We had a wonderful Christmas with my son and his family, this past weekend, with each other Christmas morning, my parents Christmas evening, and will have another wonderful celebration with my daughter’s family this weekend. Yesterday I just sat back and vegged out. Other than some laundry and menu planning, I didn’t do much of anything. I desperately needed it. The only thing I wanted more than doing nothing yesterday was to have taken a nap. And I tried. I really did! Right as I got myself into a good doze, Moose decided to bellow as loud as he could as some imagined noise outside, which nearly had me peeling myself off of the ceiling, and the nap was over before it began. I really wish he would stop doing that! Today I head back to work, and though I am so grateful for the days off that we have had, I really wouldn’t have minded an extra shot at that nap today. Oh well.
Verse of the Day
December 27, 2018
Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
Thoughts on the Verse of the Day
Praise must not just come from our lips. Praise must emanate from deep within our soul, recognizing all the great blessings God has given us. While God is worthy of praise because he is holy and majestic and mighty, we have even greater reasons to praise him. He has been so very gracious to us!
Howdy Doody Day – Most of the people who will read this today will be too young to know who Howdy Doody is, or at least too young to have watched the original shows. I remember my parents talking about him, and I’ve seen the Happy Days episode that featured Howdy Doody, but I never actually saw any re-runs of the show. I know the song though! Howdy Doody was created by radio and TV star Bob Smith. He created the voice-only character his radio show, and when people demanded to see him in person, a puppeteer named Frank Paris was hired to create a Howdy Doody puppet. Bob Smith dressed up in Western clothes to match the puppet, took the name Buffalo Bob and on this date in 1947, he stepped on stage to create the TV Show, which lasted for 13 years. The show became well known and very popular very quickly, and within one-year toy makers and stores were getting requests from customers for dolls, puppets and other merchandise. Macy’s got in touch with the puppeteer Frank Paris, and asked him about the rights for a Howdy Doody Doll, but Paris didn’t hold the rights to the name or the character because it was all the creation of Bob Smith. Paris got angry, felt he was being cheated out his rights as the maker, and just four hours after the show was due to air the latest episode, he took the puppet and left the TV studio in a snit. It wasn’t the first time he had done this to the show, but it was the last. Someone in the studio thought quickly, created a prop map of the United States, and they explained that Howdy Doody was on the campaign trail, touring the nation with the candidates who were running for office. Buffalo Bob even added to the story that Howdy Doody was going to get some plastic surgery while he was on the campaign trail. They hired another puppeteer to make a better version of the puppet, and it was this version, created by Velma Dawson, that was used, seen and loved for all of those years. The actual original wasn’t a very attractive puppet and he has mostly been forgotten. There are some interesting trivia items I found on this topic that I thought may interest you. Howdy Doody had 48 freckles, one for every state in the nation at that time. Right before the show ended Alaska became the 49th State. The original version of Howdy was controlled by 11 strings, but the new version had 14 strings. There were actually three versions of the new puppet – one for close-ups, one for long-shots and one that was used in parades, photo shoots and personal appearances that didn’t have hardly any strings at all. The last one was sold in 1997 for more than $113,000.
Make Cut-Out Snowflakes Day – Are you crafty and handy with a pair of scissors? Today is your chance to show off your skills, as you make paper snowflakes. It’s a great project for kids, but even as a grown up you can have fun with it. Since they say no two snowflakes are alike, you could take it as a challenge to see how many different snowflakes you can make. So, if you like snow and don’t have any, just make your own!
Visit the Zoo Day – I love visiting the zoo. Sometimes I do find myself feeling a bit sorry for the animals trapped in the cages, though if I know for a certainty that they were born in captivity and don’t know anything about living in the wild, I don’t feel quite as bad. They wouldn’t survive in the wild anyway, and we can learn so much about them by visiting the zoo. Visiting the zoo in December? I suppose that would be fun, COLD in our area, but fun! They have the zoo completely decorated with Christmas lights right now, so it would be extra special.
This Day in History –
1932 – Radio City Music Hall in New York City opens.
Food Celebration of the Day –
National Fruitcake Day – Fruitcake wasn’t always a punch line for jokes about bad gifts. In fact, authorities in 18th century Europe thought it was so decadent that they even banned it for a bit. I’ve never made one, and I’ve only tasted a couple, but there was one once that I truly wanted to try and misplaced the recipe. A patient brought it into an office where I worked, and it was utterly delicious. It was made with dehydrated fruit, not candied, so the flavor wasn’t as cloying. I need to search out a recipe like that or come up with one on my own. Since Christmas is over now, I have to wonder why this one was not celebrated in early December. Or was it? I could have sworn we did this one already. Maybe we celebrate it twice. Don’t know and don’t have time to look.
I’m heading out the door with my new contigo coffee cup that hubby got for me for Christmas, ready to face the two days I am working this week. Yep, I’m feeling a little spoiled right now. If you are off the whole week, good for you, and if you aren’t, be safe on your way to work. God bless you and I’ll see you tomorrow.
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Celebration list sources:
www.verseoftheday.com www.brownielocks.com www.holidayinsights.com www.thenibble.com www.foodimentary.com