Now that's a Pumpkin!

October 27 is National Pumpkin Day!

Did you know that the word “pumpkin” comes from the Greek word “pepon,” meaning "large melon"? I didn't.

And did you know pumpkins can be grown on every continent except Antarctica? The United States alone produces about 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkins each year.

Fun Fact: According to the Montreal Gazette, a Quebec farmer, Jim Bryson and daughter Kelsey (12) grew the world’s largest pumpkin at their Ormstown farm. It weighed in at 1,818.5 pounds.



Jim and Kelsey, 12, have toured the Big Apple, appeared on the television show, Live! with Regis and Kelly, and have received calls and emails of congratulations from giant vegetable growers the world over.

Bryson, who produces maple syrup on his farm, feeds his pumpkins a special diet of that includes potash and seaweed. He also sprays their leaves with a watered-down version of maple syrup.

This is my pumpkin.



I got it from Kroger's. It won't win any prizes, but I can see it out my kitchen window and it makes me smile!

Today is National Mule Day

Why today? Well, some accounts claim that the first mules in America arrived in Boston, Massachusetts on October 26, 1785. They were a gift from King Charles III of Spain.

Just for fun, I looked up some famous mules. Here they are.

Ruth- Festus’ mule from ‘Gunsmoke’

Blue- from ‘The Waltons’

Gus- from the 1976 Disney movie ‘Gus’

Francis- from the 7 movies about a talking mule, which led to the classic
Mr. Ed television series

Idaho Gem- first member of the horse family to be cloned

So if you feel the need to be stubborn today, you have a good excuse. Just say you are celebrating National Mule Day!

Happy Birthday, Pablo Picasso 10/25/1881

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
― Pablo Picasso

October 24 is National Bologna Day

I never knew there was a whole day dedicated to bologna - or baloney as most of us call it. But I recently learned that every day is a holiday of some type. Everyday, somewhere, someone is celebrating something

So, in the spirit of recognizing the uniqueness of our days, let's celebrate!

Take a minute to remember those summer day childhood lunches of baloney sandwiches with mayo, chips piled along side and a glass of milk within reach. If you were really lucky, your mom would fry the baloney. Yumm!

A simple pleasure. And really, aren't those the best kind?

Monday Morning Blessing

Hope begins in the dark.

My minister spoke about hope this morning. Such a wonderful thing, hope. This quote is from one of my favorite writers, Anne Lamott.

The "Above and Beyond Award" goes to....

Two of my colleagues at Tates Creek Middle School, Tricia Calico-Cohron and Katie Fielding. These ladies spent several precious weekend hours illustrating the characters from the children's book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, using flour, sugar, eggs and a lot of ingenuity.

Katie and Tricia were entering a contest sponsored by the McConnell Center for the Study of Youth Literature at the University of Kentucky, which, I am happy to say, they won.

A bit of research uncovers some interesting facts about Bill Martin, the author of Brown Bear, Brown Bear. According to his dear friend and the book's illustrator, Eric Carle, Martin couldn't read until he was 20 years old. At that time a teacher identified his problem and taught him to read by using rhyming.

Brown Bear was published in 1967. Listen to the words in the book, and see if you can find the beat.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?

I see a red bird looking at me.

Red Bird, Red Bird, What do you see?


I see a yellow duck looking at me.

Yellow Duck, Yellow Duck, what do you see?


I see a blue horse looking at me.

Blue Horse, Blue Horse, what do you see?

I see a green frog looking at me.


Green Frog, Green Frog, what do you see?

I see a purple cat, looking at me.

Purple Cat, Purple Cat, what do you see?


I see a white dog looking at me.

White Dog, White Dog, what do you see?

I see a black sheep looking at me.

Black Sheep, Black Sheep, what do you see?

I see a gold fish looking at me.

Gold Fish, Gold Fish, what do you see?

I see a teacher looking at me.

Teacher, Teacher, what do you see?
I see children looking at me.

Children, children, what do you see?

We see a: brown bear...a red bird...a yellow duck...a blue horse...a green frog...a purple cat...a white dog...a black sheep...a goldfish...and a teacher
Looking at us! That's what we see!

Mr. Carle is also quoted as saying that it is possible that children respond to this rhythm because they are close to the heartbeat of their mother before birth.

Bill Martin has been called America's favorite children's author and published books for almost 60 years before passing away in 2004 at the age of 88.

The kids are OK

At least some of them. At least part of the time.

Mornings in school libraries are pretty hectic. Really, they are.

The 30 minutes or so between the time the doors open and the first bell rings are prime crazy time. Kids are allowed to come in and read, study, work on computers and check out books.

I'm usually hanging out in the computer area helping with logons, etc.; my coffee cup in one hand and "Caught Reading Coupons" in another. (Kids get rewarded for passing reading tests).

So today while I'm moving around from one person to another, I see a child waving me over rather frantically.

"I found a $20 bill!" he said, handing it to me. He showed me where he had found it on the computer table.

I praised him for his honesty and gave him a coupon.

What a way to start the day! And we were eventually able to reunite the money with its rightful owner.

Sunday a.m. chuckle