Tuesday 4th March 2014……what shall I give up!!!

My day started with delivering the food to the school for the Feed the Hungry program…it takes me about 45 minutes all told and the the cooks at the school are always welcome to see me…from there I went straight to the tennis courts and had a great 2 hours of fun tennis in sunny warm weather.

From there I went into the main square where I met Andrea one of my students, who asked me to help her fill out a form to apply for a birth certificate from the USA….she needs to get the form notarized so I said I would help her tomorrow and go the US consulate office here in town.

I then came home and COOKED!!!!!

and as today is

Shrove Tuesday

The long build up to Easter is called Lent. The day before Lent begins is called Shrove Tuesday. 'Shrove' means being forgiven for wrong-doings. It happens on a different date each year depending on when Easter is. This year Shrove Tuesday is today 04 March, 2014.

Another name for Shrove Tuesday is Pancake Day. Long ago this was a day for feasting and having a good time. People went to church to confess the bad things they had done and would be 'shriven' or forgiven before the start of Lent. As rich foods such as eggs were forbidden during Lent, one way of using them up would be to make pancakes.

Many people make pancakes on Shrove Tuesday and in some parts of the UK run in pancake races. This custom grew up because of a legend dating from 1445. On Shrove Tuesday one woman was still making pancakes as the church bells rang. Rather than be late she took her frying pan and pancake with her.

One of the most famous pancake races is held in Olney, Buckinghamshire where women over 18 years of age, wearing a skirt, apron and head covering, have been competing for hundreds of years. They have to toss their pancake on the start line and again at the finish to prove they haven't lost it.

In France and the United States Pancake day is called Mardi Gras which means 'Fat' or 'Grease Tuesday'.

 

I had to eat pancakes

and they were good.  So I now have a couple of  meals for the next two days.

I then spent all afternoon getting stuff sorted out and doing some internet work of course I took a break to go on the roof and sunbathe and read for a while.

Tonight Carolyn and I watched a documentary movie on the tennis stars the Williams sisters..it was really well done.

So what shall I give up for lent…..it is hard but I do have a sweet tooth so I have given up deserts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yashi Koshi!!!