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Odd Facts About the 14th Century
The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s:
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children-last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."
Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the dogs, cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."
There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could really mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying "dirt poor."
The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery! In the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they kept adding more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying a "thresh hold."
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes the stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old."
Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man "could bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat." Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning and death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.
Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or "upper crust."
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock them out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a "wake." England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a "bone-house" and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they thought they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be "saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer."
Tags: History Facts
The Daffodil Principle
Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over.''
I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead.
"I will come next Tuesday", I promised a little reluctantly on her third call.
Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there.
When I finally walked into Carolyn's house, I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren.
"Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!"
My daughter smiled calmly and said, " We drive in this all the time, Mother."
"W ell, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.
"But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this."
"Carolyn," I said sternly, "Please turn around."
"It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."
After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, "Daffodil Garden."
W e got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight.
It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.
"Who did this?" I asked Carolyn.
"Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. W e walked up to the house.
On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking", was the headline.
The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read.
The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain."
The third answer was, "Began in 1958."
For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived.
One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.
That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time, often just one baby-step at a time and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world …
"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. " What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? "Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"
My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said.
She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"
Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting.....
Until your car or home is paid off
Until you get a new car or home
Until your kids leave the house
Until you go back to school
Until you finish school
Until you clean the house
Until you organize the garage
Until you clean off your desk
Until you lose 10 lbs.
Until you gain 10 lbs.
Until you get married
Until you get a divorce
Until you have kids
Until the kids go to school
Until you retire
Until summer
Until spring
Until winter
Until fall
Until you die...
There is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
So work like you don't need money. Love like you've never been hurt, and dance like no one's watching.
THEY WALK AMONG US I was at the checkout of a Kmart. The clerk rang up $46.64 charge. I gave her a fifty dollar bill. She gave me back $46.64.
I gave it back to her and told her that she had made a mistake in MY favor and gave her the money back. She became indignant and informed me she was educated and knew what she was doing and returned the money again. I gave her the money back again... Same scenario! I departed the store with the $46.64.
This happened in Austin at MoPac Blvd and Parmer Lane.They Walk Among Us and Many Work Retail.
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I walked into a Mickey D's with a buy-one-get-one-free coupon for a sandwich. I handed it to the girl and she looked over at a little chalkboard that said "buy one-get one free." "They're already buy-one-get-one-free", she said, "so I guess they're both free." She handed me my free sandwiches and I walked out the door.
They Walk Among Us and Many Work Retail.
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One day I was walking down the beach with some friends when one
Of them shouted, "Look at that dead bird!" Someone looked up at the sky and said, "Where?"
They Walk Among Us!
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While looking at a house, my brother asked the R eal estate agent which direction was north because, he explained, he didn't want the sun waking hi m up every morning. She asked, "Does the sun rise in the north?" When my brother explained that the sun rises in the east, and has for sometime, she shook her head and said, "Oh I don't keep up with that stuff."
They Walk Among Us!!
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I used to work in technical support for a 24/7 call center. One day I got a call from an individual who asked what hours the call center was open. I told him, "The number you dialed is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week" He responded, "Is that Eastern or Pacific time?" Wanting to end the call quickly, I said, "Uh, Pacific."
They Walk Among Us!
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My sister has a lifesaving tool in her car designed to cut through a seat belt if she gets trapped. She keeps it in the trunk.
They Walk Among Us!
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My friends and I were on a beer run and noticed that the cases were discounted 10%. Since it was a big party, we bought 2 cases. The cashier multi p lied 2 times 10% and gave us a 20% discount.
They Walk Among Us!
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I couldn't find my luggage at the airport baggage area, so I went To the lost luggage office and told the woman there that my bags never showed up. She smiled and told me not to worry because she was a trained professional and I was in good hands. "Now," she asked me, has your plane arrived yet?"
They Walk Among Us!
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While working at a pizza parlor I observed a man ordering a small pizza to go He appeared to be alone and the cook asked him if he would like it cut into 4 pieces or 6. He thought about it for some time before responding. "Just cut it into 4 pieces; I don't think I'm hungry enough to eat 6 pieces."Yep, They Walk Among Us!
===================They walk among us, AND they reproduce, and, worst of all,
They VOTE
Tags: Humor
A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg, TN.
One morning, they were eating breakfast at a little restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, 'I hope he doesn't come over here.' But sure enough, the man did come over to their table.
'Where are you folks from?' he asked in a friendly voice.
' Oklahoma,' they answered.
'Great to have you here in Tennessee,' the stranger said. 'What do you do for a living?'
'I teach at a seminary,' he replied.
'Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I've got a really great story for you.' And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple.
The professor groaned and thought to himself, 'Great . Just what I need ...another preacher story!'
The man started, 'See that mountain over there? (pointing out the restaurant window). Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question, 'Hey boy, Who's your daddy?' Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question, 'Who's your daddy?'
He would hide at recess and lunchtime from other students. He would avoid going into stores because that question hurt him so bad. 'When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, 'Who's your daddy?'
But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast that he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd.
Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, 'Son, who's your daddy?'
The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, 'Who's your daddy?'
'This new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to that scared little boy.. 'Wait a minute! I know who you are! I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God.'
With that he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, 'Boy, you've got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.'
'With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, 'Who's your Daddy?' he'd just tell them, '"I'm a Child of God.''
The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said, 'Isn't that a great story?'
The professor responded that it really was a great story!
As the man turned to leave, he said, 'You know, if that new preacher hadn't told me that I was one of God's children, I probably never would have amounted to anything!' And he walked away.
The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over and asked her, 'Do you know who that man was -- the one who just left that was sitting at our table?'
The waitress grinned and said, 'Of course. Everybody here knows him. That's Ben Hooper He's the former governor of Tennessee!'
Tags: Self Believe
Old Geezers, proud to be one
'Geezers' are easy to spot: At sporting events, during the playing of the Star Spangled BANNER. Old Geezers remove their caps and stand at attention and sing without embarrassment. They know the words and believe in them.
Old Geezers remember the Depression, World War II, Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Normandy and Hitler. They remember the Atomic Age, the Korean War 1950-55, The Cold War, the jet age and the moon landing, the 50 plus Peacekeeping Missions from 1945 to 2005 the Jet Age and the Moon Landing, not to mention Vietnam.
If you bump into an Old Geezer on the sidewalk he will apologize. If you pass an Old Geezer on the street, he will nod or tip his cap to a lady. Old Geezers trust strangers and are courtly to women. Old Geezers hold the door for the next person and always, when walking, make certain the lady is on the inside for protection. Old Geezers get embarrassed if someone curses in front of women and children.
Old Geezers have moral courage. They seldom brag unless it's about their grandchildren.
It's the Old Geezers who know our great country is protected not by politicians, but by the young men and women in the military serving their country.
Thank God for Old Geezers! Pass this on to all the Old Geezers you know.
This country needs Old Geezers with their decent values. We need them now more than ever.
Tags: Humor Memories Moral
Shopping time for Betty & Monty
Well our Month has been a little rough.
But we are made of real tough stuff.
Monty and Betty decide, as they should, to go shopping this day and find something good.
So off they go and browse their Net, into each store, ya can see them yet.
ER053
Earth Spirit Earrings - Horsehead
 $7.00 pr. Now Betty is happy for there's horses you see. Sporting feathers along the boarder flowing free.
Horse on anything makes her happy. So off she goes to buy these with glee. The price you can't beat and where does she shop?
at crazyhorseindustries.net thats the shop...
Now Monty he thinks this is way to cool.... But he knows the score, he's no fool.... Let Betty buy and have her fun. The faster she done, he can get home to run..
This Belt Buckle looks like something we should get.
S15E
Pewter Belt Buckle/Two horse heads $15.80
 Here is class and thats a fact, with two horse heads and the enamel back. The price is great and thats a fact.
So darling, cute and just plain nice, this will be a great gift for any one in your life.
Go on, get to browsing, see you there at crazyhorseindustries.net cause I care!
Tags: Pewter Jewelry Horse Buckles
Credit Card Fraud……… Do not be on the sucker end of it. READ and LEARN!
I have a home based ecommerce business. I am honest, treat people honestly and believe that’s what I will receive in return.
I received an order that came to a few thousand dollars. I thought that if your VISA card company gave you a confirmation number that they had checked the card out and all was as it should be. WRONG!
What they do is tell you if there is enough credit to cover your request. Period! Not that the card is valid with the person your selling a product to.
Today this lady asked for several thousand dollars of merchandise to be split between 3 Discover cards. I ran them and they were declined. I notified the woman by email that they were declined. I then realized they were Discover cards and decided that maybe I am only cleared for VISA, so I called my VISA card company to ask.
As I was waiting for the VISA company to help me, she emailed me with three more VISA cards. I notified my company and They said the Discover cards were declined, and I was advised to cancel any business with this person. They said, think about it, Who has that many cards? Well unfortunately I know women with up to 10 cards, so it was not totally out of the norm. They gave me a number of Chase Bank to call and check to see if all the info was valid.
I called them, they said the VISA numbers did not match the name, and asked for her address. She gave me her address, just a short while prior to my call to them, which was in Fort Lauderdale Florida. I have a brother there and had already called to see if the address’s were valid. He said stop doing business until your sure of the validity of the card. The home address she gave was four or five hour’s from her business address. The Business address was on airport road where the mail drop stores are. The Billing information address was in LA.
After giving Chase Bank all the information I had on her, they said the information does not match and to not continue business with her.
I feel I did business in good faith and am very frustrated that someone would continue to try and scam me after the email I sent her explaining I could not handle the financial loss.
As you see here she continued to push the scam, even after telling her the banks said the numbers did not match.
My response: Vicki, the Chase bank says the zip code does not match the account. This is to much money for me to eat the bill, if I get told these are not ok cards.I need a better billing address. .call and see what the problem is. 70058 is wrong zip code.I have a husband dying of cancer, so I can’t make a financial mistake like this. my VISA company said no one has that many cards in their own name and to call Chase bank. Her response:Hello Betty .. well i don,t really know what visa is trying to say to you because i have been using this my secure cards for the past 20yrs now i don, know welll.. I will like to know if they say you should pay for money.. Because i am not trying to play any games on you on. This is my Bussiness Address where my store is located This is The name Vicki slay, address: 1590 S State Road 7
City and sate:Fort Lauderdale , Zip Code FL 33317The My home address 21799 Us Highway 19 N
Clearwater , FL 33765
WELL I WILL LIKE YOU TO SPLI THE CHARGES ON THE BOTHS CARDS.. SO THAT YOU CAN PROCESS AND GET BACK TO ME WITH THE APPROVAL CODES..AFTER YOU HAVE PLACED AND RECIVIED THE ORDER IN YOUR HOUSE LET ME KNOW YOUR HOME ADDRESS AND THE WEIGHT OF THE PACKAGES..SO THAT I CAN SEND YOU USPS SHIPPING LABELS SHIPMENT..--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------
She used the operator assisted call’s to communicate when using the phone. These are for the hearing and visual impaired according to the operator. I assumed she was, and the English was a second language.
The flags did not go up with those assumptions until the three Discover cards.
The sad news is that from now on when someone wants to use a Credit Card, I will call Chase Bank and check to see if it’s the correct owner before I move forward. That punishes me as well as the future customers. Slows down a transaction and adds a whole new feel of distrust to our business.
For those of you out there that don’t think twice about scamming and burying someone with huge charge card return’s, you will eventually get what you deserve. I believe that. The best I can hope for is that a similar scam is done to you. I know I will be more aware and I hope by writing this Blog I can keep at least one other person from your crooked claws! At least anyone who reads this will know NOT to do business with this lady……………………..
I am frustrated and angry with this person. Not as much for the original scam as for continuing after I informed her I have a sick husband and can not take the financial loss of the products plus pay back for a VISA card I took in good faith. This is a good reason small business owners do not make it! It’s hard to get the appropriate information we need to make viable decisions when we need to. I have a small business and being a country gal, am sure I took more than a person from a big city would have to see the RED flag. It was beyond my comprehension that someone could be that cold to a person they did not know, yet were communicating with by phone and email.
Since we all share a fair amount of cynicism about our Congress, I offer you this perspective for today..........A cowboy named Bud was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture in Wyoming when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him.
The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, RayBan sunglasses and YSL tie, leans out the window andasks the cowboy, 'If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, Will you give me a calf?'
Bud looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, 'Sure, Why not?'
The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer,connects it to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, andsurfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.
The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg,Germany.
Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses a MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response.
Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-Tech Miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turnsto the cowboy and says, 'You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves.'
'That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves,' says Bud.
He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.
Then Bud says to the young man, 'Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?'
The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, 'Okay, why not?'
'You're a Congressman for the U.S. Government', says Bud.
'Wow! That's correct,' says the yuppie, 'but how did you guess that?'
'No guessing required.' answered the cowboy. 'You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew,to a question I never asked. You tried to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you don't know a thing about cows...this is a herd of sheep. . . ..
Now give me back my dog.
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