Right now

Cat's Eye Nebula NGC 6543

Credit: NASA, ESA, HEIC, and
The Hubble Heritage Team
(STScI/AURA)

My dad died a few months ago. I've been sad. My energy levels are low. Every now and then, just when I need it most, a small miracle occurs. I got one tonight. Look at the stunning, calming, renewing gift that popped on my screen moments ago. If you need to be reminded of vitality, joy and goodness, you'll like this.

That's a fact.

Daily Tip:

If someone you know loses someone they love, next time you see them, deflate the elephant in the room with a simple acknowledgement of their suffering: "I'm sorry for your loss."

No wonder the ancients worshipped the sun

This looks like pure life, churning. It's an image of a tiny piece of the sun--no bigger than a planet. Look at the cell-like structures, and the black hole. Without the sun, there would be no life as we know it on Earth.

That's a fact.

NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day, November 14, 2002
Credit: SST, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

Daily Tip:

Be amazed.

Start all over

Every now and then, your senses get so filled with something, it takes your breath away. This vid of Tracy Chapman did that for me today. Depth of music, depth of message, lightness of being, lightness of sound, incredibly beautiful image after incredibly beautiful image until I'm breathless still, as I type this, moments later.

YouTube video by chapmanfan
Visit Tracy Chapman

That's a fact.
Enjoy.

Daily Tip:

Who haven't you spoken to in a while who deserves your heartfelt gratitude? Tell them right now. Turn away from the computer and tell 'em. Call 'em up. Write a letter. Say it. Thank you.

As I say a big thank you to Sugar, who posted this vid on her Gratitude Squidoo lens, and to you for reading this.

Half a Century of flying fun

The Frisbee turns fifty today and to celebrate that icon of counterculture, join me in this hilarious summer camp romp of city kids chasing the flying saucer, dubbed Pluto's Platter at its debut in 1957. It's well worth watchin', right down to the last glub-glub.

That's a fact.

YouTube video by stevejb68

DAILY TIP:

How many Sunday afternoons are left in your life? Get out there and enjoy this one while you have the chance.

Hallelujah

My thanks to Maarten Copini on Squidoo for pointing the way to this gorgeous vid of Leonard Cohen singing this classic. The singin' says it all, folks.

That's a fact.

YouTube Leonard Cohen Hallelujah by Duncster

Daily Tip:

Take time to listen to some good vibes before you sleep tonight. There's nothin' like a lullabye, however you like yours.

Hope in the aftermath of madness

Yesterday, 23-year-old college senior Cho Seung-Hui killed thirty-two people in Virginia. He was angry. He hated the world and his place in it.

I think of the families coping with the horror of the news, their eyes wild, hearts pounding almost to bursting. I think of the impossibility of their loss. How, surely, it can't be. She's coming home this weekend. I kissed him goodby an hour ago.

I think of the suffering, suffering that time--a very, very long time--may mitigate but never erase.

If there can be no understanding, can there be hope? Hope that every mother's child can feel loved, so loved that never again will there be so much hurt they must destroy themselves and a host of others. Hope of a better way.

I turn for hope to the woman whose words and mein, wisdom and spirit so often give succor in unspeakable moments. I turn to my personal beacon: Alice Walker.

Here, in this video by LillGandhi, Alice Walker shows us hope--and a way out of the madness. Her subject is broader than a lone gunman emptying his rage as he empties his gun, but the topic is the same: human beings killing human beings.

The hope is this: We--you and I--can be part of the solution. It is up to us. As Walker says in the title of her latest book, We are the ones we have been waiting for.

That's a fact.

Daily Tip:

If you want to make peace in your life ...
If you want peace in the world ...
If you want to begin now to build a world where every child is so loved that killing is not a part of her or his vocabulary ...
Go to PEACE X PEACE, find your way, and begin.

Spring!

Image copyright graceonline 2007.
All rights reserved.
Used with permission.

That's a fact.

Daily Tip:

Get out there and enjoy it. Now! Then come back here and tell the world what you love most about spring.

Awe and wonder

Dusty environs of Eta Carinae, second largest star in Earth's night sky

Image credit: NASA

Maybe you, like Giddy, are old enough to remember, long before anyone rocketed to the moon and back, lookin' up at the sky and seein' the first two bright stars pop up as the twilight rolled across the landscape.

Maybe you stood under those stars, your little heart beatin' faster and faster, so it felt like it was swellin' up enough to burst, and all you wanted in all the world in that moment was to reach up and be able to touch them, maybe even sit on one, or gather some and put 'em in your pocket.

In our lifetimes, we saw pointy, narrow-winged jets fly high overhead, and heard their sonic booms for the first time, felt them rattle our teeth. We watched Neil Armstrong step down onto the surface of the moon from a live television feed that took, what was it, seven minutes? to reach the earth. We heard him speak those much debated words: That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.

Some of us felt a teeny-weeny excluded in that statement, as we had since wee ones learnin' the language while tuggin' on our mother's skirts. "Mommy, why can't I say, wimmin. The men get to say men when they mean wimmin and men. Why can't I say wimmin when I mean men and wimmin? (It sounded like wimmin back then, at age four, before I learned the proper spelling.)

Still, that fuzzy image of Armstrong droppin' down the ladder onto lunar soil turned the heart swollen and pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat all over again. Maybe, despite what Mr. Gladstone said in seventh grade, just maybe, I could go to the moon one day.

That isn't too likely to happen now, but it is quite possible that my granddaughter might.

That's a delicious fact.

Daily Tip:

Surprise yourself one night this weekend. Glance to the stars. See if you can get a twinge of the old awe and wonder. Feel the goodness in your own heart. Give gratitude for all that you have, all that you are, all that you might still become. Give gratitude for life itself and for its persistence in the face of every conceivable challenge. Breathe deeply. Inhale. Know that you are alive, and be grateful for this moment. And if you're lucky enough to have family, next time you see them, give gratitude to them just for being.

Down? Take charge! Yes, you.

Image copyright 2007. All rights reserved.

When you're really feelin' low ... Pick yourself up and make your day.

Writer, blogger, Squidooer, Maryan Pelland tells us how with 21 Ways to Improve Your Day. Here are three to whet your appetite, then follow the link to the rest.

Sing at the top of your lungs for five minutes by the clock. Don’t worry about neighbors, they need a mood lifter, too.

Walk a dog or play with a puppy. Try to emulate how they express emotion. No, really. No one will see.

Finger paint. (Really!) Make a mess. Get real sloppy, enjoy the feel. Then clean it all up and hang your masterpiece in a conspicuous place.

That last one is Giddy's personal favorite, 'cause finger paintin' can get you laughin' like a four-year-old in nothin' flat.

That's a fact.

Daily Tip:

Keep a link to Pelland's list on your desktop at work and at home and take one as needed.

What do you do when you're down? Share your secrets to turnin' a dreary day around. Post 'em in the comments below.

Let all eyes rest, let all hearts beat softly, let all hands be still

For just a moment ...

reflect on the beauty of this image. In all her life, Giddy has seen no sky like this.

That's a fact.

To see a larger version of the image, assemble this quick, 6-piece puzzle. Unless, of course, you're into online games. Then pick a cut with more pieces and have at it.

Midnight Sun Jigsaw Puzzle

Daily Tip:

It's so easy to be too busy to stop and really see the face of your loved one when you both get home at night. Take time to look on the face of love. It's still there, especially when you show your own.

Sometimes you just gotta laugh

Folks, Giddy laughed so hard when she saw this little video she almost fell off her chair.

That's a fact.

"Star Trek Meets Monty Python" posted on YouTube by StarshipConductor.

Thanks to Margaret Schaut at Eccentricity for sharing her favorite vid.

Thanks, too, Margaret, for reviewing Giddy Gabby's Random Facts and Daily Tips on your blog, Squidoo Web Companions.

Daily Tip:

Today's tip has to be three:

1. Laugh. It clears the sinuses, expands the lungs, and makes you happy. It can clear the air, too.
2. Give gratitude for every good thing in your life, and to the people, like Margaret, who make it better.
3. Treat yourself to a feast of delightful and informative web sites, blogs, and Squidoo lenses by Margaret. She has a truly amazing and prolific array of good things to read, see and do. Plus, she may be one of the foremost purveyors of Amish furnishings you'll find.

Jelly wonder

Take a moment from your day and watch this short, short video of the spotted comb jellyfish. It's rippling neon lights will amaze you.

That's a fact.

Posted on YouTube by pslee47

Daily Tip:

Want more? Visit Aquaken's Squidoo lens, Jellyfish: Beauty with a Bite, then come back here and post a comment about something you learned.

The 100-Mile Diet

Have you heard about the 100-Mile Diet?

The idea is that you can eat healthier, save vast resources, help prevent global warming, and preserve native fruit and vegetable seeds, sometimes known as heirloom seeds, all by eating food grown within one-hundred miles of your mouth.

One-Hundred Mile dieters Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon say:

When the average North American sits down to eat, each ingredient has typically traveled at least 1,500 miles from farm to plate. That's a total disconnection from where our food is coming from. What would it be like to eat locally for one year? We drew a 100-mile circle around our home in Vancouver, Canada. The 100-Mile Diet was born.

Read more about their experience and how you can begin eating food grown closer to home.

Daily Tip:

Some folks, like Smith and MacKinnon, like to dive right in. If you're like me, you like to get wet gradually. Take it slow. Follow the guidelines, and find someone who is as interested in the project as you are.

The Gabby household began by subscribing to an organic food home delivery service. Gradually, we've increased the number of foods we purchase that are grown by local farmers. We're not giving up our coffee or our bananas yet, but we do buy fairly traded coffee and organically-grown exotic fruits.

We're about up to our knees now, and the water is warm. We think we'll jump in the deep end soon. Will you join us? Let's talk!

Let it in, let it out

Kleenex brand tissues has a commercial called "Let it Out." A guy is sitting in a chair on a busy sidewalk. Next to him is a couch and a table with a box of tissues. He's there to listen.

Ordinary people flash across the screen, pourin' their hearts out to the guy. Some cry. Some laugh. It's a feel-good minute, and you almost forget it's a commercial.



Everyone wants to be heard.

That's a fact.

Daily Tip:

Take time to listen today. Someone needs to know you care. If you need to, set a time limit for yourself, and let the person know you have to go in five minutes. This is about giving, not martyrdom. When the time comes, thank the person for sharing and depart graciously.

Check how you feel. Pay attention to that. You'll learn something about yourself.

If you have time, come back here and tell us what happened, how you felt, and what you learned.

Who needs petroleum when we've got McDonald's?

According to The Consumerist, french fry oil is cheaper than ethanol, if you want to stop burning fossil fuel in your car. The cheapest alternative right now, he says, is electricity, followed by compressed natural gas. But hey, look at these folks who are usin' french fry oil in their vehicles.

Greasecar Vegetable Fuel Systems has a cool animation that shows how it works.

That's a fact.

Daily Tip:

We tend to think we have no alternative to pumping gasoline, but so many tested and in-use alternatives abound, we might as well sit down and begin exploring them. So today's tip is: Google "alternative fuels" and spend twenty minutes learning something new. When you're done, come back here and tell the rest of us something you didn't know half an hour ago.

Blue Sun

Last fall, NASA launched its STEREO orbiters so they can get 3-D pics of the sun.

Image credit: NASA

Remember the old stereo opticals your grandparents (great grandparents) had lying about the house? You put a card in the viewer. The card had two apparently identical images. When you held the viewer up to your eyes, the image came alive in 3-D. You could almost feel the spray from Niagra Falls.

That's what NASA is doing with STEREO, which means Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatories.

Two of them spin around the sun, and they're taking pictures like mad, like this one. See the loops? That's pure energy, exploding and sending all kinds of fantastic stuff blasting through space.

Sometime in April, we'll start seeing the actual 3-D images.

That's a fact.

Daily tip:

No matter how bad things get, and it's been a rough few weeks in the Gabby household, you can always find a calm spot with the ten-minute meditation. I've mentioned it before, but it's been so useful the past few weeks, I figured it wouldn't hurt to throw it out there again. Breathe, folks, breathe! It'll calm you down, help you find answers when there don't seem to be any. It will make a difference.

Get organized!

One thing about the holidays, they sure do point out how organized we are. Or not. Giddy Gabby falls about midway on the scale of organization, too lazy to be totally disorganized--it's too much work to hunt for every little thing all of the time--and too lazy to by a total neat freak. Who wants to spend all their time tidying up?

The solution to good organization is to figure out what is draining your time and energy and tackle just that. If the rest isn't bothering you all that much, let it go. If more than one area is screaming at you, start with just one. Success in one area will motivate you to tackle the others.

That's a fact.

Daily Tip:

Step 1 in getting organized: Take stock. What is the single most troublesome area in your life right now?

Step 2: Block everything else from your mind for a few minutes and visualize what you want this area to look like.

Step 3: With your vision firmly in mind, list the tools you need to tame the clutter (it is a beast, isn't it?) and create a functional space that is a delight to enter. If it's a workspace, be sure to take your habits into account. If that beautiful lidded basket is difficult to open and close, you are unlikely to drop your mail in it everyday.

Step 4: Plan for your needs. Of course, if the workspace is shared, you will need to collaborate with those who use the space. It's much easier to accomplish a cleanup task when all the owners buy in to the benefits and to the solutions.

Step 5: Before you shop for storage bins, racks, and boxes, browse the websites of stores that carry tools of the trade. You'll save money if you plan your trip before you go and limit yourself to purchasing only what's on your list. Better yet, check out Giddy Gabby's picks for home office and craft center, kitchen, and closet. Plus, she's already found some great buys on holiday decor storage.

Step 6: In addition to your snazzy new organizers, before you tackle the first job, gather tools you may need, such as:

• A box for recycling (if your city requires you to separate your recycled items, save time at the end for sorting)
• A box for things you want to give away--to charity, to the "Found Items" box at the office, or to someone you think will love them (plan a date and time for delivering these items)
• A garbage sack for everything that can't be recycled or given away
• A box for things you have not used in a year or more but can't bear to throw away
• Scissors
• Box-sealing tape
• Post it notes
• Black or red marker
• Pen
• Stapler & staples
• Binder clips
• Envelopes, note paper & address book for those little items you want to send away
• Notepad

Step 7: Re-organizing your stuff will be a lot easier if you take it in small chunks. Give yourself a time limit, say fifteen minutes and no more than two hours max, and stick to it. Don't make a bigger mess than you can sort, put away, and clean up in that time.

Step 7: Dive in. Sort first, and make generous use of the boxes and trash bag.

Hint: Be ruthless with anything you don't routinely use or that you do not enjoy using. If you love it, it gives you pleasure, and it is useful or a thing of beauty, keep it. If it doesn't fit at least two of those, pitch it.

Step 8: When you're finished, seal the box of things you just can't bear to let go of yet. Use the marker to write today's date on it. Don't bother noting what it's in it. If it's important, you'll remember. Tuck the box away in the back of the attic or basement and mark your calender for a year from now. On that date, find the box. If you haven't opened it all year, or if you can't remember what's in it, pitch it. Don't even bother to open it. If you think there is something of value to someone, give it to Goodwill.

Giddy would love to hear what you are planning to reorganize. What's cluttering up your life?

Today is the first day of Kwanzaa

All over the world today, people of African heritage begin the seven-day celebration of culture, family, and community.

Seven principles guide the celebrants. As outlined by Kwanzaa founder, Dr. Maulana Karenga on the official Kwanzaa web site, they are:

1. Umoja (Unity) To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.
2. Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.
3. Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) To build and maintain our community together and make our brother's and sister's problems our problems and to solve them together.
4. Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.
5. Nia (Purpose) To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
6. Kuumba (Creativity) To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
7. Imani (Faith) To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

The official Kwanzaa colors are red, green, and black.

That's a fact.

Daily Tip:

Kwanzaa is a controversial holiday. Not all people of African heritage celebrate it, but for those who do it is a time to give gratitude and to honor customs ancient and new. Whatever rings your bells this season may you, too, be blessed with joy and gratitude.

Christmas

It is Christmas Eve. All over the world tonight and tomorrow, Christians celebrate the birth of Christ, whose name is the root of both Christmas and Christian.

But it is not only Christians who celebrate this day, for the holiday is filled with solstice symbols and activities from many cultures. From the ways we decorate our homes with colored lights and candles, to the trees we adorn inside and out, to the fatty pastries and sumptuous feasting we offer to friends and family, we draw on traditions from cultures ancient and modern.

Chief among our Christmas traditions is giving. Generously, we give to charities, to those we love, and quite often at this special time of year, to complete strangers whose need touches our hearts.

While giving is symbolic in many solstice celebrations, Christmas giving stems from the gifts of the magi to the Baby Jesus, the child who would become both Prince of Peace and King of Kings. His mission was to redeem us from wickedness and bring peace at last to earth. More, his very presence in human form on earth was a sacrificial gift of his father to the world.

In honor of the gifts of the father god and the gifts of the magi, Christians as well as folks of other faiths, caught in the spirit of generosity, go into a frenzy of buying and giving, culminating in a rush of present opening on Christmas Eve and again on Christmas morning.

That's a fact.

Daily Tip:

Receive graciously.

And before you go, enjoy this Christmas treat from YouTube subscriber vert46. Enjoy.

Zot Chanukah--This is Chanukah

Last night, people all over the world who celebrate Hannukah lit the eighth and last candle on the menorah. The celebration of the Festival of Lights we call variously Hannukah and Chanukah ends today at sundown.

Today is the only day of the festival that has its own name: Zot Chanukah, which means "This is Chanukah." According to Chabad Magazine, the Hebrew word Chanukah is an acronym. It stands for the sentence, "Chet Neirot Vhalachah Kveit Hillel -- Eight lights, and the law follows the House of Hillel." (Read more about it in their article "Accumulating Lights".)

That's a fact.

Daily Tip:

Teach your children about Jewish customs and have fun in the kitchen with this
great latke recipe just for kids.

Shalom Aleichem
(Peace upon you)

Winter Solstice 2006

Yesterday and today, people who live in the northern hemisphere are celebrating the Winter Solstice, the most ancient of all our December holiday traditions. Did you know our Christmas tree, Yule log, holly berries, and candles were all used in winter celebrations long before the birth of Christ?

Learn more in this beautiful holiday video.

Every year, Druids congregate at Stonehenge to celebrate the solstice and the rebirth of the Sun God. Here they are at this year's celebration.



In the southern hemisphere, the celebrations are for the Summer Solstice. (If anyone in the southern hemisphere can point me to a website that puts your solstice first, please tell me so in the comments.)

Want more? Check out this site on solstice and winter holiday lore. You'll also find some gorgeous artwork there.

That's a fact.

Daily Tip:

However you celebrate this season, take time out from the hustle and bustle and
take a walk outside with someone you love.

May you be ever blessed.

Dreidel fun

Today is the fifth day of Hannukah. This evening, because the Jewish day begins at sunset, Jews everywhere will light six candles. During the eight-day celebration of Hannukah, children receive presents, which usually include a four-sided spinning top called a dreidel.

Like menorahs, dreidels come in every imaginable style, color, and size. Besides their four sides, they have in common four Hebrew letters, one to each side.

The Hebrew letters represent the words Nes Gadol Haya Sham, which means, "A great miracle happened there." This refers to the miracle of the small cruz of oil which lit the temple for eight days, the eight days celebrated during Hannukah.

Image courtesy Mezuzah Store

Daily Tip:

Have fun! Play the ancient dreidel game. Then come back here and let us all know how you liked it. What did you learn while playing this game?

Miracles, Menorah, blessings and ... latkes, mmmmm

Today is the second day of Hanukkah (also known as Chanukah). At the end of the Shabbat (Sabbath), Jews all over the world will light two Menorah candles, recite special prayers and blessings, and eat latkes and sugar or jelly donuts.

Folks light an additional candle each evening as part of the eight-day celebration of miracles and gratitude for the recovery of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem from the Greeks more than two thousand years ago.

Olive oil used to light the temple is a key ingredient in the miracles, and so a key ingredient in the foods eaten at this special time. Latkes and donuts are cooked with the oil and oh so good.

That's a fact.

Image courtesy Mezuzah Store

Daily tip:

However you celebrate this time of year, be it Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Winter Solstice, or any of the myriad winter festivals, take time to breathe.

Stop and notice the wonders of our natural world, its infinite diversity. Is it any wonder the Creator extended that diversity to humankind? How wonderful our differences! (How wonderful the ways we are the same.) How delicious and curious and beautiful our diverse ways to express our beliefs and to celebrate life so precious!

This season, especially, enjoy your family, your community, your friends. Give gratitude for your blessings. If you can spare a moment, take time to learn about the ways of your neighbors. We are all children of the Earth.

Just imagine

Sometimes someone somewhere opens their heart and gives what is theirs to give. Ilana Yahav gives us this. Her talent is amazing. Your heart will be blessed.



That's a fact.

Daily Tip:

Trust your gifts. Whatever is yours to give, let it loose today. Give freely.
Love freely.

Smile diary II

So I'm crossin' the street, shaking my shoulders loose of the job, cool breeze on my face, and I'm smilin' that Mona Lisa smile.

The street is packed solid. People hurrying, head down, a lot of 'em.

Then there's this woman. Blonde, the expensive kind, Financial District cut, grey suit, pumps, and a Mona Lisa smile of her own. We make split-second eye contact, a knowing look from her, like maybe we people who smile got somethin'.

Immediately behind her, another woman, dark hair, long wool skirt over sturdy, expensive but well-worn boots, hips sashayin. She's smilin'. Her eyes have that look of somethin' else on her mind, aimin' their gaze toward the sunshine draping itself between the canyon walls of our street.

And there, before I quite touch the curb on the other side, a man with hair more salt than pepper, pressed trousers and an open-collared, plaid shirt, smiles gently, too, and looks right at me.

Three smiles in the seconds it takes to cross the street, and my heart quavers. How is it possible that happiness on the face of strangers provides pleasure like this? Gabby is giddy with quiet joy.

That's a fact.

Daily Tip:

Keep smilin'. Pay attention to what comes of it.

Won't you post a comment before you leave? Tell us all what you think.

And may you receive, again, every single day, as many smiles as you give.

The evolution of dance

Dance is fun(ny)



Judson Laipply is a comedian and inspirational speaker who did this little dance number at the end of his spiel on the high school/college circuit. He isn't famous--yet--for anything he's sayin', but his Evolution of Dance video is the #1 All-Time Most Viewed on YouTube.

That's a fact.

Daily Tip:

It's Friday! Go out and dance!

Water on Mars today?

Space freaks are agog. For the first time, NASA has strong evidence of water flowing on Mars right now.

That's not an ancient rock painting in the image to the left. It's a gully on Mars. NASA is pretty sure that flowing water eroded the gully in this crater wall. What's more, they have photos to prove the gully wasn't there in 1999.

See the side-by-side images below? What you can't see in this thumbnail are the dates. The one on the left was taken by the Mars orbiter in August 1999. The one on the right was taken on September 2005. The gully appears only in the second image.

NASA scientists today said the most logical explanation for the formation of the gully is moving water. Mars is too cold for running water, though, so they figure the water had to spring from below the surface, where something is keeping it warm.

Pretty interesting, huh? Read more about it on NASA's Planetary Photojournal of Mars. You can also watch a video of the press conference today, where four scientists discuss their theory in everyday language.

That's a fact.

Daily Tip:

Weary? Refresh your mindbodysoulspirit. Take yourself out for a neighborhood stroll tonight and indulge in a few long looks at the gorgeous, gibbous moon.

Image credits: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Holiday madness get to you? Watch Line Rider

When you need a getaway moment, visit Line Rider - Jagged Peak Adventure. It's fun!

That's a fact.

Daily Tip:

Find ways to give yourself fun breaks during the holiday season. Your brain needs time to cool down, sometimes, and so does your bod. If you don't have high speed internet, loosen up at Go Comics.

P.S. What's your favorite comic strip and does it give you a belly laugh most of the time? Did you like Line Rider? Say it! in the comments below.

What makes cream puff?

There is something about the holiday ritual of beating cream to a light froth, then stiff peaks, that sends Gabby into shivers of delight.

The warm kitchen with its yeasty aromas, vanilla, sugar, the shimmer and gloss of the cream as it doubles in size under the beater, memories of family and friends in a dozen kitchens--these things make Gabby glow, and not just with perspiration. (It's hot in there!)

So what is it that makes cream puff to twice its size or more? Turns out, the answer is air. Air is a combination of gases, mostly nitrogen and oxygen.

See, cream has fat in it. Heavy whipping cream is 30-40 percent fat. (Gabby apologizes to the cholesterol police for any discomfort this may cause.)

When you whip cream, you force little tiny air-gas molecules between all those little tiny fat molecules. That separates them and doubles the volume. The more air you inject with the whip or beater, the dryer and stiffer your cream becomes because the moister, fatty molecules are further apart.

And that vanilla and sugar Gabby adds to her whipped cream? That makes it a particular delicacy known as Chantilly Cream.

That's a fact.

Daily Tip:

Read the labels when you buy cream. You can buy for safety (ultra-pasteurized), fewer fat calories (lighter "whipping cream"), or taste and purity (heavy cream).

Here's how it works. Some brands are ultra-pasteurized to preserve the cream for longer shelf-life. It won't whip so well, so they add emulsifiers and other agents to react with the air and increase volume. You may detect a slightly scorched or cooked taste in ultra-pasteurized cream.

Many "whipping cream" brands also have emulsifiers and other agents to make them whip up with less fat. That's good if you are looking for a lighter cream.

If you're not counting calories or cholesterol, and you want pure cream with no additives, check the organic brands in your grocer's case marked "heavy cream" or "heavy whipping cream." It may cost more, but for taste and volume, it's worth it.

Do you steal licks from the bowl behind the cook's back? Tell all here. No one has to know it's you.

Smile diary facts

So I did it myself--went around smiling every time I thought about it, for a whole day. It was so much fun I did it the next day, too. Here are a few facts from my smile diary.

A woman with a bundle of blankets, buckets, a broken broom handle and lumpy garbage bags in a cart is taking up three seats on the packed, stuffed, not-room-for-one-more-person commuter train. (About a hundred people get on at our stop, every train, every morning, and you would have that much stuff on the train, too, if you had to carry your household possessions everywhere you went.)

When I take a fourth seat nearby, she complains that I am crowding her and says I'm too big for the seat. (Giddy Gabby is not your standard-issue New Millenium skinny-minnie who must augment her starving frame with silly-cone implants. Giddy Gabby is amply endowed with hips and curves she came by quite naturally.) The woman smells a trifle peculiar. This and the fact she is a bit cranky may be the reason for the empty seat.

I'm too happy smiling today to let a little crankiness get me down, and I smile at this woman before I close my eyes to begin my morning commuter meditation. By the third stop, she is humming, and I open my eyes to check on her. She has a little Buddha smile on her face. Her eyes are closed, and she hums a pleasant tune.

That's a fact.

Daily Tip:

Today is World AIDS Day. Learn more about the epidemic that is the fourth largest killer in the world on (BLOG) RED.

RED was co-created by Bono and Bobby Shriver. Comfortable? Take action for someone who isn't. Join RED. Buy RED. That's all it takes to help.

Won't you post a comment before you leave? Tell us all what you think.

And may you receive, again, every single day, as many smiles as you give.

When you're smilin' ...

Giddy Gabby was in line at Starbucks one cold, drizzly morning, rubbing her hands together to keep them warm. Gabby was crabby that day. She wanted her coffee, and she wanted it fast. She had a lot of work to do. The door opened, bringing a gust of wind and a voice full of sunshine.

Hello! Hello! Hello! the voice said.

Hello, one after another, various voices answered.

Crabby Gabby couldn't help but turn and stare and saw perhaps the happiest woman she had ever seen. She was rather ordinary, really, in a plain cloth coat. Grey, it was. Her hair was brown, not dyed, and curled away from her face and forehead in an easy, nondescript do. Yet everyone in the store was responding to her warm greetings. Gabby thought how nice it must be to run into so many acquaintances in one little visit to the coffee shop.

Somehow, though there had been a line behind Gabby to match the line in front, the Happy Lady, as Gabby was already thinking of her, was suddenly directly behind and saying hello as though they were old friends.

Gabby couldn't help smiling. There was something about the warmth flowin' off the woman and onto Gabby that made her open up like a blossomin' rose.

Hi, she said, back. I'm sorry, I am sure we've met before, but I don't remember where. And Gabby was sure they had met somewhere before. There was something so familiar about the woman, and she had spoken to Gabby as though they were well-acquainted.

Oh, no, Happy Lady said. I've never seen you before in my life, but isn't it a beautiful day? Rays of sunshine poured from between her teeth, from her eyes, danced off her shoulders, and straight into Gabby's crusty mood, burning it away in nothing flat.

Yes, it is, Gabby said, watching rivulets of rain slide down the window, and she meant it. Suddenly it was a beautiful day.

Gabby went back to work singing and smiled uncontrollably the rest of the day.

After that, she timed her coffee trips in hopes of running into Happy Lady again, but never did see her. One day, she asked the clerk if she remembered their exchange, because the clerk had seemed real glad to see Happy Lady that day. Gabby remembered that.

Oh yes, the barista said. She comes in every day. She's our favorite customer.

She had the most beautiful smile I've ever seen, Gabby said.

Yes, she does, and she always smiles like that, the barista said. Gabby noticed that her name tag said Jenny. Gabby hadn't really paid attention to the name tags before.

Every day, Jenny? she asked.

Oh yes! And she greets every customer as if they are her best friend, and everyone falls instantly in love with her. There's just something about her that you wish she'd stay longer.

Giddy Gabby thought about that while she waited for her vente triple Caramel Macchiato with extra caramel. She wondered what Happy Lady had that she could change people's lives in an instant like that.

Giddy Gabby smiled.

Now, smiling doesn't come naturally to Gabby's face every moment of the day as it does, apparently, to the face of Happy Lady. Quite often, Gabby has to remind herself to smile.

When she does, though, people look at her differently than usual, and even though Gabby is rather a plain woman without a trace of Hollywood glitz, when she smiles, people will comment on how lovely she is looking these days, or what a beautiful blouse she is wearing, or how that color becomes her.

Gabby smiles all the more then, but that's not why she smiles. She smiles more and more because when she does, people lighten up, and sometimes they start smilin' too.

Like the other day on the bus, when an elderly man shuffled his way to the seat next to hers. He was weary, and he was carrying a big bag. Gabby had a couple of big bags too, and she and the gentleman were snuggled in to that seat pretty close. The man knocked his bag against Gabby, and she smiled, looking him right in the eye with truly smiling eyes.

Pretty soon, he asked for the time. Then he chatted real friendly about how cold it was and how crowded the bus was. A couple of pregnant women, fresh from Yoga class, joined in. People two seats up started talking to each other.

Giddy Gabby smiled the whole way up the long, long street and through the many bus stops. Other people smiled, too. People were laughing and grinning ear to ear when she bounced down at her stop, and all she'd done was smile.

That's a fact.

Daily Tip:

Here's a tip for gettin' through the season and all those crowded streets and elbow-to-elbow malls and mile-high bargain tables with the one red sweater, size medium, in a sea of grey sweaters, tucked so far back on the table you need a broom handle to reach it behind the three omigoshin' and omigawdin' cheerleaders that could care less about these sweaters.

Smile as often as you can, everywhere you go for a whole day, especially if you're out on the street or in the mall, shopping for Christmas gifts and trying to snare bargains. Make eye contact occasionally and smile with your eyes too. Just smile.

If you're so inclined, pick up one of those tiny spiral-bound notebooks, the kind geeks like to carry in their shirt pocket with their pens, and keep a little smile diary.

Later, come back and tell us about your day. I'd love to hear all about it. Won't you come back and post a comment? Tell us all what you think.

May you receive, every single day, as many smiles as you give.

Do the Hokey Pokey

Want some fun?

Stand up. Yup. Right now. Stand up.

Now ...

Put your right hand in
Put your right hand out
Put your right hand in
and
Shake it all about

You know the rest.

Go on. You know you want to.

Turn yourself about.

Wiggle those jazz hands in the air.
Sashay those hips as you turn.

Do the Ho-o-o-o-o-key Pokey.

Want music? Dance to some colorful graphics and the Ray Anthony version, possibly the best-sounding Hokey Pokey on the web.

According to Wikipedia, the Hokey Pokey has been around in some version or another since the 1600s, though the US Copyright Office registered two copyrights to it as late as 1996.

That's a fact.

Hmmm. Thought only one legal entity could hold a copyright, "legal entity" meaning a person, organization, or corporation. That may be a fact.

Want more? Giddy Gabby's Squidoo lens points you to the Ray Anthony rendition and a whole bunch of lively party dances on the Ultimate Party Survival Kit.

Daily Tip:

Dance! Put your whole self in. Put your whole self out. Be outrageous.

When you catch your breath, sit down and post a comment: Did you do it? Was it fun? Did you wake everybody up? Tell us where you did the Hokey Pokey today.

The Great Silent Grandmother Gathering

Here's a fact for you. Sharon Mehdi wrote a story for her granddaughter who wasn't even born yet. The story is called The Great Silent Grandmother Gathering.

Well, okay, that's two facts, and there's more. In fact, there's a whole slew of facts. Here they are, and not in bullet form either.

See, Mehdi was as upset about the violence in the world as many of us are, fearing for our children and our grandchildren, and the generations to come after them. She wanted a better world for her grandbaby than she was seeing.

She also had a terrific writer's block and wasn't getting where she was supposed to be getting with her Big Work of Non-Fiction. So she took the advice of a friend, relaxed a little, went for a walk, stepped into a little church with pretty stained glass windows, and somewhere along the way, she began to write this:

On a buffety, blustery early summer day, when the news was bad and the sky turned yellow, a strange thing happened in the town where I live.

The strange thing that happened was, so the story goes, two grandmothers, each on her own, got dressed and walked to the park in the center of town. They walked, and when they got there, they stood side by side, not speaking, silent as the wind when it isn't blowing, and they stood and they stood and they stood the whole day long.

The next day, they went back to the park, and they stood again, all day, in silence. They didn't tell anyone why they were there, unless someone asked, which most didn't, but people sure were curious.

It took a little girl to answer the question everybody was thinking: Why are those two grannies standing in the park all day long, every day, not saying a word, lettin' the sun beat down on them, lettin' the rain, well, rain down on 'em?

It took a little girl, and she told her family that the reason they were standing out there in the weather, those two women, was to save the world.

Mehdi tells it a whole lot better than I can, which is why she's the author of the most beautiful children's book ever and I'm writing about it on this blog, but suffice it to say that before you knew it, all over the world, day after day, morning after morning, women were walking to their village greens and city parks and town squares and standing silently. Huge crowds of women. All silent. All standing.

They couldn't help themselves. They knew. Sometimes we do, you know. Know.

Pretty soon, none of their sons or daughters could bring themselves to go to war. Nobody anywhere could make themselves take up a gun and kill someone else for something that somebody somewhere said was supposed to bring peace. Not even for money. Or drugs. Nada. Zip. Nothin' doin'.

They just couldn't go out and hurt people when their mama and their sister and their wife and their little girl and their ten female cousins and their gramma, and every last one of their aunties was standing still, all day long, not sayin' a word, right there for all the rest of the world to see, in the middle of town.

Pretty soon, there was peace all over the world without a single person having to die for it. Because the women would stand. They knew that standing was what it would take, and it would be enough. They knew, and they stood.

---

That's a whole lot of story, to get to this one really neat fact, the one that made me want to tell you all about this.

After awhile, Sharon Mehdi couldn't stand it. She had to go stand in her village green, the very one after which her story was patterned. She had to go and stand with her friend, also a grandmother. They stand silently every day now. Every day, a few more people come and stand with them.

That's a fact.

Learn more about the the grandmother's stand on Mehdi's blog, Sharon's Peace Pilgrimage.

Daily Tip:

Whenever you're feeling blocked, you just can't break through, take the advice of Mehdi's friend.

Relax a little. Go for a walk. Spend a few minutes in a garden or a little church with pretty stained glass windows, or any place that gives you breathing room. Some would call it solace.

Breathe deep. Bask in the silence. Ask for guidance. Expect it to come. Get ready. It will.

And if you have a moment, please leave a comment below and tell us what you think.

Should you, as others have done, go and stand somewhere, like the town plaza, for ten minutes, or an hour, or a day, come back and tell us how it felt and what happened and whether you'll do it again.

If you'd like some company, tell us where and when you'll be there next, and maybe somebody who lives in your hometown will see it and stand with you next time.

Namaste.

It's Christmas if you're Christian, Hanukkah if you're Jewish, Kwanzaa if you're African-American ...

People around the world celebrate the December Solstice. Who are we and what do we eat?

Religious or secular, one way or another, most cultures mark the passage of the sun at its zenith (southern hemisphere) or nadir (northern hemisphere). Here are a few, listed in chronological order based on first appearance in history.

Alban Arthan (Light of Winter or Light of Arthur) - Druidic observance of the Winter Solstice still practiced today; date of origin unknown, but considered to predate Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Cookies in the shape of the sun have been baked for millenia.

Yalda (Shabe-Yalda or Shab-e Yaldaa) - Ancient Persian holiday, begun about 4,000 years ago, pre-dating Islam, and considered a precursor to Christmas. Feasting includes a cornucopia of fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts and seeds and for some, breads and sweet breads.

Photo credit: Eliza Tasbihi from: her Flickr page, Dec 21, 2005. This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial NoDerivs 2.0.

Bodhi Day - Depending on the practitioner's view of Buddhism, this is or is not a religious holiday as purists consider Buddhism a way of life and not necessarily a religion. Bodhi Day celebrates the day the Buddha realized enlightenment, about 2500 years ago. On this day, he ended his fast with rice and milk. For this reason, some suggest that rice and milk be served in celebration. Others suggest incorporating one's own cultural practices in the observance, as Buddhism is all about inclusiveness and flexibility.

Hanukkah (Chanukah) - Eight day religious festival celebrated by Jews the world over that begins as early as November and as late as January (rare) and is a little more than 2,000 years old. This year, Hanukkah begins on December 16. Special foods during the celebration include latkes in various forms, applesauce, donuts, and jelly donuts, also known as sufganiyah.

Christmas - For those who might not know of this holiday, it is religious, and first celebrated the birth of its namesake, Christ, 2,000 years ago. Feasts around the world include traditional foods of the culture. In the US goose, turkey, ham, roast beef, or lutefisk may be the centerpiece, depending on one's heritage. These are accompanied by dishes as far-ranging as cranberries and spaghetti. Libations may or may not include wine and spirits, again depending on one's religious beliefs and cultural practices.

Dōng zhì (Extreme of Winter) - Chinese Winter Solstice Festival held for approximately 1800 years. Families gather to make and eat special foods including rice flour balls called tangyuan. Other foods, depending on the region, may include dumplings, soups with tangyuan or dumplings, mutton, and red-beans. For a more comprehensive view of this key holiday, see Musical Mandarin / Winter Solstice.

Soyal Ceremony (Soyalangwul) - Hopi Tribe ceremony, approximately 1500 years old, occuring in December or January depending on the clan, and celebrating the renewal of life as the sun begins its journey toward summer. The ceremony is marked by fasting and meditation and usually lasts several days, followed by a public celebration. Sacred foods may interrupt the fasting. If you know more about this ceremony and would like to share, please comment below.

Kwanzaa (also Kwaanza) - Secular, African-American celebration to honor African roots and traditions and to celebrate the harvest, begun in 1966. (Kwanzaa means "first fruits," as in the first fruits of the harvest.) Corn, fruits, and libations are part of the ceremony and symbols; what is actually served at the feasts, I did not find. Do you know? If so, post it in a comment and I will add it with a credit.

However you celebrate the solstice, enjoy!

Did I miss your winter solstice holiday? Post a comment and tell us all about it.

Daily Tip:

Holiday bustle getting you up to here? For a quick pick-me-up, try this great meditation from the Mindful Jobs blog.