Hullo Frosty

Yup, another frosty morning and a lovely 11 degree temp. Ole Man Winter is just not done with us and that is a fact, Jack!

But listen this kind of weather is good for the maple syrup group. They need decent temps during the day to keep the sap running and colder temps at night. I was amazed to learn that, depending on the sugar content, it takes approximately 43 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. Now that, my yokels is a lot of sap! Not to mention a lot of bloody work too. No wonder the cost goes up each year but nothing is better than real maple syrup. Mrs. Butterworth, you just do those silly arse commercials, that’s a good girl.

As I reflect on my childhood days and taking part in this wonderful activity I am still debating what I enjoyed more: gathering the sap or stoking the fire. Each was hard work and yet, we laughed and had a good time. The one thing I do recall, with a huge smile, is how we’d toss really hot sap (almost syrup at this point) on clean white snow and have this taffy like candy to eat. Man that was the best – I never did get the hang of eating the maple sugar candy – that was like pouring sugar directly down my throat – yuck!

I know you folks aren’t real keen on Tennis stuff but it was announced yesterday that Roger Federer and his girlfriend are expecting their first child this spring. Hey, Roger and Mirka have been together for something like 9 years, she is a former WTA player and fatherhood will not stop this man from striving to regain his number One ranking. Of course Rafa Nadal has no plans to give up that spot so it makes for an interesting game.

Now it seems we got Oprah wanting to do a show about violence in relationships and she’s already trying to tell Rihanna, heal yourself girl, take some time for you and remember love should not hurt. If a man hits you once, he will hit you again. I just hope she doesn’t turn this into a “series” of shows because frankly Oprah, you need to get back to your “roots,” what made you popular and fun to watch and stop with this holier than thou crap!

It seems that whenever Friday the 13th creeps onto our calendars, people can't help but blame the date for everything that goes wrong on that day -- and not without reason. The number 13 is commonly associated with bad luck, and there is even a name for the fear of the number 13: triskaidekaphobia. The belief that 13 is unlucky can be linked to the Last Supper, attended by 13, including Judas.

Well, that’s it for now folks, maybe later I shall return with more pearls of something – wisdom? Don’t get stupid – this is me, remember?