Sunday, March 23, 2008

Happy Easter!

Eggs have been part of the Easter tradition for thousands of years, and the Christian tradition may have its roots in an earlier Judaic one, where eggs as a symbol of new life were a symbolic part of the Passover Seder. Numerous ancient cultures adopted the egg as part of the Easter holiday tradition. Greeks exchange red ones that symbolize the blood of Christ; Germans and Austrians green ones. Armenians decorated theirs with holy pictures, and Slavic people adorn theirs with silver and gold. The Romanovs took this a step further, adding precious metals, enamels, precious and semi-precious gems, and clocks and mechanical toys.

As spring is a time of rebirth; it’s not surprising that animals, especially baby ones, are an easily recognized symbol of the holiday. Lambs, chicks, ducklings, and especially bunnies are the Easter ambassadors of the animal world. It is thought that the pagans worshipped the Goddess Eastre, who was symbolized by a rabbit and, like so many Christian traditions, was co-opted from earlier cultures. The Germans brought the tradition of the Easter Bunny to the new world, exchanging the bonnet in which the bunny brought colored eggs for the basket.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Gotta watch little old ladies.



A dentist noticed that his next patient, a little old lady, was
nervous so he decided to tell her a little joke as he put on his gloves.

"you know how they make these gloves?" he asked.

"No, I don't," she replied.

"Well," he spoofed, "there's a building in Canada with a big tank of latex and workers of all hand sizes walk up to the tank, dip in their hands, let them dry, then peel off the gloves and throw them into boxes of the right size."

She didn't crack a smile.

"Oh, well. I tried," he thought.

But five minutes later, during a delicate portion of the procedure, she burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"I was just envisioning how condoms are made!"

Gotta watch those little old ladies! Their minds are always working!

Saturday, March 15, 2008

A wee bit Irish!



Don't we all feel a bit Irish on St. Patty's day? I found the shamrock plates above at Homegoods. I could spend a fortune there. I am off to the grocery to buy my corned beef. We have a parade here and the canal is turned green! It's a lot of fun. Also, there are lots of pubs with Irish fare and green beer!

Here are some good St Patty's Day recipes.

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields and,
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Did you know?
Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland wasn't actually Irish, he was born around 373 A.D. in either Scotland, near the town of Dumbarton, or in Roman Britain.

The Leprechaun is an Irish fairy. Full grown leprechauns are reported to be about 2 feet tall. They will frequently be clothed in the garb of a shoemaker, with a cocked hat and a leather apron. Frequently scowling, leprechauns are said to resemble small, grumpy old men.

According to legend, leprechauns are unfriendly, live alone. They spend a great deal of their time making shoes. Most importantly, each and every leprechaun possesses a hidden pot of gold.

Treasure hunters should listen for the sound of a shoemaker's hammer, when looking for leprechauns. If caught, the leprechaun must reveal the whereabouts of his pot of gold. But be careful! Keep your eyes on the tricky leprechaun every second. He will try to trick you into looking away, and if you do...PooF! He vanishes and all hopes of finding the treasure are lost.

Every year we go to our Irish fest. We love the band, Brigid' Cross, a folk band from NE Ohio. They play a mix of Irish tunes and mixes of other music. They are so fun.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Change your time?

Did you change your clocks? You don't realize how many clocks you have until you have to reset them all. I almost forgot to go to lunch since the time was different. LOL What do you think about changing the time? I think it's silly.







Sunday, March 9, 2008

Hippity Hoppity.....Easter's on it's way!



I found these adorable plates at TJ Maxx. If you look closely, you can see faint images of bunnies or baby chicks. This is about it for Easter decor at my house. Do you decorate for Easter?

Easter is early this year. Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the
1st full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20). This dating

of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to
identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.
Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22)
but that is pretty rare.


Here's the interesting info. This year is the earliest Easter any of
us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of
our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!).
And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! Here are
the facts:

1) The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year
2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so

if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for
that!).

2) The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the
year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was
1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than
this year!

Thursday, March 6, 2008

A new blog to visit!

I'd love to introduce you to a new blog that just started today! Heather is one of my RMS (Rate my Space- HGTV) friends. She and I both live in the Midwest and share a love of beagles and decorating. I think her blog will be really fun.

Please welcome her at Rue's Peanut Butter and Jelly life.

Hugs,
Nan

Rub a dub dub.....out with the tub!


Several posts ago, I mentioned that we were thinking of remodeling our bathroom. Well, we are on our way! The jacuzzi tub is going away and we are doing a larger shower. Everything is moving around. We can't replace everything. I am thinking that I'll paint the cabinets and change the hardware. We'll add new counters, tile, lighting and shower. My husband and friends will do all the work.

We don't live in a big house. Hopefully, the new layout will function better for us.

Here are some BEFORE pics. Bye bye big tub. We don't use it very often and it takes up so much space. Bye bye Hollywood lights! Bye bye carpet in the bathroom! What were they thinking? (No, we didn't build this house.)

We thought this tub was a lighter weight material. Big surprise...............It is some kind of cultured marble and weighs 400 lbs! It took 4 guys to get it out today!

Pardon the mess!
Have any of you remodeled a bath recently? Any great ideas you'd like to share? Any tips on painting the cabinets? The cabinets will be in a single run on the wall where the tub is now. I don't know what kind of mirrors to do. Any suggestions welcome.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Bob's boots!


Bob's Boots
Bob always wanted a pair of authentic cowboy boots. He's an elderly man and figures he's not getting any younger. So seeing some on sale one day, he buys them, wears them home, walking proudly. He walks into the house and says to his wife: "Notice anything different about me?' Margaret looks him over, "Nope" she says.
Frustrated Bob storms off into the bathroom,undresses,and walks back into the room completely naked except for the boots. Again, he asks, a little louder this time, "Notice anything different NOW?"
Margaret looks up and says, "Bob, what's different? It's hanging down today, it was hanging down yesterday,and it'll be hanging down again tomorrow." Furious, Bob yells, "AND DO YOU KNOW WHY IT'S HANGING DOWN, MARGARET?'"
'Nope', she replies.
Bob Yells 'CAUSE IT'S LOOKIN' AT MY NEW BOOTS" To which Margaret replies... "Shoulda bought a hat, Bob, Shoulda bought a hat."