Winter Solstice

Because I am also a hedgewitch the seasons are something that I am greatly interested in.

During the winter solstice - it marks the beginning of winter and is also the shortest day of the year.

Be Sure To Watch Out For Those Holiday Scams!

With the Christmas season upon us there is an online article that is listing some of the top holiday scams that are out this season.

Of course some of them include scams that appear all year round including phony work at home scams, government grant scams and scams that try to steal a person's password.

But there are a number of scams that involve the holiday season as well including phony charity schemes and holiday sites that are specifically created for phishing purposes.

So be on the lookout and beware!

You can read the article by clicking here.

Daylight Savings Time Ends Today!

In case you don't already know daylight savings times ends today (rather I should say tonight!). This is the time of the year when we turn our clocks back one hour starting at 2am! Theoretically since this occurs on a Saturday night/Sunday morning kind of thing, we're supposed to get an extra hour of sleep.

Here's an interesting fact:

• The only states that don't observe daylight saving time are Hawaii and Arizona, although the Navajo reservation in Arizona do make the change.

Halloween!

Have

A

Very Happy

Halloween!

CROWLEY HAILS HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH: Hispanic Heritage Month 2009 is set to run from September 15 to October 15 and Congressmember Joseph Crowley (D- Queens/The Bronx) feels there should be special pride in celebrating it this year.

"We helped to raise the first Latina U.S. Supreme Court Justice, our own Judge Sonia Sotomayor," he noted. "Her swearing-in was a tremendous moment for New York and the nation and we should continue to celebrate this achievement throughout the year."

Today Is Alfred Hitchcock's Birthday!

I'm quite a fan of Alfred Hitchcock's movies! As a matter of fact I think some of his movies scare me more than the more modern day horror movies!

I think my favorite Hitchcock movie is "The Birds".

There's some online information saying that Alfred Hitchcock was born on a Friday the 13th (of August) which makes it kind of a scary co-incidence!

Mother's Day!

A day to honor and give thanks to Mother's all over the world!

Daylight Savings Time Begins Today!

Daylight Savings Time begins tonight. Tonight at 2am, we're supposed to turn our clocks ahead one hour. (It is also suggested that this is a good time to check the batteries in your smoke detector(s)).

Even though I have mentioned about daylight savings time in this blog before, I have also found interesting the fact that we didn't always have daylight savings time!

It is something that the government started a long time ago and its purpose was to help save energy. It was thought that if people had more daylight hours then they would use less electricity - meaning lights and such. But it was also revealed by researchers that people actually used more electricity instead!

I thought that that was interesting and seeing that it was the government that came up with this idea I wasn't too surprised at the actual outcome of this result.

As someone that does grant research (including government grant programs), I find that there are a lot of ironies in things dealing with the government!

There was also similar research done that said when daylight savings time happens people lose more sleep and thusly can't function as well.

Since I work from home doing grant research and consultations, I pretty much make up my own hours even though even when one works from home they should still have a work hour schedule.

So there you have it - an interesting fact (that I learned) about daylight savings time!

Black History Month!

Of course February is Black History month here in the United States. What I didn't know was that Black History month is celebrated in Britain in October! It is also celebrated in Canada as well!

You learn so many new things on the Internet!

Black History month is a time to acknowledge the contributions of African Americans to America's history and development.

We Are DEFINITELY In The Middle Of The Winter Season Here!

It has definitely been cold for the last few weeks here in the Philadelphia area! In my own local area which is just outside the Philadelphia city limits, our temperatures tend to be a little bit more colder than what the temperatures are in the city.

We have just had a bout with some snow but mostly the problem is the ice! It is thick! And I even remember hearing on the news that many people have had accidents slipping on the ice! The ice outside my front door is more treacherous than it is in the street!

The temperatures haven't gone above freezing in the last few days so the ice is still there. While we had some sun during the day, when the temperatures dropped and the sun went down, the ice became a problem again!

For Sunday and Monday we're supposed to have temperatures in the 40's so hopefully that will melt all of the ice!

I mean I know that we are in the middle of the winter season but that ice is just something!

I think that this is one of the colder winters that we have had!

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Here is a list of what is opened and closed on this day

What's open and closed today, the holiday honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:

• Most schools and government offices will be closed, but many businesses will be open. Many workers do not have the day off as a holiday.

• Most Metro buses will operate with a reduced weekday schedule, featuring more services than on weekends but somewhat less than normal weekdays, with some route or individual trip cancellations.

• State ferries will be on regular weekday schedules.

• Some basic services, such as garbage pickup, will be on regular schedules, and some transfer and recycling stations will be open.

• Most banks and credit unions will be closed.

• Post offices will be closed; no home delivery except for express mail.

• Public libraries and state-owned liquor stores will be closed.

January - Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

"Governor Blagojevich (Illinois)Urges Women to get Screened During January - Cervical Cancer Awareness Month.

Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today declared January Cervical Cancer Awareness Month in Illinois and is urging all women, especially women who smoke, to get screened regularly for cervical cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, women who smoke are almost twice as likely as non-smokers to develop cervical cancer."