I am glad to have reached the first week in January of 2024 without telling a lot of people to simply fuck off and leave me alone during the past month. The urge is, I’m afraid, great and growing stronger every year. The Xmas season does that to me, beginning
Continue readingTag: christmas
Susan on the Soapbox: Merry Christmas!
Every family has its own holiday traditions. In the Soapbox house on Christmas Eve we play Rummicub and eat ourselves silly (I don’t know what they put in caramel popcorn but I can’t get enough). On Christmas morning we get up early to open presents and enjoy Mr Soapbox’s outstanding
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Isolated for the Holidays
I haven’t forgotten to write up Day 3 of the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence Conference – I WILL get to it (all my notes are made and I can’t wait to tell you what happened!). But, it’s coming up to Christmas and I want to share something that is
Continue readingIn This Corner: All I want for Christmas is …
“What do you want for Christmas?” I’ve heard those six words dozens of times since I was a child. As a kid, it was an invitation to go crazy. The list-making would begin right after Halloween. I would watch my after-school kids’ programs, make note of every boy’s toy advertised,
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Police officer swears city officials agreed with plan to drive Edmonton homeless people from encampments before Christmas
Edmonton Lawyer Avnish Nanda yesterday posted on social media part of an affidavit in which Edmonton Police Service Staff Sergeant Michael Dreilich swears city representatives agreed with the police department’s plan to roust residents of eight downtown homeless encampments just before Christmas and break up their shelters. Edmonton lawyer Avnish
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: The Twelve Days of a Caregiver Christmas
This is a reprise of a Christmas post from 2017. Hasn’t the world changed since then?! Then again, time moves more slowly in caregiving. Merry Christmas, everyone! And may we all stay safe and healthy in 2023. My words to the carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas” are fun,
Continue readingmark a. rayner: The Santa Division
Nick was tired of the disintegrations. He’d wanted to be the Chief Claus Officer (CCO) of The SANTA Division since he’d joined the organization back… The post The Santa Division appeared first on mark a. rayner.
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Merry Christmas
My wife and I received our boosters yesterday. I received mine from a retired doctor. He was there to make things work. Several other retired health care workers and members of service clubs were there for the same reason. Christmas isn’t about me. It’s about others. And it’s about joy
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
A choir is singing something vaguely classical on the radio. Rudy the rescue dog is chilling in front of the Christmas tree. And the Soapbox family is almost ready for Christmas (although Ms Soapbox will be scrambling around at the eleventh hour as usual). Have a safe and happy
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
The politicians are on break (thank god) and so are we. The Soapbox family and Rudy the rescue dog would like to wish you and yours a peaceful and happy holiday. Those of you with a discerning eye will notice Rudy the rescue dog is plumper and furrier this year. But
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
The politicians are on break (thank god) and so are we. The Soapbox family and Rudy the rescue dog would like to wish you and yours a peaceful and happy holiday. And here’s the traditional photo of the mutt under the Christmas tree. Those of you with a discerning eye
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Christmas 2019
We live in a time and place where grievance fills the air. We’re constantly reminded of how we’ve been short changed and what we don’t have. But, every year at this time, we’re reminded of our possibilities — of what we might achieve if we practised a simple principle —
Continue readingThings Are Good: Don’t Give Gifts this Year
If you care about people and want to demonstrate that care through the acquisition of material wealth: stop. This holiday season you should try something different by not buying material gifts for those you love and get them something else instead, like tickets to a play. The spirit of gift
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: The War Against Holiday Diversity
They call it the War on Christmas, but in reality it is just an opportunity for a few people to get apoplectic, or is it apocalyptic, about the fact that some people acknowledge that many holidays are celebrated at this time of year. Proponents of the theory like to claim
Continue readingcentre of the universe: I wish I were joking
But I’m not. If I wrote this as fiction my editors would cross it out as too far fetched. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/comedy-holiday-horrors-jillian-bell-1.4960005
Continue readingThe Maple Monarchists - Blog: Mutual Respec- Oh Shiny!
The Queen’s annual Christmas message has been released.It covered several topics but a big one was the need for mutualrespect between people and the corrosive effect tribalism can have. It talked about the good the Commonwealth Games doin bringing diverse peoples together to emphasize sharedvalues. It even included a small
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: During This Season
Every so often, my back rebels and I can’t sit or stand at the computer for any length of time. I have recently experienced another such rebellion. But I am on the mend, and I will be back on a regular basis shortly. I can’t let this opportunity go by
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Merry Christmas!
The politicians are on break and so are we. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Soapbox family. Wishing you and yours the very best for 2019! Oh, and here’s the newest addition to the Soapbox family…meet Rudy the rescue dog!
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: THE EMPTY CHAIR AT OUR CHRISTMAS TABLE
It’s funny how the threads of our lives intersect sometimes to create meaning, sometimes giving us a clearer view of what is before us, or what is missing. Our daughter Natalie Wright is a curatorial assistant at a Milwaukee arts research institute called The Chipstone Foundation. One of her recent projects involved writing about
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Christmas – Whose Holiday is it Anyway
It is time for the annual discussions about the “War on Christmas” and putting “Christ Back in Christmas”, but whose holiday is it anyway. The Christians claim it as theirs because, well, it has “Christ” in the name and celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. But yet they chose the
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