Thanksgiving Poll
It’s time for my annual Thanksgiving Poll. I’ve added a few more answer choices this year.
Veterans’ Day
Armistice Day, Veterans’ Day, Remembrance Day
The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month…
In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you, from failing hands, we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Written by Lt-Colonel John McRae (1915)
11/11/11
Single Digit Day!
The last binary day of the century.
eleven eleven eleven.
Jen from Cake Wrecks
I had the opportunity to go meet Jen and John from Cake Wrecks at a local book signing on Sunday and I took it!
The signing was at the Chicago-ish stop on the Winter Underlined tour at The Book Stall in Winnetka, IL. It’s a lovely store with nooks and crannies, just the type of book store I would love to open.
It was more than just a book signing too, it was a show.
Here’s Jen with Gena from I Heart Cakes and the wonderful “World Tour” cake Gena made for the occasion.
[flickr]6328778029[/flickr]
Jen and Gena had a little trouble getting the world to turn, but then they realized that it turned the other way. Jen said that it made perfect sense that the Carrot Jockey would go backwards.
I had a great time. My piece of cake was here:
Editing Fail
There are many copies of this at my local Walmart. One on each cash register.
[flickr]6326315892[/flickr]
“hero’s” should be “heroes”. The word is a plural, not a possessive.
“veteran’s” should be “veterans”. Once again, we have a plural, not a possessive.
This sentence has problems:
Help us honor your veteran’s, police officer and fireman, by bringing a photo to your photo dept.
As noted above, it should be “veterans,” not “veteran’s”. Then we have the plural of veteran, but singular “police officer” and “fireman”.
There is some controversy over serial commas. Some say that there should be a comma before “and” or “or” and some say that there should not be a comma before “and”. I am from the comma-before-and school. Whichever you prefer, the comma in the above sentence between fireman and by is wrong and should not be there. I also think the “and” should be replaced by “or”.
“Department” should be spelled out instead of abbreviated.
The final sentence is way off as well.
Starting October 20th – November 11th and honor your special hero by receiving a coupon for 2 5×7’s.
The “and” is superfluous. Some people use the apostrophe to indicate plurals with numerals, some do not.
How does one honor one’s hero by receiving a coupon? Apparently you take a photo of your hero to the photo department and the employee there will put your photo on the “Wall of Honor” to be seen by Walmart employees and customers. They will also give you a coupon good for two 5″ by 7″ prints.
It’s also out of balance with all that black space.
My suggestion:
Where Has The Time Gone?
As November rolls around I start thinking about birthdays. That’s because two of my children have birthdays this month. My youngest will be eleven years old on the 18th. The very next day, my eldest will be twenty-one. Twenty-one years old! How the heck did that happen? I don’t feel any older…
I remember when my daughter was born. So tiny she was. Four pounds, ten ounces and eighteen inches long at birth. She was about three weeks early. Actually The Little Guy was as well. We were in an old house and to make sure she stayed warm I would swaddle her snugly and set her in the bassinet. She was so tiny that regular receiving blankets worked to swaddle her for the first few months.
As she got older and bigger, the blankets became too small for proper swaddling. I could have used one of the Aden and Anais large swaddling blankets that will work for newborns and older babies. Swaddling makes a baby feel secure and swaddling along with “shhh”ing noises can calm a baby and help the baby go to sleep. Overnight of course, the dangers of leaking diapers are higher and an Aden and Anais Swaddle four-pack will help ensure there’s a clean one available.
She has special needs; epilepsy, a developmental delay, a moderate hearing impairment, and lupus. She loves to watch Nick Jr. and Barney. She loves the Transformers movies, Bumblebee, and Sam.
She also loves puzzles. Some of the best I’ve found are from Melissa and Doug toys. There’s also a wooden “paper dolls” set that she loves. Different clothing items stick to the figures using magnets. These are great toys for younger children as well. Sturdier than cardboard puzzles, yet still intricate enough for small motor skills work.
She’ll be 21 later this month. My older son just turned 17 in August. My little guy will be 11 the day before his sister turns 21. It feels as if all three were born only the day before yesterday. Where did the time go?
1960s Baby Walker
It’s amazing I survived! 🙂
[flickr]6243533161[/flickr]
Autumn Color
[flickr]6223944646[/flickr]
Never Forget
The complete list of 2996.
Paul Pansini:
From a profile published in the New York Times on 8/11/2002
Paul Pansini
World Trade Center
His Presence Is Everywhere
- Paul Pansini
Paul Pansini loved the excitement of being a firefighter in downtown Manhattan, but his days off meant a great deal, too. Firefighter Pansini, 36, took his son, Paul Jack, now 7, and his twin daughters, Anna and Claire, now 3, everywhere when he was not working. “He was brave enough to even take them to the store,” his wife, Janice, recalled.
Since Sept. 11, the family has, in turn, felt his presence everywhere. “I feel him definitely in my house,” Mrs. Pansini said. The family lives in his childhood home in Tottenville in Staten Island. When they moved there in November 1994, the couple almost tore the century-old house down.
Now she is glad they did not. In Tottenville, they are surrounded by family members who keep his presence strong, including his sister, Loretta Halpert.
Lake George was Firefighter Pansini’s favorite spot in the world. This summer, as Mrs. Pansini packed for their annual vacation to the lake, Claire asked if they were going to meet Daddy there. “I’m blown away by how much they remember him,” Mrs. Pansini said. “I don’t think he knew how much he meant to so many people. He was a very comical person. The love of my life. People keep coming up to me and saying, `I miss him so much.’ ”
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Our thoughts and prayers go out every day to Paul’s friends, family, and coworkers at Ten House. Six men were lost that day from that Firehouse.
Click either picture to embiggen.
Translation Bleg – Updated
Can anyone translate this from Arabic? (click to embiggen):
The whole box:
The interior and contents:
This was given to my father many years ago when he was with the Traffic Institute at Northwestern University. I believe it was given to him by a Saudi Police Officer. There is an engraving on the other side of the vessel. I’ll try to get a better picture of it or a rubbing of the engraving.
UPDATE (August 24): Here’s a close up of the engraving on the other side of the pitcher.
