July 5, 2017

Today we celebrate:

National Apple Turnover Day – A delectable, apple stuffed pastry. Flaky, and fruity deliciousness.

National Graham Cracker Day - Today find a new way to use graham crackers. You don’t always have to rely on the old standbys of pie crust or s’mores or just eating some delicious graham crackers. There are a lot of recipes out there that you can try them in and mix it up a bit for your family.

Bikini Day – On this day in 1946, the very first two-piece bathing suit, created by French designer Louis Reard, was worn by Parisian showgirl Micheline Bernardini. It created quite a stir and Reard had some trouble finding a model who would wear something this scandalous for his fashion show. It took off in Europe fairly quickly, but didn't find a market in America until the 1960's because American's were a little more conservative. Something you wouldn't necessarily believe if you ever visited an average public high school or beach today.

Workaholics Day – Do you eat, breathe and sleep work? Well, then this is the day for you. This is a day that is always celebrated on the 5th of July to honor those dedicated workers who show up to work on time on the day after July 4th. And for workaholics, it doesn’t even matter that it is Sunday and many people don’t have to work today. There will be some workaholics among you who will anyway.

July 4, 2017

Today we celebrate:

Alice in Wonderland Day - On this day in 1862, Lewis Carroll first told his famous story to Alice Liddell, the child the story was named after. It’s a pretty bizarre story but it was designed to teach Alice, and other kids, that they need courage to overcome any obstacles that try to slow you down or stop you from reaching your goals.

Invisible Day - If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do? This is a good day to ponder that question. If absolutely no one could see you and hold you accountable for your actions, would you seize the moment and do things that would be socially unacceptable or even illegal? Or would you simply play hooky from normal life and take the opportunity to do what you really enjoy doing? I am fascinated by buildings so I think I would take advantage of the chance to explore buildings and houses I have no reason to be in, just to see what it looks like inside.

National Caesar Salad Day - No one knows for sure who first created this popular salad. There are several stories circulating but your guess is as good as mine as to which one is true, if indeed any of them are. Regardless, the salad is delicious and consists of Romaine lettuce, cheese, croutons, and special Caesar dressing. Enjoy.

National Barbecue Day – We must differentiate between barbecuing and grilling. Barbecue uses indirect heat for a long time and grilling uses direct heat for a much shorter period of time. So make sure you get it right when you make your barbecue dinner tonight. You can barbecue anything you want today: chicken, spareribs, pork ribs, tenderloin, and anything else you can think of.

Boom Box Parade Day – Begun in 1986 by WILI, a radio station in Willimantic, Connecticut, this is a day to have a Boom Box Parade. This day began when the Windham's Memorial Day Parade couldn't find a marching band. So, WILI played marching band music on the air while people marched in the parade carrying their boom boxes which, of course, were tuned to WILI's station. Anyone can participate, the only requirement is that they wear red, white and blue and carry a radio tuned to WILI. American flags are encouraged as well.

Fourth Of July or Independence Day – This day doesn't really need any explanation, but for those who might live in another country, this day celebrates the adoption of our Declaration of Independence back in 1776.

Independence From Meat Day - This is a day to start a new tradition. It doesn’t need to be hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill for your barbeque today. You can grill veggie burgers and veggie dogs, especially if you are going to be inviting vegetarians to your party. It would be great if they could eat more than the salad.

Indivisible Day – First declared as a holiday in 2002 by Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, this day celebrates the division between church and state by the American Constitution. It is under fire by a lot of people who believe it to be an atheist inspired day.

National Country Music Day – This is a down home, country day. It doesn't matter if you prefer the classic country of your childhood or the newer country that has a touch of rock in it. Listen to whatever kind of country music you like today.

Sidewalk Egg Frying Day – On this day in Oatman, Arizona, there is a festival that involves wild west gun fights, food galore and burros wandering wherever they want. But the big attraction today is the egg frying competition. The rules demand that you fry an egg within 15 minutes using only the sun.

July 3, 2017

Today we celebrate:

National Chocolate Wafer Day – A crispy, waffley kind of cookie layered with a sweet, creamy, chocolatey filling. I'm making myself hungry again.

Compliment Your Mirror Day – On this day your job is to look into your mirror and compliment it for having such an amazing, talented, and beautiful/handsome owner. In addition, you must look at every mirror you encounter today and make sure it smiles at you.

National Eat Beans Day - This is a day to explore the many varieties of beans that are available to add protein to our meals. They are especially important to vegetarians and vegans because they are a great source of protein but we can probably all benefit from their health benefits.

Stay Out Of The Sun Day - This is a day to protect yourself from the damaging rays of the sun by simply staying out of it. Enjoy whatever shade you find because it goes a long way to keeping us cool when air conditioning is not available.

Disobedience Day – There are times when disobedience is necessary to right something that is very wrong. A good example would be the Civil Disobedience protests led by Martin Luther King, Jr. Without them, we might still be living in a segregated society where people of color are openly and actively persecuted with no legal recourse. Peaceful disobedience is an excellent way to fight against unjust laws/rules and create change in your society.

Earth At Aphelion – On this day at 4:11 pm (Universal Time) we are at the farthest point from the sun that we ever go. The earth's orbit around the sun is not a circle, it is more elliptical which means that we are not exactly the same distance from the sun from day to day. Oddly enough, the earth is warmer at this point than it is at perihelion when we are the closest to the sun. Although I’m not sure if the southern hemisphere would agree.

July 2, 2017

Today we celebrate:

Special Recreation for the Disabled Day - I have seen this in enough places to know that it is a real thing. But the only two web sites that had any kind of description both used the same words to describe it and those words were: “In many cases it does not take a lot of time or money to make a business more accessible to disabled people.” This does not tell me what this day is about since there is nothing about ‘business’ in the name. It seems pretty clear that it is a day about recreation for the disabled. So I speculate that it is about making recreation sites more accessible for the disabled, or perhaps certain kinds of recreation that are disabled-friendly. But I’m not sure. I would be very interested if someone could comment and share more information. I will be sure to update this post if that happens.

World Sports Journalists Day - Created by the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) in 1994, this is a day to celebrate the creation of the AIPS on this day in 1924 during the Paris Summer Olympics. We also honor sports journalists and encourage them to work to be the best they can be and to share the sporting world with the rest of the world as accurately as possible.

Freedom From Fear of Speaking Day - This is a day to face your fear of public speaking and overcome it. Some people are very stressed to the point of getting sick at the very idea of standing up in front of people and speaking. There are techniques that you can use to relieve this stress and you can also practice, practice and practice some more which helps a great deal.

National Anisette Day – Anisette is a sweet anise-flavored liqueur. It is not to my taste but I'm told that if you like black jelly beans, you will like this drink because it tastes very similar. It is popular in areas around the Mediterranean.

I Forgot Day – There is something significant about this day but.......I forget what it is. This day was created by Gaye Anderson who went through a very forgetful period of time, so she created a day to celebrate that, although she forgets exactly when she created it. It is for occasions that you have forgotten and for occasions that you might forget one day.

Made In The USA Day – There is a foundation called The Made in the USA Foundation and their purpose is to promote products that are manufactured or assembled in the USA. We need to support industry in our country and reduce our independence on foreign made products. The Foundation created this day in order to encourage that goal.

World UFO Day – This is a day dedicated to the existence of Unidentified Flying Objects. It was begun in 2001 by diehard believers in the phenomenon. The purpose of the day is to raise awareness about the existence of UFO's and the accompanying intelligent beings from outer space.