Seeing red...and green...

It's probably one of the hottest days of the year and the East Coast is facing one of summer's favorite natural disasters - the hurricane - but for some reason Christmas colors came to mind today.

MSNBC has a video story today on the world's largest tomato toss, and it all goes for a cause. I'm not exactly sure how the money was raised but lots of people got together in Reno to throw tomatoes at one another, raising $20,000 for the American Cancer Society in the process.

In another bit of fun, RTT News reports the Smithsonian has acquired the original Kermit the Frog puppet. Jim Henson's widow Jane donated the world's most famous frog and nine of his cohorts from "Sam and Friends" to the National Museum of American History. Kermit got his start on the show in 1955 and transitioned to "Sesame Street" and "The Muppet Show" after "Sam and Friends" went off the air in 1961.

Leave it to the Globe...

Sometimes it can be feast or famine when looking for good news stories. Today happened to be a feast. I even found extra stories I can "put by" for later. The articles on today's post are only tied together by the fact I found them all on the Globe website, and they are all fun and quirky.

I know it's not cool, but I have long been a proponent of the Slanket, aka: the originial Snuggie. I have had my royal blue, fleecy slice of heaven for about four years now, and I've been made fun of for it nearly as long. However, I refuse to part with it. With the weather the way it's been for, well, ever up here in my frozen corner of hel...er, Boston, it's necessary to my survival. It appears the blanket with sleeves is finally gaining some traction. Somerville hosted the Boston-area's first Snuggie Pub Crawl this past Friday. Nearly 100 people, clad in Snuggies and the occasional piece of pirate gear, crawled their way through Union Square bars. You can view photos here.

After a long day in my cube-like office (that occasionally does not have heat - do not even get me started), I slip on the Slanket and watch Netflix. That is my version of TLC. For the turtles on the Cape, however, Dr. Charles Innis, provides his own brand. Increasingly rare Kemp's Ridley turtles migrate between New England and the Caribbean, but some of them get lost and end up tossed on shore by the tide. These turtles often end up at the New England Aquarium's marine care center where they get top-notch, state-0f-the-art care.

Julia Child never had any recipes for turtle (that I know of, thank goodness), and neither does Bubbe, the 83 year-old Jewish grandmother who is becoming an Internet sensation. Two years agao, Bubbe thought the Internet came from the air and had no idea what an email was. Now she is a YouTube star and is knowledgeable about Twitter and Facebook to boot. Her grandson, Avrom Honig, filmed her originally for a demo tape while looking for a job. Bubbe now has over 30 episodes on cooking kosher and a legion of fans who want to adopt her. Honig now has a job. : )

(Photo courtesy of the Boston Globe)

Mimosas and Michelle...

So this past weekend I got a much-needed break from Boston and hopped in the car with a couple of girlfriends for a road-trip. But this wasn't just any road-trip. We were the Boston Bridesmaids, and we were headed for the wedding shower of one of our very best friends from college. 

I will not go into the details of the drive since this is a good news blog, but I can report that a fantastic time was had by all once we got there (due not entirely to the two-fer drink special at Chili's). 

It was so wonderful to see all of us together in one place again (it's been almost a year), and we were so happy to be there to celebrate Michelle's (and Chris') big day. The food at the shower was excellent, and the company even better. I can't wait for the wedding!

This post is a short one, as I've taken the day off from work (to enjoy the sunshine and not being in a seated position for hours on end!).  I hope you all enjoy your days as much as I am enjoying this one!