Sunset Glory

Fata Morgana and Denali casting a shadow on the clouds.  

Photo taken Wednesday November 28, 2012 at 3:02 p.m.
Sunset was at 3:06 p.m.

Weather Today

I really am trying to stay pangloss about this day ~ time to put the blinders on.

Word of the Day ~ Pangloss

Pangloss

PRONUNCIATION:

(PAN-glos)                  

MEANING:

noun: One who is optimistic regardless of the circumstances.
adjective: Blindly or unreasonably optimistic.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Dr. Pangloss, a philosopher and tutor in Voltaire's 1759 satire Candide. Pangloss believes that, in spite of what happens -- shipwreck, earthquake, hanging, flogging, and more -- "All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds." The name is coined from Greek panglossia (talkativeness). Earliest documented use: 1794.

Reminders

There are those times when we all need a little reminder and this is what I needed to remember that life in the frozen North ~ the last frontier ~ has its great moments that make it all worth while.

***

Photo credit goes to my friend B.R. 

Thanks for sharing the beautiful view.

High Five Friday

I give a big high five for....

LOVE!

Thanksgiving 1941

Thanksgiving in the United States, as observed on various dates throughout history. The dates of Thanksgiving in the era of the Founding Fathers until the time of Lincoln had been decided by each state on various dates. The first Thanksgiving celebrated on the same date by all states was in 1863 by presidential proclamation. The final Thursday in November had become the customary date of Thanksgiving in most U.S. states by the beginning of the 19th century. And so, in an effort by President Abraham Lincoln (influenced by the campaigning of author Sarah Josepha Hale who wrote letters to politicians for around 40 years trying to make it an official holiday), to foster a sense of American unity between the Northern and Southern states, proclaimed the date to be the final Thursday in November.


It was not until December 26, 1941, that the unified date changed to the fourth Thursday (and not always final) in November—this time by federal legislation. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, after two years earlier offering his own proclamation to move the date earlier, with the reason of giving the country an economic boost, agreed to sign a bill into law with Congress, making Thanksgiving a national holiday on the fourth Thursday in November.

In 1941 what is remembered by Josh's Grandpa Moore is that President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving earlier so that the solders could have supper with their families before they shipped off for war.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Word of the Day ~ Hibernian

Hibernian

PRONUNCIATION:

(hy-BUR-nee-uhn)        

MEANING:

adjective: Of or relating to Ireland.
noun: A native or inhabitant of Ireland.

ETYMOLOGY:

>From Hibernia, the Latin name for Ireland. The word hibernate is from Latin hibernare (to spend the winter). Earliest documented use: 1632. 

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

The worst kind of people are those who confuse kindness for weakness. -Werner Makowski, banker (b. 1929) 

Would You?

Would you run the miles to the other side of the tracks?  Would you find yourself breathless at the edge of the rails?  Would you go to great lengths to tell her you love her?

Jump

The light of day reaches us in only small doses and its heat is reflected back to the heavens as it skips off the atmosphere. If only I could jump off the ground to the sky and catch the sun’s rays of warmth like a fish jumps out of the pond for the bug.

Nourish me oh rays of the sun. Feed me your warmth. Share with me your guiding light.

Who Knew

Who knew? 

 I didn't. 

Did you?

Made my morning though.

Word of the Day ~ Mitty

Mitty

PRONUNCIATION:

(MIT-ee)                       

MEANING:

noun: An ordinary, timid person who indulges in daydreams involving great adventures and triumphs.

ETYMOLOGY:

After the title character in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, a short story (1939) by James Thurber, later made into a movie (1947) of the same name.

Your Clock

Light is one of the most important environmental factors that control you biological clock. Light sensed through your eyes helps program your body clock, affecting when you feel most awake, and when you feel the most tired.

The first light of day sets the schedule for your natural sleep-wake cycle. If you are having trouble sleeping you might need to reboot your biological clock to help you sleep and wake up at the right times.

There is nothing more refreshing than a good night’s sleep. It renews your energy, improves your ability to learn and make good decisions. For the science folks out there the hypothalamus plays a role in the regulation of sleep.

Getting a good night’s sleep in the arctic can be challenging to say the least. In the summer months when the sun shines, more often than not, almost 23 hours a day and when it is not shining it is still twilight and not really dark. During this time we have a tendency to stay up late and get up early and feel like we are on the go every second of the day. Energy to get things done is easy to find.

Then in the winter months there is barely four hours of possible sunlight and none of it in the morning hours when you need that first light of day to set your sleep-wake cycle. So we have a few tricks to help combat the overwhelmed hibernation feeling.

We have a lamp in the bedroom that has a full spectrum bright light bulb in it and on a timer so that the light turns on about 25 minutes before the alarm clock is set to ring. This helps give the eyes something to trigger wake-up time. It gives just enough light so that we can at least drag ourselves out of bed and get the coffee started.

Then there is the Happy Light! Yup Verilux named their product Happy Light and the Deluxe Energy Lamp that sits on my office desk give up to 10,000 LUX of natural spectrum daylight to help the body recalibrate or stay in a normal sleep-wake rhythm, 30 or so minutes in the morning sure makes a big difference in my day.

The only hibernations trigger that I always have a hard time fighting off is the overpowering urge to eat cheese in very large quantities. So as I go along day by day in the next three months I will fight the cheese monster and try to maintain a balanced diet of all things good for me.

Wish me luck!

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery.But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Picking Sides

High Five Friday

 High five and hooray for grapefruit...

 

blue skies and sunshine...

and palm trees!

Supersition Ranch Market

Grandpa caught off guard as the paparazzi followed him around the market.

 Grandpa really wants the pickled peppers but Grandma is not too sure.

The best thing about this market, outside of the limes being eight for a dollar, was the candy. Candy ~ candy ~ candy!

We did bring home some salt water taffy. It was a real treat to go shopping with Grandma & Grandpa and to come away with some treats for our very own.

Hackers Grill

 

We enjoyed lunch at a little dive in Apache Junction called the Hackers Grill.  It was the lunch rush so we waited a bit for our orders to be taken.  We could tell this place was frequented by a lot of regulars.

Grandma ready to order

Grandpa looking serious ~ when isn't he?

 When I said dive I mean dive ~ clean but old and nice folks working.

 Cheese!

It was a good day being out and about in the sunshine.  We also stopped into the Good Apple and Superstition Ranch Market.

Change in the Weather

When we left Phoenix it was 85 and sunny and I mean the bright kind of sunny that makes you squint even when wearing sunglasses.  This morning in Fairbanks it is -25 yes you are seeing that right it is below zero by 25 degrees Fahrenheit.  Burrrrr!

Sunrise today 8:58 a.m.

Sunset tonight 4:11 p.m.

Bundle up and stay warm.