Well, the excitement is done, the turkey is but a memory and the gifts have been opened and scattered. Yes, Christmas is over! Hooray ! Sorry, I just find it a very hectic time of year, what with the rush to get gifts bought and wrapped and everything that has to do with that time of year. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, however I can certainly do without all the hub-bub and crazyness, as I am sure you all can. Ah well, just think - only another 349 days left to do your Christmas shopping, LOL.
It is New Years Eve day and we are certainly ending the year on a very sad note - another 3 of our brave soldiers gave their lives doing what they loved and believed in. What a time of year for it to happen, not to say that anytime is not bad. My heart goes out to the families of all those that have fallen since this conflict started. LEST WE FORGET - WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.
So - any great plans for tonight? Maybe going out to a big party to ring in the new year? Or having guests over to celebrate? My wife and I stopped going out several years ago and we now have a nice quiet evening at home, just her, myself and the cat lol. I must be getting old - don't see the sense in going out and getting sloshed just for the sake of it being New Years Eve. Whatever you have decided to do, I hope that you enjoy it thoroughly. Please remember though not to drink and drive. Not only can you put yourself at risk for arrest and loss of driver's license, you also put others at risk by doing so.
A good friend of ours sent us an e-mail that I will reproduce in part here - I thought it quite appropriate.
"I WISH YOU ENOUGH"
'When we say, 'I wish you enough,' we are wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them. Therefore,
- I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how grey the day may appear.
- I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
- I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
- I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
- I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
- I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
- I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.
As I said, it seemed appropriate, considering that we are on the threshold of a new year.
A very Happy New Year to All and to all my friends and family, I WISH YOU ENOUGH.
Grandpa out .........
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Christmas Day
The following is excerpted and paraphrased from the editorial page of our local newspaper. It certainly causes one to pause and contemplate ........
Love and Fear.
Sages from different religious and philosophical traditions agree that these are the two poles around which everything moves. It's interesting then that one of the most beloved Christmas speeches in the Christian tradition opens with the words, "Fear not." Good words in troubled times, whether or not religion is part of your life.
The measures of fear and love can be applied to all things, really, in an attempt to understand motivation, both personal and public. While Christmas is a celebration of love in the absence of fear - an unqualified declaration that everything is as it should be - it becomes for many a trial to be endured. This Christmas, in that blessed few hours after the rush is over, there are good questions to ask. What causes the trial? Is it love? Or is it fear? Is it fear of disappointing our loved ones that drives us to fret about the gifts we buy? Is it fear or love in action when we spend more than we have to live up to the standards someone else set for our families?
And what of the deeper questions we will face in the months ahead?
Never in the experience of the current generation has there been so much economic uncertainty going into a new year. What roles will love and fear play as we move forward? Which will rule us?
"For behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people ... "
Rarely have more hopeful words been written, yet they can and have become violently divisive through dogmatic disputes of our choosing. What drives those disputes, and other religiously motivated divisions and violence across the full spectrum of belief? Love? Or fear? This is the acid test of awareness for all things going forward, religious, secular, political, social. It may be of great value as we all face the trial ahead.
"... and on earth, peace, good will toward men."
Merry Christmas to all.
Grandpa out .....
Love and Fear.
Sages from different religious and philosophical traditions agree that these are the two poles around which everything moves. It's interesting then that one of the most beloved Christmas speeches in the Christian tradition opens with the words, "Fear not." Good words in troubled times, whether or not religion is part of your life.
The measures of fear and love can be applied to all things, really, in an attempt to understand motivation, both personal and public. While Christmas is a celebration of love in the absence of fear - an unqualified declaration that everything is as it should be - it becomes for many a trial to be endured. This Christmas, in that blessed few hours after the rush is over, there are good questions to ask. What causes the trial? Is it love? Or is it fear? Is it fear of disappointing our loved ones that drives us to fret about the gifts we buy? Is it fear or love in action when we spend more than we have to live up to the standards someone else set for our families?
And what of the deeper questions we will face in the months ahead?
Never in the experience of the current generation has there been so much economic uncertainty going into a new year. What roles will love and fear play as we move forward? Which will rule us?
"For behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people ... "
Rarely have more hopeful words been written, yet they can and have become violently divisive through dogmatic disputes of our choosing. What drives those disputes, and other religiously motivated divisions and violence across the full spectrum of belief? Love? Or fear? This is the acid test of awareness for all things going forward, religious, secular, political, social. It may be of great value as we all face the trial ahead.
"... and on earth, peace, good will toward men."
Merry Christmas to all.
Grandpa out .....
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Adrift and slowly sinking !!
Well, here it is December 6th and time marches on - getting closer to Christmas, shopping malls are packed, even though people seem to be spending slightly less than last year and we are a country adrift in the high seas of a faltering economy! How did this come about, you query? I will try to explain it, without getting too verbose or dealing with too many issues. Our finance minister brought down an economic update a week and a half or so ago and the three opposition parties certainly didn't like it. Because they together outnumber the current governing party, they decided to form a "coalition" of the NDP and Liberals, supported by the Bloc. They had a non-confidence vote scheduled for December 8th and if it had been held, would have potentially booted the democratically elected governing party out and possibly either had the Governor General ask them to form a temporary government or caused her to call another election (7 weeks after the last one). The Prime Minister met with the Governor General the other day and convinced her to "prorogue" (suspend) Parliament. As a result of the meeting, our parliament has been suspended until January 26th and the non-confidence vote scheduled for Monday has been cancelled. Parliament is scheduled to resume January 26th, with a budget slated to come down on January 27th. The budget will be a confidence issue and if defeated, will cause the government to topple. Then, we will either end up with another election costing untold millions of dollars or have the Liberals govern, with the support of the other two parties (you remember the last time the Liberals governed, don't you? Large deficit, high taxes, cutbacks, etc).
So, you ask, how does this affect the general public as a whole? Well, it could have some dramatic effects. The way it is set up in the Constitution and laws governing the country, no new money can be doled out for various programs - the government does not have the legal authority now to create any additional funding. The only money that can be called on is that which has already been budgeted and approved. In other words, no hands in the cookie jar for the next month and a half. That, in itself, can be a good thing, but on the opposite side it is bad also. No new money for additional health care, no money for the armed forces, no money for childcare, etc etc. Not quite sure how it affects the cost of living increases that pensions such as CPP generally get, but guess time will tell.
Getting back to the budget - the Tories are going to have to sit down, put on their collective thinking caps, and come up with a plan that addresses the current economic situation and provide some kind of impetus that will kick start the economy again. If they don't and come in with a normal type budget, they will end up not only with egg on their faces, but probably be out of a job as well. To say the least, it should be an interesting time.
My personal opinion is that it really doesn't matter who is elected - when it gets right down to it, they are all the same and only in it due to the prestige and power. I have always voted for the representative in our area that does the best job for the people he/she represents. As it turns out so far, the individual represents the Conservatives, but that is the way the cookie crumbles. It just as easily could have been one of the other parties, but Bruce Stanton (our elected MP) does a wonderful job representing the area and his constituents and I really can't see any of the other parties even coming close to doing the job that he does. That is, again, just my opinion - I am sure you can find dissenting opinions very easily just by asking around. Okay - enough of the politics and the state of the country. We could probably go on forever discussing it but it only gets me riled up and you don't want Grandpa "riled" lol lol.
Soooo ....... finished Christmas shopping yet? I am very pleased that all my (our) shopping is done, everything is wrapped and ready for delivery. That way, I don't have to fight the crowds at the local stores to try and buy gifts. I am going down to the big smoke (Toronto) on the 20th to deliver all the gifts down there and get to see the grandkids while I'm at it. Unfortunately, the wife has to work and with split days off (Sunday and Wednesday) she doesn't want to rush around on the one day and be exhausted for work the next day. That, and it looks like she may have to work Christmas day also, so if we don't have our turkey that day, we will have it either the day before (that way she can take in turkey sandwiches for lunch) or after the fact - we will see. It all depends on what she wants to do - me? I am easy lol. I guess I should take the camera with me on the 20th and get some current pictures of the grandkids. At least that will help the wife see how big they are all getting.
Anyways, not much else to say - - other than the weather and I don't want to even get into that again! So, will sign off for now and if for some reason I don't do another post between now and Christmas, I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of myself and my wife, to wish you a Merry Christmas. May God Bless your holidays with hope and peace.
Grandpa out ......
So, you ask, how does this affect the general public as a whole? Well, it could have some dramatic effects. The way it is set up in the Constitution and laws governing the country, no new money can be doled out for various programs - the government does not have the legal authority now to create any additional funding. The only money that can be called on is that which has already been budgeted and approved. In other words, no hands in the cookie jar for the next month and a half. That, in itself, can be a good thing, but on the opposite side it is bad also. No new money for additional health care, no money for the armed forces, no money for childcare, etc etc. Not quite sure how it affects the cost of living increases that pensions such as CPP generally get, but guess time will tell.
Getting back to the budget - the Tories are going to have to sit down, put on their collective thinking caps, and come up with a plan that addresses the current economic situation and provide some kind of impetus that will kick start the economy again. If they don't and come in with a normal type budget, they will end up not only with egg on their faces, but probably be out of a job as well. To say the least, it should be an interesting time.
My personal opinion is that it really doesn't matter who is elected - when it gets right down to it, they are all the same and only in it due to the prestige and power. I have always voted for the representative in our area that does the best job for the people he/she represents. As it turns out so far, the individual represents the Conservatives, but that is the way the cookie crumbles. It just as easily could have been one of the other parties, but Bruce Stanton (our elected MP) does a wonderful job representing the area and his constituents and I really can't see any of the other parties even coming close to doing the job that he does. That is, again, just my opinion - I am sure you can find dissenting opinions very easily just by asking around. Okay - enough of the politics and the state of the country. We could probably go on forever discussing it but it only gets me riled up and you don't want Grandpa "riled" lol lol.
Soooo ....... finished Christmas shopping yet? I am very pleased that all my (our) shopping is done, everything is wrapped and ready for delivery. That way, I don't have to fight the crowds at the local stores to try and buy gifts. I am going down to the big smoke (Toronto) on the 20th to deliver all the gifts down there and get to see the grandkids while I'm at it. Unfortunately, the wife has to work and with split days off (Sunday and Wednesday) she doesn't want to rush around on the one day and be exhausted for work the next day. That, and it looks like she may have to work Christmas day also, so if we don't have our turkey that day, we will have it either the day before (that way she can take in turkey sandwiches for lunch) or after the fact - we will see. It all depends on what she wants to do - me? I am easy lol. I guess I should take the camera with me on the 20th and get some current pictures of the grandkids. At least that will help the wife see how big they are all getting.
Anyways, not much else to say - - other than the weather and I don't want to even get into that again! So, will sign off for now and if for some reason I don't do another post between now and Christmas, I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of myself and my wife, to wish you a Merry Christmas. May God Bless your holidays with hope and peace.
Grandpa out ......
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