~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
January 18, 2014

★~ Today’s Quote: “Well,” said Pooh, “what I like best,” and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn’t know what it was called.”  ~ A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

★~ Winnie the Pooh Day:

“Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs …” Though he was “Edward Bear” in those opening lines, Christopher Robin soon nicknamed his stuffed friend “Winnie the Pooh,” as he was known ever-after.

A. A Milne died in 1956, his son Christopher Robin in 1996. But Pooh lives on. You can even visit him – the original stuffed bear that started it all is on display at the New York Public Library.

Winnie The Pooh Day is celebrated on A.A. Milne Birthday.

★~ Thesaurus Day: 

Peter Mark Roget, the author of Roget’s Thesaurus, was born on this day in 1779. In 1840, Roget retired from a successful career in medicine and spent the rest of his life working on “Roget’s Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases.” He published his dictionary of synonyms in 1852. Since then, it has never been out of print!

Roget’s original treasure (thesaurus is Latin for treasure) trove of information included 15,000 words organized into six primary categories—existence, relation, quantity, number, and time. Today the book boasts over 230,000 words, but it is still organized by ideas and concepts as opposed to alphabetically.

★~ Peking Duck Day:

Peking Duck originated in Beijing, China during the Imperial Era. It became one of the main dishes on the court menus of the Ming Dynasty in the 1500s and is now considered one of China’s national foods.

Peking Duck is made with a specific breed of duck—the Imperial Peking. It is typically roasted in a brick oven, which causes the skin to become crispy. Peking Duck can be eaten with pancakes, spring onions, and either hoisin sauce or sweet bean sauce.

To celebrate National Peking Duck Day, visit a Chinese restaurant and enjoy a traditionally prepared Peking Duck or, if you are feeling adventurous, try cooking one at home in your brick oven.

★~ Today In History:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/Fi1sBwV1-tU[/youtube]

♥~1862 –  Former U.S. President John Tyler died, shortly after being elected to the Confederate Congress.  Tyler was the first vice president to succeed a U.S. president who died in office, following the 1841 death of William Henry Harrison. Tyler fathered 15 legitimate children by two wives, and was accused of fathering more children in affairs with slaves.

♥~  1896 – The x-ray machine was exhibited (in New York City) for the first time. To see the machine, one had to pay a 25¢ admission charge. The x-ray machine was invent in November 1895, by Wilhelm Röntgen a German physicist.

♥~ 1950 – The federal tax on oleo margarine was repealed! Oh Happy Parkay!

♥~  1973 – Pink Floyd began recording Dark Side of the Moon, which would become the longest-charting record in Billboard magazine’s history. It remained on the album chart for more than 14 years – until mid-1988 – selling over five-million copies.

★~ Born Today:

♥~ 1779 – Peter Roget lexicographer: the man behind the thesaurus; inventor: log-log slide rule

♥~ 1882 – A.A. (Alan Alexander) Milne author: Winnie the Pooh, When We Were Very Young, Now We Are Six, The House at Pooh Corner; died Jan 31, 1956

♥~ 1904 – Cary Grant (Archibald Alexander Leach) actor: The leading man of the 1957 movie An Affair to Remember, Grant’s film career lasted from the 1930′s to his retirement in the 1960′s, and included four Hitchcock movies and four films with Katharine Hepburn.

♥~ 1913 – Danny Kaye (David Daniel Kaminski) comedian, dancer, singer, actor: Hepburn’s 1969 movie The Madwoman of Chaillot was the last feature film for comedian Danny Kaye,  known for physical humor and fast-talking wordplay, also starred in White Christmas and The Court Jester, as well as a 1960′s variety show on CBS.

♥~ 1955 – Kevin Costner actor: Field of Dreams, JFK, The Bodyguard, The Untouchables, Waterworld, The Postman, Thirteen Days; Academy Award- winning director: Dances with Wolves [1990]; builder of controversial entertainment complex on sacred Lakota Indian land in Black Hills of South Dakota

★~ Good to Know: Chinese Foods food that have no relationship to China.

♥~ Who is General Tso? Or Gao? Tso brutally  held China together, 20 million people died in the Taiping Rebellion. So as you can gather he was too busy warding off rebellions to be cooking. This recipe is strictly American.

♥~ Crab Wontons: Nobody eats cheese in China. Why?  Lactose intolerant. (almost nobody–I’m sure some people eats cheese)

♥~ Chop Suey: Refrigerator garbage. It is said that some Chinese cook working during the Gold Rush served it as a personal “Screw you” to some drunk American miners.

♥~ Pu Pu Platter:  It’s nothing but fried, greasy egg rolls, spare ribs, chicken wings and beef teriyaki—which isn’t even Chinese!

♥~ Sweet ‘n’ Sour Pork: Chunks of pork, battered, deep-fried and slimed in a thick orange sauce. There are obvious Southern barbecue influences here.

♥~ Salad: The Chinese cook their food. Dysentery is a concern….

♥~ Egg Rolls: Does anyone eat these? They are bad fake for the genuine Chinese spring rolls, which are smaller, thin and crispy—edible.

♥~ Beef and broccoli: It’s a good dish but not Chinese—they don’t have Western broccoli in the East.

♥~ Fortune cookies: Another ploy to amuse Westerners. Chinese people eat something more fortuitous for dessert: oranges. They’re good luck.

#

It is 13 above in Chicago and it feels like 6. This morno, I headed out to check-in campers working my way through the ice, snow, a broken gate, and stuck garage door. Sometimes, I feel like I’ve been exiled to Siberia. After I greeted the camper and family (cheerfully! who wants to leave their pup with a grump)I worked my way back inside with excited campers, their gear, coaxing a garage door down, and stabilizing the gate so it does not fall on us, while walking with a determined commitment not to fall. My hearty heavy coated young campers love this weather and, will want water after a romp, so water bowls have to be carried outside (frozen pipes). I love what I do, but like any other job it has its challenges. Winter is one of them.

My teen seems to be having a wonderful time in NOLO. I don’t hear much from him while he’s on the road. A picture every now and then, or a charge on my debt card. He did call last night and ask where I hid his ties. Problem solved. I’m always reassured to know if he has a problem, he’ll be in touch. It was a real trick packing dress clothes for him. Of-course, I reminded him to hang up his clothes immediately (ad nauseam) every mother says that and every kid leaves them folded in the suitcase.  Wrinkles don’t concern me under normal circumstance. Cole had never seen me iron.  However, I’m worried about my reputation as a Mother. You know, the kind of Mom who lets her kid attend a rehearsal dinner and wedding in a wrinkled dress shirt. Ok, I’m not losing sleep. But I like to pretend to be concerned for my sweet mothers sake. I folded his shirts in bubble wrap. My idea, not the internet. Bubble wrap is fun and might keep the shirts from wrinkling. Tissue paper is so yesterday.

What’s new in your corner of the woods?

Odd Loves Company!