whimsical wednesday

happy halloween! celebrate by doing something you enjoy with or for others! share your doings with the whimsey project.

my celebration included taking homemade treats around town to surprise friends. it was such fun to make the treats and then deliver them.  if those i surprised also had dogs, there were doggie biscuits for them.  tonight i am expecting the howard family to knock on the door for trick or treat, my only halloween guests.

trick or treat!

trivia tuesday

from @OMGfacts:

months that begin on a sunday always have a friday the 13th.

miscellaneous monday

it's hot tea weather so here's an article about tea:

http://mentalfloss.com/article/73329/8-varieties-hot-tea-everyone-should-try

solitude sunday

solitude sunday. our day to spend time with a book. i am reading travis hugh culley's a comedy and a tragedy. culley writes about his journey to learn to read and write. what are you reading? share your book with the whimsey project.

silly saturday

barley's toy

photo friday

investigating...

thoughtful thursday

mignon mclaughlin:

don't be yourself; be someone a little nicer.

whimsical wednesday

we are celebrating national bologna day for whimsical wednesday! the possibilities are endless so share what you did to celebrate the exalted bologna with the whimsey project! 

an excursion to the local grocery store was the beginning of the national bologna day celebration! there was a lot of bologna and that's no baloney! bologna ranged in price from $1.00 for 12 ounces to $10.00 for a 40 ounce jar of rope bologna. one could purchase all manner of bologna: thick cut, thin cut, cased, uncased, gluten free, pickled, rope. since i did not want a lot of bologna, i opted to purchase the smallest package of 12 ounces for $1.00.  and i got it cased.

we ate cased bologna as kids and part of the charm was to be able to take the ring of casing off the bologna without tearing the bologna. if any bologna was left on the casing we either nibbled that off with our teeth or ran a fingernail around the casing to remove the bologna.  i wasn't able to get the bologna off without tearing so i got to nibble and use a fingernail. i did that kid thing that i haven't done since i was a kid!

we ate bologna cold or fried.  i had a bit of it cold and it wasn't very tasty.  that is either due to my older taste buds or the quality of the bologna or both.  a piece was fried. and, once it was in the skillet, a few scores were cut into the edge of the bologna to keep it from curling while cooking. it was those little scores in the bologna that i liked even though it had no bearing on the flavor.  (try eating fried bologna without scoring. the outcome is a circle of domed meat!) the cold bologna didn't suit me but the fried bologna with spicy brown mustard on it was quite tasty. 

as fun as the bologna memory lane was for national bologna day, i did not want any more than i had already eaten. the remainder of the package was gifted to someone who enjoys bologna.

here's an article about the origins of bologna:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bologna_sausage

pictures! there are pictures!

pickled and rope in the fresh meat department

luncheon meat section bologna

trivia tuesday

from @uberfacts:

the human sigh acts as a reset button for the respiratory system.

miscellaneous monday

libby sent the following photograph with an explanation. a few years ago she gave a wee pumpkin to her grandmother. granny kept the pumpkin until it was a dried up shell of its former self. this spring libby tossed it into the compost heap. she discovered that dried up wee pumpkin had sprouted and the plant yielded three pumpkins.  the squirrel got one and she harvested two.  whimsically awesome!

solitude sunday

solitude sunday is our day to spend time with a book. i continue to read eric larson's dead wake: the last crossing of the lusitania. as much as i enjoy larson's prose, it is difficult to read a book in which it is known that the ending will be harsh. 

silly saturday

from funkidjokes.com:

Q: what do you get if you divide the circumference of a pumpkin by it's diameter?
A: pumpkin pi!

photo friday

this is how we do it!

thoughful thursday

gautama buddha:

do not think lightly of good, that nothing will come of it. a whole water bucket will fill up from dripping drops of water. 

whimsical wednesday

it's october! a month with five wednesdays! you know what that means, fellow whim-zees! it means we journal for whimsical wednesday. journal in what? here's options:

*personal journal
*themed journal (i journal about my farm)
*notable notebook in which to record random ideas, quotes and such
*memory notebook in which to record random memories
*whimsical moments notebook in which to record a daily moment that made you laugh or smile or just stood out as awesome

if you currently do not keep any journals, consider doing so.  the daily whimsical moments notebook is a great beginning. 

trivia tuesday

not something you see every day:

while preparing to drive recently, i glanced at the dashboard and the odometer read 225500! 

miscellaneous monday

have you been making daily entries in your whimsical notebook? what is a whimsical notebook? any bit of paper in which to record a daily moment of whimsey. sometimes when i wonder about how quickly the days pass and what became of them, i thumb through my whimsical notebook and have moments to smile or laugh about.  on july 28th i wrote, "sitting on the screened porch as darkness fell"; i remembered the moment and how it felt and how pleasant it was. it's good to keep a whimsical notebook.  

solitude sunday

solitude sunday at the whimsey project. our day to spend time with a book. i was reading nate silver's book when my book buddy appeared with an eric larson! no contest. so my current read is dead wake: the last crossing of the lusitania. the title reveals what the book is about.  read anything by eric larson. his work is awesome!

silly saturday

silly and awesome!

https://boingboing.net/2018/07/20/realtor-used-inflatable-t-rex.html

photo friday

a visitor at the door! 

thoughtful thursday

unknown:

LISTEN and SILENT are spelled with the same letters. 

whimsical wednesday

it's national top spinning day for whimsical wednesday! how long has it been since you tried to spin a top? today is your opportunity to give it a go.

top spinning activities: purchase a top; give it a whirl. make a top; give it a whirl. play top spinning with another person. find out neat stuff about tops; how old are tops? where did they originate? look for images of tops. find one you liked? have a memory about top spinning? share all your experiences with the whimsey project! 

my homemade top! materials used were a toothpick and the inner seal of a container of kitty treats.  the toothpick was poked into the center of the seal. then it was trimmed after each attempt to make the top spin until it was just the right size. 

here's a great article on the history of the spinning top: 

https://www.artofplay.com/blogs/articles/history-of-spinning-tops



not only are there top spinning competitions, there's an international top spinners association! here's the link to their website:

http://www.spintops.org/

trivia tuesday

from OMGfacts:

the paper bag, windshield wiper, monopoly and dishwasher were all invented by women. 

miscellaneous monday

whimsical wednesday for september 12th was to write to someone and ask them to play mail tag with you. i wrote to two recipients hoping that one would be willing and able to play with me. i'm very pleased and excited to report that both of my mail buddies wrote! how awesome to get that first reply in the mail. now we are on round three (i just sent replies a few days ago) and we are having a grand time! are you playing mail tag with anyone? tell us about it! if you would like to play mail tag and don't have a mail buddy, i would be pleased to be your buddy. email the whimsey project (address in the upper right hand corner of the blog) if you do not wish to respond in the comment section.)

solitude sunday

we spend time with a book on solitude sunday. my book is the signal and the noise; why so many predictions fail--but some don't by nate silver. mr silver discusses the intersection between human beings and science. 

silly saturday

from michael:

Q: why do giraffes have long necks?
A: because their feet stink! 

photo friday

wheeeeeee.....

thoughtful thursday

l.m. montgomery:

i am so glad i live in a world where there are octobers.

whimsical wednesday

it's the first whimsical wednesday of the month of october! that means we work on our own projects! what are you working on this whimsical wednesday? share your projects with us!

i'm closing in the art journaling on line classes i'm enrolled in. i'll be plugging away on that for whimsical wednesday. and maybe a few other projects i haven't thought about working on just yet but it could happen.

trivia tuesday

from historyinformation.com:

joseph priestly and edward nairne invented the eraser in 1770. the eraser has been the companion of the pencil ever since.

miscellaneous monday

inktober! artist, jake parker, began inktober. the goal was to draw in ink everyday in october to help him improve his inking skills. since 2009, it has grown into a worldwide event! it's october first and the day to begin for 2018.  i participated last year for the first time and very much enjoyed the process.  one not need to have drawing skills or much experience with ink to play.  everyday draw with ink, perhaps on an index card or the backs of envelopes received in the mail, even if you just draw lines or circles. it's a great way to take a few minutes to relax.  here's the link to the website if anyone wishes to read more about inktober:

https://inktober.com/ 

solitude sunday

solitude sunday is our day to spend time with a book. my time with william b helmreich's the new york nobody knows: walking 6000 miles in the city. i am reading about spaces and gentrification. 

silly saturday

from fancast.com:

Q: what's the difference between an elephant and a flea?
A: an elephant can have fleas but fleas can't have elephants!