This Christmas season is, well, somewhat of a stressful time. It's true for most everyone, but as anyone who works in the industry can probably attest, that stress seems to double when you work in retail. Our regular Monday and Thursday newsletters swell in size, phones ring off the hook as our amazing customers try to find gifts for themselves or their loved ones, and our shipping department is a frenzy as fresh pipes and tobaccos fly off shelves as fast as we can put them up.

I stand outside the Comfort Inn in Romulus, Michigan, leaning against a concrete column smoking my pipe and watching it rain. Having departed from the Smokingpipes.com Representative Office in Chongqing, China at 11.30 a.m., I now have an overnight layover in Detroit. My eyes are so dry that they seem to make a scratching noise when I blink. I soon have company — a lady in a Myrtle Beach sweatshirt who came out to smoke a cigarette. She and her family are headed to the beach for a late season vacation. She says a storm is brewing in the Atlantic that could possibly hit South Carolina. Unconcerned, I say, "I'm sure we'll be fine." After all, such warnings are routine in August and September.

We're a few weeks into Pokémon Go fever, and we here at Laudisi Enterprises have been no more immune to the zeitgeist than anyone else. Lunch time talk has turned to trading stories and, in the absence of a nearby gym or Pokéstop, trading tips on the best places to hunt in the area.

Another year has come and gone. While geopolitical woes abound, at least in our little corner, our little world of pipes and pipe tobacco, it has been a good year. The upswell in enthusiasm for all things pipes that we've seen over the past few years continues apace.

With the new year just around the corner, many have taken it upon themselves to write resolutions. Some make it a point to exercise more or eat healthier; some promise to pursue their own procrastinated dreams. Others turn to seeking more intellectual stimulation, or propose more time spent with family and friends.

August 2014: Smokingpipes.com and Laudisi Enterprises as a whole spanned five buildings in two states. A year later and we're all (well, most of us, at least) under one roof here in Longs, South Carolina — something we celebrated yesterday with our local Chamber of Commerce as we finally cut the ribbon on our new space.