August 5, 2017

Today we celebrate:

National Mustard Day – Celebrated on the first Saturday of August, this is a day to eat lots and lots of mustard. There is surprisingly, to me anyway, a Mustard Museum in Middleton, Wisconsin that has a whole mustard themed day planned for today with free hot dogs, music, games, etc. They use this event to raise money for a worthy charity.

National Disc Golf Day - This is a relatively new day, it was begun in 2016 by the Professional Disc Golf Association as a way to kick off the opening day of the 2016 PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships. It is now celebrated on the first Saturday of August.

Green Peppers Day - While green peppers may be technically a fruit, we all use them as vegetables. They come in many colors but we are focused on the green ones today. They are very healthy, and are just chock full of vitamins and minerals. I love to eat them in a salad, others put them on pizza, in a stir fry, stuffed with something delicious, on a sandwich or just plain.

International Traffic Light Day - The electric traffic light was created by Lester Wire, an American police officer in 1912. On this day in 1914, the electric traffic signal was installed in Cleveland, OH on the corner of East 105th St. and Euclid Ave by the American Traffic Signal Company. Prior to this, for many years, the only traffic signals were red and green gas lamps that had to be turned by a traffic police officer using a lever. Can you imagine what life would be like if we had never improved on that? Just think about how many traffic lights there are in the town you live in.

Work Like A Dog Day – Working like a dog means working really hard when you work and when you're not working, just nap wherever you happen to be. Make sure you turn around three times before you lay down.

National Oyster Day – Rumored to be an aphrodisiac, these delectable mollusks have over 100 different species and are known by a variety of names based on where they are grown. There are so many ways to cook them that I could have a blog with a different recipe every day for a year without repetition. Enjoy your favorite recipe today.

National Underwear Day - Created in 2003 by Freshpair, this is a day to display your underwear in public, in unique and creative ways. For example, you could wear the underwear on the outside of your clothing or you could turn it into a handbag. A couple of years ago, there was a group of people in NYC who were attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people in their underwear. They were not able to break the record but they still managed to get a group of over 800 people to participate. I’m sure that was an interesting sight.

Mead Day - Mead is a beverage that is easy to make as long as you have all the equipment necessary to make beer. It is sometimes called “honey wine” and can come in a variety of flavors. I’ve never tried it myself, but I’d be willing to have a taste, being over 21 and all. If you are also over 21, feel free to find some and give it a try. This is celebrated on the first Saturday of August.

Taxpayer Appreciation Day - Celebrated on the first Saturday in August, this is a day to appreciate the taxpayers in your area for making your local, state and federal government programs possible. Beyond that, I have no idea if this day means anything else.

August 4, 2017

Today we celebrate:

Hooray for Kids Day - I don’t know who created this day but it is all about celebrating children by acting like a child. I have an uncle who is really just a big kid and the kids in the family just gravitate to him because they recognize a kindred spirit. Be like that today, celebrate their youth by playing with them.

National Chocolate Chips Day - This is a day to celebrate the little chocolatey morsels that we add to our baked goods to add a sweet chocolate flavor to chocolate chip cookies or brownies or pancakes or muffins or….well, I could go on and on.  I confess that sometimes I eat them all by themselves.

National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day - Well really, what better day to celebrate on the same day as National Chocolate Chips Day. This is the perfect opportunity to celebrate two things at one time. I prefer soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies. What is your favorite?

U.S. Coast Guard Day – This is a day to commemorate the founding of the United States Coast Guard on this day in 1790 by the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. Back then it was called the Revenue Marine.

Single Working Women's Day – This is a day to honor the single working women of the world. They have to find the time to do everything themselves. Name a job around the house and the single working woman has to do it on top of working for a living so she has money to do all the things that have to be done and possibly take care of a family as well.

National White Wine Day - Created by Jace Shoemaker-Galloway to celebrate the rich and very long history of white wines. People have been drinking wine for thousands of years, it’s even recorded in the Bible. So if you are 21 years of age or older, feel free to choose from the wide variety of white wines available, I know you’ll find one to your liking.

Quotations Day - On this day in 1855, John Bartlett published a book called Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations. Public speakers, authors and teachers love to quote people so books like this are very helpful to them. And where would we be without the notable quotes found in the Reader’s Digest. It is easier these days to find quotes with the internet, but be careful to double and triple check to make sure they are actually accurate.

International Beer Day – On the first Friday of August we gather together to celebrate beer and have done so since 2007. But not just to have a beer at dinner and be done with it. No sir, this is INTERNATIONAL Beer Day which means that beer is going to be celebrated all over the world so you need to go out into the world in order to celebrate. And if you can find an international friend to share a beer with, so much the better. If you do go out to a bar or restaurant or friend's house to have a beer, please be mindful of the dangers of drinking and driving and either limit yourself to one beer or arrange for a designated driver or taxi for the ride home. You may find others claiming that this day is celebrated on a different day than this and they might even be right. Do you care?

Braham Pie Day – Celebrated on the first Friday in August, this is a day to go to Braham, Minnesota for their famous Pie Day. They turn this delicious dessert into an all day festival with pie baking and pie eating contests, collector car shows, church suppers, musical concerts, and plenty of children's events.

Satchmo Days – For the next three days, until August 6th, there is a Satchmo Summerfest that celebrates Louis Armstrong, who was a famous jazz musician. There will be music and a museum exhibition and many other events going on all day, every day.  

August 3, 2017

Today we celebrate:

National Watermelon Day – Today is a day to celebrate the juicy, comes in its own packaging, flavorful, watermelon. My kids love watermelon but I never think of buying it when I’m at the store. I’ll have to add it to my shopping list for today.

Grab Some Nuts Day – Nuts are a great source of protein and healthy fat. If you need a little protein burst to last until your next meal, a handful of nuts (assuming you are not allergic) is a great option. Or add some nuts to a salad to round out a vegetarian meal.

Esther Day - Esther Grace Earl was born on this day in 1994. When she was 12, she was diagnosed with metastasized papillary thyroid cancer. Through 4 years of treatments, she did whatever she could to be a typical teen and to live life to the fullest. This is a day for you to do the same. Esther, when told that her friends and family wanted to make a day to honor her, said that she wanted it to be a day to celebrate love for family and friends. So today, remember to tell the important people in your life that you love them.

India Pale Ale Beer Day – India Pale Ale is a special kind of beer that is made a different way than regular beer. Do not ask me for the technical details. I found the information but I didn't understand it well enough to explain it to you. Just know that it is different, so if you haven’t tried it, maybe you should. This day is celebrated on the first Thursday of August.

August 2, 2017

Today we celebrate:

Dinosaurs Day - Today we celebrate and learn more about the dinosaurs that walked the earth before we were created. There were dinosaurs of all sizes, shapes, and probably colors. Some of them still live today in forms we are familiar with such as birds, alligators and crocodiles. With all that has been discovered over the last couple hundred years, I’m sure you can find out something new that you didn’t know before such as the fact that the smallest known dinosaur was about the size of a Tyrannosaurus Rex’s tooth.

National Ice Cream Sandwich Day – I love ice cream sandwiches!!! There is an amazing variety of flavors for the ice cream portion and for the cookie portion so I'm sure you can find one you like too.

National Coloring Book Day - Coloring books are not just for kids.  Sitting and coloring a picture in a coloring book is really pretty cathartic.  But if you just can’t get yourself to do it on your own, find a child and color some pictures together. A lot of adults are jumping on this and it is much easier to find coloring books geared for adults these days. There are a number of libraries that have coloring activities for adults as well, call your local library to see if they have one you can join. If not, maybe they would arrange one.