Muddy

 

Mud Pack Facial Day

All those minerals in the mud

are so great for your skin…

they’ll leave you feeling cleaner

and fresher than ever.

Strange, really…

put dirt on your face

 to feel clean!

 

 

So, you could take yourself

off to a beauty salon

and pay someone to pack

 a shovel load of wet,

gooey dirt on your face

and then leave you for a while,

 letting the gooey dirt

dry into a hard, cracked mess…

 But,

it’s Sunday,

which might make it difficult

 to find a beauty salon

open for business…

What to do??

You must celebrate this most

 important of days!

There is really only one solution…

 dig some dirt out of the garden

 and into a large bowl.

(You may wish to remove

stones and worms.)

Run some warm water

into the bowl.

Mix the contents into a nice, gooey slop.

 Pack the mud liberally on your face.

(You may wish to place cucumbers

over your eyes

and wrap a white (??) towel

 over your hairline.)

Sit yourself in a comfy chair

 and wait until you start to feel

a little itchy under the mud.

Remove the mud with warm water…

After that, you can walk around

with a beautiful new face

and a smug smile – because

you celebrated this day,

when… at first,

it seemed impossible to do!

Happy Mud Pack Facial Day!

 NB: Don’t use flood mud!!

It stinks!!

 

 

Confucius Says...

 

Confucius Day

Ahh, the fortune cookie guy!

No. Actually, Confucius was

one of the world’s greatest philosophers.

He was born in 551BC, in China.

He died in 479BC.

Confucius was a teacher,

scholar and politician.

 

 

Thanks to Confucius, the world

now has 449 famous sayings,

to help us get through any situation.

 Confucius says…

if the saying is funny or silly,

Confucius didn’t say it!

What did he say?

“Do not be concerned about others

not appreciating you.

Be concerned about your

not appreciating others.”

(Chapter 1 Verse 16).

 “The gentleman is generous

but not extravagant,

works without complaint,

has desires without being greedy,

is at peace but not arrogant,

and commands respect but not fear.”

(from Chapter 20 Verse 2).

And:

“It does not matter how slowly you go

 so long as you do not stop.”

“To be able under all circumstances

to practice five things

constitutes perfect virtue;

these five things are gravity,

generosity of soul, sincerity,

earnestness and kindness.”

 

 

I hate to admit it, but I found

 some of the sayings to be

 a little out-dated…

and really, this is not too surprising,

 considering they were written

around 550BC!

Other sayings sound very,

 very familiar!

Some believe Confucius was born

into a royal family

of the Chou Dynasty…

others believe he was born

into a life of poverty.

In China, in the 6^th century BC,

 competing Chinese states were

undermining the authority of

 the Chou Empire, which had

 ruled for 500 years.

The country was in a state

of moral decline…

until Confucius stepped in.

He used his golden rule

to show others the way:

“What you do not wish for yourself,

do not do to others.”

Learn more about his biography here

Confucius Says!

Pictures here and here.

(Today is also Coffee Day. Drink up!)

 

Really? You Asked That?

Ask A Stupid Question Day

Straight away, you think Crazy, right?

Teachers set this one up, apparently…

they wanted to get

those quiet kids asking questions.

No question is stupid,

they said…

ask anything,

they said…

and so, we have

Ask A Stupid Question Day.

I was surprised to find

several sites where people

had listed stupid questions…

asked by tourists

and people "in general". 

It seems people really do ask

 stupid questions sometimes,

and not just in celebration

of this interesting day!

I remember being asked once,

“When does a baby elk

turn into a moose?”

when I was travelling.

And, possibly my favourite…

“Why is Lake Louise so blue?”

(ok, the question itself

is pretty reasonable,

but the frustrated answer was funny)

 Answer – “Oh, we drain it

every year and paint the bottom,

then we fill it back in again.

It’s a pretty big festival.” 

When the tourist rang the hotel

 and asked about the festival,

so he could make a booking

for the next year,

the guy with the clever answer

lost his job.

Sometimes, stupid questions

are asked in earnest…

they really are genuine.

In Thailand, I was asked whether

we have the same sun in Australia…

that was a pretty crazy question!

Being Ask a Stupid Question Day,

the Cow challenges you to ask

someone a really stupid question today.

 Ask it with an honest,

questioning look on your face

and watch to see

the person’s reaction…

and then, listen for the answer.

Have fun!

 (Today is also Good Neighbour Day.

Thanks to my neighbours for being so good!)

(And… Today is also

Hug A Vegetarian Day.

If you know a vegetarian –

give them a big hug!

If you are a vegetarian,

make someone hug you!)

 

Such a busy day!

 

Can it

It’s Crush a Can Day.

I’ve been waiting

for this day for so long!

Crush a can!

Woohoo!

So, today is far more important

 than simply crushing a can

 against your head.

Today is also about

focussing our attention

on the greener side of cans

 – recycling them!

Three cheers to Australia –

we have one of the highest

consistent aluminium can

recycling programs…

in the world!

The aluminium can industry

 is a leader in waste reduction…

cans are being made

lighter every year.

Old cans can be turned

 into new cans…

Which reduces landfill!

In 1996, 1.64 billion cans

 were recycled!

Making new cans from old cans

takes far less resources

and energy than making

new cans from scratch.

I remember as a kid,

collecting cans,

stamping on them

and crushing them

and carting them to the

weighing place, where

 the bag of cans would be

 turned into a pile of coins...

That was such a great incentive

 for kids to recycyle.

Bring that back! 

 

Vaseline for Bali Boys

 

Vasoline

Our skin is so important…

it pretty much holds

us all together,

keeping our inside bits from falling out.

 Sometimes, our skin needs

a little tender love and care…

Vaseline is like a magic formula,

designed to help our skin

through it’s driest, toughest days.

 It’s cheap and easy to use.

In Australia,

it’s very easy to buy and,

 Vaseline is an insignificant product…

For a little boy in Indonesia,

Vaseline is the most incredibly

 amazing product in his world…

and he needs it

– but cannot buy it.

 

In a small, remote Balinese

 village lives Komang.

He’s four years old.

Komang suffers from an

extremely rare skin condition.

 It should have killed him.

His skin looks as though

it is covered in scales

 and he cannot close his eyelids.

Komang’s rare genetic condition

is known as harlequin ichthyosis.

This disease kills most babies

soon after they are born.

But Komang…

he’s a fighter.

Enter Helen Flavel…

an Aussie charity worker

who saw Komang.

She took photos of his skin

 and sent them to a dietician,

 who diagnosed Komang’s disease.

 Harlequin ichthyosis has no cure…

 but the treatment for Komang…

 easy…

Vaseline.

The problem…

 it’s not sold in Indonesia. 

The answer…

Aussies are holidaying in Bali

 and bringing jars of Vaseline

with them to Bali.

Tourists are dropping in

at The Bamboo Bar and Grill in Kuta

 and leaving jars of Vaseline

on the counter…

presents for Komang.

Komang’s father, Wayan,

has said how incredible

the change has been,

in just a few weeks.

Komang’s eyelashes

are now growing and…

now, he can feed himself

with a spoon.

All because of Vaseline…

and the care of a charity worker,

 a dietician and

Vaseline toting Aussies.

(Through HCH –

Helping Children Heal’s facebook page,

 I learned there is another boy…

 Gede, who is also suffering less,

 thanks to Vaseline.)

 

Spread the word!