Whimsical Wednesday ~ Happy Leap Day!

I am dedicating this week's Whimsical Wednesday to the last day of this month, being as it is the extra day this Leap Year.

• Why do we need that extra day once every four years? Leap Years are needed in order to keep our calendar in alignment with the Earth's revolutions around the sun.
  

• Did you know that if we did not have this extra day every four years, we would lose almost six hours from our calendar every year. That means that after only 100 years, our calendar would be off by about 24 days!!!

Interesting Facts
Leap Years were introduced by Julius Caesar in the Roman Empire over 2000 years ago. There was only one rule for the Julian calendar which was that every year that is evenly divisible by 4 was a leap year. However that led to too many leap years! This only got corrected with the introduction of the *Gregorian Calendar more than 1500 years later.


How does the Gregorian Calendar work?
A year divisible by four is a leap year, except if it is also divisible by 100, but years divisible by 400 are also leap years. So 1996 was a leap year because it is divisible by four, 2000 was a leap year because it is divisible by 400, but 1900 is not a leap year because it is not divisible by 400. Now if that is confusing, not to worry, we will still be getting that extra day every four years!

It has been worked out that the *Gregorian Calendar is off by about 1 day in 3236 years. I guess none of us will be around to see the next Calendar adjustment!

I don't know about you but I need all the extra days I can get : )

So in the meantime let's enjoy that extra day every four years ☺

Happy Leap Year Day to you all and
especially to all who are celebrating
their Birthday today!

*The Gregorian Calendar was named after the person who first introduced it - Pope Gregory XIII in February 1582. It is also known as the Western Calendar or the Christian Calendar.

Graphics from shared files

Whimsical Wednesday ~ Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

♪♪♪ Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious ♪♪♪

Click here to hear the song and see part of the movie

In the Disney movie Mary Poppins, also in the stage show version, this was one particular song sung by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke and written by Richard and Robert Sherman. This word has always taken my fancy and I always wondered how it came about. Besides the fact that I always loved musicals, this particular film has been one of my favourites ever since it came out in 1964.

I have been reading about the roots of this word which when broken down into segments is explained as...super meaning above, cali meaning beauty, fragilistic is delicate and docious as educable. Now according to the movie when all these parts are put together they mean "Something to say when you have nothing to say". This is exactly what Mr Banks says when he is confronted by his employer who has just fired him. So Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! ♪♪♪

A year later this song was the subject of a lawsuit by songwriters Gloria Parker and Barney Young against Wonderland Music who were the publishers of the song from the Disney film. They alleged that it was an infringement of their own 1951 song entitled "Supercalafajalistickespeealadojus" also known as "The Super Song". The Disney publishers won the lawsuit partially because affidavits were produced showing that "variants of the word were known ... many years prior to 1949".

According to a search I made this 34 letter word is NOT the longest word recorded...there is one with 189,819 letters...it is the Chemical name of titin, the largest known protein BUT it is NOT in the dictionary so NOT really a word at all!

How Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Whimsical Wednesday ~ The 5 W's of Life

Today my sister posted this quote on our favourite forum and I thought of sharing them here...I have also made it into a bookmark which I will share with you.

The Five W's Of Life.

WHO you are is what makes you special.
Do not change for anyone.

WHAT lies ahead will always be a mystery.
Do not be afraid to wxplore.

WHEN life pushes you over, you push back harder.

WHERE there are choices to make, make the one you won't regret.

WHY things happen will never be certain.
Take it in stride and move forward.

Author Unknown.

WHO - WHAT - WHEN - WHERE - WHY

Whenever we usually use these five words it is to start a question but not this time...here each time there is a statement, a strong one without any doubt and each one with positive answers and with some good advice! Thanks for the inspiration Sue!

Click on the bookmark for a better image to copy : )

Whimsical Wednesday ~ A.S.A.P.

Do you know what day it is? Of course you do, and if you are also counting down to the big day ...December 25th and making up To Do Lists, getting your gift shopping done and planning a family dinner or at least a get-together, you will surely know what I am talking about when I say things need to be done ASAP.

We hurry through our day, trying to fit in always more than we ever can. We feel as if we are running out of time. Everything seems so important and we label everything as 'Priority'.

I'm sure most of us have received requests labelled ASAP. And yet how do we deal with all this rush? Do we really know how to choose what is important, what is priority and what do we do to slow down so that we know what we are doing...and why is it that it is always up to us to do things, and to do them ASAP?

I found this image while browsing through my files and thought what a great tag to add to my Whimsical Wednesdays especially at this hurried time of year.


So even before you get all flustered and tired, stop awhile and A.S.A.P.

Whimsical Wednesday ~ Kindness and Courage Tag

This is a tag I made quite a while ago for a friend who had requested it.
I think the words of Adam Lindsay Gordon are so true to what we go through
sometimes in our daily lives.
I hope this quote tag will uplift your spirit and make you smile.

May God bless your kindness and give you the courage you need.

Whimsical Wednesday ~ Cozy Corner

Here I am back to Whimsical Wednesdays after taking a break of a few weeks right after starting this series...firstly after my dear father-in-law passed away and then when my sister Sue was here on holiday!



Thinking back on when I started this series, I spoke about the change of season and how fall has taken over. Since then we have had a couple of storms and the temperatures have gone down considerably although we are still feeling quite hot whenever it's a sunny day.

Picture from Wanna in El Paso

At this time of year I just love to switch on lampshades! Don't you just enjoy the warm glow of the soft light emitting from under the shade? I have my favourite chair where I can sit and read or meditate or curl up in a soft blanket and just relax and dream.

Image from Cozy Little Quilts

We all need 'our' own space and I'm sure you all have that special little nook or corner where you feel you can unwind with a good book after a day's work. If not, try and find a cozy place in your home where you can curl up and relax. It will be your very own special sanctuary, that special comfortable place you can retire to and let yourself go deep into your book or just sit and meditate next to a warm lamplight. And don't forget to keep that soft blanket close by to cuddle in when temperatures drop. You can also light a scented candle to add ambiance as well as to provide an added comforting touch. Place a basket close by where you can keep your books, magazines, extra candles, candlesticks and other favourite things. I'm sure you will find it very theraputic and relaxing.

Image from Drop Dead Cute

And if you have children or grandchildren you can encourage your little ones to have that 'special place of their own'.
You'll be as thrilled as they are!

***

In Memory of my dear Father-in-Law, Saviour

My dear FIL passed away suddenly this week to eternal life at the venerable age of 90.

I'd like to dedicate a saying in his memory which I think fits him beautifully:


When a great man dies, for years the light he leaves behind him, lies on the paths of men.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) U.S. poet.

The beautiful memories he left behind will surely light our paths and that of many who were fortunate enough to have met him.
May he rest in peace.

Dear Dad you live on in our memory and hearts.






I am very sorry I was not here yesterday to add my Wednesday post.
Please let's make it a date for next week, God willing.

L**k out for Whimsical Wednesday (starting tomorrow)

I find that I am not posting as much as I'd intended when I first started this blog. Sooo I am going to start something new here and hope to continue as long as I can with this project.
Some of you probably have heard of Wordless Wednesday in which the post is usually a picture with only a few or no words at all, letting the picture say it all. Now for me that is a little impossible, you see I love words and once I start there's no stopping me. I have chosen Wednesday to be the day in which I will post regularly with whatever whim takes my fancy...it could be a recipe, a quote, a discussion, a poem, an idea shared... AND I am calling it Whimsical Wednesday, so I hope you'll check in every Wednesday to take a l**k : )