National Seashell Day

National Seashell Day has been observed every year since 2016 on the first day of summer (in the Northern Hemisphere). Since the date of the June solstice occurs at the exact instant of time when the Sun is directly overhead the Tropic of Cancer, instead of a specific calendar day, it can occur sometime between June 20 and 22.  This year, 2023, the Summer Solstice and National Seashell Day will be celebrated on June 21st. 

History of National Seashell Day

Founded by Fort Myers and Sanibel Island, Florida, National Seashell Day was started to celebrate seashells and the extraordinary shelling found in Southwest Florida. We lived in this area in the early 1960s when Sanibel Island was little known and seldom visited. I can attest to the fact that the 'shelling' found there is outstanding. 

Source: Pixabay

Today, the beaches of Sanibel Island & Captiva Island on the Gulf Coast of Florida are ranked tops in the world for shelling.  This is due to geography. Sanibel Island is shaped in a curve along the coastline among a string of other more orderly, straight-and-narrow islands. The east-west torque of Sanibel’s south end acts like a shovel scooping up all the seashells that the Gulf imports from The Caribbean and other southern seas. 

All of the Gulf-side shelling beaches in this area, from the Lighthouse to North Captiva, are excellent places to shell. With hundreds of thousands of shells, the beaches are nearly inexhaustible sources of every type of shell; and are constantly being fed from the Gulf & Caribbean. People come from all over just to gather shells, and seashells are the dominant motif in island décor and boutique gifts. 

Shell Craft Ideas

The ideas below show you some craft ideas you could do with the seashells you collect. Or you could purchase one like these featured on Etsy if you do not have access to a shelling beach and wish to have some beach home décor. 

Seashell Letters

These Stand Alone Letters are made with sea glass and sea shells collected on the beaches of Manasquan NJ and specifically selected for each letter. These letters can be created with any letter in the alphabet and the "&" sign as well! 

Sand and Seashells Centerpiece

Bring a touch of the beach to any room in your house with a sand and seashell glass centerpiece from Jack and Emmy Studio!

Each centerpiece contains beach sand and a handful of shells sealed within the glass. 

A Beachcomber's Guide

Available on Amazon

Prepare for your seaside shelling adventure by acquiring a guide to Seashells. There are somewhere between 70,000 and 120,000 species of shell dwellers around the world. But since this article has concentrated on mainly the Florida seashells, which include about 287 species, this Florida's Seashells: A Beachcomber's Guide would be perfect for your next Florida or Caribbean beach vacation. 

This book showcases the diversity of Florida's seashells and presents them in the way they come to us on beaches. The guide will help you know the names, stories and appearances of seashells for easy identification of those that are common to the southeastern United States and the Caribbean.

Source: Pixabay

National Seashell Day

Date: Yearly, on the Longest Day of the Year

Related Articles:

• How to Make a Sailors' Valentine Tutorial  (a special shell craft) by Sylvestermouse Cynthia. 

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”

WORLD WHALE DAY

Humpback Whale off the coast of Maui, Hawaii. Image Source: Pixabay

World Whale Day is a Save Coastal Wildlife Event. It is held on the third Sunday in February each year.

Whales are noble sea mammals and are some of the most fascinating creatures living in our big blue oceans.

What is World Whale Day?

We celebrate these giants of the ocean on World Whale Day to raise awareness of these magnificent creatures. Founded in Maui, Hawaii in 1980, specifically to honor the humpback whales which swim off the Hawaiian coast, World Whale Day has now become an annual event. It is the main showcase of the Maui Whale Festival held each year on the 3rd Sunday of February on Maui.

Maui Whale Festival

Organized by the Pacific Whale Foundation, the All-Day Maui Whale Festival includes a parade with floats, costumed characters, and music from both Hawaiian and International stars. There are also events for children, so it becomes a whole family event.

If you are not able to attend in person in Hawaii, you can celebrate the day taking part in a fundraising event wherever you live. Have a 'whale of a time' and aid in the cause designed to meet conservation threats to whales, such as loss of habitat and pollution.

Crafty Whales

As a crafting artist, I admire the crafty whales created by fellow crafters. Giving cute handcrafted whales to children would also be a way to raise awareness of these magnificent sea creatures.

Blue Whale Plush Toy

Blue Whale Plush Toy

A soft toy blue whale in crochet.

This Amigurumi plush whale is handmade in a royal blue with a white water spout. The eyes are embroidered in yarn and whale is stuffed with soft new polyester fiberfill.

Blue whale measures 7 inches long and 6 inches high to the top of his water spout. This seaside stuffie is soft and safe all over.

Available in the Etsy Shop of Coastal Crochet Crafts.

Grandpa Whale Pillow in Plush

Lovingly handcrafted in Sheffield, England from a grey wool blend material with a plush cream faux sheepskin tummy, he brings love and warmth to any home and is the perfect addition to your sofa or bed.

With deep, dopey blue eyes and a swishy tail, it’s time to dive in and become best buds.

Handmade by Adam Verde Crafts on Etsy.

Chonky Strawberry Whale

This chonky strawberry whale made out of blanket yarn is so soft and squishy!

His eyes are made from sewn-on felt pieces to keep him cuddly and soft!

Approximate size:

8.5 inches from snoot to tail

8.5 inches from fin to fin

6 inches from tummy to top

Available in the Etsy Shop of Southern Paragon in Dallas, Georgia. 

Summary

Orca Whales - Pixabay

So mark your calendars for World Whale Day on the 3rd Sunday of February.

(c) World Whale Day written by Wednesday Elf

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”

National Name Your Car Day – October 2nd.

October 2nd is 'National Name Your Car Day'.  There is no real origin or reason why October 2nd was chosen, but it's the perfect day to give your favorite car a name if it doesn't already have one.  We spend a lot of time in our cars, and caring for them, so they deserve a name.    Just remember, cars have feelings – so don't give your 'ride' an embarrassing name!

Car Name Suggestions

• Guys with 'muscle cars' or sports cars should go with strong names that reflect the car and the owner. 
• “Chick” cars need sweet names.  
• Luxury cars probably need a formal or regal-sounding name. 

Famous Movie Car Names

Some fun movie car names are familiar to us. These include:

• The Love Bug
• Lightning McQueen from Cars 
• Kit from Knight Rider
• General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard
• Bandit from Smokey and the Bandit. 

Our Car Names

Our Cars - The Pumpkin and the Super-Beetle

We have had a lot of cars over the years, but our favorite were the Volkswagen Beetles.  The last ones we had included a Super-Beetle (the blue one in the picture) and our son had the Orange one.  

The Orange VW was the only car with a real name.  We called it ~ appropriately ~ 'The Pumpkin'.

Do you have a name for your car(s)?  Come tell me what kind of car and what you call it. 

Happy 'National Name-Your-Car Day'.

Race Car Tissue Box Cover ~ Etsy

(c) Wednesday Elf.  Originally written on October 1, 2013 for another site. 

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”

Columbus Day and My Sister

Source: Pixabay

What do Christopher Columbus and my Sister Sandy have in Common?

In the history books, the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus occurred on October 12, 1492.


In our family, October 12th is more commonly known as my sister's birthday!


When I was a young school girl, we were taught all about Columbus discovering America and memorized an easy rhyme to remember the date:

Nautical Santa Maria Tall Model Ship

“In Fourteen Hundred Ninety Two  

Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue!”

Columbus Day became a federal holiday in the United States in 1937. It didn't become one of today's 'Monday Holidays' until 1970, so before then it was always observed on October 12th instead of the 2nd Monday in October regardless of what day it falls on.


Monday holidays are days off for banks and the post office and other assorted places. I don't know if most schools today consider Columbus Day a holiday from school, but they did in New York State when we were in school back in the 1950s.

My sister Sandy

When my sister was a small girl, she thought we got Columbus Day off from school because it was her Birthday! We in the family perpetuated this 'myth' until Sandy was probably in the 4th or 5th grade! 

We weren't about to tell her everyone got to have a school holiday for a reason other than her having a birthday. :)

Happy Birthday, Sandy!

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”

Gingerbread House Day ~ A Fun Holiday

Gingerbread House - Source: Wikimedia

December 12th is known as Gingerbread House Day. This unofficial holiday has no known source, but has become a fun day to celebrate.

National Gingerbread House Day is a day set aside for creating a gingerbread house.  Parents and children can have a family activity making a gingerbread house. Or you could bake a large gingerbread house and have a party where the invited guests help to decorate it with icing and candies. The best part is this 'sweet treat' can then be eaten.

Hansel & Gretel

Remember the Grimm Fairy Tale "Hansel & Gretel"? It was published by the Brothers Grimm in Germany in 1812.  The house in the story is a cottage built of bread and cakes, with windowpanes of sugar.  The old lady the children meet is really a 'witch' who built her house of dainties to lure children to her so she could cook and eat them.  That sweet house in the story became the basis of the Gingerbread House popular today. 

What is Gingerbread?

Source: Pixabay

Gingerbread originally meant 'preserved ginger', but today it refers to a confection made up of honey or molasses flavored with ginger and other spices. 

There are other favorite gingerbread desserts in the form of cakes and cookies and the fun gingerbread man.  

 

Gingerbread Holidays

Gingerbread has become such a popular taste treat that it has generated special days throughout the year.  

• June 5 is now known as National Gingerbread Day, a day created to bring attention to the gingerbread.
• November 21st is National Gingerbread Cookie Day.  There are ginger snaps and regular gingerbread cookies which can be cut into shapes like Christmas cookies with cookie cutters, including the cutest of all, the gingerbread man or gingerbread boy cookie. 
• And the holiday we are now celebrating on December 12  - National Gingerbread House Day.

Gingerbread House Christmas Tree Ornament

This Gingerbread House Christmas Tree Ornament is handmade by the Etsy Shop Ornament Are Forever and can be personalized. 

Playtime Gingerbread House

If you don't have the time to bake a gingerbread house yourself, your children can enjoy building their own gingerbread house out of Legos with this fun set. 

This Lego 40139 Gingerbread House is a mini set, perfect for small children to build to add to the family's Christmas decor. 

There are also larger Lego gingerbread houses available on Amazon.

Gingerbread House Festivals

Gingerbread House Festival

Gingerbread Houses have generated Gingerbread House Festivals around the country during the Christmas holidays.  I attended one such charming festival in Savannah, Georgia.

Happy Gingerbread House Day

So, enjoy your gingerbread in any form, especially as a gingerbread house on National Gingerbread House Day! 


(c) 12/3/2016 - Wednesday Elf. 

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”

Thanksgiving Themes

Thanksgiving Dinner from Kitchen to Table

Source: Pixabay

Whether decorating for Thanksgiving Day, preparing the meal, or needing a special host/hostess gift, here are a few ideas with fun Thanksgiving Themes to save you time and tension while preparing for the holiday.

"What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?" 

                              ---Erma Bombeck

  Thanksgiving Dinner

First, Find Your Favorite Recipes!

Source: Pixabay

Any special dinner, especially Thanksgiving, begins with gathering together your favorite recipes. A cookbook devoted just to the 'turkey & trimmings' is particularly helpful. Or you could put together your own holiday cookbook with the recipes you've used & loved from past Thanksgivings.
 
Recipes remembered from the past, like grandma's best pumpkin pie recipe or mom's most used stuffing recipe are important ingredients to enjoying your family's traditional dishes.

Available on Amazon

This 68-page Thanksgiving Cookbook is available in paperback or on Kindle and is filled with both classic holiday recipes and some new unconventional ones to try. 

It includes the traditional ones we all expect for a Thanksgiving Day dinner, plus some brand new food creations that might surprise ~ and delight ~ your dinner guests.

"It took me three weeks to stuff the turkey. I stuffed it through the beak." 

                                              ---Phyllis Diller

Get out the Turkey Roaster...

 

From simple to fancy to a turkey fryer, turkey roasters come in many sizes. I use a small one now, unless the family gathers once again! Stuff the 'bird', put it in your roaster pan, and let the appetizing aromas begin to drift through the house...

"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie." 

                                                     ---Jim Davis

The Rest of the Meal

 

Source: Wikimedia Commons

If you're having the traditional Roast Turkey for your Thanksgiving Dinner, you're probably adding other family favorites. Ours were turkey stuffing, of course, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, a vegetable, and dinner rolls




This beautiful 'turkey' plate features a design of a plump American turkey and is perfect for serving the Thanksgiving turkey dinner and for any holiday, fall or winter table.  This beautiful dinner plate is made of earthenware in England by Spode, a company that is well known for quality dinnerware.

Traditional Thanksgiving Dessert - Pumpkin Pie

 

Source: Pixabay

It seems as though pumpkin pie is the traditional Thanksgiving Dinner dessert, but mincemeat pie and pecan pie are also favorite choices. Many other kinds of desserts fit in with this holiday dinner too. What you serve probably depends on where you live and what your family tradition has been. For instance, my friend Sylvestermouse shares a favorite family recipe for pumpkin chiffon pie that she grew up with and uses to this day.

"Thanksgiving Dinners take 18 hours to prepare. They are consumed in 12 minutes. Half-times take 12 minutes. This is not a coincidence."

                                ~Erma Bombeck

After Dinner Cleanup

 

Pumpkin Cotton Dishcloth

Stay in the holiday mood right through the dish washing by using a practical cotton dishcloth in a fun 'pumpkin' color and shape. Hand-crocheted of 100% cotton yarn.

Pumpkin Shaped Potholder

Pumpkin washcloth/dish cloth is found in the Etsy Shop of Coastal Crochet Crafts. It also comes with a matching 'pumpkin-shaped' potholder - perfect kitchen helpers for your holiday meal preparations.

Invited out for Thanksgiving Dinner?

Need a Hostess Gift?

Handmade Turkey-Design Beverage Coasters

This set of four (4) beverage coasters with a design of a turkey is perfect for Thanksgiving and lovely to give as a hostess gift when invited out for Thanksgiving dinner.

The design is created on plastic canvas using acrylic yarn in harvest colors. The turkey design is done in tans and browns with a touch of orange for the beak and legs. Turkey sits on a pretty yellow background. This handmade coaster set is available on Etsy at Coastal Crochet Crafts.

"You can tell you ate too much for Thanksgiving when you have to let your bathrobe out." 

                                                     ----Jay Leno

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Turkey Two-Tone Coffee Mug
by DODGERFL

Related Article:  Our Thanksgiving Memories


(c)  Originally published 11/3/2009.  Updated 11/25/2021







Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”

Honoring my Dad on Veterans Day

My Dad in the U.S. Navy in 1944

In the United States, Veterans Day has been observed on November 11 each year since the end of World War I.  Originally known as Armistice Day, commemorating the end of hostilities in the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, it officially became known as Veterans Day in 1954 when President Eisenhower established this day as a National Holiday. 

As we honor … and remember … all who served in the U.S. Military this Veterans Day, I am remembering my dad and his time in the U.S. Navy.

Joining the Service

My Family - Christmas 1943

By the time the United States entered World War II, my dad was already married and father to two children.  He was working for Eastman Kodak in Rochester, NY doing war work and thus was exempt from the draft.  But by late 1944 his brother and 2 of his brothers-in-law were all serving in various branches of the military and he couldn't stand not being a part of the fight for his country.  So one day he simply went downtown and joined the Navy ~ then went home and told my mother!

Basic Training and Beyond

Navy PBY Flying Boat

Dad was sent to basic training in Jacksonville, Florida and later transferred to the Naval Air Station in Hutchinson, Kansas where he was assigned as crew chief and rear turret gunner aboard the Navy's PBYs (Patrol Bomber), training in air-sea search & rescue work. These U.S. Navy PBY Catalina Units were also used as submarine hunters throughout the Pacific during World War II.


My mother, my brother & I were able to join dad after his basic training in Florida, and later be with him in Kansas.  The war ended before dad ever made it overseas, but he was so proud to be in the Navy and part of the war effort.

Favorite Memory

 

Me and my Dad

I have a  favorite memory of a conversation dad & I had many years ago when we were talking about that time of his life.  It went like this:

“Dad, you were in the Navy, right?”

“Right”

“And you worked on airplanes, right?”

“Right”

“And you were stationed in Kansas, right?”

“Right”

“And you were in the NAVY?”

Kansas may be a long way from the ocean, but the Navy wasn't confused. Eastern Kansas was perfect because it was mostly rural with lots of land available in the 1940s, with fairly flat terrain. It also had lots of blue skies and was away from the coast lines for security reasons.  During World War II, the Navy built air stations here to train cadet pilots.

Wartime at Home

World War II In-Service Flag

I heard family stories about that final year of World War II when my grandmother had 3 Stars in her front window, signifying that she had 3 family members serving in the military.  My dad represented one of those stars.

Veterans Day

I'm proud of my dad and all the members of my family who served in the military.  I wish to honor my dad, my family members and all the men & women who have served and are currently serving our country this Veterans Day and every day.



Images:

*Intro image is of my dad in his Navy uniform in 1944.  He was SO young looking!
*Other family images are from my family albums.
*PBY Flying Boat image is found on Wikipedia Commons and is part of the Public Domain.
*World War II In-Service Flag/Banner is part of the Public Domain



(c) Article by Wednesday Elf originally published 11/5/2013.  Updated 11/8/2017






Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”