Footle and Grok

Most people don’t know how many days are left in the year–

Unless they are doing a running streak.

I’ve been running every day since January 1. I enter my miles into Smashrun, and the program tells me how many days until December 31. Today, it said I had 100 days left.

Tomorrow I enter the realm of double digits. It’s quite exciting. I hope to reach 900 miles for the year on my birthday and 1000 miles on Thanksgiving. If I find a reason to do more miles in a day (like a virtual race), I might finish sooner. Either way, I look forward to watching the numbers wind down, both on my 1000 miles goal and on my Leap Year streak.

If you have anything to finish before 2020 disappears (and I know we are all looking forward to that happy day), you have 100 days left. Plenty of time, as long as one doesn’t procrastinate. Me, I’m just going to run.

I love Crayola crayons.

Even though I have a box of 152 crayons, I get excited whenever new products come out. Their newest box of crayons thrilled me because it ends a problem I’ve had all my life.

The Colors of the World, a box of 32 crayons, contains shades of pink and brown along with blue eyes, green eyes, red and blonde hair, and others. This is the box that I wish I had as a child when my only choices to color my self-portraits were white or peach. Both of these were completely inaccurate.

It turns out I am “medium golden” on my tanned arm and “light-medium almond” on my paler areas. With all these color choices, kids of all ages can find their perfect shade.

I want to learn to draw dinosaurs (I got a book from the library to help), and these new crayons will be perfect for coloring these extinct creatures too. Dinosaurs were probably more than brown, gray, and green, just like humans.

It’s Talk Like a Pirate Day!

We can all talk about Corrrrrrona Virrrrrus today and shiver our timbers.

I love those charts on Facebook that give you an elf or mermaid name. Of course, we all know we should never post the answer in the comments since that is how people steal our information. But there is no harm in playing on a blog (plus I chose one that only uses initials, and that’s no secret.)

Arrrr! Use the chart below, figure out your pirate name, and share it in the comments. There are dozens of charts* out there, but I like this one because I get to be Fluffbucket McStubby, and I’m pretty sure if I were a pirate, that would be my name.

*Pirate names sound a lot like Ravager names from Guardians of the Galaxy 2. None of them were Taserface, but a lot of them were similar.

I’m not an expert on friendship bracelets.

I’ve attempted to make these cute cross-stitch thread bracelets many times over the years, and they always turn out horrible. That doesn’t stop me from trying because I love the look of them so much.

I might have success this time because this video is for Harry Potter bracelets, and the instructions seem really clear. Of course, other instructions I’ve followed have been clear too. 

If you are a Harry Potter fan*, or if you have someone in your life who know which house they are in (I’m in Ravenclaw), why not make some of these fun bracelets. Perhaps you’ll find it easier than I do. I might need a spell to get it right.

*I’ve shared videos from Wizarding World before and probably will again. This website is a great resource for any Harry Potter fan.

I was trimming Hubby’s beard when I wondered how people in the middle ages trimmed their beards. They don’t look shaggy in paintings from the era. Then I wondered about the ancient Romans and ancient Egyptians. Their artwork has lots of clean-shaven guys in it. Did they use scissors? A straight blade? Something only archaeologists recognize? I had to know.

It turns out most haircare websites have the answers. I checked out some more mainstream sources and found that they all agreed. Let’s start at the beginning.

Stone Age – Despite museum dioramas that show shaggy cavemen, cave art shows early humans as clean-shaven. Around 100,000 years ago, they used clamshells to pull out unwanted hair. About 60,000 years ago, sharpened clamshells or flint were used like razors.

Ancient Egypt – Egypt was a hot place, and complete hairlessness for both men and women was common. This also kept lice under control. They would use metal razors made from copper. Interestingly, They often wore wigs to keep the sun off their heads, and the pharaohs had fake beards.

Ancient Greece – Thanks to Zeus and other gods, beards were common among Greek men and were a point of pride. However, that changed during the time of Alexander the Great. He instructed his soldiers to shave so that the enemy couldn’t grab their beards during a fight. Razors were made from iron and looked a lot like razors used today.

Ancient Rome – Shaving was a big deal in ancient Rome. The first time young men shaved was at a “coming into adulthood party.” Barbershops, called tonsors, were a place to get a shave and share gossip. Shaving became a social event. Unlike other cultures, Romans took their shaving to the next level. A pumice stone was used to rub off the stubble, and novacila removed the hair. Perfumes and oils were then applied to soften the skin. If you were high up in society, a barber would visit your home. Because of this convenience, the richest and most powerful men had the least amount of hair.

I’m surprised at how early shaving became a thing and how little it has changed over the millenniums. Sure, we don’t use pumice stones today, but most of us still use razors like the ancient Greeks. Let’s be grateful we don’t have to use clamshells.

I just finished what is possibly the best book I’ve read in 2020.

I feel odd saying this because it’s a genre I never read. Normally, I avoid this genre like the plague. And not without good reason. I’ve been disappointed by this type of book before.

What genre do I avoid? According to Amazon, it is called “Teen & Young Adult Fiction about Self Esteem & Reliance” and “Teen & Young Adult Girls & Women Fiction.” Basically, if it’s YA (young adult), I skip it.

However, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is a great story with very relatable characters. Before this book, I would have told you I don’t like over-dramatic stories about college freshmen. Now I learned I can’t put a book down when the main character is a writer.

I was a little sad when this one ended, but I love finding a book I can reread over and over. I’m not sure I’m ready to read all the teen books out there, but I’ll certainly read more by Rainbow Rowell.

The last time I took a class on civics and the American government was in high school. Yet, every day I am bombarded with news dealing with our government. I don’t know about you, but it can be overwhelming. I want to know how things are supposed to work, so I can figure out if something is wrong, but high school was a long time ago.

Thanks to Grammar Girl, I discovered a podcast that teaches civics. Unknown History normally discusses general history, but they switched things up for a few episodes. Starting at episode 88, guest hosts, Nick Capodice and Hannah McCarthy will present A Users Guide to Democracy.

I have listened to the first episode, “A User’s Guide to the Electoral College,” and found it fascinating. It’s a combination of history and current events. They do a great job of explaining this convoluted subject in a friendly and concise manner.

Check out Unknown History and review your civics knowledge. Every voter should know the facts.

If you follow me on Facebook, you know that I mostly share posts about dogs and dinosaurs. Recently, I joined a new dinosaur page, and I have learned a ton from their posts. Last night, I read something that blew my mind.

The post said, “Dinosaurs existed before Saturn had rings.” WHAT!!!!

Since I take nothing at face value (and I had never thought about the age of Saturn’s rings even though I wrote a post about them), I googled before accepting the claim. According to NASA, Saturn’s rings formed between 100 and 10 million years ago. Dinosaurs lived between 245 and 65 million years ago, so if they had had telescopes they would not have seen the bumps that Galileo saw when he looked at Saturn.

I haven’t done a deep dive into why Saturn’s rings are so much younger than the planet itself, but I look forward to learning the facts (and sharing them with you.) I’m starting with this NASA article.

Learning new things about dinosaurs and planets is awesome. I hope you learn something new today too.

While at my parents’ house, I found a bunch of The Old Farmer’s Almanac brochures compliments of Boys Town. I love old adages and weather lore so I borrowed the brochures. Throughout the fall and winter, I’ll be sharing different articles.

Today’s list is from “Can Animals Predict the Weather?” Since one of the ideas is “When cats sneeze, it is a sign of rain” (my cats sneezed during our last heatwave), I doubt the effectiveness of this list.

However, the only way to know for sure is to watch the animals around you and notice the weather soon after. If one of these proves true, let me know.

Weather and Animal Sayings

• If the bull leads the cows to pasture, expect rain; if the cows precede the bull, the weather will be uncertain.
• When cattle lie down in the pasture, it indicates early rain.
• If the mole digs its hole 2 1/2 feet deep, expect severe weather; if two feet deep, not so severe; if one foot deep, a mild winter.
• When rabbits are fat in October and November, expect a long, cold winter.
• If sheep ascend hills and scatter, expect clear weather.

The 2020 writing contest sponsored by the Lewis County Writers Guild has ended, and the judges have blindly read all the entries. I am proud to announce our winners.

• Grand Prize: So Many Visitors in One Evening by Jane Limprecht
• First Prize from the Fox Prompt: The Hunter by Olivia Dowd
• Honorable Mention from the Fox Prompt: Free by Connie Nice    
• First Prize from the Cowboy Prompt: The Seventh Man by Benjamin Kirby
• Honorable Mention from the Cowboy Prompt: Bluffman by Margie Smith
• First Prize from the Path Prompt: A Path Less Traveled by Janice Clark
• Honorable Mention from the Path Prompt: Daisies and Buttercups by Lilla Glass

This was our first-ever writing contest, and it was a great success. All fees went to support our scholarship. Normally, our writing conference raises funds for the scholarship, but due to COVID-19, we had to cancel this year. We still hope to reach $2000 in donations to support a student at Centralia College through our writing contest and other contributions.

If you would like to make a donation toward our scholarship, click here for more information. We may be living in strange times, but stories are still important, as is making sure that anyone who wishes to improve their education gets the opportunity to do so.

Congratulations to the winners!!!