Wild and Wooly Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day from wild and woolly Colorado.  Yesterday it was 70° - today it is snowing.  We got a lot of rain last night which will help with the drought situation .

I did a bit of research and discovered that, according to Brian Handwerk, Mother's Day was actually started as a pacifist movement to help families heal from the devastation of the Civil War. President Roosevelt declared it a holiday in 1914, and Hallmark Cards sold the first Mother's Day cards in 1920. Ann Jarvis, the founder of Mother's Day, so hated the idea that this special day had become so commercial that she did everything in her power to destroy the commercialism that accompanied the day. Obviously she didn't succeed – Mother's Day is the second most popular gift giving holiday next to Christmas.

What I found fascinating was that Mother's Day is celebrated by most countries: Arabs celebrate on March 21; Panama celebrates on Dec. 8 as part of the Catholic Church celebration of the Virgin Mary; Thailand celebrates on Aug 12, in recognition of the Queen's birthday.

The Riddle contest has been very successful this week! We've had 4 winners so far and a close "maybe I can accept that" as an answer. Thanks everyone!

I remember when I was finally allowed to buy a Mad Magazine. It felt like my friends had been reading it for years before my mother okayed it. I savored it! And you're right - it probably did impact a generation with skepticism. And it did make us politically savey that I'm sure dismayed our parents and the political structure of the country. Isn't freedom of speech wonderful!

We finally have new neighbors to the north of us. They've been remodeling and refinishing the house before they move in – a great idea especially since they sanded their hardwood floors. I saw the finished product a couple of days ago and it reminded me of you, Don, and your floors. Oak is beautiful!

They have dogs; one who announces her presence to the squirrels every morning in a beautiful alto voice. They also have nieces and nephews and grandchildren – so nice to hear young voices coming from beyond the fence. It is that sense of renewal. And when children laugh, you know all is right with the world.

So I bought a yogurt maker last week and finally tried it out yesterday. I'll try again. The instructions are a bit nebulous as to how much time you cook the milk for, so this first batch came out runny. The only thing I can think of is that I need to cook it for 10 hours instead of 8 – depends on which page of the instructions I'm reading. Not sure why corporations let faulty instructions go out when they've taken so much time to create and produce a product. Maybe I should offer my services as an instruction writer.

I've been reading about Millennials in the workplace – there seems to be a gap between what the employer needs and wants and what the Millennials think they are really providing. One survey stated that 35% of businesses say that Millennials are not prepared to work each day; ask the Millennial and he'll tell you he is 100% ready to work. There seems to be a real disconnect between what is needed, what is perceived and what is really happening.

Because of the instant access to media, bosses are hesitant to ask Millennials to work at the same standards other employees have to meet because their company might end up on the youtube rant that garners 200,000  hits by the end of the day. Many of the Wired Generation have no idea what work ethics are, or appear unwilling to practice them, but they are quick to point out when the boss "does it to them." The Millennials' expectation on the job is also interesting; jobs are supposed to engage, involve and inspire them – sounds a bit like Sesame Street. The downside is bosses aren't hiring Millennials – technology skills may be great, but they are only part of the job.

I finally got one of your riddles right! Yes! But it isn't going to happen again this week. I have no idea what could be an animal and a mineral. "Ferrous" has totally derailed me. Uncle.

And yes, your answer – compact disc – is correct.

So here is mine for the week:

Little boxes thin and long

Short and Squat

Wired into listening

Ears plugged

Dancing feet

 Have a great week everyone! And remember, Riddles unclog the mind! Join in on the fun and get a free story!

Carolyn

 Mother's Day retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/05/140508-mothers-day-nation-gifts-facts-culture-moms/?rptregcta=reg_free_np&rptregcampaign=20131016_rw_membership_n1p_us_se_c1#

All images downloaded from Google Images

Fig 1 – sun to snow

Fig 2 – Mother's Day Weekend at Nieuport 17 Retrieved from mieuport17.com

Fig 3 – Oak Floor Retrieved from Google Images

Fig 4 – Yogurt Maker with 7 Glass Jars Retrieved from slaestores.com476

Fig 5 – Smiles Retrieved from Google Images