~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
December 7th,2012

★~  Today’s Quote:  “Don’t you like to write letters? I do because it’s such a swell way to keep from working and yet feel you’ve done something.” ~ Ernest Hemingway

★~  International Civil Aviation Day:

Air travel can be the bane of our very existence, but let’s face it—most times it beats the alternative: days in the car, a slow boat to Europe, and passing on all those long weekends in the Bahamas sitting by the beach and sipping on drinks with little umbrellas in them. So over the holidays, when you’re crammed in the middle of seat of a 737 that’s been circling for three hours, remember: Flying is awesome!

★~ Letter Writing Day:

Letter writing day the day marks the death of Marcus Cicero (B.C. 106-B.C. 43), an ancient Roman philosopher and politician. He was admired as the father of the nation in his time, but was politically disadvantaged and forced to flee Rome due to conflict with Julius Caesar and the power elite. Cicero then wrote countless letters while in exile in Greece.

Celebrate today by writing a personal letter to send during the holiday season and reconnect with loved ones. And don’t forget your letter to Santa!

★~ Cotton Candy Day: 

I love cotton candy and so does El Morno friend, Debbie, isn’t it odd that neither of our boys like it? While, I think cotton candy is FUN, Cole thinks it is sticky. He might eat a little but would never hunt down the cotton candy man at the local park or fight to pull over in traffic and find a place to park in order to chase after a cotton candy vendor. Kids. Did you know, Cotton Candy use to be called Fairy Floss? It was renamed cotton candy in 1920. Today in Greece, Israel, and India, it is often referred to as “old woman’s hair!”  Celebrate Cotton Candy Day by treating yourself to some. If you can’t find the cotton candy man (fresh cotton candy is best), you may be able to pick up some at your local grocery store or the dollar store. Click for more cotton candy facts.

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1925 – Swimmer Johnny Weissmuller set a world record in the 150-yard freestyle with a time of 1 minute, 25 and 2/5 seconds — in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Johnny went on to fame swinging from vines as ‘King of the Jungle’, Tarzan, in movies. El Morno friend Carol shares that, Johnny once swam in a lagoon in her little town of Belvidere, Illinois. “There are pictures of him in our museum. I guess he was really a big hit being a movie star and all.”

♥~ 1941 – Pearl Harbor Day.  “A date that will live in infamy,” nearly 200 Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, long considered the US “Gibraltar of the Pacific.” The raid, which lasted little more than one hour, left nearly 3,000 dead. Nearly the entire US Pacific Fleet was at anchor there and few ships escaped damage. Several were sunk or disabled, while 200 US aircraft on the ground were destroyed. The attack on Pearl Harbor forced the United States into WWII, a declaration of war was requested by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and approved by the Congress Dec 8, 1941.

♥~ 1968 –  History’s most overdue library book, Dr. J. Currie’s Febrile Diseases, was returned to the University of Cincinnati Medical Library. It had been checked out 145 years earlier by Mr. M. Dodd and was returned by his great-grandson, Richard Dodd. The fine, estimated at $2,264, was waived.

♥~ 1973 – Dr. Ronald Alkana of the University of California at Irvine set the world banana eating record by downing 17 4.5-ounce bananas in two minutes.

♥~ 1998  – Officials of Madame Toussaud’s traveling wax museum in Sydney, Australia, finally sewed the zipper up on U.S. President Bill Clinton’s pants because visitors kept unzipping it.

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1932 – Ellen Burstyn (Edna Rae Gilhooley) Academy Award-winning actress: Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore [1974]; The Color of Evening, When a Man Loves a Woman, The Cemetery Club, Same Time Next Year, Harry and Tonto, The Exorcist, The Last Picture Show, The Ellen Burstyn Show, The Doctors

♥~ 1948 – Gary Morris singer: The Wind Beneath My Wings, Baby Bye Bye, I’ll Never Stop Loving You, 100% Chance of Rain, Leave Me Lonely, Making Up For Lost Time [The Dallas Lovers Song] [w/Crystal Gayle], Plain Brown Wrapper, Another World, Bring Him Home;

♥~ 1956 – Larry Bird, Basketball Hall of Famer

★~ Did You Know: In the spirit of the holidays and Friday night,  lets learn a little bit about egg nog.

♥~ Eggnog is technically stirred custard—a mixture of dairy and eggs. It’s almost identical to ice cream, except that in most cases it contains too much alcohol to freeze.

♥~ Although it can be cooked to kill off any possible salmonella and to thicken the mix, such thermal activity also deactivates the egg enzymes that give “real” eggnog its je ne sais quoi.

♥~ As far back as the late 17th century, the term “nog” referred to a style of strong beer brewed in East Anglia, while a “noggin” was a small cup or mug that could be used for imbibing nog.

♥~ Most culinary anthropologists believe modern eggnog descended from a thick, boozy, late-medieval concoction called posset that was composed of hot milk and hooch enhanced with whatever spice the lord of the castle had on hand.

♥~ Egg-based drinks found new popularity in the American colonies, where nearly everyone had access to cows, chickens, and rum.

♥~ Nutritious and relatively stable, eggnog was our first health drink. Sipping it is our patriotic duty.

♥~ Although bourbon is the modern nog spirit, rum was the liquor of choice in colonial days.

♥~ Today’s serious nogsters are into aging. After nog spends six months to a year in the fridge, a curious chemical collusion takes place as egg proteins, alcohol, and milk sugars slowly join forces. The resulting elixir tastes not of eggs, milk, sugar, or booze but simply of eggnog.

♥~ Don’t worry too much about safety. As long as your brew contains at least 20 percent alcohol and is stored below 40°F for at least a month, any microbial nasties that might haunt your innards should be nice and dead.

♥~ Now that you have all the facts. El Morno is happy to inform you that you  are qualified to whip up Alton Brows Egg Nog recipe.

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I have been making Cole breakfast for the road each morning, because breakfast IS the most important meal of the day. The breakfast menu this morno includes: a hard boiled egg, bacon, and donut holes (a gift from a campers Mom). After I assemble the breakfast, I take it out to the garage and put it on the passenger seat of his car, and turn the garage light on for him. Yesterday, he told me that he liked blue straws in his OJ better than the red ones.  Good to know, but I’m a little surprised, red has always been one of his favorite color. . .

What will you ask Santa for this year? And please don’t say something lame like, “I have everything I need” or  “Peace of Earth.” (Santa gifts can also be something you decide to treat yourself too.)