~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
February 17, 2013

★~ Today’s Quote:  My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.”  ― Dalai Lama XIV

★~ Random Acts of Kindness Day:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/ID0kgP9IVhs[/youtube]

★~ My Way Day:

Today is the official day to do everything your way. Sleep in late, eat whatever you want, and take as long as you like in the shower. The world revolves around you for the next twenty-four hours, so make sure that no one else influences your decisions. Do everything simply because you want to do it.

★~ Cabbage Day:

Cabbage doesn’t often get the spotlight. It’s not elegant like asparagus, or earthy like potatoes, or brilliantly dark green like chard. Sure it gets some annual attention as the sidekick of corned beef on St. Patrick’s Day, but usually it just usually it just lingers alone in the grocery store with little hope  of ever sharing in the excitement of a good stir fry. Well, all that’s about to change, because now cabbage has a day to shine: World Cabbage Day!

There is historical and botanical evidence that cabbage has been cultivated for more than 4,000 years and domesticated for over 2,500 years. Although they look very different, cabbage, kale, broccoli, kohlrabi, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts are all the same species of plant. With it’s ancient and distinguished heritage, Cabbage may be viewed as a symbol of the natural order of life. In the fairy tale of Little Otik, those who thwart mother nature are punished by the crone who patiently nurtures her cabbage patch.

Easy Skillet Cabbage Recipe 

★~ Cafe Au Lait Day:

Cafe au lait  means coffee with milk in French. In The Netherlands they call it “koffie verkeerd” which means “wrong coffee”. In Poland they call it “kawa biała” which means “white coffee”. In Germany they call it “Milchkaffee” which means “milk coffee”

A Cafe Au Lait is made with strong, quality dark roast and whole milk. If it is made with half and half, it is not a Cafe Au Lait but a Cafe Creme and if you serve it to an Aussie she is not going to be happy—just saying.

The French Twisted Woman can offer more information about Cafeau Lait and a recipe. It’s a fun read.

★~ Today in History:

♥~ Thomas Jefferson was elected president by the U.S. House. The House had to break an electoral tie between Jefferson and Aaron Burr. As a result, Burr became vice president.

♥~ 1897 – The National Congress of Mothers was founded in Washington, D.C. Later, it became the National PTA.

♥~ 1933 –Blondie Boopadoop, the title role and flapper in the comic strip Blondie, married Dagwood Bumstead. The marriage took place three years after Chic Young’s popular strip first debuted in U.S. newspapers. Later, Blondie became a hit on radio, television and in films, as well.

♥~ 1933 –Newsweek magazine was first published.

♥~ 1958 – On February 17th, 1958, Pope Pius XII declared St. Clare of Assisi the patron saint of television.

♥~ 1974  A helicopter buzzed the White House, during the final months of Richard Nixon’s presidency. The chopper was stolen and flown by a disgruntled Army private named Robert Preston

♥~ 1976 –The Eagles album Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) was released. It would eventually sell more than 25 million copies in the US, second only to Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

♥~ 2003 – A Tauranga, New Zealand, man was sentenced to 200 hours of community service for speeding semi-naked on a motorized barstool with his backside on fire — while intoxicated — without a license and registration. The flames involved a rolled up newspaper and a cigarette lighter.

♥~ 2007 –8,962 people flapped their arms and legs making snow angels on the state Capitol grounds in Bismarck, ND in a successful attempt at reclaiming the Guinness snow angel record.  Duluth, Mn challenge the record on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013. Thousands of people made snow angles on the athletic fields at the University of Minnesota Duluth, trying to make enough snow angels at once to get into Guinness World Records. The record is waiting for confirmation.

♥~ 2008 –Police in Midland, Michigan arrested a 32-year-old man for stealing 217 cases of Pepperidge Farm stuffing: street value $8,749. Police said the suspect worked for a distributor and had access to a trailer where the stuffing was stored. Police recovered 157 cases of stuffing at the man’s home.

★~ Born Today:

♥~ 1874 –  Thomas J Watson, Sr – American industrialist who built IBM

♥~ 1925 – Hal Holbrook (Harold Rowe Jr.) actor: Mark Twain, All the President’s Men, Sorry Wrong Number, Midway, Our Town, The Firm, Wall Street, Magnum Force

♥~ 1963 – Dan Whitney –  Actor,  “Larry the Cable Guy.”

♥~ 1963 –Michael Jordan , Chicago Bulls,  Basketball Hall of Famer.

♥~ 1972 – Billie Joe Armstrong Grammy Award-winning singer Dookie [1994]; group: Green Day; musician: guitar; songwriter

♥~ 1981 – Joseph Gordon-Levitt actor: 3rd Rock from the Sun, [500] Days of Summer, Inception, 50/50, 10 Things I Hate About You, Manic, Mysterious Skin, Brick, The Lookout,Killshot, Shadowboxer, Havoc, Latter Days, Forever Lulu, Picking Up the Pieces

♥~ 1981 – Paris Hilton actress: Pledge This!, House of Wax, Raising Helen, L.A. Knights, The Cat in the Hat, Wonderland, Nine Lives; Paris and her sister Nicky are heiresses to the Hilton Hotel fortune

★~ Did You Know:

 St. Clare of Assisi is the patron saint of television, but have you ever wondered about other Saints that might cater to modern-day issues…

♥~ THE PATRON SAINT OF QUESTIONABLE TV PLOTS – CLARE OF ASSISI: When you’re convinced that the writers of your favorite show are steering the characters in directions they would never really go (looking at you, Ryan Murphy), pray to Clare of Assisi, the patron saint of television writers. Clare is the saint of all things TV-related because she once saw and heard Christmas mass even though it was taking place miles away from the bed she was confined to. Likewise, turn to Clare when your iPhone has just landed facedown on the concrete. Clare’s prowess over all things screen-related may just mean your glass will be intact when you retrieve Siri from the ground.

♥~ THE PATRON SAINT OF PHANTOM CELL PHONE VIBRATIONS – GABRIEL THE ARCHANGEL: You’ve been there: the panicky moments pawing through your purse or stuffed coat pockets for your vibrating phone, only to finally locate it and realize that you had completely hallucinated the entire thing. To ensure that such a minor irritant never happens again, dial up Gabriel the Archangel, the patron saint of telephones and telecommunications. He’s the saint of these things thanks to his role as messenger from God to humans. Text messages to the pope must have added a whole new dimension to his Saintly work.

♥~ THE PATRON SAINT OF ETSY – ST. LUKE: Did you get a bad review from a disgruntled buyer? Stiffed by someone whose credit card was rejected after you already dropped their cardboard moose head in the mail? Pray to St. Luke, the patron of craftworkers, which encompasses everything from lace makers to sculptors. If you want to get even more specific, Saint Brieuc is the patron saint of purse makers, the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin answers to the calls of ribbon makers and Celestine V is the patron saint of bookbinders.

♥~ THE PATRON SAINT OF SORE EYES – ST. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO: If, you suffer from eye fatigue at the end of a long day of looking at spreadsheets, Word docs and Gawker, look no further than St. Augustine of Hippo, who is (very specifically) the patron saint of pooped peepers. However he is also the patron saint of bartenders. Before he “converted from a life of loose living,” old Augie was quite the playboy. It’s said that he finally abandoned his heathen ways by suddenly turning to a similarly hard-partying buddy and announcing, “Unlearned people are taking Heaven by force, while we, with all our knowledge, are so cowardly that we keep rolling around in the mud of our sins!” However he is also quoted as saying, ” “oh lord help me to be pure and help me to be chaste, but do not help me yet.” If you are concocting and earthly homebrew, or trying to fix the perfect cocktail give a shout out to Augustine of Hippo to ensure your next batch is top notch.

♥~ THE PATRON SAINT OF LOST KEYS – SAINT ZITA OF LUCCA: Lost your house keys again? Say a quick prayer to Zita, who, as a teenager, was entrusted with the keys to the house where she was a maid. Incidentally, Zita is also the patron to servants. Her corpse is considered incorruptible by the Catholic Church, so pay a visit to Zita the next time you’re in Lucca, Italy.

♥~ THE PATRON SAINT OF WIKIPEDIA – ST. ISIDORE OF SEVILLE: If you’re reading something on Wikipedia that you’re pretty sure is completely false, turn to Isidore of Seville for guidance. Not only is he the patron saint of the Internet, he was so-named because of his prolific writings, including a dictionary, an encyclopedia, a history of Goths and a history of the world beginning with creation. We’re pretty sure an archiver like that wouldn’t stand for Wikipedia shenanigans.

♥~ THE PATRON SAINT OF LOST LUGGAGE – ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA: With the help of Anthony of Padua, you’ll never leave the airport empty-handed again or be unable to find your car keys. Anthony’s renown for finding lost things actually happened long after he died: When a relic of his went mysteriously missing, Anthony’s followers prayed that it would be returned safely. A “novice” was then motivated to return the prayer book after receiving visions of an angry Anthony. Here is a prayer, for asking St. Anthony for help: “Tony, Tony, turn around, Something’s lost that must be found.”

♥~ THE PATRON SAINT OF OVERSLEEPING – ST. VITUS :Do you have the tendency to sleep through your alarm or hit snooze once to often? Give a nod to St. Vitus, though his tie to oversleeping is both thin and disturbing. When the teenage convert to Christianity was thrown into a pot of boiling oil as punishment for his religious preference, a rooster was added to the cauldron as part of the sacrifice. The bird has since become a symbol for Vitus, hence his interest in helping you get to work on time. Vitus is also connected to epidemic dancing.

#

It must be a bummer to get to heaven and believe you’re just going to relax for eternity, only to be told by God: get to work…you’re the patron saint of (here insert anything at all) and now you have to oversee all sorts of stuff back on Earth like a poltergeistian foreman. I hope they get plenty of vacation! I know that I call on St. Anthony a lot to track down my car keys.

Cole is heading off to the Chicago Auto Show with friends (last year he took his mon…sigh.) And I will be waiting to hear from my mom about her tracking results and watching the rest of Downton Abbey, Season 2 while I check pups in and out of camp. Not sure what the rest of the day will bring…maybe a trip to Target and a Starbucks. Nothing terrible exciting.

What are your plans for the day?

Odd Loves Company!