It's Easter! Time to Enjoy Boozed Up Bunny Jello Shots!

 Booze up your chocolate Easter bunnies:

It's that time of the year again! After a busy day of Easter baskets, Easter dinner, and kids charged up on chocolate, sugar, and excitement, you need a treat.

Photo and recipe from OhBiteIt

I first saw this photo somewhere, can't remember where, but I had to track down the original.. which apparently was published several years ago at a site called "O Bite It".. very clever for a food blog, I must admit!

Just a quick description before I send you off to OhBiteIt for the specifics..

The vodka (or perhaps another alcoholic beverage) replaces the water in the Jello recipe.  So simple!  In this recipe you carefully cut off and save those bunny ears and later "glue" them back on with whipped cream.

Boozed Up Bunny Jello Shots from Oh Bite It  HERE!

Do Eggs Balance on the First Day of Spring?

There's a myth that eggs will stand on end during the Equinox.  Is it true?  Snopes says..

Photo of eggs found on Snopes

The Chinese are often cited as having originated the practice of standing eggs on end during the equinox. Just as the equinox symbolically restores balance to the world by signaling its rebirth after a season of darkness, the equinox literally balances the day by dividing it into equal portions of darkness and light. If the symbol of fertility, eggs, could be balanced on end during a day equally divided between day and night, this was a sign that all nature was in harmony

Nonetheless, the vernal equinox brings no special egg-balancing properties with it. Standing an egg on its end is something just about anyone can do any day of the year; the feat simply takes the right egg and a little trial and practice. Since the vast majority of people never see or try balancing eggs on their ends on any day other than the equinox, though, many of them come away from the experience believing that something special must have occurred on that particular day.

More HERE on Snopes. 

Spring 2019 Comes Today, Wednesday, March 20! Flower Dreaming...

Happy Spring!

It's still cold out there and the furnace is still purring here in Chicago, but Spring is literally just around the corner.  The Northern Hemisphere enters Spring for 2019 tomorrow, Wednesday, March 20th, at 4:58 p.m. Central Daylight Time (5:58 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time).

The vernal equinox (autumnal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere) means that the days and nights are just about equal all over the world.  The word "equinox" comes from Latin words meaning "equal night".

So, as we in the Northern Hemisphere wait, here are a few beautiful still life studies of Spring flowers by Russian painter Sergey Potapov with which to welcome and ponder Spring 2019:

Still Life by Sergey Potapov (Russian)

Still Life by Sergey Potapov (Russian)

Still Life by Sergey Potapov (Russian)

(I found these paintings on Facebook, introduced HERE by Facebook user Samuel Cherubin via Art-katalog.com.)

It's World Book Day, March 7: For the Love of Books

Why We Read: 

Books are magic. They can take you anywhere you want to go.  They take you to different times; they let you visit people who lived hundreds of years earlier; they let you imagine what it would be like to live hundreds of years later.  You can be rich or you can be poor; you can experience anything through a book.

(A friend posted this illustration on Facebook . If I can find the source, I will credit it.) 

In honor of World Book Day, at least World Book Day in the UK, I'm going to reintroduce an article I wrote last year about the joy and magic of books:

At one time we had hundreds of books, actually we had several thousand books.  My first husband and I were both book collectors; our first date included a trip to a used book store with thousands of cheap books.  My ex-husband built bookshelves everywhere...  We had library stacks in the basement, library stacks in the extra rooms on the third floor; the closets that we didn't need for clothing or storage were turned into floor-to-ceiling book shelves. 

But then life changed..... 

The story continues here:

 For the Love of Books.......

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Book_Day_(UK_and_Ireland) 

For The Love of Books

I love books.

Not just the function of books.  But real books with paper pages.  And sometimes with beautiful photographs or sketches.  Hard cover, paperback; that doesn't matter.. but BOOKS.  Not books you read online, not even Kindle books.  Books that smell like paper.  Even some with a touch of mustiness... REAL books.

Book chair by Alexander Love.  You can buy it at etsy! 

At one time we had hundreds of books, actually we had several thousand books.  My first husband and I were both book collectors; our first date included a trip to a used book store with thousands of cheap books.  My ex-husband built bookshelves everywhere...  We had library stacks in the basement, library stacks in the extra rooms on the third floor; the closets that we didn't need for clothing or storage were turned into floor-to-ceiling book shelves.    

At one time I had these books pretty well organized.  Fiction was in the basement, arranged alphabetically by author.  Greek and Roman history were in the back room of the third floor.  Psychology and philosophy were also in that back room.

When our son was born, we added more books.  Books about pregnancy and child-rearing.  Beautiful hard-covered picture books for children.  When I returned to teaching, we added shelves of books about child development, education, and teaching.

Well, life changes.

Happy Easter! Happy Passover! Easter Bunny detours....

The Easter Bunny gets a taste for something green and makes a detour:

Happy Easter!  Happy Passover!

More Easter humor HERE and HERE....

Easter foods and treats?  Boozy bunnies HERE and HERE, Easter egg Jello and pudding shots HERE and HERE, and simple Easter cakes HERE and HERE.

St. Patrick's Countdown: Nine Days until St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day falls on a Saturday this year; giving fans of the holiday -- Irish or those who are just Irish for the day -- extra time to celebrate and wear green!

We do know that everybody is Irish on St. Patrick's Day.. Actually though, tens of millions of people in the United States have Irish heritage.. including many millions who are unaware of their Irish roots.

There's another reason that so many celebrate the Saint:  St. Patrick's Day means that Spring is just around the corner and that's reason enough to celebrate, even if you don't have a proverbial drop of Irish blood.  But it is usually still pretty darned cold in Chicago, so we still need to wear coats when we watch the parade, watch the Chicago River being dyed green, or engage in some bar-hopping or pub-crawling or green-beer-drinking.

No idea where this vintage St. Patrick's Day card came from, but I found it at one of my favorite Facebook pages, Nanalulu's Linens and Handkerchiefs

Irish parades in various cities:

Chicago:  Listings for Chicago St. Patrick's Day festivities can be found HERE and HERE.

Atlanta touts Savannah as preparing for the "Nation's second largest St. Patrick's Day parade" HERE.  (If so, I had no idea.)

Boston:  Well, we know that people in Boston celebrate St. Paddy's Day.  Try this link for more information.

I'll add information about celebrations in various cities as I come across it. 

Irish (or kind of Irish) food and drink:

Two articles about Irish Soda Bread can be found at Cheese, Chocolate, and Other Delights:

1. Traditional Irish Soda Bread HERE.
2. Enhanced Americanized Irish Soda Bread HERE.

I've also got some great recipes for homemade Irish cream liqueur, Irish Stew, and a few others, some traditional recipes, some just fun.  So check back! 

I've already published this very faux-Irish (but very green)

dessert that will make a colorful addition to any St. Patrick's Day celebration:       

Original of this from Taste of Home, recipe reproduced HERE.

St. Patrick's Countdown: Ten Days until St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day falls on a Saturday this year; giving fans of the holiday -- Irish or those who are just Irish for the day -- extra time to celebrate and wear green!   

We do know that everybody is Irish on St. Patrick's Day.. Actually though, tens of millions of people in the United States have Irish heritage.. including many millions who are unaware of their Irish roots.

There's another reason that so many celebrate the Saint:  St. Patrick's Day means that Spring is just around the corner and that's reason enough to celebrate, even if you don't have a proverbial drop of Irish blood.  But it is usually still pretty darned cold in Chicago, so we still need to wear coats when we watch the parade, watch the Chicago River being dyed green, or engage in some bar-hopping or pub-crawling or green-beer-drinking.

No idea where this vintage St. Patrick's Day card came from, but I found it at one of my favorite Facebook pages, Nanalulu's Linens and Handkerchiefs

How Long Until Daylight Savings Time Begins? Click Below!

Click HERE for the number of Days and Hours Until Daylight Savings Time!

Click HERE for the number of Days and Hours Until Daylight Savings Time!

Daylight Savings Time for 2018 begins Sunday, March 11th!

Yes, friends!  We are almost there!  Only one completely dark weekend left and one more dark week.  (I'm writing this on the evening of February 28th, 2018, around 8:30 p.m. Central Standard Time.)  

We've noticed earlier evenings even though we've had many grey days lately:  When it is sunny out, it is still light until after 5 p.m. 

But on Sunday evening March 11th....
We Spring Ahead!  Daylight Savings Time in 2018 starts Sunday, March 11th.  We need to move our clocks ahead one hour on Saturday night and we get one less hour of sleep, but it will seem worth it when we notice that we can still see our hands in front of our faces at 7 p.m.!  Enjoy!

T
So:  Turn your clocks FORWARD Saturday night, March 11th, before you go to bed.  Spring ahead!!

How Many Days and Hours Until Daylight Savings Time? Click HERE!

Valentine's Day Strikes Fear!

Valentine's Day strikes fear into the hearts of strong men everywhere.      

Let's just address this head on:

For many people, especially men but women too, there is nothing pleasant about planning Valentine's Day. They don't know what is expected of them; they feel that the wrong thing will be held against them; they feel that they don't have enough money to plan a "proper" Valentine's Day... and they are really tempted to break up with their girlfriend or pick a fight with their wife the week before Valentine's Day just to get out of the whole thing.

Here's a question from a reader:

Q: Hi Jo... It's almost Valentine's Day, and I'm a nervous wreck. I've been with my girlfriend for about six months now, and we are talking about moving in together. We are getting more serious by the day. But I panic around Valentine's Day! My ex-wife always seemed disappointed after Valentine's Day, and we usually fought afterwards. I thought that dinner and flowers was an acceptable way to spend Valentine's Day, but she seemed to want something more or "different"...... How do I guarantee that my new girlfriend will be satisfied without breaking the bank? And what do I do if she seems displeased?  ... Scared

These oxidized Copper Heart Brooches by Rough Magic were found at Etsy a few years back, but they appear to be unavailable now.  

Answer: Have you tried a hot air balloon ride? Or a train ride on the Orient Express? What about 4 carat pink diamond earrings? O.K., I'm joking. Let's be realistic here.

Scared, if she truly likes you for who you are and things are going well.. and she's a decent woman.... there isn't much you can do to screw up Valentine's Day.... except perhaps to forget the whole thing.

It would probably be best to talk to her well before the big day. Does she expect a big production? A dinner and flowers? If so, a fancy dinner? Maybe she dislikes the Valentine's Day dinner scene (as I do) and she's planning on cooking for you. But don't let things fester.. If she's as great as you think and hope she is, she will be happy to talk about her expectations and what might be reasonable. Don't let your experiences with your ex-wife color your experiences with this one. The ex may have been spoiled, demanding, and petty. Perhaps that's why she is an ex?

My sense is that, for most women, flowers, a bit of candy, and perhaps a small gift (according to your budget), are more than enough.

By the way, she should be doing something for you as well.. A small gift, your favorite candy, a home-cooked meal. Valentine's Day shouldn't be a one way street!

(Cross posted from Love Stuff by Jo)

February 9: Pizza, Bagels, and the Beatles!

Snow Day!

It's snowing in the Midwest and that snow is supposed to be heading East. We may get 10 or more inches in Chicago. If you live in the Midwest or the Northeast, you may get a snow day.. or you may be able to work at home or leave early. That would be a nice way to celebrate February 9th!

And Happy Birthday Carole King!

If it is too snowy, you can celebrate National Pizza Day (see below) by popping a pizza in the oven, or, better yet, getting a pizza delivered, that is, if the roads are clear enough to let the pizza delivery guy get through.

Many places are having special deals for National Pizza Day; Google your city and the words "National Pizza Day" and see what you get. 

Is your birthday today?

If you were born on February 9th, you share your birthday with:

• William Henry Harrison, the 9th President of the United States, who caught a nasty cold at his inauguration March 4, 1841, and died of pneumonia a month later.
• Carole King, prolific songwriter, was born in 1942 in Manhattan.    She is "the most successful female songwriter of the latter half of the 20th century in the USA, having written or co-written 118 pop hits on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1955 and 1999.^[3]"
• Economist and Nobel prize winner Joseph Stiglitz (born in 1943).
• Novelist Alice Walker of "The Color Purple" fame was born in 1944.
• Mia Farrow, of Rosemary's Baby fame, wife of Frank Sinatra, long-time girlfriend of Woody Allen, and mother of many, was born in 1945.    

Other February 9th birthday babies are listed HERE.

Your birthstone is the beautiful lavender amethyst . (Ancient Greeks believed that the stone protected the wearer from drunkenness and enabled them to keep a balanced mindset.) You were born under the sign of Aquarius. (I can't help hearing that song "The Age of Aquarius" whenever I write that.) I hope you are having a Happy Birthday!

How many hours of daylight now?

The sun rose this morning at 6:53 a.m. local Chicago time and it will set at 5:16 p.m., about two minutes later than it set yesterday.  We have two minutes and 29 seconds more daylight than we had yesterday.  (Other cities?  Continue below.)

We have 10 hours, 22 minutes, and 6 seconds of daylight today, so we've added back 1 hours 15 minutes of daylight since the Winter Solstice on December 21st. 

Countdown to Daylight Savings Time

Check out the exact time until Daylight Savings returns HERE!

One of my friends has been counting down the days until we return to Daylight Savings Time and get back an hour of evening light.  I can't say that I blame her at all.  That will happen on ---

February 5: Super Bowl Hangover, Spinal Tap, and Nutella

Here's an image from the movie This Is Spinal Tap.  What does that have to do with February 5th?  Read on!

From "Curious Creative" on Ultimate-Guitar  "11 Facts about Spinal Tap"

Is your birthday today?

If you were born on February 5th, your birthstone is the beautiful lavender amethyst .(Ancient Greeks believed that the stone protected the wearer from drunkenness and enabled them to keep a balanced mindset.) You were born under the sign of Aquarius. (I can't help hearing that song "The Age of Aquarius" whenever I write that.) I hope you are having a Happy Birthday!

It's supposed to be cold and snowy today in Chicago, a good day to work at home for those of you who have that option.  Especially those of you who partied and celebrated the Super Bowl.

Though it is cold and it's supposed to be snowy, we will still get an extra minute or more of sunlight... even if we can't see that sunlight through the clouds.

How many hours of daylight now?

The sun rose this morning at 6:58 a.m. local Chicago time and it will set at 5:10 p.m., about one minute later than it set yesterday.  We have two minutes and 25 seconds more daylight than we had yesterday.  (Other cities?  Continue below.)

We have 10 hours, 12 minutes, and 16 seconds of daylight today, so we've added back 2 hours 25 minutes of daylight since the Winter Solstice on December 21st. 

Countdown to Daylight Savings Time

Countdown to Daylight Savings Time as of 7 p.m., February 5, 2018.

One of my friends has been counting down the days until we return to Daylight Savings Time and get back an hour of evening light.  I can't say that I blame her at all.  That will happen on ---

January 28: More Daylight and Blueberry Pancakes

Is your birthday today?

If you were born on January 28th, your birthstone is the deep red garnet (though garnets can be found in many other colors than deep red) and you were born under the sign of Aquarius.  Oh, and have a Happy Birthday!

A few more minutes of daylight!

It was sunny yesterday and it seemed as though the sun didn't set forEVER.  Well, that's an exaggeration.  The sun continues to set a bit later every day.  

How many hours of daylight now?

The sun rose this morning at 7:06 a.m. local Chicago time and it will set at 5:00 p.m., one minute later than it set yesterday.  We have two minutes and ten seconds more daylight than we had yesterday.  (Other cities?  Continue below.)

We have 9 hours, 53 minutes, and 52 seconds of daylight today, so we've added back 45 minutes and 56 seconds of daylight since the Winter Solstice on December 21st. 

Countdown to Daylight Savings Time

Countdown to Daylight Savings Time as of 4 p.m. January 28, 2018. 

One of my friends has been counting down the days until we return to Daylight Savings Time and get back an hour of evening light.  I can't say that I blame her at all.  That will happen on

January 15: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday

King Day, celebrated on January 15 in 2018, is a United States federal holiday to honor the memory of Civil Rights leader, humanitarian, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King, Jr. 

It's celebrated the third Monday in January, and, as it is a federal holiday, it means that we have no mail delivery; federal courts and offices are closed; most schools are closed; and we should fly the flag.   (Almost all states also recognize Martin Luther King Day with closures of state offices and other officially recognized ceremonies.)

Martin Luther King talking in Minnesota in 1967.  Photo from the Minnesota Historical Society found at Wikipedia

M
Martin Luther King would be 89 if he were still with us.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, so this year, 2018, we are celebrating King Day on King's actual birthday, which happens to be the third Monday of the month this year. King would be 89 if he were still living, but he was assassinated on April 4, 1968, when he was only 39 years old.

I was in high school in a suburb of Chicago, and I remember that time well.  It was a time of sadness, anger, and uncertainty. 

Happy January 14!

It's cold but sunny outside today in Chicago, Illinois. 

The days are actually getting longer even though it still seems pretty bleak outside.  The sun rose this morning at 7:16 a.m. local time and it will set at 4:43 p.m., one minute later than it set yesterday in Chicago.  We have a total of one minute and thirty two more seconds of daylight than we had yesterday.  Altogether, we have added back 19 minutes and 40 seconds of daylight since the Winter Solstice on December 21st.  

Seattle?  New York City?  Other Cities?

Seattle, Washington, is just a bit farther north than Chicago.  Whereas Chicago has over 9 hours of sunlight today (9 hours and 27 minutes to be precise), Seattle only has 8 hours and 50 minutes of sunlight today.  And New York City, slightly south of Chicago, has 9 hours and 34 minutes of daylight, about 7 more minutes of daylight than Chicago.  You can search for your city HERE at the sunset/sunrise lookup of the TimeAndDate site.

Not sure where this gorgeous photo came from, but it is a perfect expression of the beauty of winter.

How Many Days Until Daylight Savings Time Comes Back?

Ringing in the New Year: How did you celebrate? How do you celebrate now?

Another New Year's Eve, bringing memories, hopes, cheers, and even a few fears as we move into 2018: 

We lived in the city of Chicago when I was very small, in the neighborhood known as Pilsen.  My grandmother lived just a block away, and one of my aunts and uncles lived just two blocks away.  I remember New Year's Eve celebrations at my Grandma's house.  We rang cowbells!  As we were little kids, we tried to stay up until the New Year rang in and that was quite a treat.  That was it!  But we knew it was a special night from the time we were little.

Mae West celebrating New Year 1936 with tinsel. (John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images)

Other memorable New Year's Eves?

Happy New Year 2018!

Update:  As of 9:30 a.m. Chicago time, Happy 2018 New Year to Samoa, the Christmas Islands, New Zealand, Australia, Tokyo, Seoul, and North Korea.        

Just a few hours before 2018 is here!

The first places to welcome 2018 will be...

The first places to welcome 2018 will be Samoa and Christmas Island and the small country of Kiribati (the former Gilbert Islands). The New Year is coming to those small countries in the middle of the Pacific in (as of 12:33 a.m. Chicago time) in 3 hours and 26 minutes, which is 20 hours before we will welcome 2018 in Chicago, in the Central Time Zone.  So when we awake on New Year's Eve, part of the world will already be experiencing 2018!

You can watch the world turn to 2018 at this link:

Time left before the New Year around the globe!


Actually, the whole Time and Date website is full of interesting tidbits.  I'm surprised I never came across it before.

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Late Autumn: A Glorious Autumn Finale by Photographer Robert Blair

Autumn is a very special time for photographers.  I found this photo somewhere on my wanderings a few years back and I saved it.  An image search led me to the incredible photography of Robert Blair.  His gallery contains dozens of beautiful photographs, most of them with nature themes, most of them very seasonal.

But the glorious photo below is the first that drew me to Robert Blair; a photo he took in mid-November 2013 and called "Autumn Finale 2.0"  Perfect for this time of the year:  Snow on the ground, but still some leaves on the trees.

From Rob Blair at Robert Blair Photography:

Found HERE

B

November Comes and November Goes...

"November comes and November goes with the last red berries and the first white snows."

................................................................................................   Ode To November...

"November comes and November goes with the last red berries and the first white snows."---I love this poem..November is such a transitional month.

I found this photo at the Facebook page "If the World Had a Front Porch" a couple of years ago and saved it. But the original photo accredited this poem about November to a woman named Clyde Watson... It seems the real author was poet Elizabeth Coatsworth, born in 1893, who lived most of her life in New England and died in 1986.

And please visit "If the World Had a Front Porch"!  A beautiful collection of photos!  

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