Magic mug of hot & black with a modest cheese sandwich, Pepperidge Farms very thin whole wheat with Port Salut cheese melted on in the toaster oven and the top slice of bread mashed on to seal it. 4:18 AM Monday, 6 Jan 2025, a nice 67°F outside and reportedly gathering up to rain by five o'clock. We brought plants inside last evening, I thought we were to have near-freezing cold, now looks like middle thirties overnight Mon/Tue. Today we commemorate The Epiphany, whic h for  the Western Church is Matthew's story of the Magi, Matthew 2:1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star in the east and have come to pay him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him, 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be bo...

  Born and raised here, I’m a Panama City native, and growing up in the Florida sunshine is taking a toll on my face: frequent trips to the dermatologist, who is not done with me yet. Please ignore my face and listen up, because I have things to say that I hope you will enjoy. I'm more disorganized than usual, because the new microphone is hanging over my left ear, competing with my glasses, and the microphone tore out my left hearing aid, so I can only hear from the right side. I'm not rattled, but here we are, kindly bear with me! Tomorrow is Epiphany, which, along with Easter, Christmas, and four other days, is one of seven principal celebrations of the church year. In the Western Church, historically centered in Rome, we celebrate The Epiphany as the Wise Men seeing a star, recognizing a king, bringing gifts . In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Baptism of Christ is The Epiphany, the voice from heaven, “… my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”  An epiphany is a m...

  On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Eleven pipers piping, Ten lords a leaping, Nine ladies dancing, Eight maids a milking, Seven swans a swimming, Six geese a laying, Five golden rings - - - Four calling birds, Three French hens, Two turtle doves and a Partridge in a pear tree. Or maybe At any event, tomorrow, Sunday, 5 January, is the Twelfth Day of Christmas and one tradition says you should be taking your Christmas tree down now. Either take it down on the Twelfth Day, or leave it up for next Christmas, 2025. Our Christmas tree is Linda's lovely creation that I've loved sitting here looking at, and I'm all for leaving it up as a nod to my nonagenarian dotage, but there's little to zero zip zilch chance of Linda tolerating that. I mean, I don't complete my 90th year until my birthday next September, but anyone who's had ninety Thankgivings and ninety Christmases can dee well claim nonagenarianism, nomesane? Yes, I missed posting about t...

Yes, I'm going with it, I'll come back to the Twelve Days of Christmas, probably later today, but first a kickoff digresssion, maybe into make believe, where things can be as one imagines or wishes instead of as they are. New Orleans, Las Vegas, incredibly Pakistan v Afghanistan, America, my trip first thing this morning back to the dermatology clinic to have more pieces cut out of my face, ... An appealing thought for the day  A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: I believe in evidence. I believe in observation, measurement, and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I'll believe anything, no matter how wild and ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be. - Isaac Asimov, scientist and writer (2 Jan 1920-1992) that showed up while I was checking out Word-A-Day's Lower Slobbovia and reminiscing about Lil Abner's adventures.  Daisy Mae, Sadie Hawkins Day, Mammy and Pappy ...

  The eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me eight maids a-milking, and here I am with my standard skeptical cynicism about most things religious, including Christianizing a memory-challenge penalty rewards game-song in which members of an increasingly more inebriated group of friends or family try to remember the gifts for each day as they sing the verses over and over and over!  Anyway, here's what Artificial Intelligence has to say about the song that one somewhat caustic writer called "the holiday's most annoying carol." AI Overview "Eight maids a-milking" is a line from the song "On the eighth day of Christmas" and is said to  represent the eight Beatitudes, which Jesus Christ taught in the Sermon on the Mount :   Blessed are the poor in spirit Blessed are those who mourn Blessed are the meek Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness Blessed are the merciful Blessed are the pure in heart Blessed are the peacemakers Ble...

The 7th Day of Christmas my true love gave to me seven swans a-swimming “The Seven Swans a Swimming verse represents the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:6-8). Prophesy, service, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership & mercy. Children were taught that when you walk with God the gifts of the Spirit moved in your life as easily as a swan on the water.” SOURCE: GOOGLED ONLINE. HERE'S ANOTHER: By Professor Kate Williams Seven swans a swimming – well, with giving this, our ‘true love’ was really buying us something rather expensive. Swans have always been luxury goods, a medieval Gucci handbag, if you will. In the medieval period, swans were status symbols, exchanged between noblemen as the centuries wore on, they became increasingly exclusive to royalty. Any top feast worth its salt had to have a swan as a centrepiece, especially at Christmas feasts. Ideally, you’d roast a few swans in their feathers and put a burning piece of incense in its beak. In 1251, Henry III or...