Here’s the thing.  For nearly a year we have been living in a Twilight Zonesque reality.  Life as we knew it has become obscured by the horrific global pandemic.  We have come to live by new rules of conduct hoping to flatten the curve of Covid infections and stop the spread.  This necessary new lifestyle has affected people in many different ways.  Some of us have coped better than others.  One of the positives has been finding fun and being grateful for any interactions with other humans.  Have you discovered how much fun it can be to get groceries or go to the pharmacy?  Even a dental appointment to get teeth cleaned is quite the social event. 
 
Looking at the little things through a lens of gratitude and humor is a happiness booster.  At least it’s true for me.  I think the current reality is fodder for humor.  In fact, I find myself seeing humor in things that would have gone on unnoticed in “normal” times.
 
The other day I thought it would be fun to check out Buzz Feed’s quizzes.  There were all sorts from the bizarre to actually serious.  I came upon this one I hat to share.    As can be surmised from the blog title this one involves pizza, specifically pizza toppings.  Did you know that the Great Pizza Prognosticator can tell you your mother’s name by the toppings you choose?  This is one goofy questionnaire.  Truth be told, I don’t believe the Pizza Prophet will replace the magic 8 Ball any too soon.  Go ahead,  Take the quiz for some chuckles.  Then order a pizza.

Click here... BuzzFeed link to Quiz.
Or copy and paste the link below...
https://www.buzzfeed.com/leliajeanette/check-off-all-of-the-pizza-toppings-you-want-and-w-f6vw4rs0kx

With Valentine’s Day approaching I thought this article in the Farmer’s Almanac was a kind of interesting read. 
 
Valentine’s Day just a week away, is one of the busiest times of the year for florists. Did you know that, according to the National Retail Federation, a third of the $20 billion spent in 2020 on Valentine’s Day was on flowers? A lot of this likely went to the staggering 250 billion roses produced for the holiday each year. 

Have you ever wondered why we send romantic partners red roses and not, say, snapdragons? Sure, roses are beautiful and smell wonderful, but it’s more than that: All flowers actually have their own unique meanings and symbolism dating back centuries.
 
The “secret language” of flowers can be traced to the creative endeavors of ancient peoples. Myths, folklore, sonnets, and plays of the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and Chinese are filled with flower and plant symbolism. Even fans of Shakespeare can attest to the Bard’s love affair with using flowers for deeper meaning in his work.
 
In the Victorian era, flowers were often used to express thoughts and feelings that couldn’t be said out loud. In fact, most households had guidebooks to help decipher each missive’s true meaning.
 
This brings us back to roses. Depending on their color, roses can mean many things. The traditional red rose signifies “love,” while dark crimson roses are tied to mourning and grief. Pink roses mean “happiness,” and white ones say, “I’m worthy of you.” Yellow roses from a romantic partner—possibly alluding to “jealousy” or “infidelity”—could spell trouble.
 
Of course, the traditional symbolism of a flower means far less these days. Most people just appreciate a beautiful bouquet, especially of their favorite flowers.
 
Roses are red
Violets are blue.
That’s as far as I got-
Whatever.  Have a Happy Valentine’s Day.

Comments are welcomed.

Tomorrow is Ground Hog Day.      There is only so much one can say about GH Day, so I decided to reprint my previous blog.  Curious  that groundhogs have become meteorology mavens.  At the least it is all fodder for fun and that’s a good thing.
 
The truth of the matter is February 2 is the half way mark between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.  Whether Punxsutawney Phil, Ontario’s Wiarton Willie, Nova Scotia’s Shubanacadie Sam, New York’s Staten Island Chuck, Georgia’s General Beauregard Lee, Toronto’s Dundas Donna or who ever your local rodent is, and whether or not he/she sees his/her shadow , spring is still 6 weeks away.  Oh well, it’s all in fun anyway.
 
This groundhog business got me wondering about it’s origin. 

Groundhog Day has its roots in the ancient Christian tradition of Candlemas, when clergy would bless and distribute candles needed for winter. The candles represented how long and cold the winter would be. Germans expanded on this concept by selecting an animal–the hedgehog–as a means of predicting weather. Once they came to America, German settlers in Pennsylvania continued the tradition, although they switched from hedgehogs to groundhogs, which were plentiful.
 
The first official Ground Hog Day celebration was Feb. 2, 1887 in Punxsutawney, PA.  It was the brain child of local newspaper editor, Clymer Freas, who sold a group of business men and hunters known as the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club on the idea.
 
Nowadays, the yearly festivities in Punxsutawney are presided over by a band of local dignitaries known as the Inner Circle. Its members wear top hats and conduct the official proceedings in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect. They supposedly speak to the groundhog in Groundhogese.  (Do you suppose Groundhogese is an accredited language one can study for university credit?)
 
If that isn’t enough, you might like to know groundhogs are sometimes called whistling pigs.  Sleeping is the groundhog’s favorite activity.  Groundhogs are vegetarians which gardeners and farmers probably know all too well.  Groundhogs are the Frank Lloyd Wrights of the rodent world.  Their burrows consist of a number of rooms – an eating room, a sleeping room, a nursery and a waste room (bathroom).  There you have it.  A few groundhoggy facts you may never have wanted to know. 
 
We will await the Marmot’s prognostication and hope no one has a Bill Murray event.

Comments are welcomed.