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While the arrival of the new year is essentially just changing from one calendar to the next, and a good reason for a day off with a big meal to boot, it has also become the time to reflect on our pasts and dedicate ourselves to a vision of the futur

Last Christmas gift is credit card debt.

The other day we were watching an old episode of Jacques Pepin and Julia Child cooking together. What a delightful combination of personalities they were! On this day, they were cooking some dining classics, like Steak Diane and Steak Au Poivre.

The reason why 2010 might go down as Premier Brad Wall's best year has everything to do with the fact that it wasn't exactly smooth sailing for his Saskatchewan Party government.

December has traditionally been a time for people in the Northern Hemisphere to celebrate light. The nights get longer until December 21, when the North Pole is tilted furthest from the sun, and then light returns as the days start to grow longer.

To the Yorkton Terriers:500 more fans per game.I find it ridiculous to see average crowds of about 850 for a first place Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team playing in a market of close to 20,000.I wonder what the excuse is for people.

I think much about the mother of Jesus these days. I thank my daughter Amanda for that.She handed me a tiny gift one Sunday afternoon last summer, a velvet-sheathed, cubic, snap-lidded box. The kind rings come in.

One of the most difficult times of year to fill this space is the week preceding Christmas. The world around us tends to shift into neutral at this time of year.

The A-Team (DVD/Blu-Ray) - Dir. Joe Carnahan. Starring Liam Neeson, Quinton Jackson, Sharlto Copley.

A dear friend of ours gave us some Haskap jam. It's a deep, rich, luscious-looking purple jam that tastes like blueberries, but not quite. Haskap is new to us, so I thought I'd do a little homework and you and I can learn about it together.