Something for Burning

Robert Wilhelm Bunsen

March 31^st 1811

– August 16^th, 1899

Mr Bunsen was a

German chemist and teacher. 

You can guess

 what he did, right? 

 He invented the...

Bunsen burner! 

And that is why today is

  Bunsen Burner Day 

 Cool tidbit:

Early in his career,

Robert Bunsen was blinded

 in one eye when one of his

chemistry experiments exploded!

  (Seems the science lab.

hasn’t changed

all that much!)

Photos from here and here.

In the Park

Take A Walk In The Park Day

Sounds like a very trivial day...

but, no. 

Not really. 

Walking is recognised

as one of the best ways

of maintaining fitness

and battling those extra bulges

 which are hugging us. 

 It has been suggested

 that the park is a great place

to head for a walk...

the scenery is pretty...

 nature wraps you up,

as you soak in

the smells of nature...

birds sing and

the sun shines on your face.

  As you walk through the park,

 you might notice

just how many beautiful things

are around – even as

your heartbeat quickens

and your muscles stretch.

  A peaceful walk is also

 a fantastic way to beat away

the stresses of the working day. 

 (And, there’s nothing

 to say that a beach

can’t replace a park. 

 This is my walking track

 – when I’m walking!)

Photos from here and here.

Smoke and Mirrors Day

Smoke and Mirrors Day

This day has left me

 a little stumped. 

It’s a day of illusions

and I just can’t find

what I am looking for... 

 too much smoke?

Too many mirrors? 

 “Smoke and mirrors”

means that things are

 not really as they seem... 

 smoke and mirrors are used

 to hide things... 

 Magicians use smoke

 and mirrors... 

I’m heading towards the

“illusion” side of things,

“optical illusions”. 

Have a look at these:

Guy playing saxophone....

Or a lady?

Cover the top of the building

with your palm...

the building will look

like it is sticking out. 

Now, cover the bottom half

of the picture

and see what happens!

 Two oldies...

or a musician and a listener?

(Artist – Octavio Ocampo)

Bird... on a hand

The shadowy pillar men

 

Check the nose! 

Which way is it pointing?

Photos from here.

So long as it's on a Stick

It doesn't matter

what you eat today. 

The only thing that matters...

is how you eat it! 

You have to eat if off a stick! 

Something On A Stick Day 

It seems the only limitation

with this one

is your imagination!

Sweet...

savoury...

down right weird...

so long as it has been pierced

with a stick

and you can carry it

around like a lollypop...

and if that fails –

 try this:

Black Forest Cake Day.

 (I’d rather mine

without the cherries!)

Photos from here and here.

Country Hits

Ha!    Fun!

Today is

Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day.

  I had to head to Google

 to see what I could find.

How about these:

If I Had A Nose Full Of Nickels,

I’d Sneeze Them All Atchoo! 

(Lou Carter)

Get Your Biscuits in the Oven

and Your Buns In the Bed

(Kinky Friedman)

Flushed From The Bathroom

 Of Your Heart

(Johnny Cash)

Did I Shave My Legs For This?

(Deanna Carter)

Every Time I Itch

I Wind Up Scratching You

(Johnny Cash)

Too Much Month

At The End Of My Money

(Marty Stuart)

You’re The Reason

Our Kids Are Ugly

There’s A Tear In My Beer

I Wanna Whip Your Cow

I’d Rather Hear A Fat Girl Fart,

Than A Pretty Boy Sing

If The Phone Doesn’t Ring,

It’s Me

Thanks to this link,

this one and this one.

Nougat and Hairy Cows

Two things

to celebrate today. 

Today is Nougat Day,

so it’s the perfect excuse

 for nougat. 

Today is also

Make Up Your Own Holiday Day. 

 Be creative! 

Go for it! 

And me...

I declare today to be

Hairy Cow Day!

Photos from here, here and here.

Guess what today is?

I’ll give you a few clues...

Head to ancient Greece... 

The Athenians cooked flat cakes

 between two metal plates,

over embers. 

Here’s a religious connection... 

waffles refer to wafers

(the communion wafer).

(Almost sounds like waffles

should become a regular Sunday brunch!)

 When fasting, Catholics could

eat wafers, as they contained

no animal fats, eggs

or dairy products.  

Historical background:

During the Middle Ages,

bakeries competed against

the monasteries...

added a few ingredients

to the wafer –

and the waffle came to be!

 

It’s International Waffle Day.

The waffle iron was also important.  While the crosses look good – they did represent religious crosses.  Other religious symbols were also used.  In France, the waffle was a staple food – with flour and water the only ingredients.  Wealthy people started adding honey, eggs and wine... Waffles even made it into Chaucer’s seductive and romantic poetry: “he sent her sweetened wine and well-spiced ale/ And waffles piping hot out of the fire”. (The Canterbury Tales)

Holland welcomed the waffle... and in 1620, the waffle arrived in America.  By 1803, the waffle had taken Britain by storm.

Belgian waffles were introduced in America in 1964.

While you can eat waffles with stews and soups, the most popular way of eating waffles is with heaps of melting butter and layers of sugary syrup!  Even if you’re dieting... it is Waffle Day – what better excuse could there be?

Photos from here, here, here and here.

Information from here.

Nope!

Today is

Chocolate Covered Raisin Day

 and I refuse

to celebrate this! 

Chocolate covered most things

 I would be happy

to join in, but raisins...

No.

(They even look disgusting!)

Photo from here.

Parents of Preemies

 13 million each year...

10% of annual births...

...Are premature births.

 

Almost a million babies die,

 as a result of being born too early

 – each year...

within their first month.

Lives are turned upside down.

Control is lost...

Time stops.

 

2012 sees the introduction

of a new Special Day.

The 23^rd of March is

Parents of Preemies Day.

Research is showing that

preemie parents suffer

psychologically, following

their babies birth.

Preemie parents learn

a new language,

as their baby fights for life...

  Inside a plastic cage –

 far from loving arms,

parents learn the sounds

and actions of an alien room.  

A study followed

18 preemie parents. 

After 4 months,

3 were diagnosed

with post Traumatic

 Stress Syndrome. 

Another seven were considered

“at high risk”

for the disorder. 

(That’s more than half...)

  Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome

is a mental illness

suffered after living through

 extreme conditions –

 think war, car accidents

 and severe physical assaults... 

Finally, it is being recognised

that parents dealing

with the intensity of

premature babies suffer

in the same way

as people

 stuck in war-torn nations...

amid bombs and gunfire... 

(such is the pressure

of watching a

premature baby fight for life...

 ...every day!)

In the NICU (hospital), 

there are constant

alarms and noises...

people die.

You don’t know who will die

 and who won’t  -

but the possibility,

while you may deny it...

is very real.

Preemie parents can have

bad news thrown at them

– over and over

and over again...

Interestingly, preemie dads

 cope better while their baby

 is in the hospital –

but showed higher

 post traumatic stress syndrome

 stress than the mothers –

 once their baby was home.

If there are celebrations

for so many

of the little things in life,

 there should absolutely

be celebrations for the amazing

strength required

of preemie parents

(and the people who take

 the steps with the parents...)

While joining the

Parents of Preemies “club”

 happens by accident...

and is undesirable...

once you’re in – you’re in.

Parents of Preemies –

embrace your day!

You deserve a day!

Parents of Premmies on facebook,

 the webpage,

a picture

and the post traumatic stress

 information.