April 2009
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Archive for April 2009

Interesting holidays - MAY

April 27, 2009 by kim.

Here are a few interesting holidays coming up for May. If I didn’t post a website, it’s because I couldn’t find any recent information on the holiday. Enjoy!

National Hamburger Month http://www.westchesterdish.com/iron-hill-celebrates-hamburger-month-with-the-regions-best-burgers-and-grilling-tips/

National Photography Month
http://www.pmai.org/pma_news.aspx?id=12198&terms=photography+month

National Salad Month http://www.ehow.com/how_2324349_celebrate-national-salad-month.html

May 2 - Brothers and Sisters Day http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Joy-Of-Brothers-and-Sisters-Day&id=180650

May 4 - National Candied Orange Peel Day

May 8 - International Tuba Day http://www.tubaday.com/homepage.php

May 15 - National Chocolate Chip Day
http://www.popularcookierecipes.com/NationalChocolateChipDay.html

May 16 - National Sea Monkey Day

May 24 - National Escargot Day http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewtopic.zsp?t=205809

Posted in Celebrate | No Comments »

Talk Like Shakespeare Day

April 23, 2009 by kim.

I speaketh the truth! April 23rd is “Talk Like Shakespeare Day” (http://www.talklikeshakespeare.org/) as proclaimed by Chicago’s Mayor Richard Daley to commemorate Shakespeare’s 445th birthday.

Really.

I like Shakespeare, but is this necessary? How is it that these things get passed? Why? While we’re at it, lets look at some other special days being celebrated this month that seem … um … interesting, for lack of a better word (or dozens of words):

*April - National Kite Month (http://www.nationalkitemonth.org/)
*April - National Pecan Month (http://www.ilovepecans.org/pecanmonth.html)
*National Sky Awareness Week - April 19-25
(http://www.weatherworks.com/skyawareness.week.html)
*National DNA Day - April 25 (http://www.genome.gov/10506367)

There are lots of odd things out there that get celebrated with their own day, week, or month. One of my favorites is National Punctuation Day on September 24th
(http://www.nationalpunctuationday.com/). Yeah!

I think I may make it a monthly habit to bring you the upcoming overlooked special days/weeks/months, so that you can mark them on your calendar, never to miss such special events as National Potato Chip Day on March 14th (http://bmchips.com/national-potato-chip-day.aspx) again.

Stayeth tuned!

Posted in Observation | No Comments »

Earth off its axis

April 22, 2009 by kim.

Happy Earth Day!

I had an idea when I was about nine years old that the earth was off its axis. How did I come up with that? I think it had to do with one April around Easter when it snowed (if it did, and I was nine, Easter was on April 22nd that year – 25 years ago today). In my mind, there should only be one month a year reserved for snow. December. Only. I even wrote a song about it (I was a kid, don’t forget):

WEATHER
(song directed to Mother Nature - music and lyrics by Kim Phillips)

If you had a brain
You would only make it rain
In
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November

If you didn’t know
You should only make it snow
In December!

Listen to me,
Because don’t you see?

I know when the weather
I know when the weather
I
Know
When
The
Wea–ther

Should
O–ccur!

That’s something, isn’t it? In my mind, the Earth HAD to be off its axis, because there was no other explanation for there to be snow on or around Easter.

Well, guess what - the Earth DOES go off its axis! I read an article about it in the Chicago Tribune: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-antarctica-climate-change-19mar19,0,7871508.story

“Natural polar freeze/thaw cycles occur because of a periodic shift in the tilt of the Earth’s axis, known as the Milankovitch Cycle.”

Ha! Even at nine I knew what was going on!

As of April 20th, WI was hit with snow already. April! Hang on everybody – it looks like it’s happening again (http://www.jsonline.com/weather/43269287.html)!

Posted in Observation | No Comments »

Clocks!

April 18, 2009 by kim.

Far be it from me to criticize anyone’s bizarre collections (mine include matchbooks and printed bar/restaurant napkins), but when one’s collection has an adverse effect on the health of others, shouldn’t one keep said collection somewhere else? One’s house, perhaps?

Case in point: my Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) doctor’s collection of clocks.

I have been having trouble with my left ear this past week due to who knows what (allergies, perhaps). It feels full and hearing is both diminished and amplified. When someone talks to me or if I put the phone up to that ear, it sounds like the person is talking to me through wax paper. Add to that a moderately loud high-pitched ringing and some dizziness, and you get an idea of the misery I’ve been dealing with.

Anyway, I decided on Thursday that I would head to the ENT to see what he could tell me about my ear. I was able to get a last minute appointment, so I took a cab there and walked into the office. The first thing I noticed was the grandfather clock near the reception desk. That wouldn’t have been so bad, but there were more. Clocks of all shapes and sizes were scattered around the waiting room, ticking away. I thought it was kind of neat until the clocks struck the hour.

BELLS … MUSIC … CHIMES… all going off at the same time! Cacophony! This is not helpful to someone with an earache. What was he thinking?

After filling out the new patient paperwork, I was taken into an exam room the size of a closet where, lo and behold, there were MORE clocks! Six, to be exact.

Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock

BONG
BONG
BONG

Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock …

Come on! I was stuck listening to that for an HOUR before the doctor came in. Thank goodness I had my iPhone to keep me occupied by playing solitaire, mahjong solitaire, bowling, and hangman while I waited. Otherwise, I might have been tempted to take all the batteries out of the clocks and throw them out the window.

Finally, the doctor came in. He asked me the standard questions, checked my ears, told me I was fine (no infection), offered to set me up with some hearing/dizziness tests for the following week, and sent me on my way.

Really? That’s it? All that tick tock torture for nothing? Not that I wanted to be sick, mind you. Just a simple, “yeah, it could be allergies” would have sufficed. Also - testing next week? How does that help me now? I could be better by then!

Sigh.

Isn’t that always the way?

Posted in Collectible, Annoyance | No Comments »

Puzzle completed!

April 15, 2009 by kim.

I mentioned last month that I was starting work on a jigsaw puzzle. At the time, I hadn’t gotten very far. I had the border almost set which left 900+ pieces to place. I thought it would take me forever to finish, until Chris stepped in to assist.

With his help, we worked on the puzzle practically every night for close to two weeks.

We moved the table to the living room, brought in our snacks, turned on the TV, and worked for a few hours at a time.

“Frasier” kept us company. So did “The Twilight Zone” and “Night Gallery”. One night, we even downloaded “Planet of the Apes” with Charlton Heston.

Wow.

We skipped middle age and went straight to retirement age in one fell swoop. No matter – we enjoy it!

Anyway, I will now regale you with pictures of the puzzle’s progression and completion:

Doesn’t it look great? Too bad we couldn’t find the one piece at the bottom and the piece in the middle (by the lighthouse). I don’t know what happened to them. Either we lost them, or we never got them in the first place. How distressing, as we were going to glue it together and hang it in my office.

Oh well. Onto another puzzle!

We finished this puzzle in three days: