I came out on the front porch while the air is still cool to write to you all while I listen to the birds sing and get some fresh air before it becomes too warm to be out here. I have my coffee (mocha with a dollop of whipped cream – YUM!), my computer tray, my phone in case I see Moose do something cute (or silly), and am all set up. Problem is that I am nearly going blind now! The sun just popped out from behind the trees that it was behind and I’m squinting at my screen to try to see what it is I am writing. Not that I can complain. With all the horrors that have been on the news the last couple of days (weeks, months and years), a little sun in my eyes while sitting on my porch is hardly something to wring my hands over, right? Today I am doing a post for the whole weekend. As much fun as doing this blog is, it takes up a great deal of time – time that I need to be doing other things around here. I’ve not yet set up any affiliate links – beyond my links to Thrive, Ultra HCG and Young Living Essential Oils – that will help pay for the time I spend doing this. Even those I don’t push at you because I don’t like it when people do it to me. If you like something I post about one of those products, you are more than welcome to click those links and place an order. If you ever have any questions about them, you are always welcome to leave me a comment so I can get in touch with you and answer it. I would never make a good real estate agent or car salesperson because I just can’t be pushy in that way. Personal experience shared with another is the best type of sales tactic because it’s honest and allows the buyer to decide what they want to do. ANYWAY, I have work to do in the yard, the house and the motor home this weekend so I figured if I gave you all of the celebrations at one time you could go on about your weekend as well! If I can manage this in a timely manner, it’s probably how I’ll start doing it every weekend.
I thought I would share something cute with you – Baby B was pretty reluctant to dig into her birthday cake, sort of just squishing her fingers in the frosting without really getting to the cake. She’s gotten over that and is REALLY enjoying all the new flavors she gets to try! This time of discovery is so much fun!
Moments With Moose –
When Moose comes out to the yard, no matter what time of the day (or night) it is, he grabs a stick. I’m perpetually confused as to where he’s getting all of these sticks when we haven’t had wind to blow them down for some time, but he definitely finds them! He’ll dash up to the porch with one in his mouth, determined to get it into the house so he can shred it immediately into splinters for us to step on. And I, just as determined that he NOT get the sticks into the house, either wrestle it from him or cable him onto the porch so he can chew to his hearts content and when he is done, he may come in. Leaves a huge mess, but at least we aren’t pulling bits out of our feet, right? This morning was no different, except that he’s a happy boy this morning, chewing his latest acquisition while I work out here with him just feet away. I guess we all have to have something that makes us happy, and this is his bliss. One of them anyway. At the same time, Tibbi gets hers because she’s quietly sleeping inside without a Moose in her face trying to convince her to play! Win Win!
I had completely forgotten to share my new segment with you this past week, so I thought I’d bring it to you today. Sometimes I just have so many things going on in my head that I forget stuff!
Musings and Adventures of My Hubby –
Just finished my morning exercise and now I am so “stanced” I might even start feeling “hellaflush”. I came across those words lately and had to decipher their meaning. I am sure I used them incorrectly but they sounded so goofy, does it really matter? With this modern subculture of illiteracy my super groovy, hepcat status isn’t as peachy keen as it used to be. The ubiquitous use of gibberish for communication nowadays is really harshing my mellow!!……Word!!
Saturday Celebrations –
Toss Away The “Could Haves” and “Should Haves” Day – I am one of those people who has a tendency to re-hash the past. What could I have done differently, what SHOULD I have done differently? If I had made this decision, or that decision, would things have been better? Would I have saved my kids this grief or that? Would I have been carrying less baggage, or more? The truth is that all of that talk is useless. Learning from our mistakes is good, it helps us not make them again, but fixating on the things we cannot change prevents us from moving forward into the future. Sometimes, depending on what your past issues are, this can prevent you from moving forward in a healthy way and making better choices from this point forward. Today you can change all of that! Today is the day to cast off all of that baggage, and stop trying to second guess the decisions that cannot be changed. This is a big one for me. I hope it is for you too.
Woodie Wagon Day – For most of us, I’m guessing, our only experience with the Woodie Wagon is from old surfer movies, but the wood sided vehicle wasn’t just something done for style, there was a practical reason behind it! The popularity of this vehicle started in the 1940s. Steel was being salvaged for the war effort, so car manufacturers were turning to wood as a replacement. It was placed along the sides of the “wagon”, and was a great family vehicle for the 40’s and 50’s. As the popularity, and necessity, of the car subsided the prices dropped, and California surfers began buying them since they were not only inexpensive, they could easily carry their surf boards. Today the nostalgia continues in old movies and in the memory of those who had one in their family in those days.
Sunday Celebrations –
Anne Hutchinson Memorial Day – (Always on a Sunday before or after her birthday on 7/20) – I am a little embarrassed to say that I didn’t know who Anne Hutchinson was, but after reading about her, I am hoping that you appreciate her contributions to our history as I do, and honestly I feel like I should have dedicated an entire post to just this topic. Because there are other things to write about, I’ll be as brief as I can without doing injustice to this amazing woman.
Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643) was an early American colonist. She was famous as one of the early colonists of the Massachusetts Colony who was banished from Boston in 1637 for her religious and feminist beliefs, and fled to the Rhode Island Colony. She was actually called “an American Jezebel, who had gone a-whoring from God” by Governor John Winthrop. He also said she should be “tried as a heretic”. As I looked for specific facts about Anne Hutchinson and her life, I was completely enthralled by the details of her life. She was born and baptized on July 20, 1591 in Alford, Lincolnshire, England. Her parents were Bridget Dryden and Francis Marbury. Her father was a deacon at Christ Church, Cambridge, and was ahead of his time when it came to education. He believed – unlike the majority of his peers – that girls should also be educated. As a result she was very well-educated at home and developed a strong interest in theology. In 1612 she married William Hutchinson and they had 15 children together (busy woman!). They attended sermons by John Cotton and became followers of the Puritans and in 1634 when John Cotton joined the Puritan Colonies of New England, Anne’s family soon followed suit. They set sail to American in late 1634 with other colonists on the Griffin with the hope for religious freedom that was favorable to the new ideas of Puritanism. She joined the congregation of John Cotton, but she soon had issues with them because she had different ideas and she wished to have freedom of thought and to worship God as she believed, rather than how she was told to by the strict beliefs of the Puritans. The Puritans viewed women as inferior to men, and morally feeble individuals who would lead men to damnation if they were allowed to form an opinion or express a thought. Anne was determined to speak her mind, so she started a Women’s Club and held meetings in her home where the women discussed the Scriptures, prayed and reviewed sermons, and here she also expressed her own views. John Winthrop saw Anne as a ‘dissenter’ and denounced her meetings, stating that they were “a thing not tolerable nor comely in the sight of God, nor fitting for your sex.” He was determined to silence Anne and found a legal way to stop her. Small women’s prayer groups were allowed by law, but large groups listening to the teachings and opinions of one leader were thought to be disorderly, so in November of 1637 he had her arrested and placed in custody at the house of the marshal of Roxbury, Massachusetts. She was 46 years old and pregnant at the time. She was accused of violating the 5th commandment to “honor they mother and father” and because of that encouraging dissent against the fathers of the commonwealth. She was also charged that her meetings tempted women to neglect the care of their own families. She was found guilty of heresy and condemned to banishment by the Civil Court. Anne and her followers left Boston in 1638 for the settlement that had been established by Roger Williams at Providence, Rhode Island, and set up their home in Portsmouth. They adopted a new government which provided for trial by jury and the separation of church and state. Quite a forward thinking woman, very ahead of her time, and because of her and others like her, we have progressed to a time when women are considered to be equal, with their thoughts and opinions valued. And I have to admit, if I had lived in her time I would have been toast. Not a chance I would have been able to keep my mouth shut and my opinions to myself. Anyone who knows me, knows that to be true.
Lake Superior Day – Of the five Great Lakes, Lake Superior is the largest, the deepest and the coldest. It is also the only Great Lake that has it’s very own day! Always held on the 3rd Sunday in July, this day was started in the early 1990’s by a group of Thunder Bay residents who wanted to celebrate the body of water than dominated and defined where they lived. Other organizations and communities got on the band wagon, and now they have a weekend full of festivities that celebrate their lake. Fun, right? If you live in that area do some celebrating!
This Day In History –
July 18, 1925 – Adolph Hitler publishes Mein Kampf.
July 19, 1814 – Samuel Colt invented the revolver.
July 19, 1940 – Winston Churchill uses the two finger “V” for victory sign.
Food Celebrations of the Day
July 18th – National Caviar Day – Real-deal caviar comes from sturgeon, but salmon roe is a good budget-friendly substitute. Fish eggs not your thing? Try the Texas version — it stars black-eyed peas!
Caviar Torte
Texas Cowboy Caviar
Swedish Prawn Dill Toasts With Caviar
Lox Cornucopias With Caviar
Caviar Pie
Cucumber Boats With Pate & Caviar
Poached Eggs With Tomato Sauce & Caviar
July 19th –National Strawberry Daiquiri Day – You might not believe it, but the daiquiri was the favorite drink of Ernest Hemingway and John F. Kennedy.
Strawberry Daiquiri
Lemon-Lime Daiquiri Dessert
Pineapple Daiquiri
Banana Daiquiri
Kiwi Daiquiri
Lemon Frozen Daiquiri
Blueberry Daiquiri
National Ice Cream Day – How Daiquiris, as delicious as they are, beat out Ice Cream for the official food celebration of the day, I have no idea. I’m including it anyway because it’s Ice Cream! Ice cream is delicious year round – which makes sense considering that we have National Ice Cream Day today and Ice Cream Day in December. How many of us get the urge for a snack on a hot day and the first thing that comes to mind is an ice cream treat. Setting the diet aside and celebrating this one just makes sense! So is this an official National holiday? So many “national” days are just called that, but it this one truly is! In 1984, President Ronald Regan proclaimed July as National Ice Cream Month, and the third Sunday of the month as National Ice Cream Day. That’s pretty official! I thought it was interesting that the ice cream cone is said to have been invented by Charles E. Minches of St. Louis, Missouri. On July 23, 1904, at the World’s Fair in St. Louis, he filled a pastry cone with two scoops of ice cream . . . making the first ice cream cone! This claim comes with some controversy though, since Italo Marchinony of New York City filed a patent for the ice cream cone just months before the fair opened. He was selling lemon ice in cones as early as 1896. I don’t honestly care WHO invented them, but am grateful THAT they were invented! This picture is one I showed already this year, but it is just so cute that I have to share it again! Dogs LOVE ice cream, but I know that most of us love our dogs enough not to give them all of that sugar and fat. Good thing that there is actual doggy ice cream that can be found in the ice cream section of the grocery store. Tibbi and Moose LOVE their doggy ice cream, and you can clearly see in this picture.
I’m going to have to inside soon. It’s not only warming up quite a bit, but the sun is now completely out from behind the trees and I can hardly see a thing on my screen. I have to stay out here for a little while longer though. I helped Tibbi out and she’s laying in the shade, enjoying being outside with us. She’s so old that usually she doesn’t come down these front porch steps any more – it’s just too difficult. When it’s time to take her in I will have to support her back hips and legs so she can make it up the stairs. She seems so content that I just can’t stand the thought of disturbing her! Well, I had better make my to-do list for the day, since it’s already nearly 9:00 and time’s passing me by! God Bless You and I’ll see you tomorrow!