December18th is BAKE COOKIES DAY.
Dec 4th is WEAR BROWN SHOES DAY.
The Edge of Night (Daytime TV Soap Opera) final episode was December 28th 1984.
The world’s first heart transplant was performed December 3, 1967.
December 2nd 1901, the safety razor was patented.
National Chocolate Covered Anything Day is December 16
1. When you go Wassailing, what is it that you are doing?
a. Giving out gifts to your friends & neighbors
b. Going out in the woods to cut down your Christmas tree
c. Challenging as many of your neighbors as you can to a snowball fight
d. Going to visit neighbors and receiving goodies!
2. Where did the real St. Nicholas live?
a. In Holland
b. At the North Pole
c. In Turkey
d. In Germany
3. What is the shape of the candy cane modeled after?
a. A fish hook
b. A consillation of stars
c. The cane St. Nicholas used
d. A shepards crook
4. What was pictured on the first stamp printed for the Christmas season?
a. Santa Claus
b. An Angel
c. A Star
d. A Rose
5. Electric Christmas tree lights were first used in what year?
a. 1925
b. 1700
c. 1895
d. 1750
6. What country did poinsettias originally come from?
a. The U.S.
b. Cuba
c. Mexico
d. Brazil
7. Santa’s only female sleigh-pulling reindeer, Vixen, has antlers. True or false?
a. False. Only the male reindeer have antlers.
b. True. Both male and female reindeer have antlers.
c. True. But they are really no bigger than slight bumps on their heads.
d. False. Some females have been known to have antlers, but that is extremely rare.
ANSWERS
1.Going to visit neighbors and receiving goodies!
2.In Turkey
3.The cane St. Nicholas used
4.A Rose
5.1895
6.Mexico
7. Both male and female reindeer have antlers.
What do you instantly know about a well-dressed man?
His wife is good at picking out clothes.
How does a man take a bubble bath?
He eats beans for dinner.
Most people have suffered a headache at some point or know someone who has. Massage therapy can be used to aid relief of most headaches ranging anywhere from a nagging ache to a full-blown migraine.
Here are a few tips and tricks you can use on yourself for common types of headaches.
Tension/Stress:
Most people complain of this pain either at the base of their head or in their jaw.
Start by using both hands at the back of your neck near your shirt collar. Apply firm (but not painful) pressure upward toward your hairline then outward toward your ears in a “T” shape. For jaw pain, start in front of your ears and apply downward pressure following the jaw-line.
Sinus:
Applying pressure to two specific areas around your eyes will provide you with quick relief. Apply firm pressure (but not painful) for thirty seconds and alternate between the following locations.
1) Using your thumbs, find the small indent below your eyebrows and closest to the bridge of your nose. Apply pressure here for thirty seconds.
2) Using your index fingers, find the small indent approximately one finger width under your eye and closest to your nose. Apply pressure here as well.
3) Gently stroke across your forehead toward your temples, then across your cheeks toward your nose to transition from the first spot to the second.
Migraine:
The biggest trick for dealing with migraines is discovering your trigger. Most often, the triggers are chocolate, red wine, sleep deprivation, changes in hormones or barometric pressure. Massage therapy is generally not tolerated to the head/upper neck during a migraine because it increases the circulation to the head and intensifies the pain. It can, however, be applied to the feet or hands to help draw circulation away from your head. Sleeping or placing a cold can of pop or ice to the back of the head/upper neck region are good tools for dealing with migraines
Crystal Bergquist
Registered Massage Therapist.
Ohana Wellness Centre
Henrietta Louise Edwards (née Muir). Born Dec 18, 1849. Died Nov 10, 1931.
As a young woman, Henrietta Muir studied art in New York. Back in Canada she had her work shown at the Royal Canadian Academy.
In 1876, Henrietta married medical doctor Oliver Cromwell Edwards. The family would reside in the Northwest area of Saskatchewan where Edwards was the first doctor to serve the area. The couple along with their three children lived an active life in Ottawa throughout the 1890’s.
Henrietta had long been a social activist, supporting political rights for women, public libraries, missionary societies, mother’s allowance, basic equal rights for women and penal reform. She worked with Lady Aberdeen and others in Ottawa to found the National Council of Women of Canada in 1893 and the Victorian Order of Nurses in 1897.
Shortly after the turn of the century, the family settled near Lethbridge, Alberta.
In 1905, she had been the major spokesperson and first president of the Alberta Local Council of Women and had helped organize each of the local chapters in the province.
In 1908, at the request of the Canadian Government, she prepared a summary of Canadian laws pertaining to women and children.
After her husband’s death in 1915, she relocated to Fort Macleod Alberta where she became chair to the Alberta Laws Committee.
In 1917, she had compiled handbooks on legal matters, affecting women for both the national perspective and later a more detailed publication centered on Alberta which was republished in 1921.
At the age of 80 she was still “fighting for the cause” and traveled to Edmonton, Alberta at the invitation of fellow social activist , Emily Murphy in the summer of 1927.
Henrietta became one of the “Famous Five” women who took the Person case to England and had Canadian women declared ‘persons’ under the law. Canadian women, as ‘non-persons’ had no rights to own land, serve in government and had very few legal rights prior to 1929.
Henrietta Edwards died just short of her 82 birthday in Fort Macleod, Alberta.
Submitted by Dawn Monroe. famouscanadianwomen.com
Hot Christmas Tea
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups water
6 black tea bags
1 cinnamon stick (broken)
3 whole cloves
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/3 cups cranberry juice cocktail
1 cup Burgundy wine
Orange, pear or apple slices, studded with cloves as garnish
Clove
Directions:
~In saucepan, bring water to boil. Add tea and spices. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Remove tea bags.
~Stir in sugar, cranberry juice and wine.
~Return to medium heat and stir until sugar is dissolved and mixture is heated through.
~Serve in cups with fruit slices as garnish
Mint Tea Punch
Ingredients:
3 cups boiling water
12 sprigs fresh mint
4 tea bags
1 cup white sugar
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
5 cups cold water
3 orange and/or lemon slices for garnish (optional)
Directions:
~Place the tea bags and mint sprigs into a large pitcher. Pour boiling water over them and allow to steep for about 8 minutes.
~Remove and discard the tea bags and mint leaves, squeezing out excess liquid. Stir in sugar until dissolved then stir in the orange juice and lemon juice.
~Pour in the cold water. Serve over ice cubes, garnished with orange or lemon slices.
Hot Cranberry Tea
Ingredients:
3 1/2 quarts water
1 (12 ounce) package cranberries
2 cups white sugar
2 oranges, juiced
2 lemons, juiced
12 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
Directions
~In a large pot, combine water and cranberries. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
~Add sugar, orange juice, lemon juice, cloves and cinnamon sticks. Cover and steep for 1 hour.
I would like to start by thanking you all for your words of encouragement and well wishes.
I was told by many people who had this surgery that there would only be some slight discomfort. HA! I woke up from surgery feeling as though my insides had been ripped open by a savage wolf only to see five very small slits.
As I laid in my ever so uncomfortable bed waiting for a room, I wondered if I had done the right thing. My throat was killing me and I needed a drink of water desperately. “I can’t give you any water but I’ll get you a wet swab.” A kind voice stated.
My first night in the hospital was pretty rough. Did I mention that I started menstruating the day before my surgery? The nurses were wonderful and did their very best to reassure me. “Some people have difficulty after the surgery but everything is just fine.”
The next day wasn’t much better. I mostly slept, once the pain killers kicked in, that is. Every single time I opened my eyes, my mother was there, and looking as any good mother would when her child is in pain. She did all that she could for me and was the best nurse.
During one of our many walks around the halls, we found the lounge and a very comfortable chair and this is where I spent pretty much the rest of the evening. By the time I needed to go back to my room, I was beginning to feel much better.
What a difference a day makes. I woke up from a pretty good night’s sleep, took my breakfast which consisted of some yogurt to the lounge and watched a little tv. Today was the day that I was to be discharged from the hospital and head to the hotel for the recovery period. When my mother saw me, she was filled with happiness to see such a dramatic turnaround in my recovery.
I tell you, the hotel room is no place to recover for five days but we made the best of it. My food intake consisted strictly of liquid and protein shakes. It didn’t matter to me though because eating was the last thing on my mind.
The day finely came for my follow up visit with the Dr. I was anxious to know how much weight I had lost so far and was pleasantly surprised to learn that I had lost eighteen pounds. My staples were removed, given post operative instructions and put on a puree diet for one month.
Mom and I then headed back to the hotel to wait for my father to take us home.
So, now I’m home, recuperating. I go back on the 22nd and then will be on a soft diet. Things are going great and all I have now is some slight discomfort.
……………to be continued
-The circular saw was invented by Tabitha Babbit in 1812
-The car heater was invented by Margaret Wilcox in 1893
-The electric hot water heater was invented by Ida Forbes in 1917
-The engine muffler was invented by El Dorado Jones in 1917
-The life raft was invented by Maria Beaseley in 1882
-The street cleaning machine was invented by Florence Parpart in 1900
-The cooking stove was invented by Elizabeth Hawk in 1867
Mrs Claus (aka ‘Mrs Claus’, ‘Goody’, ‘Jessica’, ‘Ma’, ‘Maya’, ‘Matha’, ‘Doloe’, ‘Dolores’) is an often overlooked part of the Christmas tradition, but without her Santa and the Elves would probably not be such a well oiled machine to be able to deliver millions of gifts in just one short night.
Without Mrs Claus, the Elves and Santa would probably starve, Santa wouldn’t have such a nice new suit every year and their time keeping, letter writing, toy making and general day to day chores leading up to the big day would suffer immensely if not for her continued support.
As you can probably tell Mrs Claus is a wonderful wife and it is this that she adores being, nothing wrong with that but we do have to say it is a mighty shame her entire identity is wound up with being a Mrs. It would appear Mrs Claus has little time to herself as all literature about her revolves around her domestic duties, her cooking, sewing and being the caretaker of all the men in her life, santa, the elves and the reindeer. Not that we would dare belittle the role of woman as caregiver, it is an important role, but we believe this should be a balanced role.
Historically speaking, Mrs Claus apparently didn’t make an appearance until around the turn of the 20th Century when she gets a mention in a poem by Katherine Lee Bates.
Mrs Santa Claus even has a film made about her. In the 1996, TV Movie ‘Mrs Santa Claus’ Angela Lansbury stars as Santa’s loving wife who goes on an adventure when she’s feeling neglected by her husband during the pre-Christmas rush. Mrs. Santa Claus takes the reindeer and sleigh out for a drive, only to end up stranded in the multi-cultural neighborhood of Manhattan’s Lower East Side of the early 1900s. She explores this new world by getting a job in a sweat shop and befriending a young suffragette, only to become empowered by the magic of urban life.
So, we have made Mrs Claus Woman of the Month, not because she’s a ‘good wife’ but because we believe she is often overlooked despite her ’standing by her man’ and making sure there are lots of happy children in the world.
Merry Christmas.
