DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

    The festival of  San Fermín  (or  Sanfermines , in  basque language   Sanferminak ) in the city of  Pamplona ( Navarre ,  Spain ), is a deeply rooted celebration held annually from 12:00, 6 July, when the opening of the fiesta is marked by setting off the pyrotechnic  chupinazo ,   to midnight 14 July, with the singing of the  Pobre de Mí . While its most famous event is the encierro, or  the running of the bulls , the week-long celebration involves many other traditional and  folkloric  events. It is known locally as  Sanfermines  and is held in honor of  Saint Fermin , the co-patron of Navarre. Its events were central to the plot of  The Sun Also Rises , by Ernest Hemingway , which brought it to the general attention of English-speaking people. It has become probably the most internationally renowned  fiesta  in Spain. Over 1,000,000 people come to watch this festival. Saint Fermin      Fermin  is said to have been the son of a  Roman of senatorial rank in Pamplona in th

    Everyone has a fear of some sort, but not all of us suffer from the type of pathological fear called a “phobia.” Some phobias are well known, such as agoraphobia, which is the fear of being in an open area or in a large crowd, and Thanatophobia, which is the fear of death. (I think we can all relate to the latter.) There are other phobias that are just plain bizarre; for instance, arachibutyrophobia, which is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of one’s mouth. This list, however, is devoted to those phobias that seem inherently unbearable. In other words, fears that fundamentally affect a sufferer’s  quality  of life to an extreme extent. While perusing the list, let’s keep in mind that there are real people suffering from these phobias; understanding the phobias themselves will allow us to understand (and sympathize with) the tribulations of the sufferers. 10.  Ambulophobia “The fear of walking or standing.”     Imagine the im

Ice Cream Sandwich Cake This might be our family's most requested birthday cake from now on. The recipe comes from a friend from church, Wendy. She is very popular at our house right now:-). I first tasted this cake at Wendy's house during a Youth Council meeting. I could not figure out how they made it and was in awe of the flavor that seemed to take me back to my childhood. The layering impressed the dickens out of me and while I knew I was going to ask for the recipe, I was afraid it would look too involved. I was wrong. This cake can be put together in 10 minutes flat. It calls for very few ingredients and it was a hit with everyone who ate of it. Please find some excuse to make this. Is there a birthday coming up? An anniversary? All I can say is that you better think of something.   Banana Split Version (sliced bananas, strawberry sundae topping and crushed Oreos) Ice Cream Sandwich Cake  (recipe from Wendy G.) In the pictures (and directi