Thursday, February 28, 2013

Sing Your Hearts Out




Alas for those who never sing, but die with their music still in them. -Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The Origin of Some Sayings


 I received this from a friend and thought I'd share. Not quite sure of the accuracy but certainly food for thought. (Now where did that saying come from?)

 
Where did "Piss Poor" come from? Interesting history.
They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot.
And then once it was full it was taken and sold to the tannery...
if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor".
But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot...

They "didn't have a pot to piss in" and were the lowest of the low.
The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature
Isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be.
 

Here are some facts about the 1500's

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May,
And they still smelled pretty good by June.. However, since they were starting to smell,
brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor.
Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water.
The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water,
 
Then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children.
Last of all the babies.

By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. 
Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water!"

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath.
It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals
(mice, bugs) lived in the roof.
When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof.
Hence the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs."
There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.
 
This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings
Could mess up your nice clean bed.
Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection.
That's how canopy beds came into existence.
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.
Hence the saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery
In the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing..

As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door,
It would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way.
Hence: a thresh hold.

 
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire.

Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables
And did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers
In the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day.

Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while.

Hence the rhyme:

"
Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old."
Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special.

When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off.

It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "bring home the bacon."

They would cut off a little to share with guests

And would all sit around and chew the fat.

Those with money had plates made of pewter.

Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death.

This happened most often with tomatoes,
so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status..

Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle,

and guests got the top, or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky.
The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days.
Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial.
They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around
and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up.

Hence the custom; 
"holding a wake."

In England the local folks started running out of places to bury people.

So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave.

When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive.
So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.

Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be,
"saved by the bell" or was "considered a dead ringer."

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Wisdom




"To finish the moment,

 to find the journey’s end in

 every step of the road,

 to live the greatest number of good hours,

 is wisdom." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Monday, February 25, 2013

Friday, February 22, 2013

What Rules Me



"I am ruled by another form of madness.

 I am ruled by Passion, of the heart and soul, 

daring me to Dream Fierce and Love Blindly."-Sammy Brown

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Finding The Genuine in Yourself


"If you cannot hear
the sound of the genuine in you,
YOU WILL all of your life SPEND YOUR DAYS ON THE ENDS OF
strings that somebody else pulls." -Howard Thurman

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Because

Photo via P. Jones

"All, everything that I understand, 
I understand only because I love." -Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

So Tell Us Your Story




“Don't forget—no one else sees the world the way you do, so no one else can tell the stories that you have to tell.”
— Charles de Lint


 

Monday, February 18, 2013

Better Than Your Dreams



"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."-Dr. Seuss

Sunday, February 17, 2013

The Key





“Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice.”— Steve Jobs

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Even More




"We loved with a love that was more than love." -- Edgar Allan Poe

Friday, February 15, 2013

It Takes Time

 image via pinterest


"Nobody sees a flower really; it is so small.


We haven't time, and to see takes time--


like to have a friend takes time."


--Georgia O'Keefe

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Happy Valentine's Day




"The most powerful magic is Love!" -Sam-e Brown

Hope your day if filled with sweetness and joy and may love surround you and fill your heart with happiness especially on this Valentine's Day!



Wednesday, February 13, 2013

More Than A Noun



“Love is more than a noun—
it is a verb;
it is more than a feeling—
it is
caring,
sharing,
helping,
sacrificing.”

-William Arthur Ward

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Spread Some Sunshine



35 Acts of Kindness:

One small, thoughtful gesture can make someone else's day...
1. Say "Good morning" to a person standing next to you in the elevator.
2. Pay the toll for the driver behind you.
3. Take a minute to direct someone who is lost, even though you're rushing.
4. Write a letter to a child who could use some extra attention. Kids love getting mail.
5. Offer to pick up groceries for an elderly neighbor, especially in extreme weather.
6. Give a homeless person your doggie bag.
7. Say "I love you" to someone you love.
8. Put a coin in an expired meter.
9. Help a mother carry her baby stroller up the subway stairs, or hold a door open for her.
10. Each time you get a new item of clothing, give away something old.
11. Take someone's shift as the car-pool parent.
12. Bring your assistant coffee.
13. Out of the blue, send flowers to a friend.
14. Say "please" and "thank you"—and really mean it.
15. When you're on a crowded train or bus, offer your seat to an elderly, disabled or pregnant person.
16. Don't interrupt when someone is explaining herself.
17. Let a fellow driver merge into your lane.
18. Offer to baby-sit for a single mom.
19. Put your shopping cart back in its place.
20. Call or write to a teacher who changed your life.
21. Bring a box of doughnuts to share at the office.
22. Forgive someone a debt–and never bring it up again.
23. Listen with all your senses.
24. Write a note to the boss of someone who helps you, and explain how great a job that person is doing.
25. Simply say "I'm sorry" when you're wrong.
26. Throw away your trash—and someone else's—after a movie, picnic or visit to a park.
27. Encourage someone who seems despondent.
28. Volunteer to take care of a friend's dog while he is vacationing.
29. Help a friend pack for a move.
30. Ask someone "How are you really doing?"—and then really listen to her response.
31. Offer change when the person in front of you at the register comes up short.
32. Before a friend moves away, give her your favorite recipe or quote and a photo of the two of you together.
33. Leave a generous tip for a pleasant waiter.
34. At work, offer to transfer a caller who needs help from another department.
35. Pass along a great book you've just finished reading.

-Taken from the "Oprah Magazine Dec. 2000

Monday, February 11, 2013

These Clouds

photo: M. Cabot


“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.”

-Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds

Sunday, February 10, 2013

What is Life?



"What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly at night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.
It is the little shadow which runs across the grass
and loses itself in the Sunset."
-dying words of Crowfoot
a leader of the Blackfoot Nation

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Happy 29th Birthday ARIA

Wishing you a very special 29th year.  May life continue to bless you with its many gifts.



“So every day
 I was surrounded by the beautiful
crying forth of the ideas of God,
one of which was YOU.”
 

 -Mary Oliver






1983 Dad and I were so happy with the anticipation of your arrival in the new year. 

  You came into our lives on February 9, 1984.  That day our lives changed forever in ways more beautiful and fulfilling than we could ever have  imagined.





What a gift if is to be your parents.
The years have flown by in what seems to be a blink of an eye.


Friday, February 8, 2013

Look At You!



"Your journey has molded you for the greater good. It was exactly what it needed to be. Don't think you've lost time.  It took each and every situation you have encountered to bring you to the now. And now is RIGHT ON TIME." 


Thursday, February 7, 2013

Slowbowl Saturday Feb. 2, 2013 Part 2

The partying continues for our Slowbowl weekend. More food, more wine and lots of laughter with all the Slowtravellers. Here's a little slideshow, part two of our adventures:
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Another free picture slideshow by Smilebox

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Saturday Morning in Los Alamos California

We got up at a reasonable hour after a full night of partying Friday night.  The main dining area was very quiet with only a few early risers.



Palma was up waiting for Federico and Casey ( the two teens) to ready themselves for their trek up to Hearst's Castle.  




Nancy and her husband Bill  were up working on their computers.  



Little "Indie" the house mascot was snuggled in trying to catch a few more winks.


Coffee and orange juice was set up for anyone that wanted a morning pick me up.

 Soon Casey joined us

"Good Morning Brad!"

It was now breakfast time for Mike and me and we headed for
"Charlies" at the end of the Bell street.*  This is a down home family owned place. Very casual where the locals gather for their morning eggs and coffee.  Mike was hoping for some menudo as they have alot of mexican dishes on their menu.  I wanted a simple breakfast burrito and some coffee.  We like it here.


This is Charlie's mom. She oversees the kitchen.  I think she said she was 86 years old.  She's wonderful and there's a news clipping of the beauty pageant she won in 1947 on the wall along with other western memorabilia and momentos.  She was the first beauty queen of Santa Maria.  A truly warm and friendly woman and still quite beautiful.  We enjoyed talking with her again this year.

After breakfast we went for a nice hike at nearby Los Alamos park.



Time to head back and join up with the others as we will start our first wine tour at 12:30.  A very nice start to this Saturday morning.  Off to taste wine...


*Charlies cafe 185 Bell Street Los Alamos, Ca. 
Open 7 days a week

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

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