Thursday, January 1, 2015

Salute to January 2015



Yule Love
YULE is when the dark half of the year relinquishes to the light half. 
Starting the next morning at sunrise, the sun climbs just a little higher...
and stays a little higher and stays a little longer in the sky each day.
Known as Solstice Night (or the longest night of the year)
much celebration can be had.
As the ancestors awaited the rebirth of the OAK KING, the SUN KING  (Giver of Life that warmed the Earth)  made her to bear forth from seeds protected from the fall and winter in her womb. Bonfires were lit in the fields...crops and trees were wassailed with toasts of spiced cider.

The Boarding on Flight 2015
(courtesy of Dilu and Sherrie)
The Boarding on Flight 2015 has been announced.
Your luggage should only contain the best souvenirs from 2014.
The duration of the flight will be 12 months.
The next stopovers will be:
Health, Love, Joy, Harmony, Well-being and Peace.
You are offered the following menu during the flight:
 A Cocktail of Friendship...A Supreme of Health...A Gratin of Prosperity...
A Salad of Success...A Bowl of Excellent News...A Cake of Happiness...
All accompanied with a Burst of Laughter.
          Wishing all Friends and their Families an Enjoyable Trip on Board Flight 2015.

Winter Driving Tips from the CAA while on the Road this Season
Stopping Distances increase on snow and ice; leave plenty of space between you and the vehicle ahead.
Slow Down and move over for emergency vehicles, and never pass snowplows on the right-hand side.
To maintain as much control of your vehicle as possible, avoid using overdrive and cruise control.
Always keep a phone charger in your car in the event you need to call for Roadside Assistance.
Stay on main roads and highways which are usually better plowed than secondary roads.

Health is Wealth: If you want to have the longest, healthiest life possible, you should… never have lit that first cigarette…never tasted a french fry…never stepped foot inside a fast-food restaurant…never have driven somewhere you could have walked…never turned up your nose at vegetables…never let yourself get those nasty sunburns.  If you did, take heart.  Here are a few things you can do to add years to your life:
FLOSS:  Years added? More than 6 if you floss daily, writes Dr. Michael Roizen.
GET A COLONOSCOPY: Years added?  Lots.  Nine out of 10 people whose colon cancer is discovered early, will still be alive in10 years, according to the American Cancer Society.  (Cont'd in Feb.)

Message from the 2015 Milk Calendar: Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO), which is a not-for-profit organization, proudly owned and operated by Ontario dairy farmers, is the marketing group for the largest sector of Ontario agriculture.  On November 1, 2014, DFO celebrates 50 years of marketing milk in Ontario.

.Nature's Riches ~ A Helping Hand: One can observe all forms of life...both animal and vegetable...flourishing under the harshest of conditions. Seeing a tiny seedling push up through a sheet of snow, signaling the early onset of Spring, gives even the most jaded soul cause for renewed hope. One cannot but wonder at a sturdy tree emerging from a cleft in solid rock, the result of a tiny seed dropped by an errant wind.  Given the barest essentials of life, the seed sprouts…allowing roots, trunk and branches to form. We need only to work in concert with Nature to cherish, conserve and enhance the many gifts we have been given by Planet Earth (created by God according to the Book of Genesis).

Animal Compassion ~ Cuddling Kangaroo:  If someone is going to get lost in the bush, it helps if a kangaroo comes along to share its body heat on a cold night.  That's what happened to a little boy in the Deep Creek Conservation Park in South Australia.  Simon Kruger went exploring in the nearby bush and got separated from his family's picnic. A rescue party was called in and Simon was found safe and sound the next day.  He explained that he slept under a tree and that kangaroos came to visit him. One ate the flowers he had picked for his mom, then fell asleep beside him...keeping him warm during the chilly night.

Bizarre Amazing Fact (True):  A French woman, Jeanne de Clisson, became a pirate in the 1300's to revenge her husband's death, who was beheaded for treason.  She sold her family's land to buy 3 ships and painted them black with red sails.  For the next 13 years, she went on a pirating binge, targeting King Philip VI's ships and personally beheaded the French noblemen she captured with an axe.

Best Sermons are Lived: “Today, when I slipped on the wet tile floor, a boy in a wheelchair caught me before I slammed my head on the ground.  He said, Believe it or not, that's almost how I injured my back 3 years ago.” (courtesy of a collection from Carolyn).

MB-K Report:  Donate Your Christmas Tree to help the Royal Botanical Gardens rebuild the channels at the mouth of Grindstone Creek that have been destroyed by carp.  Donated trees must have all decorations removed.  Drop trees off by following Spring Gardens Road, past the RBG main centre down into Valley Inn Road (just below the Laking Garden).

Notable Dates
                                             January 1 (Thursday) ~ New Year's Day
                                             January 7 (Wednesday) ~ Orthodox Christmas
                                             January 11 (Sunday) ~ Sir John A. MacDonald Day
                                             January 14 (Wednesday) ~ Orthodox New Year
                                             January 21 (Wednesday) ~ Quebec Flag Day
                                             January 25 (Sunday) ~ Robbie Burns Day

Cool Winter Events Across Canada:
Skating on the Rideau Canal, Ottawa, Ontario (January to February depending on ice conditions).
Ice Magic Festival, Lake Louise, Alberta (January 16-25)…with ice-carvers from around the world.
Ice Wine Festival, Grand Pre, Nova Scotia (January 31-February 8); sample dessert wines & foods.
SnowKing Festival, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (March 1 -29)…see elaborate castle of snow.

Winter Advice: When skating on lakes or rivers, check the thickness and the colour of the ice. Ice should be at least 15 cm thick for skating alone and 20 cm thick for group skating. Gray ice, which indicates water, is unsafe and must be avoided.

There are two seasonal diversions that can ease the bite of winter;
one is the January thaw...the other is the seed catalogue.
(Hal Borland)

Compiled by Merle Baird-Kerr...December 2, 2014
To comment: email inezkate@gmail.com  or  mbairdkerr@cogeco.ca

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