DAY 11, MARCH 11, 2024, HAPPY NATIONAL NAPPING DAY!
Good Morning, Everyone,
I take naps, and there is nothing I enjoy most other than reading, writing, playing my piano, playing bridge, bid whiz, or chess. However, it was only that way once I stopped trying to make my body take naps when it didn’t need to. In other words, I started listening to my body, paying close attention to my body rhythm, and taking naps when needed. Thus, I am an advocate for taking naps.
I sleep irregularly, so I don’t sleep eight hours at night. I’m a writer, and whenever the creative spirit wants to give me a story or change something I write, I get up and do it.
Also, I have a concert now and then, which means late hours.
I am a voracious reader, too, and when I start reading a book that draws me into the story, I don’t usually go to bed after an hour or two. I read the book until the end.
Therefore, I had to develop my own plan for napping.
I am taking a nap in the late afternoon in my recliner.
Because my creative spirit wakes me up in the middle of the night to write, if there’s a story or an incident concerning my book or an article that it wants me to change, I have to get up and do it because sleep evades me. It may take me three to four hours to incorporate the changes before I can return to bed. Thus, afterward, I drink my coffee, meditate, and have breakfast, and then I sit in my recliner and nap. I am not a heavy coffee drinker. I drink two cups daily, so coffee does not keep me up.
My naps are not structured around time but based on my inner clock. It doesn’t matter what time of the day or night it is. It matters only that I take a nap when my body needs it. Sometimes, I even nap throughout the day in intervals and let my body relax because that is what it wants to do.
Thus, National Napping Day is something everyone needs to do. If we adhere to our inner clocks, we would not have as many accidents, sicknesses, aggravation, or stress as we have today.
I am glad that I finally have the type of career that lets me order my time according to the inner clock within me.
If you can, listen to your inner clock today and nap when your body’s inner clock decides it.
CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION, RRBC WARRIOR BLOGGER AWARD 2024
Good Morning, Everyone,
I found this certificate of Recognition in my inbox this morning. I have made it through one-third of the Challenge.
Last year, I complained a little because I didn’t know what to expect. By complaining, I mean the work required to put into blogging sensible posts worth others’ time to engage with me.
I still don’t know what to expect concerning work output, but I now know that blogging imbues me with a sense of strength and reflection. It tickles my brain and my heart.
Therefore, I am thankful that I have made it this far. Thank you, RRBC, for the Recognition Banner. I appreciate it.
My DAY 11 Article will be coming soon. I hope you have a lovely start to the week, just as I had.
I’ve established a tradition since becoming single: eating a pretzel with butter on Saturdays and Sundays. The fresh German pretzels I buy in the bakery are delicious. If you get one fresh out of the oven, that is a heavenly delight.
Known as the bretzel in Germany, the pretzel originally stems from Bavaria. However, the Italians also claimed to be the first to make the pretzel, and they date their findings back to 610 when a Monk created them to use dough that was left over. Whether that is true or not, I don’t know. I had my first pretzel here in Europe, and it was so tasty that my favorite pretzels are made in Germany.
Of course, there are pretzels now in the United States. They have been there for a while. The Germans and Swiss who immigrated to the USA took their recipes with them. Most of them settled in Pennsylvania and became known as the Pennsylvania Dutch.
Nowadays, pretzels in the USA come in all kinds of flavors and toppings like yogurt, strawberry, mustard, chocolate, etc., but I still prefer pretzels with a small scoop of butter on the side.
Thus, if a bakery is near you, go out and buy three or four and enjoy your pretzel time.
It is Sunday, and I am enjoying mine.
I hope you have a lovely day, and I’ll see you tomorrow.
DAY 9, MARCH 9, 2024, HAPPY NATIONAL GET OVER IT DAY!
Good Morning, Everyone,
It’s Happy National Get Over It Day, and it is a day that we must implement worldwide. However, I’m limiting this day to offenses committed against us regardless of whether they deal with our families, friends, or work situations at a county, state, or national level. It is hard for us to get over such offenses, and this day encourages us to get over it and move on. But that is easier said than done.
Just look at what happened in the 2020 Presidential election. It is a pity that we’re still heatedly discussing the past election as if it happened yesterday. Sometimes, I want to shout that we are dealing with 2024, and the 2020 election is over. Whatever happened to the loser conceding and stepping aside or waiting until the next election if they are dissatisfied with the results? The USA will go into history for being a country that argued and fought over the twenty-twenty election until infinity. We might still be fighting over the 2020 election in 2028 or 2032 instead of getting over it. Who knows?
Unfortunately, not getting over it is permeating our entire lives. Sportsmen don’t like to concede when they have lost a title. Here in Germany, at some National Soccer Cup games, sportlers have even refused to wear the medal when they place second in a tournament. Now, that is sad. Instead of getting over it, they downplay the other team’s win, missing a great life lesson.
National Getting Over It Day should also be implemented among our families and friends. How often do we bury an insult in our hearts because somebody injured us, and we carry a grudge instead of getting over it? I suspect that while holding that in our hearts, the person who committed the offense has forgotten about it.
Thus, let’s make the National Getting Over It Day an everyday thing. Let us forgive and move on, no matter how difficult it is. As a Sly and the Family Stone said in their famous hit:
DAY 8, MARCH 8, 2024, HOW I AM DISCOVERING THE MEANING OF MY NAME
It has taken me years to discover what my name means, and I am still searching. Learning the meaning of my name is a lifetime process. Early in life, I found that people who tried to define me and what I was supposed to be did not coincide with what I thought I should be. When I turned eight, I knew I would have to one day leave the land I was born in if I wanted to find my purpose, which means finding out what my name truly means. It might be easier to look it up, but I don’t usually choose the easy way or the way that looks simple. I am a Patricia kind of person who latches on to ideas that fascinate me, and I hang on until I find out why those thoughts find ground to grow within me.
Since the name Patricia has no biblical meaning, I sought to know why the name was so unique in ancient times. Patricia stemmed from Latin and led me to two words that got me looking into directions that would have been, at that time, impossible for me to walk in the deep South. Those two words were honor and noble. According to the content I googled, the name Patricia has deep infinity, and people with that name have power and charisma when expressing themselves, whether in speech or writing. They love to study and do research.
My love of research and study is an integral part of me. I remember discovering that Dwight David Eisenhower and I were born on the same day, October 14. Knowing that threw me in a tizzy, and I researched every book I could find about the man because I wanted to know how he had made it through life. I even contemplated writing him a letter, as he was the President of the United States, to tell him that we had a birthday on the same day, but I never did. I regret that now. However, whenever my birthday came around, it was a pick me up just knowing that we had the same day of birth, although it was not the same year. Knowing this gave Patricia (me) the strength to take steps that kept me going forward
I am always learning something new about my name; when I do, I write it down in my journal.
Finally, I learn about the meaning of what my name means to me by reading about other Patricias like Patricia Hill Collins, Patricia Cornwall, Patricia Highsmith, Patricia Neal, Patricia Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, Patti Labelle (born_ Patricia Louise Holt), Patricia Hearst and many more and comparing some aspects of them to what I find in myself. Am I happy with my name and what I have found so far? Yes, Patricia is an honorable name, and there are infinite qualities that will propel me to become all I will become.
One last thought about a different topic–– the weather. I woke up to a fantastic, sunshiny day. As I walked down my stairs, I looked at my stairway and saw how the sun shone through the glass on the stairs. I wanted to sit on the stairs all morning and stare out the window, but I didn’t. However, it was worth taking the time to sit there for ten minutes.
This is one day that needs to be taken off the calendar.
The problem is that too many people speak, telling their side of their story, but no one listens. Thus, we have wars between nations, wars on the streets of our neighborhoods, schools, shopping centers, theaters, football fields, marathons, you name it, cause we feel we have a right to be heard. But who decides what is truth? I don’t know of any human being that can do that. Instead, maybe we need a day to be silent, a day to think about what’s coming out of our mouths, a time to remember that the words we speak shape our lives and affect the lives of others around us.
Therefore, I’m all for getting rid of National Be Heard Day. We don’t need it. Let us replace it with a NATIONAL LISTENING DAY where we listen to our sisters or brothers struggling to build a better life for their families, to the women working at the cash registers and barely making enough to support their families.
We need to listen to five, six, seven and eight-year-old kids working in factories and will never have the opportunity to know what real childhood is like; listen to those kids who are recruited for wars at an early age and learn how to kill without learning that life is precious and listen to those children that are malnourished because of lack of food.
Photos courtesy of Shutterstock
When we listen to the world’s heartbeats, our hearts will erupt into a change that brings a different kind of action, and the world will be a better place, and we won’t need to be heard.
That is enough for today. I need to move on. My two projects are calling me. I need to finish my reread, do some shopping, and relax. The European League is playing today. A pic of my palm tree with a new tiny leaf is below to make you smile. The leaf has yet to open, but I’ll let you know when it does.
Take time today to listen to the heartbeats of the world.
HAPPY NATIONAL OREO COOKIE DAY! DAY 6, MARCH 6, 2024
The Oreo cookie is the best-known American cookie. As a child, my sisters and brother loved to eat them. I googled Oreos to find out how significant their influence is on the American public and found it is enormous. I just discovered that nine out of ten households buy Oreos and that 7.5 billion Oreos are sold yearly. Nabisco created Oreos; as of 2015, 450 billion Oreos had been sold. So, it is America’s best-selling cookie. Also, its official National Eat An Oreo Day is held every year on June 19.
You’re probably thinking, we don’t have Oreos here in Europe. That is an American tradition.
Well, I don’t mean to disappoint you, but we have something similar to Oreos, but they aren’t called Oreos.
Ours are called Cookeo. Cookeo is a Vegan product produced in Germany, which is super for flexitarians like me. So, treat yourself today, have a warm cup of milk, and eat three or four Oreos.
Now on to work. I have lots to do, but I wanted to mention my fireplace again because I told you I wanted to go outside and bring in some wood yesterday. Yesterday evening was the Champions League game between Bayern München and Lazio Rome. Bayern had to win to go to the quarterfinals. I know you’re wondering what this has to do with my fireplace. Hold on, I’ll get to the point. 😇 I wanted to sit by the fire as I looked at the game, and I did. So, here is a picture of my living room with the fireplace lit.
Soccer is one of those things that gives me joy.🤩
I won’t tell you who won the game, but it was a great game. A few minutes before midnight, I turned in to get some zzzzzzz😴.
Have a great day, People. I have IWSG Day today, and I’m finishing up the first reading of my novella.
DAY 5, MARCH 5, 2024, HAPPY NATIONAL CHEESE DOODLE DAY!
Good Morning!
I don’t know what cheese doodles are, but I like to eat cheese, especially European cheeses from France, the Netherlands, Italy, and Germany. They are the best I have ever eaten, so I hope Cheese doodles are a food item. As a child, one of my favorite cheese snacks was cheese crackers from Cheez-It. I ate many little boxes of them, especially when I was at the university. Sometimes, they were my breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
That hunger for them continued until I became an expat in Germany. I soon discovered that they did not have cheese crackers, and I broadened my taste by switching over to the different types of cheeses offered in Europe, which was even healthier.
Cheddar CheeseGorgonzola
However, whenever I visit my family in the USA, I slip back into an old desire hidden within me. I go out and buy a box of cheese crackers. They have become precious to me because I don’t eat them daily. They are a unique delicatessen that I delight in.
Now, I must work. We have a cloudy day here, and I want to bring in some wood for my fireplace before it starts raining and read one more chapter of the novella I am writing.
Happy National Grammar Day, National Salt Awareness Day, and World Obesity Day
DAY 4, MARCH 4, 2024
Good Morning To All! First, here’s something to laugh about.😄 The day before yesterday, I had beautiful sunshine. Yesterday too. My co-host of the RNH Show (Raters Not Haters Show) has been visiting my blog posts during the challenge, and I wrote about how sunny the day had been. He commented on my blog post that I must have stolen his sunshine because he had nothing but clouds. I’m laughing because I try to steal all the sunshine I can get. 😂
So, now to my article for today.
I am enjoying the second year of the RRBC Challenge because they have intermingled it with prompts we can write on. Today, I am very interested in the three topics above because I had to incorporate them into my lifestyle.
As a writer, I must use good Grammar in my writing and speaking. The first thing people look at when reading a book is Grammar; believe me, even the poorest person in Grammar can tell when you aren’t grammatically correct. Now that is only my opinion.
I have to admit that my weakness in writing is my Grammar. Therefore, I don’t let any story, fiction or non-fiction, except for this challenge, go out of my office without sending it to my editor. I am picky about who edits my work. I don’t choose a friend or family member. I don’t like having someone who has a problem with being honest with me about my work. I want to hear where the flaws are, and if you can’t tell me that, then you won’t be my editor. Sure, somebody can hurt my feelings, and yes, sometimes I don’t accept the critique quickly, but that is okay because my editor is editing according to the highest quality standards she has. So, what do I do when sentences or paragraphs I have fallen in love with are corrected? Well, I set the story aside and think about it. I read my editor’s point of view over the suggestion I’m mumbling over, or I do a short Zoom meeting with her, and the majority of the time, I come out agreeing with her because I know she has my best interests at heart and she knows what she’s doing. Therefore, when it comes to Grammar, I am thankful that I don’t use AI to edit my stories; I use the flesh and blood human being type who has gained years of experience and doesn’t mind passing it along. Hurrah for human Grammar experts!
Overeating salt is another thing I didn’t take seriously until I arrived in Europe. I noticed many cooks seasoned their food with different herbs and spices and not much salt. I was surprised. The food was delicious but didn’t have a salty taste. Then I came across a non-fiction novel that showed that people who eat salty meals have a high rate of having strokes. That shocked me because I always added extra salt to my food. I changed my eating habits immediately. I no longer ran out to get a hamburger or french fries from a fast food store. I thought twice about buying frozen dinners because I began reading the back of the packages and was astounded at how much sodium is in a frozen meal or a hamburger. Knowing these things brought about a radical change in my eating habits, and I also started cooking. Now I cook fresh food almost every day, and my weight dropped. I still have my curvy hips 🙂 I still have weight, but it is a weight I can live with, and I feel good.
A Fresh German soup with green beans, potatoes, carrots, onions, and sausage
Preparing String Beans the French Way
This brings me to World Obesity Day. I enjoy eating when I cook. Cooking and seasoning my food with herbs and spices stirs my appetite. Oh, and I love chocolate, especially a German chocolate cake with rich dark chocolate. This means that if I don’t do something like making sure I get exercise, such as walking, I gain weight. The good thing for me is that my house is built so that I have to walk up and downstairs when I go to my kitchen, and my office is in my basement, which is 12 stairs down from the hallway entrance to my house. When I go shopping, I park far away from the grocery store or any other store I plan to visit. I hear you asking, readers, why don’t you shop twice a month and save time? We have tiny refrigerators here in Germany, and I usually go shopping three or four times a week, and that is good because I get out of my office, I see people to talk to, I can grab a cappuccino or espresso or Latte Macchiato and watch people. Thus, I have found ways to exercise and not gain weight. As I said above, I have accepted my weight and don’t plan to live on an everlasting diet that doesn’t allow me to enjoy my food.
Standing before the Public Library last year in May with my niece.
