~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
July 1, 2013

★~ Today’s Quote: “It’s Canada Day today. Or tomorrow if that’s more convenient for you.” Canadian tweet.

★~ First day of the Second Half of the Year! July is….

♥~  National Hotdog Month

♥~ National Grilling Month: Grilled Summer Fruit 

♥~ National Ice Cream Month;

♥~ National Horseradish Month:

♥~ Park and Recreation Month:  Wild deals will be happening everywhere.

♥~  July is the best month to  buy- “Older” computers: Intel and AMD and system makers start ramping up for new stuff now, discounting old stuff. Furniture: Stores make an inventory push, so if you like something, make an offer. Broadway tickets: It’s off-season for NYC tourism, so now’s the time to snag those half-off tickets.  Grills (after July 4th): Wait for it, wait for it … now, grab that grill, while stores shift toward back-to-school.

★ ~ Happy Birthday Canada:

Canada Day! On July 1, 1867, the nation was officially born when the Constitution Act joined three provinces into one country: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Canada province, which then split into Ontario and Quebec. However, Canada was not completely independent of England until 1982. The holiday called Dominion Day was officially established in 1879, but it wasn’t observed by many Canadians, who considered themselves to be British citizens. Dominion Day started to catch on when the 50th anniversary of the confederation rolled around in 1917. In 1946, a bill was put forth to rename Dominion Day, but arguments in the House of Commons over what to call the holiday stalled the bill.

The 100th anniversary in 1967 saw the growth of the spirit of Canadian patriotism and Dominion Day celebrations really began to take off. Although quite a few Canadians already called the holiday Canada Day (Fête du Canada), the new name wasn’t formally adopted until October of 1982.

Today Canada is 167 years old. Happy Canada Day, El Morno Friend Joanne!

★ ~ International Joke Day:

Are we all giggling?! Good! Today is all about silly jokes and laughter.  Most of the time we tell jokes too fast, our timing is off, and we forget the punch-line—but really, that is part of the fun. So, celebrate today by sharing your favorite joke—even if it’s so old the Dead Sea was just getting sick the first time someone told it! I’ll start.

Five Englishmen in an Audi Quattro arrive at the Italian border.

The Italian Customs agent stops them and says, “It’s illegal to put 5 people in a Quattro.”

“What do you mean it’s illegal?” ask the Englishmen.

“Quattro means four,” replies the Italian official.

“Quattro is just the name of the automobile,” the Englishmen retort disbelievingly. “Look at the papers: this car is designed to carry 5 persons.”

“You can’t pull that one on me,” replies the Italian customs agent. “Quattro means four. You have five people in your car and you are therefore breaking the law.”

The Englishmen replies angrily, “You idiot! Call your supervisor over—I want to speak to someone with more intelligence!”

“Sorry,” responds the Italian official, “he can’t come. He’s busy with 2 guys in a Fiat Uno.”

Rado

★ ~ Create Your Own Ice Cream Flavor Day:

July is Ice Cream Month, officially designated by Ronald Reagan in 1984. To kick the month off, we are invited to create our own ice cream flavor or try a new flavor combination.

★~ Today in History:

♥ ~ 1847 – The first adhesive postage stamps went on sale. Ben Franklin graced the nickel stamp while George Washington was pictured on the ten-cent stamp. Prior to 1846 all United States mail was sent without postage affixed and was either prepaid or paid by the recipient with the markings and cancels indicating the method of payment and the method of transportation.

♥ ~ 1874 – The first zoo in the United States opened in Philadelphia, PA. Over 3,000 visitors paid 25 cents (adults) or 10 cents (children) to see the 1,000 animals housed in the Philadelphia Zoological Society zoo

♥ ~ 1910 – Black and Decker was founded by Duncan Black and Alonzo Decker. They started in Baltimore, with milk bottle cap machines and candy dippers. The partners introduced their first major tool in 1917 – a portable 1/2-inch electric drill with patented pistol grip and trigger switch, with can now be viewed at the Smithsonian.

♥ ~ 1941 – Bulova Watch company sponsored the first TV commercial. Remember “It’s Bulova Watch Time?” It was broadcast over WNBT-TV in New York City, and was a familiar advertising message on TV, radio and in print for many years. That first TV ad, incidentally, cost the watchmaker $9.

♥ ~ 1989 –  Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner and former Playmate Kimberly Conrad were married in Los Angeles. He was 63 and she was 26.

★~ Born Today:

♥~ 1908 – Estée Lauder  cosmetics mogul; died Apr 24, 2004

♥ ~ 1934 – Sydney Pollack director: The Firm, Out of Africa, Tootsie, Absence of Malice, They Shoot Horses Don’t They, Three Days of the Condor, The Way We Were; died May 26, 2008

♥ ~ 1934 – Jamie Farr (Jameel Joseph Farah) actor: M*A*S*H, The Blackboard Jungle, Scrooged, Cannonball Run, With Six You Get Egg Roll

♥ ~ 1951 – Daryl Anderson, Actor (“Lou Grant”)

♥ ~ 1952 – Dan Aykroyd comedian, actor: Driving Miss Daisy, Sneakers, Coneheads, Saturday Night Live, Dragnet, Ghostbusters, The Blues Brothers, Pearl Harbor

♥ ~ 1961 – Princess Diana (Spencer) Princess of Wales; killed in car crash in Paris, France, August 31, 1997

♥ ~ 1963 – Mr. Zip of the United States Post Office. He’s the familiar character seen on the sides of mailboxes and on posters. Mr. Zip was introduced to help educate people to use the 5-digit ZIP (Zone Improvement Program) code. Mr. Zip now has new members of the family. There are four digits after the original five, to get that mail to you even faster.

♥ ~ 1977 – Liv Tyler model, actress: Silent Fall, Heavy, That Thing You Do!, Armageddon, Cookie’s Fortune, Lord of the Rings series

♥ ~ Good to Know:

Canadianisms Way More Interesting Than “Eh?”  El Morno friend Joanne will have to share more Canadianisms and perhaps set the record straight on some of these….

♥~ BACK JUNK –  “Junk” was a word for a chunk of log or piece of firewood. “Back junk” is defined as “a large log placed at the back of a wood fire to make it last.”

♥~ CALGARY REDEYE –  Skip the Bloody Mary and have one of these, “a mixture of tomato juice and beer, a drink associated with Calgary, Alberta, and the surrounding area.”

♥~ HOGTOWN –  A nickname for Toronto which some say harkens back to its role in the meat-packing industry, but which the dictionary says is “so called because outsiders accuse Torontonians of taking everything unto themselves.”

♥~ HYDRO –  Hydro-electric power. Canadians still talk about dealing with their “hydro bill.”

♥~ IDIOT STICK –  A small, cheap version of a Native totem pole sold to tourists in British Columbia.

♥~IMPROVED BRITISHER –  Good-natured teasing term for “an immigrant from the British Isles, especially an Englishman, who has been in Canada long enough to have lost some of his native shortcomings.” See also, “improved Scotsman.”

♥~ JAWBONE –  An old Western slang term for credit, “presumably because the jawbone had to be exercised in speaking to win over the creditor.” A 1966 citation reads, “the mower parts would have been charged or, in the language of the country, put on his jawbone.”

♥~  MOOSE MILK –  Northern slang for moonshine, it has also come to refer to mixed drinks based on rum and milk.

♥~ The Canadian side of Niagara Falls,  is much more impressive than the American side.

♥~ OGOPOGO – A sea monster said to live in Okanagan Lake in British Columbia. A 1936 source describes what he looks like: “Ogopogo’s head is slightly reminiscent of Henry VIII, he has a torso like an accordeon, and a tail like a shillelagh.”

♥~ RUBABOO – A stew of pemmican, flour, and various other things on hand. Now used figuratively for a mishmash of varied stuff. An arts festival in Alberta calls itself Rubaboo after “a Michif (Métis) word meaning a stew that’s full of life and food that feeds the spirit.”

♥~ BUNNY HUG – “A hooded sweatshirt.” (Saskatchewan)

♥~  LOONIE –  “One dollar coin.”

♥~ A lorry is a truck. Tip:  If you can get a Canadian to say lorry do, because it’s humorous (all about Canada)

♥~  Tickety-Boo – One of my personal favorite.  Everything is just fine.

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Sunday night 11:55pm: I’m waiting for the car warriors to come home and roll the Bug into his nesting place. It’s been a long day. I’m sure Cole will post pictures tomorrow on his blog so I will resist sharing…ok maybe one…I was a blogger first! And besides this isn’t technically a picture of the car…and I’m the MOTHER.

RABBIT RABBIT!!! The clock just stuck midnight.

Happy July 1st! It’s going to be an awesome month!

Odd Loves Company!