Daily Quote: April 30, 2021

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Forty is the old age of youth,
fifty is the youth of old age.

~ Hosea Ballou (American – Clergyman April 30, 1771 – June 7, 1852)

Holidays and Celebrations:

Porte Musings:

For all the Jazz Lovers, today is International Jazz Day. So get out the Jazz records, have a glass of wine and just mellow out with some mellow jazz or zip it up with some jarring jazz.

The last Friday in April is National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day. At the beginning of the Pandemic everyone thought they would get a puppy. Now many of those puppies are ending up in shelters. Give one of these no longer loved pets a permanent home. My own dog is from the shelter in Tampa Florida. The shelter was going to euthanize all of the dogs due to overcrowding. A local radio station heard of their plight and offered to supplement the adoption fees. Dogs were on sale for $20. So we went to take one home and Rickie stole our hearts. Now 7 years later it’s hard to remember when he wasn’t part of our family.

Talking about animals, on April 30th, 1938 the Happy Rabbit made his debut in a Warner Brothers short cartoon titled “Porky’s Hare Hunt.” Maturing gracefully, we all know the Happy Rabbit as Bugs Bunny. So this last day of April is remembered as Bugs Bunny Day.

Daily Quote: April 13, 2021

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Walking is the best possible exercise.
Habituate yourself to walk very far.

~ Thomas Jefferson (American – President / April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826)

Holidays and Celebrations:

Porte Musings:

Thai citizens celebrate the Thai New Year. I say it would be a wonderful day to celebrate and start again. Still under stay at home orders in Ontario our children will not be returning to in person classes after the spring break. All children will be continuing their learning for the remainder of the school year at home and on line. Even private schools have been ordered to continue by remote learning. The only exception is day care.

Today is Thomas Jefferson’s Birthday, also called Thomas Jefferson Day. Inventor and President as well as a strong supporter of walking as the best exercise. So celebrate by going for a walk. Even under stay at home orders the Provincial Parks are open and admission is free Monday to Thursday. Do some “forest bathing” to refresh your soul.

If the weather doesn’t co-operate you could celebrate Scrabble Day. One of my favorite games, Scrabble on line or in person challenges everyone. So memorize those 2 letter words, keep your mind active and play a game with a friend or two.

Daily Quote: April 10, 2021

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The more we do, the more we can do.

~ William Hazlitt (English – Critic / April 10, 1778 – September 18, 1830)

Holidays and Celebrations:

Porte Musings:

So with many things the more we do, the more we can do. So go for a walk. Slow down the aging process by doing a puzzle or just talking with others. Travel as much as you can as soon as you can so it becomes a part of a routine ingrained in your life and dreams. Practice makes perfect. That’s why so many golfers are out there on a regular basis swinging away. So if you’re a golfer celebrate Golfer’s Day.

Today is also National Siblings Day. Like most families, two of my sisters have recently stopped talking to each other and disowned each other. It breaks my heart. I love both of them. So here’s a quick prayer for all the siblings that don’t talk to each other: may you reconcile and share your time together while you can. Celebrate National Siblings Day by reaching out to your siblings and whenever possible spend time together.

It’s easy to celebrate National Hug Your Dog Day, I hug my dog every day. Rickie’s constant companionship has even been an important part of my life every since I adopted him more than 7 years ago. I rescued him, or should I say he rescued me, giving me incentive to go for long walks and forcing me to remember to play. We’ve both gotten a lot greyer in the last year.

Daily Quote: April 9, 2021

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The sky’s the limit if you have a roof over your head.

~ Sol Hurok (American – Musician  /April 9, 1888 – March 5, 1974)

Holidays and Celebrations:

Porte Musings:

The sky’s the limit when you have a roof over your head. Both the sky and head are also important as we celebrate National Chicken Little Awareness Day. The chicken that thought the sky was falling because something fell on his head. And everything is a matter of perspective. You may not be the world, but you may mean the world to someone.

Dreams of magical creatures are always filled with rainbows and Unicorns, as we celebrate National Unicorn Day. Even better, Unicorns with wings…..

The farthest from Unicorns would be Sir Winston Churchill. Realist, cigar in hand and leading a country during a tough time with tough decisions, helping to defeat the Nazi’s. A tough realist with strong opinions: A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an sees and opportunity in every difficulty.

Under stay at home orders, the Provincial Government has opened the Provincial Parks from Monday to Thursday for free for day use. Anyone who buys a seasonal day pass has the date extended until the end of November 2022. As my husband said: yeah and if they don’t sell any passes, they’ll close the parks just like they did our Senior’s Centre in Strathroy ON. So I purchased an annual pass and can go to any Provincial Park any day from now until the end of November 2022. My son’s got my little trailer out of the garage for me and I’m ready to go kayaking. ❤

Daily Quote: November 24, 2020

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If you want the present to be different from the past,
study the past.

~ Baruch Spinoza (Dutch – Philosopher /November 24, 1632 – February 21, 1677)

Holidays and Celebrations:

*While some areas are in lock down, I went shopping with my sister to find a dress for my youngest son’s upcoming wedding. In London Ontario there are still many places you can try on clothes. The staff very carefully clean the dressing areas after each customer. David’s Bridal Store is one of them. I was treated almost royally and even with my modest budget was able to find a beautiful blue formal dress on sale for under $150. We’re hoping the restrictions don’t become more stringent in our area and that the December 12th wedding still goes ahead in the chosen venue.

*I really enjoyed shopping yesterday, something I haven’t really done since we’ve been home from Texas in March. There were very little people in the malls and the sales staff was very welcoming. I couldn’t get over all the “Black Friday Sales”. I actually found jeans at Reitman’s for only $29; slippers at Suzy Shier’s for only $10 and fancy earrings for only $6. Unfortunately I didn’t find dress shoes that fit my size 6 DD feet. I’ll have to check out the Ovation Shoes Premium Outlet in Strathroy ON to see if they have any.

Daily Quote: November 23, 2020

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You know, as photographers, we do pictures, and people either like them or they hate them.

~ Peter Lindbergh (German – Photographer / November 23, 1944 – September 3, 2019

Holidays and Celebrations:

Daily Quote: November 22, 2020

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Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence.

~Abigail Adams (American – First Lady / November 22, 1744 – October 28, 1818)

Holidays and Celebrations:

*Growing up Sundays were family adventure days. We would all load up into the car and either go to visit someone or go for a picnic. During the Pandemic we won’t be going to visit anyone, but the idea of going for a drive still means adventure.

Daily Quote: November 21, 2020

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Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination.

~Voltaire (French – Writer / November 21, 1694 – May 30, 1778)

Holidays and Celebrations:

* Only 1 month from the darkest day of the year, the winter solstice, and for some it is already the darkest day. COVID-19 numbers continue to rise during this second wave filling emergency rooms to capacity. The Canadian/USA Boarder remains closed for at least another 30 days. Parts of Ontario (Toronto and Peel) will be entering a lock down and only essentials will be available. Christmas is already being labelled as different this year because we’ll probably be sitting alone, zooming our family, and waiting for this pandemic to end. Hope is around in the New Year as a vaccine is being developed and distribution is anticipated.

Cases

LocationTotal casesNew cases (1 day*)New cases (last 60 days)Cases per 1 million peopleDeaths
Worldwide55,624,562No data60-day trend chart7,1541,338,100
United States12,000,041198,53760-day trend chart36,413254,320
Source: Wikipedia
LocationTotal casesNew cases (1 day*)New cases (last 60 days)Cases per 1 million peopleDeaths
Worldwide55,624,562No data60-day trend chart7,1541,338,100
Canada320,7194,96260-day trend chart8,44511,334
Quebec129,6991,25960-day trend chart15,7896,774
Ontario104,3071,44060-day trend chart7,6703,501
Source: Wikipedia

Daily Quote: November 20, 2020

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Admitting Error clears the Score,
And proves you Wiser than before.

~ Arthur Guiterman (American – Comedian / November 20, 1871 – January 11, 1943)

Holidays and Celebrations:

Checking on Ancestry.ca there was an update for my Paternal Grandmother, her marriage certificate for her first marriage, Unfortunately it didn’t include the annulment or any information concerning the fact that her first husband was a bigamist and had another family less than 50 miles away. Shortly after their daughter was born he was arrested, charged and served time for this crime. Two families that he had been supporting, very well, were left without support and his life was forever ruined. Cases like this make me wonder about our justice system. How did incarceration help anyone or resolve the problem, by leaving everyone in poverty? It probably would have been better if he had been forced to “Pay for his crime” by providing child support and alimony for the mothers.

Daily Quote: November 18, 2020

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A liar begins with making falsehood appear like truth,
and ends with making truth itself appear like falsehood.

~ William Shenstone (English – Poet / November 18, 1714 – February 11, 1763)

Holidays and Celebrations:

  • GIS Day (Geographic Information Systems Day)
  • MICKEY MOUSE BIRTHDAY
  • Only 10 turtles sitting on logs last week, with the change in the weather now there are none. Snow gently covers our yards and spreads its arms around the ponds.
  • Every time I read about a person being fired for speaking the truth I am afraid for my Southern friends and Democracy. It’s very strange to think that the head of Homeland Security can be fired because he says that there is no evidence of election conspiracy. Even stranger that a President in his Lame Duck phase can continue to make these decisions then tells the world that he almost started WWIII this past week. Perhaps Homeland Security should fire him?