Snailmail! As Gouda As It Gets!!

 

What do you have planned for November? 

Thanksgiving? Of course! 🥳 🦃 

Black Friday shopping? Probably, no. 😰 🛍 

Cyber Monday shopping? Possibly, yes. 🤓 💻 

Christmas preparations? You bet!! 😊 🎄 

How about…

“Chillin by the fire while we eatin' fondue

I dunno about me but I know about you” 🎶 (J. Bieber) 

I just found out that November is …

National Fun with Fondue Month! 🧀 🫕 

Not only has fondue been memorialized in a Justin Bieber song, but it has been claimed that the earliest record of fondue appears in the Iliad. Homer’s ancient, epic poem (first written down in approximately 750 BC) includes a recipe for a sauce made from wine, grated goat cheese and white flour. 

Greek Postage Stamp from 1975

Fondue also has a long and storied history within Murphy family lore. Mr. Murphy’s family traditions included cheese fondue on Christmas Eve every year. I was first invited to this celebration when I was 16. 🌲  I was hooked after that first melty, cheesy bite. 😋 Mr. Murphy and I (and the Murphy Aunties) have carried on the Christmas Eve fondue tradition for lo, these many years. 😊

Mr. Murphy and I decided to break from Murphy tradition slightly however, and started having fondue 🧀 🫕 on other occasions, too!! I’m not sure exactly when we added chocolate fondue to the menu, but it was a great addition!! 🍫 🍓 🤤 

Now we have a whole month to celebrate fondue!! 🥳 

It is, of course, perfectly wonderful to simply make fondue for your family to enjoy!! 

But…this is snailmail blog, after all, and one can always include some snailmail elements to anything!! (At least, that’s my motto!) 💌 🐌 

So how can one “go postal” with fondue? I do not recommend sending melty cheese through the mail but how about an invitation to enjoy melty cheese together? A recipe via post is always fun mail to receive, too!! And there is nothing like a cheese pun!! 🧀 😂

“Boy! Am I sure fondue you! How about joining me for some melty cheese this Saturday? Nothing is feta than time spent together!” 🥰

Go postal, people. It makes life cheddar. 😉

XOXO,

Mrs. Murphy 

 

Snailmail is the Best! Scout’s Honor!

 

I was at work the other day when a troop of Girl Scouts asked to drop off a gift basket for the first baby girl born on October 31st. 🤔 Huh? Was this some sort of Halloween thing? In my 30 year labor and delivery career I’ve seen gift baskets given for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, Christmas Day and, of course, the New Year’s Baby! But Halloween? Not once. 

The Girl Scouts explained that Juliette Low, the organizer of the Girl Scouts, was born on October 31, 1860. She was inspired by Sir Robert Baden Powell and his wife Agnes whom she met in 1911. The Baden-Powells founded the Boy Scouts and the Girl Guides in England in 1908 and 1910, respectively. Juliette brought the idea to America and the first gathering took place on March 12, 1912. 

The first registered member of the American Girl Guides was Margaret Gordon, Juliette’s niece.  The next year, the name was changed to Girl Scouts. That first meeting had 18 members in attendance. By 1920 there were close to 70,000 members. By 1930 there were over 200,000 members. Today there are 2.5 million members! 

The Girl Scout motto is “Be prepared” and the slogan is “Do a good turn daily.” Our local Girl Scouts and their leaders certainly lived out their slogan!! They were so thoughtful and generous and the new baby and her family were very grateful for the lovely gift basket! 

The USPS has celebrated Girl Scouts through the years with some lovely postage stamps. Do you know any current or former Girl Scouts? I bet you do!! From Queen Elizabeth to Queen Latifah many people have been Girl Scouts (Guides). My fellow nurses and I recalled our own experiences with Girl Scouts. I was only a Girl Scout for the Brownie years, but I’ve never stopped eating those cookies. 😉 

Do you have any scouting memories? Why not share them with one of your penpals? 

Do they have any badges for letter writing? 🤔 ✍🏻 📬 🐌 

Go postal, people, it’s amazing! Scout’s honor. 😊

XOXO, 

Mrs. Murphy