I’m Just Curious: Crazy September holidays

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by Debbie Walker

Once again it is time to see what other holidays are in September, other than just Labor Day weekend. I hope something here makes you smile.

Sept 2, Labor Day: We celebrate “the working man/woman’s holiday.” It is also considered by most as the end of summer. (In Florida when I managed a swimming pool in a retirement community the patrons seemed to also swim at a northern schedule.)

2nd again: This is the day of the signing of Japan’s surrender that ended World War ll. Please honor all our veterans each day, not just on the military holidays.

9/5: Be Late For Something Day: To celebrate this holiday all you have to do is be late for anything except dinner!

9/6: Fight Procrastination Day: The theme for today is, “Never put off until tomorrow, what you can do today!” (You must have known you would pay for the Be Late Day!)

9/11: Make Your Bed Day: If you make your bed every day, today you would not make it. For those who don’t make their bed every day, today is your day to make the bed. You might even change up the sheets.

9/13: Blame Someone Else Day: Today you don’t have to take the blame for anything. One caution here, remember, others will also be passing off blame. Well, another caution: Any blame you place today, can come back to bite you tomorrow!

9/15: Make a Hat Day: The rule is simple. Just make a hat. If you make it for yourself, half the fun is making, the other half is wearing it. Or you could make a hat for someone else. Either way, please do have fun!

9/15: Wife Appreciation Day: This day was originally to honor wives with no children; however, all husbands might do well to honor their wives today. You might get a more positive wife when you acknowledge her on this day, everyday.

9/18: National Cheese Burger Day: I am sure you know people who will be celebrating this unusual holiday. No one seems to know how it was created. But no one seems to care either.

9/20: National Punch Day: According to holidayinsights.com, this holiday is one of the unheard-of holidays. Seems that it could be one of three versions of punch. There is the Punch you drink, the Punch from your fist or the tool kind of Punch; your choice which one you want to celebrate. I’d be careful about the first one, it could have lasting effects.

9/23: Autumn Equinox Day: It’s the beginning of fall, folks. Enjoy while you can. Enjoy the fall festivals around you. If you get a chance take a hayride.

9/27: Native American Day: You are encouraged on this day (every day) to spend this day learning about our Native Americans, the true original settlers in America. Have you ever been to a pow wow? It’s amazing what you can learn by ‘listening.’

9/28: Ask a Stupid Question Day: My day! Truthfully the only stupid question is the one you don’t ask. That’s how you learn. Keep in mind, some folks just won’t know the answers.

I am just curious which new holiday or holidays you will choose. Let me know. I’ll be waiting at dwdaffy@yahoo.com for any questions or comments.

I’M JUST CURIOUS: Did you know…

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by Debbie Walker

Did you know that our appliances have secrets? Yes, they do. I am sharing the information from Reader’s Digest, by Marissa Laliberte (July/August ’19).

MICROWAVE: (my favorite) I did not know the shape of the dish you use in reheating or cooking, makes all the difference in a microwave. A rectangular container attracts more energy and the corners may be over cooked, not heated as much in center. A round container allows more uniformed heating. Did you know? Here is a tip Nana Dee gave me: A whole cauliflower, remove the core. Wrap the entire head with a wet paper towel and microwave until done enough for your taste. I haven’t tried it yet but I will.

The same article tells me not to season my food until it’s done. Microwave energy is drawn to salt. The seasoned top leaves a dryness you don’t want. Did you know?

OVEN BROILER: Have you ever heard of leaving the oven door open a bit when broiling? Marissa wrote that the closed oven door is likened to baking. Venting the oven lets the steam out; the steam prevents the crustiness you hope for in broiling. Check your ovens manual first, you wouldn’t want to melt knobs. Did you know?

SLOW COOKER: Trapped heat is what does the cooking in a slow cooker. Unless, you keep lifting the lid, then the cooking takes longer. Wait until there is about an hour left of cooking before you lift the lid. Slow cookers are wonderful to make the most of your time. Did you know? You can dye yarn in it. Not something I will try but I am wondering what else I could do, maybe a T-shirt for one of the kids. You know I must try that one day.

DISHWASHER: Obviously, the area above the rotating arms gets the strongest spray. I learned that’s what starch foods need to eliminate their mess. It needs the force of the spray rather than the chemical clean.

The other side of the coin is dishes holding protein leftovers need the chemical clean, so the lower rack is better. It allows the soap to stay on longer for its cleaning. Did you know? Wash the baseball type hat in dishwasher. You just want to be sure to turn it off before it starts the heat and dry process.

BLENDER: If your blender stalls every few seconds, it is the layering of your ingredients that’s probably the cause. Start with a soft base ingredient (ex: yogurt) Then layer smallest to largest, ice and tough stuff on top. They will get “blended” in. Did you know? Bisquick Coconut Pie can be mixed in a blender, if you need directions, I can get them and pass on in email. Can also blend butter and graham crackers for a crust right in a blender.

STAND MIXER: Blades sometimes need to be aligned. You want them adjusted so blades can reach ingredients but not hit or scratch the bottom or sides. Find your adjusting screw by referring to your owner’s manual. Did you know?

Since I have devoted most of my life to avoiding kitchens whenever possible I did not know most of this information. The microwave information was the most important tidbit for me, and I am very well acquainted with the dishwasher as well.

I am just curious how many of these you know and how many you may have questions about. Contact me at dwdaffy@yahoo.com. I’ll be waiting. Have a great weekend.

I’M JUST CURIOUS: Ticks and bumps

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by Debbie Walker

Ever notice how sometimes things are easier when you put them in your own words rather than maybe the appropriate one? You know, bring them down to your terms.

I think I do it out of a healthy disrespect for the real terms, and sometimes because my words are just shorter. I’ve done some of that here.

I made a long put-off trip to the dermatologist to have a little mole thing on my forehead looked at. They told me just by looking at it that it was a basil cell carcinoma, lot of words for cancer. Instantly, that thing reminded me of being in Maine, come in from the woods with a tick on you and all you want to do is get it off you! Well my immediate reaction was: GET THAT THING OFF ME NOW! This little mole thing was my “tick” and I wanted it gone now!

Well, beside the little tick I had a bump on my upper left leg. It had never been discolored; it had never burned, itched, hurt, changed colors, nothing. However, it had started to grow, and it seemed to be forming groupies around it. So, hey, I’m here, I might as well ask him what kind of thing it was. Well you know how it goes, almost like with your car, it could be this or it could be this, usually it is the more expensive one but sometimes you get lucky. So, the doc did his little biopsy of both tick and bump.

Tick test came back next day just what they said it was, and it was going to have to come off. “I’m ready now.” However, we (they) were waiting on the bump’s biopsy that it turns out had to be sent away. Oh yeah, I’m a little nervous now, but better safe than sorry.

The “tick” was no big deal; they took that off in a matter of minutes and a few stitches. But it seems that the “bump” was going to send me to a specialist, it was a little on the rare side and had a name I think includes all the letters of the alphabet in it. So, I was sent off to Moffitt Cancer Center, in Tampa. Probably means nothing to you guys but this place is top of the line all the way!

That little bump that never did anything but grow to about the size of a quarter was going to require an eighth-inch by six-inch cut down to the muscle to get rid of, I’d have one layer of stitches and one layer of staples. This cancer is rare and has a 95 percent success rate. AND, for it to be considered not successful only means it would grow back in the same spot. Now as cancers go, I consider myself very lucky.

We all do it; we all put things off, “ah, that isn’t nothing.” I will admit that for a while I had an idea what the tick was and even then, put it off, lack of money, insurances, time from work, etc. As for the little bump, it looked like the most harmless thing in the world and as I said, never gave a sign it being anything other than a bump on the skin. But if you think about it, what was the bump doing there, I didn’t have one anywhere else?

Please take this seriously. My tick is long gone, and my bump was removed December 23, 2008. Yup, I am making fun of them, that healthy disrespect I was talking about, but this is serious. If you have ticks or bumps or whatever word you decide to call them, do yourself and your family a huge favor and go now. Don’t wait. If it turns out to be nothing, go celebrate. If it is something deal with it. You wouldn’t leave a tick on there knowing it was there, would you?

This is one time when I wish my curiosity had won over sooner!

Thanks for reading and if this rings a bell to you: CHECK IT OUT!

Contact me at dwdaffy@yahoo.com. We’ll just call this my public service announcement!

I’M JUST CURIOUS: Just for fun!

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by Debbie Walker

Just for fun I have collected pages from magazines with all kinds of interesting things and ideas. This column has several collections of what I hope you will find comical. I got these in a First magazine. Here goes:

Reasons Not To Go To The Gym:

If you lose the last 10 pounds, you’ll have nothing to strive for.
Who needs an elliptical machine when the elevator at work is broken?
Your yoga mat works well as a doormat.
You’d feel bad making all the other members jealous of your skillful aerobic moves.
You just noticed that your black gym bag clashes with your navy sports bra.
After burning that batch of cookies, you’ve sworn off burning anything else (including calories).

Seven Things You’re Sure Your Husband Will Never Say:

The mall? Can I go, too?
Do these Dockers make my butt big?
Beer? Nah! I’ll have sparkling water instead.
Why don’t we call your mother right now?
Honey, where did you leave the vacuum?
Which channel is Lifetime again?
Let’s just cuddle.

Seven Signs You’re Not Reality-Show material:

The last time you lost your temper was during the Carter administration.
You are too tired from everything you juggle to be a diabolical manipulator.
You don’t even have a single tattoo.
You believe sex should be (gasp!) private.
When you danced the Electric Slide at your sister’s wedding you actually slid—right into the cake!
You think that north is always in front of you (regardless of which way you’re facing).

Seven Signs You Need To Cut Back On Office Lingo:

In the middle of bickering with your husband, you suggest “tabling” the issues until tomorrow.
You refer to the local bookstore as your “preferred vendor.”
Forget to-do lists – you have “action items.”
You tell the school nurse that you’ll be the “point person” for your child.
While out to dinner with your husband, you call the sitter for a “status report.”
When your son asks for money, you send him to “accounts payable,”a/k/a Dad.
You groan about “poor ROI” (return on investment) when your retriever won’t fetch your slippers.

On a little different note:

10 Ways to Cure the Crankies.

  1. Get a pair of fuchsia flip-flops with big flowers on top – it’s hard to feel down when your feet are tickled pink.
  2. Harness your grouchiness: Call the utility company and talk down that too-high bill.
  3. Ask someone for a hug, then don’t let go until you feel better.
  4. Make like your teenage daughter and pout until you get your way.
  5. Go back to bed …. And get out on the other side.
  6. Let your four year-old-do your makeup.
  7. Buy a nice, fluffy new pillow to make life just a little softer around the edges.
  8. Pay a visit to your favorite stationery store and read funny greeting cards until you’ve laughed yourself happy.
  9. Substitute ice cream for milk with your breakfast – hey, they’re both dairy!
  10. Find out once and for all just how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.

I’m just curious if you will find some humor in the reading to make you smile. Have a great week! As usual, contact me with comments or questions at dwdaffy@yahoo.com.

I’m Just Curious: World War II Memorial in Pittsburgh

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Southwestern Pennsylvania World War II Memorial

by Debbie Walker

When the Wandering Nanas were in Pennsylvania, in June, we were treated to an evening in Pittsburgh. We had gone to a casino and were then taken to dinner at Jerome Bettis’ Grille 36 on the riverfront. (He was an important player for the Pittsburgh Steelers.)

When we were leaving the restaurant, we took time to look around and walk off some dinner before we got back in the car. We found a small World War II memorial in the nearby park on the banks of the river.

This is the South Western Pennsylvania World War II Memorial. It is made up of glass enclosed images, framed in steel and granite, of dozens of the region’s residents engaged in their war time activities, rather it was military or civilian.

“The images of the history of World War ll is seen through the eyes of veterans who lived it, their families and the people of Southwest Pennsylvania.”

The memorial is said to be “both an outdoor museum and a significant public art installation along Pittsburgh’s North Shore’. It was done in collaboration with over thirteen design consultants.

If you have a computer available to you look up the site: www.worldwar2pgh.org. You will find pictures and explanations about that period of our history.

BUT – no where on the computer will you find the feeling of walking through the memorial.

It was evening; the weather was perfect for a leisurely stroll across the park to view this … whatever it was. There was no admission fee, no one standing guard over it to supervise anyone’s behavior. People were talking however; their words were soft spoken. No “outside” voices (think children), just softly.

Nana Dee’s husband having been career Air Force, doing several tours of duty in war torn countries and my dad’s love and respect of the Navy, the memories they shared with us were suddenly remembered by us that evening.

Walking in this peaceful place brought one word to my mind: reverent. It seemed like everyone was as reverent as in a beautiful spellbinding cathedral, maybe even more so. Most people, I imagine, have some family memories involved with WW ll. I believe most everyone leaving the memorial had a renewed respect for all involved. I know we did.

The beginning of the end of World War ll came on August 14, 1945 (known as VJ Day), the day the Japanese surrendered, formal signing came on Sept. 2, 1945.

If you feel like celebrating on whichever day you can find this information on the internet at www.worldwar2pgh.org.

I am not just curious today; I am hoping you’ll forgive me with any of this information I may have made a mistake on. As always please contact me via dwdaffy@yahoo.com and thanks for reading!

P.S. If you have questions about rather a family member or friend was in World War ll, you may want to visit this sight: www.genealogy.com. You need to provide first, middle and last name, birth year and birth location. Let me know how you made out. Good luck in your search!

I’m Just Curious: Crazy August holidays

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by Debbie Walker

Last month I told you I had discovered there are weeks to honor the holidays as well as individual days. August weeks are:

July 3 to August 11 are the Dog Days of summer: the hottest and steamiest days of summer.

Peach Month, you can tell here in Florida because there are vendors alongside the roads selling Georgia peaches. They are great!

The first week of August is National Simplify your Life Week. Keep things simple, relieves stress.

August is also National Picnic Month. Get those picnics in while you have the weather for it.

August 2: International Beer Day – Gather with friends and enjoy beer.

August 3: International Hangover Day – Directly following International Beer Day. Explanation is probably not necessary for this one.

August 4: Sister’s Day – Celebrate being or having a sister.

August 6: Wiggle Your Toes Day – This day is to encourage you to give your little piggy toes some exercise.

August 9: Book Lovers Day – To encourage you to find a place in the shade to relax with a good book. Please encourage any young ones in your life to read.

August 10: Lazy Day – Your chance to goof off and definitely not work.

August 13: Left Hander’s Day – Right handed people operate from the left side of the brain. Left handed people use the right side. Only left handed people are in their right mind! (I’m left handed).

August 14: V-J (Victory in Japan) Day – The end of World War ll, the end of the fighting with Japan.

August 15: Relaxation Day – Another day to kick back and do nothing!

August 17: National Thriftshop Day – Never heard of it before but I celebrate this day as often as I can!

August 18: Bad Poetry Day – I am hoping you will try this out. Just use your imagination and enjoy writing your own poetry.

August 19: National Potato Day – celebrate and enjoy a few Maine potatoes.

August 20: World Mosquito Day – I believe this occurs in Maine for more than one day!

August 21: National Senior Citizens Day – to honor and recognize and show appreciation for the value and contribution of elderly people.

August 23: Ride the Wind Day – Relax and let the wind carry you away in whatever direction it is blowing.

August 25: Kiss and Make Up Day – Today is a day to end the fight, kiss and make up. Make it fun.

August 27: Just Because Day – Is there something you’d like to do, but there isn’t a reason for doing it? Do it today.

August 31: International Bacon Day – This is a day to celebrate crispy strips of bacon at every meal. Have a party!

These pieces of info can be found on a website called Holidayinsights.com. There are a few days that I skipped to save on words, but you can find them. Computer has some neat stuff when you start looking. I enjoy it.

Enjoy the rest of your summer. Have fun with some of these days. Let me know how you do. I’ll be waiting.

I’m just curious who I will hear from. Contact me at dwdaffy@yahoo.com with your stories, comments and questions. Thanks for reading!

I’M JUST CURIOUS – Caution: Sugar Free Candy

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by Debbie Walker

This may be a subject most people would rather not think about much less talk about, if they have any awareness about it. Sugar free candies are not totally free of punishment.

If anyone could eat a whole bag of Oreo cookies (and probably some have done such) there is a price to pay. We all know this. Even though we are in the USA there is a price of pounds (not to be confused with the English pound values at $1.25). Ours is actual weight gain.

When we purchase sugar free anything, we may believe we are doing something good for our bodies and to some degree it probably is (I won’t get into that debate here). It does allow some folks a treat they wouldn’t be able to have otherwise. I am sure they are grateful for that little freedom.

Have you ever purchased a sugar free candy and read all the print on the bag? I believe that’s something few people would do. I don’t think I ever did before my dad had a mishap with some chocolate.

Dad was a diabetic and I guess mom was trying to help him stay sugar free when she bought him a small bag of sugar free chocolates.

Mom had read the bag and knew about the “caution.” She also knew dad would not read it, so she tried to explain it to dad. Dad being “dad,” he wasn’t hearing much of it. He was already eating a piece and I guess he liked it.

I will get back to this shortly. I first want to tell you how this got brought back to my mind.

I don’t know how the subject came up but my son-in-law, Todd, asked if I had ever seen Amazon’s reviews on the Haribo Sugar Free Gummy Bears. He continued by reading a couple of them to me. As I continue let’s leave it this way. People bought them, ate a few too many and had ‘stories’ to tell, just not for folks with weak stomachs.

So… Dad ate his candy, all of it, despite the caution mom tried to give him. Let’s just say he wasn’t able to make it the 30 feet to the bathroom in time to be of help to him! Lesson Learned!

I’m just curious if you will remember you have now been cautioned.

I am finishing this up with some cute sayings I saw on little posters at the Slippery Rock Strawberry Festival last month. Hope they give you a chuckle:

‘If it scares you it might be a good thing to try.’

‘I don’t care about my Prince Charming. Where are the forest animals that clean?’

‘I’ll call it a smartphone the day I yell “where’s my phone?” and it yells “Down here! In the couch cushions!”

‘Some days my life feels like trying to stand on a hammock!’

‘Not only did I fall off the diet wagon, I dragged it into the woods, set it on fire and used the insurance money to buy cupcakes’

‘Welcome to adulthood, I hope you like ibuprofen’

‘I’ve put myself in timeout until I can play nice with others. This may take a while.’

‘Google Earth gives you the opportunity to see anywhere in the world…so what do you do? You look at your own house!’

I’m just curious what silly sayings you have heard. Contact me at dwdaffy@yahoo.com Thanks for reading!! Enjoy the sunshine!

SOLON & BEYOND: Catching up on end of school activities

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Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percyby Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percy
grams29@tds.net
Solon, Maine 04979

Good morning, my friends. Don’t worry, be happy!

The Solon Masons sponsored the fourth annual “Bikes for Books” program in the Solon Elementary School this spring. This program promoted reading among the K – 5 students.

The program kicked off on April 9. Students read books and filled out a form on each book they read, putting the forms in large envelopes in their classrooms. On May 29, they held an assembly to do a drawing for a boy and a girl from each class. Each of those students won a new bike, helmet, and T-shirt provided by the Masons. The Masons also gave out an extra T-shirt to another lucky winner in each class.

At the assembly, Deputy Mike Pike went over bike safety with the students, especially the importance of wearing a bike helmet every time you ride.

The students did a lot of reading in the fourth year of this great program. Here are the books total for each grade: Grade K – 72, Grade 1 – 66, Grade 2- 74 , Grade 3 – 47, Grade 4 – 53, Grade 5 – 42; Total of 354 books.

Congratulations to the bike winners and to the top readers in each class who received Wal-mart gift cards: Wilder Taylor, Rowdy Taylor, Charlotte Hamilton, Gavyn Perigo, Jillian Robinson, Katelyn DeDeonardis, Josh Knight, and Macie Plourde.

Thanks to the Masons!

On May 30, Solon Elementary School held a Family Wellness Night. Families enjoyed a chicken barbecue and listened to Carolyn Courtney, from Somerset Public Heath, talk about how important physical activity is to our brains. Students and their families participated in a Healthy Scavenger Hunt, a story walk with the book Blueberries for Sal, and lawn games such as cornhole and ladder ball. Josh Knight and his family won the door prize basket. Each student received a take-home bag with healthy activities to do over the summer.

On Saturday, June 15, Griswold’s had their 6th Annual Customer Appreciation Day. There was a bounce house and a maze for the children to enjoy, free food, and door prizes. Suppliers provided some of the gifts, such as Mountain Dew Apparel, Budweiser Decor, Apparel

Griswold’s gave away a Grill, kayak, RZR rental at 201 Powersports, and a two-night stay at the Pinecone Acres, and other smaller prizes.

The weather was beautiful, the food was good, and the kids had a great time!

The above news was given to me by Tammy, and she wrote at the end; “Thank you to ALL of our wonderful customers for bringing us into our seventh year.

My apologies that some of the e-mails you sent to me didn’t get in because the office was closed last week.

Received a letter from Laurlee Swift about a Solon Homemakers event on July 13 and 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. , our White Elephant and Baked Goods Sale will be held at the Madison Senior Housing Center (next to Madison High School) on Route 148 (Main Street).

Also received e-mails from Sue Lahti and Tim Curtis about upcoming events in East Madison Days. On July 19 at 6:30 p.m., Book talk with Bobby Clement at the Grange and 7:15 p.m. music with Brian Richmond, Bob Nicholson and friends. On July 20, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. yard and bake sale, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. : Silent Auction, winners announced on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

9 a.m. – 3 p.m., antique tools & sharpening – Swiftwater Edge Toolworks, 9 a.m. – noon – Bob Clement is signing and selling his books. 1 – 3 p.mn., “Appraisal fair” with Tom Pomelow (tentative), 4:30 – 6 p.m., baked bean supper at the Grange.

July 21 from 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. – Silent auction – winners announced at 2-30 p.m. ; 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., Hot dog/dynamite luncheon at EM fire station;1 p.m., Quilts of Valor recognition ceremony; Immediately following – Dedication of the Agricultural and Industrial building to Gary Malbon.

And now for Percy’s memoir, which is titled, Better, Wiser and Happier!” Do you wish the world were better? Let me tell you what to do; Set a watch upon your actions, Keep them always straight and true; Rid your mind of selfish motives; Let your thoughts be clean and high, You can make a little Eden Of the sphere you occupy. Do you wish the world were wiser? Well, suppose you make a start, By accumulating wisdom In the scrapbook of your heart; Do not waste one page on folly; Live to learn, and learn to live. If you want to give men knowledge You must get it, ere you give. Do you wish the world were happy? Then remember day by day Just to scatter seeds of kindness As you pass along the way; For the pleasures of the many may be ofttimes traced to one, As the hand that plants an acorn Shelters armies from the sun. (words by Ella Wheeler Wilcox) I hope those who knew Percy in the past will remember what a smart cat he was and will take the above words to heart!! Thanks for reading!

I’M JUST CURIOUS – The wandering Nanas: Chapter 2

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by Debbie Walker

Chapter 1 was printed two weeks ago. There was just too much for one column, so here we are now on our way to Pennsylvania — Slippery Rock, to be exact.

We are being assisted by a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) gadget from our phones. We both have little-to-no knowledge of these things but … we left Walnut Creek, Ohio, headed east. (We did give those gadgets a few new names!)

There wasn’t much guidance needed once on our way, however … we got to downtown Slippery Rock and “SHE” left us at the light. Nothing! No more words! We did the only sensible thing: Use the phone to call Fred (Nana Dee’s nephew) and Jackie (her niece). We discovered we needed to go through the light, keep going just a few streets and there was Keister Street, the home of Slippery Rock University! On arrival at our host’s we were handed a much-appreciated drink! And Fred had prepared his own creation of Pig on Pig (or Pork on Pork). This is a pork chop surrounded by bacon. Yummy!

Saturday we were taken to their Strawberry Festival in their beautiful park where we met more extended family and enjoyed the sights, music and food. Strawberries on waffles was a hit. On display were many local products presented by local vendors and artists. And more importantly, more friendly people. AND we didn’t have to drive all day!

On Sunday we went to Fred’s son, Ty’s, home for a celebration of their first wedding anniversary complete with a piece of Ty and April’s original wedding cake. (Ty and April left this week for Colorado where April received her honors for her master’s degree in nursing.) A lot to celebrate.

This would not be complete without telling you about our visit to the Elite Casino, in Pittsburgh (next door to the Steeler’s stadium and the Pirates stadium). There we were unintentionally entertained by Nana Dee. Watching her play leapfrog down a bank of five slot machines gave Jackie, Fred and I quite a few laughs!

Nana Dee sat at a machine, put in her ‘donation,’ pushed a couple of buttons and bing, bing, bing. She had won. She leaped (really!) from that machine to the very next one, puts in her ‘donation,’ push a couple of buttons and bing, bing, bing. She won again. She made the exact same moves on three more machines and bing, bing, bing. She won a total of $178 in less than 15 minutes. By the time another 15 minutes went by Jackie and I had lost our money. Fred had spent about 25 cents and won $6 and left there with it!

We left the casino and were taken to the 36 Grill owned by Jerome Bettis, a local Steelers hero, and the meal was fantastic. Right next door to this is the beautiful South Western Pennsylvania World War ll Memorial. This deserves its own column.

THE Wandering Nanas had a wonderful trip from start to finish and are looking forward to another one day. Tonight, I am just curious if you will be doing some wandering of your own! Contact me with questions or comments at dwdaffy@yahoo.com . Thank you so much for reading!

I’M JUST CURIOUS: July crazy holidays

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by Debbie Walker

Once again it is time to give you ideas for more holidays and fun for the month of July. I don’t dream these up myself. I get them from all over the internet. There are more than I can fit in one column.

I just noticed with this month’s collection they have some events posted for a certain week of the month. Ex: Week 2 of July is listed as ‘Nude Recreation Week.’ They didn’t include a link to the info for that one. Sorry. However, Week 3 is ‘Capture the Sunset Week:’ grab your camera and watch those evenings for the perfect weather sunset evening and take some pictures, but mostly just enjoy!

July 1: International Joke Day – If folks get in the habit of one happy funny day it might catch on to other days! Share your jokes and smiles.

July 2: I Forgot Day – This is not a day to remember! What are you forgetting, can you remember? Is it important? Hopefully not.

July 3: Stay Out Of The Sun Day – This day encourages us to keep cool in the shade then you will be ready for your outside activities on the 4th.

July 4: Did you know that July 4th is not just Independence Day but also National Country Music Day and Sidewalk Egg Frying Day. It’s up to you which one you choose to celebrate but giving notice to Independence Day would be nice.

July 5: It’s been a year since mom left us. Miss you Mom.

July 6: International Cherry Pit Spitting Day – The record is 100’ 4”! Can you do it?

July 10 Teddy Bear Picnic Day – Can you imagine how happy your children or grandchildren will be when you celebrate this lunch with them and their favorite bear. Happy Bday, Mim!

July 13: This is a Friday the 13th. It is a day to celebrate safely!

July 14: Pandemonium Day – Don’t let today shake you up. Just go with the flow in your calm manner and sanity will return. Big Deep Breath will get you calm.

July 14: National Nude Day – It is a way to keep cool on a hot, sticky summer day. Nudist believe the body is a beautiful and meant to be displayed. I like clothes.

July 17: Peach Ice Cream Day – I just had peach ice cream last week in Georgia. Good stuff! Peach Ice Cream, jelly, spread, candy, wine, the list goes on!

July 20: Moon Day – Enjoy this holiday watching Apollo 13.

July 22: Ratcatcher’s Day – If you see a Ratcatcher today wish them a happy day! It’s an old story from back in the year 1284, and the Pied Piper.

July 25: Thread the Needle Day – A day for those who sew (and can still see to thread a needle). It also means to walk a fine and difficult line between two issues or things.

July 31: Mutt’s Day – If you own a mutt then this is the day to celebrate a great breed, The Mutt. I believe they are even called Designer Dogs now! Enjoy!

I’m just curious what you would invent for a special day. Let me know, maybe we could start something new. Thanks for reading and as usual any comments or questions are appreciated anytime.