National Pretzel Day

Journalist Rocky the Squirrel here –

Keeping his paws on the nuts of the world –

Today is National Pretzel Day – what a way to celebrate pretzels of all shapes and sizes.  How do you like your pretzels?  Straight, twisted, hard, soft, thick or thin?  Then think of all the different flavors you can get – cinnamon, raisin, salted, sesame, chocolate, jalapeno, bacon wrapped, stuffed with peanut butter, sour dough – served with mustard or cheese? AND let’s not forget about pretzel wrapped hot dogs – mmm.   Do you eat them straight out of the bag or do you prepare your own and bake them in the oven?

Pretzels are believed to be the world’s oldest snack and date back as far as 610 AD in Southern France. Monks baked thin strips of dough into the shape of a child’s arms folded in prayer. Add a little salt, and Voila! …the pretzel industry was born.

Pretzels also symbolize good fortune, bringing prosperity and spiritual wholeness with every bite. Wedding couples fell into the practice of breaking a pretzel, much like one might break a wishbone on Thanksgiving.  The person with the larger piece was assured domestic happiness. The pretzel, over time, came to symbolize the “tying of the marriage knot.”

 

Shopping with Mom

Hello friends!   I want to introduce you to the newest member of the Hotel Thompson.  This is Hot Lips.  Hot Lips is a 2018 Toyota Prius Hybrid with hypersonic red exterior and a panda mix interior.  It is mom’s dream car.  She has been talking about getting one for years and the timing came just right this past week.  It is definitely not the Prius that originally came out years ago.  Hot Lips has everything – bluetooth, back up cameras, lane departure alert, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alerts, push button start – just to name a few.  Mom told dad she was going to get what she really wanted this time in features.

But the most important thing – it’s a Prius hybrid!  What does that mean?  It works on a battery like most cars but is also electric!  Mom doesn’t have to plug it in – it automatically charges itself while she drives.  Awesome huh?  Let alone mom was filling up the Jeep every single week at a minimum of $25.00 a pop.  This sweet ride will go – are you ready for this – at least 500 miles per fill up.  Talk about saving your wallet and the environment.

Hot Lips sits and drives like a sports car and has what mom calls a panda interior.  As you can see from the picture it’s black and white on the inside.  AND squeals – look at the world’s smallest gear shift – isn’t it cute?!