FEATURED PICTURE—Some lovely ladies in Sanford

taken at the Home Tour early December, 2015

The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.   Albus Dumbledore

CHICHULY COLLECTION

Presented by Moren Art’s Center St. Petersburg, Fl.

www.moreanartscenter.org

Permanent collection of artist Dale Chihuly’s unique art work and installations.

Chihuly Collection Store–a broad selection of art by Dale Chihuly as well as a variety of custom merchandise and handcrafted items by local and regional artists.

Glass Studio & Hot Shop:  working artists creating glass pieces before your eyes.  Offers an opportunity to make your own blown glass piece with instructions.   There is a Friday night feature for a fun date night or ladies evening out.

Morean Arts Center Galleries:  Home to numerous artist studios and galleries, boutiques, restaurants and music venues.

Morean Center for Clay:  Warehouse district, largest working pottery in the Southeast.  Artist working, exhibitions by Artists in residence, take a class or purchase pottery and ceramics in a fine railroad architecture building.

Remember, a Jedi’s strength flows from the Force. But beware. Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.  Yoda

“The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem.” – Captain Jack Sparrow (main protagonist in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series)

ALL PICTURES TODAY FROM SANFORD

Today I thought we’d look at how you can make TV into an adventure.  I’m not saying to set in front of it and stare until you are a hundred pounds overweight and creak when you walk–but on special occasions it could/can (?) be fun.

You are not your job. You are not how much money you have in the bank. You are not the car you drive. You are not the contents of your wallet.” – Tyler Durden (violently anti-consumerist character from the movie Fight Club, played by Brad Pitt)

THE RETURN:

We did this for the second half of the season for Outlander:  We started watching the first season first episode and went all the way through till we could see the new one at 9 pm.  Friends stopped by, some stayed the day others watched an episode or two.  I had food including Cottage Pie and scones to fit the Scottish theme ad made a few decorations to liven the place up–it was a fun day and gave us a good start-off to the new season.

You could do this with other series—Say the Walking Dead where you would serve candy  (little ones and they do make them) brains….use a rag décor for the table decorations (I had napkins that said Scotch for Outlander) in match with the evil undead’s dress of the day.  Drinks could include Bloody Mary’s .  There are all manner of warning posters about Zombies out there and dolls that include animals and humans.  You can also more cheaply print items from online sources.

Game of Thrones with a medieval flare and so on—use your imagination as to what to use and how much you have and/or want to spend.  The possibilities are endless……

“You’re never too old to be young.” – Snow White (German fairy tale popularised worldwide by Walt Disney’s 1937 film)

DO SOMETHING WITH THE KIDS THAT INCORPORATES A TV EVENT.

For instance:  Disney Jr. has a series called Goldie and Bear, an animated series that follows Goldilocks and her new best friend bear. They learn more about favorite fairy tales as the encounter Humpty Dumpty, Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs on their adventures.   http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/currency/upfronts-2015-disney-plans-new-shows-children-s-channels/138116  So with this you could give younger children a nice little party (especially nice on a rainy day or in the cold of winter when getting out is more of a chore than a pleasure).  Invite friends or relatives with comparably aged children and give everybody  break from winter boredom.  You can add colorful items like plates and cups–maybe a special made up cake with a featured fairy tale character or two…there’s no end to the possibilities.

For older kids–teens that know everything a snow day might be less boring watching an episode of so of :MythBusters

Hosted by special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, “MythBusters” uses the scientific method to debunk or prove urban legends. Some of the most memorable “MythBusters” episodes include finding out which method is best for dispatching zombies, where to hide in the event of an earthquake, and if motorcycling across water is possible.  http://www.wgu.edu/blogpost/4-educational-tv-shows-elementary-school-students

Again add some food (or perhaps popcorn?) and watch with them.   Have the lap top primed and encourage them to follow-up on those interesting points that they might think are unclear or to delve deeper into the issue.    You might have a video available to explore the subject further or some print outs of other legends they might want to explore—it could amount to an entire day of learning for the joy of it—something modern education seldom offers.  Oh  and be there for sounding of things learned and assistance in finding a direction to look further.

Something Special—

Yesterday I listed some of the programs on New Years Eve–if you don’t have or don’t want to have etc plans for New Years, you and your significant other and/or friend(s) can enjoy the evening—maybe start it off with a movie to put you in the mood (or watch one of the games I also listed yesterday)

The lives of several couples and singles in New York intertwine over the course of New Year’s Eve.   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1598822/

Or put on your favorite music channel from songs of the season to Golden Oldies and just enjoy the company then turn on one of the New Years events—like the ball dropping in Time Square.

You can spice this up with drinks and appetizers—or pizza and beer —where ever your spirit takes you.

Pick up some party favors

Have a dress code:

Or come WHAT YOU ARE

There’s no end to the possibilities

And you can include the older children

“Sooner or later you’re gonna realise, just like I did… There’s a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.” – Morpheus (character from The Matrix franchise, portrayed by Laurence Fishburne)

“The more outre’ and grotesque an incident is the more carefully it deserves to be examined, and the very point which appears to complicate a case is, when duly considered and scientifically handled, the one which is most likely to elucidate it.’

Sherlock Holmes

-The Hound of the Baskervilles

Chapter 15 – “A Retrospection”

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle-1901

[The definition of outre’ is: bizarre; conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual.]   http://sherlockholmesquotes.com/C.-Auguste-Dupin-and-Sherlock-Holmes.html

Featured picture of the day:  NOEL in Winter Park–but a lovely lady.

Live long and prosper. (Spock, Star Trek)

GLASS Banana Bowl Vintage ~LENOX Clear Flowers & Stars Hand Crafted DragonLaire $11.50 USD

PRINCESS DIANA/REMEMBERING MOTHER TERESA 9/7/97 KEY WEST CITIZEN; GOODBYE TO

Like Opera:   Richard Tucker Opera Gala: From Bocelli to Barton Andrea Bocelli joins Renée Fleming, Jamie Barton and other opera singers for a night of music.  Show: Live from Lincoln Center   Air date: February 5, 2016    NO NOT my cuppa either, but thought I’d mention it.

The New Year’s Celebration 2016:  January 1, 2016  Julie Andrews hosts the annual program with the Vienna Philharmonic, this year conducted by Mariss Jansons, and with the Vienna Boys’ Choir and Vienna State Ballet solists.  Presented by THIRTEEN’s Great Performances Friday, January 1 at 2:30 p.m. ET on PBS  with an encore performance that evening at 7:30 p.m.

 Book ’em, Danno. (Steve McGarrett, Hawaii Five-O)

The History Channel has gone Reality big time so I have lost my earlier enthusiasm for them but….They do have

The Men Who Built America:

John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford and J.P. Morgan rose from obscurity and in the process built modern America.  Using state of the art computer generated imagery that incorporates 12 million historical negatives, many made available for the first time by the Library of Congress, this series will bring back to life the world they knew and the one they created. The event series will show how these men took a failed experiment in democracy and created the greatest superpower the world has ever seen. We see how their historic achievements came to create the America of today.  http://www.history.com/shows/men-who-built-america/about

The World Wars:

An assassination in Sarajevo sparks a global war. For the next 30 years, deadly fighting rages across Europe, Africa, China and the Pacific.  Hitler. Churchill. De Gaulle. MacArthur. Patton. Stalin. Mussolini. We know them as legends. But they first learn what it will take to rise to greatness as young soldiers, fighting for their lives on the frontlines.  This is the story of a generation of men who come of age in the trenches of World War I, only to become the leaders of World War II. The lessons they learn on the frontlines shape them as they rise to power—and haunt them as the deadly fighting breaks out again. Some become heroes, forged in courage under fire. Others emerge as the most infamous villains the world has ever seen.   Theirs is one story—the story of a 30-year global struggle. A fight that will either save the world—or destroy it.      http://www.history.com/shows/the-world-wars/about

Vikings:

A tale of the lives and epic adventures of these warrior and portrays life in the Dark Ages, a world ruled by raiders and explorer as seen through the eyes of Viking society.  http://www.history.com/shows/vikings/about

There’s also shows on Ancient Mysteries

Bible Secrets

Civil War (in color no less)

Houdini

Even the Donald

Danger, Will Robinson! (Robot, Lost in Space)

So not crazy about the offerings so far–too high brow or educational (well except the Donald):

The CMT (Country Music channel) has

1 pm today:  Dallas Cowboy Cheer Leaders Making the Team….hurry pre-program it.

All kidding aside this one looks much more interesting:

Johnny Cash: American Rebel

While this one comes under You can’t make these things up—yet somebody always does:

Still The King

features Billy Ray Cyrus as Vernon Brownmule, aka “Burnin’ Vernon,” a scandal-ridden, washed-up, one-hit-wonder who was kicked out of country music, only to emerge 20 years later as the second best Elvis impersonator around. After crashing into an old country church sign during a drunken bender, he is arrested and sentenced to return and serve as the church’s handyman as part of his parole. Along the way, he pretends to be the congregation’s new minister and reconnects with a former one-night-stand (Joey Lauren Adams), when he learns he has a 15-year-old daughter (Madison Iseman) he’s never met. http://www.cmt.com/shows/still-the-king/

And a documentary on a place I visited long ago and far away:

Urban Cowboy: The Rise and Fall of Gilley’s

De plane! De plane! (Tattoo, Fantasy Island)

AND where are you gonna be Thurs. Night?  I’ve heard it all—amateur night I don’t go out etc….in other words you weren’t invited but you can see those that do on the boob tube:

Dick Clark’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2016  (ABC) — One Direction, Carrie Underwood, Walk The Moon, 5 Seconds Of Summer, Ellie Goulding, Tove Lo, Fall Out Boy, Elle King, Andy Grammer, Rachel Platten, Wiz Khalifa, Charlie Puth, Demi Lovato, Luke Bryan    http://popcrush.com/new-years-eve-2016-concerts-shows-tv-specials-guide-watch/?trackback=tsmcli

Dick Clark is gone but the show carries on!

Pre-party

ROCKWELL’S “Waiting on the Shore” by Knowles plate

DragonLaire $12.99 USD

HOLLY HOBBIE CUP “To the house of a Friend” 1973

DragonLaire  $4.99 USD

SPOON RINGS (3) ASSORTED SIZE AND DESIGN

SPOON RINGS (3) ASSORTED SIZE AND DESIGN (262202875430)  $16.80

ORNAMENTAL CHRISTMAS TREE BULBS ONE METAL, ONE FABRIC ORN… (262202844875) $6.99

ETCHING OF SHIP BY ANTINI–ONCE PIECE WITH FRAME REPRODUCED (262202762029) $7.90

SILVER SPOON WITH MEXICO ON HANDLE AND TWO MEN IN SOMBER… (262198815729) $5.99

Their movie at 2 pm is Accidental Obsession: A layer unwittingly becomes friends with an unstable woman who has a criminal history.

 Reality TV on Hallmark (I will not start raving on that, I promise) is:   “Home & Family” — an original, two-hour lifestyle show that has appeared on Hallmark Channel on weekday mornings since October 2013,  hosted by Cristina Ferrare and Mark Steines .

When Calls the Heart

Last Man Standing

Starring Tim Allen & Nancy Travis

Good Witch

Starring Catherine Bell

Lidded Dishes Vintage THAMES Hand Painted Made in Japan Two (2) Matchi… DragonLaire $90.90 USD

Mug of GENERAL Douglas MACARTHUR Antique Royal Winton Grimwaedes Toby… DragonLaire $119.50 USD

MEITO China 8-Piece Set “ANNETTE” Made in JapanVintage Inclu…

DragonLaire $57.40 USD

I’m sorry this is late but Charlotte (that’s her above named after a pair of writing sisters….Her sister declined to have her picture taken–)says I must do it…so here goes….Hope you had a happy holiday and if you’re so inclined a Merry Christmas….and that you are going to enjoy the rest of the weekend by doing something besides decorating, cooking or shopping….whatever you choose enjoy and I’ll be back with another insane entry on Monday.

Besides cleaning, guess what else I did???Hint they’re in the picture.  I even scrubbed spots out of the carpet,

He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows if you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!   Santa Claus is Coming To Town

TELEPHOTO RAPTOR LENS IN A CANNON CASE WOLLENSAK 1.5″ (262206096514) $63.99

Featured Picture

He was passing out pop corn samples at the Winter Park Farmer’s Market this weekend.  Thanks and you do look cute so there.

Tell me Sir, what am I going to do,
Somehow I’ve got to buy her these Christmas shoes” Christmas Shoes

VASE WITH BASIN-TYPE BASE FROM HOBBY LOBBY TALL (262206127718) Shipping cost:

Another

ANOTHER PUBLIX IDEA

FESTIVE FLOWERS —make your own arrangements with a few

“showcase” flowers like roses or sweet-smelling lilies then fill in with mini carnations and porn daisies.

Or clip red or ivory poinsettia blooms and put in single bud vases throughout the house.

Oh and just a reminder, you can always chose a custom arrangement made in-house at Publix.

http://patch.com/florida/brandon/winn-dixie-publix-christmas-2015-store-hours-0

Then, I saw Mommy tickle Santa Claus
Underneath his beard so snowy white.
Oh, what a laugh it would have been,
If Daddy had only seen
Mommy kissing Santa Claus last night!”   I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

HARD ROCK STOCKHOLM CAFE BUTTON (262198807983) $7.90

ANOTHER ADVENTURE POSSIBILITY

LION COUNTY SAFARI   www.lioncountrysafari.com

300 ACRES

West Palm Beach

See Free roaming animals in large herds

Visit one of the largest herds of Southern White Rhinos in the country

See the largest herd of zebra outside of Africa..

Giraffe feeding lorry feeding aviary, petting zoo, budgie exhibit and waterslides,

Only Drive-through safari in Florida.

In addition to Lion Safari also Safari World:  Ride Ferris Wheel, carousel, paddle boats, flying elephant ride and more

Mr. Grinch!
You’re a three-decker sauerkraut
and toadstool sandwich,
With arsenic sauce!”  Your a Mean One Mr. Grinch

KNIT ORNAMENTS MANGER AND STOCKING (262198804824) $6.20

Latest on Roger and  end of filming:

http://www.crossmap.com/news/outlander-season-2-release-date-news-and-spoilers-23536

Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy,
do you hear what I hear
Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy,
do you hear what I hear
A song, a song, high above the trees
With a voice as big as the sea
With a voice as big as the sea  Do You Her What I Hear

DI DISNEY/MCDONALD’S GLASS–100 YEARS OF MAGIC (262198804036) $7.00

HONORABLE MENTION

my favorite  place to buy jewelry—she designs it herself and its reasonable..  New Smyrna Beach.  In addition to accessories made for those who wish to be noticed, there’s her original (and also affordable) fashions.  You Can’t Miss with Sue….love her stuff.

https://www.facebook.com/Sue-Who-165267616831507/

Oh ho
the mistletoe
hung where you can see;
Somebody waits for you;
Kiss her once for me  A Holly Jolly Christmas

CUP–D. MORGAN BY BURTON AND BURTON BEACH SCENE (262198801583) $20.00

My mind is still in la la land….so that’s see what weird things I can come up with today.

What a bright time, it’s the right time
To rock the night away      Jingle Bell Rock

You’ve heard of the Vikings–yeah the guys depicted as wearing horned helmets (which they didn’t ) and riding on dragon headed boats (which at last check was still true) on their way to raping and plundering.

One of the countries was England which was already ruled by another invader (the Anglo-Saxons, who were  mean and raided but I’m not sure about their helmets.)

Ok where was I–Oh yeah the invasion of England it must be noted that the Vikings were in the majority pagan (If I had a god like Thor–as in Chris Hemsworth I’d not want to give him up either) while the Anglo Saxon were Christian (though they weren’t when they invaded) and the rest of the Celts that made up the English were as well.  Vikings were really busy with raids in the late 700 AD but what I found interesting is that they added insult to injury by forcing the conquered to continue paying them tribute—sort of an early IRS.

There must have been some magic in that old silk hat they found,

For when they placed it on his head, he began to dance around! Frost The  Snowman

‘

And while I’m on the subject I might mention Black dogs…now while we Americans have a thing about Black Cats the British have one about black dogs…these issues go back to the afore mentioned Anglo-Saxons.  Seems  these ghastly hellhounds were described as accompanying ghost riders as part of the Wild Hunt as far back as the first 12th century.

Since then the Hell Hound (called Black Shuck in East Anglia, Moddey Dhoo on the Isle of Man) Barghest in Yorkshire, and Padfoot in Staffordsire.) or the Hateful Thing has inspired all manor of tales from Sherlock’s Hound of the Bakervilles to Potter’s Sirius Black and his Animagus.  Maybe even King’s Cujo.

Not only is the dog a still feared folk creature, but seeing him is suppose to be an omen of death or disaster.

Giddy-yap giddy-yap giddy-yap
let’s go
Let’s look at the snow
We’re riding in a wonderland of snow   SLIEGH RIDE

And while we’re on the subject of strange creatures how about the Daytona Beach Museum…in fact the Giant Ground Sloth (13′) is the most complete and well preserved skeleton of its kind in North America and is of international importance.  It is the remains of an animal that migrated to Florida from South America 120,000 – 150,000 years ago.  This particular one was found about 3 miles from the museum in a shell pit.

The Museum also contains a Cuban Museum which was largely contributed by Batista after the fall of Cuba to Castro and taken away with the president when he fled the country–it included 150 paintings, carvings, documents, ceramics and furniture, dating from 1759 – 1959.   The Cuban government has been trying to get it back since,

Other than those exhibits the collection contains Florida art, American decorative arts, European paintings, 18th and 19th century Africian art and artifacts.  Fossils and regional national history and a nice concentration of space exhibits, information and programs.

All of the other reindeer
used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
play in any reindeer games.  Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer

COFFEE CONTAINER WITH LID AND SMALL SPOON 4 1/2″ METAL (262198771141) $8.99

The picture of the boat dock is from Sanford https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanford,_Florida.  all the other pictures are from the Historic Village in Clermont   http://www.clermontvillage.org/

Think of all the fun I’ve missed
Think of all the fellas that I haven’t kissed
Next year I could be just as good…
if you’d check off my Christmas list    Santa Baby

CHRISTMAS TREE PLATE BY CHRISTMAS VILLAGE 10″ (262198766885) $7.00

OTHER SOURCES:

THE FLORIDA ONE-DAY TRIP BOOK by Edward Hayes

VIKINGS Edited by Peter Sawyer

WEIRD ENGLAND by Matt Lake

BASKET, WOVEN WITH SOLID BOTTOM AND HANDLES 6″ HIGH (262198752987) $10.00

 TODAY THE FEATURED IS A THREE-SOME–DAD, SON AND DARLING LITTLE GIRL

doing house cleaning today—laundry room

Family room

Breakfast room

and kitchen

That’s it for today–tomorrow is more cleaning….do it a bit at a time is my motto.

The 12 Days of Christmas is an English Christmas carol that enumerates a series of gifts given on each of the twelve days of Christmas. Although first published in England in 1780, the song may be French in origin.

http://beforeitsnews.com/books/2015/12/12-days-of-christmas-christian-fact-or-fiction-2498452.html

Another Great Christmas idea from Publix:

One of those recipes that take care of the unexpected guest, or the person you forgot:

HOME MADE PEANUT BTTER CUPS

Pour 1 tbsp. melted chocolate into each of 12 paper lined muffin tin wells.

Shake to flatten

Then top with 1 tbsp. creamy peanut butter

Top with chocolate to cover the peanut butter

Refrigerate to harden

Stack in gift bags.

http://www.publix.com/

According to Forbes, Paul McCartney receives $400,000 in royalties every year for Wonderful Christmastime. This is a massive achievement, since even big artists only make approximately $10,000 per year on their biggest song.

http://www.thelistlove.com/10-crazy-christmas-song-facts-you-wont-have-heard/#

SLEUTH MYSTERY DINNER SHOWS

8267 International Dr.

Orlando 32819

www.sleuths.com

Whodunits, dinner and dessert, audience participation

to solve the crime

13 different comedy mysteries

Unlimited bear, wine and sodas

Award winning actors

Prizes for successful sleuths

Children’s menu

The Christmas Encyclopaedia states that the choice of 25th December as Jesus’ birthday had no biblical precedent, but was a pragmatic adaptation from Roman festivals held at the end of every year, about the time of winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. 

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/12/facts-fiction-christmas-1/

 

Chris Carlson   http://www.chriscarlsonstudio.com/

Contemporary design, primitive spirit.

386-801-0959

 Kwanzaa is a religious holiday.Kwanzaa is a not a religious, but rather a cultural holiday. Christians, Muslims, African traditional faiths, and secular people celebrate Kwanzaa.

http://kwanzaaguide.com/history-of-kwanzaa/kwanzaa-fact-or-fiction/

Leonardo Da Vinci Artini Engraving Self Portrait Picture… (262204202950)  $14.82

Still roaming about in the muddle of my mind….if I don’t come back tell Jamie (and Thor) not to be too upset you never know when I might stumble back to them….

Pope Benedict XVI has released the final installment in his trilogy on Jesus.

He also says that the Angels did not sing the good news of Jesus’s birth to the shepherds, but rather “said” it to them.

But Christianity has always understood that the speech of angels is actually song, in which all the glory of the great joy that they proclaim becomes tangibly present,” he explained

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/pope.separates.christmas.fact.from.fiction/31103.htm

Looking for a British King?  It might be a good idea to try the parking lot.  As many of you might have seen Richard III–Shakespeare (you remember him we’re not sure if or what he did but he got credit for a whole lot) featured him as a major hunch back villain in his play (course he was playing it in a city where the queen was the granddaughter of the man who took the throne away and had questionable right to same throne and daughter to the crown’s answer to Blue Beard, Henry VIII )

Richard by the way died in 1485 in  battle with Henry Tudor (soon to be Henry VII) and he was buried at Greyfriars Church in Leicester—when the next king (VIII) dissolved the monasteries–a little profitable perk from breaking with the church (as in Catholic—the only game in town) after the church failed to give him a divorce so he could move to number two (outa 6 eventually) wife.  The church was destroyed and for years it was rumored that the remains were dug up and flung into a river (the Soar) in 1540.     Then in August 2012 527 years after the August in which he was killed an archaeological excavation was led by the University of Leicester Archaeological Services, working in partnership with Leicester City Council sank a hole in a parking lot and in that first digging they found a body that would prove to be Richard III.

and now:  The remains of another English king could be lurking underneath a 21st-century car park, archaeologists and historians have said….the possibility that Henry I, the youngest son of William the Conqueror, could be lying in similar circumstances in Reading.

Henry I ruled England for 35 years between 1100 and 1135 and is remembered by historians as an “energetic, decisive and occasionally cruel ruler” who allegedly died after eating too many lampreys – a kind of jawless fish. He was interred in a sarcophagus in Reading abbey, which was largely destroyed during the 16th-century dissolution of the monasteries. (again Henry VIII–the man is keeping archeologists busy forever)

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/22/king-henry-i-lies-under-reading-car-park-uk-archaeologists

oh and the parking lot thing isn’t reserved just for royalty.  John Knox, the rather over zealous (my thoughts entirely) Scottish Reformer, is thought to be buried under parking space #23 near St. Giles on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh–seems they paved paradise and put up a parking lot over the church’s ancient cemetery.

DALE EARNHARDT 1951 – 2001 NASCAR: WINSTON CUP (FEB. 2… (262204169218)  $4.99

Daniel Ryman’s Book  AROMATHERAPY has some interesting uses for plants.

Celery as an aphrodisiac (the recipes includes 4 cups French white wine so maybe it’s not all the celery)

She also recommends:

Geranium (essential oils) for hemmroids

Lemon (pure juice) for eye infections—ouch I bet that stings

Other herb info:

Nutmeg In olden days was carried in the pocket for lumbago and rheumatism

Pepper is carried by Buddhist monks in the Himalayas, they reportedly suck on the peppercorn from time to time  to give them strength and alleviate hunger.

One of the all-time classics in National Football League history came on Christmas Day 1971 in Kansas City when the Chiefs hosted the Miami Dolphins at Metropolitan Stadium in the AFC Divisional Playoff….marathon game, which featured missed game-winning kicks in the first overtime, finally ended when the Dolphins’ kicker Garo Yepremian booted the ball through the uprights midway through the sixth quarter to give Miami a 27-24 win. The postseason matchup with 22 minutes, 40 seconds of sudden death play remains the longest game ever played in NFL history.

http://www.profootballhof.com/news/fact-or-fiction-the-longest-game-in-nfl-history-occurred-on-christmas/

FLORIDA HAS SOME INTERESTING PLACES:

LIKE KEY WEST

who’s cemetery has been call one of the most fascinating in the country and has some of the more interesting epitaphs like “I told you I was sick” and “At least I know where he’s sleeping tonight.”  There’s also statues of the deceased that includes a pair of his shoes that  were covered over to save the sculptor a few bucks.  One grave has a vintage pedal-powered airplane and a family plot that includes tombs (and stones) for the family pets one of which was a deer.

http://www.keywesttravelguide.com/key-west-cemetery-map-self-guided-tour/

GAINESVILLE

WHICH has the DEVIL’S DEN

18 miles south east of town

Where you can cave dive in “one of the most spectacularly, odd and beautiful places in the state. ”  Described as something right out of the Abyss.         http://www.devilsden.com/

Folklore may have turned Santa Claus into a toy distributor who mans a sleigh led by eight flying reindeer, but he is actually based, loosely, on a real person. Born around the year 270, St. Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra, a town in what is now Turkey. He earned a reputation as an anonymous gift giver, says MSNBC, by paying the dowries of impoverished girls and handing out treats and coins to children — often leaving them in their shoes, set out at night for that very purpose. Since his death, Nicholas has been canonized as the patron saint of children,

http://theweek.com/articles/479681/history-santa-claus-7-interesting-facts

BULBS WITH BEADS AND OTHER DECOR FABRIC (262204058011) Shipping cost:

BULBS WITH BEADS AND OTHER DECOR FABRIC (262204058011)    $6.88

Most of pictures  today from Sanford, FL      http://www.visitflorida.com/en-us/cities/sanford.html

But in early America Christmas wasn’t much like the modern holiday. The holiday was shunned in New England, and elsewhere it had become a bit like the pagan Saturnalia that once occupied its place on the calendar. “‘It was celebrated as a kind of outdoor, alcohol-fueled, rowdy community blowout,” Bowler said. “That’s what it had become in England as well. And there was no particular, magical gift bringer.”

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131219-santa-claus-origin-history-christmas-facts-st-nicholas/

PAIR WITH WHITE TOPS COBALT BLUE OIL LAMPS (262202906655)  $68.26

Other Sources:

http://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/holidays-christmas/10-christmas-myths.htm#page=1

AROMATHERAPY by Daniele Ryman

FLORIDA/Lonely Planet

THE DEATH OF KINGS by Clifford Brewer

Featured person—one of the staff at Morse Museum—here in the great gift shop  http://www.morsemuseum.org/

Most of my pictures today are from Winter Park, where I spent most of my Saturday.  This morning I finished my shopping for dinner on Friday….drop off some mores sales to the post office and generally ran all over =====but I AM DONE….Hip hip hurray.

In a survey conducted by ComRes on behalf of Theos in October 2011 the following results were obtained:

• 83% agreed that Christmas is a about spending time with family and friends
• 62% agreed that Christmas is a time when we should be generous to people less fortunate than ourselves.
• 41% agreed that Christmas is a about celebrating that God loves humanity. 24% disagreed with this.
• 40% said Christmas is a good excuse for taking time off and doesn’t really have any meaning today but 34 % disagreed with this.

http://www.eauk.org/culture/statistics/christmas-facts-and-quotes.cfm

ARRIVAS HOUSE Historic St. Augustine Vintage Brochure

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ELEPHANT Metalic CANDLE Holders Two Double

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BEAD NECKLACE Green with Multi-color Highlights 17″ Large

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STAR TREK Beamed hope into American Culture 9/7/1991 Orlando Paper Art… DragonLaire $19.78 USD

 WHY IS Sex on the Beach (not the drink the actual activity) used in movies and books as an ultimate experience?

First is the fact that isolated beaches are becoming harder and harder to find.    Huffington give you it’s number one choice (for secluded not what you might be planning on doing there):

Bowman Beach, Florida of Sanibel Island’s linen-white sand beaches.  One of the problems with beaches on Sanibel are the shells.  It renowned for it’s great abundance of shells—they’re everywhere which might leave you with some impressions that hurt and might even break the mood.

Then there’s the sand….have you ever gotten it in your shoe and tried to walk…and think of that same substance in more private places and yeah OUCH—then combine that with the stinging qualities of salt water (which doesn’t rule out fresh water beaches….but you still got the sand honey.)!!!!

Then there is the pollution—-Polluted water isn’t the only health threat for Southern California beachgoers: The sand at some of the region’s most popular beaches can be laced with bacteria even when the water is clean.

A UCLA study…shows that, although water bacteria levels may meet state health standards, sand acts as an incubator in which microbes can flourish …. “Even on days when the water is very clean, bacteria is still in the sand for a week.     and trust me California isn’t the only place with this problem.

I won’t even go into (oops sorry) the creepy creatures, birds and so on that can also dampen that MOMENT.

So guys and gals let’s skip the beach for that romantic interlude and your private parts will thank you.

Visiting friends and family is the single biggest reason Americans travel during the holidays. Visits account for…43 percent of long-distance trips during Christmas

http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/america_on_the_go/us_holiday_travel/html/entire.html

WHAT DOES I MEAN when the ingredients label says natural flavors?

According  CNN: In the Environmental Working Group‘s Food Scores database of over 80,000 foods, “natural flavor” is the fourth most common ingredient listed on labels. The only ingredients that outrank it: salt, water and sugar.   Ok

Now it’s getting scary

While Wikipedia tell us:

So that’s about as clear as natural, or not, mud.

And Forbes  has the best definition but no relief for concerns   According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Code of Federal Regulations (Title 21), the term natural flavor essentially has an edible source (i.e. animals and vegetables). Artificial flavors, on the other hand, have an inedible source, which means you can be eating anything from petroleum to paper pulp that are processed to create the chemicals of flavorings. For example, Japanese researcher Mayu Yamamoto discovered a way to extract vanillin (the compound responsible for the smell and flavor of vanilla) from cow poop in 2006, as reported by the Business Insider.

Oh please—so Apples and the pies they’re made of are really immigrants.  Sex on the beach is better enjoyed at bars and no body has any idea what a natural flavor is or for that matter isn’t.

The growth in Christmas spending in the UK was higher than any other European country, and was only surpassed by the U.S., which experienced Christmas retail growth of 2.9% (to reach £374.461 bn).

http://www.retailresearch.org/shoppingforxmas.php

Other Sources:

http://www.statista.com/topics/991/us-christmas-season/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_pie

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/07/apple-pie-isnt-really-american/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/26/amazing-secluded-beaches-_n_694627.html

http://articles.latimes.com/2006/may/23/local/me-beachsand23

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavor

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/14/health/feat-natural-flavors-explained/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/eustaciahuen/2015/10/01/what-manufacturers-really-mean-by-natural-artificial-flavors-according-to-museum-of-food-drink/

well the big day is only a week away–finished ye old shopping (for presents still have to do food and goodies) and am now working on ye old wrapping—I cheat I use bags.

“Christmas! The very word brings joy to our hearts. No matter how we may dread the rush, the long Christmas lists for gifts and cards to be bought and given-when Christmas Day comes there is still the same warm feeling we had as children, the same warmth that enfolds our hearts and our homes.”  — Joan Winmill Brown

 

 

 AMERICA WOMAN The Guess Who Vinyl LP 33 1/3 Record 1970

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THE WIZ 1973 Program The Road Show   DragonLaire $6.90 USD

Infant Doll 5 3/4″ in Christening Dress UNMARKED BISQUE Head and … DragonLaire $45.50 USD

 

Stekkjarstaur (Sheep Worrier)who gets milk.

or Pvoruskleikir (spoon licker) yeah you guessed it spoons covered with batter.

By Krampus   This is all part of Christmas in Iceland where they take these lads seriously–but they have gone from terrors 100 years ago (sons of Gryla

The Yule Cat who would snatch children.)   The lads were mean, stole food leaving the family hungry, one even ate candles making Christmas dark.  When Christianity came to Iceland (1000 AD–by decree from the King of Norway) the legends were discouraged but of course never went away even though parents were forbidden to tell their children the tales.  Though the legends have survived there are many details that are lost like were there 13 or 80 (or somewhere in between) of them.  But we do know they have 13 nights of pranks and even though they are still mean, current tales make them seem more fun and less threatening.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are shown in their Christmas photo with their children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

One of my favorite (despite they are not a possibility here) part of decorating for Christmas are the snowmen—I have dozens of them all over the house, from pictures to plush stuffed ones and I continue to buy more every year.

30,000 years ago, mankind created snow buddies. Possibly they were meant to boost the perceived population of the encampment. But because of their idealized female form, scholars now suspect snowwomen were a show of prosperity and economic security to psych out the neighbors; a cold war of feminine pulchritude. The stone figurines were the blueprints to pass the knowledge of their making down the generations.    http://www.harrisburgmagazine.com/Home-Garden/December-2012/A-Really-Short-History-of-the-Snowman/

. “Christmas now surrounds us,
Happiness is everywhere
Our hands are busy with many tasks
As carols fill the air.”~ Shirley Sallay

Because of its roots in pagan festivals, Christmas was not immediately accepted by the religious. In fact, from 1659 to 1681, it was illegal to celebrate Christmas in Boston. You were fined if you were caught celebrating.

We’re still in Clermont today—that’s a tree in one of the homes in the Historic Village Museum.  Worked and stayed home all day yesterday.  Today I’m going to post office–more Christmas orders and then on to Sam’s to pick up some stuff for some old friends and associates.  No Blog tomorrow as am meeting a friend for lunch and then doing some Christmas Shopping…hopefully that will be the last I need to make.

Why is Christmas like a day at the office?
Because you do all the work, and the fat guy in the suit gets all the credit.

London Wax Museum (Tussaud’s) Souvenir Guide BOOK CLOSED

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Elephant BANK ANTIQUE Cast Metal Working 5 1/2″

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IMSA Camel GT Schedule Table Top Card BUD Light 1991

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So I guess my roomie putting up a ghost on our house as part of the holiday celebrations isn’t so weird after–Don’t ask! 

Christmas sweaters are only acceptable as a cry for help.
– Andy Borowitz

AN OLD FASHIONED CHRISTMAS is probably not what we’re looking forward to either:

Oh, by gosh, by golly. It’s time for . . . rowdy bands of drunkards roaming the streets, lighting firecrackers, and firing off guns? Gangs of masked youths invading people’s houses, demanding food, drink, and money—and threatening to break the windows (or worse) unless they’re given what they want?

Welcome to Christmas, circa 1800. Yes, the season of light, joy, and gift-giving was once regarded as a time of darkness, danger, and dissipation—and celebrated with all-too-public displays of noisemaking, inebriation, and gluttonous consumption.   Christmas Curiosities: Odd, Dark, and Forgotten Christmas  by John Grossman

Sounds way too much like the present century for me.

Christmas is a state of mind and that special feeling that only comes with an empty bank account.  – Melanie White

Even in the same year we don’t do it the same:

Christmas Day is a public holiday in Ethiopia and Eritrea that is celebrated on January 7 or on 27 Tahsas of the Ethiopian calendar.

Christmas is a public holiday in South Korea. According to The Washington Post, the Korean version of Santa Claus (Santa Haraboji, which means Santa Grandfather) can sometimes wear a blue suit instead of a red suit.

Indonesia:  Generally every Christmas Day is filled with cookies, like nastar (pineapple tart), kastengel (from Dutch word kasteengel), or ‘putri salju

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_traditions

Mail your packages early so the post office can lose them in time for Christmas.  – Johnny Carson

Other countries even of the same faiths do it different

Simbang Gabi (Mass at Dawn) – also known as misa de gallo is a Filipino Christmas tradition that is centuries old. It is a 9 day novena of Christmas masses beginning on December 16 and culminates on Christmas eve with the misa aguinaldo (mass gift) since Christ is God’s gift to mankind.     www.lhcla.org/asianpacificministry/…/Filipino-Christmas–Tradition.pdf

“I bought my brother some gift-wrap for Christmas. I took it to the Gift Wrap department and told them to wrap it, but in a different print so he would know when to stop unwrapping.”  Stephen Wright

And Christmas was once just the start of the celebration:

By the time of the late Renaissance, Christmas was a day of low-key observance that opened an annual twelve day festival of religious ceremony and secular celebration. The English word “Yuletide” actually means the twelve-day period between Dec. 25 and Jan. 6. In many communities, large bonfires were set in village centers and, on Christmas eve, each family burned a ceremonial Yule log to start the hearth fire around which its members and visitors would gather throughout the rest of the Christmas festival days.  http://historiccamdencounty.com/ccnews93.shtml

Merry Christmas, nearly everybody!
– Ogden Nash

And what about our American early traditions?

To the first English colonists who arrived in Virginia in 1607, Christmas was both a holy day and a festival which they celebrated here with the same merriment and feasting that they did in England. They also began the practice of exuberant noise-making, with horns, drums, and firecrackers, that’s still part of Christmas in the South.

But the Pilgrims took a dim view of the singing and dancing, feasting and drinking that characterized the Yuletide celebration back in England. For them, Christmas was strictly a religious event, and merrymaking on this holy day was an unwelcome reminder of pagan winter rites. So the Pilgrims who landed in Massachusetts in the winter of 1620 spent December 25th erecting their first building, refusing to make the day special in any way. By the Revolutionary War, they began to lift their bans, but it was not until 1856 that Massachusetts recognized Christmas as a legal holiday.

. On Christmas day, 1624, an expedition of the Dutch East India Company went ashore to the now island of Manhattan to give thanks with a merry feast. As more colonists arrived from Holland, they brought their Christmas customs of a gift-bearing St. Nicholas, the stocking filled with treats, and the spirit of family closeness that’s so much a part of Christmas today.

http://www.genealogytoday.com/articles/reader.mv?ID=2681

I don’t mind fruitcakes. They’re the one thing during the holidays I’m not tempted to eat.  – Melanie White

My wife, like many women, actually LIKES wrapping things. If she gives you a gift that requires batteries, she wraps the batteries separately, which to me is very close to being a symptom of mental illness.  – Dave Barry

“I love my family but my family — they’re the type of people that never let you forget anything you ever did… I was in the first grade Christmas play — I’m playing Mary. Now, during the course of the play, I dropped the baby Jesus… They still talk about this. I go to my family reunion, and one of my cousins just had a baby. So I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s a cute little baby. Let me hold the baby…’ And my aunt runs over, ‘Don’t you give her that baby! You know she dropped the baby Jesus!'”  Wanda Sykes

First:  as of yesterday we’re at 2,000 subscribers…..thanks everyone.

and pictures today are in Clermont http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g34142-Activities-Clermont_Lake_County_Florida.html just like most of yesterday

You HATE Christmas! You’re gonna steal it. Saving Christmas is a lousy ending, way too commercial.  Grinch

Elf Pixie Tree Stump Planter Vase Japan China

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TARPON SPRINGS:  Florida’s Mediterranean Village    http://www.tarponspringschamber.com/

Dockside:  Still the  “Sponge Capital of the World”.  there is a lively sponge dock area  http://spongedocks.net/ .  In the heart of the Greek community, a mix of boats, boutiques and bakeries that run along the waterfront.  Some 25 restaurants and bakeries, Mediterranean dishes (including a flaming cheese appetizer), sponge diving exhibitions, deep sea fishing, and cruise excursions depart regularly.  Quaint and quirky shops with everything from local sponges to elegant clothing and swimwear.

Downtown:  Victorian past with vintage buildings and antique shops (over 200 dealers), art galleries, studios, cafes and B&Bs.  Spring Bayou, shady waterfront haven with many Historic Registered houses and the warm waters harbors manatees.  St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral http://www.stnicholastarpon.org/   with 60 tons of Greek marble.  Universalist Church http://www.uutarpon.org/ which houses a collection of religious paintings by world-famous George Inness, Jr.   Cultural Center, first was city how, now displays art and historical exhibits and a theater with live shows and films. http://tarponarts.org/

http://www.tarponspringschamber.com/points-of-interest#.VnA3OdHSnIU

The Grinch: [whispering] Alright fine! I’m not talking to you anymore! In fact, I’m going to whisper! So that by the time my voice reverbarates off the walls, and gets back to me, I won’t be able to hear it.

[pause]

Echo: You’re an idiot!

Grinch’s Answering Machine: [Grinch’s voice] If you utter so much as one syllable, I’LL HUNT YOU DOWN AND GUT YOU LIKE A FISH! If you’d like to fax me, press the star key.

So the holidays are almost upon us and I got to thinking we don’t need a Grinch to steal our Christmas–we often do it ourselves.  We get so tied up in the must do’s, must buys, must write and it goes on and on and on and on and on and—yep like that–until we loose any enjoyment of the season and it becomes a chore to tax our souls, a grief that we wish to pass….something to hide away in a corner of our mind until next year when the horror returns.

Cindy Lou Who: Don’t forget the Grinch. I know he’s mean and hairy and smelly. His hands might be cold and clammy, but I think he’s actually kinda… sweet.

DO YOU STEAL YOUR OWN CHRISTMAS BY DEMANDING PERFECTION?

You’re not perfect, you never will be no matter how miserable you make yourself or others trying:  SO GET OVER IT. 

The Grinch: And they’ll feast, feast, feast, feast. They’ll eat their Who-Pudding and rare Who-Roast Beast. But that’s something I just cannot stand in the least. Oh, no. I’M SPEAKING IN RHYME!

DO YOU STEAL YOUR OWN CHRISTMAS BY BEING OVERWHELMED?

While it’s too late for this year, but, in the future don’t wait till the last minute to buy presents.  I pick up stuff all year long when I see something that someone might like—my sister likes Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz  I nab collectibles, books etc on the subject when I find them (usually much better priced the further from the holidays you get—I got a whole set of Wizard of Oz. collectible plates for less than $20,)  it’s my theory that collectibles don’t have to be new—these plates for instance are no longer available except through other sources.

If you have several people to buy for I’d recommend that you put a list on your phone of their likes (i.e. pull over sweaters not buttoned ones), what they collect or enjoy–a Star Wars fan might like something concerning the new release or a collectiable from the ancient past when Harrison Ford was soooooo young and hot.   You don’t want to get a ballet enthusiast a pair of tickets to a basketball game.  Add to these lists as you visit their home or share an activity or event—-and again if you find something in June buy it and put it in the closet till December.  Not only will you save your season but you just might make theirs.

Or make something—if you knit, draw, sew or whatever start the beginning of the new year and make items for the special people in your life—it gives you a chance to enjoy your activities without (as some people do) feelin’ guilty about the time spent and will result in you not spending hours fighting the non-talented Christmas shopping hoards,

The Grinch: That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? That’s what it’s always been *about*. Gifts, gifts… gifts, gifts, gifts, gifts, gifts! You wanna know what happens to your gifts? They all come to me. In your garbage. You see what I’m saying? In your *garbage*. I could hang myself with all the bad Christmas neckties I found at the dump. And the avarice…

DO YOU STEAL YOUR OWN CHRISTMAS BY FORGETTING HOW FUN IT WAS WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG?

 Make decorating fun…get the kids to help—it’s more fun when its improvised…not planned and the kids will be so into it all, once they overcome the idea that you are going to let them touch all those great ornaments (hint if any are extremely expensive or sentimental you have my permission to put them up yourself out of childhood hands.)  Don’t have any kids try a new design for your existing décor—-do it by room and take your time….use ornaments in different places and for different uses—make it an adventure.

Take time for you—don’t show up at Christmas a complete wreck, wishing only to leave the excessive mess of packages and a meal and crawl off into a corner to hid until the spring.  Go to the spa for a facial or a massage alone or with a good friend who isn’t going to bring you down cause something still needs done.

If you have a large family or group of friends work out a plan where everyone takes a Christmas at their house at pre-set intervals—so you (and they) only have to do a meal set up and family/friend gathering every 3-6 (whatever) years. You can further specialize this by doing things like forgiving Christmas Presents from the host site friend or family member–and they will supply the meat and main dishes while everyone else brings appetizers and desserts to share (or whatever you work out).  It give you a year or several where you only have to show with gifts and a pie.

The Grinch: The avarice never ends! “I want golf clubs. I want diamonds. I want a pony so I can ride it twice, get bored and sell it to make glue.” Look, I don’t wanna make waves, but this *whole* Christmas season is…stupid, stupid, stupid!