So, it seems there are actually six sets of wings in the Magic Chest, and on this, the twenty-first day of December, we learn this fact. At first, we were only told that just one penguin would be able to fly on Christmas Day, but now it appears six may be able to! Pancake’s papercraft form has a spot for wings, and you can see in the picture above the instructions for attaching them.

I’m very curious, though: If there are that many sets of wings in the treasure chest, does that mean everyone gets one? Pancake? Her mother? Her adopted sister Pep the Lungfish? The Ice Cream Fairy? Narlee the Snow Monster? Fuzz? Uncle Nav, whom I’ve forgotten until just now?

Will… Will I get a set of wings? Will I be able to fly on Christmas Day?

Probably not. These wings don’t attach to me at all. I’m just too big.

But think about this: Have you ever seen a penguin swim in the water? Seriously. Go to Antarctica (or your local zoo or natural history museum, if they have penguins) and watch them. They’re very graceful. Sure they’re a bit waddlesome on land, comical and silly, but in the water, they swim with ease and confidence. Their element is the water.

I’m not saying that it’s wrong for a penguin to year for airborne flight… Just that there’s something to be said for graceful swimming underwater as well (unless you encounter a seal).

A flighty Holidailies!

Today’s entry in the Episcopal Advent Calendar (Pray) reads, “Pray along with the Collect for Advent 4, found on page 212 in The Book of Common Prayer. Pick three or four of your beloveds to focus your prayers on today. Make sure to leave some silent space for God to offer you some wisdom about what they may need right now.” I know whom I praying for already.

I must confess, I am disappointed in the big confrontation between Pancake, Pep, and Narlee. Was there a big boss battle? No, not even close! But perhaps they are saving that for Christmas Eve. I guess one can only hope.

In today’s installment, Pancake and Pep, realizing that they are in danger of losing their golden key to the gold-munching Narlee, decide to offer him a snack from Pancake’s backpack. We weren’t told at the beginning that Pancake had packed snacks, so this comes as a surprise, and is, narratively-speaking, therefore problematic.

Critique aside, Pancake removed pancakes from her backpack (of course, she loves pancakes, hence her name) and — ta da! — a jug of golden maple syrup!

It turns out (I assume, I won’t find out until tomorrow) that snow monsters love  golden syrup! Will he give up the key for the syrup? Will Pancake the Penguin and Pep the Lungfish get to the magic treasure chest at the end of their adventure? Stay tuned to find out!

A Suspenseful Holidailies!

Today’s entry in the Episcopal Advent Calendar (Rest) reads, “Spend at least 45 minutes outside today, without doing yard work or fixing lights or redoing bows on the  garland. Take some time to just sit outside and let the air wash over you, taking away the stress and worry of the moment. Read Psalm 100 before and after your outside time. See how this psalm may help you rest and recharge your spirit.”

No reflection on this, really, except to say that it’s pretty cold out and I’m still recovering from my asthma flareup. I think I’ll put this off until tomorrow afternoon.

In today’s installment of the grand adventure, sisters Pancake the Penguin and Pep the Lungfish realize that the snow monster is more scared of them than they are of it. Once everyone settles down, they all sit down under the snowflake tree and have a chat.

In this conversation, brief though it is, Narlee the snow monster attempts to understand the concept of using gold for anything other than food. “How does delicious Golden Key unlock treasure? It only unlocks my hunger…”

It occurs to me at this point that Narlee speaks improperly for a giant monster. Instead of saying, “I want golden!” shouldn’t he have said, “Me want golden!” I don’t get it.

At any rate, they sit under the snowflake tree just as Siddhartha Gautama sat under the bodhi tree to achieve enlightenment and discuss their mutual fear of one another. Will this lead to enlightenment and understanding? Will Narlee give back the golden key? Only time will tell!

‘Tis a hungry season of Holidailies!

Today’s entry in the Episcopal Advent Calendar (Turn) reads, “Turn away from the busyness of the world right now. Turn your heart and mind toward giving thanks for this time of reflection, refreshment, and renewal. Turn your attention toward how you will be resting tomorrow, and put things in place so you can make the most of your sabbath time.”

I don’t lead a very fast-paced lifestyle. In fact, quite the opposite. I mean, aside from work, the fastest-paced I’ve been was driving 35 miles per hour to get to Target to return some gifts we’d purchased that were not what we’d intended. Even then, though, I hit some nasty traffic. And right now, since I’m sick with what my pulmonologist confirms is a nasty respiratory virus, I have no choice but to slow down a bit and ponder.

Be well, readers, and have a thoughtful day tomorrow.

On day fifteen, Pancake the Penguin and her sister Pep the Lungfish suddenly encounter Narlee the Snow Monster! Their location had been reported to him by Fuzz, his pet… whatever… who had seen the sisters the day before.

Scary!

The thing about Narlee the Snow Monster, who lives near Glacial Falls, is that he eats gold. What a weirdo. In the photograph above, he’s taken the golden key from Pancake’s backpack and is chowing down. “I want golden!” he shouts.

Pancake and Pep scream aloud, as one does when faced with a fierce monster. And Narlee, scared, screams back, as one does when faced with a fierce pair of sisters. (I have two, so I ought to know.)

Narlee is not a shoggoth, nor an Elder thing, nor one of the Great Race of Yith. Instead he sort of looks like a giant snowman with horns. Sort of. Maybe he’s the Thing from the John Carpenter movie and will suddenly mutate into something else even scarier. I don’t know. I can’t imagine. Only tomorrow will tell.

Me want Holidailies!

Today’s entry in the Episcopal Advent Calendar (Bless) reads, “Spend a significant amount of time today discerning if there is a special blessing or gift you can share with your church, a local ministry, or with your community. Ask God to inspire and equip you with the fortitude and tools to make this gift something truly memorable and heartfelt.”

Many years ago, when I was first learning all about how to do web development, I decided that the best way to break in and get experience was to do some volunteer gigs for organizations that I believed in. So I worked on a website for an organization that was doing ecological and appropriate technological education in Latin America, some designs for a Bay Area organization mapping organic materials in the San Francisco estuaries, and a site for a medieval studies professor at UC Davis. All these sites are gone now, like tears in the rain, because I did these sites twenty years ago, and nothing on the Web lasts that long, except for Amazon.

I have long suspected that one of my best gifts that I could share was my writing ability, but I write fiction and not copy. So web development and so on is what I can offer. I think I’m also good at working directly with people, so there’s that as well.

I think this entry is something all of us can benefit from pondering.

HEALTH UPDATE: Still wheezing. Now taking Prednisone. So grumpy and hungry too.

As Pancake the Penguin and Pep the Lungfish make their way through the forest, they are spied upon. Who is the spy? Not the FBI or the CIA or MI5. Nope, it’s the creature pictured above: its name is Fuzz, and it belongs to the Snow Monster!

Now, I don’t actually know what Fuzz is, but he looks like a pink bunny. And Nea, the ice cream fairy who gave the adventurers the map they’re following, has warned them that the snow monster — whose name is Narlee — likes to eat gold things. Oh no! Will Narlee go after the golden key in Pancake’s backpack?

Also, Narlee’s name is suspiciously close to the word “gnarly”.

It only makes sense that there’s a snow monster in Antarctica, and that’s where our friends are. Or maybe not. Penguins (and here’s your scientific fact of the day, brought to you by my friend Theresa) actually live on several continents. Even more, if you include places like zoos and the California Academy of Sciences, which has a whole bunch of penguins on display.

Here’s a picture of some of the penguins at the San Francisco Zoo that I took many years ago, and which I share here because I think it’s a spiffy one.

You may notice that not one of these penguins is wearing a scarf, unlike Pancake’s mother. That’s because it’s warmer in San Francisco than it is in Antarctica. More science for you.

Anyway. Tomorrow the monster may appear. What kind of monster is Narlee? A shoggoth? An elder thing? WHO KNOWS?

‘Tis a creepy season of Holidailies

Today’s entry in the Episcopal Advent Calendar (Pray) reads, “Pray along with the Collect for Advent 3, found on page 212 in The Book of Common Prayer. How will prayer guide you through the rest of the week? Set aside special time today to focus your intentions on stirring up peace and spreading joy.”

First of all, I want to mention that I dearly love the Book of Common Prayer. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s just something about having a wee little book that I can bring with me or pray with when I need to.

That said, I sometimes feel comfortable with praying the Collects, primarily because they’re meant to be spoken in church with other worshippers.

But anyway.

I’m feeling sick and kind of blue right now, so spreading joy and stirring up peace is a little difficult at the moment. I was cheerful with the person who took my order at Round Table Pizza, so there’s that. Again, I’ll ponder this further.

As Pancake the Penguin and Pep the Fish (I still can’t believe Pep is a a fish — I hereby declare that Pep is a lungfish because most of these adventures can’t happen underwater) make their way from the Cave of the Snow Fairy, they enter another forest. According to the map they discovered yesterday, an Icey[sic] Monster lives here. Shhh. Be careful!

And indeed, as they pass through (according to the official narrative that accompanies these little papercraft elements), they hear a mysterious rustle and other loud noises. Oh no! Can they make it out of this forest alive? I don’t know! The suspense is killing me!

When I opened this morning’s little packet, I was hoping for a monster to build, but it was just these two little trees. I unfolded them and took this picture, then put them up on the crown molding I’m using to display this adventure. I’m a little disappointed but we’ll see what tomorrow brings!

‘Tis a mysterious season for Holidailies!

Today’s entry in the Episcopal Advent Calendar reads (for Learn), “Read Luke 1:59-80. When Zechariah’s speech returns, he praises God. If you lost the power to speak for nine months like Zechariah did, what would be your first word of praise? Share this with your family, friends, and on social media.”

To be honest, I’m not sure what mine would be. These days, when so much of what we say we say online in social media, losing the ability to type might be as much a hindrance as losing the ability to talk. I’m pretty sure my first communication to the world after regaining the ability to communicate would be something like, “Thank God!”, which is a much weaker version of “Praise be to God”.