Boxing Day

Today, the day after Christmas, is the lesser known holiday of Boxing Day.  A British tradition from a long ago time when servants had to work on the Christmas holiday and had the next day off to celebrate and visit with their own families.  The servants would receive a Christmas box from their employers as a present for their service during the year.

Boxing Day was celebrated in the United States until independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776.  Now there are some Boxing Day events at historic locations within the US, and I have found one to go to today where there will be a sale of British goods and foods as well as a tour of a home right near one of the battles for independence.


In trying to think of something to leave for finders on Boxing Day, I thought of the lesser seen $2 bill.  It seems a lesser known holiday could be celebrated with a lesser known bill.  Plus the $2 features Thomas Jefferson who was one of the founding fathers responsible for helping separate the United States from Great Britain and leading to the end of the Boxing Day festivities in the new world. 

Hope the finders can buy themselves a little treat for the holiday.  Perhaps a cup of British tea. 

Annual Ornament Gifts

I have chosen my ornaments for what has become my annual tradition of leaving ornaments for finders.  Regardless of religion, a sparkly ornament can  make a lovely addition to a tree, doorknob, peg board, etc.  May they bring a little joy into the hearts of the finders.

Birdies in the Grass

On a recent weekend in Kansas City I had a whole day to just enjoy the city with no set plans.  I started the day at the free tour at Hallmark Cards.  The museum walked through all the cards, movies, bows and wrapping paper, ornaments, etc. that the company has ever made.  There was also a bow making machine making free souvenirs at the push of a button!

 

Hallmark, a family owned business deeply rooted in the KC community, has been very generous to the community and especially generous to the Nelson-Atkins Museum which as a result has an impressive collection and is always free.  So after meeting up with a dear friend for lunch we went to the museum to wander through the contemporary art wing and then around the grounds.  The museum has an outdoor sculpture park and is known for the birdies on the lawn.

The day had me feeling so good that I left a few gifts around and even snapped a couple pictures after they were dropped off which is a rarity.

 

Joining Social Media

After existing only in the blog world for 5 years, the time has come to join Facebook in order to better connect with followers and gift finders.  Going forward all posts will be on both the blog and Facebook.

If you follow my blog and are on Facebook please like my page.

Riding the Rails

Last week I had to travel from Boston to Philadelphia, and after consideration of driving, flying or riding the rails, I decided the train was the route to go. 

There is something peaceful about riding a train and watching the world go by outside the window.  Although I rode to Philadelphia on a weekday fully booked train, I took a much less crowded train back on a Saturday and found time to read, write emails to friends, work on some art projects, etc. 

While I brought a few magazines to read, I also read the usual seat back staple Amtrak magazine which got me thinking about leaving some messages within the pages for other travelers.  Since I rode until the very last stop, toward the end of my trip I was able to move to many empty seats and leave the below message in several copies of the magazine.

Little Libraries

As a child I remember so enjoying the nightly reading of a book or two with my parents and eventually on my own.  Summer reading contests at my local library where there was a healthy competition to read the most books among my siblings and neighbors were an annual event.

I have continued to love reading into adulthood.  Mysteries tend to fill my shelves now as they help me escape the everyday.  When I have a book with me on a bus or the subway sometimes it can be a conversation starter with another rider or even a co-worker when on my desk at work.

While I probably should use the library more than I do as it would be a savings over the course of the year, I just don't find myself getting there.  I have noticed in my community little free libraries, though and they are so appealing!

The Free Little Library is a non-profit that began in 2009 and now has so many involved.  Participants either buy or build the most adorable little boxes that they then fill with books.  Community members can walk by and both take and leave books.  All of this is free!

I was driving home from the grocery store this week and noticed yet another new such library in my community.  I am going to leave bookmarks in a few boxes near by as I think the types of individuals who are likely to participate are also those likely to enjoy a random kindness from the Undercover Ladybug.

Colorful Moon

Tonight there will be a rare Blood Moon in the night sky.  It is a supermoon lunar eclipse and the sky in my area is predicted to be clear allowing for an amazing view.  Yet another colorful natural occurrence in the fall to match the changing leaves.  All the fields are also turning brown as corn stalks give way to corn mazes. 


Like every season of the year, the fall is a great time to be creative and artistic making Halloween costumes, carving pumpkins, planting mums, etc.  How about some sidewalk or driveway drawing?  :)

The Key to Happiness

For the last couple years now I have seen antique keys used as decorations on walls in many furniture catalogs and on home design television shows.  Sometimes arranged above a desk or a bed in different sizes and colors, I find them so intriguing. 


Even though I know the keys of today are just made to look old while not actually being old, my mind always wanders as if they are in fact old, and I wonder about the people that owned them and the places they opened.  Was it the key to a backyard workshop, cabin in the woods, or home worked tirelessly to afford?  Do they represent happiness worked for and achieved?


Just yesterday, I was at Antique Anthropology in Nashville, TN and found a basket full of old photos and similarly stood in the store flipping through them all.  Looking at the faces, I saw well dressed men and women from a time when having your photo taken was an event and not an hourly occurrence done simply by sticking your arm out.  I wondered about their lives and how a once treasured family keepsake ended up in a store for $3 each.  Hopefully each of them found happiness in life.

Desert Heat

This week I am in 108 degree Phoenix, Arizona.  I know they say it is a "dry" heat versus the more muggy weather in other areas of the country but the fact is it is still very hot!!  My time outside has been limited in the heat of the day but I do enjoy seeing some of the desert landscape as the cactus plants are beautiful, and it is so different from what I am used to at home.

Pools are abundant and offer relief to warm and weary folks.  I have not been swimming yet but I have been using my sunblock and staying in every bit of shade I can find.



The challenge of putting on the sunblock for me though is always having streaks of it that I have missed and not rubbed in enough on my face.  I tend to realize it when a stranger gives me a second glance.  Thus it is helpful to have a small mirror in my bag to address the issue.  I have a few extras for others.

Outdoor Living

This time of year it is so lovely that the outdoors becomes an extension of the living room.  The flowers are in bloom with beautiful pops of color everywhere.  It is so easy to sit outside for hours and read, take photos, chat with friends, eat dinner, etc.

There are also the endless hours one can spend in a pool, lake or the ocean. The cool water creating relief from the warmth of the sun. Pick up a rock and you can search for snails, clams, and other water life.

When I finish swimming in my favorite lake there is nothing better than lounging around and drying in the sun before hanging my towel out in the sun so it is ready the next time I need it. 

Clothes seem to smell different and more fresh when they have dried off in the sun with the breeze blowing around them. I can understand why some people like to hang clothes out on a clothesline to dry. 

I have a few scent packets to be hung in a closet to make everything smell like fresh linen. Hope the finders enjoy!

No Showers but Spring Flowers

It is hard to believe after such a snowy winter that it has been extraordinarily dry this spring.  The weather forecasters are reporting on how little rain there has been and the impact the dry air has been having on those with allergies since the rain is not there to wash the pollen out of the air. 

It is pleasing though to see all the daffodils and tulips blooming in bright colors and ushering in the spring.  Flowers have a way of bringing a smile and improving a day. I have some flowers to leave for others to brighten their day.  

Balloon Animals in the Park

This winter has been soooo long and I have spent so evenings and weekend days inside out of the wind and the cold.  I have always been and remain a lover of the four seasons and a good snow storm in the winter, but this relentless winter tested that love.


On the bright side the weather provided me with many hours inside to craft, read, cook, and pursue other passions that fall to the wayside when the warmer weather beckons me outside.
I have completed several cross stitch projects and am currently working on finishing up a pile of circus animals.

Blue Apron boxes and the goodies inside teaching me to be a bettered than average home cook have become something I look forward to every Friday. Unpacking and seeing what I will cook, learning about interesting ingredients and time and again being amazed at the final product I produce. 

I must also admit that I am not always productive and can find myself binge watching House of Cards on Netflix.  

However the sun is out for longer periods now and just last week as I walked through a public garden I saw a street vendor making balloon animals for children which seemed a sure sign of spring. 

So I have some little kits to grow grass on a kitchen counter or office desk.  Soon the grass outside will be green and parks will be littered with families playing and couples enjoying a picnic.  A little plant can remind us that after a difficult winter summer is almost here.

Snow and Patience!

After a month of having trouble with the photo upload features of Blogger I am back!

Over the past three weeks my town has had more than 6 feet of snow accumulation.  With one storm after another it seems to just keep piling up.  The street signs now just stick out of the very top of high snow piles and just getting around is a challenge.

The streets are narrow with parking spaces fully covered leaving people parking in what are normally travel lanes and reducing the amount of actual space for travel.  People are trying to walk across streets and drivers have trouble seeing them as they pop out from behind snowbanks.  With schools out, travel impaired, work days missed, cold temperatures and sore muscles from shoveling much patience is needed.

This is the type of living conditions when just an extra smile or kindness can really lift the mood of another.  So with Valentine's Day just passed I have some smiling heart sticker sheets.  Maybe the finders will add them to a child's lunchbox, decorate a bulletin board at work, or stick them on by one on a newspaper or window to make someone smile!

Paramedics

My first real experience in following a blog started a few years ago when I became addicted to reading the postings of a Boston paramedic who wrote eloquent short stories about his twenty plus years of experience as an urban paramedic.  His writing not only interested me in blogs in general and the greater community they can connect you to, but also enlightened me to the dangers and experiences of being a paramedic. 

Sad to say he has now pulled down all his posts and indicated he will be publishing a book, but I have not yet seen it.  :(   

It takes a special kind of person to run toward danger and walk into unknown homes.  Since the Urban Paramedic's blog is no longer active, I now follow a couple other posting related to Boston paramedics. 

Today I saw a GoFundMe page for one such paramedic struggling to care for his terminally ill wife (also a paramedic).  I have never donated to such a cause but felt drawn to this one.  http://www.gofundme.com/k0me44.  The Undercover Ladybug wishes Kenny and Drew McCarron some peace and relief through this trying time.

Happy New Year

Another year of Undercover Ladybug kindness begins!  Welcome 2015.  I will be in 7 states in the next 5 days and plan to be leaving presents along the way.  I am going to try something new this time and post the items I leave after I leave them with photos of them where they were left for their finders. 

I have a full bag of gifts that I am taking with me for the travels through Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Kansas so stay tuned!