whatever the weather...

I still made it to the service at Asbury Memorial Church for this first Sunday of 2025.

"I'm here, I'm here!", I wrote in the chatbox. "I wanted to be there in person for this first Sunday, but the chill factor kept me home. I am certainly there in spirit with y'all!"

I am so glad that this online, live-streamed, service is still available for those who cannot be there in person.

It began with the pandemic, but has continued.

i thank You, God.

As I noted last week, the weather has been a bit harsh, having highs that are in the 50's, and nights too cold for me to go outside.

Bear in mind that most of those temperatures come with a -6 chill factor, or wind chill, so mid-50's is really upper-40's.

Today, I knew Reverend Billy would be preaching about the Twelfth Day of Christmas, i.e., the Epiphany.

This is one of his favorite days to sermonize, and today's was titled "Reappearing Stars", with him talking of the Wisemen having to ask around for the location of the baby, as the star was not visible.

That reminds me of what I told Sarah Povie when she was small.

"Friends are always in your heart, even when you don't see them, just like the stars are always in the sky, even during the day."

(smile!)

Very nice sermon, and very nice memory for me!

Then came the other reason for my wanting to attend church today: communion.

Fortunately, I had grabbed one of these portable kits at the first Sunday in December!

That really helped me feel like part of the congregation, in spirit and for real.

i thank You, God.

Pop me, please!

"You want me to do what?"

 

Silly! I'm just quoting Mr. Shark. He says that line three times to Mr. Snake, each time hoping the orange Push-Up frozen treat will be given to him. Poor, trusting, Mr. Shark. It's like Charlie Brown believing that Lucy will hold the football in place for him to kick it.

Anyway, as I was watching the movie, it occurred to me: I had an orange Outshine popsicle in the freezer! I made sure I had it for the third time he said the phrase.

"Whoa, who, whoa! What are you talking about??"

I found out this evening that Peacock has added "The Bad Guys" to their lineup, so I watched it tonight. I do so love that animated movie!

"Yes, I remember you waxing rhapsodic about it back in the summer of '22, then again that fall. It really is a good one about second chances and being wary of stereotyping people. Or stereotyping animals."

Right! I've placed the movie into the "My Stuff" folder on the TV app. That way I won't have to scroll through hordes of stuff I'm not interested in to find it again. I really like being able to do that, though there is one bad habit Peacock has.

"Peacock has a bad habit?"

Yes, it does. It tries to bully me into binge-watching. It's like I'm not supposed to be there for a single movie, or a single episode of a series, or a single anything.

"You're going to have to walk me through this one, g'friend."

Okay, okay, I can do that. Here's a prime example of what I'm talking about. I watched a Christmas movie the other day, as I did during the holidays. And, as I was enjoying the song as the credits began, I had to jump up and grab the TV remote! Otherwise, Peacock was going to cue up another movie for me, whether I wanted that particular movie or not. Really is quite a bullying tactic.

"Maybe it just likes your company and wants you to stick around..."

 

... maybe they want me to stick around so they can insure they have an audience to watch the 'mercials that go along with so many of their offered movies and programs.

 

"Hey, you aren't paying peanuts for Peacock, and you know display rights have to be paid for anything they're airing. You know how that works. Plus, they have so few 'mercials compared to the other channels, and none of those are for lawyers or politicians or health insurance. Count your blessings, dearie, count your blessings!"

 

You're absolutely right. First world woe, and all that nonsense. (smile!)

8th day of hanukkah

I admit to having a certain fascination with the Jewish holiday this time around.

No doubt that is because it began at sundown on Christmas Day.

That got me pondering: what holidays did Jesus celebrate?

After all, there was no Christmas yet, nor Easter.

Neither of those would be created until hundreds of years after his death.

Actually, I take that back.

The resurrection of Jesus, which signaled the saving of mankind, was celebrated as early as within a generation of Jesus' death.

His apostle Paul wrote of it, with the date for the remembrance of Jesus as the "sacrificial Passover lamb" coinciding with that of Passover, a celebration of the freeing of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt.

(Hence, the reason "The Ten Commandments" is always shown at that time of year when Passover, or Pascha, is observed. Christians regard the movie as part of the Easter, or Pascha, tradition, with families watching it annually.)

Within another five generations, i.e., by the mid-2nd century AD, the celebration of Jesus' resurrection was part of tradition with early Christians.

Early followers of the teachings of Christ also celebrated the birth of Jesus, but the date of December 25 was not settled upon for another two hundred years, according to historical records written between 336 and 354 AD.

Interesting stuff, right?

That brings me back to wdjd, to paraphrase a popular acronym from the twentieth century.

Jesus celebrated the traditional high holy days of Judaism, that's what he did.

They had all been around for a couple of thousand years by the time of his birth.

So that means he would have observed Pesach (Passover or Pascha), Shavuot (Pentecost), Kapar (Day of Atonement), Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), Hanukkah (Feast of Dedication or Festival of Lights), and the Sabbath (starting at sunset on Friday and lasting Saturday until sunset, in accordance with the creation of Night and Light in a single Day).

Except for the Sabbath, these holidays are observed according to the Hebrew Calendar, which keeps track of lunar cycles - new moons, specifically - to mark its months.

The Hebrew Calendar is currently on Year 5785.

That's quite different from the Gregorian Calendar, isn't it?!

Considering that a lunar cycle is 28 days, and the months in the Gregorian Calendar have different numbers of days, it's understandable that the two calendars used by Jews and Christians would not overlap often.

The last time Hanukkah overlapped with Christmas was in 2005.

This time around, the first DAY of Hanukkah was Boxing Day, December 26.

The first NIGHT of Hanukkah began at sundown of Christmas Day.

Today is the eighth, and final, DAY of Hanukkah for Year 5785.

Did I do anything in particular to denote that passage of time?

Did I receive gifts for those eight days?

Did I sing Hanukkah songs or play with a dreidel or light a menorah?

Well..

I blogged about it.

(smile!)

ho-ho-holy shiite!

What a treat it's been to watch Santa Claus in action against those who have been naughty!

Just looking at him here, after he's hoisted a few pints in England, it's clear from his expression that he has had his fill of greedy children and naughty, naughty, people.

Then he's off to make his deliveries to the few children on the "Nice" list, eventually getting to Connecticut, for one gift on an estate full of naughty, naughty people.

Well, save, one, a little girl named Gertrude, who goes by the nickname Trudy.

She even baked cookies herself for Santa... and even gave him a candy cane.

The 1100 year old man really enjoyed all that!

Trudy is such a sweetheart that when the machine gun-toting naughty people have beat up on Santa and have him surrounded in a shed, she asks him what one wish he would wish at that moment, because he deserved some Christmas magic, too.

Nice, right?

That wish to see his wife again and tell her he loved her led to him finding a sledgehammer in that storage barn... 

and, with Trudy's encouragement, he proceeds to make it a "Violent Night" for the naughty, naughty people by reverting back to his Viking past as Nicomund The Red.

Not that he relied on the sledgehammer alone.

Oh, no.

The things that man could do with a candy cane and a pair of ice skates - wooo weee!!!

Sheer artistry!

Many thanks to Comcast for the $1 Movie Night Reward!

Many thanks to David Harbour for truly bringing home the meaning of Christmas by his tender interactions with the little girl who still believed in magic!

I can totally relate to that.

I'm going to enjoy that message for the next two nights.

are we dancing yet?

You betcha! 

Elvis and his six brothers are ready to keep me on the beat, too!

 

There's Wednesday, ThuRsday, and Friday, too, right arm swingin' to catch my attention,

with SAturday, SUnday, Monday, and Tuesday in step right behind them!

 

They aren't quite where they should be, though, so let me take a moment to place them all in a row on that cabinet door.

 

 

So, what's the weather like on this first day of a brand new year?

 

Quite brisk in the daytime it is, and absolutely miserable at night, that's what the weather is.

 

I have groceries, though, so I'm set for staying indoors and keeping busy with activities here.

 

For example, consider this wall.

 

This is what I refer to as the second wall in the dining room, and, as can be seen, it's adorned with programs from cultural blessings yet again.

 

In fact, this is the third time it's held mementos of plays and concerts and musicals from 2024.

 

Busy, vibrant, woman, indeed!

Time to clear the walls of all of those and make way for the events in 2025!

 

First, however, the time had come to replace the Renoir with something else.

 

My choice was Mama's Dollhouse.

 

I had done all of this embroidery for her while I was stationed in Okinawa, and I'm certain I sent it to her for her 44th birthday in 1981.

 

I knew I would not be home for that, so I had spent many and hour making the myriad of stitches that were needed for this two-story house with attic.

 

So very much love is in this piece!

And so very much love was written in the two-page letter to my future self, too.

 

At 3 PM this afternoon, I attended the Anticipation and Bowl Burning Ceremony, as I did last year.

 

Being greeted by the Tulip stationery was delightful; being acknowledged by Cheri as the source of that paper made me feel cherished!

 

My letter held congratulatory words to my future self, about specific changes and specific actions.

 

At the end of this year, when that letter arrives and I next see those flowers, I look forward to realizing that those things foretold had occurred.

That's what I found to be true when I read last year's letter as my gift to open on Christmas Eve.

 

Now, I'm going to rent "Violent Night" for a dollar, since I've been rewarded from Comcast.

 

Time to get my David Harbour fix...

and get ready for sweet dreams!