January Days: Looking back and looking forward
This month’s name derives from the Latin word Ianua, meaning “door” or “gate,” representing new beginnings. It is also probably named for Janus, the god of gates and doorways, beginnings and endings, entrances and departures, who is depicted with two faces, a young man looking forward and an old man looking back.
Christmas Cookies Not Quite Like Grandma Used to Make
Imagine a bakery and candy store combined and you get a sense of the spread Grandma brought out after a very filling Christmas dinner.
December Days and Dalliances
In the Anglo-Saxon calendar, winter solstice is called Geola, aka Yule, and the months (starting with the first visible crescent of the new moon) before and after that are Aerra Geola, “Before Yule,” and Aeftera Geola, “After Yule.” Since the next “new” (dark) moon occurs on Dec. 19, by the time we can actually spot that sliver of a backwards C that marks a new moon-month, it’ll be the winter solstice, Dec. 21.
On My Work Table: The 2026 Planner-Diary
I have made some version of a planner-diary for a few years now, trying different formats while striving for the right balance of information and functionality through trial and error. There are a couple ways in which the 2026 Useful Calendar planner is different — it’s a little bigger, both in dimensions and number of pages, and it’s hand-bound with an uncommon technique that’s very functional.
November Days and Commemorations
Native American heritage has been celebrated in some form during November since 1986, when Pres. Reagan signed a proclamation designating American Indian Heritage Week.