Iris Day - May 8, 2023

 DIANE'S CORNER .. 

Celebrate Iris Day

Let’s sit back and smell the Irises, dear friends. Okay, perhaps that’s not exactly how the saying goes. But maybe it should be! Because these delicate flowers are, at least in some respects, head and shoulder over that dusty, old, bygone, called the rose!

History of Iris Day

The fresh, sumptuous luster of the iris’s dewy, iridescent blossoms on a spring day, and the perky, shivery, curious stem scouting the air and the mesmerizing blush of rainbow colors make this bulb flower a sight for anyone’s sore eyes. The name ‘iris’ comes from the Greek word for ‘rainbow’ and most mythology adepts will say that Iris was the messenger of the gods. She was the link between sea and sky, or the rainbow glider, if you will.

In the country of Belgium, Iris Day has a rich history that includes the celebration of democracy over facism. In fact, Iris Day in Belgium is part of the Iris Festival that is celebrated on May 8. The date is significant for a number of reasons, including the fact that it is a symbolic day for the victory over the Nazis in World War II. In addition, Iris Day takes place on the same day as the Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, who is considered to be a patron saint of the city of Brussels, the capital of Belgium.

After World War II, Iris Day was a public holiday in Belgium for a few decades until, in 1974, it was removed from the list. However, it seems that many people and government representatives desire to bring Iris Day back as not only a local or regional festival, but also as a paid public holiday.

Because the Iris is in bloom in Belgium during this time of year, it was natural that the flower became associated with the beauty and freedom that democracy brings. And folks not only in Belgium but all over the world can enjoy this Iris Day for the spectacular flower as well as the meaning behind it!

thanks, Michele, Picture Coordinator

JOKE OF THE DAY  thanks, Michele

• -----physician, Doctor Geezer, became very bored in retirement and decided to re-open a medical clinic.
  

  He put a sign up outside that said: "Dr. Geezer's clinic. Get your treatment for $500 -- if not cured, get back $1,000."
  Doctor Young, who was positive that this old geezer didn't know beans about medicine, thought this would be a great opportunity to get $1000. So, he went to Dr. Geezer's clinic.
  Dr. Young: "Dr. Geezer, I have lost all taste in my mouth. Can you please help me?"
  Dr. Geezer: "Nurse, please bring medicine from box #22 and put 3 drops in Dr. Young's mouth."
  Dr. Young: "Aaagh! -- This is gasoline!"
  Dr. Geezer: "Congratulations! You've got your taste back. That will be $500.”
  
  Dr. Young, very annoyed, goes back after a couple of days figuring to recover his money.
  Dr. Young: "I have lost my memory, I cannot remember anything."
  Dr. Geezer: "Nurse, please bring medicine from box #22 and put 3 drops in the patient's mouth."
  Dr. Young: "Oh, no you don't -- that's gasoline!"
  Dr. Geezer: "Congratulations! You've got your memory back. That will be $500."
  
  Dr. Young, having lost $1,000, leaves angrily and comes back after several more days.
  Dr. Young: "My eyesight has become weak --- I can hardly see anything!"
  Dr. Geezer: "Well, I don't have any medicine for that, so here's your $1,000 back" (giving him a $10 bill).
  Dr. Young: "But this is only $10!"
  Dr. Geezer: "Congratulations! You got your vision back! That will be $500."
  
  Moral of story --
  Just because you're "Young" doesn't mean that you can outsmart an old Geezer.
  Remember: Don't make old people mad. We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to piss us off.
  
  P.S. Written in large print for Old Geezers!

total look of 'chelax'

WORD OF THE DAY

Vulcan

MEANING:

noun:	1. A blacksmith or a metalworker.
	2. A miner.
	3. A person whose leg is broken or deformed.
	4. A cuckold: a man whose wife is unfaithful.
	5. One who is extremely logical and shows a lack of emotions, humor, etc.
adj.:	Extremely logical, unemotional, etc.

ETYMOLOGY:

For noun 1-4: After Vulcan, the god of fire and metalworking in Roman mythology. Vulcan’s mother Juno wanted a beautiful child and hurled the plain-looking baby Vulcan off Mount Olympus. His leg broke when he hit the water. Vulcan may have been ugly but he married Venus. On the other hand, Venus was unfaithful to him. Earliest documented use: c. 450 CE.

For noun 5 & adj.: After Vulcans, a humanoid species from the planet Vulcan in the Star Trek TV series and movies. Vulcans are extremely logical and show little emotion. Earliest documented use: 1966.

USAGE:

“Your eyes dwell on a Vulcan -- a real blacksmith, brown, broad-shouldered.”
Charlotte Brontë; Jane Eyre; Smith, Elder & Co.; 1847.

“From a logical standpoint, it makes perfect sense. What the hell, if she had to release her inner Vulcan to hide behind, then so be it.”
Stacy Gail; Ugly Ducklings Finish First; Carina Press; 2013.

He LOVES his new hat! Who knew????

TODAY'S ARTIST  thanks, Natalie

Phyllis Ethel Ginger (19 October 1907 – 3 May 2005) 

was a British artist and illustrator who, although she had a long career in several different media, is now best known for the topographical watercolours she produced during the Second World War for the Recording Britain project. Ginger was also a prolific book illustrator and designer of graphic advertisements and book covers.

IDIOM OF THE DAY

What does 'burst your bubble' mean?

Meaning:

If you correct someone's ignorant or delusional belief, you burst their bubble. (Bust someone's bubble is also used.)

Iceberg, fishing vessel and cougar helicopter all in one shot!

thanks, Patsy

but why do we have to go back into the house???

(Not So) TOTALLY USELESS FACTS OF THE DAY

An Immaculate Inning is a baseball term. It applies when a pitcher strikes out three batters in the same inning while throwing the minimum amount of pitches needed, which is nine.

Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world, after crude oil.

Just like humans, ants communicate with many similar gestures. Some of these gestures in common include nodding your head and giving a thumb's up. Ants are also known to lift their stomach/abdomen in the air as a form of communication.

Mature blue morpho butterflies converge on this tree

YOUR CALL  by Sylvia, CAN DO Correspondent

"I’ve been making both since I got the recipe from the Don McLean Show back in 1972 or ’73 during Carabana. It is not like the hot-hot jerk so popular today, so if you want it really hot, you will have to fix."

OLD FASHIONED JERK CHICKEN or PORK CHOPS

1/2 c. Water 1/4 c. Soy sauce 2 Green onion(s) 1 t. Allspice 1 t. Cinnamon 1 t. Pepper Blenderize above ingredients. Lay up to 3 lb. Of chicken or pork in a large shallow pan and pour the sauce over all. You can marinate this or bake right away at 325° for 1-1/2 hours, turning once…it don’t matter, it is still going to be great!

I'm cold human...

COFFEE  thanks, Ella

why would human think this is 'cute'....???

PICTURES OF THE DAY

The scarlet macaw (Ara macao) is a large parrot, a member of a large group of Neotropical parrots called macaws. Its range extends from south-eastern Mexico to Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela and Brazil in lowlands of up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft), the Caribbean island of Trinidad, as well as the Pacific island of Coiba.

Florida, USA

A beautiful sunset somewhere close to Bradenton

they'll catch them, but won't eat them....

knit

thanks, Eve

Ozzy the Owl

knit

thanks, Nancy

Pink Onyx

knit

Cat Face Dishcloth

knit

Sea of jeans pattern by Maggy Vremec

knit

Tawashi knot

CROCHET PATTERNS OF THE DAY 

thanks, Valerie, Canadian Correspondent

CUP AND PINT COZY

Easy Crochet Kitchen Towel Holder

 

am I stuck here???

crochet

thanks, Sasha

Spring Placemat

crochet

thanks, Eve

Stacking Rings

crochet

Easy Summer Crochet Cardigan

crochet

Teddy Bear Coaster

crochet

Cute Flare Sleeve Cardigan

one hardy little survivor in all this rain

RECIPE  thanks, Shelley,  NY Food Correspondent

Hummus Recipe

PANTRY RECIPE  thanks, Debbie

Fresh Peach Cobbler

Great Grey Owl and perfect camouflage

CROCKPOT RECIPE  thanks, Jenny

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

VEGAN/ VEGETARIAN RECIPE  thanks, Alice

Both  vegetarian  and  vegan  diets may provide health benefits, including reduced body weight, lower cholesterol levels, and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, it is important for  vegetarians  and  vegans  to ensure that they are meeting all of their nutritional requirements.

Weeknight Beans and Quinoa

before you buy a Belgian Malinois, think long and hard - 1st day home...

COPYCAT RECIPE  thanks, Jenny

Copycat Costco Peanut Butter Pie

Niagara Falls cruises are back on track

RETRO RECIPE  thanks, Ann

Easy Salmon Patty

little fox pup starts his day with a big stretch

SWEETS RECIPE  thanks, Denise

Lemon, Rosemary and Olive Oil Shortbread

remember these? complete with a key to tighten them!

ICE POP  thanks, Michelle

Pina Colada ice Pop

are you catching my fish???

ADULT COLORING

a little golden beach fun

FUN  

answer:

let them 'chose' their toy....

CRAFTS  thanks, Zoey

Books and Tea Cup Cross Stitch

CHILDREN'S CORNER  thanks, Mollie

Homemade ice cream in a baggie!

Ingredients:

1 cup half and half

2 Tbs sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

mix together in a small sandwich baggie.

in a large ziplock baggie

Ice and 1/2 cup coarse salt

put your sealed milk mixture inside the ice and salt..

and shake

for at least 5 minutes. (you can see that it’s starting to harden up)

we wrapped in a dish towel to prevent frostbite.

but when we did the second one…we went outside and played catch with it!

you can eat right out of the bag..

and even add toppings!!!

we CAN teach them to share

PUZZLE

Rescue Helicopter Jigsaw Puzzle

lack of sunshine makes all of us sleepy

WORD SEARCH

acquisition arise basis condemnation crisis cutoff

dell denial dens falcon flash flight flood frenzy

gals greed indecent induce lone model owner

player poet point roster second several shake

shore site speed stable storm stress talent thrust triumph

Nature is amazing

SUDOKU .. very hard

solution:

they CAN be full of fun...

ICE BREAKER  thanks, Kris

You can use 'ice breaker questions' to build a report, enabling strangers to engage in back and forth conversion. With a little practice and possibly a beer or two, you'll be breaking more ice than the Titanic. 

What Is Your Favorite Movie You Could Watch All Over Again?

hummingbird nest is ready for some eggs xoxo

QUOTE  thanks, Helen

MOM, is that you???????

CLEVER  thanks, Nina

EYE OPENER  thanks, Amy

How to Achieve Ultimate Happiness? 5 Philosophical Answers

good reminder for campers

lots of rain means we catch up on our sleeps

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

No two persons ever read the same book. -Edmund Wilson, critic (8 May 1895-1972)

OPTICAL ILLUSION

Roll a magazine—might we recommend Popular Science?—into a tube. Now, keeping both eyes open, look through it with one eye. 

Compared with the plain view, the tube-filtered scene will seem brighter, as if lit by a flashlight. This makeshift torch will even make textures and patterns pop. No one has a definitive explanation for this false illumination. Neuroscientists’ best guess is that it has something to do with the way our brain interprets contrast. Within a tubular sight, the circular border appears darker than the environment within it. This triggers something called the brightness enhancement effect, in which your perception of an object’s luminosity changes when you view it alongside something else. In fact, researchers found that the interior view appears nearly twice as bright as what’s outside it.

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