Llamas

I spent the day decorating the house where we are going to spend the holidays. Got the tree up and decorated and also some other inside and outside decorations. Glad to have that done. On my way back to the RV I passed by a farm with some llamas in the yard. Of course I had to pull over and take a picture.

Poinsettia

Have you ever wondered how the Poinsettia, that beautiful, bright red (and other colors) plant that is so popular at Christmas time, got its name? Since this is Christmas season I thought I would share some of the info with you so you will know how this plant became known as the poinsettia. This summer I discovered the books of Robert Morgan, an author from my neck of the woods whose stories I thoroughly enjoy reading. One such story about a bridge in this area led to my discovery of how the poinsettia got its name. Joel Roberts Poinsett was the first Ambassador to Mexico, appointed by President John Quincy Adams in the 1820s. Poinsett was a botanist and during his time in Mexico he discovered this beautiful plant and brought it back to his home in Greenville, SC where he propagated the plants and gave them as gifts to friends and botanical gardens. The Mexican people gave the plant a new name, poinsettia, in honor of Joel Roberts Poinsett. Even though Poinsett had an outstanding career as a United States Congressman and as an ambassador he will always be remembered for introducing the poinsettia into the United States. He also later founded the institution known today as the Smithsonian Institution and held many titles during his lifetime. Some interesting facts regarding the poinsettia include the fact that its milky white sap was once used as a fever reducer and the purplish dye extracted from the leaves was used in textiles and cosmetics. Cuetlaxochitl was the name given by the Aztec’s but by the 1830’s it was known in the US by the name poinsettia. The name Poinsett is common here in this part of SC, we have the Poinsett Highway and the Poinsett Bridge among other things. I had never thought about how these places got their names nor had I wondered how the poinsettia got its name but know we all know! I sure am glad the name was changed for the plant because I am not sure I could even pronounce cuetlaxochitl without it sounding like a dirty word!

Joel Roberts Poinsett

Poinsettia

Tag!

OK, so Jamie blogger-tagged me and now I am "it" and have to post 7 random things about myself. Let's see... where to start...

1. I LOVE shoes! I have always loved shoes. I can't have enough. I think part of this love is the fact that when I was growing up we didn't have a lot of money so we basically got 2 pairs of shoes each year... a pair of penny loafers for school and a pair of tennis shoes for playing in the summer time. It is usually the first thing I notice about a person... what shoes they are wearing!
2. If I could spend the rest of my life traveling I would. I have loved traveling my entire life and I especially love learning about new cultures and experiencing first hand how they life, eat, work etc..
3. I always hear music in my head. My daughter mentioned the fact that she wakes up with a song playing in her head every morning... so do I but for me I hear music all day long. I think that is one reason I am basically a happy person.
4. I have often thought that I would have enjoyed being a scientist of some sort.... I love things like astronomy, Egyptology, and technical things and think I would have enjoyed getting really deep into subjects like that. Not in this life time though.
5. I am a Grandmother! I have one grand daughter, Hannah, who is the apple of my eye. I adore that little girl.
6. I used to be interested in gourmet cooking. I thoroughly enjoyed it when our kids were younger and living at home but now that it is only David and myself it is more difficult. I enjoy all sorts of foods and it was a lot of fun experimenting in the kitchen.
7. I really enjoy home decorating. We have moved around a lot and I always enjoyed having a blank slate to decorate. I try to incorporate feng shui into my decorating too.

OK, so that's my 7 random things about myself. Now I will have to figure out who I can tag.

Bubbles Everywhere

David called me yesterday morning as soon as he got to work to share with me one of the funniest things he had seen in a long time. The company where he works is a beautifully constructed, multi-million dollar, architectural building that includes a huge water fountain in the front. When he got to work this morning he noticed something different… during the night someone had apparently poured bubble bath into the fountain and it was full of bubbles! He said that when he got inside everyone was laughing over it and the security guards were going over video from the security cameras and had just discovered that at 11:30 the night before a car drove up and a figure got out and ran to the fountain then quickly back to the car and it drove away. Sounds like someone was up to mischief. The end result seemed to have provided lots of laughter at the office. Only wish I had been there with my camera to get a photo. I did find a few photos online of the company and the fountain (without the bubbles).

this was the fountain that had bubbles running out all over the place as everyone arrived at work on Friday morning

a view of the building with the fountain showing just to the right of the red car

a pretty night time view of the building