KISSING!

      I rarely look back at old posts. Somehow today I landed on a post from Fri July 6, 2012. What was the topic? International Kissing Day!

     So, who am I to write about kissing? But you can go back to the post and see what I wrote, in my ignorance.

     The thing that shocked me was the list of commenters I had. I had completely forgotten most of the people who made comments on that post. There are only three people from that time who still follow my blog and make comments. So of the seventeen people who commented , 14 of them have disappeared. 

    The three bloggers who remain from that time are Far Side of Fifty, Eye on the Edge and Crumbly acres.  

    Some of them had excellent blogs but somehow ceased blogging. Some were lurkers who only made comments. 

    One  blog that had over a thousand followers ceased. That was Tex Wise girl. She posted every day. Do any of you remember her? 

     Maybe I should look back at more old posts and could be surprised at some of the topics. Of course, in 2012, I was 12 years younger, so just a young guy!

WEATHER REPORT

         Since I have nothing to write about , I will give you the weather report. I don't need to say that it's winter here and it can get very severe. 

        Our recent weather has been on the cold side. Today our high was minus 15 C and there was some wind. It was clear and sunny. I don't know what the wind chill would have been but it made for an uncomfortable day. 

      So these are typical winter days. We can get cold spells which are much colder than today. When a cold spell sets in it can last from a few days to several weeks.

     And oh yes, the days are getting longer. On Winter solstice we had 7 hours and 14 minutes of sun. Today we had 7 hours and 53 minutes of sun. Today got longer by one minute and 14 seconds. 

     My interest in weather goes back a long way. As I've said many times, as a child I played outdoors summer and winter. I went to the Arctic in the 60's and you had to be aware of the weather. There was a weather station where I lived and I got to know some of the weather people and talked about weather very often. There were no roads so traffic was by air. Weather was extremely important. 

    When I was in the eastern arctic, we were asked for weather reports many times. I had a radio at my house and was contacted when they were planning a flight. There were weather hazards that pilots had to watch for. 

    The only time I had a bad flight was because of weather. The airplane began to ice up. This was the end of September. As more ice built up the airplane became heavier and more power was given. I would have landed on a small lake before getting to our destination. The pilot wanted to get to the settlement. It was a bad landing. The pilot pulled the throttle back and the airplane sank like a rock. He quickly pulled the throttle back and we made a very rough landing. We more or les just plopped heavily into the  water. 

    So  I find weather interesting and it is important.

RESOLUTIONS

       Every new year there is talk about "New Year's Resolutions." The chatter is the same. Many resolutions are made but not kept. And there are a pile of reasons why resolutions aren't kept.

      Then the counsellors get in there and explain how to keep a resolution so it makes it more difficult to abandon your resolution. I have never officially made a New Year's resolution. I have thought about some things that need attention. I know that my organizational skills are poor or is it that I just don't care much. But as you can see I have not done anything to improve my organization and orderliness. 

     New years is also a time to look back and reflect. Reflection seems to be a moving target. Our memories are not precise. When I talk to my brothers we all seem to have some variation in the memories. 

    One thing I know is that I have definitely had 85 New Years. The first few don't count as we don't seem to keep any memories.

    For example, today would have been my sister's 83 birthday. However, she only got to celebrate eleven birthdays. Since I was only two when she was born, I don't remember her birth. Then I started to think about how many new years I actually remember. As it turns out , not very many. I remember the first time I took the Micro Manager out it was New Year's Eve 1965. I remember that as a child the church had a special program for kids on Jan 1. The Sunday School performed all it's stuff and then were given a bag with candies, nuts and an orange so that's why it was called a Sunday school treat. 

    So once again we mark a January first with a mixture of happiness, resolve and memories. 

   I wish all of you a very happy and successful 2025. 

2024

  FAST AWAY THE OLD YEAR PASSES.

         2024 is almost over for another year of good blogging. I've been lucky enough to read hundreds of interesting, thought provoking and informative posts. I've been fortunate enough to read many comments on my posts. Some of these comments make me stop and take a second look at what  I tried to say. Of course, I like the complementary comments. A pat on the back always feels good. 

      I don't need to tell you that there are many types of blogs out there. Some blogs give interesting accounts of daily life. Other blogs teach us new things. So blogs express opinions. Whatever, blogs are interesting. There are many great photographers out there. Some blogs only show photos. Some blogs use photos to go along with their post. 

    Unfortunately some bloggers cease their operation. It's always sad to lose someone you have been following. 

    Some bloggers struggle to keep posting. I'm one who sometimes finds it a struggle to come up with  interesting topics. I feel that if I have nothing to say, say nothing. At least that's what my Mom told me. 

     I know of one excellent blogger who passed away this year. It was difficult to lose Pat Thistlewaite.  She is missed. 

     So I look forward to  following everybody next year. You make my day. 

I FORGOT MY PHOTO

      I took a photo for yesterday's post and then forgot to post it. 

      I took a sky shot just before 10:00 AM to show that the sun is at a very low angle. The sun is so low here that it shines in your eyes and makes driving difficult. 

WINTER SOLSTICE

         Many people look forward to this special day. They say now the days will be getting longer. But, not so fast. From Dec. 19 to Dec  22. day length stays the same unless you want to count the seconds. 

       I do find winter solstice an interesting day. It's interesting that they think ancient  people knew and predicted the winter solstice accurately. I find it interesting that in much of the world people were nomads and lived outdoors. They did not have permanent housing. Since they were outside they could spend time watching the skies. They knew about phases of the moon, stars, comets, northern lights and constellations. 

      When I was a child growing up in the 40's we played outside in the snow after supper. We did not have electricity so  the farmyard was dark. Many days  I can remember watching the skies. I know that I didn't know much about the winter solstice. Many nights were clear and you had a good view of the night skies. We particularly liked the moon as it gave some light to play out doors. 

     We would go outside after supper when Dad would take care of the animals in the barn. The  animals were fed and the cows milked. When we got to be about 8 years old we started milking cows too. 

    I have concerns about the people of today. There is too much light for us to see the skies clearly. People do not spend time outside in the evening. I fear that they will not know much about the night skies as well as the winter solstice. 

    So today, the sun rose at 8:42 AM and set at 4:24 PM for a total  of 7 hours and 41 minutes of daylight.

    It was warmer here today but not because of the solstice. We had a nice sunny plus one Celsius today. 

SCHOOL CONCERTS

     I don't know about your end of the world but here at one time the school Christmas concert was the highlight of the school year. Now I realize that in many areas, Christmas is not celebrated but here it is. There are many traditions. I'm going to tell you about one tradition. 

    When I grew up in the forties, much of western Canada was very rural. Because of methods of transportation and distances, the one room country school was the major school organization. 

    So in these country schools the school Christmas concert was the major event of the year. 

    What's a school Christmas concert? It's a concert put on by the teacher and his/her  students. In the school I went to the highest enrolment was 17. 

                           In this photo I'm the little beaner on the far right  at the bottom. I was in gr one. I have my head twisted .

       In this photo I was in Gr. 3. I'm right behind the teacher on her left. 

    With a combination of music, skits, plays, drills and recitations all students were included in the performance. For these isolated areas it was entertainment and they saw their kids perform. 

    A farmer would go to town and the lumber yard would lend him planks to make a small stage and seats. Stage curtains were made from bedsheets brought from home.

    Finally the big night came and the show went on. All the time there was great excitement as the kids knew Santa Claus would come at the end of the show. They also knew that Mom and Dad were watching as well as the rest of the district. They were nervous. The teacher gave each kid a present and students chose names and gave the kid a present . The school board gave each kid a bag of candies, nuts and an orange. 

     With some good visiting, finally everybody went home

    Many stories about these concerts went on for years. My brother and I were teamed up to do a little drill to music. We were elves and had paper costumes and shoes. During the performance my brother stepped on a tack. When he stopped the routine he said, "I stepped on a tack." Loud enough for the audience to hear. I went over and pulled out the tack and we completed our act. Mom and Dad laughed about this for years. 

    Many schools still have some form of Christmas program but it has changed. There are no small rural  schools anymore.

    So at this time of year I look back at the wonderful Christmas concerts. In my teaching we'd have all kids go to the gym and we had music and then the kids were dismissed for the holidays. So some of the exciting things like Santa Claus didn't happen. 

    Merry Christmas everybody.