For those not wanting to try out Google Translate, Merry Christmas. Advent and its planning are over and now is the time to celebrate.
For those who don’t celebrate this holiday, Happy Holidays, hopefully this is a time of rest for you.
The year 2023 has brought a few too many surprises for me:
- COVID to start the year out. From that, my wife continues to suffer from Long COVID.
- A snapped patellar tendon for me that I am still hobbling around from.
- Another year older, I am within a very short distance from 65 years old.
Enjoy this quiet time, with your friends and family, if you can. For those that have to work, or want to work, thank you!
Charities
Here is a list of a few interesting charities in Ottawa you can help out with a donation, you can give after Christmas too:
- FAMSAC which is associated with my Church, but helps out in, “… Bayshore, Bells Corners, Crystal Beach, Craig Henry, Manordale, and Trend Village…” .
- Chez Doris is a woman’s shelter in Montreal that my late Father worked with after he retired.
- The Shepherds of Good Hope is a shelter that was across the street from my first office when I moved to Ottawa.
- The Community Ministries of Ottawa covers a number of groups that help out in Ottawa.
- Dreams Take Flight Ottawa help disabled and underprivileged children get a dream of a lifetime one-day trip to Disneyworld.
Christmas Wishes from the Past
I seem to do this a lot, so here are my Christmas wishes from years gone by:
- Joyeux noël 2023 Enjoy your Family, Friends and Festivities. If you are working today, thank you. If you are alone, it will get better.
- Christmas 2022 was after a rough year for many folks including me. Inflation, COVID, and dealing with losing family members was a bit much really.
- Merry Christmas 2021 was another COVID crisis time. Omicron hit and Christmas became much more closed up. Maybe the last one of these, but we thought that last year.
- Merry Christmas 2020 ! Do you see the pussy cat in the tree? An odd year with a Pandemic and all. Make sure you pop those Christmas Crackers.
- Christmas All Year Round ? Yes, it does feel like that these days doesn’t it? The 12 Days of Christmas Debt ? What the heck ? That isn’t Christmasy at all!
- Merry Christmas 2017 ! That was a year of fun videos that I found to help celebrate the holiday. Love that old CFCF fill.
- Merry Christmas, Highspeed Internet a right, Inflation at 1.2 and #MoneyTalk 2016 ! Sheesh, I couldn’t even be bothered to send a message that year, how Grinchy.
- Merry Christmas 2014 ! A lovely quote from the King James bible for that year. Seem to have done nothing for 2015. This year I even had a Christmas Eve post.
- Happy Christmas 2013 ! I loved the photos of every years Christmas Tree, very festive. Another Christmas Eve post too.
- Merry Christmas 2012 ! You see the hideous curtains we had in the den back then. That year we had the $150 Christmas challenge too.
- Merry Christmas 2011 ! The tree moved back to the front room and I used Google Translate to create a festive message. Think I was on French training that year. Also At Christmas Why Not Just Give Cash ?
- Merry Christmas 2010 has some very deep philosophical commentary in it. Must have been hitting the Christmas cheer early. Christmas Eve that year must have been a Friday.
- Merry Christmas 2009 and all you got was an NFB short? Not that bad really. There was also Christmas Eve thoughts too.
- Merry Christmas 2008 ! That was the year of the infamous Financial Advent Calendar too.
- A few last Yuletide Thoughts was what I had in 2007.
- Merry Christmas 2006 ! A quieter year I suppose.
- Whatever little money you have, make sure you spend it was my first year writing here. Quite gruff and grinchy.
- Advent, it begins again, is when the Christmas season begins
