Say cheese.....

 Today (and I found this one all by myself) is National Smile Day.  It's also Cinnamon Roll Day.  My west coast brother told me about that one, but I'm choosing to ignore it because I'm still trying to loose the five pounds I gained on our recent vacation, and everyone knows that just sniffing the aroma of 'Cinnabons' can cause you to gain at least a pound.  But I do like the idea of Smile Day.  Friendly smiles always brighten my days.  But people aren't the only ones who smile.  My dogs used to smile at me when I gave them treats.  Cats not so much, but I did see an interesting report on dolphins on the news this evening.  Evidently they have a facial expression that really is a smile.  They have been observed smiling at each other.  However, they don't seem to smile at people.  I can understand that.  People they encounter most often are observing them in captivity situations.  That would probably not evoke a smile in me either.  Don't get me wrong, I really do like dolphins and I have seen stories of friendly interactions with humans and watched them perform.  But enough about dolphins.  Give someone a big smile before you go to bed tonight.

technical difficulties...

Today is National Techies Day.  One of my favorite techies supplied me with that information.  Lucky for me I'm married to an electrical engineer.  You can't get much more techie than that. And boy do I need him.  This evening, while trying to write my blog I have been frustrated by a sticky light switch, a problem with my tablet, and some hesitancy in how this laptop is behaving.  Therefore, this blog is done for now.  Perhaps tomorrow night, after my favorite techie has time to ponder my problems, I'll blog more cheerfully.

What's in a name?

 Today, according to my west coast brother, is "National Name Your Car Day."  I don't know your feelings about this, but I have always named my cars. It makes them seem friendlier somehow.  I'm the first to admit that my car names aren't particularly original but I'm not the only car- naming person. When I bought my current car, a pretty blue Fiat 500L, there was a large board in the showroom where buyers were encouraged to write the names of their new cars.  The name of my car is "Blue."  As I said, not wildly original, but it suits it.  At this point I couldn't change the name if I wanted to.  In Indiana we only have license plates on the back of our cars leaving the front space common to most cars available for decorative plates. Thanks to a gift from one of my granddaughters soon after I bought the car, the plate on the front of my car proudly pronounces "Nana's Blue."  I'm not sure how my spouse feels about naming cars but I've named it "Red." I will not, however, be giving him a decorative plate. 

another great day...

 Once again my west coast brother has lightened my mood with his humor.  I watched the VP debate this evening which was not fun, but, while watching, I was able to celebrate International Day of Older Persons (that's me), Homemade Cookie Day, and World Vegetarian Day by simply being older, enjoying a cup of warm cider (that's certainly vegetarian) and eating a homemade cookie.  Ok, I must admit that the cookies were not made in a home but rather in our church kitchen.  However, I do know, because I have helped bake them in other years, that they are made from scratch with all of the same ingredients you would use at home.  My husband likes the cinnamon sugar cookies while I favor the molasses cookies.  My mother used to bake really excellent molasses cookies and these come as close as any I've tasted since.  As far as being a vegetarian is concerned, my brother informs me that he is a 'virtual vegetarian.'  He only eats vegetables or things that have previously eaten vegetables.  It works for me.