Q. Happy Christmas Eve! What are some striking paintings associated with Christmas? . A. Jean Hey. The Annunciation. 1490-05 . Leonardo da Vinci. Annunciation. 1472 . Sandro Botticelli. The Annunciation. 1489-90 . Philippe de Champaigne. The Dream of St. Joseph. 1642-43 . José Campeche y Jordán. La Natividad. 1799 .

Q. Happy Winter Solstice. Perhaps you, too, ventured out into the cold: a rainy walk by the ocean, a snowy hike up a wooded trail. The best way to cap off the day? A hot drink by a crackling fire. What’s your go-to hot winter drink? . A. We can

Q. In a world streaked with madness – and budgets at full stretch – many will not be travelling far this holiday season. What ways do you find to escape at home? What say others? . A. In 2023, Savanta polled 2,271 adults from the UK about their favourite forms

Q. If someone calls you ‘out of the blue,’ it is unexpected, a complete surprise. Where does the ‘out of the blue’ phrase originate? . A. An ‘out of the blue moment’ today could be positive or negative – it’s an emotionally neutral phrase. Its 19th century origins – ‘A

Q. Stare all you want. No self-respecting cat is about to show you its real secrets. What luck have  renowned artists had at unlocking feline truths? . A. Let’s see… Goya. Manrique de Zuñiga. 1787-88 . Marguerite Gérard. The Cat’s Lunch. ~1800 . Marguerite Gérard. La Dame avec son Chat.

Q. How did the white dove come to symbolize peace? . A. The peaceful white dove is rooted in the Bible. As we see in the Book of Genesis: the earth has been battered by a deadly flood. Sensing that the waters may be pulling back, Noah releases a dove

Q. It’s rainy, grey and into-the-bones damp. The foliage is thriving, but what are we humans to do? What’s your favourite thing to do on a rainy day? . A. Eureka asked more than 41,000 participants what their go-to activities were for a ‘dreary, rainy weekend day.’ Survey said… Favourite

Q. Happy National Pie Day. Which pies do we Canadians particularly favour? . A. An earlier survey by Tenderflake found … Canada’s Favourite Pie i.   Apple pie ii.  Lemon Meringue iii. Pecan iii. Blueberry iv. Pumpkin . In 2021, Google Trends took an eye to the Canadian pie question… Canadian

Q. When Mum brought in sun-dried laundry off the backyard line, we couldn’t wait to dive onto the basket and breathe in that glorious scent. Weird? Relatable? Which scents trigger warm memories for you? . A. A 2020 Samsung poll unearthed the favourite scents of  2,000 UK adults. Which of

Q. City nicknames are a tricky thing, more often used by people who live elsewhere. When I moved for a while to the Bay Area, new friends were quick to tell me: “Whatever you do, do not call San Francisco ‘Frisco’. And don’t even think about calling it ‘San Fran’.