We are living longer - by 2030 baby boomers will swell the ranks of age 65 and older from 13 percent to 18 percent. Genes account for one-fourth to one-third of longevity says the author of the Longevity Project, Howard Friedman.
The advice for older people involves exercise, eating well, etc. There are lots of bucket lists too things to do before you die - 20, 50, 100, things - pick a number.
There are even lists of things to do before you are 20 and before you are 12. I found the list from the Globe and Mail for 50 things to do before you're 12. There are twenty of them.
1. Climb a tree
2. Roll down a really big hill
3. Camp out in the wild
4. Build a den
5. Skim a stone
6. Run around in the rain
7. Fly a kite
8. Catch a fish with a net
9. Eat an apple straight from a tree
10. Play conkers
11. Throw some snow
12. Hunt for treasure on the beach
13. Make a mud pie
14. Dam a stream
15. Go sledging
16. Bury someone in the sand
17. Set up a snail race
18. Balance on a fallen tree
19. Swing on a rope swing
20. Make a mud slide
I enjoyed this list - it reminds me of what it was to be a child - these seem to be things that children think of doing by themselves, without any prompting from adults. Gathered together, they make a fine summary of what children do with almost nothing, and still have fun.
The list for 100 things to do before you die seem to mostly involve spending a lot of money - e.g. see the Mona Lisa, visit Stonehenge, visit Brazil, the Grand Canyon, France, sleep in a castle, visit Machu Picchu, The Great Sphinx, and so on.
Our picture today shows an interesting and most unusual focal point on the Niagara-on-the-Lake garden tour. I've never seen an iron cross as a focal point in a garden before. One will occasionally see Celtic crosses - these are a traditional garden element. The close-up of this one had praying angels facing the vertical portion of the cross.
I was looking for information on how Christmas has so many colours associated with it. There's the red and green, blue, and white for snow. I came upon this overview of crosses and thought it was interesting. Some of the crosses are so complicated in their meaning.
We return to our simpler world of the Christmas season and our pictures today are Centennial Greenhouses' Christmas display. They are located in the west end of Toronto.
The Cross symbolises that Christians believe Jesus Christ died for everyone on a Cross.
The Latin Cross, also sometimes called the Roman Cross. The base of the Cross has three steps that symbolise faith, hope, and love.
The Irish or Celtic Cross is a normal cross with a circle in the middle to symbolise eternity.
The Triumphant Cross represents the earth with the cross on top. It symbolises Jesus is triumphant over anything we can face in the world.
The Jerusalem Cross was worn by the crusaders going to Jerusalem, in the middle ages. It can symbolise the Four Gospels in the Bible, the spread of the Gospel to the four corners of the earth or the five wounds of Jesus when he died on the cross.
The Eastern Cross is the Suppedaneium cross with three horizontal crossbeams, The top represents the plate inscribed with INRI, and the bottom, a footrest. There is more complexity to the story at wikipedia's orthodox cross entry
The Furca or Upsilon Cross comes from the Greek letter Y . It is also called The Thieves' Cross from the two robbers who were crucified on each side of Jesus. It also symbolises the choice between good and evil.
