On a Scale of . . . .

Sorry if you've seen many/most/all of these memes before around teh interwebs, but I'm clearing out my stash o' stuff so thought I'd just make a quick 'n easy post of them!

Happy Mother's Day!

Special wishes being sent today to all you Moms out there! You're in an exclusive club!

Here's the fairytale every Mom wants to read . . . .

Remember the days when you had privacy and time to yourself?

Kids can be, well, a little demanding sometimes . . . .

But you know what Hillary Clinton said! "It takes a village . . . ."

I hope you all get lovely gifts for Mother's Day! Especially from your adult children!

And just remember . . .  despite everything, YOU DONE GOOD, MOM!

Those Effen Ducks Beat Us!

Well, Game 7 didn't go QUITE as planned . . . . Now the Oilers are eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs. Edmonton is a gloomy and morose place today. But still, the Oilers had a good run and it was pretty sweet to be in the playoffs after an 11 year drought.

So the only Canadian team still left in the playoffs is the Ottawa Senators. We are going to cheer for them now as they play for the Eastern Conference championship against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It's hard to do because I do lurves me some Sidney Crosby, Captain of the Penguins and Canadian hockey superstar, but it's the principle of the thing, y'know?

GO SENS!!!

Charles Walker

There is only one Canadian soldier from World War I to whom my family has a personal connection -- Charles Walker, who was mortally wounded at the battle of Vimy Ridge and died a month later on May 8, 1917, a hundred years ago today.

Charlie Walker was born in Scotland in 1891 and emigrated to Canada as a child. He came to our country as a "Barnardo Boy" -- one of a vast legion of destitute, orphaned and/or abandoned Victorian-era British children who were shipped to the colonies by a British charity called Dr. Barnardo's Homes. Designed to serve as an abundant pool of cheap labour, the boys were trained to be farm workers and the girls to be domestic help. These unfortunate "home children" (as they were also called) were often overworked, underpaid and maltreated in their new lives.

Charlie Walker spent his teenage years working as a farm labourer in southwestern Manitoba. Apparently he was not treated well by his various employers until he started working for my grandfather. He became very close with my grandparents and worked for them for several years until World War I broke out.

In the winter of 1916 when he was 25, Charlie Walker volunteered for the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force. He was sent to France with the 44th Battalion of the Canadian Infantry (Manitoba Regiment).

My grandparents sent him off to war with the gift of a pinky ring to remind him of home and those who loved him.

Before he died of his wounds received at Vimy Ridge, Charlie Walker arranged for the ring to be returned to my grandparents as a keepsake. He died unmarried, with no children. The ring has come down through my family and is today in my care, along with his enlistment and military unit photos.

As with all families whose loved ones were killed in the war, my grandparents were devastated by the news of his death. When their only son (my father) was born in 1924, they named him Charles Walker in tribute to their lost young man. My father also did his best during his life to keep Charlie Walker's memory alive. And now that responsibility is mine.

                               They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
                               Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
                               At the going down of the sun and in the morning
                               We will remember them.

                                           --From "For the Fallen" by Laurence Binyon

Bad Parenting Advice -- FREE!

These tips work just as well for grandparents too! Have fun with those little kiddos!

More ESS. EEE. EKS.

Well, Monday's post was so very nice and sex-positive, wasn't it? But to be fair, I've gotta give some equal time to those with opposing sensibilities . . . so c'mon fellow sinners, let's repent the many, many bad-but-so-gosh-darn-pleasurable things we've all done over the years!

Well, there's any number of things this could refer to, isn't there? Hmmm. Oh sorry, just drifted off for a moment there, lost in fond reminiscences.

But now, here's a word of warning that, without a doubt, is pertinent and timely for guys 'n gals everywhere -- not for me, of course, but for many of you, I'm sure.

And yes, guys, this means either your own or somebody else's, so smarten up!

This next warning must be of ancient World War II vintage. It appears to be aimed solely at women --

But what I want to know is -- why does Hitler look like a member of the classic Archie comics gang? Ewwwww.

Sometimes sexual taboos differ from country to country. Here's a couple from the USA --

And now for a uniquely Canadian sin --

[Canadians will "get" this gag right away, but a long-winded explanation is necessary for all you furriners. To keep Canadian culture from being overwhelmed and sidelined by the massive presence and influence of American culture in our country, we have a government agency called the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) which regulates what percentage of cultural content on our airwaves must be Canadian in origin. Proving compliance by showing that something is demonstrably "Canadian" can sometimes be difficult.]

And finally -- "No sex, please, we're British!"

Ooooo yeah, baby, yeah, I love a nice slow pour!

Beltane Blessings!

The pagan festival of May Day or Beltane is when the Lord and Lady . . .

. . . the Goddess and the Green Man . . .

. . . the Goddess and the Horned God . . .

 . . . however you want to characterize them . . .  get together to perform the *ahem* Great Rite, as it is known, to ensure the fertility of the Earth in the coming months.

All good pagans are encouraged to do the same with the partner(s) of their choice to help the process along, so to speak.

So what are you hanging around here for? Get out in those fields and do your religious duty!