The Grapevine Speaketh - Jan 22nd & 25th

An item which I've been curious about since I arrived here a few years ago is this 2.5" x 3.5" paper-tablet calendar called De Druivelaar (The Grapevine).  The first time I saw this curio was back in the 70's-era student dormitory near Campus Gasthuisberg, in one of its common kitchen areas, to be exact.

De Druivelaar is part-calendar, part-almanac, part-joke book--the month and day are printed in front with additional information about which week in the year it is, the number of days before the year-end, sunrise/sunset/moonrise/moonset times, and the name of the saints associated to that date.  When you tear the date off the block, you can see the jokes, announcements for local festivals, and other random bits of trivia, proverbs (and sometimes, woodcut prints) on the reverse side of the sheet.  These "random bits" caught my eye, and so when I went to the local bookstore/stationer right after New Year's, I bought one.

My Flemish friends and colleagues found my fascination with De Druivelaar amusing, since the Flemings of Here-and-Now find it too quaint, too traditional, too corny...or even horrible because of the quality of the jokes printed at the back of each date.  They seem to accept that I got this calendar because I wanted to practice my Dutch comprehension.

But I'm attached to this block of paper quaintness because I can derive a delicious sort of satisfaction of tearing off a date in the evenings before going to bed, of seeing that slowly, the thick tablet is being whittled down like the passing days. And that I can read and understand, somewhat, those trivia...and sometimes, the jokes.

To mark the beginning of "unsorted ephemera", I've put up a weekly section called "The Grapevine Speaketh", with photos of my favorite dates for the week.  Today's post has two dates--one to commemorate the date of the first post, and the one for the most interesting bit of info.

January 22nd
"Leef lang en schoon": The bitter compounds in witloof (chicory or Belgian endive) help in in eliminating waste products produced by a high-protein diet in winter.  They restore vitality in liver function, which helps break down fat.
A joke sampler:
Director: You must be here at 8:00 AM!
Worker: What important thing is here during that time?

I hope you stalwarts have an interesting week ahead! Fight on!