Happy Leap Year

Exactly 100 years ago today, this special Leap Year greeting card countered social constraints of latter day Victorian England and allowed the process of romance to begin "in reverse" . . .  

The first documentation of this practice dates back to 1288, when Scotland supposedly passed a law  allowing women to propose marriage to the men of their choice in Leap Year. Tradition states they also made it law that any man who declined a proposal in a Leap Year must pay a fine. The fine could range from a kiss, to payment for a silk dress or a pair of gloves.

There's one behind every bush.

 Disbelief: this chick would have been snatched up 10 years earlier.

Is that the future mother-in-law giving advice?

  The Queen Bee at work.  Honey Boy?

 

I didn't understand this one right off, either.

 

 A full century later, we have turned the tradition over to the toads. 

Great New Read: THE RANCHER AND THE ROCK STAR

I just read the cutest cowboy ebook with a fun twist. It's also got a rock star in it. If you love stories about rock stars and cowboys, then THE RANCHER AND THE ROCK STAR by Lizbeth Selvig is for you. It's on sale now via ebook!

http://www.amazon.com/Rancher-Rock-Star-ebook/dp/B0070XFNES/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1330457232&sr=8-2.

But if you prefer print, it comes out March 27th, the same day as THE COWBOY TAKES A BRIDE.

And hey, get a load of that cover! Nice, huh?

Today's Tuesday giveaway is a $10 gift card to Amazon. You know the drill. Post a comment here and I'll draw a name next Tuesday.



Happy reading,
Lori

Recipe: Grits and Greens

This is a delicious, southern dish. Try it for something really different.

Grits and Greens

1 cup whipping cream
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup grits
1 small bag frozen greens (mustard, collard, or turnip)
1 cup butter
1 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup cooked, crumbled bacon
pepper to taste

Grease bottom of 13x9 casserole dish in sauce pan, mix cream and 3 cups of broth bring to boil add grits boil for 3 minutes then reduce to simmer in another pan, cook greens in 1 cups broth on medium heat for 10 minutes. drain add butter, cheese, and pepper to grits stir in greens place mixture in greased casserole dish top with bacon back in 350 oven until  brown on top

Social Media is for the Birds!

Words From the Birds of Cyber Land

Hey, I'm online and this is My Space.

I can just picture myself on the blue screen of happiness.

 

 Well, I'll swan. Did I download all this by accident?

 Text, text, text . . . I'll bet your bill is longer than mine. 

 

 You'll want to save me under "Favorites." Do it now!

I've been cleaning out my in box: lots of hoots, no tweets.

I stole this from a mouse; his battery was down.

  

  You have been tweeting far too much lately.

       

  I do a celebrity blog; I have a nose for that kind of news.

  

  In my youth I had a big Bluetooth too, but I lost it.

  It's all default of de ducks. How's dat?

  

  

Now get out of Bird Land and get back to work. You hear?

Easter Candy

Easter candy is here. The aisles are filled with all kinds of goodies.

 There are chocolate eggs,

jelly beans,

peek-a-boo-eggs,

malted eggs,

Cadbury eggs,

peeps,

and of course, chocolate bunnies.

My favorite is the malted egg. What is your favorite Easter candy?

The Evolution of the Jell-O Mold

Well, I missed it. Last week was National Jell-O Week. How could I have forgotten! If you were like me, you grew up eating lots of Jell-O. I loved it and all the neat molds.

Here is a mold from the late 1800's. Did you know Jell-O was invented in 1845?

Here is a mold from the early 1900's. It is made from copper.

In the 1920's, ceramic molds were used.

Steel molds were created.

Aluminum molds came next.

Then glass molds were used.

I remember my mother had some of these copper molds.

And now we have plastic molds.

All this writing has made me want some Jell-O. I think I will go make Jell-O and vegetables like is suggested in this commercial. lol

Are you a big Jell-O fan? Do you have any special memories of the wiggly dessert?

And the winner of the Kindle Fire is....

Winner of the last week's drawing of the Kindle Fire is Dawn.

Congratulations, Dawn. To claim your prize email me at loriwilde@aol.com!

Lori

How Books Were Made

I am absolutely shocked at how difficult it used to be to make a book! Wow, we have it so easy now!

This makes me appreciate my old books more than ever! They really are treasures to keep. Do you like to collect old books?

Contest Winner

Hey Stacy S, you won the $10.00 Amazon gift card. Please email me @ loriwilde@aol.com to claim your prize!

Lori

Toys

Everyone has special memories of their favorite toys. If you're lucky, maybe you still have some of them. I loved most of my toys to pieces, literally. But that is what toys are for, right? Woody and Buzz would definitely agree. If I want to reminisce, I have to look at pictures of toys on the internet.

My brothers and I shared Indian Joe. He was awesome!

 I can't tell you how many knots on the head we got with Clackers.

I was always disappointed when the Sea-Monkeys didn't build an underwater castle.

 Paper dolls provided hours of fun.

 Chatty Cathy was my best friend.

 I was the master of Jacks.

And I had a miniature sewing machine that look just like my mother's real one.

What were your favorite toys?

Crazy Purses

I'm so boring when it comes to purses. I usually have one bag that I use for every occasion. After seeing these neat purses, I'm inspired to be a little more creative.


Chicken in a Basket

 Travel Bag

 Brief Case

 Trash Bag

  Why?

 Bag of Buns

 So Tweet

 You Light Up My Life 

 Lunch Bag

Eye Bags

  Mail Bag

I would really love to have the purse that lights up when you open it! I think it would be very helpful. Which purse do you like best.?