle.

E-MAIL BAG: Being a motorist is maddening enough without learning the nuances of Montclair’s new meters. Reader Cathy Sharp says you’d better plan carefully how much time you buy before printing out your parking voucher. “The receipt you put on your dash for an hour is not like BART tickets, which you can put back in the machine and add time to,” Sharp says.

Meanwhile, Joe Sullivan over at Montclair Pharmacy and the Book Tree says the new meters are downright confusing, and the city is taking full advantage of the situation.
“The meter maids are out here ticketing left and right,” he says. And what about those chopped off poles? How ugly are those? Apparently there’s some plan to use some of them for bicycle posts and pull out the rest. But right now, they stick out like a stumpy sore thumb.

HEAVENLY HARMONICS: Local musician Amy Brodo tells me she’s directing the Junior Bach Festival this Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at UC Berkeley’s Morrison Hall. What a treat to hear Stephen Schultz, one of the most flawless masters of the baroque flute and Elizabeth Blumenstock on baroque violin. The price is right too. $5 for youth, and $10 for adults.

GOT GOATS?: You’ve heard of horsepower? Well a homeowner near Ascot and Mountain is using goat power to clear his brush. Two pot-bellied pygmies were grazing in the grass the other day, tucked securely behind a fence around the perimeter of the yard. It’s clear they

Eat it. It’s good for you.” Those are the pearls of wisdom “Mother Oakland” is dispensing as she tells us to take Montclair’s new stoplight, like it or not. Despite the opposition, and it is considerable, the signal at Mountain and La Salle is slated to go up in mid- 2009. The good news, says Derek Liecty with the Stop the Stop Light Ad Hoc Committee, is “this gives us some time to strategize.”He anticipates “a nasty fight,” and says “an injunction against the city may be the only way to go.” To that end, he’s looking for people to help with expertise and money.“

“I believe that it is indeed time to organize public comment before the situation gets totally out of hand,” he says, knowing he’s in it now for the long haul.
Reader Mike Petouhoff sees it as the ultimate irony. “We have funds for a stoplight with little support, but no funds for something which everyone agrees we need.”

That something is an expanded parking lot at Shepherd Canyon Park, which is overrun with soccer players many nights and weekends. The Shepherd Canyon Homeowners Association has done the grunt work, providing a traffic and pedestrian safety study, including a pro-bono site survey, soils report and parking lot layout. They had eucalyptus trees removed and worked with the Montclair Soccer Club to raise $30,000, even finding a contractor that met the budget.

How did the city react? Petouhoff says they spent taxpayer money to revise the studies then ran out of money. “The city wants us to hold a bake sale to come up with more money now,” he says in frustration. Meanwhile, cars continue to line the road, forcing families to walk on the shoulder of an increasingly busy route. Talk about liability.

GREEN DAY: A botanical block party has taken root in the Lakeshore District. Reader Odette Pollar says her early October plant exchange was such a success, she’ll do it again in March.
“The idea started when I had extra plants that I needed to remove for a backyard project,” she shares. Not wanting to waste them, she came up with a plant exchange and got Comcast cable and Grand Lake Ace Garden Center involved. In the end, 95 people brought plants, big and small, from as far away as San Francisco. You can come to the next one by contacting Odette at plantexchange@hotmail.com.

BULB GIVEAWAY: I’m talking fluorescent light bulbs, not plant bulbs. Reader Dagmar Serota says PG&E is giving away free compact fluorescent lightbulbs at her citywide service day for the planet from 9:30 a.m. until noon Sunday in Dimond Park. Serota founded the Penny Roundup Program in the Oakland schools, and is launching a new project now — sprucing up Dimond Park with a new community garden. Bring your shovel and pitch in.

WATER WORKS: What’s in your drinking water? Just ask the students at the Oakland Hebrew School, who have been monitoring our water quality this fall. It’s part of a nationwide government grant to hundreds of Jewish schools in the United States and Israel — geared toward water quality education. It’s a reminder, too, that clean water is a basic human right — despite the popularity of bottled water in this country.

HAPPY HAUNTING: Just in time for Halloween, there are reports of a ghost at one of my favorite haunts, La Taza de Café. The stately old upper Grand home has housed many a restaurant over the years, and at least one ghost — an old lady who floats through the kitchen area in the wee hours when the prep work and cleaning are done. She’d have a lot more fun if she showed up during La Taza’s famed Salsa dance classes!

MY DOCTOR GAVE me the boot the other day. It’s a big black shell with killer Velcro straps that makes me look like Big Foot. It’s been the butt of a lot of jokes since it became part of my lower extremity. My husband calls me “Das Boot.” My kids call me “booty.” My friends – well, they’ve stopped calling me because I’m too needy. But my boot has taught me a valuable lesson. Pamper your feet. Keep them healthy and happy and they’ll give you support. Shove them in bad shoes and they’ll turn on you. Sure — there’s surgery, but the road to recovery is full of potholes. I remain strong, however. I have no choice. I refuse to be … de-feeted.

AROUND TOWN: Merchants have been complaining about the swarms of students who roam Montclair Village when school lets out, particularly on minimum days. AC Transit drops them off outside Crogan’s and they reportedly hang out for hours with nothing to do.

But two Montclair moms want to change that. Mimi Rohr and Deanna Rifai are pushing a plan to provide after-school activities for the teens, especially on Wednesdays when they’re out of school early.

“Better to work on something positive than to come down on them with no solution,” says Rohr, who has been active for years at Montclair Elementary School . She and Rifai are working with the Montclair Recreation Center to start pickup games on the baseball diamond and other free programs for teens. “Those supervising would be young and hip so that they wouldn’t stand out,” says Rohr, who says Montclair Veterinary Hospital has already pledged $500 for the program. If you’d like to help – you can call Rohr at 510-338-0670 or send her an e-mail at mimi@fnphoto.com.

SPECIAL SERVICE: You’ve heard of silent prayer? Well the students at Zion Lutheran School in Piedmont had a prayer in sign language at their weekly chapel time recently. Classmate Marcellus Esezobar and a visiting Lutheran pastor signed the Lord’s Prayer for students, as part of a special service for the deaf. Esezobar uses sign language every day because his parents are deaf. But despite his family challenges, he’s thriving at Zion , a school he joined this year. Keep up the good work, Marcellus. You’re an inspiration to us all!

BIG HONOR: A little bird tells me that hills writer and mother of three Mary-Ann Smith is being honored with a Hall of Achievement Award from the University of Oregon . Smith graduated from the university’s school of journalism in 1963 and used her lifelong love of words to become a teacher and co-director of the National Writing Project. Today, the NWP has centers in more than 200 U.S. universities and more than a million teachers have benefited from her work.

CELEBRITY COUP: “The Boss,” Bruce Springsteen, is doing a benefit concert at the Oracle Arena on Oct. 26 for Oakland’s People’s Grocery. This is quite a coup for the nonprofit group, which uses gardens and cooking classes to promote healthy eating in West Oakland. To make even more money, they’re auctioning two pairs of front section seats (starting at $300 a pair) for the Friday night event. If you’re interested, call 510-652-7607 and put in your bid.

ANIMAL TALES: Nighttime is party time for wildlife in the Oakland hills. Raccoons have been digging up the lawns to find fresh grubs (especially juicy after an early evening rain). Baby skunks have been leaving their scents in the most populated places, like the parking lot of The Hills Swim Club. And deer have been nibbling nasturtiums and eating the faces off freshly planted pansies. It’s a regular “Wild Kingdom” each night when the sun goes down.