Make Me Think Monday Archives - Page 15 of 35

10 12, 2018

Fruitcake Facts, Folly, and An Offer

By judythemorgan|2018-12-09T10:32:12-06:00December 10th, 2018|Holidays, Make Me Think Monday, Writer's Life|1 Comment

Christmas means fruitcake time. It’s the most belittled icon of the season. I’m a fruitcake lover and this is such a sad, sad thing to me.

Johnny Carson began the trend of fruitcake bashing with his comment that there was really only one fruitcake in the world, passed from family to family.

In 1996, Manitou Springs, Colorado started a Fruitcake Toss Day. A group of Boeing engineers, using the “Omega 380” machine they designed (a mock artillery piece fueled by compressed air pumped by an exercise bike) set the all-time toss record of 1,420 feet in January 2007. A total waste of good fruitcake imo.

It’s a shame poor fruitcakes get such a bad rap. Even if you can’t stand the taste, its history is fascinating. Did you know?

December is “National Fruitcake Month.”
Fruitcakes date back to the Romans who baked fruitcakes with pine nuts, barley mash, pomegranate seeds, raisins, and honeyed wine. When candied fruit was introduced, fruitcake became cheaper and more common.
Fruitcakes get better with age. Cooks recommend fruitcakes be stored for at least a month before eating.
An alcohol glaze of rum, brandy, or whisky not only enhances the flavor, it also extends the shelf life. Reportedly, a well-stored fruitcake will last 25 years.
Fruitcake has long been a special occasion cake for British royalty.

Queen Victoria served a fruitcake at her wedding to Prince Albert. Prince William and Kate Middleton also choose fruitcake for their wedding, bringing the tradition into the 21^st Century. According to this TIME article, slices of royalty wedding fruitcakes are auctioned for large sums.

Mademoiselle magazine published Truman Capote’s short story “A Christmas Memory” in December 1956. The story begins with an eccentric woman in her sixties looking out her window one winter morning and announcing, “Oh my, it’s fruitcake weather!” It’s often included in many Christmas story anthologies.You can check it out here

Interesting fact, Capote’s story is autobiographical according to this article.

Fruitcakes can tell fortunes and bring good luck.

Single females who sleep with a piece of fruitcake under their pillow after a wedding will dream about their future husband.

Nut growers bake a fruitcake at the end of one growing season then eat at the end of the next season to ensure good luck and a successful harvest.I’m not alone in my fondness for fruitcake.

A bakery mail-order fruitcake began in 1913. My favorite Christmas fruitcake comes from Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, Texas.

If you should receive a fruitcake for Christmas this year, please don’t toss it. Use the contact form here and let me know. I’ll gladly take it off your hands.

Photo Credit: Collins Street Bakery

26 11, 2018

Family Traditions around the Thanksgiving Table

By judythemorgan|2018-11-25T19:22:27-06:00November 26th, 2018|Holidays, Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

Our children are married with families of their own and some of their children are married so our attendee number for holidays varies every year.

This Thanksgiving we were only missing the members living out-of-state. The rest of the clan – all seventeen of them – arrived with their traditional offerings to share.

Daughter #2 served as hostess and prepared a Pioneer Woman brine turkey that was moist and tasty and the dressing and homemade cranberry sauce. Her traditional chess pies were baked this year by her step-daughter. Tradition remained though the cook varied. As she said, “it’s good to pass the torch.”

Daughter #1 brought pecan-crusted sweet potatoes and a bag full of yummy baked goods like cranberry orange bread, enough for all to carry home. And, a can of jellied cranberry, a husband’s favorite.

One Aunt brought deviled eggs and brown-and-serve rolls, her annual contributions. She served the eggs on a special egg dish of another gone-to-glory aunt. We felt her presence, smiling down from heaven.

Another Aunt brought her special recipe cheese ball. This was the first Thanksgiving she and her husband weren’t together in their fifty years together. His Parkinson kept him at his Memory Care home. The beginning of new tradition, we’re hoping.

Granddaughter #1 brought her husband’s family tradition – a pound cake made by his grandmother’s recipe. A new tradition, we all agreed when she and hubby join our festivities. Newly married, they alternate holidays between their families. We had them this Thanksgiving.

Step-daughter’s mom joined in with homemade mash potatoes that were creamy and smooth. We’re counting on a repeat performance for next year’s Thanksgiving feast.

I contributed the scalloped corn and the classic green bean casserole and an orange pineapple jello salad no one has eaten since they were toddlers. I can’t seem to stop myself

A vintage 1950s fall tablecloth covered one of the tables. A remnant from family or a prize antique shop purchase, no one remembers. It’s just always been around along with the honeycomb tissue paper turkey in the center of the table.

Pepa carved the bird and grandchildren lined up for first tastes of slices from the carver himself. We all know nothing tastes better.

The football game played on the very large screen TV. Grandsons and Pepa cheered their team to victory.

The granddogs, banished to the bedroom, quietly wondered at all the commotion and Auntie’s dog, who came along, relished the pats and extra laps.

All in all a lovely day filled with traditions that remind me of Tevye’s words in the song from Fiddler on the Roof.

“Tradition. Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as… as a fiddler on the roof!”

But I was also reminded Thanksgiving traditions, while lovely and touching, aren’t based on the things on the table or around the table but in the love that surrounds us.

12 11, 2018

Why Red and Blue for Political Parties?

By judythemorgan|2018-11-11T17:01:25-06:00November 12th, 2018|Make Me Think Monday|0 Comments

Mid-term Election 2018 campaigning is over. No more political robocalls. No more political ads. Are you as relieved as I am?

There’s a no politics policy here on the blog so we’re not discussing election results.

Instead, we’re going to look at how color designations for the two political affiliations came into being.

So why use red and blue colors to identify political affiliations? The simple answer is those colors project more clearly on screens, but there is more to the story.

Most of us are so accustomed to watching the United States map turn red or blue on our television screens as election returns are tallied we forget for many decades television broadcasts were black-and-white and color didn’t matter. A check mark beside the totaled vote indicated the winner.

Also remember for the first 40-plus presidential races newspapers were the only means of relaying results. There was no television!

SOURCE: Here

But, as you can see on this chart from Philip Bump’s article in The Fix, prior to 1988, networks chose whatever color they wanted to designate state wins by political party. Red designated Democratic wins and blue or yellow Republican wins.

By 1992, networks switched the color designations, settling on red-for-Republican, blue-for-Democrat. That assignment solidified with the historic election of 2000 and all the missing chads.

For those too young to remember that election, Al Gore won Florida and then he didn’t; George Bush won Florida and then he didn’t.

For weeks, the public had no idea who the next president would be.

The media spent hours upon hours discussing maps of the states and speculating how Bush or Gore might win. Commentator discussions centered on election night maps. States that voted Republican were colored red and states voting Democratic noted in blue.

The shorthand usage of the specific color simplified reporting. Red states meant Republican electoral votes and blue states meant Democratic electoral votes. The party color association became firmly established.

Nothing prevents the colors from changing, but it’s become so familiar there’s no reason to think it will. Not when election night audiences understand the code.

5 11, 2018

Two Ways to Develop an Attitude of Gratitude

By judythemorgan|2018-11-02T15:59:04-05:00November 5th, 2018|Holidays, Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

I know blogging about thankfulness and gratitude in November is cliché, but what better time to focus our thoughts on thankfulness and gratitude.

After all, we do celebrate Thanksgiving Day in America this month.

Too often, though, our attention on thankfulness is missing for the rest of the year.

Being grateful is a choice. If you’ve lived most of your life NOT focusing on gratitude, it’s not so simple to change that perspective.

Here are two ways to help you cultivate an attitude of thankfulness beyond one Thursday in November.

Keep a thankful list.

It’s sometimes hard to write down things that you’re thankful for, especially on those terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad days, but over time the act of physically writing out a daily list can produce an grateful attitude.

Start your list with simple things like a bed to sleep in. A house that keeps you dry and warm. The sunrise/sunset. If you look around you, there is so much to be thankful for.

If writing out a list isn’t for you, you could try grateful beads. That’s what I use.

My grateful bead string has ten beads to help recall things to be thankful for. Three beads for three people who touch your life. Six beads for six things, events, and occurrences and the final bead to remind you to give thanks to your creator.

You can find beads like mine here or do a search online for grateful beads. There are many options.

Share thankfulness on social media

We are a plugged-in culture, which makes it next to impossible to avoid social media altogether no matter how hard we might try. Social media sites are filled with an abundance of thoughts and images of wars, earthquakes, floods, fires, sick children, murdered spouses and, lately, politics.

By sharing positive, uplifting posts, memes, and videos instead of those, you encourage attitudes of thankfulness in yourself and others.

Give these two ideas a try, I think you’ll find an attitude of gratitude grows the more you use it.

29 10, 2018

Black Cats, Black Dogs, and Bad Luck

By judythemorgan|2018-10-18T10:32:41-05:00October 29th, 2018|Holidays, Make Me Think Monday|2 Comments

Around Halloween time, black cats and black dogs get a bad rap for their reputation of bringing bad luck.

Black cats have had a major role in folklore and mythology for centuries. Some of it good, some of it not so good.

In some places owning a black cat is considered lucky. In others, a black cat that crosses your path signals misfortune will come your way. This illustration from thesprucepets.com shows more folklore connected to black cats.

Illustration: Hugo Lin. © The Spruce, 2018

Then there’s all the black cat connection to sorcery, witchcraft, and devil worship. Cats are nocturnal and roam at night. Folklore says witches often take the form of black cats to carry out their nefarious schemes. Satanic cults use animals for ritual sacrifices, particularly black ones. Around Halloween many shelters will not permit black dog or cat adoptions because they fear for the animals’ safety.

But black cats aren’t alone with their associations to ill luck, black dogs also have the reputation. Folklore stories tell of a huge black dog with glowing red eyes that roams the countryside as the embodiment of the devil and warns that meeting a black dog at night is an omen for death.

Big, frightening black dogs appear in The Hound of the Baskervilles, the Harry Potter series, movies like The Omen and even on “Beware of Dog” signs.

Superstitions surround black dogs too. The Irish claim if a black dog visits the grave of a priest that priest was untrue to his vows. In Germany, if a black dog visits a woman’s grave it means she committed adultery. And, if a black dog follows you home, it brings good luck.

All this superstition and folklore has led to the Black Dog/Black Cat Syndrome. Animal shelter workers note that dark colored cats and dogs are overlooked for lighter colored companions. Campaigns to promote adoption of black animals help diminish the phenomenon. However, the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) tends to discount the syndrome. In fact, this 2016 ASPCA blog shows that black animals are actually adopted more.

To me, a dog or a cat is a good dog or a good cat, regardless of appearance. Color has nothing to do with character.

So should you come across a black cat or black dog in your wanderings this Halloween, don’t run away.

It could be they’re not out to cast a spell or bring you bad luck—they’re probably looking for a little love.

1 10, 2018

Do mushroom rings appear in your yard?

By judythemorgan|2018-09-25T16:11:51-05:00October 1st, 2018|Make Me Think Monday, Writer's Life|1 Comment

As seasons transition from spring to summer or fall to winter, there’s lots and lots of rain and these little mushroom rings pop up in yards.

Fairy rings, as these sprouting mushrooms are called, frequently appear after wet weather. The bizarre rings are also found in parks and woods.

The mushrooms don’t last long, but the fungi living under the ground can grow for many years. You can spot a fairy ring when there are no mushrooms by a visible circle. Sometimes the circle is lush and green other times it’s a ring of dead grass. It depends on the type of underground fungi.

Fairy rings need nutrients in the soil to grow mushrooms and, without obstructions to inhibit outward growth, can grow as large as a quarter-mile like the one in Belfort, France that is thought to be over 700 years old.

The arcs appear in lawns because we fertilize to nourish the mushrooms. Organic stuff especially offers plenty of food for a fairy ring. Over sixty mushroom species grow from fairy rings. Some are even eatable, but be cautious some of the mushrooms can also be poisonous.

For me the most interesting part of fairy rings is their mysterious reputation and mystical legends.

Also called elf circle, elf ring, or pixie ring, these arcs of mushrooms are said to be portals to unearthly worlds where fairies and witches dance. According to English legends, the mushrooms serve as stools for fairies after nights of revelry.

Many folk beliefs paint fairy rings as dangerous places, best to be avoided as this illustration title Plucked from the Fairy Circle depicts.

By T. H. Thomas [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Entering a ring on May Eve, Walpurgis Night (the Swedish Halloween night), or Halloween night was considered especially dangerous. That’s when sacred fairies and their clans are said to appear within the rings in angry and scary moods

Source: commons.wikimedia.org File:Fairy_Rings_and_Toadstools_by_R_Doyle.jpg

It makes me smile to think of friendly fairies dancing around in our yard’s fairy rings or resting on a toadstool.

But, you won’t find me out looking around on a Halloween night.

If you prefer not to have fairy rings growing in your yard, you can destroy the mushrooms using your lawn mower. That offers a temporary fix but doesn’t kill the underground fungi. Here’s a guide that will help you permanently remove fairy rings: https://homeguides.sfgate.com/kill-fairy-ring-mushrooms-45931.html

24 09, 2018

It’s the Back to School Season

By judythemorgan|2018-09-24T11:31:32-05:00September 24th, 2018|Make Me Think Monday, Writer's Life|3 Comments

Texas is a seasonless place. Life here is lived in a constant tropical sun. It puts you in a constant state of seasonal disorientation.

I’m not complaining merely stating fact. I live here by choice.

The lack of the brilliant bursts of color on the trees to signal fall has arrived means using other clues for the shift from summer to fall.

Here in Texas the back-to-school sensation of September is what marks fall’s beginning.

The temperatures aren’t going to change until maybe December. It’s the excitement of back-to-school sales and the sound of the yellow school buses in the morning that mean the season is changing.

As a kid, I loved going back to school. Seeing friends, getting new school clothes and shoes. Fresh new notebooks with all those empty pages waiting to be filled and sparkly new pencils waiting to be sharpened. It was an exciting time for me.

Now, flipping the calendar to September still brings that anticipation of new adventures. It’s a turning point, not only signaling the arrival of fall but also new beginnings.

A New Year means making resolutions. September is a time to assess progress. Where are we? How much further do we want to go?

Summer with its freedom from routine and laziness is over. Fall is the time to harness the momentum of back-to-school excitement and make a positive push forward.

Do you get that “back-to-school” sensation in September?

17 09, 2018

White after Labor Day – Yes or No

By judythemorgan|2018-09-05T07:02:46-05:00September 17th, 2018|Make Me Think Monday|2 Comments

About the same time Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894, the fashion world declared the first Monday in September should also signal the end of wearing white garments.

Today’s fashion world is much more relaxed about what colors to wear and when to wear certain styles. You are free to wear white clothing year round, if you choose.

Still, in the coming days and weeks, if you do don a white garment, someone will remind you of the age-old fashion directive.

Caroline Clemmons, a Facebook friend and fellow author, posted this cartoon. It was too perfect for today’s blog not to share.

So where did this crazy mandate come from? Three things contributed to its origin.

1. Climate

Before the days of central air conditioning, about the only way to stay cool during the dog days of summer was to wear light-colored, loose-fitting clothing. It made sense to wear white between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

2. Classism and Snobbery

Historians suggest the rule rose from affluent New Englanders who leftthe soot-covered, industrial cities to head to the beaches or mountains for the summer months. Resorts of the 1920s and 30s overflowed with patrons in white linen suits and Panama hats.

White came to symbolize wealth, but after the Civil War, distinguishing between who came from old money and who came from new money became increasing difficult. Establishing fashion rules like no white after Labor Day offered a means to weed out those who didn’t belong.

A desire for upward mobility meant adhering to the no-whites dictum and perpetuated the silly rule. Even into the twentieth century, many wouldn’t risk challenging the tradition by wearing summer white in fall or winter.

3. Fashion Marketing

Early on fashion designers and manufacturers recognized a lucrative market for white garments during the summer months and switching to dark colors for fall. Popular magazines began promoting garment color according to the seasons.

Whatever the reasons for the original fashion rule, rest assured leading fashion designers have declared the end of the dictum. Here’s what Michael Kors said in a 2013 Tweet:So the answer to my question about wearing white after Labor Day is YES wear white year round. You want to be glamorous, don’t you?

10 09, 2018

The Dog Days of Summer

By judythemorgan|2018-09-11T07:05:12-05:00September 10th, 2018|Make Me Think Monday, Writer's Life|0 Comments

Here in Texas we’re in the “dog days of summer.” It’s hot, it’s humid, and there doesn’t seem to be any relief.

We’re floating in swimming pools, searching for spaces to park our car beneath shade trees when we have to go shopping. Mostly we’re hibernating inside our air-conditioned homes to escape the heat and stay cool. Our dogs lie at our feet panting even though they’re not running around.

But summer heat doesn’t really have anything to do with dogs.

The term dog days of summer comes from astronomy and is a reference to the Dog Star Sirius, which rises and sets with the Sun in the summertime.

Ancient Egyptians believed that the brightness of Dog Star Sirius added heat to the sun and produced a long stretch of sultry weather during the forty days beginning July 3 and ending August 11.

The accuracy of those ancient “dog day” dates doesn’t hold true today according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Jim Andrews. Dog day dates vary based on in the rotation of the Earth and whether you live in the northern or southern hemisphere.

Anyone who’s lived in Texas knows that dog days in Texas can (and do) begin well before July 3 and extend long after August 11. Afternoon temperatures can soar to the nineties with heat indexes pushing well into the triple digits and heat wave warnings are sounded well into September.

Fortunately, dog days don’t last forever. And, summer can have its charm.

We get to enjoy lazy days sitting under the porch fan sipping lemonade and reading. Flip flops and sandals. Ice cream cones and frozen slushies. Watermelon and fresh veggies. It’s a laid back time.

Soon, these dog days will become a memory until they return next year. Fall will bring cooler weather and colorful leaves, pumpkins, and holiday bazaars.

I’m ready!

3 09, 2018

Labor Day Rest and Rainbows

By judythemorgan|2018-09-02T06:35:42-05:00September 3rd, 2018|Holidays, Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

Today is Labor Day. Unlike most U.S. holidays, it is a strange celebration without rituals, well, except for shopping and barbecuing. Interesting to note that Labor Day is also celebrated in Canada.

Peter J. McGuire, founder of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, and Matthew Maguire, secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York, are considered founders of the U.S. Labor Day. They sought a means of unifying union workers and a reduction in work time.

Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal in the 1882 and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic. Workers agreed and staged a strike to get a day off work on the first Monday in September.

Twelve years later, in 1894, Labor Day became an official federal holiday though the bill did not give everyone a holiday. Only federal employees are authorized the day off by the law.

Over the years, emphasis changed from protests and demands and Labor Day shifted to honoring the labor movement and the social and economic achievements of all American workers.

Though the holiday has no rituals, addresses by union officials, industrialists, government officials, and others do receive coverage in social media, newspapers, and television.

Nowadays Labor Day mostly signifies a three-day weekend filled with retail sales, an extra day away from work, and the unofficial end of summer and hot dog season. A day to laze around the house and watch the kickoff of the NFL season.

It’s a weekend to play and relax unless you work in retail then you’ll have some long working hours. Police, firefighters, nurses, etc. will also experience heavy workloads because Labor Day is the second most dangerous holiday weekend to drive on U.S. highways.

Taking a day for relaxation is a good thing according Douglas Pagels.

"Sometimes it's important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it's essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow."

If you’re one of those people who works all the time, why not follow Pagels’ advice today. Pick a rainbow color, grab one last hot dog, and slide down your rainbow beam.