~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
September 29, 2012

★~ Today’s Quote: “Eat a goose on Michaelmas Day,  Want not for money all the year”  (Goose Day tradition)

★~ Harvest~Aries Moon:

Turn your attention toward the night sky Saturday night and you will enjoy the glow of a harvest moon, the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox, which this year was on Sept. 22. It’s different from the other full moons because it rises at roughly the same time for several nights running, giving more light. “In the days before tractors with headlights, having moonlight to work by was crucial to getting the harvest in quickly before rain caused it to rot,” says Alan MacRobert, an editor at Sky &Telescope magazine. The harvest moon will rise this year at 11:19 p.m. ET.

During the harvest full moon, Aries will conjunct (joined with) Uranus, planet of change, and will form a tense square to transformational Pluto in Capricorn. Full moons are always illuminating, and with these two destabilizing planets in the mix, we may not be able to avoid making necessary changes in our lives.

It’s time to question the things we take for granted—and whether they serve our best interests anymore.This full moon gives us the gusto to revolutionize that stale relationship, make over our living situation, heal a rift with a family, or move on from a toxic situation.

★~ Michaelmas Day:

The festival of Michaelmas occurs on September 29 and is named after St. Michael, known as the protector of humanity, who inspires qualities of courage, initiative, and steadfastness. As we move away from the expansiveness of summer, the weather turns cooler, the days grow shorter, and we stop and honor St Michael, allowing his strength to help strengthen our will and move us into a more reflective and meditative state as we approach winter.

The Celts celebrated Michaelmas as a way to mark the autumnal equinox — the end of harvest time and the turning of the weather and seasons. In the Christian tradition, St. Michael fights and slays a dragon. Simply put, the dragon is a metaphor for the devil and the temptation to sin.

St Michael’s Day traditions include giving visitors bunches of carrots tied with pieces of red string. Carrots were considered lucky, especially if the carrots had forked roots. A well-fattened goose fed on the stubble from the fields after the harvest is eaten to guarantee the diner good fortune in the coming year and that he or she would be at least $1,000 richer by the end of 12 months. Another tradition is predicting the weather for the coming winter by the color of the breast meat of the Michaelmas goose. Also a posy of Michaelmas daisies or purple asters was used to decorate the dinner table.

On Michaelmas Day, we are invited to consider the resolve we require as we head into winter, the areas that we need to strengthen in ourselves, the fears that we need to face, and the initiatives that will we take.

The festival of Michaelmas Click for more about Michaelmas

★~ National Coffee Day:

The El Morn-o-ers are very picky about their coffee. They don’t like flavored coffee, they do like flavored coffee, they want cream not milk, they want cream but not half-half, they want half-half but not cream. Some believe Starbucks is the best coffee, other prefer Pete’s or Intelligentsia Coffee.

However today all coffee fiends can join hands,  rejoice and celebrate their beloved coffee bean with free brew from many national chains. Did You Know (below) lists some places that may be offering free coffee in your neck of the woods.

Click for more facts about coffee

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1916 – John D. Rockefeller’s wealth made him the first American billionaire.

♥~ 1960 – My Three Sons was welcomed into U.S. homes on ABC-TV. Fred MacMurray, who was a movie actor, had a difficult time making the adjustment to the small screen. But adjust he did, and My Three Sons endured so well that CBS bought the successful hit for somewhere between seven and ten million dollars in 1965.

♥~ 1963 – The sitcom My Favorite Martian premiered on CBS-TV. It starred Bill Bixby as Tim O’Hara and Ray Walston as the Martian, Martin O’Hara. The show ran through Sep 4, 1966

♥~ 1987- Thirty Something the debut of the popular baby boomer TV series  It starred Ken Olin, Mel Harris, Timothy Busfield, Patricia Wettig, and Melanie Mayron.

★~ Born Today:

♥~ 1547- Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, written four centuries ago and now considered to be the first modern novel.

♥~ 1907 – (Orvon) Gene Autry ‘The Singing Cowboy’: actor: 100+ cowboy westerns; singer: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine, The Death of Mother Jones, You are My Sunshine, Mexicali Rose, Back in the Saddle Again; owner: California Angels, Golden West Broadcasting; CMA Hall of Famer; only person to have 5 Hollywood Walk of Fame stars [film, radio, TV, stage, records];died Oct 2, 1998

♥~ 1923 – Stanley Berenstain and his wife, Jan, created the Berenstain Bears, a series that now has more than 200 books. They wrote the first, called The Big Honey Hunt, in 1962.

♥~ 1923 – Bum Phillips football coach: Houston Oilers

♥~ 1935 – Jerry Lee Lewis Rock and Roll Hall of Famer [1986]:singer: Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On, Great Balls of Fire, Breathless; cousin of singer Mickey Gilley, and evangelist Jimmy Swaggart

★~ Did You Know: Free Coffee Offers 

♥~ Remember it is possible that offers will change or quantities will be limited!

♥~7-11 Free 20 oz large coffee from 6am – 10 am, Friday, September 28, 2012. It’s possible some 7-11 will extend this offer.

♥~ Caribou Coffee  Caribou fans who present an official Amy’s Blend coupon will  receive a free small cup of Amy’s Blend coffee – The coupon will be posted on Caribou’s social platforms.

♥~ Dunkin’ Donuts – Dunkin’ Donuts is offering a pound of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee for $5.99 at participating restaurants while supplies last (limit of two per guest).

♥~ Dunn Bros – All day on National Coffee Day, buy one pound of our fresh roasted coffee beans and get a second pound for half off.

♥~ Dutch Bros. Offer varies by store. Click here for Dutch Bros. offers in your local area.

♥~Einstein Bros Bagels Pumpkin Latte B1G1 on Saturday, September 29, 2012

♥~Kangaroo Express 1¢ Bean Street Coffee (12oz) between 8 a.m. and noon on September 29, 2012 (One per customer, while supplies last.)Kangaroo Express Locator

♥~Klatch Coffee –  Customer will be invited to choose a special out of Klatch Coffee’s National Coffee Day Bucket (available to use at that time only).

♥~ Krispy Kreme – Receive a Free 12 oz cup of coffee from our participating shops in the US and Canada on Saturday, September 29, 2012 on National Coffee Day. No purchase necessary.

♥~LaMar’s Donuts and Coffee – Select LaMar’s locations will be participating in National Coffee Day this year. Participating LaMar’s Donuts locations will be providing free 12oz cups of our gourmet, freshly brewed coffee to customers.

♥~ McDonald’s “Thank You” to customers, they are giving away a FREE small Premium Roast McCafe coffee every day from September 23-29. Some McDonalds are extending this offer through September 30.

♥~Noah’s New York Bagels Pumpkin Latte B1G1 on Saturday, September 29, 2012

♥~Starbucks – Buy 1 Box of K Cups (12 count) Get 1 Free Through 9/30.

♥~ Tim Horton’s  Offering a  buy one coffee get one free coupon. Valid this Saturday, September 29 Print off the coupon here

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Today, our Michaelmas dragon, knight, (as a pretend St. Michael), and princess will join our Michaelmas celebration. The figures are a little bent around the edges; they have been well used over the past 15 years, and I suspect they will be used again today to act out the story of St. Michael and the dragon. Who can resist a good dragon fight? In my house the dragon sometimes eats the princess or slays St. Michael and runs off with the princess. I think that one year St. Michael and the dragon went to a bar for beer together.

We won’t be eating goose for dinner, but I might make rock Cornish game hen, and purple aster flowers will take center stage on our table — unless we decide to grab some Italian beef sandwiches and head out to watch the moon rise, or Cole takes off with friends. The day is still up for discussion.

Don’t forget to grab a free coffee deal in celebration of coffee day! Check out this week’s Swap and Blog, and for those of you who have asked, I will turn my crystal ball on and pull out my tarot cards on Sunday. If you are interested in having your fortune told (and I hope you are), watch for the blog post.

Wishing you a day filled with the energy of Michaelmas! Now, get out there and toast a dragon!