I rather resent February....

Today is the 5th day of the 5th week, the 1st day of the 2nd month, the 32nd day of 2024 [I've decided not to count the days in my title this year since I am not writing every single day], and:

• CBC Day
• Candy Making Day
• Car Insurance Day
• Change Your Password Day
• Decorating with Candy Day
• GI Joe Day
• Hula in the Coola Day
• International Brownie Camera Day
• International Cake Pop Day
• International Day of Black Women in the Arts
• International Face & Body Art Day
• International Furmint Day - it's a type of wine 
• National Baked Alaska Day
• National Dark Chocolate Day
• National Freedom Day
• National Get Up Day - well I managed to celebrate this one anyway, altho I forgot to adjust my alarm for working from home and ended up rising a half hour earlier than I needed to...   Unless you agree that this holiday is about perseverance, then I don't know
• National Serpent Day
• National Sweater Day
• Optimist Day
• Robinson Crusoe Day
• Spunky Old Broads Day
• World Hijab Day
• and Voyager 1 is 22h 34m 42s of light travel time from Earth 

Quote of the day:

" February is for curmudgeons, whinge-bags, and misanthropes. You can't begrudge us one month of the year or blame us for being even crabbier, it's so short. There is nothing good about it, which is why it's so great. "

~  Lionel Shriver - American author and journalist currently living in the UK

Okay, so if you read my last post, you know that January wasn't that great of a month for me or my family.  So, I should be happy to see that calendar page flip over, right?  

Wrong.  My gripe with February is of very long standing.  I am still mired in the 2023 EOY reports and audits, and here comes another EOM making all kinds of demands on my time and energy.  

And to top it off,  the second day in February is home to that blasted charlatan weather prognosticator Punxsutawney Phil.  In acknowledgement of the holiday of Imbolc, this rodent celebrates the interval between the winter and spring equinox by informing us whether or not there will be six more weeks of winter based on whether or not he sees his shadow.

Bah humbug.

And then there's Valentine's Day.  Even when Frank was alive, we didn't make a big deal of the holiday.  One of the nicest thing I saw happening was when I worked at C&F and Lola would give every woman a rose and a little box of chocolates because she said that every woman should get flowers and candy to celebrate the day.  And yes, I always had flowers because Frank bought them and gave them to me beforehand.   These days it just makes me a little sad, my partner is gone from in world and even there I am alone now.  

Bah humbug

Even having a three day weekend doesn't redeem February - you see, back in the day, we got off for two three day weekends.  There were two federal holidays - one for Lincoln's Birthday on the 12th and then again a couple of weeks later for Washington on the 22nd.  Granted now we get MLK day in January, but now we only get one federal holiday, President's day, in February. 

Bah humbug.  

And lastly?  This the month of epic snowstorms hereabouts as huge nor'easters that last for up to a week and cover a thousand miles dump snow on us that is measured in feet, not inches.   We haven't had a lot of snow since 2016, and most forecasters figure we are due for a big one.  At least we will be able to work from home instead of slogging through the mess to go into the office!

Yeah, it takes me a couple of days to appreciate February