The Jumping Frog

Container Vegetable Gardening by cwhiting

noreply@blogger.com (Connie Whiting -conniewhiting.com) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:59:00 +0000

Container Vegetable Gardening by cwhiting

Credit: Unknown. (If this picture belongs to you, click here to claim it.)

When I was a kid....

noreply@blogger.com (Connie Whiting -conniewhiting.com) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 09:34:00 +0000

Life sure goes fast. You take a breath in when you are a kid and breathe out as an

adult, in my case, a fifty year old.

No not really. But it does seem like it sometimes

You remember when you promised yourself you'd never talk

about "when I was a kid". The thing is, by the time you are my age life has changed so much that you miss the things you had then that either don't exist or

don't matter in today's society. Talking about them is like welcoming back an old friend long gone from your life. Do I want to have everything the way it was then? No, because like an old friend, visits from the past shouldn't wear out the welcome. Still, right now I want to pull the memories close and revisit a time when life was easier.

For me that time was in the 1960's. The gap between what life is like for a child now and what it was like in the 1960's is like the distance between the Earth and the Moon. So bear with me as I look back and talk about "when I was a kid"

News and TV in General

It is hard to know where to start but basically kids were really able to be kids then. Unless it was summer kids usually had a bedtime. The news wasn't on all through the day like now and we only had 3 channels. All three of which closed down the programming by 2 am and played the United States National Anthem. Afterwards was a colored stripe with an ongoing screeching tone. But kids usually didn't see that except for maybe on a weekend in the summer because they had bedtimes. Anyway on the off chance you got to see the "nightly news" nobody cared what celebrity was seeing who, or which one was in rehab. Most news was centered on your local area too. Things like traffic accidents, farm reports, festivals and government. In fact government like what the president was doing, civil rights and at that time coverage of the Vietnam War were the main non local topics. These days everyday there are several murders at least, robberies and most devastatingly these days, child abuse stories and killings. Back then you didn't get that. I only remember hearing about two murders then. I know there were more but my point is I was in bed and missed the uglier side of life. Kids got to be kids. They didn't have death and destruction pushed in their face every waking moment by a TV.

Most of the TV shows were game shows, soap operas, westerns and sitcoms.

"Star Trek" started in the 60's. Most sitcoms were light hearted stuff like "Bewitched" and "I dream of Jeannie" Kids thought it was a treat if they got to occasionally stay up later and watch the adult shows like "Laugh in" and The Jackie Gleason Show"

Daytime TV was soap operas which of course had the usual "cheating"

themes but back then nobody was nearly naked and were not shown in a bed. They started to kiss and then it would fade to black. Seriously.

Oh and reality TV? No such thing. The closest we had was the live reports

from the state fair.

Playing

But we kids probably would not have noticed. We were outside playing! We had never heard of a video game or a computer. We played ball, raced, rode our bikes and so on. Most of the time we would (if it was not a school day) go out in the morning, come back for lunch and go out again. We'd only stop running, skating, kick ball or whatever it was we were doing that day when we heard our

mothers yelling across the block to come in. Nobody had to schedule "play dates" We just went out and played. Kids still do this some but it used to be every kid on the block. Now it’s just a few because most are in scheduled activities, or the parents work so they stay inside and play their video games.

Other things have changed too. Here are just a few off the top of my head.

Milk was delivered to your house in glass bottles. Hardly anyone bought it at a store.

A field trip usually meant a visit to a factory to see how things were made.

We were allowed to have Christmas plays in the school that included the actual Christmas story

Nobody had a cell phone. Most kids didn't use the phone at all except for a quick call to ask if your friend could come out and play. We dialed the number by sticking our finger in a circle with numbers until the "newfangled" push button phones came out. Most people had party lines at first. That meant several neighbors shared the same phone line even though they each had their own number. If someone called you or them everyone's phone would ring but each person has their own ring. For instance at our house it was 3 short rings-stop-3 short rings. Someone else might have one long ring, a pause, another long ring. So we only answered our own rings but once we did any of the others on the same line could sneak on and hear everything. If you picked up your phone to make a call there might already be one of the other families using it so you'd have to wait your turn no matter how long they took.

This is getting long so I will stop here for now. My original point before I went off on a tangent was that life was so simple and safe then. We didn't have to worry about bombers in our planes and our schools. Kids didn't take guns to school. We could be kids and we could be kids without fears.

Of course it was not perfect and some kids didn't feel safe I am sure. There was some abuse plus some kids had fathers in Vietnam, and bussing during civil rights was happening.

But in their own families, and in their own block with neighborhood friends most kids were worried about missing the ice cream truck, the kind with the soft serve cone machine made with real milk for 15 cents, not the frozen high priced chemical stuff on a stick now. But that's another post.

Madness--First Page

noreply@blogger.com (Connie Whiting -conniewhiting.com) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 10:28:00 +0000

This is the start of a novel I was planning on writing..... but I never finished. Should I?

I don't know when exactly the birds came to devour me. It may have been when I was heaping plates full of homemade mashed potatoes. It may have been when I was
organizing the school fair, or maybe it was when my husband, shuddered into me. then fell heavy across me.

I remember I wondered if I had started the washer and turned off the coffee pot. Just ordinary things in my day. My boring lost little life..The birds could have came a little at a time I guess, just a few here and there invisible at first. Looking back I know I felt them on my head long before they started to eat. The wisp of hair that was suddenly forever falling across my eye. It was probably one of them pecking, looking for my skull. I never heard a sound when they started but inside I screamed and I looked for other better ways than being eaten alive.

The water I bathed the boy in looked inviting. I wanted to float away in the water with my pills but Mick had taken them from me. I thought often of the boy. There was a time when he had a name but I didn't remember it anymore. Mick said that I had given the boy a name when he was a small child, almost as small as the tiny birds. Even before he came out of my world and was birthed into this one I had given him a name. I wish I could remember. maybe someday I would. But for now I have to tell about the birds.

WSYX ABC6 On Your Side Top Story - Dog Pound's Gas Chamber Demolished

noreply@blogger.com (Connie Whiting -conniewhiting.com) — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 17:14:00 +0000

It is about time!

WSYX ABC6 On Your Side Top Story - Dog Pound's Gas Chamber Demolished

Credit: Unknown. (If this picture belongs to you, click here to claim it.)

Is storing open cans in the refrigerator safe?

noreply@blogger.com (Connie Whiting -conniewhiting.com) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:51:00 +0000

Is storing open cans in the refrigerator safe?

Credit: Unknown. (If this picture belongs to you, click here to claim it.)

Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Connie Whiting -conniewhiting.com) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 03:41:00 +0000

thoughts

I'm sitting in a hotel room tonight wondering where life will take me. I got the room to get away from everyday distractions to sit and think and plan..but all I have done is remember .I remember...

dancing as a child..using the leaves and branches and flowers of a tree as giant fans and dancing with eyes closed to music only my soul could hear.usic that caused everything else in my eight year old world to fade away..I could feel my feet moving in made up steps and nothing else mattered but "being in that moment" I was so happy.

The the last time I remember being me.

The rest of my life has been filled with roles and masks I wear to be who people need...some good..like mother..some masks you put them on and they melt into who you are and bring some happiness and you are that person ,just not *only* that person.

Some masks or roles are created from taking on the judgements of others...the classmates that taunt and call names, the critical parent that labels you worthless.These too become part of who you are after so long..even if nobody else sees it but you ,you still at some point start labeling yourself with these negative things.

As life goes on, you are so busy changing masks and roles depending on who you are interacting with that they become layer upon layer until that original person,that original "happiness" is forgotten on the surface level

But the heart remembers

Now I am at a time in my life that with each changing role...no longer a needed daughter...no longer kids at home(my younger daughter is moving out) ...I am now finding out that my soul is returning to that little girls need to dance to her own music.

So I am starting a journey to rediscover my music again..who I am and why I am here and what I want....what is my happiness?

well it is late..just some thoughts..probably sound like a crazy lady. Can anyone relate to what I am saying?

Think back....what was your happiness?

Why Are Some Plants Called Weeds?

noreply@blogger.com (Connie Whiting -conniewhiting.com) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:55:00 +0000

Why Are Some Plants Called Weeds?

That plant is a weed.
This may sound like two minutes with Andy Rooney but I just don't agree with this term. If a plant looks pretty and it has some quality that makes it useful, then why is it a weed.

What is a weed?

The chicory plant has a pretty little flower and some people use it to make tea. Isn't the bright yellow flower of the dandelion similar to a marigold or some little yellow daisy? You can make wine from dandelions. That's good isn't it. what is grass. It just lays all over the place and looks plain old green. I guess cows can eat it. I don't think it's a weed but I think it acts like a weed. Grass tries to overpower everything else. If Creeping Charlie tries to do that, we call him a weed.

Do weeds have some exclusive property that we can use to define them from other plants? Are those other plants just "plants" or should we call them "non weeds"?

When my wife "weeds" the flower garden, she will constantly ask "is this a weed?" Does it really matter? My response is always the same. "If you like it - leave it there. If you don't like it, pull it out."

Milkweed - wow, poor plant got it right in the name. This plant with the fun little seedpod is home to the much admired Monarch Butterfly. The monarch needs this plant to survive. Children love to open the mature seed pod and blow the little parachutes all over the place. We are intent on eradicating it because it is a "weed". I don't know what makes it a weed.

There are some plants that I guess we would all can safely be called a weed. Poison Ivy comes to mind first. I can't see anything good about this plant. This one can go away forever as far as I am concerned. A couple of god doses of this plant have it on "My weed list".

There are some very interesting names for weeds. The mouse eared chickweed. Does this really sound like a weed" It sounds like something we should see on the farm. Another similar name is "lamb's quarters". It belongs to the "goosefoot family" It just does not sound like a weed. More farm type plants - try "field horsetail" and "wild oats". Sounds like they should do well together.

Don't forget the "european frogbit" Now you really must wonder about that name.

I like the masses of purple loosestrife I see growing in ditch banks but I guess it is a monster in disguise. It gets out of control and chokes out everything. Maybe that makes it a weed.

I guess St John's Wort and Cypress Spurge don't sound that good to me. Maybe I will add them to my weed list.
Now this one really makes me wonder. I looked up Common weeds of northern United states and Canada. Where is the thistle.

That mean bristly plant wasn't to be found in the list of weeds. It must be a good plant I guess but I can't imagine why.

I want to talk to the guy that made that list of weeds. I just don't think he has it right!

I think I'm going to call Andy Rooney and see what he thinks of this whole weed deal. I bet he could provide a very interesting response.

Source: http://www.articlecircle.com/ - Free Articles Directory

About the Author

Tom is retired and finding increased interest in home gardening (sparked by planting one hibiscus plant).He has started a plant resources website at http://www.plantstarter.com

A Funny Memory

noreply@blogger.com (Connie Whiting -conniewhiting.com) — Mon, 04 May 2009 07:12:00 +0000

I was thinking of mom yesterday when they showed a news story about a tornado and it reminded me of when my mom and I were in a tornado. Then I was scared but looking back she was so funny. We were in Circleville, Ohio shopping and doing her usual all day errand runs. Mom bought specific things at specific grocery stores and other stores. We would leave to do her grocery shopping at 10 am and not get home til 7 pm. So anyway we were driving along and it had been a thunderstorm kinda of day. So I look up and the sky is an eerie Orange. I notice at a stop light that everything is quiet..no sound at all. I said mom something isn't right. That sky looks weird. I’m going home. We’ll come again tomorrow. She wasn't too happy about that. But I was insistent because my kids were home alone. They were older, teens actually but still something just felt weird. So we start to go home and are just about to drive out of town when the tornado sirens go on. I look up and headed towards Circleville over the trees is this big tornado. People were stopping their cars jumping out and running. Since we were right by a shopping center I pulled into a local convenience store on the corner and most of all the people running ended up in there including us but first..My mom decides to fight the tornado .I stop the car in the lot and I tell her get out run to the store and I started to do just that but nope not mom. She’s tying her scarf on her head. Meanwhile the twister is closer and huge chunks of stuff (found out later it was smaller pieces of a mobile home) are flying past. I yank open her door and tell her to come on. She finally has the scarf on so gets out. See, mom had this thing about scarves, she had to wear one every time she went out. Usually she's tuck it in her bags (that's another story) but if it got windy she would put it on. I said mom "come on!"

"Well I had to get my scarf on Connie! It's windy out here and my hair will get messed up!"

"Mommmmmm it's windy because it's a tornado come on!"

So with a final tie to the scarf now on her head she gets out. People are at the door yelling for us to hurry. We are almost to the door of the store and I think she’s right behind me but then I'm at the door and people are still yelling "hurry"! I look behind me and she's at the car with the door open again. By this time the cars in the lot and the ones left on the street are rocking back and forth and some are starting to lift up off the ground. My mom meanwhile is leaning across the front seat!

“What are you doing!!!" I run back to get mom who is oblivious to the fact that the car is lifting up. Turns out in my haste I had left the keys in the ignition and she realized it and had gone back for them. Now the people are screaming at us to get inside. We were the only ones not inside. The tornado is seconds away. I grab moms arm and physically pull her out of the car and towards the door asking her if she's lost her mind. " NO she says" I was just trying to make sure nobody stole your car!" Mom!! Believe me NOBODY is thinking about stealing cars at this moment. They are all inside trying to save their ass!!

So we are almost to the door again and the damn scarf lifts up, is yanked off her head and flies flat and straight like a board across the lot and she STARTS CHASING IT SHAKING HER FIST AND CUSSING OUT THE TORNADO. ARGGGG. I grab her again yelling “forget the damn scarf!" She said "well I paid good money for that and it's my favorite"! And she GETS MAD AT ME for not letting her go after it. I finally get her in the store and we race to the back room with the other people. WHAMMMM. The building starts to shake, the cooler glass is rattling, the glass in the front door starts buckling and my mom God love her says “What was THAT?" Everyone kinda looks at me and then her and says it’s a tornado! After a few minutes it was over and we went outside. The tornado had skipped our little building after setting down beside it and tearing things up, it had gone back up and crossed the street and hit the shopping center. Half the center was destroyed. All the houses behind it had their roofs ripped off, cars and semis in that parking lot were on their side and on top of each other. Everyone said we were blessed because nobody was hurt and the tornado didn't flatten our little building like it did some of the shopping center and houses. It's true we were blessed but I know another reason that twister skipped us..It just didn't want to mess with my mom anymore! Up until a week before she passed she still told people about that tornado and she was STILL mad about that scarf saying "well I could have got it if you'd let go of me" lol.

My memory of that day is mostly of mom in my car, lying across the seat, trying to get the keys from the ignition, with her feet hanging off the ground not even aware the car is about an inch off the ground and the nose was lifting up even higher while she was in it. Kinda funny now :)

I don't understand this. Do you?

noreply@blogger.com (Connie Whiting -conniewhiting.com) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 23:24:00 +0000

I am shocked at a recent news story I just saw. Here is the background..Man beats 5 month old baby breaking his bones while the mom stands by watching and does nothing. The parents look young maybe 17 to early 20’s. Now the man is going to prison..GOOD but the woman who sat there and did NOTHING to protect her child gets three years’ probation and NO prison at all. WHAT???? I think she is just as guilty even if she didn’t actually hit him. I know this man obviously is an abuser so maybe she was afraid he would turn on her but for me that is not an excuse. I have been in an abusive relationship. I understand the fear but there is no way I would have not protected my child. In fact, I probably would have killed the man. Back then my abuser had me brainwashed that I deserved it and in my fogged thinking I thought he would never abuse the kids. When I saw the first sign he did while I was at work, I called a friend and we snuck out with basically what I could wear or carry so I really don’t understand how this woman can stand there and watch..see with her own eyes this man beating her five month old and not do anything. And I don’t understand why she basically gets off Scott free.

On a better note this was all a couple years ago and she just got sentenced finally and in all that time the child is ok and with a safe foster family. She lost custody thank goodness.

What do you think? I would love to hear your opinion. I’m open minded and can appreciate other viewpoints on this.

The Black Vote?

noreply@blogger.com (Connie Whiting -conniewhiting.com) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:30:00 +0000

Well Election day is here and I just finally have to say it. I have heard a few people say that they worry blacks are voting for Obama just because he is black. First of all I think that is a crock. I’m sure there may be some blacks voting just for that reason but the majority have thought through the issues and made a choice based on that. And as for the ones voting for Obama based solely on race so what? I think they have earned that right. People (usually white people) say the past shouldn’t matter but it does matter when your people are the ones that endured it.

I am part Native American. I remember my great grandma who was full blood Cherokee telling me about her family that died on the trail of tears, about how they were taken from their homes, forced to move, forced to stop speaking their language and treated like they were just “filthy Indians” Was I there to experience it? No. Does it still make me hurt? Yes. Because I saw the pain in my grandmothers eyes and she and her experiences connected me to the past.

So again I say so what if blacks vote because they are proud that Obama could be the first black president. I remember seeing as a child the Civil Rights movement. I thank God that I had parents that taught me that ALL people were equal especially in a time when some people were fighting for that equality. I remember seeing the signs when visiting in the South “Colored use back door” I remember riding the Cota buses in Ohio and blacks being given a hard time, a stare, called names if they sat in the front .I remember watching the firemen turn hoses on black protesters and watching rocks being thrown at children who were going to school. So I think that African Americans certainly have earned the right to have a deep pride that a black man is running for president and vote accordingly.

Some will say prejudice is dead. But it is not. It is rearing its head when some remarks are made about this election. It did also when my grandson was born and some friends ended the friendship when they saw he was bi racial and one lady upon seeing him instead of a white baby changed her awwwww tone of voice and said with disgust “what IS he?” It’s alive today when people see us together. Prejudice is here, just not out in the open. Don’t even get me started on how some whites react when my grandson speaks Swahili lol

One last thing that bothers me about all this too...why is it society in general complains there are no good African American male role models but then when a black man accomplishes something he gets told it’s because he got special treatment as an African American?

The whole thing drives me nuts. All I know is that I saw an elderly black man voting today and he was crying because he never thought he would see the day a black man was a candidate. Think about how the world was when this man started his life and how it is now. He has been through it all to get to this point where he can enter that booth for the option of voting when he used to never even be allowed to vote, let alone for a successful African American. It is an amazing thing.

I’m not sure if I got my thoughts out well enough .I just know that while there is still a lot of prejudice to overcome, I am proud of how far we have come and I applaud and encourage the pride African Americans must be feeling. They deserve it.

Hungry Americans

noreply@blogger.com (Connie Whiting -conniewhiting.com) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 02:40:00 +0000

Hey everyone..Just a little reminder .I know things are financially tight if not impossible for some of us. But I would like to encourage everyone to still donate to the food pantries.
Prices are up .Parents are having to make the choice to pay for gas and rent OR buy food.More and more they can't afford both and kids are going hungry. The pantries have been swamped and applications for food stamps according to news reports are heading off the charts. I know the post office food drive just passed, but there are others plus you could call churches in the area.Many have pantries and would greatly appreciate the help.
Some people think pantries help people just for the asking all the time but in reality a person going to a pantry has to show proof of who is in the household and income.That is a good thing .However you are usually only able to go once a month maybe twice and it is a 3 day supply . Many working families do not qualify for stamps even though all their income is paying bills and filling the gas tank to go to work or some have medical expenses. So while the pantries help they certainly cannot feed a family indefinitely which is what some people believe. Combine that with less donations as people tighten their own belts due to economy pantries are running out of even those 3 day supplies and hungry families are turned away.
Another myth about food pantries are they only need help during holiday seasons or the winter. Very untrue because in the summer months children are out of school on summer vacation and the ones that were on reduced or free lunch or breakfast programs lose those meals.Many children in the summer eat once a day and some not even that.
Hunger is still a VERY big problem in our country 12 months a year.
As far as donations ,of course anything is appreciated but in addition to mac and cheese and green beans there are other great choices to donate for health and protein.
Some are..small cans of tuna,ham,chicken, dry beans, peanut butter,powdered eggs,chili, soups,powdered milk etc
Some pantries will take donations of extra garden produce, or even frozen left over slices of pizza.
Some places that have freezers available will take donations of fresh dairy and meat but be sure to check first beforehand to see that they have the means to keep fresh items from spoiling.
To make it easier on your own pocket and still donate,look for markdowns, day olds and sales in the grocery stores or raid your own pantry of things you know you will probably end up not using. Better off going in a hungry tummy then the trash can.Just remember if it's so stale or old that it's not safe for you to eat please don't expect someone else to. You would be surprised by a few people that donate way outdated rusted cans or moldy stuff thinking well if they are hungry enough they can eat anything.That's dangerous not to mention cruel.
I have donated to pantries ever since I was in elementary school. We would have a food drive at Christmas at Parsons Elementary in South Columbus and each child would bring in cans of food to put around a large Christmas tree in the hall. It is one of my favourite memories .I have also had to use pantries and nothing feels better then when your kids are hungry and somebody cares that they eat .
So if possible..please call your local church or human services, boy scouts ,fire dept etc and find out when and where the food drives are happening. Even just one can,jar, box can make a difference in a child getting to eat for a day

The History of Valentine's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Connie Whiting -conniewhiting.com) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 22:13:00 +0000

The History of Valentine's Day

Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day -- and its patron saint -- is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.

According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl -- who may have been his jailor's daughter -- who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial -- which probably occurred around 270 A.D -- others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification.

The boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goathide strips. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because it was believed the strips would make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would then each choose a name out of the urn and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. The Roman 'lottery' system for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February -- Valentine's Day -- should be a day for romance. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. The greeting, which was written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England. Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.

According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)

Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages (written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400), and the oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. The first commercial Valentine's Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap".

Special thanks to American Greetings.

First Jump!

noreply@blogger.com (Connie Whiting -conniewhiting.com) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:52:00 +0000

Hey Everyone! Welcome to my new blog "The Jumping Frog"
I chose that name because That's how I think, My brain jumps from thing to thing to thing just like a frog.
I am likely to blog on all kinds of unrelated topics, some serious, some funny,
some pure opinion and some fact. I hope you will join me!
Oh! I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Connie. Howdy! I live in Ohio and was born
to two of the best hillbilly parents there ever was :) Well at least part hillbilly.
The rest..well I'll let you know when I know lol..Basically I have a little of everything in my family I think.
I'm 47, have a couple of grown daughters, and outgrew a couple of marriages.The marriages ended,the friendships did not.
I also have an adorable grandson who is almost 4 yrs old. An almost 200 lb Saint Bernard and a 7 lb poof ta dog(so called for the way her hair just POOFS) ,She is
half Mexican Chihuahua and half poodle and SCARYYYY looking .Think a exploding furball on skinny legs with beady eyes! But She's loving in spite of it all
I'm a freelance writer .Well That's about it for now.Drop me a comment! Tell me about YOU. I look forward to meeting you all .I hope you hang on through my growing pains here and stick around to read the blogs!
As always!
The Jumping Frog!
"Ribbet"