Day: December 14, 2023

2023 · Connecticut · History of New England

11 Years Ago … Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Connecticut

TanjaLeave a comment
Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial
In Memory of the 26 victims of the Sandy Hook
Elementary School shooting on December 14, 2012:
Rachel D’Avino, 29
Dawn Hochsprung, 47
Anne Marie Murphy, 52
Lauren Rousseau, 30
Mary Sherlach, 56,
Victoria Leigh Soto, 27
Charlotte Bacon, 6
Daniel Barden, 7
Olivia Engel, 6
Josephine Gay, 7
Dylan Hockley, 6
Madeleine Hsu, 6
Catherine Hubbard, 6
Chase Kowalski, 7
Jesse Lewis, 6
Ana Márquez-Greene, 6
James Mattioli, 6
Grace McDonnell, 7
Emilie Parker, 6
Jack Pinto, 6
Noah Pozner, 6
Caroline Previdi, 6
Jessica Rekos, 6
Avielle Richman, 6
Benjamin Wheeler, 6
Allison Wyatt, 6

◊◊◊◊◊

Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial

Here in Newtown, I come to offer the love and prayers of a nation. I am very mindful that mere words cannot match the depths of your sorrow, nor can they heal your wounded hearts. I can only hope it helps for you to know that you’re not alone in your grief; that our world, too, has been torn apart; that all across this land of ours, we have wept with you.

~ President Barack Obama, Newtown, Connecticut 12/16/2012
2023 · National Day Calendar

Monkey Day 2023 🐒

TanjaLeave a comment
Golden Lion Tamarins at the Dallas Zoo in Texas

It’s a difficult task to pinpoint the exact moment that monkeys first emerged as a unique species within the animal kingdom, but it is believed that their appearance took place approximately 60 million years ago. This vast amount of time would pass, month by year by millenia, both creeping and speeding along, without the existence of a National Monkey Day! At long last, though, thanks to two pioneering college students, this would change in the year 2000.

Casey Sorrow and Erik Millikin, both studying art at Michigan State University, are responsible for the creation of this simian-centric celebratory day. Sorrow (fittingly) would admit to the Detroit Metro Times that he experienced a form of malaise around the holiday season and felt compelled to find a way to combat these December blues. After jokingly jotting down “Monkey Day” in a friend’s calendar, Sorrow took the idea and ran with it: when December 14th rolled around, he and his art school friends dressed up as monkeys and ran amok, putting on their best monkey impressions.

They would go on to incorporate ideas related to their newly formed holiday into their artwork and homemade comics. Publishing these pieces online allowed for the notion of a Monkey Day to spread, and now, decades on, the day is observed throughout the world in countries including Germany, India, and Thailand.

What started out as a bit of fun has evolved into a full-blown operation. Monkey Day serves as an important anniversary each year for raising awareness of modern threats to monkeys, with entities such as National Geographic, the Smithsonian Institution, and Greenpeace promoting the day. Sorrow and Millikin have also been instrumental in utilizing monkey-themed art as vehicles to serve this end, as well. Their work has brought an entirely new understanding of the term “monkey business!”

Resource: https://nationaltoday.com/monkey-day/

2023 · Our Furbabies

Joshua’s 14th (17th?) Birthday

TanjaLeave a comment

That cat … THAT CAT gets on our last nerves! He’s ornery; he does what he wants; he scatches every door frame to get into a room, even when we just “kicked” him out; he doesn’t let Kevin sleep; he complains, when we push him in the middle of the bed, so Kevin and I can stretch out; he gets himself stuck under the car wheel (we are still surprised, he didn’t kill himself yet). … Yeah, that boy ain’t that cute. We are still amazed, that Josh’ made it to 14/17. Who knows, how old this a**hole is. LOL … Well, we signed up for that eleven years ago. And now, we gonna deal with it, until he decides to cross the Rainbow Bridge. That might take another five to ten years. But after all, we love him. So, we want to wish Joshua a very happy, crouchy Birthday!

2023 · Alabama · National Day Calendar

National Alabama Day 2023

TanjaLeave a comment

We know Alabama as the heart of America’s Deep South. Yet, this fascinating region comes with a long and rich history — before and after it would become part of the United States. Before European settlers arrived in the 16th century, Alabama was home to numerous indigenous peoples. The Spaniards were the first Europeans to explore the region, paving the way for other European countries to arrive.

The 250 years followed saw numerous battles for control of the area among the French, British, and Spanish. These events would culminate in the American War of Independence. What’s more, the foundations of the cotton economy began around this time — an institution that would go on to shape Alabama’s society, culture, and history. Before joining the Union, Alabama was part of the Mississippi Territory. Up until then, Alabama was claimed by the colony of Georgia. As pressure to create two states mounted, Congress carved out a new Alabama territory from the east of the Mississippi Territory. William Wyatt Bibb was the region’s territorial governor.

Within two years, the Alabama territory grew in population and economy. Petitions for statehood soon became louder. Alabama’s shift to statehood began at a constitutional convention that took place in Huntsville. Six months later, Congress passed a resolution on December 14 granting statehood to Alabama — the only state added to the Union that year. Alabama joined the Union a few months before Maine and a year after Illinois. The town of Cahawba in Dallas County was the first capital, and William Wyatt Bibb became the state’s first governor. Much later, the unassuming town of Montgomery in Alabama would set the stage for the Civil Rights Movement that swept the rest of the country and the world.

Resource: https://nationaltoday.com/national-alabama-day/

2023 · ☃❄ Winter ❄☃ · Days of The Week · 🎅🎄 Christmas 🎄🎅 · Our Furbabies · Throwback Thursday

Christmas Season (Part III) 2008 – 2009

TanjaLeave a comment

🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅

2008

Since Kevin’s homemade Christmas tree got positive feedback, he installed it in 2008, again. The same year, I decorated a Christmas wreath for our girls.

🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅

2009

Sara’s 1st Christmas; She was still so tiny.

🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅

… to be continued …

2023 · My Health · Throwback Thursday

When Health Takes A Different Turn ~ 2021

TanjaLeave a comment

🩺💉🔬🩸🩺💉🔬🩸🩺💉🔬🩸🩺💉🔬🩸🩺💉🔬🩸🩺💉🔬🩸🩺💉🔬🩸🩺💉🔬🩸🩺💉🔬🩸

I’m still at the hospital. But I am now in much better shape when I came into the Waterbury Hospital ER, last Sunday. Now, I’m sitting in a chair in front of my laptop, writing this blog in my Yale-New Haven Hospital room. What a journey it has been so far, and I still have a long way to go. Let me tell you, what happened, and what I know so far.

Saturday night, we’ve got the Christmas tree decorated in the front room. I stepped with my camera outside to capture photos of the tree in the front room window, when I began to feel nauseous. I took some deep breaths to no avail feeling better. I went back into the house to put my camera down, telling Kevin how I felt and that I go to the bedroom upstairs. After resting in bed for about five minutes, I had to go to the bathroom. I had really bad diarrhea and blamed it on the hotdog, I ate earlier in the afternoon. But when I looked at my bowel, I noticed something concerning: it was dark brown, almost black. After I laid back down, I could sleep for two hours. I felt fine until I turned on my side. I was sick all night. And in the morning, I had the same color in my vomit. I let Kevin look at it to confirm if it was blood. He wasn’t sure but looked concerned as well. That’s when I said: “I’m not messing around with this. I want to go to the ER! A doctor needs to see this. Especially knowing, I’m chronically anemic.” Kevin agreed with me. Later that day I found out, that this was a lifesaving decision.

In the ER I got a bed fairly quick, granted how busy the place was that day, after I stated: “Nausea, vomit, diarrhea with the possibility of blood in vomit and stool”. After a CT scan, ultrasound, urine & stool samples, and a couple of other bloody puking episodes, I’ve got an answer: “Pancreatitis with the possibility of an ulcer in my stomach; not even to mention my portal vein”. At that point, Kevin and I knew I would stay in the hospital overnight.

In the following days, more tests were done. And I kept finding out more as we went. Meanwhile, the doctors put me on an intravenous liquid diet to keep me hydrated. No water, no food for three days, due to tests and healing. On Monday, I’ve got an esophagogastroduodenoscopy done. Later, I found out I had some bleeding in the esophagus and a stomach ulcer. The doctor also discussed my history of portal vein thrombosis, the possible cause of a hemorrhage and narrowing in the portal vein, and that I might need Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt Insertion (TIPS). A team of doctors began to communicate with a team of gastroenterologists at the Yale-New Haven Hospital about my health situation. On Wednesday, I found out I’ll get a transport to Yale. While waiting for my bed in New Haven, I finally was put on a Clear Liquid Diet. Thursday night, a room and a bed were ready for me. And I arrived at Yale at about 1 am on Friday. At 4 am, a doctor discussed with me my health situation, more tests, the TIPS procedure, a possible timeline, etc. and I pressed for some iron infusions as well. WTH, I lost a lot of blood already. And my hemoglobin level is in the basement. I do not want another panic attack episode, due to anemia ever again. It sucks!

Since I arrived in New Haven, I’ve got another CT scan done, can eat on a regular hospital diet, and found out a bit more about my portal vein problems. Unfortunately, I have another blood clot in my veins. But the GI doctors will discuss more, how they will put that shunt in my vein to keep it from bulging out, bleeding, and narrowing due to a former nasty blood clot, I had back in the Summer of 2018. I will stay very positive because I feel I’m in good hands with a great GI team here at Yale. Doctors keep me updated as they go. Due to today’s medicine and technology, there is a great possibility, that doctors can remove the clot, while they do the TIPS procedure. The nurses are wonderful in both hospitals. Now, I’ve got the weekend off with tests and can relax a little bit. There is not much that I can do other than follow the doctors’ advice to have a positive outlook, eat and drink on a hospital diet, take my medication, and keep my mind busy by reading a book, watch TV, write my blogs, communicate with family and friends online. One doctor said: “We will have you fixed by Christmas. This will be your Christmas present.” Well, it definitely will be a very nice Christmas present. I can’t think of a more precious gift, than a healthy life.

🩺💉🔬🩸🩺💉🔬🩸🩺💉🔬🩸🩺💉🔬🩸🩺💉🔬🩸🩺💉🔬🩸🩺💉🔬🩸🩺💉🔬🩸🩺💉🔬🩸

~ 12/04/2021 ~