Wannaskan Almanac

So it has come to this.  No, I am not talking about a clip show.  I am talking about the very last blog that I am writing as a pre-senior citizen.  That is right!  On December 26 I will become a senior citizen.  While that special moment is a distant memory to my colleagues here at the almanac, I am sure that they will welcome me into that golden ring of honor. As I cross over that magical number of 55 I can only imagine how my life will change.  One thing that will happen is that I will now be able to have supper at 4 PM...and receive a nice discount on that meal at fancy restaurants like IHOP.  Then I will be able to head off to bed at 8 o'clock in order to avoid all those prime time tv shows that serve to get you all angried up before sleeping.  Then I can get a nice 4-5 hours of sleep before having to get up and go to the bathroom.  Talk about living the dream! Easy to chew senior meals! Some of the other things I look forward to is enjoy...

The Other Side of Christmas Last week, I let you know that I intended to view the Christmas tinsel in a different light – a not so perky, sparkling light, although the typical twinkles will still shine through. So, consider yourself informed. Naturally, we don’t want to remove all the glitter from the star at the top of the tree, but the holiday isn’t all colored lights, creches, and carols for most of the people on the planet. Even where Christmas is a big deal with multiple days off, lots of parties, and gift-giving, more than a few people find it downright depressing. I’m taking the approach just mentioned in the interest of remembering with compassion those whose Christmas is different than the stereotype. That may be the majority of us human beings. Longfellow Sees Both Sides The first poem, “Christmas Bells,” by H.W. Longfellow, is one of the best examples of a Christmas poem that addresses the joy and the sorrow of the famous holy day. Longfellow penned “Christmas Bells” after h...

  I was supposed to get rid of things that no longer brought me joy. But that didn’t feel right until I considered all the joy I was bringing the landfill.  <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> I have the submariner’s mentality: everything in its place. When I want to blow tanks and ascend from the deep, I’ll need that special wrench handy.   <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Dominant thought of youth: this will be fun.  Of age: what can go wrong? <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> If you outlive your friends and don’t have kids, in the end it will be just you, the funeral director, and the rent-a-padre.  <><><><><><><><><><...

I'm Antonin, Kim's son. I'm really nice but sometimes I can be rude. For example, I'm mean to my sister Lucie sometimes. I'm being mean to her because I just want to play with her, but she always says no. I live in a house that's really nice, in my opinion. I like it a lot. One thing I like about my house is that it's stable and I can play in it "sometimes." I play tag. I sometimes just go crazy, like I just run on the couch and jump on it (even though my mom doesn't like that.) I don't like that my house has thin floors. When I jump on the floor upstairs, my mom hears me. Then my mom comes up and says, "Would you be quiet, please?" I have a really nice mom and dad. What I like about my mom is that she cooks dinner for me - like homemade dinner - and it's really yummy. My favorite dinner that my mom makes is pepperoni pizza. Homemade pepperoni pizza.  What I like about my dad a lot is that thing I mentioned in the last paragra...

     There are many in the United Kingdom who would like to see an end to the monarchy, but no one is proposing to behead King Charles III as happened to his namesake, Charles I, back in 1649. This first  Charles tried to rule without the advice of Parliament. He believed it was his divine right to do so with no backchat from the rabble. The rabble went to war and beat him. Even in defeat, Charles refused to come to terms and left his opponents no choice but to execute him.    This regicide divided the nation and it took a firm hand to restore order in the country. The strong hand was provided by Oliver Cromwell, who had been a general in the army that defeated the king. After Charles’ execution, the Royalists, those who wanted to restore the monarchy, reunited in Ireland and Scotland. Cromwell was sent to put them down. Cromwell is warmly hated in Ireland to this day.    Parliament had taken control of the country after the removal of the king, b...

Fragrance     I’ve long been considered ‘flaky’ by my peers, but it became really apparent the other day when I massaged my eyebrows during a moment of contemplation at my desk and dry skin fell like snow onto its dark surface. “Hmmmm.”     Earlier in the week, I had noticed that my not only wrinkly forearms, often hidden by long sleeves this time of year, had developed an ashy dry appearance too; I began to suspect there were other parts of my exterior I had too long ignored.       For instance, my chin and neck had begun itching soon after I got my beard trimmed at the barbershop; a trim so close to the skin that it was reminiscent of the new beard growth phase that many men go through thinking they want to grow a beard, then go back to shaving because their neck itches; this commonly happens until suitable beard length is achieved but many can’t tolerate it. I realized then what was happening, but thought just maybe, I had dry sk...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for December 14, 2022, the fifty-first Wednesday of the year, the twelfth and final Wednesday of fall, and the 348th day of the year, with 17 days remaining.   Wannaska Phenology Update for December 14, 2022 Paraselene /par-uh-si—LEE-nee/ n., a bright moon-like spot on a lunar halo, otherwise known as  a moon dog. Paraselene is a compound noun formed from the Greek preposition and prefix, para -: alongside, contrary to, and the noun, selḗnē : moon. This atmospheric optical phenomenon consists of a bright spot to one or both sides of the Moon caused by the refraction of moonlight by hexagonal-plate-shaped ice crystals in cirrus or cirrostratus clouds, and are are exactly analogous to sun dogs, or parahelion. Tis the season, but, Moon dogs are rarer than sun dogs because the Moon must be bright, about quarter moon or more, for the moon dogs to be observable. December 14 Fickle Pickle Wednesday Menu Special : Potato Dumpling...