I have reached Fort Macleod, Alta. with 2,114 steps to put toward my next goal of Lethbridge, a total of 64,551 steps. Fort Macleod was originally named Macleod and is a town in the southwest of Alberta.
It was founded as a North-West Mounted Police barracks and is named in honour of the North-West Mounted Police Colonel James Macleod and was known at the Town of Macleod between 1892 and 1912. As of 2016 census their population was 2,967, as of today their mayor is Brent Feyter.
From Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1860-1919) an American author and poet: “When Christmas bells are swinging above the fields of snow. When we hear sweet voices ringing from lands of long ago, and etched on vacant places are half-forgotten faces of friends we used to cherish, and loves we used to know.”
My husband loved Christmas. He always, no matter how sick he was, made sure I had a box of chocolates from him (he always said I didn’t need them) and he always had two cards for me, one that was really silly and funny and one that said he loved me.
LAST WEEK: Xmas actually does keep the Christ in Christmas
After a visit to the Cathedral Forest on Vancouver Island I told him I understood why people would chain themselves to trees to keep them from being cut down. My husband, being a dedicated logger, had a saying: “Hug a logger, you will never go back to trees.”
Monday, December 23, 7 p.m., there will be the Round Lake Hall Christmas Singalong. All welcome, a great time to usher in Christmas with familiar songs and carols. Hot apple cider served along with your contributions for snacks to share. Remember your inside shoes. Questions: Judy at 250-846-5296.
MORE VIEW FROM THE PORCH: It’s Christmas hamper time
Something that is easy to do: choose tea over coffee. Why – coffee uses nine times more water to produce and has a bigger carbon footprint. An easy way to reduce our carbon footprint and preserve water. Black tea is usually the most caffeinated.
Saturday, December 28, 7 – 10 p.m. at the Glenwood (Driftwood) Hall, The Valley Youth Fiddlers invite you to their annual Holiday Family Dance. Music by current and alumni members, calling by Ruth Lloyd and Marian Rose. Bring your whole family and friends, work off Christmas calories. Tickets at the door: adults $10, youth $5, $30 for the whole family. Questions: Marian Rose, 581-234-1614.
Friday, December 20, 7 p.m., at the Old Church, join the Bulkley Valley Folk Music Society for a Holiday Singalong. Everyone welcome, bring your voices and instruments and join in on the fun. BVFMS members $5, non-members $8.
Closing with a positive thought: The highest levels of performance come to people who are centred, intuitive, creative and reflective - people who know to see a problem as an opportunity – Deepak Chopra.
gradoir@citywest.ca
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