Solstice 2020, Vernon, BC  

SUNSET: 3:56pm

SUNRISE: 7:55am

That's a long night after a short, cloudy day of snow so heavy it falls like rain and almost instantly melts on roads and sidewalks. However, it does cling to the boughs of evergreens, making them droop until finally the clump is so heavy it drops off and the bough springs back up. If you catch that moment, you're lucky.  😹 

There's no hope the snow will stop until around midnight, so it will not be possible to see the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter that will occur tonight in the sky to the south west just after sunset. The forecast is for partly clear skies tomorrow evening. I hope to see it then. The last time there was such a conjunction was on March 4, 1226, so I don't think I'll get another chance. I'm not getting a lot of activity and excitement these days. Sitting in a reclining chair with a heating pad at my back watching snow fall might be more exciting than watching grass grow, but not much. That's why the mere idea of observing a planetary conjunction that last occurred almost eight centuries ago has fired my imagination. 

 

The other bright prospect in my life arrived yesterday in the form of a big brown box from Korea that was waiting at the front door when I arrived home with an only mildly aching back after a walk of about 3km. It's under the tree now. I'll open it when I have the Christmas Kakaotalk video with Jay and the gang on my Christmas Eve and their Christmas noon. 

Less bright is the unknown whereabouts of my package to Korea, which I sent Express Post on November 26. Ten days later, when I tracked it for the first time, it was about 3/4 of the way there. It hasn't moved since. I was cursing Canada Post and praising South Korea's service. But Jay suggested last night that the hold up might have something to do with the fact that in the box, along with the Christmas treats was his old Xbox and case of games. He said he'd heard of there being difficulties mailing them to Korea. And what had I done?  I get so rattled by official business of any kind that even mailing that box got me double thinking my way into stupidity. Although it was quite heavy, there was no need for me to explain exactly why, but I did. I included the Xbox in the list of contents. My mother always said, "Spare me the details, Jan," if I got too long winded, and Jim insisted that I let him do the talking whenever we crossed borders. I'm slowly getting to see myself from their perspective. I sometimes go on when backing off would serve me better. And I used to think they just didn't appreciate my eloquence and spontaneity. 🤪

2020 was a rather stark year, but we can always look forward to a more flamboyant 2021.