Did You Know?
Did You Know Goals Work Better When You’re A Plane Not A Train?
2023 is quickly coming to an end, or rather, 2024 is fast approaching. And you know what that means? People are setting goals for the new year. Trains Have you ever ridden on a train? I’ve been on several in the states (specifically in Washington and Alaska),...
Did You Know This U.S. President Banned Christmas Trees in the White House?
Christmas customs and traditions are many and varied. One of the best-known, at least in the U.S., is the Christmas tree. Evergreens Evergreen trees, like mistletoe and other evergreen plants, have been used in pagan and Christian winter festivals for thousands...
Did You Know This Christmas Tradition Began in Bird Poop?
What do Christmas, Druids, a Norse god, and bird droppings have in common? Mistletoe, of course! The Plant Mistletoe is a semi-parasitic plant that grows in large spherical clumps on a wide variety of hosts—trees and shrubs. Some mistletoe clumps can get as...
Did You Know In Colonial America, “Gingerbread Work” Didn’t Refer To Cookies?
Christmas—my favorite time of the year. One of the many things associated with the Christmas season is gingerbread. What Is It Gingerbread covers a broad range of baked goods. From crisp cookies to moist cakes, gingerbread is any baked good, seasoned with...
Did You Know Tomorrow Never Comes?
Tomorrow is technically always a point in the future. When it finally arrives, it’s no longer tomorrow, but today. Tennessee When I first moved to Tennessee, I did the touristy thing, visiting entertainment and historical sites. In those first couple of years,...
Did You Know “Bubble and Squeak” Doesn’t Refer to Bath Time?
Food Names What Thanksgiving leftovers are you now enjoying? Turkey? Green bean casserole? Sweet potatoes? Pecan pie? The names of these foods make sense. They tell you exactly what you’re eating. Other dishes have names that not only don’t provide a clue as to what...
Did You Know You Don’t Have To Be A Professional Writer To Love Writing?
Write Day? Did you know writing has a national day? Just recently I learned that November 15 was National I Love To Write Day. (How did I not know this?) It started 21 years ago, created by non-fiction and self-help Delaware-based author John Riddle. His goal was to...
Did You Know Diamonds Can’t Burn, But They Can Walk Away?
As I’ve mentioned before, I believe every family has at least one mystery in their family tree. One of mine happened 120 years ago this month. Setting the Scene In the late 1800s, beauty pageants weren’t as we know them today. Back then, “contestants” submitted...
Did You Know November is NaNoWriMo?
November is a special month for authors, both because of NaNoWriMo and because of National Author’s Day. NaNoWriMo NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It started in 1999 as a challenge: Write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days—writing only,...
Did You Know You Can Celebrate This Holiday With Chicken Feed?
Another Halloween is almost upon us. History Halloween began more than 2,000 years ago as a pre-Christian Celtic festival called “Samhain” (pronounced "sow-in" and meaning summer’s end). It marked the changing seasons and the final day of the harvest. While it...