Hello, February

 February is the 2nd month of the year and has 28 or 29 days. The 29th day is every 4 years during leap year.

Season (Northern Hemisphere): Winter
Full moon-Feb 24th

Holidays

Chinese New Year
National Freedom Day
Groundhog Day
Valentine's Day
President's Day
Mardi Gras
Ash Wednesday
Black History Month
American Heart Month
Chocolate Lover's Month
National Bird Feeding Month
National Dental Month

Symbols of February:

• Birthstone: Amethyst
• Flower: Primrose
• Zodiac signs: Aquarius and Pisces

History:

February was added to the Roman calendar in 713 BC. The length of the month changed over time and, at one time, it had as few as 23 days. When Julius Caesar remade the Roman calendar, the month was assigned 28 days during normal years and 29 days during leap years which occurred every four years.

Interesting Facts about February

• It is the shortest month of the year.
• The Welsh call February "y mis bach" which means "little month".
• It is the third month of winter.
• In the Southern Hemisphere February is a summer month the equivalent of August.
• The month is named for the Latin word februum which means purification.
• Together with January, it was the last of the months added to the Roman calendar.
• The largest American sporting event of the year, the Super Bowl, is held in February.
• The Saxon term for the month, Sol-monath, means "cake month". This is because they offered cakes to the gods during this month.

 

Story 45: Coming up

I just finished story number 44 of Volume Two.  Tomorrow morning (Monday, Jan. 22, 2024) I will receive the question for story number 45 of my book.  I probably won't like the question or I will probably have received it when I did Volume One of my book so I've chosen a new question.  Here it is: Story 45: What's your idea of a perfect day?

I have 5 stories/questions/chapters to go at which time I'll begin the time consuming process of editing all 50.  I usually edit them as I go along but I often miss something so I need to do it again.

At this point you're probably wondering what in the world I'm talking about.  Well, let me explain.  Two years ago my son and daughter-in-law got me a Christmas gift in the form of a subscription to a service called Storyworth.  What they do is send you a question every week about some aspect of your life.  The written answer to that question becomes a chapter in what is ultimately a book.  After 52 weeks and after all the editing is done you get to pick out a cover design and a couple of weeks later you get your book.

After answering 52 questions about yourself, you actually end up with an autobiography.  It's a fun process and it really makes you think about your life. 

If you like to write and if you're looking for an interesting activity this may be for you.  Log on to Storyworth.com and check it out.  

Here's a picture of Volume One of my book.

    

End of Year Report

I like to keep track of things.  I don't know why. It's just one of those many weird things I do.  For example I keep track of how much fuel oil and propane we use every year and I keep track of how much fuel our cars use.  I do that last one mostly because by doing that I discovered a certain gas station was stealing our credit card information and I was able to stop it.  

Another thing I keep track of is all the books I read through out the year.  Strange, isn't it? I mean who cares how many books you've read? No one,  but I do anyway. So here's my end of year report on the books I've read.  The total is 31.  They are all fiction.  I have to admit. I'm not big on non fiction.  That's not to say  I've never read non fiction but I just prefer fiction-especially historical fictional.

So for my favorite book of 2023 the honors go to The Parisians by Marius Gabriel.  It is a World War Two era novel about people struggling to survive the Nazi occupation of Paris.  Like many of the books I've read about World War Two, it focuses on the hardships of civilians as opposed to those of the soldiers.  

Now it's 2024 and I'm just finishing a book I started toward the end of 2023 so I have to pick my next book.  I'm not sure what it's going to be so stay tuned.