Friday Funnies

Thinking of a caption for this photo, one came to mind — Wiped Out.

It's also how some folks may feel by the end of today, known as Black Friday in the retail world. We will not be among that group, but will be on the roads traveling home from an out-of-town holiday 🦃 celebration.

How about you — what will you be doing today?

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone.

Turkey Time is Here

No matter how folks in the U.S. celebrate Thanksgiving, in most homes, there's definitely one repeat guest every holiday — the turkey!

Yet, the history of the Thanksgiving main course remains a mystery. No one seems to know exactly how this bird earned a place of honor at the table.

According to early records kept by American settlers, beef, fowl, and venison were on the menu when the colonists and the Wampanoag Indians dined together at what's referred to as the first Thanksgiving meal in 1621. In addition to no turkey, there were no mashed potatoes eaten then as they weren’t grown in the area then. Forget about pumpkin pie too since wheat wasn't being grown yet either. Instead, side dishes at the first Thanksgiving might have featured beans, corns, and fruit. 

The first national Thanksgiving Day was proclaimed by President George Washington in 1789. It didn't become a regular U.S. holiday until 1863 when Abraham Lincoln declared that the last Thursday in November should be celebrated as a national day of thanksgiving, praise and prayer.

In 1939, another President, Franklin Roosevelt changed Thanksgiving one year to a week earlier than usual since the last Thursday in November was also the last day of the month. The change was to make the Christmas shopping season longer and boast retail sales during one of the final years of the Great Depression. After an outpouring of public disapproval so, in 1941 Thanksgiving was declared a legal holiday by Congress. 

Did you know that if Benjamin Franklin had his way, the turkey would have become the national U.S. bird and not the bald eagle? 

Franklin maintained that since the wild turkey is a native bird of North America it was more fitting as the national symbol. His suggestion was not wildly popular and, in 1782, the bald eagle became the national emblem of the U.S. The bald eagle is America's bird 364 days a year, but the turkey has a day all to itself.

Now, here's a special message from Tom.

According to legend, while Franklin proposed the turkey as the national symbol, Thomas Jefferson favored the bald eagle. When the eagle was selected, Franklin was rumored to have called it “tom turkey” after Jefferson. There's no evidence that this term was ever used during either Franklin or Jefferson's lifetimes. "Tom" is used to identify the male of the species and "hen" identifies the female.

Best Wishes to Everyone for a Happy Thanksgiving.

(Safe travels, if you will be on the road) 

Thankful Are We

To all blogger friends whose on-line friendships and comments are appreciated and valued.

We wish everyone a wonderful 🦃holiday celebration with good company, great food and🍷 and much ❤️. 

If you enjoy going to the movies on a holiday, we highly recommend the new film, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. It's based on the true story of a real-life friendship between the late children's show host Fred Rogers and journalist Tom Junod. 

Dorothy & Patrick (aka Beatrice & Grenville)

Friday Funnies (Not)

Admittedly, when I was considering a caption for this photo, Butt Out or No Buts About It came to mind. But (there it is again) there was nothing funny about this image which was captured during a recent walk.

It was bad enough to see this many smoked cigarettes and, worse yet, they were simply dumped out and not put in the trash. (There's a No Smoking ban in our mill apt complex and it's not unusual to see lots of discarded butts near the exterior entry ways.)

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone.

Oh Baby, More News

Yes, there's more baby news to share and, this time, it's on Grenville's side of the family. His cousin, and husband are having a baby boy through a surrogate, early next year.

Over the weekend, the dads-to-be were treated to a baby shower at the home of another family member in CT where relatives and friends gathered.

Both sets of grandparents-to-be were there as well to help their sons celebrate impending fatherhood. There was no name "reveal" at this event as the future dads are keeping it a secret.

There were many family and friends who also came from several neighboring New England states to share in the celebration.

While I'm not familiar with most games at baby showers, they are fun and this event included several including angry baby, bad dad jokes and diapering blindfolded.

Everyone knows that a party wouldn't be complete without dessert. This one included lots of sweet treats — homemade cupcakes, ice cream cake and chocolate almond cake.

After dessert, it was gift opening time. There were a lot of books and handmade items, including a unique diaper cake. We went bear hunting at the Vermont Teddy Bear Company; our gift was unique in that there were no other teddy bear gifts. 

Even before the holiday season, our family has had much to celebrate with the October births of two great nieces and this future 2020 arrival. We are thankful to have shared in this joyous family event and wish the future dad much happiness.

Friday Funnies

Wind it up — seen in downtown Nashua, NH, at an outdoor car event this fall and reminiscent of some old-time toys.

YIKES ! It's already mid-November this weekend. If you're wondering (or not) how many shopping days are left until Christmas, check out this site.

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone.

Look Who's Growing !

To say that we've been excited to get recent photos  of our two great nieces would be an understatement. The two cousins were born two weeks apart in NJ last month. 

Napping is a favorite activity of these dark-haired beauties, Autumn Rose (L) and Savannah Marie (R), and one which great uncle Grenville endorses as well.

Their first holiday, Halloween, was celebrated at the end of last month and both girls wore the appropriate "first" outfits. 

My brother and his wife, who became first-time grandparents, twice in one month, with their granddaughters October births, are already smitten. 

Autumn is older than her cousin, Savannah, by two weeks and is already becoming a photo model. She and her mom, Julie, visited a sunflower garden in mid-October.

Last week, she posed for a one-month photo opp.

We're happily (and excitedly) looking forward to meeting our newest, smallest and youngest family members during the upcoming holiday season. And, of course, there will be more photos then (and maybe even before).

Cemetery Seens in Color

A recent post appropriately on Halloween highlighted my recent walk through Edgewood Cemetery in Nashua, NH. That post featured only B&W scenes. However, but the day they were taken, there was a lot of fall color still evident. That's no longer true thanks to some recent rain and wind storms. 

Walking among the headstones was very peaceful and quiet. There was no one else around during my nearly 2-hour walks, which was fine with me. I like solitude at times like this.

Although the day was overcast, chilly and damp, I had an interesting stroll through the cemetery, which is about 2 miles from our mill apt residence and located in a residential area of Nashua, NH. It's quite large at slightly over 33 acres.

The cemetery gateway was a gift from long-time city resident Ira F. Harris in 1912Harris. was a cashier at the former Indian Head National Bank in downtown Nashua, a member of the local Rotary club, and served with various local groups. He also authored several publications on his travels in the Far East.

Walking among the headstones was tranquil and I read as many as I could. The cemetery dates to the 1800s by the inscriptions on some of the earliest ones. Again, an online search did not produce much any information on the cemetery's history.

Many headstones were simple and quite to the point with no other details included.

Years ago, many children died at a very young age. There was no shortage of headstones that attested to their early passing. A number of these headstones bore only a single name. I'm not sure whether or not these marked a child's grave.

I spotted a  few other markers, specifically for grandparents including a poignant message left on a pumpkin. 

While I didn't walk the entire grounds, I found quite an interesting cross-section of headstones. For example, this one showed twins Heather and Hanna born in July, but dying very soon afterwards with unusual wording under Jackie Pearl's name.

Sadly, it appeared that this family lost two sets of twins in the mid-1940s going by the dates listed. 

Some final photos from this fall cemetery walk. The next time I revisit this cemetery will most likely be when there's snow cover on the ground. Winter weather is forecast here this week, with a possible wintry rain/snow mix late Monday night into early Tuesday.

Today, November 11, is Veterans Day, a U.S. state and federal holiday, set aside to honor men and women who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. (This holiday differs from Memorial Day, a holiday in May, which honors those who died while in military service.)

We appreciate and thank all veterans, including my husband, Patrick (Grenville), who served in the U.S. Navy.

Friday Funnies

Super Size?

Last week, an order from Amazon came in this size box. Amazon should seriously reconsider its packaging options. A bubble mailer would have worked for small items.

Here's what was in the box — a single "button" battery Grenville ordered for his watch This week, an order of 2 similar sized batteries and an SD memory card arrived in the same size package. I saw customer videos of similar oversize packaging for similar items.

Just wondering — Have you had any super-sized package experiences too?

Enjoy Your weekend, Everyone.

(A cold one is forecast; it's flannel bedding time.)

Falling Down

No, I'm not talking about Grenville or myself taking a fall, but the leaves falling down in Mine Falls Park in Nashua, NH, a short walk from our mill apartment.

 

I've posted about this park in the past. Its seasonal beauty is always worth exploring again. Come along for a walk and don't forget to crunch the leaves as you walk along.

Photos in this post were taken on three separate outings in early to mid-October when the foliage was plentiful and very colorful. Recent wind and rain storms have blown off most of the leaves. In the coming months we'll explore the park in snow.

Mine Falls Park is one of the most popular areas in the city. The park is located in the heart of the city and covers 325-acres that include forest, wetlands, and open fields. The park is bordered on the north by the Nashua River and on the south by the Millpond and canal system.

The park property was part of a large complex owned by the Nashua Manufacturing Company, which harnessed the river's flow to power its textile mills downstream on Factory Street. When the mills closed in 1948, a new owner sold the Mine Falls land to the a group of local businessmen, the Nashua, New Hampshire Foundation.

The name Mine Falls dates to the 1700s, when low quality lead was thought to have been mined from the island below the falls. In the early 1800s, the potential of the Nashua River to drive the wheels of industry was recognized. Workers used shovels and mules to dig a three-mile long canal. It's no longer used for industrial purposes, and the walking trail along the canal was bursting with fall colors 2 weeks ago when we walked it.

In 1987, the Nashua River Canal and the Nashua Manufacturing Company Historic District (the Millyard) were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1992, the park trails were designated as part of the New Hampshire Heritage Trail system, which extends 130 miles along the Merrimack River from Massachusetts to Canada.

In addition to the walking/hiking trails, Mine Falls Park has a lot of other sport and recreational activities such as kayaking, fishing, cross-country skiing, snow-shoeing, and biking with no admission or parking fees. Several sports fields are used for baseball, lacrosse and soccer. Park trails are used for high school cross country training.

Mine Falls Park is located within the second largest city in the state of NH. Yet, when we're out walking, there's no distracting sounds, aside from humans, dogs and wildlife on the trails. In addition to its extensive trail network, the park has several wildlife viewing points like the one below. 

In late spring to early June, large-mouth bass and sunfish can be seen in the canals. The wetlands provide nesting sites for red-winged blackbirds, song sparrows, and mallards among others. We've also seen Canada Geese, herons and swans on our walks.

Of course, the trees are home for many bird species, including year-round chickadees, nuthatches, blue jays and woodpeckers. Chipmunks, squirrels, beavers, muskrats, turtles otters and raccoons are usually spotted the river and canal or in the woodlands. During a recent walk, Grenville found a conveniently located tree seat.

Fortunately for us, Mine Falls Park is a short walking distance from our apartment. The mill residence we live in was formerly the Nashua Manufacturing Company.

We go to the park as often as possible and appreciate that it's so close to our residence. It's a very scenic way to exercise. Thanks for coming along; hope you enjoyed the views.