By Pat Asling Now that 2026 is underway, things seem to have slowed down a little, but this is likely just a brief pause. After the holiday rush and a bit of overindulgence, people are catching their breath. Before long, lunches, meetings, and events will be back in full swing, and life will feel busy once again. I hope everyone is carrying good memories from the 2025 Christmas season and the start of the new year. Sadly, the world has entered 2026 in a time of great turmoil.

by Faye Ashton I hope everyone is keeping well and managing to avoid the flu bug that seems to be making its way around in many different forms this season. A little bird shared some happy news: Jeannie Ranken will be celebrating 75 years young on Tuesday. Warm birthday wishes to Jeannie from her many friends throughout the community. Best wishes as well to anyone marking a January birthday or anniversary. May your celebrations create special memories to cherish all year long

By Patricia Dawson Residents are invited to step out and enjoy some lively country line dancing in Cannington at the Cannington Legion Community Health Center. Instructor-led sessions are held at the Legion, located at 72 Peace Street, on Monday mornings from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. These classes are open to both new and experienced dancers and feature a fun mix of country favourites and Top 40 hits. For those looking to try something different, Drumming for Health will take place

by Janet Van Camp Several local families enjoyed vacations in the Caribbean over the holidays. What a change from swimming in the ocean one day to snowmobiling the next! The annual Potluck and AGM of the Blackstock Agricultural Society will be held on Thursday, January 15th at the Blackstock Recreation Centre. Doors open at 6 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome!

by Pat Asling Here we are, one week into a new year! Do you feel any different? The last couple of weeks of December have brought us back to old-time winters in regard to snow. There is a song which says, “as high as an elephant's eye,” but the snow drifts have been as high as the corn left in the field! Personally, I am tired of shovelling or thinking about shovelling, and this is early yet. At least we did have some melt and more forecast for this week. Snowmobiles and skie

By Patricia Dawson High school students and youth leaders, save these dates for Blaze, our upcoming winter youth retreat, January 9th to 11th, 2026. We're hosting a youth retreat for high school students here at Fairhaven's Camp and Conference Centre. Come prepared for a weekend full of worship, great speaking, recreation, food and fun! This will take place from Friday, January 9th, at 7 p.m. to Sunday, January 11th, 2026, at 3 p.m. The address is B2215 Highway 48, Beaverton.

by Pat Asling In church today, the candle of Joy was lit! It’s hard to be joyful when so many horrible things are happening around the world and suffering is so great. It is hard to be joyful when your friend had died, another is diagnosed with a stroke, or has only a short time to live as diagnosed by doctors, an unbelievable number of countries around the world are war-torn, hundreds driven from their home by war, floods and other catastrophic natural disasters, all created

by Faye Ashton We’ve been gifted with an old-fashioned winter. When it’s not snowing, it’s very cold. It takes many of us back to the day when snow banks along the road were as high as we were as we trudged along to school. Did it hurt us? I don’t think so. Just created more memories. Don't forget to give Elgin Park in Uxbridge a view. The creativeness of the many entries is well worth the drive; the lights are amazing. Checked out the Santas along Campbell Drive in Uxbridge

By Patricia Dawson Christmas open mic and sing-along. Come out to the Bobcaygeon Legion on December 20th, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., for the carol singing with free admission. Looking for something to do over the Christmas break that is fun? The Beaverton Lions Club is so happy to be sponsoring two free public skating dates! The days are December 22nd and 29th from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Foster Hewitt Memorial Center in Beaverton. As always, complimentary hot chocolate and trea

by Janet Van Camp Breakfast with Santa was a great success for the Blackstock Co-op Nursery School. Thank you to all the volunteers who spent so much time organizing, setting up, getting raffle prizes, cooking and cleaning up...well done! The Cantata was well-received on Sunday, December 14th. A wonderful choral service by the Church Choir, directed by Linda Kyte, was enjoyed by all. Souper Sundae was a tasty conclusion to the service. Scott Attfield, Marie Van Camp's son, wi

by Faye Ashton Looks like the Farmers Almanac had the real goods on the cold, snowy weather which came our way and will linger in our area for a few more days. Brrrrrr! The Canadian Foodgrains meeting at the church on December 1st was well attended by many of the growers and contributors from Markham, the Toronto area, east to Bridgnorth, and in between. Each had an amazing story to share of their work in helping to keep this volunteer gift to the world alive. Thanks to all t

by Pat Asling By the time you read this it will be getting close to the middle of the month. There is lots of excitement with buying presents, preparing food, listening to Christmas music and so many events happening. For sure nobody in our area can complain that it doesn’t look like Christmas because we certainly have plenty of the white stuff and it keeps coming! I am still working on that first big dump. Did you see the last, biggest closest full moon? It looked beautiful

By Patricia Dawson Guided hike in Uxbridge will take place Saturday, December 20th, from 9:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at the Secord Forest parking lot, a kilometer south of Goodwood Road on Concession 3. Join the Oak Ridges Trail Association on their guided walks and hikes across the top end of the GTA. Enjoy fresh air, meet new friends, and energize your body. Bring the family to the Sunderland Santa Claus parade on December 13th, 2025. This is a free event and starts at 7 p.m.

by Faye Ashton Ole Man Winter really made his appearance known, piling the snow deep in our area. Strange how some areas got dumped on and others close by received very little. Sometimes we’re really blessed and not so, depending on how much we like winter activities. Jean West, formerly of Epsom, if you read this, Irma Podres (nee Janowski) of Chalk Lake would like to get in touch with you. I am wishing everyone a “Happy Birthday or Anniversary” this December. Take time to c

by Pat Asling The big news this week would have to be the amount of snow our area received over the past weekend. Yes, we have had some snow before, but this dump hit hard and fast for those hoping for Indian summer and a few more days to finish up outdoor work. Saturday morning was a winter wonderland to look at and photograph with snow like thick icing on all the fir trees and everything else capable of holding it. The birds were in a panic, fluttering around trying to get

by Patricia Asling What a rather dreary month this has been! Either too cold or too damp to do the many things outside that need to be finished up. My “to do” list never gets any shorter, since anything I manage to scratch off immediately gets replaced by something else. It’s been a slow week, socially speaking, compared to some. The main event was the full turkey lunch for Seniors on Tuesday. Kudos to Mary’s Country Kitchen and staff for a great meal! The guest speaker was J

by Janet Van Camp There was a small electrical fire at the Blackstock arena last week, which forced the shutdown of all programs from Tuesday to Friday. I am happy to announce it is open once again for all user groups. The Blackstock Co-op Nursery School's annual "Breakfast with Santa" is on Sunday, December 7th, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Blackstock Recreation Centre. The event features a pancake breakfast, photos with Santa, a silent auction, and a bake sale to rais

by Faye Ashton One month to Christmas. Isn’t that a shock! With the weather being “early fall like” for so long, it seems impossible we are this far along in the year. Most of the corn fields met their demise this past week which kept Reesors dryer chugging out steam. December 1st at Epsom Church, there is a 10 a.m. meeting of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank Project which will honour retiring regional rep., Henry Reminders, as he leads a show presentation and discussion on how g

By Patricia Dawson Come out to a fun event put on by the United Way of Haliburton Kawartha Lakes. This will take place on December 2nd from 6 to 7:30 p.m., at 68 McLaughlin Road, in Lindsay. Get ready to jingle all the way through a festive night of fun and friendly competition. Expect multiple trivia rounds with various holiday categories, prizes for winning teams, snacks and drinks, the party doesn't have to end after trivia, stay for a round of axe throwing after, at a dis

by Janet Van Camp The Blackstock Co-op Nursery School's annual "Breakfast with Santa" is on Sunday, December 7th, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Blackstock Recreation Centre. The event features a pancake breakfast, photos with Santa, a silent auction, and a bake sale to raise funds for the nursery school. This is a cash-only event and is open to everyone. Marion Larmer has recently moved to West Shore and is looking forward to visitors. Happy 4th Birthday to Eleanor Van