~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
December 22

★~ Today’s Quote: Nothing says holidays, like a cheese log. ~ Ellen DeGeneres

★~ National Haiku Poetry Day:

A day to celebrate the popular Japanese poetry form called Haiku.
walking the long
shadows under a warm winter’s
setting sun.

★~ Wrap It Up Day:

Tempus fugit! (And they say Latin is a lost language.) It’s time to put a bow on it and call it a wrap. When it comes to gift wrapping, like with most crafty endeavors I am hopeless. My sweet mother can measure with precision, make crisp corners, and line all the patterns up so they match. Every package will have a bow and you will never see a piece of tape. Sometimes I wonder if my sweet mom brought the right baby home from the hospital. I solved my gift-wrapping problems by hiring someone to do it for me. Vickie, our Camp-Run-A-Pup camp Mary Pupkins, was originally hired to wrap gifts for me but when I saw how much my pups and campers loved her… well, I told she could never leave me and she hasn’t except for a short time I prefer to pretend never happened. Vickie remains my finest multitasking helper and friend.

El Morno friend Teresa was bah humbugging yesterday because “Christmas wrapping paper does not fit a shirt box. All wrapping paper is made too big. And we all know why it’s made this way, right? It’s so we’re forced to buy more paper we don’t need and can’t use and will WASTE so the paper companies can make more money. Humbug on Christmas wrapping paper!!”

Can we talk about gift wrap? It’s a slow El Morno…we have time! I just don’t think enough attention has been given to this topic. What are your feelings about gift wrap? What about gift bags? Do you buy your gift wrap in bulk at Tarjay or do you appreciate the joys of fine gift wrap? Are you a bow person? Do you gift wrap in a variety of gift wrap paper? Or do you stick to a color theme? Do you assign each person in your family a color? Do you use recycled paper? How do you feel when someone hands you a gift still in the store bag with a bow plunked on the top? Do you consider yourself an accomplished gift wrapper taking pride in your craft, matching the tissue to the paper and folding it precisely? There is so much more I want to know, but these questions are a good start. Please do share your opinions, thoughts, introspections.

★~ Date Nut Bread Day:

We just celebrated Date Nut Bread Day on September 8th, so I am not nuts about celebrating it again. I’m going to make banana nut bread instead. But in case you missed Date Nut Bread Day the first time, here is your chance to make it up; if you eat it again, Emily and I will give you extra credit, but if you want to substitute Christmas bread or banana nut bread, we understand. However, be forewarned: Fruitcake Day is heading our way…so do not get ahead of yourself

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1956 – First gorilla born in captivity.. “Colo” was born at the Columbus, OH, zoo, weighing in at 3¼ pounds.

♥~ 1958 – The Chipmunks were at the #1 position on the music charts on this day in 1958 as Alvin, Simon, and Theodore sang with David Seville. The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late), the novelty tune that topped the charts for a month, is still a Christmas favorite today…

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1905-  Kenneth Rexroth, Poet,  born on this day in South Bend, Indiana (1905). He lived on Chicago’s West Side, traveled around the States, and then settled in San Francisco when the city was the new destination for young artists. There, he hung out with poets Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. He published more than 50 books of poetry, including The Phoenix and the Tortoise (1944) and In Defense of the Earth (1956). He once said, “Man thrives where angels would die of ecstasy and where pigs would die of disgust.”

♥~ 1945 – Diane Sawyer TV journalist: 60 Minutes, Prime Time Live, 20/20, Good Morning America; anchor: ABC World News

♥~ 1946 – Rick Nielsen musician: guitar, singer: group: Cheap Trick: I Want You to Want Me, Ain’t That a Shame, Dream Police, Voices

♥~ 1949 – Maurice Gibb musician: bass, songwriter: group: Bee Gees: score for Saturday Night Fever, How Deep is Your Love, Stayin’ Alive; married to singer Lulu; died Jan 12, 2003

♥~ 1949 – Robin Gibb musician, songwriter: group: Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart; see Maurice Gibb: twins

★~ Did You Know: 

♥~ The launch of the Hallmarks gift-wrap line came about almost by accident. During the holiday season of 1917, the company sold all its holiday red, white, green and holly-patterned tissue, which was sold to customers to wrap their packages. Some decorative French envelope lining papers were brought from the manufacturing plant and placed on a top of a showcase. They sold quickly at 0.10 per sheet. The following year, the sheets were offered at 3 for $0.25 cents and sold out again

♥~ Wrapping paper ballooned in popularity over the following century, and is now a huge industry, accounting for $2.6 billion a year (as of June, 2010) in retail sales.

♥~ Fifty percent of all of the paper consumed in the U.S. is used for gift wrapping and decoration for consumer products

♥~ Victorian gift-wrap was an art form that developed from designing Christmas cards. Gift papers were intricately printed and adorned with lace and ribbon.

♥~  In Chinese culture, red wrapping connotes luck.

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Do share your gift wrapping thoughts and opinions! Odd Loves Company!

♥