RenoVous

  I was advised that my K is upside down (I thought it looked funny....) but Hubby said 2020 is upside down, so it hasn't been corrected. Wishing you all a lovely evening, and a very happy New Year.  Everything won't change overnight, but I think we're on the path to recovery.  I'll always hope anyway. Cheers!

  Google tells me we should celebrate Elizabeth Peratrovich today. Born July 4, 1911 in Petersburg, Alaska - she died December 1, 1958. In 1988, the Alaska State Legislature designated February 16 as Elizabeth Peratrovich Day. Elizabeth was a civil rights activist, instrumental in the 1945 passage of the first anti-discrimination law in Alaska, and the United States. Elizabeth was born during a time of extreme segregation, and as a member of the Indigenous Tlingit tribe, she faced racism constantly. It was on this day in 1941 that she encountered a sign which read, "No Natives Allowed."  She and her husband then wrote a letter to the governor and gained support for their mission. They moved to Juneau for better access to lawmakers, but they were denied over and over when looking for homes.  Elizabeth was only more motivated now.  The bill failed in 1941, but when it came up again in 1945, she gave a speech on the floor of the Alaskan Senate and was met with thunderou...

  A Christmas Dream, and How It Came to Be True By Louisa May Alcott A young rich girl is bored with Christmas and her mother refers to her as a Scrooge.  Now interested in the story, she reads A Christmas Carol  and then dreams about spirits and poor children, like Tiny Tim. The next day she wants to be like the spirits, bringing Christmas joy to those in need, so her mother helps to prepare an amazing surprise. It really was sweet, and it brought tears to my eyes to imagine those orphan kids.  But I was also struck with a sense of performance charity.  It was such a spectacle, and it was as much Effie's Christmas Special as it was for the poor kids.  I suppose they still walk away happy, and Effie still walks away with a new sense of caring, so all in all, it's a win. Now Christmas is over and I wanted to do one more read-along for the New Year. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight "The year in passing yields its many yesterdays." There are many versions of th...

 Earlier this month, Africa's leading fashion event was held - (virtually, of course). Diamond Couture - Ghana Meg Morrison - Ghana FNEtia - Ghana, UK  Jewelry Accra

  Santa Tracker A favorite tradition of mine for Christmas Eve is to listen to Boris Karloff. Happy Holidays all!!!!

  An old ornament of my Grandma's, European made. Pa's Cub Scouts ornament. An old favorite of mine - I think it's from 1989. One I bought for Hubby on our first Christmas. And my mom got us a Christmas cactus.

  First I read Anton Chekhov's At Christmas Time  and it was not very lifting of the holiday spirit... An old, illiterate couple miss their daughter around the holiday.  They haven't heard from her in some time now, since she left after marriage.  They pay a man in the village to write a letter. Then we catch up to their daughter, tucked in a room with her children while her husband works.  It mentions that she is very much frightened of him, and then we learn he has failed to send off the letters she has given him for her parents.  Upon receipt of their letter, she cries and tells her children about her home and their grandparents. The webpage for the story indicates that the end, when the husband responds, "Charcot duche," may have a double meaning, suggesting the prospect of "healing the homesick."  I have my doubts about him though... Next I read Matchless: A Christmas Story by Gregory Maguire. It was very sad and touching how he incorporated the s...

 Since 2000, Pantone has declared a particular "Color of the Year" - the company began in New Jersey in the 1950's as a commercial printing company.  They are best known for their Pantone Matching System, "a proprietary color space," used in graphic design, fashion, printing, and manufacturing. For the second time in 20 years, they've chosen two hues: Ultimate Gray and Illuminating (Yellow). "A marriage of color conveying a message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting." Off-White Prada Dior Monochrome Pantone

  Asteroid XQ60 will be flying by Earth on December 21. It is traveling at about 33,554 miles per hour and is larger than the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Aten asteroids are those whose orbits bring them into Earth's proximity, and they are the ones most likely to hit us.  This one, however, is expected to pass at a safe distance. Four days later, asteroid 501647 will fly by at 22,300 miles per hour.  It is nearly double the size of XQ60.  Luckily we have NASA's Near-Earth Object Observations Program to track and monitor these things! Also on the 21st, a reminder to catch "The Great Conjunction" / The Christmas Star. A total solar eclipse was seen in Chile and Argentina earlier this week.  What viewers didn't know was that a comet was flying past the Sun as it was happening.  It was discovered December 13 by an amateur astronomer as part of a citizen science project called the Sungrazer Project. NASA Daily Star CBS News

 The Award for 2020 goes to... Mark Fitzpatrick - who also won the Creatures Under the Sea category. Creatures on the Land Charlie Davidson Creatures in the Air Tim Hearn People's Choice  Roland Kranitz Junior Photographer Olin Rogers Internet Portfolio Daisy Gilardini Highly Commended Arthur Thelle Thiemann Ayala Fishaimer Krisztina Scheef Luis Burgueño Megan Lorenz Petr Sochman Sally Lloyd Jones Sue Hollis Thomas Vijayan Yevhen Samuchenko Conservation through Competition Link