Tuesday

03 shopping days remain until Christmas
356 days so far this year…9 days remain in 2009
►Provocative Quote
"There`s at least one fool in every married couple."
~Unknown
►Free Ramblings
Happy Winter Solstice. As great as internet can be, sometimes it just adds to the chaos of the world. Turns out Winter Solstice is one of those times. A week or so ago I learned that Solstice is a precise moment throughout the world. It doesn’t ‘move’ with the time zones. The exact moment of the winter solstice is when the axial tilt of the earth is the farthest from the sun, making for the longest night and shortest day of the year. Well, all the scientists have carefully calculated this moment and published it. In 2009 it takes place at 1747 UTC. We old folks still know UTC as GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). We Americans then have to convert that to a 12hr clock which is 5:47pm UTC. Then we have to count time zones to figure out when it happens in our location. I guess many people, including me, have trouble with this. Many web sites said that this year’s winter solstice at 10:47pm in the Mountain Time zone. Others said it would be at 10:47pm in the Eastern Time zone. Bottom line is that the solstice did happen today and it happened at 10:47AM here is Arizona. It’s just simple math. So, the shortest day/longest night happened. Now the sun will bring light to Arizona a few minutes earlier each day and take the light away a few minutes later each day. It has happened for many, many years and hopefully will happen for many more. The only problem with the solstice is that many of us can’t do simple math and may miss it, unless we have friends who can do the simple math. So enjoy!

I turned on my computer this morning to be greeted with a very disturbing weather forecast. Flagstaff will be getting 4”-8” on snow on Tuesday and Wednesday. We sure need the moisture, but I am flying out of Flagstaff at 7AM Wednesday. To get from Flagstaff to Chicago I have to go though Vegas. That will not be a problem. Just getting out of Flag may be the problem. I was thinking ahead when I decided to fly from Flag. If the plane doesn’t take off on time, the airline will do everything it can to get me to Chicago. If I were to drive to Phx, there is a good chance that the interstate will be awful. It is famous for closing for hours when people slide off. If that happened, the airline could care less that I missed the flight. In that case, I would be stuck trying to get another flight along with hundreds or maybe thousands of travelers and I would have no one helping me. So now I will just wait and see what happens, with my fingers crossed.

Today our retirement group got together in Williams for an afternoon of food, conversation, and gift exchange. Cheryl put on quite a feast with a great salad, potato/leek soup, and a very good dessert. We also made Pecan turtles. I don’t which was more fun, making the turtles or eating them. Turns out they are quite easy to make, if you know what you are doing. They are very very tasty. My bottles of South African Wine were a big hit too. I got a back massage thing that dispenses lotion…”a must have for singles” I was told. I tried it out tonight, and I agree. Our dry, cold winters play havoc on my skin and it is hard to get lotion on my back. So now I am set. The homemade mince meat cookies, some homemade fudge, and some more turtles will add joy and probably inches to my holiday fun. She even shared the recipes. A great way to kick Christmas week.

Tomorrow I am going to see Invictus and have lunch with another friend. Life is good. Then Wednesday I’m off to Chicago. Tomorrow will be my last blog until the 28th or 29th.

Last night was quite warm, for us at this time of year. We only dropped to 19°--so much better than single digits. Today was nice at 43° since there was hardly any breeze.
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± Quotes from Values.com—HOPE
“Happiness can be found in even the darkest of times, but only to those who remember to turn on the light.”
~Albus Dumbledoor Harry Potter Character
± Unusual News…
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand - New Zealand authorities said a German tourist pleaded guilty to smuggling geckos and skinks in his underwear. Authorities said customs officers stopped Hans Kurt Kubusn, 58, Sunday at Christchurch International Airport and discovered 43 endangered geckos and skinks hidden in a package concealed in his underwear and another was hidden in a rolled sock in his luggage, Radio New Zealand reported Thursday. Investigators said Kubusn was attempting to smuggle the animals, native to New Zealand, back to Germany. Kubusn pleaded guilty in Christchurch District Court to five counts of trading in exploited species and two counts of hunting protected wildlife. He was released on bail and is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 25.
± Random Fact
The elephant is the only animal with 4 knees.
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§ December Month Long Observances
Birthstone: Blue Topaz…Flower of the Month: Narcissus
Colorectal Cancer Education and Awareness Month + Hi Neighbor Month + National Write A Business Plan Month + National Tie Month + Rising Star Month + Safe Toys and Gifts Month + Spiritual Literacy Month + Stress Free Family Holiday Month + Universal Human Rights Month + Read A New Book Month+ World Aids Month
§ Observance Weeks in December
Saturnalia: Roman Festival of Tomfoolery (Dec 17th-23rd)
Halcyon Days (Dec 14th-28th)
§ 21 December Observances
National Date-Nut Bread Day
International Arbor Day
-Indonesia: Mother’s Day
-México : Day of National Mourning (José Maria Morelos) (1815)
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§ Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1958…"Chipmunk Song"—Please Christmas, Don’t Be Late reaches #1
§ Births On This Day
     ~ The Arts
Abigail Adams in 1744 2nd first lady
Barbara Billingsley in 1922 actress (June-Leave it to Beaver)
Hoagy Carmichael in 1899 pianist/composer
George Eliot in 1819 Victorian novelist
Claudia A "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson in 1912 1st lady
Justin M'Carthy in 1830 Irish politician/novelist (Miss Misanthrope)
Jean-Baptiste Racine in 1639French dramatist (Andromaque)
Gene Rayburn in 1917 TV game show host
Diane Sawyer in 1945 newscaster
Dugald Stewart in 1753 Scottish philosopher
     ~Athletics
Billie Jean King in 1943 tennis pro
Steve (Steven Patrick) Garvey in 1948 baseball (Dodgers)
Connie (Cornelius Alexander) Mack (McGillicudy) in 1862 Hall of Fame baseball executive/manager (Philadelphia A's)
Dr Barbara Moore in 1903 (walked from Edinburgh to London in 1959; SF to NY in 86 days in 1960) Vegetarian & Breatharian
Jamel Williams in 1973 safety (Redskins)
     ~Business, Education, Politics
Mary of Lorraine in 1515 pro-French Regent of Scotland
Rene-Robert Cavelier La Salle in 1643 French explorer (Louisiana)
Charles de Gaulle in 1890 France Politician
Frank Kellogg in 1856 Secretary of State tried to outlaw war (Nobel 1929)
     ~Science/Religion
Wiley Post in 1899 aviation pioneer
§ In Remembrance
George Eliot Victorian novelist (Adam Bede), dies on 61st birthday
Francesca Saveria Cabrini US saint/patron of immigrant, @ 67 buried in Golden, CO
Daito Kokushi Zen founder of Daitokuji, @ 55
Ma Rainey (Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett Rainey) "Mother of the Blues", US blues singer/composer, heart attack @ 53
Darryl F Zanuck film producer (20th Century Fox), @ 77
Samuel Beckett Irish/French writer (Waiting for Godot, Molloy, Nobel 1969), @ 83
Don DeFore actor (George Baxter-Hazel), cardiac arrest @ 76
§ Historical Events On This Day
1731…Dutch people revolt against meat tax
1769…The SHAWNEE capture Daniel Boone.
1783…Washington resigns his military commission as US Army's commander-in-chief
1807…Congress passes Embargo Act, to force peace between Britain & France
1830…The State of Georgia prohibits whites from being on CHEROKEE land without a permit.
1877…"American Bicycling Journal" first published (Boston MA)
1882…1st string of Christmas tree lights created by Thomas Edison
1894…United States Golf Association is formed (New York NY)
1937…Lincoln Tunnel (New York NY) opens to traffic
1943…WEB Du Bois elected 1st black member, National Institute of Arts & Letters
1952…The first Corvette, a production-ready prototype, is completed, it is shipped to New York where it made its public debut at the GM Motorama
1983…Egyptian President Mubarak meets with PLO leader Yasser Arafat
1984…Bernhard Goetz shoots four black youths on a Manhattan subway
1990…Lech Walesa sworn in as Poland's 1st popularly elected president
1999…Movies opening in U.S. theatres: Angela’s Ashes, the drama based on the best-selling autobiography by Irish expatriate Frank McCourt
2001…Richard C. Reid, dubbed by the press as the shoe bomber, and now air travelers still have to remove their shoes. Thanks to Dick.
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§ Rhyme & Reason
Answer the following clue in two rhyming words (e.g. an obese feline is a fat cat) If only one number is given, the answer is a word featuring internal rhyme (e.g. voodoo)

1. moving with short side-to-side motions due to laughter (6,6)
2. cowhide leash (7,6):
3. (archaic) something outstandingly good is the (4,5):
4. criticism made without careful thought and aimed at an easy target (3-4):
5. crescent-shaped tool made from a malleable silver-white metal (6,6):
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ANSWERS
1. moving with short side-to-side motions due to laughter (6,6): giggly wiggly
2. cowhide leash (7,6): leather tether
3. (archaic) something outstandingly good is the (4,5): Bees knees
4. criticism made without careful thought and aimed at an easy target (3-4): pot-shot
5. crescent-shaped tool made from a malleable silver-white metal (6,6): nickel sickle