Veterans Day 2008

Don’t Forget To Thank A Vet!

Happy Halloween

To all my family and friends…I hope you have a safe but Happy Halloween!

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Five Little Pumpkin Sitting On A Gate

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate,
The first one said,
“Oh my, it’s getting late.”
The second one said,
“But we don’t care.”
The third one said,
“I see witches in the air.”
The fourth one said,
“Let’s run, and run, and run.”
The fifth one said,
“Get ready for some fun.”
Then whoosh went the wind,
and out went the lights,
And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

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Haunted House
- by Jack Prelutsky

There’s a house upon the hilltop
We will not go inside
For that is where the witches live,
Where ghosts and goblins hide.

Tonight they have their party,
All the lights are burning bright,
But oh we will not go inside
The haunted house tonight.

The demons there are whirling
And the spirits swirl about.
They sing their songs to Halloween.
“Come join the fun,” they shout.

But we do not want to go there
So we run with all our might
And oh we will not go inside
The haunted house tonight.

Halloween Questions!

Feel free to copy. I did…from Gina at “Gina’s Public Diary“.

1. What is the worst treat to get when trick-or-treating? I don’t like those peanut butter taffy candies wrapped in orange or black paper.

2. What character from any horror film would you most like to play? Kathy Bates from “Misery”

3. Would you rather be a zombie, alien, or psycho? I am already a psycho LOL so I pick a Zombie.

4. How many Halloween, Friday the 13th, or Nightmare on Elm Street movies combined do you have on dvd?
I am not sure, I have never counted them.

5. What is the scariest movie you have ever seen? When I was a kid it was “Friday the 13th”. As an adult I think “Darkness Falls” was the scariest.

6. Lamest costume you have seen on Halloween? Someone dressed as a prostitute.

7. Favorite Halloween treat? Chocolate

8. Friendly-faced jack o’lantern or scary one? Both! Depends on my mood.

9. Have you ever had nightmares about a scary movie character chasing you? Yes, and as an adult (38 years old) I still have bad dreams and I prefer to have a light on in the house at night.

10. Best thing about Halloween? All the wonderful candy!

11. Strangest Halloween custom you’ve heard of? None that I can think of.

12. Person in your family who most likes Halloween (not counting yourself)? My sister-in-law.

13. Are you superstitious? Yes, in some ways I am. I don’t walk under ladders and I get chills when a black cat crosses my path. I don’t step on cracks and I throw salt over my shoulder now and then.

Matter of Fact Monday: Holidays

Matter of Fact Monday
Hosted at http://matteroffactmonday.blogspot.com/
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Halloween, or Hallowe’en, is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31.
Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, ghost tours, bonfires, costume parties, visiting “haunted houses”, carving Jack-o’-lanterns, reading scary stories and watching horror movies. Irish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late twentieth century. Halloween is celebrated in several countries of the Western world, most commonly in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Japan, New Zealand, and occasionally in parts of Australia. In Sweden the All Saints’ official holiday takes place on the first Saturday of November.

The Origin of Halloween
Halloween’s roots can be traced back to Celtic culture in Ireland. According to their “Druid” religion, November 1st was New Years’ on their calendar. The celebration would begin on October 31st ,and last into the following day. The spirits of all who died in the prior year, would rise up and roam the earth on this night.

This is an evil night when spirits roamed the streets and villages. Lord Samhain, the lord of Darkness, would arrive in search of the spirits to take them to the underworld.

Halloween as it is currently celebrated with costumes, trick or treat, and superstitions, takes from this Druid Holiday.

September 19th: Talk Like A Pirate Day

Check out the official “Talk Like A Pirate: web site: http://www.talklikeapirate.com/

International Talk Like a Pirate Day (ITLAPD) is a parodic holiday invented in 1995 by John Baur (Ol’ Chumbucket) and Mark Summers (Cap’n Slappy), of Corvallis, Oregon, who proclaimed September 19 each year as the day when everyone in the world should talk like a pirate.[1] For example, an observer of this holiday would greet friends not with “Hello,” but with “Ahoy, me hearty!” The holiday, and its observance, springs from a romanticized view of the Golden Age of Piracy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Talk_Like_a_Pirate_Day

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You are The Cap’n!
Some men and women are born great, some achieve greatness and some slit the throats of any scalawag who stands between them and unlimited power. You never met a man – or woman – you couldn’t eviscerate. You are the definitive Man of Action, the CEO of the Seven Seas, Lee Iacocca in a blousy shirt and drawstring-fly pants. You’re mission-oriented, and if anyone gets in the way, that’s his problem, now isn’t? Your buckle was swashed long ago and you have never been so sure of anything as your ability to bend everyone to your will. You will call anyone out and cut off his head if he shows any sign of taking you on or backing down. If one of your lieutenants shows an overly developed sense of ambition he may find more suitable accommodations in Davy Jones’ locker. That is, of course, IF you notice him. You tend to be self absorbed – a weakness that may keep you from seeing enemies where they are and imagining them where they are not.

What’s Yer Inner Pirate?
brought to you by The Official Talk Like A Pirate Web Site. Arrrrr!

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You Are 60% Pirate

Garrrr, yer a true pirate down to yer bones. Yer an original sea dog, an’ ye certainly have earned yer sea legs. No one be goin’ to accuse ye o’ bein’ a landlubber. Ye got yer eye on the prize, an’ yer willin’ to go pillagin’ fer some booty.

Would You Make a Good Pirate?

Remberance Poem by Jeri Anderson

I still remember that morning
Like it was just yesterday
Someone tried to come in
And take our freedom away

So many lives were lost
Others were never found
When two of our beautiful giants
Came crashing to the ground

I held my children close
As I watched the news that came
Our World as we knew it
Would never be the same

Families were torn apart
As a Nation pulled together
Embedded in our memories
We will remember that day forever

In memory of all of the heroes,
The victims and their families
Those here and those we lost
September 11, 2001

Copyright Jeri Anderson – September 11, 2008

National Milk Chocolate Day

According to the National Confections Association (NCA) July 28th is National Milk Chocolate Day!
What a great food to celebrate!

# Milk chocolate is chocolate with milk powder or condensed milk added. The U.S. Government requires a 10% concentration of chocolate liquor. EU regulations specify a minimum of 25% cocoa solids. In the 1870s, Swiss confectioner Daniel Peter invented the process of solidifying milk chocolate using condensed milk, which was invented by Henri Nestlé in the 1800’s.

* Hershey process milk chocolate, invented by Milton S. Hershey, founder of The Hershey Company , is able to be produced more economically, by being less sensitive to freshness of the milk. Although the process is still a trade secret, experts speculate that the milk is partially lipolyzed, producing butyric acid, which stabilizes the milk from further fermentation. This compound gives the product a particular sour, “tangy” taste, to which the American public has become accustomed, to the point that other manufacturers now simply add butyric acid to their milk chocolates.

Happy 4th of July

In the United States, Independence Day (commonly known as “the Fourth of July”, or “July Fourth”) is a federal holiday celebrating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from Great Britain.

Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, picnics, baseball games, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Fireworks have been associated with the Fourth of July since 1777.

To My Friends in Canada

Happy Father’s Day

To all the Dad’s and Father’s across the world I wish you all a very Happy Father’s Day!