This weird holiday may be related to an old custom. In the early 1900s, putting a piece of bedsheet or nightshirt in the larder (food-storage cupboard) was supposed to bring plentiful food. After refrigerators replaced larders, the tradition shifted to pillows. Give it a try, and perhaps the fridge will be stocked with your favorite foods.
Another fun and silly holiday from an article in the Washington Post — April 12 – National Grilled Cheese Day! And maybe I will make my favorite combination of Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwich (just like Mom used to make)! 🙂
Half the fun of eating a grilled cheese is slowly pulling apart the halves to watch strings of the gooey cheese stretch and finally break. You may appreciate that cheesy reveal even more if you make it yourself. Ask an adult to help you master this lunchtime classic.
A fun holiday for school kids only if you can convince your teachers! 🙂 I discovered in the Washington Post article about fun and silly holidays . . . March 6 – No Homework Day!
At this point in the school year, you may be tired of homework. Share this holiday with your teachers, and they may give you a one-day breakto play soccer with friends or finish the book you started on Read Across America Day, March 2. (We also learned of a No Homework Day in May, but don’t count on getting two of these.) 🙂 I’ll try it on my Spanish teacher! 🙂
March 6 – No Homework Day!
¡Pura Vida!
Meet the Tayra
Tayra in Costa Rica
And to continue my usual emphasis on nature and wildlife, here’s a link to another Tico Times Wildlife Article “Meet the Tayra” which is Costa Rica’s version of a tropical weasel. The linked article has more of the Guanacaste Camera Trap Videos from which the above pix came.
I learned about the fun and silly holidays from a Washington Post article, including February 12 as Hug Day!
This celebration is part of someone’s idea to stretch Valentine’s Day into a week. No need to buy flowers or candy for this day, thankfully. Just offer friends and family something that has been scientifically shown to lift their mood: a hug.
February 12 – National Hug Day!
¡Pura Vida!
🙂
New Trip Blog Posts Start Tonight!
Also TODAY is the day that I fly on a little Sansa Airlines 12 passenger plane to one of my favorite wilderness places in Costa Rica, Tortuguero National Park, as mentioned yesterday. So most likely you will get a post from there tonight, assuming that their internet WiFi is as good at this most expensive lodge in Tortuguero as they claims it is. 🙂 Tortuga Lodge & Gardens
Much wildlife spotting is done from a boat at Tortuguero.
So expect a week or more of photos and comments from what travel magazines call “The Amazon of Costa Rica” and one of the few places in the country where travelers have actually seen a Jaguar (from a boat) though they are mostly nocturnal like all the wild cats here. Plus I expect a lot of birds, some butterflies and several other animals, along with the tropical rainforest and rivers/canals and of course some great Caribbean food and 4 good nights of sleep! 🙂
Last night, Friday, was the first annual Christmas Parade in two years thanks to the Covid Pandemic and the people came out for that and the fiesta in Central Park. I got too many photos to share on the blog, so just a sampling here and then please go to my:
I’ve divided the good photos into 4 sub-galleries which you can go directly to from the link on the 4 pix below representing the sub galleries. First a photo of the church just before dark and the beginning of the light parade, then the sample photos . . .
While Alajuela is finishing the reconstruction of the bus terminal for buses from surrounding towns like Atenas, our Atenas bus drops us off downtown and then we catch the return bus between a cemetery and neighborhood city park that I haven’t found a name for yet. For Christmas this year they hung brightly colored stars from all the trees in the park which doesn’t seem that special, but their “Walk-through Stars” on one of the sidewalks is kind of neat to me. Here’s three shots of it from different angles.
During the last few days of my walks around Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica I have been cellphone-snapping photos of Christmas decorations and the slideshow below this one shot is just a sample of many in homes and businesses. Ticos love Christmas! And it is in our Summer break from schools with graduations the middle of December and new school year starting in February. It’s also the time for family vacations with all the hotels full during Christmas, especially on the beaches. I had to make reservations for my Christmas trip a year ago to get a room at Arenal Observatory. It will be literally full! Tomorrow night (Friday) is our Atenas Christmas Parade and I’ll have photos in a Saturday blog post. A fun and happy time of year here!
I consider this kind of graffiti “real art” and especially these on the back wall behind Colegio Liceo Atenas where one section was recently replaced with this thought-provoking work of art. I have always assumed that this “Graffiti Wall” is officially sanctioned by the high school and that probably an art teacher is responsible for overseeing it. A great way for adolescents to express themselves!
¡Pura Vida!
Check out some of my earlier blog posts on graffiti art here or see all of my photos of it in the GALLERY: Public Art & Graffiti – Atenas. 🙂
This is for all schools and all public transportation including adults. Read why in the Tico Times article.
I was concerned that the dropping of masks by most might be a little premature and it appears that it was. I will again wear a mask in all public places for a while anyway. And get the latest booster shot! 🙂
Its legal here to photograph people in public, but for some reason I never want them to know I’m photographing them and actually seldom do – BUT on a public beach it is just too inviting. My “People Shots” are now a gallery within my developing trip gallery (above link) with 3 sub-galleries, each linked from the title of its sample photo below . . .
