Category: Today Is

For when those niche holidays strike a chord.

Today Is…

Debunking Day!

An entire day dedicated to fact checking old wives’ tales and common misconceptions? Sign me up!

I don’t know why, but I find it so amusing when something I’ve casually accepted as ‘common sense’ turns out to be dead wrong- especially if it’s something I can link back to learning in school or from a relative. Do I then pay it forward? Of course! I can’t even count how many times I’ve laid in bed and randomly mentioned a fact I learned (my partner is usually already aware, but that’s neither here nor there).

Below are a few I found particularly interesting:

i. The Great Wall of China is not visible with the naked eye from space.

ii. Bananas do not grow on trees, but very large herbs (that look very similar to trees).

iii. Earth does not orbit the Sun, instead orbiting the barycenter (common center of mass between the two).

iv. Absinthe does not cause hallucinations, there simply isn’t enough thujone.

v. SOS in Morse Code does not stand for anything.

SIDE NOTE: I ran through this list with my partner and they were visibly annoyed by the third one.

Photo by Max Chen on Unsplash

11 March

Today Is…

National Gumbo Day!

You heard right. It’s national gumbo day and boy oh boy do I have feelings. Before we get into it though, I have to explain the masterpiece of what gumbo is.

*clears throat* Picture it. My partner’s mother’s home. 2020.

You see a stew that’s rich, flavorful, and has spice. You peek closer and spot chicken, sausage, shrimp, okra, red bell peppers, onion, corn, celery, black beans, jalapeños, and the almighty scotch bonnet peppers. *sorry to say I don’t have the recipe, but if anyone wants it, I’ll post it once I get the details from my partner’s brother*

Now I don’t have very many stories related to ‘today is‘ topics, but when it comes to the all amazing gumbo…you bet I have one and I still bring it up to this day.

It all happened in 2008 when my father’s side was having a family reunion. My grandmother, her sisters and cousins had spent all day cooking and as soon as the gumbo was ready- it was a hit. Now for the betrayal. I was alone enjoying my gumbo when my father sat next to me and asked if I would get him some. I got up and left my half filled bowl to get it for him. Turns out there wasn’t any left, so I went back to tell him the news and guess what I saw? He was finishing my gumbo! He already knew we were out! The betrayal.

I still bring this up at least once a year and you know why? Because we haven’t had a family reunion since, so I haven’t been able to have it in twelve years!

This is my warning to all of what good gumbo does to people. Luckily, my partner’s brother has an amazing recipe so…now I patiently wait for him to make it again.

In short, find a good gumbo spot and enjoy!

SIDE NOTE: the image represents me reliving the gumbo betrayal

Artist: oshtu

12 October

This Month Is…

Eat Country Ham Month

That’s right. You heard correctly.

Eat. Country. Ham.

If you’re wondering whether I like country ham or not…I love it. So much so in fact, when I realized what this month was about my initial thought was, “shouldn’t this be November?“, but then remembered I’m in the minority with my stance on turkey.

SPOILER: I can’t stand it. *except when my partner’s mother makes it because there’s a lot going on there*

But back on track with the country ham because I learned a LOT:

~ Virginia is famous for their country ham

~ it’s dry cured with a mix of salt, sugar, nitrate as well as other spices

~ the majority are cured in family owned and operated facilities

~ there is a ‘ham belt’ (Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia)

~ the whole time I was thinking of honey baked ham

So it might of taken me a bit to work through my confusion since I truly thought we were talking about honey baked ham (don’t know why), but it all came together. Even though I don’t live in the ham belt I’ve still had my fair share of country ham- normally during breakfast at a good diner.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely. Give it a shot and share your thoughts since I’ve been told it’s a bit of an acquired taste.

Photo by Jeff Covey on Unsplash

October

Today Is…

International Coffee Day

Get those beans and pots ready because today is international coffee day!

…Can you tell I don’t drink coffee?

In spirit of today I tried my line on my partner this morning. Their reaction was to stare at me blankly, mid pour and say, “…but it’s already brewed” and then harass me with questions for the next five minutes. I heard of everything from “do you want some since it’s international coffee day?”, “but it’s already brewed for you!”, “just a quick little taste?”, & “it’s from Costa Rica so it’s on theme”. Five minutes of this while I got ready for work and honestly, I’m so happy they leaned in so hard, haha.

Now if you’re thinking, “this is not the day I know for this“; I get it because while the International Coffee Organization marked it as October 1st in 2015…the majority of countries celebrating coffee do so on September 29th with several other countries celebrating on neither of those dates.

What did I learn from this? Coffee is beloved and I’m just going to roll with this.

So even though I don’t drink coffee, my partner is fully committed to the bean and recently started making cold brew. From what I remember the first brew didn’t exactly go according to plan, but now they have it down to a science. Every Sunday like clockwork they sit in the kitchen and intently focus on filtering coffee grounds. It’s pretty cute to watch.

Anyway, to everyone enjoying their morning coffee I hope your brews are perfect and smell amazing!

SIDE NOTE: I definitely had to ask how they make cold brew to write this post and genuinely asked, “so you filter the coffee beans?” to which they corrected me by saying, “…you mean grounds?“. So that’s where I’m at with coffee in case it wasn’t clear.

OTHER SIDE NOTE: Did you know Frappuccinos have caffeine in them? Because I didn’t know this for YEARS

Photo by Najib Kalil on Unsplash

1 October

This Month Is…

Honey Month!

Now I absolutely love honey.

I love the bees. I love the hives. I love the combs…I just love it all, really. So when I found out we not only had a month dedicated to honey, BUT we were IN that month…I immediately started click clacking on the internet.

While looking into bees I was reminded of three prominent causes for their distress: habitat loss, pesticides, and the dreaded Varroa mite. Keeping this in mind I took myself on a refresher of things the average person (with or without a yard) can do to help give a boost and keep the honey flowing!

Here are some things I learned:

i. plant a bee friendly garden with a) plants native to your area, b) single flower crops, & c) variation so something is flowering all year

ii. use natural pesticides and fertilizers

iii. let some dandelions, clovers, and wildflowers (yes, I mean the weeds) grow free

iv. leave out consistent water sources

v. plant a flowering tree(s) for bees

vi. buy local honey

If you’re like me you’re probably thinking: most of this is definitely geared towards people with yards/plant space… In my current place I definitely can’t just go out and plant a tree or really decide on landscaping at all, but I can decide on my potted plants (all of which are kept outside for the sake of my partner). When it came to finding local honey; however, I was able to find one about twenty miles away which was awesome!

SIDE NOTE: I personally didn’t find my local honey on the search engine linked above. I found mine using google and my location, so don’t feel discouraged if it seems like there’s nothing near you because there probably is. It just might be a smaller operation.

Photo by Matthew T Rader on Unsplash

September

Today Is…

International Cat Day!

Woo! And before anyone asks; the feline pictured above is not mine, BUT I do have a ginger cat snoozing somewhere- I just don’t have the photography skills to do him justice.

Speaking of my little furry friend, he’s been on a bit of patchy ride lately with over-grooming. Our first trip to the vet ended in his anal glands getting expressed (meaning ‘squeezed’ in case you’re like me who had no clue). Second trip we narrowed it down to allergies meaning he now gets all new food and starts daily medication for about two months. So far he’s on board with his food, so I’m just waiting to see how he takes to the medicine which is still preparing for shipment.

SIDE NOTE: For anyone worried about the little guy; I assure you he’s doing fine. Even as I type this his top half is draped over my lap, a paw resting on my left hand while he purrs away.

Input from my Partner

So when I asked my partner what first came to mind when I said International Cat Day, I was given the following response: you get your cat, put a little beret on him, and have him say “baguette”, “croissant” or “omelette du fromage”.

Why? To make it international.

Artist: oshtu

8 August

Today Is…

Oyster Day!

Okay, so right off the bat a single question came to mind when I saw this on the calendar: do most people consider oysters an aphrodisiac or…?

Now you may be wondering why this was the first place my mind went and to be honest- we’ll never truly know. I suspect it’s because that’s the only trivia I knew, hence why I went on a deep dive because I had some questions!

My first question: Where did this originate? The answer: No one knows.

My second question: What’s some cool trivia on oysters?

~ they have gills and hemolymph (colorless blood)

~ location determines their flavor

~ they contain all of the essential amino acids (there are nine)

~ they are rich in minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, and protein

My final takeaway from everything is simple: I now have a hankering for oysters AND I really want to know public opinion on the aphrodisiac angle…

Photo by Aime Cox-Tennant on Unsplash

5 August