Rachael Blackmore made Grand National history by becoming the first female jockey to win the race as she rode Minella Times across the finishing line at the Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England.
The Grand National is a steeplechase with an official distance of about 4 miles. Horses jump 30 fences in over two laps. Considered one of the biggest races in Europe, it has a prize fund of £1 million (that’s $1,383,190 in U.S. dollars).
Blackmore timed her finish to perfection. She waited until after the 30th and final fence to let Minella Times surge ahead and take the lead. (Talk about a real nail bitter!)
Blackmore is the 20th female jockey to compete in the race’s 182-year history. It wasn’t until 1975, when the Sex Discrimination Act was passed, that female jockeys were allowed to enter and race in the Grand National.
And it arrives on Sunday, guaranteed to dazzle curious sky watchers, amateur astronomers and romantics alike. The Super Moon lasts for just a moment, 12:48 p.m. MST to be exact, when it will appear closest to the Earth. But don’t worry if you miss this fleeting opportunity, you will still be able to see a big, round Moon from Saturday, March 27 through Tuesday, March 30.
Did you know this weekend’s Super Moon has many names? It is most commonly called the Worm Moon. According to Native American lore, indigenous tribes reportedly named it that after the earthworms that appear as the soil warms in spring.
Another explanation for this name comes from Captain Jonathan Carver, an 18th-century explorer, who wrote that this Moon name refers to a different sort of “worm”—beetle larvae—which begin to emerge from the thawing bark of trees and other winter hideouts.
But wait, there’s more March Moon names like the Eagle Moon, Goose Moon or Crow Comes Back Moon.
Even more names refer to signs of the Spring season like:
Sugar Moon – When the sap of sugar maples starts to flow.
The Wind Strong Moon – For strong, windy days that come this time of year.
The Sore Eyes Moon – The blinding rays of sunlight that can reflect off the melting snow in late winter.
This year, because it is the first full Moon after the spring equinox on March 20, it is known as the Paschal Full Moon. No matter what it is called, it will be a sight to behold so don’t miss this it.
With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, I wanted to find out more about one particular Irish tradition — kissing the Blarney Stone. It is said that kissing the Blarney Stone will give a person the gift of eloquence and persuasiveness.
This tradition has been around for centuries with various legends surrounding the Blarney Stone’s origins. One story claims it was acquired during the Crusades and brought back to Ireland, while another tale states it was made from the same type of rock used at Stonehenge.
An additional account even links it to the Stone of Scone, also called the Stone of Destiny, which has been used for hundreds of years in the inauguration of Scottish and English kings.
In 2014, geologists from the University of Glasgow concluded that the famous rock isn’t from Scotland, but instead is made of 330-million-year-old limestone found south of Ireland.
So, does it work? Maybe. Winston Churchill is among the list of famous stone smackers. He planted a peck years before becoming the British Prime Minister. Who’s to say that little smooch didn’t bestow a little eloquence and persuasiveness on Churchill?
Unfortunately, if you want to give the ol’ Blarney Stone a kiss, you’ll have to travel to Ireland where the iconic stone is set in a wall at Blarney Castle.
But go with a traveling companion you trust because they will have to hold you while you hang upside down to kiss the stone.
Who doesn’t love cookies? From homemade to store bought, there are countless choices for us to enjoy with a tall glass of milk.
But no one loves cookies more than the Muppet, Cookie Monster! Probably as recognizable as Kermit the Frog, Cookie Monster, or Sid as he is known by close personal friends, has been a beloved character on Sesame Street since the show first aired in 1969.
But who would have ever imagined Cookie Monster, with his thick blue fur, googly eyes and insatiable craving for cookies, as a worldwide icon!
After a mineral collector, Mike Bowers, cracked open a geode-like rock called an agate, he discovered it looked just like Cookie Monster! Then, he posted about it on Facebook and it went viral.
Turns out everyone loves Cookie Monster and cookies — even Mother Nature!
My dog, Scout, loves carrots — specifically slightly chilled baby carrots. He won’t refuse a cooked carrot either but, he really loves them raw and right from the refrigerator.
They certainly are his favorite treat. When Scout was a puppy, he would snatch a carrot from your hand and run to “his spot” where he could happily savor every crunchy bite. As an adult, he sits in front of the refrigerator, ready to run through his repertoire of tricks, in the hope of earning a little orange treat.
So, I should not have been surprised by what he did on a walk after the first big snow of the winter season.
The snow fall was over a foot deep and wet enough to pack into perfect snowballs or even snow people. Some of the neighborhood children quickly erected a tiny snow family from the freshly fallen snow. The snow people were about two feet tall, complete with hats, scarves, stick arms, button eyes and, you guessed it, carrot noses.
When Scout first encountered the frosty family, he seemed perplexed. They looked like people but, they didn’t move or smell like people. He cautiously crept forward; his nose was twitching. As he got closer, his tail began to wag. Then, he quickly snatched a carrot nose right off the face of the unsuspecting snow person!
He must have thought, “Wow! People are leaving carrots for me to enjoy while I walk!”
Fortunately, I was able to stop him from making a snack out of the next snow person’s nose.
Now when we go on walks, Scout must thoroughly inspect any pile of snow he sees to ensure there are no carrots buried there. Sure, he ends up with a cold nose, wet paws and snow stuck to his fur but, that is a testament to how much he loves carrots!
Movie star, John Travolta, started his career off as a member of the Sweathogs on the tv show Welcome Back, Kotter. Then, he boogied onto the silver screen with two big hits of the ’70s — Saturday Night Fever and Grease. (Full disclosure: I have not seen Saturday Night Fever but, I have listened to the soundtrack many times.)
He even spurred a nationwide country music and fashion craze with his two-stepping dance moves in Urban Cowboy.
He hit a lull in the ’80s with the exception of the sequel to Saturday Night Fever, Staying Alive, and Look Who’s Talking. But it wasn’t until Pulp Fiction that his career took off again. Who can forget his prize-winning dance scene with Uma Thurman?
Based on this information, I have concocted a half-baked theory that the secret to John Travolta’s success lies within his dance moves. Stop and think about it: how many of his movies does he sway, sashay or shake, even if it is for a moment? And every time — a hit movie is made.
In fact, his moves are so legendary, he even coaxed Princess Diana onto the dance floor at the White House.
For the shortest month of the year, February has a lot going on. We have Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day, Presidents’ Day, Ash Wednesday, Mardi Gras, even the Super Bowl!
And now as countries around the world are becoming more connected, we are learning about international holidays, like the Lunar New Year and the Chinese New Year. Although these celebrations are related to one another, they are not the same thing.
The Lunar New Year takes place today, February 12. It commemorates the day on which the cycles of lunisolar calendars reset. (A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures whose date indicates both the Moon phase and the time of the solar year.) A solar year, which is the time it takes the Earth to orbit the sun, lasts 365 days, but a lunar year is shorter. It lasts about 354 days or 12 cycles of the Moon so the date of the celebration changes year to year.
The Chinese New Year kicks off with the new moon which can fall between the end of January and the end of February. This year it is February 11th – 17th, 2021. Festivities can last up to 16 days, but only the first 7 days are considered a public holiday. Each Chinese New Year also marks the year of one of 12 traditional animals, and 2021 is the Year of the Ox. This good news because oxen are hard workers, intelligent and reliable, but never demand praise. It is just the animal we need in 2021!
So Happy Lunar New Year and Chinese New Year to everyone!
What most likely started out as a play on words among Star Wars fans has blossomed into a full-blown holiday. And thanks to the internet, fans across the globe can connect with one another and celebrate Star Wars Day!
From hosting movie marathons to parties complete with trivia games, costumes and food or just sharing Star Wars themed greetings online, we, the fans, have truly made this our day.
I have longed to be able to dress as up as Princess Leia from, well any, of the movies. From buns to braids and flowing gowns to tactical gear, she had the look and a golden bikini to boot!
I would love to lure friends over to my house with the promise of Blue Milk and C-3PScones to help me assemble a Death Star Lego model but, I would be happy with just watching the movies. My inner nerd would be satisfied with that.
Call me a romantic. A gooey-hooey romantic. I love vinyl records.
Not just for the music, but also for the cover art. From unique photographs painstakingly shot (years before Photoshop) or quick, candid pictures that captured the essence of the band to the mind-bending artwork that made parents believe rock-n-roll truly was the devil’s music.
My first experience with vinyl came from my cousin, Johnna. If I wasn’t being a brat,
I could sit in her room and flip through her milk crates full of the best albums from the 70s. Surrounded by homemade throw pillows, Tiger Beat posters and a crazy-long soda pop tab chain, I was introduced to the music and the captivating artwork that encased those righteous tunes.
I would sit and study each cover, read the inside jacket and try to glean as much information as I could phantom while listening to music. How did the cover art tie into the music on the record?
Pink Floyd always left me pondering the meaning of life and art. The Eagles’ Hotel California had me searching for ghosts or other oddities accidently caught on film.
And Led Zeppelin, well, they just left me to wonder what was going on with their almost mythological, other worldly covers.
I must confess, one of my all-time favorites is Meatloaf and their Bat Out of Hell cover.
It is so crazy and over the top which is why it is a totally befitting cover for this operatic rock-n-roll album.
Not all albums can be uber cool in their simplicity like AC/DC Back in Black or capture an iconic image of The Beatles like Abbey Road but, they did give us the greatest metal mascot of all time—EDDIE. Iron Maiden’s talisman, designed by Derek Riggs, appeared on all of their album covers.
Talented artists created some of the quintessential album covers that are still shared, talked about and even banned today.
And that is why, I am a romantic. Because I get nostalgic for the lost art of album covers and the vinyl records they held.
Of course, I think every Friday is a good Friday. I survived another work week—
the weekend is about to begin. It’s all good.
Today is Good Friday, or Holy Friday and, as we all know, its the Christian holiday
that commemorates Jesus Christ’s crucifixion.
The ways we celebrate this holiday are as varied as the people in our country.
Everyone has different traditions; both religious, family and even regional.
In some parts of the country, you can’t go down the street without seeing
signs for, “Friday Fish Fry!”
One holiday tradition I have just learned about is the Lovefeast or the Lovefeast service. My church has been celebrating the Lovefeast for years in the form of potluck meals or fellowship lunches.
Some of the loving may be missing when the good Christian ladies try to best each other in battles over The Most Delicious Dishes. With secret recipes shared to a select few and solemn vows to never reveal a unique ingredient are made, church gatherings become more like clandestine missions than social gatherings.
I myself possess an old, top-secret family recipe for chocolate pie. It was handed down by my grandmother to my mother and then to me. And now my husband makes the best chocolate pie! (One of the reasons I married my husband was for his cooking prowess.)
But, my favorite of the Lovefeast traditions is having a sweet bun and coffee.
Aaawwweee…..
another reason to enjoy coffee.
