SUNDAY/FUNDAY- SUNDAY OCTOBER 11th, 2020

 SUNDAY/FUNDAY- SUNDAY OCTOBER 11th, 2020

Welcome to my Sunday Funday blog!!!  I hope you have an amazing day!!!

SOME PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

I’m going to share some of my personal reflections for a few weeks.

I was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  (My guess is I’m the only one who has been to Cedar Rapids!!!)

Cedar Rapids is the second-largest city in Iowa (after Des Moines - the capital city).  It was in my day (fifty-plus-years-ago) an industrial city.  Quaker Oats had a big facility there.  I remember as a kid having a tour through Quaker Oats and seeing puffed wheat being ‘shot out of guns’.  Depending on the wind, you could smell the aroma of Quaker Oats, or Penick-and-Ford - who made syrup, the packing plant (not the best of aromas), Corn Sweeteners (yep - those people who make the ‘high fructose corn sweeteners’), plus Collins Radio (I’m not sure who they are owned by today - Raytheon).  We took pride in knowing the Collins Radio made some of the communications for the early NASA flights.  (My uncle Leo was one of the first employees there - something like ID badge #8). 
 

Cedar Rapids was well named - for it was a city on the Cedar River.  There was a dam - with early hydroelectric power for oat and other processing - because of the rapids on the river.  

The city municipal buildings were on an island in the middle of the River (below the dam).  We were told that just Cedar Rapids and Paris (France) were the only cities where the city buildings were in the middle of a river.

Supposedly, my great-great-grandfather, built (or helped build) the first wood-frame house on the west side of the Cedar River at the rapids. 

Maybe one of my artistic memories was of Grant Wood - an American painter.  His famous painting is American Gothic - with his dentist as the man and his sister as the lady.  https://www.wikiart.org/en/grant-wood I grew up liking his style - such as Stone City (https://www.wikiart.org/en/grant-wood/stone-city-iowa-1930).  When we drove to visit cousins, we would drive past that same point where he painted this.  The river is the Wapsipinicon River - which meanders its way to the Mississippi River.  

One of the main windows on the Colosseum on that island in the Cedar River was by Grant Wood.  

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MOVING ON

Some ‘easy’ (or so I think) Riddles

-1 What has to be broken before you can use it?

-2 What month of the year has 28 days?

-3 What is always in front of you but can’t be seen?

-4 There’s a one-story house in which everything is yellow. Yellow walls, yellow doors, yellow furniture. What color are the stairs?

-5 A man who was outside in the rain without an umbrella or hat didn’t get a single hair on his head wet. Why?

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DID YOU KNOW?

I am a time traveler!!!  This morning I left my bedroom at 6:07 and got to the adjoining living room at 6:10!!  I traveled forward in time by three minutes!!!  As I’m in a one-bedroom apartment, I thought about running out the front door, climbing in my window, and getting ahead three more minutes.  If I did this ten times, I’d be half-an-hour ahead!!!  WOOO!!!

Oh, I could just be boring - and set both digital clocks to the same time ...

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NATIONAL DAYS

Sunday, October 11th - National Coming Out Day

It is a strange new world - of sexual orientation, gender orientation, and more.  I still have trouble delineating my mental and gender station!!  (Let’s see, legally my name is Karen White, my driver’s license says “Karen White” most of my accounts are “Karen White”.  I guess I don’t need to ‘come out’!!!)

Monday, October 12th - Columbus Day

Some businesses will have this day off.  It has been a controversial day.  When I taught in South Dakota, some of my Native American friends treated this day as a day of mourning.  I have heard this called “Pioneer Day”, “Native American Day”, and “Indigenous Peoples Day”.  

October 12th - National Kick Butt Day

I wasn’t sure of this.  But the description is: “National Kick Butt Day on October 12 is a day to take action. Is there a bad habit you wanted to kick in the butt? Or a resolution you made but had trouble following through? Well, on National Kick Butt Day you can change all that. Seize the day and take a little step toward fulfilling your goals.  (So, if you want to stop smoking, exercise more, etc, just “kick some butt and get it done!!!)

Tuesday, October 13th to Friday, October 30th - Early Voting in Texas

We are getting closer to the National Election.  I’m working this election as an “elections clerk”.  Depending on where you live, you will have different times.  Some of you may have opted for a ‘absentee ballot’ (or a ‘mail-in ballot’).  Make sure it gets in on time!!!

Two related days on October 13th and one a few days later

Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day – October 13, 2020

National No-Bra Day - October 13, 2020

National Mammography Day - October 16h

We, women, need to be aware of the chance of breast cancer.    

My mother had breast cancer - and caught it early enough and lived to 98 years old!!!

(Aside, you know me … I have been getting notes from my health care system reminding me to get my mammogram!!) 

And, these days:

National Sausage Pizza Day - Sunday, October 11

National Pulled Pork Day - Monday, October 12

I LOVE Pulled Pork (okay, not the same ‘love’ as in “LOVE WINS”!!).  If I am out-to-eat, there is maybe a 50/50 chance that I will order the Pulled Pork sandwich.  Some versions (Carolina versions) have coleslaw on the sandwich - I like coleslaw, but not in my sandwich!!!

National M&M Day - Tuesday, October 13

Okay - time to fess up.  I’m too big on regular or even peanut M&Ms - but I like the Peanut Butter M&Ms and Crispy M&Ms.  I think sometimes they have mint or other flavors as well.

National Dessert Day - Wednesday, October 14

And, my favorite dessert?  (Almost anything!!!  This summer, my ‘go-to’ dessert was a rootbeer float!!!)

National Cheese Curd day - Thursday, October 15

My daughter, (Becky) loves her cheese curds and you can get them at most Culver’s restaurants.  I will pass!!!

National Grouch Day - Thursday, October 15

That reminds me of the old joke: 
Q:  Did you wake up grouchy this morning?

A:  No, I let her sleep!!!  (or I let him sleep)

National I Love Lucy Day - Thursday, October 15

I suppose I’ve seen all the old reruns of I Love Lucy shows (most in black and white). And, I still like them.

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Luke 6:26-31 says “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Do you recognize that last sentence - “Do to others as you would have them do to you”?  That is called the “Golden Rule”.  Love your enemies - pray for them, turn the other cheek, give them what they want!!  

Why can’t we love one another? 

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RIDDLE ANSWERS:

-1 What has to be broken before you can use it?  An egg!!

-2 What month of the year has 28 days? Every one of the months!!

-3 What is always in front of you but can’t be seen?  The future

-4 There’s a one-story house in which everything is yellow. Yellow walls, yellow doors, yellow furniture. What color are the stairs?  There are NO stairs - it is a one-story house

-5 A man who was outside in the rain without an umbrella or hat didn’t get a single hair on his head wet. Why?  He was bald!!!

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I’ll write again next week (although I’ll be working for the election!!).  

If you haven’t checked it out, I do a daily blog at https://karens2019.blogspot.com/  It is the same as the Facebook page.

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Hugs!!

Love Wins!!

Karen