Today’s trivia:

Q: Denzel Washington is celebrating his 53rd birthday today. During his college days at Fordham, he was a standout is which sport?

A: Basketball. Bay Area connection: His college hoops coach was former Warriors head coach P.J. Carlesimo.

Yes, today is National Chocolate Day. If you missed it, don’t worry. The third week of March is American Chocolate Week. May 12th is National Chocolate Chip Day. July 7th is Chocolate Day. July 28th is National Milk Chocolate Day. August 4th is National Chocolate Chip Day….again.  September 13th is International Chocolate Day, and October 28th is National Chocolate Day..again. I’ll celebrate all of them by eating my favorite ice cream..Haagen Daz Vanilla Bean.

Wednesday is missing. He’s the lone male swan that graces the pond at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. His two sisters, Monday and Blanche are still there, along with another female, Friday. Wednesday went AWOL Christmas evening at around 10. A search of the area revealed some feathers near a parking lot, so they suspect a visitor was looking for a pet. Free Wednesday!

Have a fabuloso weekend. It’ll be another pre-shrunk work week next week!

Our trivia question this AM:

Q: What year was Kwanzaa first celebrated?

A: 1966, and it’s celebrated December 26th until January 1st., and was created by Maulana Karenga, a professor of black studies at California State University at Long Beach. “Kwanzaa” is the Swahili word for “fresh fruits”.

Today’s Trvia Question:

Q: The late film critic Gene Siskel often referred to this movie as his favorite, and he saw it 17 times. The film?

A: Saturday Night Fever, which premiered on December 14, 1977

 Siskel at one time owned the white polyester leisure suit that Travolta wore in the movie. Later, the suit sold at auction for over 140 grand. Pretty steep for a suit that shouldn’t be worn near an open flame. By the way, the working title for the film was “Tribal Rights of Saturday Night”.
 

Good news if you enjoy strolling the beaches of Angel Island. The beaches there will re-open tomorrow. They’ve been closed since the Cosco Busan smacked into the Bay Bridge last month. Workers have been hard at work cleaning up Angel Island, along with other beaches and wildlife.  Even though the beaches will be reopening, officials are warning that there may still be globs of the leaked oil here and there. Just wipe your feet.

Madonna will be among the latest inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. (Where did THAT time go?) Along with Madonna, Leonard Cohen, John Mellencamp, the Ventures and the Dave Clark Five will inducted at the ceremony March 10^th at the Waldorf Astoria in NYC. The party will air on VH1 Classic.

I come across some pretty silly websites, especially this time of year.  And you know, honestly,
they are so much fun, and help to make you feel like a kid again….

Have a great day!!!

Today’s trivia question:

Q: What was the first cartoon character to have been made into a balloon for a parade?

A: Felix the Cat

Speaking of cats. We put up our Christmas tree up over the weekend, and to our two cats, it’s nothing but an eight foot cat toy. And answer me this. How come we leave bowls of fresh water all over the house, but the cats can only see fit to drink out of the Christmas tree stand and/or the toilet?  I know, I know. Keep the lids down. Thus another waste of perfectly good blog space.

We feel for the people charged with distributing toys to needy kids this Christmas. Their work had been made more difficult by all the toy recalls over the last year. Volunteer Karen Boyd,  who purchases toys for a toy drive in Kansas City, bought over three thousand toys when they were on sale last Spring. Now she and her crew have the daunting task of combing through all the toys to weed out those that have since been recalled. If you’re planning on donating a toy that you have purchased a while ago, that Marines’ Toys for Tots campaign has a website you can check for recalled items. www.toysfortots.org.

What else can go wrong? First there was spilled bunker oil, then the weather. High winds kept most crab fisherpeople of the water over the weekend. We hope they were able to get out this morning. Crabbers are still holding out hope that they’ll be able to make up for the loss of business over Thanksgiving. We hope so too.

It’s full speed ahead to decorated the house for Christmas…I always go with a “live” tree…so much so, that in the past I would cut my own tree down! 

Here’s my recipe for keeping your tree alive and not be a fire hazard!
Greetings!

Christmas Tree Recipe