~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
January 7, 2014

Today’s Quote: If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn’t ask me, I’d still have to say it. ~ George Burns

★~ Old Rock Day:

The oldest rocks on Earth are 4.03 billion years old, from the Acasta Gneiss in the Northwest Territories of Canada. These rocks were found in the Canadian Shield, a very ancient section of the Earth’s crust. Originally the rock was part of a very old mountain chain, the core of which was exposed over billions of years due to glacial activity. The rock formed during the Hadean period, the oldest geologic division of time on Earth, which began at the planet’s formation 4.57 billion years ago and continued until the dawn of the Archean, 3.8 billion years ago. Many of the world’s oldest rocks are from this era.

Other extremely old rocks have been found in Western Greenland and Western Australia. These are about 3.8 billion years old.

There are lots of way to celebrate Rock Day (hunt for rocks, dig for fossils, paint a rock), but maybe the best way to celebrate is to do what rocks do—ROCK ON!

★~Tempura Day:

Tempura is a tasty deep fried Japanese dish made with lightly battered vegetables and seafood. The original cooking technique is attributed to the Portuguese, who landed in Japan in the sixteenth century to establish new trade routes.

The word “tempura” is  related to the European roots of the dish. It comes from the Latin phrase “quattuor tempora” meaning “Ember Days.” This term refers to the holy days and Fridays when Catholics avoided meat and only ate vegetables or fish.

Tempura batter is made with cold water and wheat flour. Some recipes also call for eggs, baking soda, oil, or spices for extra flavoring. A traditional tempura will usually include shrimp, scallops, eggplant, green beans, sweet potato, mushrooms, or bamboo.
Food Network Alton Brown Tempura

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1785 – French aeronaut/balloonist Jean-Pierre Blanchard successfully made the first air-crossing of the English Channel from the English coast to France.

♥~ 1896 – Fannie Merritt Farmer published The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook, later renamed The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. It was the first cookbook to use accurate measurements.

♥~ 1926 – The wedding anniversary of George Burns and Gracie Allen who were married by a Justice of the Peace in Cleveland, Ohio.

♥~ 1927 – The first 31 transatlantic telephone calls were made between New York and London transatlantic telephone service. The calls cost .00 (equivalent to about $900 today) for five minutes.

♥~ 1929/1935 – Comic strips about two space adventurers began on January 7th, five years apart: “Buck Rogers” in 1929, and “Flash Gordon” in 1934.

♥~ 1979 – In the AFC title game, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Houston Oilers 34-5 for a Super Bowl trip and their third AFC championship title. They played in a steady rain at Three Rivers Stadium. In the NFC championship game, the Dallas Cowboys shut out the Los Angeles Rams 28-0. (The Steelers beat the Cowboys 35-31 in Super Bowl XIII Jan 21.)

♥~ 2000 – These movies opened in the U.S.: Magnolia, with Jeremy Blackman, Michael Bowen, Tom Cruise, Melinda Dillon and Henry Gibson; and Snow Falling on Cedars, starring Ethan Hawke, James Rebhorn, Sam Shepard, Max Von Sydow, Youki Kudoh, Rick Yune and Celia Weston.

★~ Born Today:

♥~ Suzanne Carpenter:. Wishing you a most wonderful birthday. Hope your day includes a little snow, and your year is full of good health, and terrific shabby chic deals

♥~ 1745 – Jacques Montgolfier inventor [w/brother Joseph]: hot air balloon

♥~ 1891 – Zora Neale Hurston was an American folklorist, anthropologist, and author during the time of the Harlem Renaissance

♥~ 1912 –  Charles Addams. He had a normal, happy childhood and went on to draw macabre cartoons. He created The Addams Family.

♥~ 1908 – Estée Lauder cosmetics mogul: started Estée Lauder Companies with a jar of skin cream developed by her chemist uncle;

♥~ 1957 – Katie Couric (Katherine Anne Couric) TV news anchor (and managing editor): CBS Evening News with Katie Couric; TV host: Today

♥~ 1964 – Nicolas Cage (Nicholas Coppola) actor: The Best of Times, The Rock, Leaving Las Vegas, Vampire’s Kiss, Raising Arizona, Racing with the Moon, Moonstruck, Peggy Sue Got Married, The Cotton Club, Birdy, Valley Girl, Con Air, Face/Off, The Family Man, Windtalkers; nephew of director Francis Ford Coppola and actress Talia Shire

★~ Good to Know: 

It may be -9 in Chicago with a wind chill of -39, but at least it is not as cold as these places. There is always something to be grateful for…

♥~ International Falls, Minnesota is known as the coldest spot in the lower 48 states. The town of almost 7,000 people has an average temperature of 36.4 °F (2 °C). The average low for December, January, and February is below zero.

♥~ Umiat, Alaska is the coldest place in the United States, with an average temperature of 10.1°F.  However, the population hovers around five people with no permanent residents. You can follow weather conditions at Umiat Air Field online.

♥~ Snag was the site of the lowest temperature ever recorded in North America. On February 3rd, 1947, weathermen etched a notch in the thermometer, because the mercury was below the lowest indicator marks. When the thermometer was analyzed later, it was found that the temperature would’ve read -81.4°F (-63°C). In temperatures that low, the voices of people could be heard four miles away. Frozen breath hangs in the air for up to 15 minutes, making it easy to find where someone has gone.

♥~ Northice Research Station in the middle of the Greenland Ice Sheet recorded a temperature of -87°F (-66°C) on January 9th, 1954 and is considered the coldest place in the western hemisphere is Greenland.

♥~  Yakutsk, capital of the Yakutia region in Siberia claims to be the coldest city on earth. Considering it has a population of 200,000 people, that may be so. In January, daily high temperatures average around -58°F (-50°C). Residents often leave their cars running all day long to ensure they can get home. You are warned not to wear glasses outside, as they will freeze to your face and tear the flesh when you try to remove them. See pictures and a video of Yakutsk here.

♥~ Verkhoyansk, in the Yakutia region of Siberia, lies within the Arctic Circle, an eight-day drive from Yakutsk. But you can only drive there in the winter, when the lakes are frozen, because there are no land roads! 1,300 people live in Verkhoyansk, the biggest part of whom make their living herding reindeer and fur hunting. The area has abundant natural resources, including gold, but is too cold to develop profitable mining.  Temperatures that have been recorded at the Verkhoyansk Weather Station have shown a record low of minus 72 degrees Celsius, and an average temperature for January being minus 49 degrees Celsius. Unfortunately, a nearby town by the name of Oimyakon is also trying to gain the title of Cold Pole, with an unofficial record low of minus 78 degrees Celsius.

♥~ Oymyakon, the other village that claims to be the coldest spot in the northern hemisphere, is also in the Yakutia region of Russia. In the Sakha language, it means “non-freezing water”, because of the presence of a hot spring in the midst of the permafrost. On January 26, 1926, the temperature in Oymayakon was recorded as -96.2°F (-71.2°C). Some will argue with this figure because it was achieved through extrapolation instead of a direct thermometer measurement. Like Snag, Canada, Oymyakon lies in a bowl between mountains, which traps cold air. The temperature in winter is often lower than -50°F. See more pictures of Oymyakon here.

♥~ The coldest temperature ever recorded on earth was at Vostok Station, a Russian research station in inland Antarctica. On July 21st, 1983, thermometers read -128.6°F (-89.2°C). The station is manned year-round.

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Another cold day in Chicago. Cole’s winter break has been extended two extra days, so far. Cole said it pretty well after checking a dog out yesterday, “Mom it’s so cold the inside of your nose freezes.”

We ventured out to Cosco yesterday and dined on one of their pot pies for dinner. Hot, tasty and filling. The best part will be the left-overs tonight! Today, we’re heading out to the mall to shop for a dress shirt, that will go with the velvet jacket Cole bought to wear to the winter dance on Saturday.  I can’t wait to show you the pictures. We plan to stick to the inside malls. 

Wishing everyone a warm and toasty Tuesday!

♥~