On This Day in History...

Who comes up with these things?!

Go to Wikipedia and for the search subject type in the month and date of your birth (not year). What major events have happened throughout history on the day you were destined to be born?

Here are a few of mine...

YEAR/EVENT
800 - Charlemagne arrives at Rome to examine the alleged crimes of Pope Leo III.
(I listed this one because it is the oldest event recorded for my date.)


1654 - French mathematician, scientist, and religious philosopher Blaise Pascal experiences an intense mystical vision that marks him for life.

1869 - In Dumbarton, Scotland, the clipper Cutty Sark is launched - one of the last clippers ever to be built, and the only one still surviving to this day.
(I do love to be on, near, or in the water!)

1889 - The first jukebox goes into operation at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco.
(Possibly explains my love of music with a glass of wine!)

1890 - King William III of the Netherlands dies without a male heir and a special law is passed to allow his daughter Princess Wilhelmina to become Queen.
(Alright! A woman in power! :-)

1914 - The US Army retreats from Mexico.
(I guess Spring Break was celebrated later in the year back then!)

PEOPLE WHO HAVE SHARED MY BIRTHDAY
912 - Otto I the Great, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 973)

1718 - Edward Teachor 'Black Beard' famous pirate
(Arrrgggh!)

1859 - Billy The Kid, American outlaw (d. 1881(?))
(Hmmm...maybe explains my rebellious streak!)

1887 - Boris Karloff, British actor (d. 1969)
(Yikes! His movies always scared me as a kid!)

1888 - Harpo Marx, American comedian (d. 1964)
(I like a good joke! And especially like physical comedy.)

1929 - Hal Lindsey, American evangelist and Christian writer
(Closer to home; he attended Dallas Theological Seminary.)

1935 - Vladislav Volkov, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 1971)
(Well, yes, I have been accused of being spacey at times.)

Hrrrrrmmmppggh! There is no mention of my birthday, nor anyone else in my year (which of course is several decades AFTER Vladislav's birthday)! How offensive! :-)

1992 - Miley Cyrus, American actress and singer (Hannah Montana)
(She is Billy Ray's daughter; I have had some achy breaky hearts, but never a true mullet!)

Is "Thank You" ever enough? The importance of Memorial Day.

I like that holidays such as Memorial Day give us a 3-day weekend, but to me, it's more than that. In my family, we were raised to stand and sing along with the Star Spangled Banner, say the Pledge of Allegiance, and go to patriotic events such as Air Shows on patriotic holidays. This heritage has stayed with me. I still hang my American flag out front on my house and buy poppies from the veterans as these holidays are about more than a 3-day weekend and cookout for me. And it kind of bugs me when I see people milling about and talking during the singing of the national anthem.

My dad, who was orphaned when he was 12, quit high school and joined the Navy at 17; he served in the Korean conflict traveling and seeing a world so very different from the small Texas town he grew up in. He was very proud of his military service and would show us photos and tells us stories. He got so many tattoos while he was in the Navy. My brother was in the Air Force for a number of years; he was never called to active duty, but we were all together (he was home on leave) the day we heard President Reagan had been shot. That was a very eerie day; we froze in front of the TV awaiting news. Was our nation under attack? Would he be shipped off to a war? We were blessed then to retain our innocence as a country a little longer when we learned it was a lone gunman with a terribly misguided mind. We had no idea what a day in our future, September 11, 2001, would bring to our security and smugness as a nation.

My Mom's family had many serve in the military. She is one of 10 kids and they were a farm family. Three of her older brothers served in WWII; her brother B.W. was exempt from serving because he was the 'last boy' at home and needed by the family to work the farm. But, he was compelled to join and serve. He had a bad ear and was rejected by 3 branches of the military; the Army accepted him. Now, my grandparents had their 3 eldest sons far from home fighting a war.

Somewhere in the Philippines, my uncle B.W. died; they never recovered his body. That alone made his loss so much more difficult for my grandparents. This photo I found on Ancestry .com .

In my Grandmother's last years, she was moved to a nursing home; she left behind the majority of all the things she'd spent a lifetime collecting. But she had this big black purse she always kept near her at the nursing home. When she died, we learned of the contents she held so close to her heart... the letters her sons wrote her from war. In that day, a soldier wrote a letter and a photograph of the letter was sent. If a soldier communicated something unacceptable (i.e. anything that might give confidential info such as location, etc.) it would be blacked out with a marker. Sometimes they sent a very brief telegram. It was surreal reading these letters written so many decades earlier. They were upbeat; they tried to calm my grandparents' concerns for them. Then, came the telegram from the military officials informing my grandparents that my uncle was M.I.A. Then, the 'we regret to inform you' letter where they confirmed he had died. That's all the information my grandparents received. Then, letters from my uncles who had learned the news and were researching to see if they could find out any other information through their military connections. And the letter from a fellow soldier friend of B.W. who wrote the family about what a great guy he was. There is an "In Grateful Memory "certificate that reads in part: "He (B.W.) stands in the unbroken line of patriots who have dared to die that freedom might live, and grow, and increase it's blessings. Freedom lives, and through it, He lives in a way that humbles the undertakings of most men." The certificate is signed by Franklin D Roosevelt, US President.

The contents of Grandmother's purse she kept so close to her at the nursing home showed that even though more than three decades had passed since her son had died, her grief had not subsided.

A friend of mine from high school is currently in Iraq; he is a nurse and tells stories about the wounded that come in. He has two small daughters back here at home with his wife and the hardest patients for him to treat are the innocent Iraqi children. A former boyfriend was an Army Captain and a member of the elite Army Rangers who defended us in Desert Storm; his brother, a marine, also served. Their older brother is a Colonel who recently returned from Iraq.

In Dallas, a group of veterans gather at the DFW terminal each week to greet soldiers returning home for a brief respite and are also there to send off the soldiers returning to Iraq. Click here to see this heartwarming and inspiring message.

How can we not be touched by the horrors of war?! And to be inspired by the bravery of those who defend freedom and human rights at the expense of the nightmares that will haunt them when they return home--and for some, at the expense of their very lives? I think a nation like the US that has been blessed by God has a sovereign responsibility to defend the innocent who are victims of the insanity of the likes of holocaust and genocide...even as incredibly difficult as it is for the soldiers who must be brave and for the loving families that stand behind them.

Somehow, 'thank you' feels so inadequate at times like this. But how do you bundle all that you think and feel and want to communicate to a soldier or veteran for the work and sacrifice he/she does on our behalf?

Maybe we should at least try to say 'thank you.' And be a little more respectful the next time the nation's anthem is played while Old Glory waves.

Random Friday...

It continues to rain out ... I know it's good to help our lakes recover from the drought last year, but I miss the sun!


At the garden, we've been learning about composting; can you believe the temperature actually gets as hot as 160 degrees and this is a good thing?! (Okay, admittedly, I never had chemistry, but "wow!" I had no idea grass clippings and dead leaves would have that effect when mixed together and allowed to bake (more like roast!).


One of the many things I love about the garden is getting to know people. One girl is a college student and invaluable with her wit and willingness to always help. She is always there, and we're always laughing! She's going to Great Britain on a family vacation. I thought it was funny to make up a chance meeting with the Queen; I changed her T-shirt to make it read like she is a prince-loving tourist! When she saw this photo, she asked "why do I speak to you?!"


Not even Dave is safe from photo manipulation, as evidenced by his hood look!


Our friend Billy plays along...he's dressed like this because he was not born a Texan, but we took him out and naturalized him not long ago; now he's a bonafide card-carrying naturalized Texan, y'all. This photo was made on this grassy area between the Old School Book Depository Bldg (where Oswald was perched when he reportedly shot Kennedy) and that is the Hyatt Regency Hotel and Reunion Tower in the background.

Resolutions...

Did you make any resolutions as 2007 dawned? How are you doing with them? I don't know the stats, but it's a fact that many people do not achieve their 'good intention resolutions' set at the beginning of a new year. Why not make this the year we succeed?!

A friend and I made an accountability pact for the month of May. Today...on May 21, we took a look at the 'hard facts' for how we're doing. Sometimes, friends in support of one another, will agree that something is progress. And sometimes a 'cold hard fact reality check' is needed for a true assessment. That is today.

My friend asked... "Does it count?" in reference to a 'doing this vs. the previously committed to task" ... that really got me to thinking.

I realize that to succeed takes 3 things: Knowledge, Inspiration, and Perspiration.
Knowledge...knowing the true facts necessary to achieve change vs. thinking I know
Inspiration...Being inspired to truly commit and remain on task to change
Perspiration...the willingness to work for it and to do it!

Because some of my May goals were to improve on my workout routine and overall condition and health, I found the 'cool tools' on this website helpful in truly understanding the impact some of my choices make!

A Healthy Me Cool Tools

Calorie Need Calculator

Calorie Burn Calculator

Daily Calorie Use Calculator

How Many Calories am I Drinking?

Waist-to-Hip Calculator

I hope you are on your way to achieving your goals!

Casual Friday

Maggie Mae gives new meaning to Casual Friday.

Community Garden

I've gotten involved with a community garden. It's a new garden that rose up from an old parking lot. We can keep anything we grow, but are asked to donate any surplus to the Food Pantry. They help people in need and 30% of their customers are diabetic and in great need of affordable nutritious foods. Most of our garden harvest will go to the pantry. It's very rewarding to work on this project!

Being a community garden, we're meeting some really neat people from diverse backgrounds. From girl scouts to retirees, engineers to firemen, computer geeks to school teachers, we're an eclectic group! And we're having so much fun learning from and getting to know each other!

This week, we're preparing for our grand opening Saturday. We'll have a ribbon cutting, refreshments, lots of balloons, and a whole lot of fun! Our arbor was just built, as you can see from the photo below, after that photo was taken, we've added a lot of pretty potted plants. Last nite was really cool...almost all the gardeners were there, setting up, planting trees and flowers, working in their gardens. High enthusiasm among this group!


Gary prepares the soil, creating a planting area from the old parking lot.


Our new Arbor!




I'm usually behind the lens, so Al got me when I didn't know he had a camera!

Landscape Bliss!

I love learning about landscaping and gardening. With a little knowledge, inspiration, and perspiration, our yard --front and back-- is really beginning to be a lovely sight! The rains this year have also helped!

Our current project is replacing the sod in front. We started by trimming the trees back so the air could circulate and the sun reach through to the ground. For the past three days, by hand (i.e. shovel) we've been digging up the ground, going about 6 inches deep. We'll eventually till in compost and top soil using a tiller, but we wanted to get started by hand. I'm very excited about this project, and am actually enjoying the physical labor aspect of the project. I find being outdoors, working in creation, and then enjoying the fruits of my labor so very inspiring; I also immensely enjoy relaxing outdoors and just enjoying the sensory beauty of the work once completed!

How about you? What is your favorite project working outdoors?

Check out Landscape Bliss for great landscape design ideas and maintenance tips!

When Inspiration Goes Awry...

Sometimes inspiration strikes and 'IT' seems like a really good idea.

My recent inspiration had been percolating for a few weeks, so, it's not like I rushed into anything. I decided I should cut my hair. Short.

I've gone to my hairstylist, Michael, for 22 years, so he really knows me, and my hair. He thought it was a good idea. Dave thought it was a good idea. And since I'd been thinking about it for a while, I really thought it was a good idea.

After the cut, there was more hair on the floor, than on my head. Uh oh!

Before Dave came home from work, he asked how things turned out. When he arrived, he offered "fresh flowers for hair cut day." Tender.

I think I'm doomed for a few bad hair days ahead of me; at least until it grows out again. Like "the sister" in this video clip, I too have considered scampering under the bed and living out my life in darkness. But then, I remember that somewhere along the way of turning 40, I've chilled a bit and things don't really bother me much anymore. So, I guess I can live with looking like a total dork for a few months.



I hope you are having a great hair day!

Roses

I understand Bobby's enthusiasm!


The roses are so awesome this year...and now the Magnolia tree is in full bloom!