CW: Penguins, Religion

I’m keeping the religious/spiritual part of this part at the bottom, so you can go ahead and skip it if you like.

Anyway.

Today’s Adventure for Pancake and Pep involves going to their uncle Nav, who apparently owns a golden key that can open a secret treasure chest. Here is a picture of the key:

Inside the chest is Secret Christmas Magic that will make a penguin able to FLY on Christmas Day! Now this is spiffy. It reminds me of the book, A Wish for Wings that Work, by Berkeley Breathed. It features Opus the Penguin from the comic strip Bloom County, and that’s about all I know about it. It was published in 1991 — 1991, people! Back before the turn of the century! BEFORE THE TURN OF THE MILLENNIUM! AIGH! Ahem. — and I don’t think I’ve read it since then.

Anyway, it seems sad that Pep doesn’t get to have any special adventures on Christmas Day. Does Pep get to fly as well? Or walk on land? I don’t know. Perhaps at some point, we’ll learn.

I was also sad that today’s piece is not something to assemble, just a piece of key-shaped cardstock paper. I will place it on the molding, next to Pep, and hope it doesn’t fall off when the wind blows.

‘Tis a season for Holidailies!

Today marks the beginning the second week of Advent season 2022. Some time ago, Michael Curry, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, began preaching about the Way of Love — “If it’s not about love,” he says, “it’s not about God.” — which has seven stages. In the Episcopal Church’s Advent calendar, each day of each week is associated with a different stage of the Way of Love. The stages or steps are:

1. Worship
2. Go
3. Learn
4. Pray
5. Bless
6. Turn
7. Rest

Today, being the first day of the second week of Advent, is about Worship, and this calendar from the Episcopal Church’s website provides meditations and activities that go along with the theme of the day. Today’s reflection: “Read Luke 3:1-6. How does the story
of John the Baptist fill your heart with hope?” I’ve already answered this question for myself in my first blog post of this season, so I won’t answer it here. I will say, though, that I have not been to an Espiscopal service since before the pandemic. I feel like a bad Episcopalian.

I have to say I miss having a lit Advent wreath at home. It was pretty special when I was a kid, having the wreath on the table and lighting each candle at suppertime. Unfortunately, in a house full of curious cats who don’t have enough sense of self-preservation to keep their noses away from a candle flame, a lit advent wreath just isn’t worth the effort.

Anyway. Happy Advent! Remember, the season of Christmas and the Twelve Days of Christmas begin on Christmas Day. So there.