Hello, September

About the Month of September

Holidays

Labor Day

Grandparents Day

Patriot Day

Constitution Day and Week

Rosh Hashanah

Talk Like a Pirate Day

National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sep 15 through Oct 15)

National Potato Month

National Chicken Month

National Piano Month

National Biscuit Month

 

Symbols of September Birthstone: Sapphire Flower: Aster

Fun Facts about September

It is the first month of the Autumn or Fall season.

Constitution Week takes place during the month of September.

 September in the Northern Hemisphere is similar to March in the Southern Hemisphere.

American college and professional football begins during the month of September.

Many kids begin the school year during this month.

Teacher's Day is celebrated in India on September 5.

The Anglo-Saxons also called this month Gerst Monath meaning barley month. This is because they would harvest their barley crops during this month.

September is often associated with fire because it was the month of the Roman god Vulcan. Vulcan was the Roman god of fire and the forge.

More Fun Facts

1.The name “September” comes from an old Roman word, “septem,” which actually means 7. That’s right – September was the seventh month of the year on the Roman calendar – It did not become the ninth month until the advent of the Gregorian calendar.

2. The Romans believed that September was looked after by the god of fire. So they always expected fires and volcanic eruptions to occur during this month.

3. Out of all 12 months of the year, September is spelled with the most letters. It contains nine letters, and it happens to be the ninth month of the year. No other months have the same amount of letters as their number in the calendar year.

4. This September “Harvest Moon” is the fullest moon of the year.
When you gaze at it, it looks very large and gives a lot of light throughout the entire night. No other lunar spectacle is as awesome as the Harvest Moon.

5. The first day of fall is typically on September 22 or September 23 in North America. This is when the hours in the day are almost equal to the hours in the night.This occurs at the same time as the Spring Equinox does in Australia.

6. A little-known, but highly significant holiday falls in September. September 17th is Constitution Day, which marks the day that the U.S. Constitution was adopted.

7. There are more pop and classic songs with “September” in the title than any other month.

8. We all know that Labor Day is in September, but did you know that September also has a few  little known holidays? Among these are National Grandparent Day, National Cheese Pizza Day, and National Drink-a-Beer Day.

9. September is known as Harvest Month. It’s a great month to harvest in preparation for the coming winter months. In fact, in Old England, it was called “Haervest-monath”, meaning Harvest Month. Some of the best crops to harvest are onions, apples, raspberries, and tomatoes.

10. Zodiac signs in September are split between Virgo (August 23 – September 22) and Libra (September 23 – October 22).

Virgos are known for being loyal, practical, thoughtful, analytical people who sometimes come off as cold, but it’s only because they’re taking a methodical approach to friendship (like most aspects of their lives).

Libras are a little different. Their main characteristics include being diplomatic and fair. They like harmony, dislike being alone, and always strive for peace and justice in the world.

11. Famous people born in September include Adam Sandler, Amy Winehouse, Bill Murray, Bruce Springsteen, Confucius, Freddie Mercury, Queen Elizabeth, Stephen King, and Sophia Loren. 

12. The birthstone for September is the sapphire which is said to reduce inflammation, treat fever and act as a lucky charm for the person wearing it. It symbolizes intuition, clarity of thought, peacefulness, as well as loyalty and trust.

 

Odds and Ends

 Not much going on these days as summer draws to a close.  Here are a few highlights.

1. I am happy to report that hurricane Henri turned out to be much less dramatic than all the media hype being dumped on us prior to it.  I did the usual things people do before a hurricane just to be safe but we didn't even lose power.  We did get quite a bit of rain though but we needed it anyway.  So now it's on to the next one-when ever that is.

2.  The COVID pandemic is continuing to be a problem here.  We're back to masking inside and kids returning to school have to wear masks.  No one is happy about it and some are furious with Connecticut's governor for the new rules but guess what? It's not his fault.  If you need someone to blame I suggest you look at those stupid enough to think they don't need to be vaccinated.  That's where the problem is.

3. We have had very hot and humid weather lately-exactly the kind of weather I can't work in.  Consequently my back yard is starting to look like a hay field. It's too hilly to use a riding mower on and it's too difficult and wet to use a hand mower on.  What I need is a goat!  I'll have to think about that.

4.  I recently bought a photography course from The Great Courses foundation.  I'm about a quarter of the way through it.  I've been taking a lot of pictures which I post on my web site so don't forget to stop by.  Some of the pictures are taken with a trail cam but most are mine.  Let me know what you think. Click here http://georgeswebpage.com

That's it for now. 

A Word About Afghanistan

 It's not easy to watch or accept but Biden is absolutely correct.  When you have a country whose president runs for safety and whose army won't defend it, it's time to cut your losses and leave.  

It would be a tragedy for one more American serviceman (woman?) to lose their life over this lost cause.

 Those republican politicians who are screaming about how awful this is need to remember who got us there:  Bush and Trump.   Stop whining, hypocrites.  We're doing the right thing.

Senate close to passing $1 trillion infrastructure bill!

 So reads the headline.  I mentioned it to my nursing home group with whom I meet every week.  They wanted to know what you could do with a trillion bucks so I decided to find out.  Herewith is my shopping list.

If you’re generous:

You can give one million people one million dollars.

Harvard U. At $78,000 per year for 4 years=$312,000; you can send 3 million, 205 thousand kids to Harvard for 4 years of college.

State of the Art High School @$20 million=50,000 or 1000 in each state.

To build Hoover Dam today=$750 million.  With 1 trillion you can build 1333.

By all accounts the GW Bridge is the busiest bridge in the country.  To build GW Bridge was  $60 million in 1930.  In today’s money that is $1 billion. So 1 Trillion will buy 1000 bridges.

The latest U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier=$13 billion. $1 trillion will buy 77.

 

A trillion seconds is equal to 32,000 years. So if you're asked if you'd like to live that long, say NO!

 

Boeing 777   $442 million=enough to buy 2200

Boeing 757-Like Trump’s- $100 million=you could buy 10,000

 

Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship  $1 billion=enough to buy 1000

Most expensive private yacht in history-Supreme-$4.5 billion=you could buy 222

 

Bugatti La Voiture Noire  (the most expensive car in the world) $20 million= You can buy 50,000

 

Antilia Estate (the most expensive house in the world)   $5 billion= you can buy 20

Antilia is a private residence in the billionaires row of Mumbai, India. It is the residence of the Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani & his family, who moved into it in 2012;^[2] at 27 stories, 173 metres (568 ft) tall, over 37,000 square metres (400,000 sq ft), and with amenities such as three helipads, air traffic control, a 168-car garage, a ballroom, 9 high speed elevators, a 50-seat theatre, terrace gardens, swimming pool, spa, health centre, a temple, and a snow room that spits out snowflakes from the walls, the skyscraper-mansion is one of world's largest and most elaborate private homes.

 

132 night luxury world cruise-$75,000 each for 20 people=$1.5 million.  For 1 Trillion we can take 666,666 trips or 88 million days  or  241 thousand years! In other words you won't live long enough to spend it all!

 

You can go to the dollar store and walk out with 1 trillion items!

 

I love log cabins so I looked up a 3 bedroom log cabin on a lake with 10 acres  of land=$1 million. I could buy 1 million of them for $1 trillion!

 

And there you have it.  What you can do with a trillion bucks.

 

Hello, August

About the Month of August

 

The Month of August

August was named to honor the first Roman emperor (and grandnephew of Julius Caesar), Augustus Caesar (63 B.C..–A.D. 14). 

 

August Calendar

“After Lammas Day, corn ripens as much by night as by day.”

Friendship Day

Raksha Bandhan

Women's Equality Day

National Catfish Month
Harvest Month

National Water Quality Month

Peach Month

National Immunization Awareness Month

Get Ready for Kindergarten Month

Symbols of August

Birthstone: Agate or onyx

Flower: Gladiolus or poppy

Zodiac signs: Leo and Virgo

History: In the original Roman calendar the month of August was called Sextilis. This was because it was the sixth month of the year. Later, after January and February were added to the calendar, it became the eighth month of the year. At the time the month had 29 days. When Julius Caesar created the Julian calendar in 45 BC, two days were added giving the month 31 days. The month was later renamed Augustus in honor of the first emperor of Rome, Caesar Augustus.

Fun Facts about August

It is the last of the summer months. The Islamic holiday of Ramadan runs from July 19 to August 18 in 2012. August in the Northern Hemisphere is similar to February in the Southern Hemisphere. Augustus renamed the month of Sextilis because many of his greatest triumphs occurred during this month. August is a month of summer vacation and holiday for many children around the world. Many cultures call this month the harvest month or the time of harvest.

“Just for Fun” Days

Have fun with these strange celebrations!

• Aug. 1–7: International Clown Week
• Aug. 3: National Watermelon Day
• Aug. 8: “National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbors’ Porch Day” (Or, use up that bounty with our best zucchini recipes.)
• Aug. 10: National S’mores Day
• Aug 12: Vinyl Record Day
• Aug. 13: International Left-Handers Day
• Aug. 17: International Geocaching Day
• Aug. 17: World Honeybee Day
• Aug. 25: Kiss-and-Make-Up Day

• August 1, traditionally known as Lammas Day, was a festival to mark the annual wheat and corn harvest. Lammas also marked the mid-point between the summer solstice and autumn equinox, and was a cross-quarter day. See more about Lammas Day.
• August 5 is a Civic Holiday in parts of Canada.
• August 9 starts the Islamic New Year, or the First of Muharram, beginning at sundown. Traditionally, it begins at the first sighting of the lunar crescent after the new Moon.
• August 10 is St. Lawrence’s Day. “Fair weather on St. Lawrence’s Day presages a fair autumn.” 
• August 11 marks the end of the Dog Days of Summer, which began on July 3.
• August 17 is when the Cat Nights begin, harking back to a rather obscure Irish legend concerning witches; this bit of folklore also led to the idea that a cat has nine lives.
• August 19 brings National Aviation Day, chosen for the birthday of Orville Wright who piloted the first recorded flight of a powered heavier-than-air machine in 1903.
• August 24 is St. Bartholomew Day. “At St. Bartholomew, there comes cold dew.”
• August 26 is Women’s Equality Day, which celebrates the 1920 ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment and, with it, women’s right to vote in the United States.