~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
November 18th

★~ Today’s Quote:  “A fierce unrest seethes at the core, of all existing things:, it was the eager wish to soar, that gave the gods their wings.”  ~ Don Marquis

★~ Use Less Stuff Day:

This is a tricky celebration. At first I thought we were celebrating getting rid of stuff and continuing the current trend of bulling hoarders. But then I researched the day a little further and found out that today is about accumulating less stuff. HUH? The article went on to suggest that we use today to consider whether we really need the newest iPhone or gadget on the market. Why does everyone pick on the new iPhone user and lovers of technology? What about people that have to own 30 pairs of shoes or earrings? I guess it boils down to this…Whether we are standing at the checkout lane at Bed Bath & Bring it Back with all those wonderful wizznots and whatfors gleaming at us, following the rat-a-tat stomp of all those glorious high heels or Ugg Lattice Cardy boots to the shoe department, find ourselves longing for a new pair of hoop earrings, or at Home Depot looking lustily at the snow blowers, we need to take a step back and ask ourselves, “Do I really need this?” and “What on earth would I use it for?”—and then go ahead and buy it because you might need it. (You never really never know, now do you?) And besides, those heels will go great with the skinny jeans you just bought as an inspiration to lose five pounds

★~ National Vichyssoise Day: 

When I dine at the Ritz-Carlton in New York I always say, “Waiter! Vichyssoise, s’il vous plaît.” (Ok, I have never said that before in my life, but someday I hope to.) Do you know why? I will tell you. Traditionally served chilled, vichyssoise was created in 1917 by a French chef named Louis Diat when he was working at the Ritz-Carlton in New York. He named the dish after Vichy, a town near where he grew up.

Never tried vichyssoise? Me either. I have tried saltibarsciai (Lithuanian cold beet soup) and I liked it. Vichyssoise and saltibarsciai have nothing in common except they are both served chilled.

Here is a recipe for vichyssoise, if you would like to make it for dinner tonight. I am sorry, but I do not have a recipe for saltibarsciai.

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1307 – According to legend, using a bow and arrow, William Tell shot an apple off his son’s head.

♥~ 1963 – The first telephone in the U.S. with push buttons instead of a rotary dial was placed in commercial service in Carnegie and Greensburg, PA.

♥~ 1966 – Robert Kennedy was pictured on the cover of LIFE magazine. Stories on RFK included his “truce with LBJ” (President Lyndon Baines Johnson) and speculation that Kennedy would run for president in 1968.

♥~ 1967 – Lulu’s To Sir with Love, from the movie of the same name, started its fifth and final week at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

♥~ 1986 – For the first time since his departure from his own late-night TV show, Jack Paar was a guest of Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. One of TV’s great lines came from the show, when Carson quipped (after one of Paar’s long, long spiels), “Why is it that I feel I’m guesting on your show?

♥~ 1995 – Prison officials in Douaihad, France, admitted they had to change the locks on 300 cell doors because someone lost the master key (this makes me feel so much better about all the times I have misplaced my keys)

♥~ 2003 – A 57-year-old Florida woman recovered from a stroke to find she had a British accent. Experts diagnosed Judi Roberts as suffering from “foreign accent syndrome,” one of less than 20 cases reported worldwide in 80 years.

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1923 – Alan Shepard Jr. astronaut: first American in space; died July 21, 1998

♥~ 1928- Mickey Mouse. The comical activities of squeaky-voiced Mickey Mouse first appeared in 1928, on the screen of the Colony Theatre at New York City. The film, Walt Disney’s “Steamboat Willie,” was the first animated cartoon talking picture.

♥~ 1939 – Brenda Vaccaro Emmy Award-winning actress: The Shape of Things [1973-74]; Once is Not Enough, Cactus Flower, The Goodbye People, How Now Dow Jones, Midnight Cowboy, Airport ’77, Ten Little Indians

♥~ 1942 – Linda Evans (Evanstad) actress: Dynasty, The Big Valley, Standing Tall, Hunter, North and South, Book II

♥~ 1953 – Kevin Nealon actor: Saturday Night Live, All I Want for Christmas, Roxanne, Champs

♥~ 1960 – Elizabeth Perkins actress: Weeds, Moonlight and Valentino, Miracle on 34th Street, The Flintstones, Indian Summer, He Said, She Said, Avalon, Big, About Last Night…

★~ Did You Know:

♥~ According to ancient food news, the Neanderthals used soup to feed the old and toothless people within their communities! They cooked soup in animal hides and warmed it over a fire!

♥~ The main ingredient in bird nest soup is bird nests, (made from the congealed spit of a bird called the Swift!). A bit like glutinous fine vermicelli, the nests are thought to assist growth, lung function and signs of aging.

♥~ Because they are so light in weight, powdered soups are used by astronauts as a main food source.

♥~ The English word “soup” comes from the old word “sop” which is a slice of bread covered with roast beef roast juices.

♥~ The first soup dates back to 6000 B.C., with the main ingredient being Hippopotamus and other animal bones. Imagine the recipe: First catch one hippo?

♥~Just click on on word soup to follow the links to wonderful soup recipes. These are not affiliate links.

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Today Is Mickey Mouse’s birthday. Mickey Mouse was Walt Disney’s main mouse. For Disney, it was always about Mickey. I have blogged my favorite Mickey Mouse story before, but I will share it again in honor of Mickey’s birthday.

I have a friend who works for ABC Television, which is owned by the Walt Disney Corporation. I remember years ago, when I was sitting at her kitchen counter, thumbing through the company human resource book. The book cover and dividing pages all had big pictures of Mickey Mouse, and various benefits were explained by the mouse himself. I found this very funny. I mean, really—Mickey Mouse explaining your life insurance benefits! I was giggling when my friend looked at me in all seriousness and said, “Katybeth, when you work for ABC, you are told one thing very clearly: If we all want to keep our jobs, nobody f-cks with the mouse.”

On that note-TGIF.  If you have a morno moment leave a comment-Odd Loves Company.

♥