Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, holidays on February 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »
There are a lot of holidays happening today or starting this week, including some of the big ones: Lunar New Year and the Spring Festival, Mardi Gras (and Lent), and Ramadan.
If I used AI casually I might ask it for an image of a fiery horse eating a beignet at an iftar meal, but instead I’ll just wish you all a wonderful week!
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Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, democracy, inspiration, President's Day, Thoughts on February 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »
“Yet, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is more than worth all the means. And that posterity will triumph in that day’s transaction…” ― John Adams
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Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, #groundhogday #punxsutawneyphil, NOAA, seasons on February 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Oh hey, it’s Groundhog Day again!
Check out the official website for all things Punxsutawney Phil:
Punxsutawney Groundhog Club – The Home of Groundhog Day!
Just want to skip to the headline? Six more weeks of winter.
Makes me shiver just thinking about it.
The good news is that Phil, while both cute and charming, does not seem to be particularly good at his job. Maybe we get six more weeks, maybe not.
How accurate is Punxsutawney Phil? Here’s what the data shows
Punxsutawney Phil has been making forecasts since the late 1800s, but his predictions have been a little off. How good has he been at predicting winter weather? Not so hot, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
So if you’re wishing for the promise of spring, take heart. Sooner or later, it’s coming!
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Posted in Holidays, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, #MLKDay, inspiration, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »
The power of science fiction, fantasy, and related genres including “the speculative” lies in its ability to create new ways to talk about old and ongoing problems in our societies. We are surrounded by people who wonder what they are going to do with the moment in time they inhabit—time-travelers fixed to this one instant in a long continuum of human struggle—and we are crafting new vocabularies of comfort, courage, and creative energy for them and for ourselves.
— The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the power of building new worlds
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Posted in Holidays, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, encouragement, New Year, Thoughts on January 1, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Welcome to a new year. Past me thought I might need a little encouragement as we step into the unknown. Here’s the letter I wrote myself in case you do too:
Dear FutureMe,
You’ve got this.
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Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, Merry Christmas on December 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »
“I still believe in Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and true love. Don’t even try to tell me different.”
—Dolly Parton
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Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, Christmas, inspiration, Thoughts on December 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »
“It’s Christmas Eve! It’s the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we smile a little easier, we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the whole year, we are the people that we always hoped we would be.”
— Bill Murray
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Posted in Holidays, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, learning new things, Thoughts on December 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »
13 seconds?! Impressive!
Japanese Speed Gift Wrapping, an art and cultural tradition of careHow to wrap presents
And for more details, here’s a tutorial series on How to wrap presents Japanese-style.
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Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, holidays, look for what's good, Thoughts on December 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »
It’s that time of year again, when the holidays come knocking and we’re all busy busy busy.
What’s that, you say? Must be time for a holiday round of quotes and pretty pictures? Right you are! I’ll get on that, and also dig through my special folder of fun and nonsense, looking for things that may excite and delight.
Whatever you’re planning in the next little while, I hope you have time for the sort of goodness and light we could all use these days.
Happy holidays!
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Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, Thanksgiving, Thoughts, ways to be happy on November 27, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate today! Even if this isn’t your holiday, I hope you have a moment to remember the good things in your life.
The Right Attitude to Gratitude – The Atlantic
Gratitude is so effective that if you could bottle it, you’d be a billionaire. But as with so many beautiful parts of life, gratitude is not something you can market like a drug or nutritional supplement: It happens to be completely free—but not so easy to attain. Thankfulness requires neither payment nor subscription, just a commitment to stand up against your limbic system, which is lying to you with its negativity bias—saying that this lovely morning is actually pretty annoying, and that everyone is dissing you.
And if you want to learn more about overcoming your all-too human negativity bias, check out the full article. Because while evolution may be good for the species, it’s focused on survival. It doesn’t care if you have a good day.
Unlike me. Have a happy Thanksgiving!
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J.R. Johnson 
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