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My mother and you would not have got on.   Every year she wanted me to take my decorations down on New Year's Day and I insisted on waiting until Epiphany.

Last year I was away leading our walking group camp. It was Saturday and we had dinner out that night and towards the end I mentioned it was my birthday. They were surprised I had gone all day without telling them. I had three cards, all from Australia and an email from a friend in the UK who shares the same birthday. We did not have wifi so no contact from my sister that day.
 This year I turn 75 and I had thought, being Sunday, of having an afternoon tea for friends. However it is only 10 days after I have my hernia operation, my sister will be here for that but has to go home 5 days earlier as she and her husband are going on a cruise so there is only a slight chance she will be able to contact me that day .

In 2010, I flew from Scotland to the Orkney Islands, rented a car, stayed there for two days, then flew to the Shetland Islands, rented another car, then drove north to the northernmost island of Unst, then walked to the north coast in the Hermaness Nature Preserve and saw the lighthouse on Mukkle Flugga (big rock). That's the northernmost tip of the UK. It was a fun journey!!

Also, I see that a certain German "singer" isn't on the list.  Sad.

Juice Newton?  Really?  I thought she was a one-hit wonder.

I agree, Epiphany is a good time to take it down. In fact, I leave some decor that is more wintery than Christmasy out all month.

Around here, Epiphany is the traditional day to take down Christmas decorations, as it marks the end of Christmas. But I don't care; my tree, window lights and everything else will stay for another few weeks, probably end of January. I'm a card carrying member of the dead-wreath-society

[love]

Oh my gosh!

I wasn't able to calculate the distance from Tuktoyaktuk to the North Pole as the crow flies.
But: someone did it with the car! And it was the guys from Top Gear, of all people! I love Top Gear (British version only).
They drove with modified pick-up trucks to the magnetic North Pole!

And yes, I totally ordered the DVD on the spot. It's a pack of four DVDs with four different specials (one of them the polar special) and it's gonna be a birthday present for hubby


ETA: distance from Tuk to the (geographic) North Pole is about 2100km = 1300 miles.

Thank you for the birthday wishes, Lee and Chuckie!

Looking forward to following you in your adventures in 2019! Did I see where you're headed to the North Pole???

Sweet Jesus, no.
We are adventurous, but not that adventurous. We're stopping where the world (= the mainland) ends. Driving the Dempster Highway and on to Tuk. Always North, across the polar circle and further North, North, North - as long as there's a road. All the way to the Arctic ocean. I'm already excited, it will be an adventure for sure.

Now that you're mentioning it, I wonder how far the North pole is away from Tuk.

Jeff, I like that look!

I also wore my black brocade Western vest so I could carry my pocket watch.

A year or so ago Jarrett Ott sang in a opera in Philadelphia. I forget if it was La Boheme or La Traviata. I didn't see it, but someone who did told me at one point he took his shirt off on stage.

Magic words: "I've made some lasagna. Will you come over and eat it with me?"