Okay, somebody spank me for bringing up this up. Fetish: noun: a) an object believed among a primitive people to have magical power to protect or aid its owner. b) an object of irrational reverence or obsessive devotion. c) an object or bodily part whose real or fantasied presence is […]
Holidays
“And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be said of us, and all of us! Charles Dickens, ‘A Christmas Carol’ As we keep Christmas, and keep Christmas well, we would do well to […]
Grandma’s Nativity: A little story for my country that spent around a trillion dollars on Christmas this year. It’s an early December tradition here at Woodshed Manor to pull out my grandmother’s Nativity scene. I don’t know how old it is except I’m 68 and it’s older than me. Grandma […]
“Remember, remember, the Fifth of November The gunpowder treason and plot I know of no reason, the gunpowder treason Should ever…be…forgot.” English Children’s Rhyme ‘V for Vendetta’ is a film worth watching every November fifth to see how much more like the present this 2005 film has become. We have […]
If Halloween in America was a country, it would have a higher GDP than 33 other countries in the world. Yes friends, the National Retail Federation says our wacky country, where 57% of the population couldn’t cover a $1,000 emergency, throws away $12,200,000,000 on stuff like this: and this: and […]
“This day is called the Feast of Crispin. He that outlives this day and comes safe-home will stand a tiptoe when this day is named, and rouse him at the name of Crispin. He that shall see this day and live old age will yearly, on the vigil, feast his […]
In 2017 Alaska became the second US state (behind South Dakota) to replace Columbus Day, the second Monday in October, with Indigenous People’s Day. Since then other states have followed suit. If you think getting away from celebrating Columbus is a capitulation to wokeism this might be a good time […]
September 16, 1931 The indomitable Omar al-Mukhtar, religious scholar and leader of Libyan desert fighters who’d fought a European colonial power to a standstill for twenty years, was martyred. He was 73 years old, still fighting, when he was wounded and captured by troops of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Mussolini […]
Back in the ’70’s, there was fiction piece about a movement called BYE: Better Your Exit, where people who were terminal would kill themselves in interesting ways that made a statement and would maybe benefit society. I thought of that when I read about Marvin Heemeyer’s last ride. Marv was […]
Three St. Patrick’s Day Treats: Irish Coffee, Irish Soda Bread, and the Dubliners. Irish pickup line: Darlin’ if you won’t come home with me the leprechauns have already won! Nearly 33 million Americans identify as Irish. That’s seven times more than there are Irish people in Ireland. Now here we […]
Hey, are kids still required to memorize things in school? School is supposed to teach the young ones what they need to know to be good citizens in this society. It used to be that everyone memorized the presidents, the states and capitals, multiplication tables to 12, Paul Revere’s Ride, […]
Here are two seasonal breads that are always welcome at a solstice potluck or as drive-by gifts. Both include sourdough which gives a subtle flavor and changes consistency in a way that’s hard to describe but noticeable. I made them for years without sourdough so no worries if you don’t […]