~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
September 29, 2014

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

★~ International 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.

★~ 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.

★~ 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

★~ Coffee Gallimaufry:

Why we love coffee . .

Wake up! If you’re not a morning person, coffee helps wake you up and become more alert for the morning commute, early meetings, and responding to questions from your boss, customers, or coworkers.

Get an Edge: Even if you are a “morning person”, coffee can still give you an extra edge in dealing with the challenges of the day.

When you’re chilled to the bone: Coffee warms you up on a cold day

Fresh Perspective: A cup of coffee gives you a good excuse to take a break, socialize with friends and coworkers, and step away from your work for a few minutes. Breaks can help you approach tasks with renewed vigor and creativity. When the brain starts getting stale, a coffee break can be the perfect way to recharge your battery.

Health Benefits of Coffee: Recent research has attributed coffee with having protective properties that may reduce the risk of developing certain diseases, such as Parkinson’s Disease, Type 2 Diabetes, liver cancer, prostate cancer, basal cell carcinoma, and Alzheimer’s disease. So does coffee have some sort of magical properties that make it a veritable panacea for the ills of mankind? No–but if it does help tip the scales in the right direction for being healthier, then it’s a good thing.

Coffee tastes great–especially if you start with freshly roasted coffee beans, filtered water, a clean coffee pot, a good coffee grinder, and the right coffee-to-water ratio.

Social Benefits: Coffee provides a great “excuse” to get together with a friend and catch up on old times at the neighborhood cafe. Getting a cup of coffee is also an age-old formula for renewing a friendship, cultivating business connections, or starting a relationship.

More Energy and Endurance: Coffee is said to improve your performance in running, exercising, and athletics.

Hanging out in cafes and coffee shops can be an interesting experience in and of itself. The furniture is often comfortable, the music is typically conducive to reading a book, writing, or catching up on your e-mails, and you might even stumble upon some really great-tasting coffee for sale!

It’s Habit forming–but in a good way! Drinking coffee is a comforting ritual in an otherwise stressful world.

(brought to you by coffee lovers everywhere)

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Meet my morning Dragon. I said it was a little water leak….

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/107489681[/vimeo]

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

Odd Loves Company,