The Dalton Pixie Strikes Again!

Today is 'Family Day' here in Ontario, Canada. All over the province this morning, kids were up at the crack of dawn, rushing out to the kitchen table to see if the Dalton Pixie had visited during the night and left them a present.

This is the third Family Day. The first one was in 2008 courtesy of an election promise from Premier Dalton McGuinty the previous fall to give us all an additional free day off work if we re-elected his government to power. If you called it a blatant bribe you wouldn't be wrong. Still, a day off is a day off and no one is complaining.

For any out-of-staters out there, the Dalton Pixie is a magical creature who only comes to life during the pre-dawn hours of Family Day. He sneaks into homes all over Ontario while everyone is fast asleep and then picks the pockets of grownups and leaves a present for all the good little boys and girls who have not yet reached voting age.

But the Dalton Pixie is a mischievious little imp. He only brings hot air, empty promises and useless gifts. On the first Family Day, when Gnut opened the gift he found on the kitchen table, inside the gift bag was a can of mushrooms. Gnut doesn't like mushrooms. Refuses to eat them. And to add insult to injury, they weren't even whole mushrooms or even sliced. Nope. These were the ones with the appetizing label of 'Pieces and Stems.'

On the Dalton Pixie's return visit last year, Gnut unwrapped a jar of sliced pickled beets. Needless to say, Gnut doesn't like pickled beets. Refuses to eat them.

Not too surprisingly, this morning he was in no hurry to rush up to see what the Dalton Pixie had brought, given his past track record. However, when he did finally make it upstairs at noon, he was happy to see TWO presents on the table. One was a big box, the other much smaller. Of course he opened the biggest one first. Inside was a can of Campbell's Bean and Bacon Soup. The only type of soup Gnut will eat is Chicken Noodle or Clam Chowder. I'm not sure if it was a sigh or a cuss-word I heard under his breath.

Then he opened the smaller gift. Inside was a can of Campbell's Bean and Bacon Soup.
This time I did hear a swear word.

But I'm proud to say that he took it like a man. "Oh, that Dalton Pixie," he chuckled good-naturedly. "He's done it again!"

Then he heated up a piece of leftover Family Eve pizza and Mother and I sat down to two very big bowls of Bean and Bacon soup.