Mar 02
My Little Free Library has a *few* 
Dr Seuss books in it
Meanwhile…
Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, where I also grew up and went to High School.
The Springfield Library Quadrangle has been home to the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden since 2002.
Mar 01
“Scotland the Brave” (Scottish Gaelic: Alba an Àigh) is a Scottish patriotic song. It was one of several songs considered an unofficial national anthem of Scotland.
My cellphone ringtone is Scotland the Brave. At any rehearsal, everyone knows it’s my phone, if one is ringing 🙂 I posted a bit about that here: http://maryoblog.com/2015/08/
Below, the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards pipes and drums perform Scotland The Brave, The Black Bear and Highland Laddie on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle. In typically inclement Scottish weather, the Pipes and Drums were performing to mark the release of their second album Spirit of the Glen: Journey. Part of this album was recorded when the regiment was on active service in Iraq.
With a view of the amazing Scottish country taken from across Scotland.
I had no idea that there were lyrics and I’ve never heard anyone singing them but here they are:
Hark when the night is falling
Hear! Hear the pipes are calling,
Loudly and proudly calling,
Down thro’ the glen.
There where the hills are sleeping,
Now feel the blood a-leaping,
High as the spirits of the old Highland men.
Towering in gallant fame,
Scotland my mountain hame,
High may your proud standards gloriously wave,
Land of my high endeavour,
Land of the shining river,
Land of my heart for ever,
Scotland the brave.
High in the misty Highlands,
Out by the purple islands,
Brave are the hearts that beat
Beneath Scottish skies.
Wild are the winds to meet you,
Staunch are the friends that greet you,
Kind as the love that shines from fair maiden’s eyes.
Towering in gallant fame,
Scotland my mountain hame,
High may your proud standards gloriously wave,
Land of my high endeavour,
Land of the shining river,
Land of my heart for ever,
Scotland the brave.
Far off in sunlit places,
Sad are the Scottish faces,
Yearning to feel the kiss
Of sweet Scottish rain.
Where tropic skies are beaming,
Love sets the heart a-dreaming,
Longing and dreaming for the homeland again.
Towering in gallant fame,
Scotland my mountain hame,
High may your proud standards gloriously wave,
Land of my high endeavour,
Land of the shining river,
Land of my heart for ever,
Scotland the brave.
Feb 02
Groundhog Day is observed on February 2nd, each year in the United States and Canada.
For a nice welcomed break during the winter, on this day the groundhog awakens from his nap and goes outside to see if he can see his shadow. It is believed by many that if the groundhog sees his shadow that there will then be six more weeks of winter. If this is so, he then heads back into his den and goes back to sleep. If he is not able to see his shadow, the groundhog remains outside and, supposedly, spring is just around the corner.
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania has been chosen as the site for the annual Groundhog day event. Thousands of people come to the town of Punxsutawney on Groundhog Day for this day of celebration.
Although already a well known day, Groundhog Day received widespread attention as a result of the 1993 film Groundhog Day, which was set in Punxsutawney, PA.
Jan 27
Another anniversary rolls around, the 47th, to be exact.
I always like to check out this picture of our wedding expenses. We have it framed and sitting on our mantle.
Tom paid $50.46 (blood tests and wedding ring!) and my costs (I made my own dress) were $29.25.
We were lucky. My dad was the minister at the Barre (MA) Congregational Church so he didn’t charge us to perform the service. The women of the church provided the reception in the parsonage. My mom chipped in the flowers.
Well worth the cost!
Barre Congregational Church
Our honeymoon was in upstate New York so Tom could look for a job. My only memories of that trip were the snow coming in under the door of our motel and Tom not getting a job.
After that, we drove back to Boston where we rented the bottom floor of my mother-in-law’s house. In Dorchester, many of the homes were triple deckers and families could have one, two or three floors.
This isn’t where we lived, but a very similar look to her house.
We got all moved in and painted everything (we decided to paint my sewing room a cheery yellow. The walls just sucked in the yellow paint and we had to use many, many coats). So, Tom got a job in Washington, DC.
So, we packed up and found a small apartment in Alexandria, VA.
That apartment was so small…when my parents came to visit, they slept on cots in the living room with their feet under my newly-acquired piano.
Then we moved to Holmes Run Parkway (also in Alexandria), Silver Spring, MD, Wilmington, DE, and finally settled in Fairfax, VA.
Seven years ago to celebrate our anniversary, Tom had a heart attack. I wrote a lot about that here: https://maryomedical.com/2017/01/27/giving-thanks-day-3/
I am hoping for a nice, quiet day today!
Jan 25
Burns Night commemorates the life of the bard (poet) Robert Burns, who was born on January 25, 1759.
The day also celebrates Burns’ contribution to Scottish culture. Burns’ best-known work is “Auld Lang Syne”.
We were at the Edinburgh Tattoo for this performance but I didn’t take this video.
Haggis, neeps and tatties (turnips and potatoes) are traditionally eaten in Scotland on Burns Night with a dessert of cranachan.
Bringing in the haggis and addressing it (of course)
I have never had haggis and intend never to have any! Not even haggis-flavored potato chips or pizza.
Jan 24
National Compliment Day. Give an extra compliment on National Compliment Day which is observed annually on January 24.
A compliment has a powerful effect. It can instill confidence in a child, or validate someone’s hard work.
Jan 19
Join us on January 19 as we celebrate National Popcorn Day! Buttered, salted, kettled, drizzled with caramel, popcorn is one of those snacks perfect anytime, anywhere. It’s great on the go, in the theater, or in your living room! Just be prepared to dig some of it out of your teeth.
I’m actually a huge fan of Weekly Popcorn Day. My Aunt and Uncle were very busy at their local church on Sundays and there just wasn’t time for anyone (read my aunt!) to cook dinner. Somewhere in their marriage, they decided that popcorn on Sundays would be the meal of choice. As I recall, they may have eaten it like cereal with milk and sugar.
As a child, I thought this was the best thing ever. My parents didn’t agree, though 🙁
They didn’t have fancy microwave popcorn but made it on the stove.
Did you know that the corn we eat and the corn we pop are two different varieties of maize? In fact, the corn you’d find on your dinner table is most likely unable to pop at all!
Only one variety of corn is able to become popcorn: Zea mays everta. This particular corn variety has small ears, and the kernels burst when exposed to dry heat.
In 1948, small heads of Zea mays everta were discovered by Herbert Dick and Earle Smith in the Bat Cave of west central New Mexico. Ranging from smaller than a penny to about two inches, the oldest Bat Cave ears were about 4,000 years old. Several individually popped kernels were also discovered, which have since been carbon dated and shown to be approximately 5,600 years old.
There’s also evidence of early use of popcorn in Peru, Mexico, and Guatemala, as well as other places in Central and South America. Aztecs used popcorn to decorate their clothes, create ceremonial embellishments, and also for nourishment.
Native Americans have also been found to consume and utilize popcorn in their day to day lives. In a cave in Utah, thought to be inhabited by Pueblo Native Americans, popcorn has been found that dates back to over 1,000 years ago. French explorers who traveled to the new world discovered popcorn being made by the Iroquois Natives in the Great Lakes region. As colonists moved around North America, and as the USA came to be, many people adopted popcorn as a popular and healthy snack.
(adapted from https://nationaltoday.com/national-popcorn-day/)
Thank you to Leslie F, a teacher from Concord, Illinois, who sent the following suggestions for Popcorn Day Activities:
1. Stringing Popcorn: These can be hung outside for birds to eat
Need: sewing needles, string, popcorn
2. Guess the Amount Filll container with kernels and have students guess)
Need: popcorn kernels, container
3. Popcorn Air Hockey: Can you “volley” the kernel back and forth 20 times without letting it fall?
Need: flat surface (table), straw (to blow), coffee stirrers (as paddles) or hands (as paddles)
4. Popcorn Relay Race
Need: popcorn, spoons
5. Popcorn Basketball: Can you flick a piece of popcorn into the basket?
Need: popcorn, baskets (i.e. muffin tins, small cups), backboards (wall, cardboard)
6. Popcorn word search (puzzle maker)
Use these words: popcorn, pop, kernel, explode, heat, moisture, grain, snack, crunchy, butter, oil, salt, fiber, bag, hull
7. Write a Popcorn Haiku (5, 7, 5 syllable pattern poem): Like this!
Oil, kernels, heat, time
Many loud explosions heard
Pop, crunch, snack time. Yum!
8. How many words can you make from this phrase?
“Fresh hot popcorn”, “Popcorn tastes good”, “I like popcorn”, “Hot buttered popcorn”
9. Popcorn coloring pages
10. Read facts about popcorn and write about the history of popcorn
Jan 14
When we were in Scotland a couple years ago, we walked to Edinburgh Castle and back from hotel a couple times.
I had never heard of Greyfriar’s Bobby until our bus tour the second day although we had walked by the statue 3 times already!
On our 4th pass-by, we saw several people taking pictures of the statue. I guess they knew.
Bobby was a Skye Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for supposedly spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner until he died himself on 14 January 1872.
The story continues to be well known in Scotland, through several books and films, and a prominent commemorative statue and nearby graves act as a tourist attraction.
Each year on the 14th of January there is an event in Greyfriars Church Yard honoring the loyalty of Greyfriars Bobby. The inscription on his memorial reads ” Let his loyalty and devotion be a lesson to us all”. He had faithfully guarded the grave of his master John Gray for 14 years after he passed away. The minister of Greyfriars and the Lord Provost of Edinburgh were the key speakers.
Jan 13
According to a 1973 Sesame Street calendar, Rubber Duckie’s Birthday is January 13 so around the country it’s National Rubber Ducky Day! A friend of Ernie and Big Bird, Duckie made his debut in a February 1970 episode.
The rubber ducky (also spelled duckie) has come a long way from his first concept as a chew toy for children. While the origin of the first rubber ducky is uncertain, many rubber molded toys from dolls to those in various animal shapes came about when rubber manufacturing developed in the late 1800s.
During World Wars I and II, rubber was a valuable commodity which was rationed, and by the 1940s with the advent of plastic, the rubber ducky began being produced in vinyl and plastic.
The earliest patent for a rubber duck toy was patented in 1928 by Landon Smart Lawrence. His design was for a bath toy which was weighted and when tipped would return to its upright position. The sketch included with the patent was that of a duck.
Russian Sculptor Peter Ganine sculpted many animal figures. One, a duck, he later designed and patented it into a floating toy which closely resembles the rubber ducky we have become familiar with today.
Sales of the iconic yellow rubber ducky we’ve come to know today soared in Britain in 2001. Why? A British Tabloid, The Sun, reported Queen Elizabeth II had a rubber duck in her bathroom that wore an inflatable crown.
The rubber ducky became a Toy Hall of Fame inductee in 2013. Founded in 1998, the Hall of Fame has only inducted 52 other toys.
The now world famous giant rubber duck, by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, has sailed into the Port of Los Angeles. The six-storey-tall bath toy has made its west coast debut to take part in their Tall Ships Festival parade. The duck has also appeared in Australia, Belgium, Japan, New Zealand and Brazil. Earlier this year, versions of the massive inflatable duck were in Asia, including Beijing’s harbour and Taiwan, where the duck actually exploded and fell apart while on display. Report by Sarah Kerr.
Did you know that the City of Fairfax Regional Library has a Rubber Ducky collection?
Go on a scavenger hunt to discover more than 200 ducks hiding throughout the building and are on display. The Rubber Ducky is the library’s mascot.
And, finally, a little history lesson:
And, the final word…
Cushing’s Music & Local Events
