Discussing Calendars and a Look At Some of My Wall Art for 2022

The year is ticking down, less than 48 hours until we're in a new one. Years and calculating them with calendars strike me as odd today. Indisputably, the seasons move onward, from the season of heat towards that of cold and back again. Plants sprout, grow, bear their fruit and then die. It's an annual cycle that is echoed in our own life cycle, as it progresses from birth towards death. Nobody escapes the cycle. Nobody can step off the wheel and then back onto it again at will. 

I've been buying the "Witches' Calendar" for more than 
a decade. I love the art in these - all woodcuts and 
color. The artist is incredibly talented and I adore looking 
at the art every morning. 

The actual calendar that most of us use is a construct, and rather a bit of a mish-mash at that. It was a calendar started by people so long ago that their names and tribes are lost in the depths of time. Over the centuries it was molded and altered by conquest, edicts and science, until we have the calendar that most of the world uses now. The months are named differently in each nation, but December 30th is the equivalent in French, German, and even Telugu (although I can't put their alphabet into my own character set). 

"Gardens of the Spirit" calendar is another one I've used 
for more than a decade. Each month features a beautiful 
portion of a Japanese garden as well as an adage for 
thoughtful life. I absolutely love this calendar. 

There are differences, of course. Our standard Gregorian or Julian calendars are a solar calendar. Many other calendars are lunar (Buddhist and Islamic). The Gregorian calendar is 10.8 minutes shorter than the Julian calendar, and that difference mounts up over the years and centuries. The Jewish calendar is a lunar/solar calendar. When I was young, one of my relatives in Israel sent me a Jewish calendar every year. I was always a bit bewildered by it. We are currently in Year 5782 of the Jewish calendar, which rolls over in early September. 

I've been getting this one for the past few years. I love the 
concept and style of good environmental art, and since 
Andy Goldsworthy doesn't have a calendar, this is the 
closest I've been able to find. It always has lovely installations. 
Environmental art is almost always fugitive - not art for 
the millennia, but sometimes art for as short as a few 
hours. That's part of the joy in art of this type - it's 
not museum art, it's art for the sake of creating art. 

Having a strong calendrical cycle allows for more accurate communications between people. Instead of "I'll drop by to visit you twenty suns after the Innundation begins", you have I'll see you on April 20th. It's easier to plan within a codified structure, and it is one more foundational stone for a government to establish a toehold within a culture. One of the first things any conqueror would do was to replace the calendar system with one of his own (if they were different). That new system, combined with new coinage, a new language, and sometimes new festivals, would cement the position of the conqueror into firm governance. 

DH loves the art of Royo, a Spanish artist who paints beautiful 
women with sensuality and more reality than the more plastic 
faces and eyes that others tend to portray. I make sure I get 
him a Royo calendar every year (some years it can be a hard 
one to find). 

So as we all get ready to change to new calendars on Saturday, think about how convenient this framework and structure has made our lives. We can set appointments, celebrate annual occasions, keep track of this and that, and generally plot our own course on the River of Life. I'm looking forward to my new calendars - all that uncharted space waiting to be filled with the detritus of my daily life. Have an excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

Thoughts About Calendars - Forging Ahead

It's turning into a busy week, and OMG, I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving is next week! I'm TOTALLY not ready. I bounced ideas off DH yesterday for our Black Friday and Small Business Saturday sales themes, and those seemed OK to him. So I'll draft the Email today and get it ready to send out over the weekend or early Monday morning. We also discussed holiday hours and days off. For a change, the calendar is being kind to us and we'll actually get several days off in a row after Christmas and for New Year this year. The past two years have been less than kind, so the Calendar Gods owed us. LOL

As an Archaeologist/Anthropologist, when I think of 
"calendar", I think of the Aztec calendar. The original, 
in the Museum in Mexico City, is amazing, beautiful, 
and breath-taking. It's in stone, not in color, but I rather 
liked this rendition in color and thought I'd share with you. 

I used my new tool on my holiday cards yesterday and it worked beautifully. I also began Stage 3 and that also is working, although I did destroy two cards while working things out. Still, it's working and I'm happy. It just means a slightly smaller mailing list this year, and I'm fine with that. There always seems to be enough for my friends and relations, and that's what's important. 

A bit farther south, and hundreds of years earlier than the 
Aztec civilization was the amazingly advanced civilization 
of the Mayan people. Their calendar appears above. They 
are renowned for their celestial observations and accuracy. 

Meanwhile, today is clicking along smoothly, so here it is, slightly after 5:00 am, and I'm already wondering "What's going to go wrong today?" It seems unlikely that I could possibly be ahead of things this much, so I have to re-examine what I might have forgotten. But I'll continue working on Stage 3 today and should be into stage 4 by the end of the week. That's almost the final stage, so I'm catching up to my lost time and feeling more comfortable. I might even be able to include a small gift in each card, although it's not the focus this year. 

The Sumerian calendar introduced lunar calculations. 
Although not as old as the Mayan calendar, it is the 
basis from which sprang the calendars of Babylon, 
the Hebrews and Muslims, and other cultures in the 
Near East. If you're interested in learning more about 
the Sumerian calendar, here's a link. 

I'm going to wrap this up and continue staying ahead of schedule. I hope you have a glorious Tuesday - that something wonderful happens to you today, and that you go to bed tonight happy with what the day brought to you. Stay safe, be well, and I'll be back tomorrow. 

A Series of Questions About The Calendar

I'm so very grateful that it's Friday, because I really need one of these days coming around every week. But it does make me wonder about questions that have been raised throughout "history" - probably more often by kids but questions, nonetheless. 

I guess I'm in a questioning mood today. Here are some
questions for all of you on this early Friday morning. 

Like why do we have seven days in a week? I know how the basic span of annual days arises - it's hard to fight (successfully) with Mother Nature, and the celestial calendar is pretty sturdy and somewhat reliable ... yeah, that! LOL But weeks don't really have to be seven days long. 

Want a more detailed explanation of the seven-day
week as well as a dive into one time period when
it was abandoned? Just follow this link. 

I understand the basic 24 hour structure, or at least the basic concept of splitting time into discrete segments stretching from sunrise to the next sunrise. Of course, sunrise is always changing, days could as easily be made from a format of 30 hours or 20 hours or even 18 hours. Why 24? Some dude in power somewhere probably decreed this and everyone else followed like little mice because you don't want to piss off the ruler. 

Why are there 24 hours in a day? It hasn't always been that way.
Interested in a more in-depth explanation? Follow this link. 

Seasons are pretty straightforward, especially for agricultural societies. You plant in the Spring, grow throughout the Summer, harvest in the Autumn, and starve and prepare for the next year in the Winter. Food shortages are dependent on the previous year's harvest, the number of mouths to feed, and other factors such as how harsh the winter is from year to year. 

Seasons are harder because they are location dependent. In the USA we
are focused on a calendar to tell us when a new season has started. Other
areas of the world depend on other factors such as temperature. Find
out more by following this link. 

Which brings us to the year - the annual run of days which, in many places today is stretched and altered by adding a few days every so often, allowing us to stutter-step back into synch with the Universe. Hmmm - rather arbitrary, but necessary to keep May in the Spring and September in the Fall. 

Fridays are usually pretty good days, all told. I'm going to
try and enjoy this one. 

So my question still stand. Why Friday? Why only seven days instead of a different number. Why, why, why? The questions that occur under fire to an exhausted mind. Have a wonderful Friday despite the questions and I'll return tomorrow unless I freeze into a pillar of me in today's cold snap. Stay warm, stay happy, and enjoy the day! 

Bring It On - A New Year Begins

Hello and Happy New Year to all of my on-line friends, relatives and readers. It's a cold one here in the Frozen Northlands, but we finally broke the "Dangerous Wind Chill" cycle yesterday, after more than four days in the sub-zero icebox. Looking at my phone this morning, it's a joy to see six degrees ABOVE zero instead of seeing that minus sign in front of the number. I'm sure there is still some breeze, so it'll still be plenty cold, but I won't turn into a frozen statue of ice while waiting for the pool to open this morning. 

This stunning ice sculpture won first prize in Japan in 2010. Here in the
Twin Cities, we have an ice sculpture competition during our Winter
Carnival celebrations each year. The past few years have been warm,
this year will probably be quite frosty. 

I just came off a three-day holiday, the second in two weeks. I have to admit, last week's holiday was more successful than this week's turned out to be. On Sunday, we all gathered at my niece's house for a holiday pot-luck get together. I tried a new recipe for sweet and sour meatballs and it was a total hit. The house was a zoo, with DH's sister being the elder statesperson, and DH and I runners up. It always feels rather strange to be an elder. I still feel like a young person, but know I don't qualify. 

I'm not sure about this definition, the "relaxing"
part of it seems deceptive. Maybe DH and I will
get there eventually, but I'm not holding my
breath. 

Seven of the eight kids of my sister-in-law showed up, their spouses and kids accompanying them. Let me see if I can make a basic count: Michael +2, Catie, +3, David +3, Joe +1, Mary +4, Annie +4, John +2, and the three elders. That's 29 people in a small house, watching the TV, catching up on whatever news is worth discussing of family business and events, and watching the kids tear into their holiday gifts. Wait - holiday gifts a week after Christmas? Yes. The nieces decided years ago that their actual holidays would be much more restful if they designated one day after Christmas to a get-together and a gift exchange for the younger kids. It does help to both lessen the noise level and also to minimize fights and tears among the kids. 

Exchanging gifts for the kids at a different time than
the adults is much easier on the ears and body.
It makes for a house full of people, but we all had a
really good time and I don't think we wrecked
Mary's house too badly. 

After we returned home we watched two episodes of "Midsomer Murders" and tumbled into sleep. Coughing awakened me the next day. Apparently DH had either caught a cold, or one had been lurking in the background ready to pounce. Well, it unsheathed its' claws and did a number on him. Monday and Tuesday were spent with him mostly in bed, lots of hot tea and soup, and laundry. I figured I might as well get laundry taken care of since I was working for the rest of the week and wouldn't have the time. And it wasn't as if DH and I were actually going to do anything since he was sick. 

Poor hubby is NOT feeling well. But he has to work
on Wednesday and Thursday. If he's still sick on
Friday, he can spend the day in bed and then
try to recover some more over the weekend. 

So here I am, starting my new year out both good and bad. I'm pretty much caught up on laundry that desperately needed doing, I'm a few pounds higher than I want to be (too much salt, too much water retention), but I'll be at the pool in a little over an hour from now. DH is sick - and he has to work for the next two days, so that's not great. But ... 

One of my favorite calendars each year is my "Witches'
Calendar". I adore her artwork - scratchboard with
color added - exceptionally beautifully rendered. 

We made it through the new year, the new calendars are hung and being admired every time I look at them, and we're ready to start the new year. Bring It On! 

Bringing Some Important Dates to Your Attention Today

OMG, how can it already be Thursday! There are lots of things going on within the next week that I want to bring to your attention, so here we go!

Earth Day is celebrated on April 22nd. What have you
done for our earth lately? Remember, we borrow the
earth from our children, so leave them with a world
worth living in. 

First of all - Saturday the 22nd is Earth Day. It's a day to remember that we only have a single planet upon which we live and that if we mess this up, it's curtains for us as well as a lot of other lovely and amazing critters who share this world with us. The next race to inherit the earth after us may well be the cockroaches, so let's do our very best to assure that doesn't happen. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Replenish and Restore - treasure this world we live on. My DH and my staff know I'm a bit of a maniac about recycling. I blame/thank my aunt for that. In the early days when she lived in Aspen, she would drive miles out of her way to take her recycling to the center of town where there were bins set up for glass and paper. My mother could have given a darn, but Tante Vera cared about the environment a lot. So thanks, Tante Vera, for teaching by example. I've never forgotten it.

Check your local restaurants. Many areas will have
restaurants participating in this nationwide event.
Follow the link in the paragraph below for more
information. 

Next week, on the 27th is Dining Out for Life. This National effort helps raise funds for AIDS services. You can find out more specific information on diningoutforlife.com but check out what events might be happening in your own area and try to support them. Last year more than $4 million was raised in North America for this cause through this single event and a lot of very generous restaurants and eating establishments.

I wanted to get this, but I'm cheap. I didn't want to spend
the money on it. I'm sure it will go on sale at some
point and I'll pick it up then. I'll just have to watch
for it in the sales emails and flyers. 

Yesterday I walked into Target with a shopping list (I still ended up forgetting a couple of things, despite the list) and $55 of gift cards in my pocket. It was my intention to get a new pair of jeans and maybe a DVD with the gift cards. After shopping and getting lots of things for home and the shop, I checked out the jeans. The style I wanted was sold out of my size - my size was only available in styles that I already had and didn't want more of. Meh! So then I checked out the DVDs. I knew I wanted the Harry Potter offshoot - "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" - but ended up looking, and deciding that I'll wait until the price goes down. I'm not in a rush, I just want to have it. So, yesterday I walked back out of Target with a shopping cart full of paper products and $55 of gift cards in my pocket.

Here's hoping you have a tremendous Thursday. I'm ready to hit the pool and dive into my day running. Lots to do! Enjoy!

Wrapping Up Christmas Gifts - Or Not

Yesterday was a day for the stocking stuffers that weren't. Of course, that leaves me to shop next week for stocking stuffers that actually can appear in DH's stocking. He was in a foul mood yesterday anyway, so I rationalized all of it with my putting him onto the "naughty" list. Maybe coal might be an appropriate gift anyway given our frozen temperatures.

At this time of the year, you REALLY DON'T
want to be put onto the "Naughty" list! 

I wanted to get him a set of snow goggles. I looked them up on-line and thought - OK, if it has "X" designation, I will know how much glare is cut down and I can make a reasonable judgment about whether it will fit over his eyeglasses or not. I was SO wrong. The models shown didn't have a glare reduction "X" designation, and I couldn't tell whether they would fit or not. They looked much more cosmetic than actually something to help to improve visibility in the snow. In short, the sporting goods store didn't get my money.

It was a great idea in principle. I know he would have
loved it, but unless you're there at least three times a
week, it's too expensive. Using the mug gives you free
beverages for the year in the mug, but we're only there
one day a week. 

The second thing I thought about getting him was the "Bottomless Mug" for coffee at Breugger's Bagels. We had been looking for indications of cost but hadn't seen anything. When it came up as $185 I thanked them very much, said, "I'm sorry. I had no idea it was that expensive," and left. I should have looked into a gift card instead. I'll check that out later this week or next week. I suppose if a person is getting coffee there several times a week, a mug like that could be an excellent investment since it equates to free coffee as long as the mug is presented. But not for DH who is only there once a week, on average.

Maybe I should have something like this. Aearwen suggested a small
notebook to jot down when/where I had hidden something. Of course,
I would have had to actually place the order! Sometimes I'm just not
quite with it any more. *sigh*

I then went home and started tearing apart all of the hiding places I keep DH's holiday gifts. I wanted to get them organized and start wrapping. The wrapping didn't happen, so I'll take them to the shop with me today and start wrapping over there. I was specifically looking for two calendars I had purchased for him (they are ones I get him every year). I usually order them in mid-summer since one has limited availability.

The Dragon Witches calendar is one of two I thought I had
already purchased. This one goes in our kitchen. It's where
we keep track of recycling and chiropractic dates. 

I found everything else I had purchased for him throughout the year, but no calendars. I started going through the e-receipts of each order from that vendor. Unfortunately it's a vendor I buy A LOT from through the year and it was slow going. I finally determined that I didn't actually place the order so I quickly went on to the website and placed it again. I should have them in hand by next week. If I happen to find them in the interim, I'll return the replacements, but I think they are actually MIA.

Oh goodie! This is our forecast for the next week. Of course, wind
chills aren't included in this. Drop those temps down another ten to
twenty degrees to accommodate the wind chill factor. ACK!!!
This is NOT what I needed this close to Christmas when we need
customers to come through the door! 

Same old/same old, but magnified - extreme cold, and a winter storm warning for Friday/Saturday with six-ten inches of snow starting at noon tomorrow. Combined with the wind chills, this one could be very bad. And, of course, we don't have a working snow blower. Spring cannot come soon enough! Enjoy your Thursday. I'll be bundled up in front of my TV tonight watching Project Runway.

Looking Ahead to December - Some Links

November ended up with a gain of two pounds. Ick! Of course, I started the month out with an unusual low, and it was a holiday month - Thanksgiving, a holiday that centers around nothing but food - but I'm still not very happy. Despite or in spite of that, it doesn't change much. I'll still be at the gym and in the pool when the doors open at 5:00 am. The pounds came on easily, they'll go off easily too.

I don't hand-address my envelopes - my handwriting is atrocious, and I want
my  cards to actually arrive at their final destinations. But there are some
beautiful hand-embellished addresses out there. If you want to take a stab at
hand addressing, here's a link to a free downloadable template you
might find helpful. 

I spent my time after dinner printing out the envelopes for my holiday cards. With the exception of one card (just waiting on the address information to arrive for me), those are now ready to go. I finished the interior of the cards yesterday afternoon with the exception of the actual signature. I have one more image to heat emboss on the card front and my personal "Made by xxx for you" information to stamp and sign on the back of each card, and then I'm finished. Yes, there is still a lot of time involved, but I'm into the home stretch. No inserts this year - time and the fact that I just couldn't quite pull together what I wanted, nixed that desire. I'll start thinking about an insert for next year's card right after the new year.

I haven't had a calendar by Jacek Yerka before, but his
artwork looks like a lot of fun so this calendar is going into
my computer room so that I can look at it every day and smile. 

I hung my new calendars for 2017 behind this year's throughout the house yesterday morning. I have calendars everywhere - both to remind me of the date, but also to allow me to have an ever changing palette of artwork to view. I'm hanging a lot of my standards - Gardens of the Spirit and Llewellen's Witch's Calendar are two of my favorites - but I also got one on landscape art and one on surrealistic art for the coming year. I think I'll be happy to see the end of this year. It's had some highlights, but has been very disappointing in other aspects. I suppose it's that way with every year, but I won't be remembering 2016 with a lot of joy, just a sense of relief that it is finally over and we can work toward something better in 2017.

I get a copy of Llewelln's Witches' Calendar every year. I
adore the artwork in it. The art is actually tinted scratchboard
art and it is primo! Do you remember scratchboard? Are
you curious about that technique? Here's a link for you. 

What about you? How are you progressing on your holiday schedule? Are your cards made/purchased and ready to go? Do you have your tree set up or do you even do a tree? Are you planning anything special for your holiday dinner(s)? How's your shopping going - finding all the right gifts? I hope you are having a holiday time of fulfillment and joy, but I also know how stressing these days can be. Take a few minutes for that extra cup of coffee or tea, settle back in your comfy chair, and take a deep breath. It's Thursday and the week is humming right along, so have a good one!