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
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