Thu - 1 Jan/15

Wow! Where did 2014 go?

TEMPUS FUGIT! No - this is not an expression of contempt for the cold temperature which would seem fitting since the Rose Parade will be held in record low's temperatures and snow (no, not drugs; but real, natural, falling snow) was seen on the Las Vegas Strip for New Year's Eve!

Tempus Fugit comes to us from the "Dead Language";  Latin. It means "Time Flies". This past year has certainly flown by. 2014 is now "Dead as a Doornail". This is a saying much older than the Bard himself.

Shakespeare did; however popularize it in (Henry VI - Part 2). Later, Charles Dickens, In "A Christmas Carol" wrote:

Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.
Mind! I don’t mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade.

Thus, the sayings origin, whereby tradesmen strengthen doors by hammering large nails all the way through then “clenching.” the nail by bending it flat on the other side. This not only rendered the nail difficult to remove, it made it difficult to use again if removed. The bent nail was commonly called “dead”. This expression came to mean anything that couldn't be used again.

2014, like time itself, cannot be used again. But; I digress. Back to the "Present".

Yesterday is the Past; Tomorrow is the Future. Today, as long as we can bear witness to it, is truly a "Present" (from God).

The first "Present" present (grin) for the New Year was Charlotte preparing a tasty breakfast. She has truly mastered the art of multitasking as she fried eggs, cooked bacon, heated up "Hash Browns", made both white and whole wheat toast and poured juice all while I completed yesterday's blog.

Yummy! What a great way to start the New Year.

Next up was watching the Rose Parade - a New Year's Day tradition. My vote was for the Zappos Pink Hippo float by Paradiso Parade Floats which won two major awards, The Grand Marshal's Trophy for the Singpoli float, and the Animation Award for the Zappos.com float. Dozens of helium balloons floated into the air each time the Pink Hippo opened it's mouth - really a cute idea.

Charlotte always enjoyed the song: "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas" - seeing this "Float" is as close as it will get for this year. Last year we were even closer (physically). A photographer was discourage waiting to get an "Action" picture of "Lu" the Homosassa Springs hippo. I did my best "Wild Hippo Call" and sure enough he opened up wide. Unfortunately, there were no helium balloons that flew into the sky. (grin)
 

Next on the TV agenda was the NHL Winter Classic (Outdoor Hockey Game) featuring the Chicago Black Hawks vs the Washington Capitols. The rink was set up in the Nationals (Baseball) Park in Washington, DC. We thought we had nose-bleed seats when we went to the Ottawa Senators hockey games, I doubt if even the closest seats could see the puck as the "dots" moved around the ice surface. It was a great game with Washington winning 3-2. They scored the game winning goal with only 12 seconds left on the clock.

This great game helped pass the time as we anxiously waited for news of Marty's semi-final hockey game. WOW! Another shutout for Marty!. They will "Go for Gold" at 8 am tomorrow at the CTC (Canadian Tire Center - Home of the Ottawa Senators). Update tomorrow!

The weather is a repeat of yesterday. Overcast, low 70's F with little chance of rain despite the high humidity. We will just relax in the RV today. It will be an "RV 2 TV" day. Charlotte "channel surfed" on one as I watched the Winter Classic Hockey game on the other.

This was followed by my trying to choose between the five "Bowl Games". (Citrus, Cotton, Outback, Rose and Sugar Bowls) as I "Chip and Dipped" my way through the evening.