Winter Solstice

We achieved a high temperature of 25 degrees yesterday - quite a difference from the 67 degrees on Wednesday...  Woke to a heavy frost and a temperature of 15 this morning.  The kits ran outside, then ran right back inside - decided that their litter boxes were better than frozen ground, I suppose.  Have another bunch of mixed nuts out for the squirrels this morning - and they are ravenously partaking of the feast.  Lovey is curled up in my recliner, and Nedi has made a nest at the foot of my bed, and I'm here, at my desk.
  This afternoon, I'll be joining my sister and Grandma Anne at the Rocky Mountain Revels in the Boulder Theater.  This year the program is "Christmas Spirits and the Ghosts of Bartow-Pell House," set in 1926 in a mysterious mansion to celebrate the Winter Solstice, Christmas, and Yule.  We always have a blast at the Revels - the audience participates in several songs, and there are also dances in the aisles, where one can choose to (or not to) join in.  Each year, there is a different theme and no two shows are exactly alike.  It's a great way to celebrate the holidays.
  Hopefully, brother-in-law Jim will be with us this afternoon - he's planned to be there, but he might be heading for South Dakota to stay for a short while with his younger brother, Kent.  All of the family plans are up in the air right now - Jim might drive or fly up, so we might, or might not, have a car over Christmas.  I'll be house-sitting for Charlie and Tinkerbelle, four houses west of Kathy and Jim's, but without a vehicle.  On Friday, the 29th, I'll have access to transportation when I move over to Rosie's (directly behind Charlie and Tinkerbelle's).  Bea is supposed to eat Christmas dinner with us, but might have to come and go by either bus or taxi....  and I'll be coming home each day by bus to spend a couple hours with my kits...  It's a weird feeling, not knowing any logistics.  -   Right now, I don't know whether I'll need to bus or walk to the theater for the Revels this afternoon, or if I'll be picked up...
   The Winter Solstice itself (the Summer Solstice in the southern hemisphere) will happen at 12:11 p.m. EDT today.  At that point in time, the sun will be shining directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, and the North Pole will be pointed about 23 degrees away from the sun.  My Scandinavian ancestors celebrated the Winter Solstice, and called it "jul" time - and, yes, that's now Yule time.  A lot of cultures and religions celebrated the winter and summer solstice, and while many Biblical scholars believe that the birth of Jesus happened during the late spring or early summer, it is believed that the Christian church adopted the pagan winter celebrations of Yule, the Winter Solstice, and Saturnalia as the birthday celebration of the Christ child - hence, Christmas.....
   Got Jul!  (Good Yule!)