Category: Holidays

Mother’s Day

Published on by Kathy CherryLeave a comment

“It is the custom of every good mother after her children are asleep to rummage in their minds and put things straight for next morning, repacking into their proper places the many articles that have wandered during the day. If you could keep awake (but of course you can’t) you would see your own mother doing this, and you would find it very interesting to watch her. It is quite like tidying up drawers. You would see her on her knees, I expect, lingering humorously over some of your contents, wondering where on earth you had picked this thing up, making discoveries sweet and not so sweet, pressing this to her cheek as if it were as nice as a kitten, and hurriedly stowing that out of sight. When you wake in the morning, the naughtinesses and evil passions with which you went to bed have been folded up small and placed at the bottom of your mind; and on the top, beautifully aired, are spread out prettier thoughts, ready for you to put on.”
― J. M. Barrie, The Adventures of Peter Pan

Mothers exist all over children’s literature as well quotes about them. Enjoy this one particular quote above from The Adventures of Peter Pan to celebrate this Scottish author’s birthday on Tuesday.

Cheers to all the moms out there today! Hopefully you get some time to read a great book today! 🙂 Happy Mother’s Day!

National Park Fan Goodies

Published on by Kathy CherryLeave a comment

National parks visitor numbers continue to rise as more people discover our nation’s great treasures.  Since National Park Week starts on Saturday, I wanted to share some unique gifts for all the national parks fans in your lives for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthdays, or even for yourself.

Enjoy some unique ideas for your friends and families who love the national parks suited for a variety of ages and at reasonable prices:  

1. Yahtzee: National Parks Edition game

It’s just like the original Yahtzee game, but has unique, colorful dice and a barrel-themed cup. A portion of the proceeds for this game benefit the National Parks Foundation.

2.  Uncommon Ground’s Redwood & Saguaro Crystal Growing Kit

Kids will love this science fun of crystals forming on paper in this cool kit.

3. Turtle Tube: An Erutuf National Park Novel by Kathy Arnold Cherry

In this first children’s book in the series, siblings Reese and Dean’s wild adventure at Erutuf National Park is sure to expand the reader’s imagination and, likely, a curiosity about animals and the world through a magical national park.

4. Rumpl National Parks Blankets

Instead of giving boring blanket, add some splash with one of these awesome national parks blankets. I have the Yellowstone one and love it!

5. Park Project’s National Parks Candles

Why not bring the scent of a certain national park to someone’s home? Give the unique scents of redwoods or lodgepole pines to a friend or family to enjoy.

Enjoy some national park goodies for yourself or a loved one! Happy early National Park Week!

Happy New Year!

Published on by Kathy Cherry2 Comments

As 2022 comes to a close, I am so very grateful for many things! I really appreciate your support for my writing and book and also really appreciate you following this blog. Thank you!

Happy New Year! Cheers to finding your magic in 2023!

Juneteenth

Published on by Kathy CherryLeave a comment

Happy Juneteenth National Independence Day!

Today celebrates the date of June 19, 1865, when enslaved people of African descent located in Galveston, Texas, finally learned of their freedom from the slavery system in the United States.

While the Emancipation Proclamation granted freedom and was signed on January 1, 1863, by President Abraham Lincoln. Texas was the farthest of the Confederate states, and slaveholders there made no attempt to free the enslaved African Americans they held in bondage. President Lincoln’s proclamation was unenforceable without military intervention, which eventually came nearly two and a half years later.

Juneteenth is an important date on the timeline of slavery history in the United States and now a federal holiday just signed into law last year.

Take a moment today and reflect on the importance of this holiday.

“Sheer brilliance….An empowering, transformative read. Bravo.”—Jewell Parker Rhodes, New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Boys

Arthur Weasley

Published on by Kathy CherryLeave a comment

“Bless them, normal people will go to any lengths to ignore magic, even if it’s staring them in the face.”
— Arthur Weasley, Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets

In a group of great fathers in literature, you have to think about Arthur Weasley from The Harry Potter Series.

Arthur truly loves his family and takes on Harry like his own child. He’s a great family guy and also a hard worker. I love his curiosity and awe of the world that he demonstrates to his children.

🙂

Cheers to all the dad out there today! Hopefully you get some time to read a great book today!

Flag Day

Published on by Kathy CherryLeave a comment

Happy Flag Day! This holiday commemorates the date in 1777 when the United States approved the design for its first national flag.

Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone National Park

Did you know that the designer of our current flag was a 17-year-old Boy Scout named Robert Heft? What grade do you think he received for this look? A grade of B-minus. His Ohio teacher said the design was unoriginal, but offered to raise it to an A if the design was accepted nationally. So, the boy wrote to his congressman and the rest is history. And yes, he ended up with an A.

Happy Flag Day! 🇺🇸

Jólabókaflóðið

Published on by Kathy CherryLeave a comment

It’s almost time for Jólabókaflóðið! If you’re not familiar with it, Jólabókaflóðið roughly translates to Christmas book flood. It refers to the tradition in Iceland of exchanging books on Christmas Eve. This tradition makes books the most popular gift for Christmas in this country.

If you’re looking for a new holiday tradition, you can start a book gift exchange tomorrow and then every December 24th. You don’t have to exchange Icelandic books in order to do your own version of Jólabókaflóðið. Any book will do!

Happy Jólabókaflóðið! And happy reading!