Well, I believe you have all figured it out - it was to allow the knight/warrior to easily mount his steed. I got the info from a web site called The Straight Dope, which is very cleverly written. I will copy right from them, as I like the way it is written. The fact is that most people don't mount a horse from the left side. Most people call a cab. Those having some acquaintance with horsemanship, however, know that the left side is the horse's "near" side while the right side is the "off" side. This is often explained in terms of swords, but we're then obliged to acknowledge obvious fact #2: While a fair number of people still ride horses, you're living in one tough neighborhood if you need to do so while wearing a sword. About those swords. I'm afraid you've gotten the explanation a little scrambled. As you've observed, swords are traditionally worn on the left, since that makes it easier for a right-handed swordsman to pull the sword from its scabbard. If you're wearing a sword on the left, you'll want to mount your horse on its left, since otherwise the sword will get in the way. The practice goes way back before the medieval heyday of knights. In fact, it most likely originated when sword-toting warriors first began riding horses into battle. Let's start with a fundamental fact, essential to understanding equines: The horse isn't a predator--it's prey. Even after millennia of domestication, the horse is physically and mentally hardwired to detect and elude attackers. Its eyes are set on the sides of its head, giving it almost 360 degrees of vision. It sees two monocular fields at once, one through each eye. The binocular vision we human predators take for granted, the horse has in only a small area directly ahead of it. So what it "knows" on one side, it doesn't "know" on the other, until it's been shown. The horse's instincts dispose it to be suspicious of anything new in its environment. The thing behind that rock that wasn't there yesterday could be a lion! What does this have to do with mounting from the left? It means that a horse who's been taught to accept being mounted only from one side may be perfectly docile when the rider clambers aboard on that side, yet spook and refuse to stand still if approached from the unfamiliar direction. That's why authorities on horse training (including our old friend Xenophon) recommend teaching horses to be mounted from the off side, so that they'll stand still for it if circumstances demand that the rider get on from that side But why prefer the left side when swords are no longer a problem? Partly it's the inertia of tradition--horses and humans are both creatures of habit. But it's also common sense to have a standard approach. If you didn't know which side a particular horse had learned to be mounted from, you could get a nasty surprise if you tried to get on from the "wrong" side. There you have it - tradition again, with a little common sense thrown in. I believe everyone got, though perhaps not the monocular bit - lol, I'll let that pass!! So, for everyone: Thanks for playing, and see you all next week! Nancy.

OK, well more and better clues were needed, but I was babysitting the oven trying to bake cookies. 1. The last state to declare Chrismas was: OOOOOOOOOk - la- homa!! An Oklahoman businessman Cyrus Avery is known as the "Father of Route 66". Perhaps I should have said they should have done it sooner? It was only during the mid 1800's that states in the US began making Christmas a legal holiday, with Oklahoma being the last state to do so in 1890. 2. The commercial Christmas card as we know it originated in London in 1843. That winter, Sir Henry Cole, a civil servant who helped organize the Great Exhibition and develop the Victoria and Albert Museum, decided he was too busy to write individual Christmas greetings to his family, friends and business colleagues. He asked his friend, the painter John Callcott Horsley, to design a card with an image and brief greeting that he could mail instead. Oh yes, and little novella named A Christmas Carol was published. It met with instant success and critical acclaim. You may have heard of it!! 3. Canada, eh? Yes the first Christmas stamp was issued by Canada in 1898 - it's not as Christmassy as you might imagine. 4. It's Denmark - yes, Denmark!! By 2008 Christmas tree production in Denmark totalled around 9 million trees and Denmark was one of Europe's largest producers of natural Christmas trees. By far the most popular species grown in Denmark is the sought after Nordmann fir. Most of the Danish Christmas tree crop is exported to Germany, along with Britain, France and the Netherlands. In 2008, importers paid between 85 and 90 kroner (11-12 euros, 14-15 dollars) for each Danish Christmas tree, this represented a 10 to 20 percent increase over 2007. Ariel, btw, is the Little Mermaid, a nod to Copenhagen's most famous statue. 5. This is a weird one. The White House Christmas Tree, also known as the Blue Room Christmas Tree, is the official indoor Christmas tree at the residence of the President of the United States, the White House. The first indoor Christmas tree was installed in the White House sometime in the 19th century (there are varying claims as to the exact year) and since 1961 the tree has had a themed motif at the discretion of the First Lady of the United States. I can't even find my original source for this, as my computer crashed on me. However, here are the fact according to Wikipedia: As stated, there were years where no indoor White House Christmas tree was installed at all. It was at one time noted that the Christmas tree was un-American, being a German tradition, and all!! It is verifiable that there was no Christmas tree in the White House in 1902, 1904, 1907, and 1922. The lack of a tree in 1902 was due to the fact that President Theodore Roosevelt had not ordered one by December 23. In fact, in all but one year that there was a Christmas tree in the White House in the Roosevelt years, it was due to the efforts of Archie Roosevelt, TR's 5th son. In fairness, it seems, the tree was not banned, just not that important to the elder Roosevelt. Additionally, other presidents never displayed a tree in the White House. First U.S. President George Washington held office at a time when there was no White House, thus it is impossible for him to have displayed a tree there. There is no evidence that Abraham Lincoln ever displayed a Christmas tree in the White House. In 1922 First Lady Florence Harding's illness led to a more subdued Christmas celebration at the White House and no Christmas tree. So there you go, some fun, silly Christmas trivia. Just something to help get you in the mood!! For Cynthia and Bobbie: Thanks for playing - see you all next week. Now off to see Cynthia's question!! Nancy.

Well, I should have been back more often with clues but everything is a struggle right now - I have strep and haven't been able to get in to see my Dr. yet - oh well, tomorrow hopefully. 1. El Nino The most dominant pattern responsible for interannual, or year-to-year, climate variability across the globe. During an El Niño event, warmer-than-normal sea-surface temperatures occur in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, while cooler-than-normal temperatures are observed in the western part of the tropical Pacific. El Niño (Spanish for "The Baby Boy" of the Christmas story) was named more than 100 years ago by Peruvian fishers who noticed the warming water off their shores around Christmas time. 2. La Nina During a La Niña event, cooler-than-normal sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) occur in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific and warmer-than-normal SSTS are measured in the western part of the tropical Pacific. During La Niña, convection over the western Pacific tends to be farther west than the climatological average, bringing heavier-than-usual and more persistent rains to Indonesia and northern Australia, among other teleconnections. Like its brother, La Niña recurs at intervals ranging from about two to seven years, with events typically lasting from one to three years. Researchers believe La Niña behavior could change with global warming, although the exact nature of this change remains uncertain. 3. Montreal Express An informal term for the pattern that results when the polar jet stream arcs from northern Siberia across western Canada, then dips southward across central and eastern North America. Along the northeast coast of North America, a similar pattern in which the cold air originates over Canada is called the Montreal Express. 4. Trade Winds - yep, that's one!! The easterly surface winds prevailing across the tropics. The trade winds, part of the Hadley circulation, got their name at the dawn of the age of oceanic sailing, when cargo traders learned to rely upon them. 5. Vortex The circulation associated with a surface low-pressure area. Vortices can range in size from dust devils to tornadoes to hemispheric patterns. Some more localized weather may be referred to as: 6. Lake Effect Think Buffalo. Lake-effect snow is produced during cooler atmospheric conditions when cold winds move across long expanses of warmer lake water, providing energy and picking up water vapor, which freezes and is deposited on the leeward (downwind) shores. Did anyone see the pictures of the storm-front moving across Lake Ontario towards Buffalo? Truly awesome. 7. Alberta Clipper - An Alberta clipper (also known as a Canadian Clipper) is a fast moving low pressure area which generally affects the central provinces of Canada and parts of the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions of the United States. Most clippers occur between December and February, but can also occur occasionally in November. 8. Panhandle Hook - A Panhandle hook is a relatively infrequent winter storm system whose cyclogenesis occurs in the South to southwestern United States from the late fall through winter and into the early spring months. They trek to the northeast on a path towards the Great Lakes region, as the southwesterly jet streams are most prevalent, usually affecting the Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Panhandle hooks account for some of the most memorable and deadly blizzards and snowstorms in North America, as well as tornado outbreaks in the Midwest on record. The name is derived from the region of surface cyclogenesis in the Texas and Oklahoma "panhandle" regions. In some winters, there are no panhandle hook storms; in others, there are several. 9. Nor'easter - The usage of the term in North America comes from the wind associated with many different types of storms, some of which can form in the North Atlantic Ocean and some of which form as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. The term is most often used in the coastal areas of New England. A nor’easter is a low pressure area that often passes just off the New England and southeast Canada Atlantic coastline. Winds in the left-forward quadrant rotate onto land from the northeast. The precipitation pattern is similar to that of other extratropical storms. Nor’easters can cause severe coastal flooding, coastal erosion, hurricane force winds or blizzard conditions; these conditions are usually accompanied with very heavy rain or snow, depending on when the storm occurs. 10. Colorado Low - You're right Cynthia, not a rock Mountain High - lol. A Colorado low is a low pressure that forms in southeastern Colorado or northeastern New Mexico, typically in the winter. After forming, the system moves across the Great Plains. Colorado lows produce heavy wintry precipitation, and have a general east to northeast movement, impacting regions as far north as Winnipeg and as far east as the Atlantic coast. If upper level conditions are right, the jet stream can push the low farther south, bringing wintry precipitation as far as Texas. When pushed this far south, the system is often referred to as a "blue norther". Well, thanks for playing!! May the peace of the Season be upon you and yours!! Merry Christmas - see you all next week. I'll leave you with a song. Nancy. Here is a link that might be useful: Southern Cross - CSN

Wow TM may need to give you an extra star!! lol. The National Association for Stock Car Racing--or NASCAR, as it will come to be widely known--is officially incorporated February 21st, 1948. NASCAR racing will go on to become one of America's most popular spectator sports, as well as a multi-billion-dollar industry. The driving force behind the establishment of NASCAR was William "Bill" France Sr. (1909-1992), a mechanic and auto-repair shop owner from Washington, D.C., who in the mid-1930s moved to Daytona Beach, Florida. The Daytona area was a gathering spot for racing enthusiasts, and France became involved in racing cars and promoting races. After witnessing how racing rules could vary from event to event and how dishonest promoters could abscond with prize money, France felt there was a need for a governing body to sanction and promote racing. He gathered members of the racing community to discuss the idea, and NASCAR was born, with its official incorporation in February 1921. France served as NASCAR's first president and played a key role in shaping its development in the sport's early decades. NASCAR held its first Strictly Stock race on June 19, 1949, at the Charlotte Speedway in North Carolina. Some 13,000 fans were on hand to watch Glenn Dunnaway finish the 200-lap race first in his Ford; however, Jim Roper (who drove a Lincoln) collected the $2,000 prize after Dunnaway was disqualified for illegal rear springs on his vehicle. In the early years of NASCAR, competitors drove the same types of cars that people drove on the street--Buicks, Cadillacs, Oldsmobiles, among others--with minimal modifications. (Today, the cars are highly customized.) So there we are - not my cup of tea really, though I know it is popular with lots of folk. Now, going to try for stars again (I guess I should have been practicing all week!!) Well, not my sparkly ones - I need to find and save them again as I haven't figured out how to get them over from Photobucket. Have a great week, thanks for playing. Now I'm off to see Cynthia's question. Nancy.