Ain't I a Critter

A L O H A !

 " Everyone 

you will ever meet 

knows something 

you don't. "

                             Bill Nye, 

                                               Science Guy 

Linking to 

Saturday Critters

Do animals,

individual animals,

have things 

to teach us?

 =^..^=

Thank You!

            Warmly, cloudia

Day What It Is?

A  L  O  H  A !

What Day Is It?   What Year?!

A rut is 

just a groove 

you don't 

want to be in. 

Some people are back to work - or never stopped


" He that respects himself 
is safe from others; 
he wears a coat of mail 
that none can pierce. "

         Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

But not everybody is working. For some 

there is time to walk on the beach.

" Taking time to do 

nothing 

often brings 

everything 

into perspective. "

                          Doe Zantamata

)i(

Holidays are disorienting.

That is a big part of

their purpose.

They break boring routine,

then make us long for

our routines again.

Holiday Magic!

We dance through the year,

'Same Same ~ New New"

The rhythm changes.

Sometimes the song does-

then we must dance

to a different tune.

But keep dancing!

Just keep dancing,

As long as you can

hear the music-

               Fondly, cloudia

America's Oldest Folk Life Event and Me

"Aqua String Band - 2010 Performance" by Roniannacone - 

Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

If you are born in Philly 

[Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA]

like I was,

Mummery is in your blood.

And 

New Year's Day is 

MUMMER's Day!



When European immigrants 

from Scandinavia, 

and other 

parts of Europe began arriving 

in Philadelphia in the 

17th Century, they brought their 

Mummer traditions with them.



 On New Year’s Day, 

families and friends 

would “Mum” 

through their neighborhood,

making fun of the 'upper' 

classes, and asking for 

food or drink.  


“Here we stand before your door, 
As we stood the year before;
Give us whisky, give us gin,
Open the door and let us in.”


History types trace the word 

Mummer 

 to Greek mythology.

  King Momus was 

the personification of 

satire, mockery and 

censure.  Mummers 

can also be 

connected to the late 

Middle English word mommer 

and the Old French word momeur

which relate to miming, 

masking and 

very ancient 

folk traditions.


 While living in Philadelphia, 

first US President George Washington

continued the local 

tradition of greeting friends 

at New Year’s time.  



Because the Mummer tradition is

of the common folk,

associated with drinking

 and making fun

of their 'betters' 

Mummery has not always been 

smiled upon by 

official  Philadelphia.

In the 1800’s, the parade,

and masquerading itself

were even banned

for decades. 



But, Mummery continued 

Working class Philadelphia 

never stopped.

Steam fitters in sequins.

Working guys from the 

neighborhood, from the 

factory, practicing all year

to march on Broad Street.

[Women march 

in the parade now -

though it remains possibly

the world's best example 

of straight men

 in silly drag]



Mumming goes through the 

generations.

The people mumming today

shook hands,

with the people 

who shook hands

with the people

who were Mummers

back in the beginning.

Or so it is said.



This year, I was able
to watch the parade
streaming live from Philly.

The music, the accents,
the city. . . 
It's all in my blood.

Mumming in Philadelphia
will live long after me.
But I like to think
that part of my soul
will go on doing the

"Mummers Strut"
on New Year's Day.

I've been practicing
All Day!

Happy New Year!

From Around the Way

                          cloudia

The unofficial theme song of the Mummers is
 “Oh, Dem Golden Slippers,” written in 1879 
by James Bland, an African American songwriter-

“Oh, dem golden slippers
Oh, dem golden slippers
Golden slippers I’se goin’ to wear
Because they look so neat
Oh, dem golden slippers
Oh, dem golden slippers
Golden slippers I’se goin’ to wear
To walk the golden street”


Historical Link

See Average people
doing the Mummers Strut-
under 1 minute:

SkyWatch Hawaii

A  L  O  H  A !

" It’s like driving a car at night. 
You never see further 
than your headlights,
 but you can make
 the whole trip
 that way.  "
E. L. Doctorow

Wishing YOU

a happy 2015!

           warmly, cloudia

Linking to 

SkyWatch

Fresh

A L O H A !

Fresh Start

" Sunshine is delicious,

 rain is refreshing, 

wind braces us up, 

snow is exhilarating;

 there is really no such thing 

as bad weather,

 only different kinds 

of good weather. "

           John Ruskin

So Much Wonder

" We need a renaissance 

of wonder. 

We need to renew, 

in our hearts 

and in our souls, 

the deathless dream, 

the eternal poetry, 

the perennial 

sense that life  

is miracle and magic. "

E. Merrill Root 

Sparkling Promise

“The air was soft,

 the stars so fine, 

the promise of 

every cobbled alley 

so great that 

I thought I 

was in a dream.”

                    Jack Kerouac

)i(

What if . . . 

You woke up 

tomorrow

with only

what you were

grateful for

today?

Thank you Sun,

Thank you breath,

Thank you Pixie-cat

and coffee!

Thank YOU

Friend

for sharing

here with us.

Where it's a 

party every day;

And the regulars

are the nicest people

all over the globe.

Peace OUT!

Wishing YOU

your heart's content.

Hope to see You

Tomorrow.

2 0 1 5

Hard to believe. . .

                                                  cloudia

Where Santa is Now

ALOHA  from  WA I K I K I 

" I am not young 

but I feel young. .  .  

J'aime la vie! 

I feel that 

to live is 

a wonderful thing. "

                     Coco Chanel 

Thought You'd Want

to Know!

fondly, 

                            cloudia

A Going On

A  L  O  H  A !

 Sun Rising Behind Diamond Head

" We shall not cease 

from exploration,

 and the end of all 

our exploring 

will be to arrive 

where we started 

and know the place 

for the first time. "

                                T. S. Eliot

 When life gives you

 a hundred reasons 

to cry, 

show life that 

you have a 

thousand reasons 

to smile.

That mountain is Diamond Head 

from the side.

It is a view, a photo

 in Waikiki,

but a presence 

here in the neighborhoods.

I like it.

" Year's end 

is neither an end 

nor a beginning 

but a going on, 

with all 

the wisdom that 

experience can instill 

in us. "

                       Hal Borland

)i(

I want to thank

You

for a great year

of fellowship,

of Aloha!

                 Sincerely, cloudia