CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES, COME ON

I just finished reading this really Cute, Lovable book

 

 

Seriously, darling

 

Anyway..............it gave me my inspiration for this post

hang with me here

 

To put it in a nutshell

it is about a very old lady, quite eccentric, but a LOVER OF LIFE

and PEOPLE

She'd say the craziest things and affected so many people

 

In part of the story she is talking about her LOVE OF THOMAS EDISON

 

 

a friend of hers (story character Elna) tells this story:

 

She loved electricity and appreciated it more than anyone he had ever met before.

She wanted to meet Thomas Edison. She wanted to shake his hand and had a picture of him in her house.

She was upset that there was not a national holiday for Thomas Edison.

Why He lit the entire world!!  (she said) Just think, without old Tom Edison we would all still be sitting in the dark, no lights, no radio, no electric garage door openers. I think, after the Lord, of course, I'd rank him number two, that's how highly I think of old Tom.

She said...that even though they did not have a national holiday, she personally celebrated his birthday every year by turning on all her electrical appliances at once and leaving them on all day.

 

SO THAT GOT ME THINKING

 

If you could pick someone you wanted a holiday, celebration

named after

who would YOU pick

 

There are lots of holidays out there

Presidents Day

Columbus Day

Valentines Day (yeah he was a person, not just cupid)

St. Patricks Day

 

For Canada I did some research but didn't find much

other then Victoria Day

a day actually named after a person

I figured, surely there must have been some trapper

or pioneer, Eskimo

who was worthy of a holiday

 

Other then these two

 

 

Bob and Doug McKenzie

I like these guys

 

So I had to start thinking who's out there 

that is worthy of a day

named after Them

surely worth celebrating

 

So

since I am now a country girl

And live around fields and fields of crops

how about JOHN DEERE

 

 

I don't think there's a farmer out there who wouldn't agree

He was the founder of Deere & Company

Wow, just think of all the equipment with his name on it

out there

 

John Deere (Feb 7, 1804 - May 17, 1886)

He invented this stuff a long time ago

He started out as a blacksmith in Rutland Vermont

and one day

had this HUGE BRAINSTORM

hey, There has to be an easier way to do things

in these parts

 

We even wear his hats and t-shirts

 

Surely he deserves a celebrated day on his behalf

Then in the spirit of Elna like in the book

We could all have a parade

and drive our John Deere Equipment down the roads

and high five everyone

 

Or , again, since living in Canada

where would we be without SKATES

 

The oldest pair of skates known date back to about 3000 B.C., found at the bottom of a lake in Switzerland. The skates were made from the leg bones of large animals, holes were bored at each end of the bone and leather straps were used to tie the skates on. An old Dutch word for skate is "schenkel" which means "leg bone".

Around the 14th Century, the Dutch started using wooden platform skates with flat iron bottom runners. The skates were attached to the skater's shoes with leather straps. Poles were used to propel the skater. Around 1500, the Dutch added a narrow metal double edged blade, making the poles a thing of the past, as the skater could now push and glide with his feet (called the "Dutch Roll").

 

Now where would any good Canadian be

without their skates

HOCKEY ?????

I tell ya, they take their hockey Seriously around here

like scary seriously

 

and just think

Without skates, there would be no guys

in tight pants and sequined shirts

during the Olympic figure skating events

 

So

all that being said

this is a serious situation folks

we need more reasons to Celebrate

and have days off work at the very least

 

WHO WOULD YOU NOMINATE

for a day a year

tell me

 

Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving

make every day a holiday and celebrate

just living

(anonymous)

 

And.....since I just lost 10 lbs

I think that calls for a PIZZA

wow

maybe we need a holiday for the Pizza dude



IT'S OFFICIAL....I'M CANADIAN

I know, you are all wondering what I am talking about

 but

I was born in Canada

so that makes me Canadian

but I also took out American Citizenship

and have an American passport

it gets confusing

But this past weekend

I SEALED THE DEAL

I went with some neighbors CURLING

  Yup

I actually played the sport I used to mock 

laugh at

wonder "what the heck" 

BUT IT WAS SOOOOOO FUN

  I wasn't sure what the dress code

for curling was

so I played it safe and wore my Duck Dynasty t-shirt

 that's Uncle Si there on the back

I have a WHOLE NEW RESPECT

for this game

It's HARD

See those black things there on the ice

Those are for you to put your foot in

and position yourself

you use the broom to support  you as well

I must have had a defective broom

as I did spend a few times splayed out on the ice

less then graceful

on the bottom of  your shoes you can wear SLIDERS
slippery devils
It wasn't working for me very well

 these were just some "spares" they had around there
you can buy OFFICIAL sliders
(I prefer buffaloe pork sliders...tee,hee) 

We divided into 4 teams

 spouses had to be split up
so as we'd want to go home with each other later

I didn't have a clue about how to play
or any of the terminology

like, these are NOT balls
I was corrected, stones

these suckers weigh 42 lbs folks
HEAVY

each game I learned is NOT
called a round, set, or inning
but ENDS
who knew 

 At the start of each game
we all put one loonie in the pot
then at the end of the END (cause that's what they are called)
The winning team collected all the loonies

   for all my American peeps
a loonie is ONE DOLLAR
In Canada they don't make one dollar bills
we have loonies
and Toonies
(I KNOW, Canadians are weird)

SO LET THE GAMES BEGIN
go big or go home

(some photo's were taken by a friend)


I am admiring the form, he was one of the better curlers there 
for sure
unfortunately NOT on my team 

getting some instructions
"huh"...was my usual reply

me and my team mate sweeping
  this helps the ice get slicker
(or something like that)
so the stone will go further
you got to sweep FAST  

my team capy-tan (captain)

I'd ask

so, do you want me to put it over there

or over There??

And that's important to know

KEY to the game

because

are you ready for this

DRUM ROLL PLEASE

the way you twist your hand on the stone

is what makes it

CURL

hence, CURLING

who knew

Mr Gorgeous (now wannabe Olympic curler)

did it the easier way

you get  this pole thing

slide it over the handle

so you don't have to bend down and push the stone

(hence, less time splayed out on the ice)

(but I don't think they'd allow that technique in the Olympics??)

here is a photo of one of the winning teams

 

Big smiles

and hands full of some of MY LOONIES

My team didn't win one single game

I am making the LOOSER sign

So there you have it

I'm Canadian

I always wondered how that game even got started

like

maybe some Eskimos were sitting around in their igloo

one cold afternoon, bored

eating whale blubber

then one of them says

Hey, lets go gather up some frozen polar bear turds

and see who can slide them the furthest on the ice

BUT NOT SO

if you want the official history, I'll just let you google it

I think mine is more colorful

the

END

(get it.....)