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Monthly Archives: October 2014

Okay, It’s Back Now

17 Friday Oct 2014

Posted by Marianne On a Mission in Uncategorized

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I don’t know where the Columbus title disappeared to or how I got it back , but there are a lot of mysteries in this online community. It’s back. I have no more questions.

I owe myself a good post now…..

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Testing: one of my titles is gone!

17 Friday Oct 2014

Posted by Marianne On a Mission in Uncategorized

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This isn’t a real post. Just a test to try to figure out why the title In Fourteen Hundred Ninety Two disappeared from my Columbus Day post. Let’s see what happens…….

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In Fourteen Hundred Ninety Two….

12 Sunday Oct 2014

Posted by Marianne On a Mission in Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Columbus Day, Columbus Sailed The Ocean Blue, Cristoforo Colombo, discovery of America, funny stuff, history, holidays, Italian, Myths

Columbus Sailed The Ocean Blue!

And discovered America! And he was Italian! Everybody knows that, right?

Wrong, o history revisionists. Here, in my own words, is what actually happened:

Cristoforo Colombo (AKA Columbus) lived in Genoa. Which at the time was not Italy as we know it. He noticed that if he walked around the city in a circle from the west side, he would wind up on the east side at some point. Mamma Mia! This could work on the Ocean Blue. If you sailed a ship west, you would show up in the east. That’s where the spices are, the kind that you put in food so it’s hard to tell how old it is. The food, not the spices.

So he pitches the idea to the Genoese government, Genoa being a seafaring nation. We could make some money here.

Genoa says No, Che Pazzo. You’ll fall off the Earth.

Colombo heads to Spain, another seafaring nation, taking the West Is East idea with him. Long story short, Their Catholic Majesties Ferdinand of Castile and Isabella of Aragon like it. They buy in. He gets three ships (extra credit if you remember the names) and sails approximately west from Spain. Bring back spice.

Instead of falling into the abyss, Colombo and his men bump into…..well, it must be India. What else could it be?

Now we know it was one of those lush Caribbean islands. But then, nobody knew. So India.

No spice. But the weather is great. He claims it for Spain. All of it.

To summarize: an ex-pat from Genoa, a state in Italy, sailed under the auspices of Spain to an island somewhere well south of the large North American landmass. He had no idea where he was. His native land had brushed him off. Spain adopted him, bankrolled the operation, and then owned the New World.

With apologies to my Italian ancestors, it was a Spanish thing.

So anyway, half a millennium later, North America marks October 12 (or 13, if you want a three-day weekend) with Italian themed parades and mattress sales. To tell the truth, neither of these means Discovered America. Come on.

In Philadelphia, hundreds of miles from Colombo’s landing place, we have a monument to Columbus, as he is now known, touting his discovery. It’s on the riverfront. Why Philadelphia? He didn’t sail up the Delaware.

Even worse, to take the myth a step further, the city was convinced to change the name of the wide thoroughfare that borders the river from Delaware Avenue to Columbus Boulevard.

The Native American Indian tribes in the area were the Delawares. Not the Columbuses. How insensitive…. They were here, he was not. Ever. So what’s the honor? Why?

I’ll never understand and I’ll never say Columbus Boulevard, either! My personal defiance.

Enjoy your holiday, Americans all! Go to a nice Italian parade, buy a mattress, honor the lost Genoese mercenary who gave us the day off! Accuracy need not count! Most of all, have a little chuckle on me!

One last thing…
My fellow North Americans in Canada and Mexico….do you also get the day off, have Italian parades, and buy mattresses? Just wondered.

One more last thing….
My Irish ancestors were here first.

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So Why Not Herbs?

05 Sunday Oct 2014

Posted by Marianne On a Mission in Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

flowering plants, Gardening, help with growing plants, herb garden, herbs, plants

If you read my post on my grandmother’s stellar gardening abilities (Gardening With Gram: Anything Grows, September 18) and how I do not take after her in that regard, you can grasp the significance of this next venture of mine.

I will grow an herb garden in my greenhouse window so I can have fresh herbs. You know, for all the gourmet cooking I do. No, really.

image
I’ve been told I need to get closer to the Earth, walk barefoot in the grass, dig in the dirt, grow stuff, and all that. But the Earth hates me. The entire Great Outdoors hates me.

Tried the barefoot in the grass thing many times. That’s not just grass down there. That’s thistles and sticks and bugs and rocks. They know I’m there. I don’t know they are there. I tread on them. Not good.

And dig in the dirt? I’m not sure what they have in there but it makes my hands break out in a rash.

Trying to deal with leafy and flowering plants turns me into a big itchy mass of insect bites. Bugs love me. They bite me. I’m on their special menu all the time. Then I stay away from the plants and: they die.

So I try to know my limits when it comes to growing and gardening and go with it. But I noticed something this past summer that might be the answer to this whole ‘get close to the Earth’ thing.

Herbs appear to grow when they are in my custody. I know this because I had several pots of herbs lining my deck and as of this very day……they still live.
image

I took the major leap of faith, transplanted them into smaller pots, and arranged them in my sunny, warm garden window. As you can see, they are perky and happy.

So here’s the deal. You, my readers, will encourage me to nurture and cultivate these pretty plants because I will post photo updates every few weeks. I’m making a big commitment here……putting it out to the entire world…….so I’ll need to be diligent.

I will remember to water them, trim them, feed them…….even chat with them. They will reward me with fresh chives, rosemary, oregano, mint, parsley and basil!

My family will revel in the fresh new flavors that infuse my cooking with new life!

Omigod, what have I done! The pressure is on! Let the growing begin!

Sunday, October 5: all is well.

Sunday, October 5: all is well.

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Marianne Kirby Rhodes

Marianne Kirby Rhodes

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