A diaphanous almost frivolous ornament of snow falls uninhibited and straight down from the pallid sky.  Its tiny wispy particles slowly augment the existing layers of snow that overnight covered the ground and mounted the railings of the balcony and the tops of fences. The blinding white snow fills the cracks and rows between whatever is beneath its nearly imperceptible and airy obstruction. The gradual camouflage of the fields and the river continues unabated and unaltered apart from the occasional angular draft of wind that temporarily creates a shallow pillar of snow before its permeative amplitude is restored.

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Whew!  I am just now rewinding and realigning my personal mechanism following what for the past several hours has been a singularly frenetic business. I am ashamed to say the tumult involves nothing either serious or especially unusual. It is probably only a reflection of my wackadoo nature. But the confusion succeeded to tip my equilibrium. It started about eight o’clock this evening; and it is now pushing eleven o’clock.  During that period we have metaphorically bumped into one another and jumped over one another and untold obstacles as we sought to organize and quell what unexpectedly arose late in the day. The disturbances (there were basically two) arose from, one, Johnnie’s anticipated memorial celebration; and, two, the current affairs of my partner’s nephew.

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The 18th century heaped confusion over the date of Twelfth Night. There has always been some uncertainty about it, as, depending on whether or not December 25 or 26 is considered to be the first day of Christmas, Twelfth Night can be January 5, the eve of Epiphany, or Twelfth Day, January 6, which marks the coming of the Magi (the three wise men). The shift to the Gregorian calendar and the subsequent loss of 11 days complicated matters, as it meant that the old Christmas day became Twelfth Night — so much so that some celebrate old Twelfth Night on January 17. However, today, most regard Twelfth Night to be the evening of January 6 and the day in which, according to superstition, all decorations must be removed.

VIcky LIddell, Country Life

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Whence derives one’s gusto and impetus?  What gets us out of bed in the morning and allows us to sleep at night? What is the source from which to evince one’s expression or pleasure (our give and take)? Wherein lies our reward, our meaning, our calculated depth or purpose?  How do we step onto the stage that is life? Do we think of ourselves only? What constitutes a worthy ambition? Do we search for improvement?  Or is it safe without the existential nod merely to digest and ruminate (admittedly with discretion and application) upon what is at hand, before our eyes, without all the kerfuffle, rigour and complication? Are we no more or less than Alfred J. Prufrock, wondering, “Do I dare to eat a peach?” Shall we remain adamantine, hard as steel, inflexible, the way nature made us, strenghtened by the philosophic lethargy that is instinct?

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There are many types of law in Canada.  The varieties express the singular nature of each. Some for example embrace reciprocal behaviour (such as partnership law); others independent action (such as criminal law); others apply before death (inter vivos trust agreements), some only after death (wills). Apart from the Province of Québec which inherited the French Code Civil (the Napoleonic code enacted in 1804 as a child of the French Revolution) we’re predominantly part of the British “common law” system. The varieties of law can be broken among Administrative law, Aerospace law, Constitutional law, Contract law, Commercial (including Consumer, Partnership) and Corporate law, Civil Rights law, Civil Procedure law. Criminal law, Employment law, Environmental law, Esate (including Power of Attorney, Will, Succession, Trust) law, Family (including Marriage and Cohabitation) law, Immigration law, Insurance law, Intellectual Property (including Copyright, Defamation, Patent, Trademark) law, Landlord & Tenant law, Maritime Law, Mercantile law, Tax law and Tort (including Personal Injury) law.

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If you have an interest in the domestic passenger automobile you will recognize at a stroke the reference to mileage.  To recap (for those of you who hesitate) it’s the summary assessment of a used vehicle.  It is the sine qua non of a used vehicle. It amounts to the historic enquiry, “Has the horse been ridden hard then put away wet?”  There is no escaping the element of mileage when it comes to evaluation. Of anything.

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Last evening upon completion of an exceedingly appetising meal at the end of an equally remarkable day, and after unbuttoning the waistcoat and pushing back from table, I smugly proclaimed I haven’t any regrets. It wasn’t a somatic response to a perfect meal and a brilliant day. It was a summary of all that has commissioned itself to the mechanics and perpetuation of my existence. It is the abbreviation of what has transpired from my youth to old age.

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So much to talk about!  When I awoke this morning I had in mind to cut back.  That was the first of my New Year’s projects to evaporate.  By the time I had eaten my gruel, in fact even before I had finished doing so, I was swept off my feet by an email from Fiona on the Canary Islands. In her inimitable way she bolstered my day with her seemingly inextinquishable energy, affection and positivity.  All that from another side of the North Atlantic Ocean!  And only last evening via FaceTime we had spoken with (and seen) our friends Ian and Pierre in New Zealand for an equally animated and improving discussion from the South Pacific Ocean. Nor can I overlook the first New Year’s Day message and photos from our friends Franz and Liz in Antarctica!  You would think after all that intercontinental sweep there would be very little competition.

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Editor’s Note:  Below is an email I received from Fiona whom I have known since I was 18 years old when we attended undergraduate studies at Glendon Hall, Toronto.  She has always distinguished herself as independent and unique. Her talents are numerous. In the event you are unfamiliar with the Canary Islands, below is a snap of the general location.  It is so small that one must adopt the astronomic view to get a remote sense of where it is. I felt this account by Fiona was too precious not to be shared.

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