Verna and Bob's Weblog

Bob

Fat Tuesday 2023

Mardi Gras in French means “Fat Tuesday.” The slogan above is French for “Let the good times roll.” Verna and I visited “Noo Awlins” in October of 1998 and picked up on some of the jargon while we were there. New Orleans is, to say the least, a very interesting place. We were not in town during Mardi Gras, however, and were able to see the town relatively unabated by the enormous crowds that would appear a few months later.

The Mardi Gras festival takes place on the last day before Ash Wednesday which is when Lent begins. The word “Carnival,” is derived from middle Latin “Carne Vale” for “good-bye to meat.” So, today is that Fat Tuesday — let the day of feasting begin.

Actually, we celebrated Mardi Gras a few days early when we enjoyed a bowl of Gumbo, a traditional Southern stew consisting of chicken, Andouille Sausage, shrimp, okra and other vegetables in a spicy broth. Clickable image below taken from the Food Blog.

Here is more about Fat Tuesday from Britannica.com

Mardi Gras, (French: Fat Tuesday) festive day celebrated in France on Shrove Tuesday (the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday), which marks the close of the pre-Lenten season. The French name Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday, from the custom of using all the fats in the home before Lent in preparation for fasting and abstinence.

In the United States the principal Carnival celebration is in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Carnival season there opens on Twelfth Night (Epiphany, January 6) and climaxes with the Mardi Gras festivities commencing 10 days before Shrove Tuesday. This period is filled with elaborate revelrous parades, both day and night, building up to Mardi Gras and the Rex parade. Beads of yellow, gold, green, and purple are commonly distributed, and the eating of king cake is an iconic part of the celebration.

February 21, 2023 by Culture Food and Dining Religion

Valentines Day 2023

Waterford Lismore Crystal Irish Coffee Mugs

Verna traditionally gets some Waterford Crystal on Valentine’s Day. She chose Irish coffee mugs this year. And yes, we have already enjoyed Irish coffee served in these mugs.

Russel Stover Sugar-Free Chocolates

Sugar-free confections are the order of the day when it comes to Valentine’s Day treats. These candies are just the ticket for a sweet treat.

Verna’s Favorite Stargazer Lilies

Verna’s favorite flowers, Stargazer Lilies are featured in our flower vase on this Valentine’s Day. Click on any image to enlarge.

February 14, 2023 by Flowers Food and Dining Holidays Something Shiny

A Very Nostalgic Photo

Brothers at a Wedding

During the past week, my niece, Amanda, shared the photo above on one of the social media platforms we frequent. She said “Look what I came across!” It is a photo of me (left) and my younger (but taller) brother, James, on his wedding day. I was Jim’s best man in the ceremony when he married Darla, who also happened to be one of my classmates in High School.

I have never seen this photo despite having (obviously) been there when it was taken in July of 1970. Someone may have posed us in the tie-fixing photo but the truth is that I just don’t remember. The wedding took place nearly 53 years ago. But, there we are, all young and dapper-looking, preparing for the wedding. I was about to turn 27 and Jim was 23 years old.

Niece Amanda also attached one more photo in her social media post of the wedding couple and their folks:

Jim and Darla and their Parents

These photos will be added to my collection of nostalgic items archived on the genealogy website that I use.

January 25, 2023 by Family Nostalgia

Lemon Harvest Part III

Verna and I picked lemons and pruned the tree this afternoon. We managed to reap an estimated 150 of the good-sized citrus fruit. This is the third time this season that we have picked lemons since the little tree bore more fruit than we have ever seen and one day’s worth of effort comes nowhere near clearing the tree. There are still many lemons on the tree that will need another round of picking later.

We gave lemons to neighbors, friends, the Dermatologist, the Barber and we still have more to give. Of course, there are going to be some in reserve for Verna’s annual production of Limoncello.

More info about the Lisbon Lemon Tree From The Spruce:

The Lisbon lemon (Citrus x limon ‘Lisbon’) is one of the most widely available varieties of lemon found in shops worldwide. If you live in a hot and dry region, you can grow Lisbon lemon trees outdoors and receive an abundant harvest.

[More]

January 17, 2023 by Arizona Home & Garden Retirement

Ephemeris Back On-Line

Old Sidebar Widget from February 11, 2021

Remember the Solar Ephemeris sidebar widget from our old blog theme? It gave daily information about the sun cycle — that is, sunrise, sunset and so forth. Well, I have it back on-line in the form of a sidebar link to a dedicated page that has the old widget code embedded in it.

I had some problems with making it work with the new versions of the server-side software that we use. There were some minor, but show-stopping changes to the platform that killed the Ephemeris code that ran on the old theme. I spent a couple of hours debugging the code today and now have the prototype running again in the “Bob’s Solar Ephemeris” page. Click on the link or select the page from the sidebar. Disclaimer: it’s still a work in progress and is subject to formatting changes.

One of these days, I might start on an interactive widget where users can put in their own geographical coordinates to see the sun’s daily times for their location.

January 5, 2023 by Blogosphere Nerdliness

Happy New Year — 2023

Happy 2023!

The photo in the image above is of “Hieroglyph Ridge” (a name I made up) taken from the road that runs in front of our house. The original without the graphic greeting can be seen here.

December 31, 2022 by Holidays Photography

Avalon 1998

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