DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

    Many people are familiar with Mardi Gras celebrations on the day before Lent. But in Liberal Kansas, the day before Lent means just one thing....it's  Pancake Day! The friendly little competition between Liberal Kansas and Olney England, with women running down the streets of each town flipping pancakes, has been going on for more that 60 years. It is still the only race of its kind in the world.     On Shrove Tuesday, at 11:55 p.m. the race begins, with the overall score standing at 33 wins for Liberal and 25 for Olney. In 1980 the score didn't count because a media truck blocked the finish line in Olney.    It all started in 1950 from a magazine picture of the Olney women racing each other to the church. Liberal Jaycee President R.J. Leete contacted the Reverand Ronald Collins, Vicar of St. Peter and St. Paul's church in Olney, challenging their women to race against women of Liberal     In Olney, the Pancake Race traditions date back more than 500

   This recipe comes from  www.kevinandamanda.com  .  If you make these, make sure you wear some rubber gloves and a bib.  Things could get a little messy! Cookies ‘N Cream Oreo Fudge Brownies Hellooooo, good  lookin’!  What a way to start the week! :) Last weekend as we were  exploring Blue Ridge, GA , we stopped by this charming little bakery. They had all kinds of delicious looking homemade brownies. Oreo brownies, peanut butter brownies, raspberry cream cheese brownies… * groans * Kevin totally had his eye on the Oreo brownies. We didn’t get any there (we were too busy sampling the fried Oreos) so I promised to make them as soon as we got home. I used this recipe from Picky Palate for  Ice Cream Sundae Brownies . I knew I had some Cookies and Cream ice cream and  totally  had to use it in these brownies!! :) Cookies and cream ice cream, chocolate chips, and hot fudge… It all gets added to the brownie mix! Does it get any better than this??

   The  Patras Carnival ,  Patrino karnavali  is the largest event of its kind in Greece and one of the biggest in Europe. It has more than 160 years of history. The events begin on 17th of January and last up to Clean Monday. The carnival of Patras is not a single event but a variety of events that includes balls, parades, hunting of hidden treasure, kids’ carnival etc. Its apogee is in the last weekend of Carnival with the Saturday evening parade of carnival groups, the extravagant Sunday parade of floats and groups, and finally the ritual burning of king carnival at the St. Nikolaos Street wharf in the harbour of Patras. Its characteristics are spontaneity, improvisation, inspiration and volunteerism. History    Most people agree that starting event of the Patras Carnival was a ball given in the residence of the merchant Moretis in 1829. However the carnival, as most carnival events in the Mediterranean and the Balkans, is connected with ancient pagan rituals, as those