Feb 23 weird n wacky celebrations

If you're into sports, here's an Olympic event that is gaining in popularity. Celebrate Curling is Cool day, brought to you by the fun lovers over at Wellcat.com. The game originated in Scotland and Holland during the 1500s. In the 1830s, the first U.S. curling event was documented at Orchard Lake, near Detroit. By the end of the decade, curling was popular in the Great Lakes states, including Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Curled debuted in the 1924 Olympic games and was considered a medal sport. This is one Olympic sport I enjoy watching. It's like shuffleboard on ice. For more information, check out the U.S. Curling Association.

Iwo Jima Day honors the fourth day of the 35-day battle that was immortalized forever. On this day, U.S. soldiers reached the summit of Mt. Suribachi and raised the American flag. The next day, five Marines and one Navy corpsman raised the American flag for the second time, and photographer Joe Rosenthal captured what is now the most reproduced image of all time.

If you enjoy a glass of wine, then tonight would be the perfect to to Open That Bottle. This wine-lovers celebration serves as a means of celebrating that special bottle of wine. You know, the one that is tucked into the back of the china cabinet or the one on display on your kitchen counter. You plan to open it at some point and so it sits, patiently, while the bouquet builds inside the bottle, and you wait for a special occasion.

My grandpa made homemade wine. A LOT of homemade wine. And he won many local and state awards. Some of it was flavorful; others should never have been shared with friends, let alone with family members who served as guinea pigs. My favorite was the Anniversary wine. The summer my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary, my grandparents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. Together, we held a huge open house/reception/dance for them. This family loves fruit salad, so we all brought fruit and contributed to the salad, which we made in a large cooler. Instead of eating what was left, grandpa took the fruit and turned it into wine. It was a delicate (ok, so not much of this wine was delicate) blend of strawberry, grape, kiwi, peach, cantaloupe, and watermelon. Not bad.

He also experimented with onion/garlic wine. Not so good to drink, but what a delicious marinade it made!