Christmas Card Day, National Pastry Day

~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
December 9th, 2012

christmas ball

★~ Today’s Quote: “You cannot reach perfection however hard you try; there’s always one more friend or so you should have sent a card to,” Richard Armour.

★~ Christmas Card Day:

Sir Henry Cole hired painter and illustrator John Calcott Horsley to create a seasonal greeting to send to his friends and family. The lithograph edition of 1,000 depicted a scene of a merry family drinking at the dinner table. Only 20 of the original postcards were thought to have survived and the original proof was auctioned in 2005 for $16,000 according to USA Today. It’s considered the world’s first known Christmas card, according to the Greeting Card Association. Puritans objected to the picture showing people raising a glass to Christmas,” according to the BBC, but the sentiment behind the card, “A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year to You” and became a  Christmas tradition.. Christmas is the No. 1 card-sending holiday in the U.S. according to the greeting card industry.

★~ National Pastry Day:

Pastries have been around forever. In 2600 B.C., the Egyptians were making doughnut-like pastries out of crude flour and honey, and dipping them in wine.

In the 7th century, pastry making developed as a culinary art form in the Middle East. It spread to Europe after the Crusades, and French and Italian chefs developed their own version of the recipes and experimented with new techniques. The result was yummy! Sunday morning is always a good time to enjoy a bite of your favorite pastry.

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1854 – Alfred Lord Tennyson’s noted poem, “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” was published in England.

♥~ 1965 – The Peanuts gang made its TV debut this day. A Charlie Brown Christmas ran for the first time on CBS.

♥~ 1988 – According to a poll released in the US, the music of Neil Diamond was the best background music for sex, Beethoven was the second choice and Luther Vandross was voted third.

★~ Born Today:

♥~ 1916 – Kirk Douglas actor: Greedy, The Secret, Oscar, Queenie, Tough Guys, The Final Countdown, The Chosen, A Gunfight, There was a Crooked Man, The Arrangement, The Brotherhood, In Harm’s Way, Seven Days in May, Spartacus, Lonely are the Brave, Paths of Glory, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Lust for Life, Ulysses, Young Man with a Horn, Champion, The Bad and the Beautiful; father of actor Mike Douglas

♥~ 1928 – Dick Van Patten actor: Eight is Enough, When Things Were Rotten, WIOU, The Partners, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, Mama, A Dangerous Place, Spaceballs,Westworld, Superdad, Son of Blob

♥~ 1934 – Judi Dench Academy Award-winning actress [Shakespeare in Love (1999)]; The Corrections, Casino Royale, Mrs. Henderson Presents, Pride and Prejudice,The Chronicles of Riddick, Die Another Day, Mrs. Brown, Chocolat, Iris

♥~ 1942 – Dick Butkus College and Pro Football Hall of Famer: Chicago Bears: middle linebacker: NFL Defensive Player of the Year [1969, 1970]; actor: Rich Man, Poor Man, Half Nelson

♥~ 1957 – Donny Osmond singer: Go Away Little Girl, Puppy Love; [w/sister, Marie]: I’m Leaving It All Up to You; group: Osmond Brothers: One Bad Apple; TV host:Donny and Marie; actor: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; dance champ: Dancing with the Stars [2009]

♥~ 1962 – Felicity Huffman actress: Desperate Housewives, Transamerica, Christmas with the Kranks, Raising Helen, Path to War, Snap Decision, Magnolia, Harrison: Cry of the City

★~ Did You Know: Christmas Cards that make you wonder…what were they thinking?

Well…they look like a very fit family.

Cole has a lot to be grateful for….

Ohhh…I get it!!

Power to the pup who wants out!

Well this is a jolly Christmas card.

Mom sure stands out.

Well at least they all have their eyes closed.

I am ordering one of these for dearly departed Joe. Of-course I will put his picture in it.

#

Last night while I was intent on pursing tasteless Christmas cards, the lady from Purple Heart called me asking for a donation (clothing and such). I said, “Sure,” like I do every month, and she told me pick up would be December 24. I said, “Oh Christmas Eve,” and she said, “Yes, I hope no one else notices that.”  Good luck.

My house decorating is coming along. Today, I will capture my run-amuck teen and remind him that Santa really appreciates a Christmas tree with some lights on it. Last week, I took another fall. I went for a ride on the valance that tops my blinds (it’s over 12 feet long and very slick). It has to be taken down to hang the greenery above the tree, and I was being very careful on the step stool but somehow managed to step on the valance, which took me for a bit of  ride before dumping me onto the tile floor. I was so ticked off that I flung the ornament in my hand against the wall and then stepped on a piece of glass when I stood up. Suffice to say, that while I feel much better than I did three days ago, I’m not standing on a step stool to hang lights. My goal this holiday season is to make it into the New Year in one piece, so from here on out, the teen will be climbing on the ladders and swinging from the chandeliers.

What are your plans for today?

14 thoughts on “Christmas Card Day, National Pastry Day

  1. Morno,
    Those Christmas cards are a sight to behold. I thought some of the ones my ex came up with the kids were little were bad but not that bad.
    Pastries? What kind of pastries?
    Good idea to let Cole handle the step stool. Your record so far this year isn’t all that great and you haven’t even had ice yet.
    Sis for dinner. I was at a Christmas party past my bedtime, and had a little more nog than I should so I am headed to the couch to snooze for awhile and may stay there with the remote in my hand for a good part of the day,
    Have a good one.

    • Pastries any kind of sweet that flakes. Next year I will remind you to buy a box of Pepperidge farms pastries. Very tasty!
      I’m sure you looked very cute in your Christmas sweater on your ex’s Christmas card.

  2. Woke up much to early. The mistletoe card amuses me. I was lucky my mom just stuck a school snapshot of me in the card. I guess i was lucky they were usually pretty bad but not as bad as what you have shared with us.
    Party weekend for me too so after church and the grocery store I am going to lay low and finish my decorating and I am thinking of making stew for dinner.
    Happy Sunday.

  3. Can’t wait for the family to wake up so I can show them these cards and say SEE! All I ask you to do is to wear nice clothes and smile. I wonder how I would look in that dress?
    Love pastries of all kinds.
    The snow on Odd is very festive.
    Kb! Be careful!!
    On the run….Have a jolly day.

    • Liz…I think simple is the best way to shoot a family Christmas card. I’m sure you would look much better in that dress than the women posing in it did. I wondered if maybe she has lost 100 pounds over the past year and wanted to show off her new body.

  4. Mercy, you must be going through an accident-prone phase. Glad you didn’t get hurt badly in this one, but you really ought to be more careful. Cole only has one mama, and your luck doesn’t seem to be very good right now. Get yourself some Howlite, a semiprecious gemstone that’s usually white with grey streaks through it. Howlite is good for calming you down, reducing tension and anxiety; it also helps eliminate pain and stress and disperses muscle tension. No charge for the recommendation!!

  5. It’s hard to believe someone would actually pose for those pictures! This is the nastiest day we’ve had in a long time. It’s cold and the wind is howling and the dirt is blowing. You can’t even see the mountain. Ick

    • I was so glad we did not have a family Christmas card growing up. One good thing about you is that while you loved the Waltons and the Little House on the Fairy at least you didn’t think it was possible to recreate those moments in real life.

  6. i like the snow falling on odd, too. nice touch!
    a charlie brown christmas is a timeless classic.
    child labor is a good thing. ease up on those falls.
    i enjoy christmas cards except for these. merry christmas from all of us did give me a chuckle though.

    • Thank you. I thought it was festive and at the right we are going it is the only snow we will see. Someone called the “Merry Christmas from All of Us” the Clint Eastwood card on Facebook.

  7. May I suggest buying the plastic ornaments if you must throw them. No chance of stepping on broken glass that way.

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