~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
February 8,2012

Post Updated: February 8, 2013

★~ Today’s Quote:  If you think it’s hard to meet new people, try picking up the wrong golf ball. Jack Lemmon

★~ Kite Flying Day—in the middle of winter!?

February is not the ideal kite-flying month if you live in Chicago. True, this year’s mild 40-degree weather is not cold…but it’s not exactly kite-flying weather, either. Maybe today is for those of you who live in warmer climates and have cabin fever and a closet full of kites from well-meaning childless aunts, uncles, and friends sitting beside the magic kits and jelly bean craft projects in your front closet.

I do love kites. I have a fond memory of my Dear Daddy and Uncle Mike taking me out to fly my kite. They got it up, up, up in the air, and then completely ignored me as my happy little voice went from “You got it up…look at it flying” to an angst-ridden,”Let me fly it. Let me fly it”  whine.  Of course, after Joe and I took Cole kite flying, I understood completely. Once you untangle the kite’s tail, unwind the string, put the corners in place, and run until you are out of breath to get the damn kite up in the air, there is no way you want to turn it over to some dumb little kid. Let them admire it from afar.

Of course, another way to celebrate today is to tell someone who is bugging you, “Oh, why don’t you go fly a kite off a short pier while jumping into a lake?” or something like that. The person will get the idea, I’m sure.

★~Tu B’Shevat:

Tu B’Shevat is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the New Year for Trees. According to ancient tradition, people are not supposed to eat the fruit from any tree that is less than five years old. Tu B’Shevat is used as the universal day of measurement when each tree turns one year older.

To celebrate the New Year for Trees, people plant saplings and give thanks for spring, which is just around the corner. Another custom is to eat dishes made with the Seven Species (also known as the Shivat Haminim): wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates.

Cook up a delicious dinner with lots of fresh vegetables, start a container garden in your kitchen, and make plans for the spring season in honor of Tu B’Shevat!

…and have molasses bars for dessert!

★~ Molasses Bar Day:

Molasses is a thick, sticky syrup that is produced during the refining of sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaco, which is derived from mel, the Latin word for honey.

The quality of molasses can differ tremendously, depending on the maturity of the sugar. Molasses was first discovered during the 1500s in Europe; it was commonly used there as a sweetener in baking until the invention of refined white sugar. Molasses’ distinctive taste is still used in many recipes including the molasses bar, a popular snack in the southern United States. The Kitchen Magpie offers this recipe for Grandma Marion’s Molasses Bars

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1802 – Simon Willard patented the banjo clock. He couldn’t play it a lick, but it did keep good time…

♥~ 1910– Chicago businessman William D. Boyce incorporated the Boy Scouts of America on this day in 1910. He didn’t, however, conceptualize the scouting movement — the Boy Scouts were originated by Englishman, Sir Robert S.S. Baden-Powell.

♥~ 1926 – Jim and Louise Sullivan won the National Charleston Dance Contest of the World at the Trianon Ballroom in Chicago (Feb 8/9). Ginger Rogers took second place. The contest had a $10,000 first prize. Later, the Sullivans toured for two years in ballrooms and in vaudevilles throughout the U.S.

♥~ 1985 – It was a sad day for The Dukes of Hazzard fans. The series ended its 6-1/2 year run on CBS television. It was credited with using more stunt men than any other TV series in history.  Waylon Jennings did the theme song, The Dukes of Hazzard (Good Ol’ Boys).

♥~ 1992 – The single by R*S*F (Right Said Fred), I’m Too Sexy, was #1 in the U.S. It was a smash, staying at number one for three weeks, then dropping to number two for three more. “I’m too sexy for my car; too sexy for my car; Too sexy by far; And I’m too sexy for my hat; Too sexy for my hat; what do you think about that…

★~ Born Today:

♥~ 1925 – Jack Lemmon (John Uhler Lemmon III) Academy Award-winning actor: Mr. Roberts [1955], Save the Tiger [1973]; The Apartment, The Odd Couple, Grumpy Old Men series, Some Like It Hot, The China Syndrome, Airport ’77, The Fortune Cookie, Irma La Douce, Days of Wine and Roses, Bell, Book and Candle, My Fellow Americans, Out to Sea; died June 27, 2001

♥~ 1931 – James Dean actor: Giant, East of Eden, Rebel Without A Cause; killed in car crash Sep 30, 1955

♥~ 1932 – John Williams Academy Award-winning composer: film scores: Schindler’s List [1993], E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial [1982], Star Wars [1977], Fiddler on the Roof[1971]; Jurassic Park, Home Alone series, JFK, Indiana Jones series, Born on the Fourth of July, The Accidental Tourist, Superman series, Jawsseries, The Deer Hunter, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Black Sunday, Midway, The Towering Inferno, Earthquake, The Paper Chase, The Poseidon Adventure; conductor: Boston Pops

♥~ 1940 -Ted Koppel, Broadcast journalist

♥~ 1941 – Nick Nolte actor: Down and Out in Beverly Hills, The Deep, Blue Chips, 48 Hours, The Prince of Tides, Extreme Prejudice

♥~ 1955 – John Grisham author: The Confession, The Associate, A Time to Kill, The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Rainmaker; attorney; legislator

★~ Did You Know: 

♥~  The smallest kite in the world that actually flies is 0.195 inches (5mm)high.

♥~ The largest number of kites flown on a single line is 11,284, this record is held by a Japanese kite maker.

♥~ The longest kite in the world is 3,395 feet (1034 meters)

♥~ The fastest recorded speed of a kite is over 120 mph. (193 km/h).

♥~ The record for the highest single kite flown is 13,600 feet above sea level.

♥~ Kites have been used for thousands of years to lift offerings and give thanks to the Gods for good harvests, fertility, weather and prosperity.

♥~ The Chinese believe that looking at kites high in the sky maintains good eyesight and that when you tilt your head back to look at a kite in the sky your mouth opens slightly, which gets rid of excess body heat – giving you a healthy yin-yang balance.

♥~ The first kites flew over 3000 years ago and were made from leaves.

♥~ In Indonesia leaf kites are used for fishing.

♥~ In the Orient, kites are given to someone to bring them happiness, good luck, prosperity and cure illness.

♥~ Kite flying was banned in China during the Cultural Revolution, anyone found flying a kite was sent to jail for up to three years and their kites destroyed.

♥~ Kite flying was banned in Japan in 1760 because too many people preferred flying kites over working.

♥~ There is at least one Kite Festival every weekend of the year in some part of the world.

♥~ Kite flying is one of the fastest growing sports in the world.

♥~ Each year on the second Sunday of October kite flyers in nearly every country of the World unite and fly a kite to celebrate “ONE SKY ONE WORLD”.

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Cole during his, “I do it” phase…..

I am off and running today. Unfortunately, not to fly a kite but I will be back in a bit. Hope everyone has a wonderful “Wind-s-day” when was the last time you flew a kite? If you have a Morno moment leave a comment! Odd Loves Company!