Celebrate the Day ~ by Grace Augustine

Yesterday I celebrated another orbit around the sun. It was a quiet day filled with many good wishes. Thanking all of you who sent them. My son asked what I wanted for my birthday and purchased a FitBit. He made lasagna and picked up a slice of authentic tiramisu from a local Italian restaurant. With a blanket and Bou on my lap, it was an afternoon of bliss as I watched a bit of television and took a nap. The perfect way to spend the day. A very happy girl :)

Today, we celebrate so many more things. Here are just a few:

The anniversary of George Washington's birthday. Former firstpresident, George Washington, was born on February 22, 1732, making him 289 years old today. One of his more famous quotes is "It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one."

National Margarita Day: The conception of this day has been long hidden in history. No one truly knows its origin. A common story regarding this is that it was invented in 1938 by restaurant owner Carlos Herrera. Another thought is that Don Carlos Orozco, a bartender at a Mexican establishment, whipped up a drink with tequila, orange liqueur and lime juice, and served it to a German Ambassador's daughter, whose name happened to be Margarita. The drink evolved over time and now is made with tequila, triple sec, and lime juice.

Be Humble Day: Today is all about not bragging about yourself and your accomplishments, but to do so about others--your kids, friends, co-workers.

International World Thinking Day: This day was created in 1926at the 4th annual Girl Guide/Girl Scout International Conference. It is still celebrated around the world by Girl Scouts and other girl groups. Originally, it was a time to show thanksgiving and appreciation to other Girl Scouts and Girl Guides. It has evolved into a day for girls everywhere to learn about important education and training in health issues that affect girls and women.

Until next time, celebrate every hour of every day in your life because each moment is special.

photos courtesy of deposit photos.

 

Pick a holiday and celebrate ~ by Grace Augustine

 It seems like at any given moment we can choose to celebrate anything on any day. However, there are specific days for all these "just about anythings."  Today, here is your list to choose from:

ANSWER YOUR CAT'S QUESTION/S DAY:  Even though our precious kittehs try their hardest to communicate with us, sometimes we don't pick up on their lingo. We need to learn Cat-ese. The inflection of their meows and their body language send different signs to owners. Anything from feed-me-stupid-human-my-bowl-is-only-half-full, to why-are-you-sad-I-will-make-it-all-better, to staring at you in the bathroom. On a regular basis, make sure you look into your cat's eyes and very slowly blink at them. This is a sign of affection. The ultimate sign of affection is if they sigh when they are on your lap. It means they totally trust you and love you at all costs.

CELEBRATION OF LIFE DAY: This day was originally created to celebrate children and grandchildren. Today the day has grown into a celebration of all people. It's also a great time for us to look at our own lives and to celebrate our victories and accomplishments as well as form a plan for where we want the future to take us.

COME IN FROM THE COLD DAY:  Self-explanatory.

Deposit photos

DANCE OF THE SEVEN VEILS DAY: Salome's dance, performed for Herod Antipas and his guests. Oscar Wilde's production of Salome showed the dancer seductively performing a striptease-like act removing her seven veils.  You can read more of this celebration HERE

NATIONAL HOT SAUCE DAY: Whether it be green, red, or any color between, hot sauce has been spicing up food palates since 1807 when one form was bottled in Massachusetts. Habanero, cayenne, jalepeno, chipolte, Scotch bonnet, and so many more go into the making of this palate flaming product.

Deposit photos

NATIONAL POLKA DOT DAY: Dig out those dresses and scarves with the beloved polka dots. Today is the day to wear them proudly! We also celebrate Minnie Mouse, who, let's face it, is the Queen of Polka Dots. At the beginning of the 19th century, polka dots were noticeable in paintings by Monet (Luncheon on the Grass) and Bazille (Family Reunion). 

In the 1920's and 1930's the Polka Dot trend became quite a fashion statement. Christian Dior began putting out garments with polka dots after World War II.

That's it for this installment of celebrate. I hope you will join me next month for more in this series. If you'd like to read more of my posts, please click HERE to be directed to my member's page.

Celebrating Christmas South of the Equator ~ by Author Scarlet Braden

I won’t lie. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. Every single surface, in every single room, including bathrooms, was decorated. The last seven years I was in the US, I had a 12-foot-tall Christmas tree in the living room, and 7-foot trees in the kitchen, master bedroom, and office. 

deposit photos

When he was in school, my son and I made literally 1,000 cookies every year to share with teachers, neighbors, and friends. Every morsel of food for the week of Christmas was home made from scratch with love.

And then I decided to move to South America. No. I already lived in THE south- where we prayed for a gentle snow shower on Christmas…but not enough to stop family from visiting or getting home safe. I think that only happened twice in my 48 years there. But you know it was generally cold, usually cloudy, and possibly wet. I mean South America…below the Equator.

I sold everything I owned in 2014 including 35 Rubbermaid totes

of Christmas decorations, and I moved to Cuenca Ecuador in late September. I wasn’t really thinking too much about the holidays, other than I thought it would be a pleasant change to not have to spend weeks decorating and cooking to prepare what was beginning to feel like drive-by visits from family. What I wasn’t expecting was how different it would be, how different it would feel, how long it would take me to get used to the new normal, or how much I would come to love it.

The first year, Christmas came and I just couldn’t believe it. About

a week after I arrived (October) the stores filled with Christmas decorations. And strangeness. They had decorative cardboard boxes with the carrying handle on top. I couldn’t figure those out at all. It turns out, a family buys a box (they come in different sizes) and fills them with groceries to give  as gifts for other families. If it’s a poor family, it might be filled with basic staples. If it’s a well to do family, they might fill it with chocolates and junk food. But that wasn’t the strangest part, or how it got to be Christmas day and I just wasn’t even expecting it. 

December is the height of summer here in Ecuador. And while it doesn’t get hot enough to need air conditioning at 8400 ft. altitude, it doesn’t feel like Christmas. It actually took about 3 years for me start getting in the Christmas spirit as it warms up instead of cooling down.

My next shock was…the mall is open on Christmas day. Most stores here are family owned, and they aren’t open. Banks are closed. But grocery stores and the mall are open regular hours. Don’t expect to buy anything on New Year’s Day, though. You might be lucky to find a single business door open on New Year’s Day.

And then there is the Pase del Nino. The Parade of the Child. It’s

held on Christmas Eve. Starting about 9 am, it runs all day, ending between 4 and 5 pm. Yes, an 8-hour parade. And never in my life have I seen so much beauty, cuteness, and fun.

The premise of the parade is to celebrate the Child. The Child, being Jesus, of course, in this Latin, heavily Catholic country. And the best way to celebrate the Child is with indigenous costumes and dancing. 

And everything child and baby. Cars and trucks are heavily

decorated as floats.

Horses carry riders adorned in regal fabrics, sequins and beads. 

And absolutely anything younger than adult, is dressed and decorated in embroidered, bejeweled velvet and lace, or covered in hanging gifts for the Messiah.

 

If one doesn’t have a baby, child, stroller, baby pig, baby goat, baby alpaca to herd through the downtown parade, one carries a beautiful figure of the Christ child. 

I’m now going through my fifth Christmas season, just below the equator, and it finally feels natural to start getting into the Christmas spirit as temperatures start warming up. I hope you enjoy my very amateur attempts at trying to capture the emotion of the season on a cell phone camera!

Merry Christmas y’all from two degrees south of zero latitude.

Scarlet Braden

I’m Scarlett Braden, Author and you can find me at the links below.

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