HRH and the Word of the Year

In honour of 2013's Word of the Year, my cat Her Royal Highness invited a bunch of her friends over for a Selfie Party. They had a lot of fun!

I was called in to assist with a few of the more creative shots . . . .

As HRH always says, "Put on a happy face . . . and then take a selfie of it!"

December's Here!

Let the madness begin!

Happy Thanksgivukkah!

I'm sure everyone's heard by now of today's once-in-a-lifetime convergence of American Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah. I think it's great because both holidays are fundamentally about freedom and gratitude. So to celebrate, here's a few of my fave Thanksgivukkah images from the internet. Enjoy, everyone!

Slapping Tom Hiddleston

First, King Henry IV (Jeremy Irons) slaps the smirk off the face of his son Prince Hal . . .

. . . and then Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) does the same to the Norse trickster god Loki . . .

I detect a trend! Who will slap Tom Hiddleston next?

Rider Nation TRIUMPHS!

What a great Grey Cup win for the Saskatchewan Roughriders! They dominated throughout the entire game -- final score: 45-23!

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats used up all of their nine lives during the game but never had the lead or were even close. Even Rider fans were showing them who was boss --

And for those of you doubting whether Regina grocery stores could indeed find watermelons out of season, oh yes they could and did!

[Photo #1 by Mark Blinch, Reuters. Photo # 2 by Jonathan Hayward, The Canadian Press. Photo # 3 tweeted by fan Alexandra S.]

It's Grey Cup Sunday!

This year Regina is the host city of the Canadian Football League's championship game! In its frosty outdoor stadium, the home-town team of Saskatchewan Roughriders (Western Champions) will fight the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (Eastern Champions) for the 2013 Grey Cup.

Being a good prairie girl, I'm cheering for the Riders of course. And Regina wants the Cup baaaaaad, if only to redeem itself for the "13th man" fiasco from its notorious 2009 Grey Cup loss.

It's well known that Rider fans are the most loyal and fanatical fans in the entire CFL. There will be lots of green Rider gear in the stands today. And despite the wintery conditions, I'm sure we'll see more than a few "melonheads" in the crowd. Regina grocery stores will have imported every watermelon they could beg, borrow or steal for the occasion.

Fans can carve the basic football helmet model for themselves --

Or they can fancy it up with some accessories --

Or just go crazy and do their own thing. "This . . . is . . . SASKATCHEWAN!"

It's good, clean fun for the whole family!

50 Years Ago Today

I'm a total politics junkie, although not so rabid as I used to be. My very first political memory is from 1963, when I was six. My memory isn't so much a direct memory of JFK's assassination, but of the reaction of the adults around me -- such shock and horror and disbelief. But I do remember, a few days later, coming home from school for lunch and watching JFK's funeral on our black-and-white TV. There was a very real sense that the world had just gone completely stark-raving mad. The only event since then which has matched that reaction is 9/11.

[This post previously appeared on my blog on November 22, 2008]