~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
February 1, 2014

★~ Todays Quote: Rabbit Rabbit! 

★~ Hula in the Coola Day: 

It’s just about this time every year that those of us in the Northern Hemisphere start getting anxious for the arrival of spring. Although there’s not much we can do to hasten Mother Nature we can pretend not to care — at least for one day. “Hula in the Coola Day”  encourages us to thumb our noses at winter’s worst and celebrate in true tropical fashion. So dig out that old grass skirt and coconut bra, dust off the Don Ho albums and start blending up some fruity libations!

Perhaps I will hula while I shovel. Off to find that coconut bra.

★~ Serpent Day:

A day to celebrate our slithery friends.  Latin for “something that creeps”; serpents are famous throughout mythology.  Commonly used to symbolize guardians and vindictiveness, serpents come in all sizes and shapes from dragons to sea serpents.  One of the most recognized serpents throughout the ages is the snake.

Here is a fact to toss out on National Serpent day:  Snakes  have six rows of teeth – four in the top jaw (two along each side and two along the roof of the mouth), and two in the bottom jaw. The teeth are continually shed and regrown – whenever one is lost, another grows in its place, meaning a snake goes through hundreds of teeth in its lifetime. Only venomous snakes have fangs, but the fangs are not their only teeth – they have numerous small teeth in addition to the fangs. Good to know, right?

★~ Baked Alaska Day:

Baked Alaska, also called glace au four, omelette a la norvegienne, or Norwegian omelette,  a dessert made with ice cream, sponge cake, and toasted meringue and is served with a long culinary history.

The concept of serving cream and cake together dates back to the Renaissance. The cooks of the era were the first to adorn their baked goods with a whipped topping. This laid the foundation for Baked Alaska, but it does not account for two of the dessert’s distinguishing characteristics—temperature and texture.

The Chinese were the first culture to cook pastry over an ice cream filling.  Credit is also due to the American physicist Benjamin Thompson, who experimented with the heat resistance of beaten egg whites and discovered how to make meringue.

Baked Alaska Recipe. 

★~ Today in History:

♥~Feb. 1, 1865 –-Towards the end of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery.

♥~ 1964 – The headline in Billboard magazine read, “Indiana Gov. Puts Down ‘Pornographic’ Wand Tune.” Governor Matthew Welsh had declared Louie, Louie, by The Kingsmen (on Wand Records), to be pornographic.

♥~ 1987 – Terry Williams of Los Gatos, CA won the largest slot machine payoff  up to that time. He put $4.9 million in his pockets after getting four lucky 7s on a machine in Reno, NV

♥~ 2004-  Freedom of speech — was under dispute after the Super Bowl halftime show on February 1st, 2004. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fined CBS for broadcasting the brief moment where Justin Timberlake tore part of Janet Jackson’s costume, exposing her breast, in what became known as a “wardrobe malfunction.”

♥~ 2005 – A jury awarded $15.6 million to Russell Christoff, kindergarten teacher in Antioch, CA. Christoff’s image had been used for years without his permission on Taster’s Choice coffee labels.

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1901 – (William) Clark Gable actor; Gable’s most famous role in a 30-year movie career was as Rhett Butler in the Civil War romance “Gone With the Wind” in which he starred with Vivian Leigh.  In 1999, the American Film Institute named Gable seventh among the greatest male stars of all time. He was nicknamed ‘The King of Hollywood.’ died Nov 16, 1960

♥~ 1919 – Charles S. Dubin TV director: M*A*S*H, The Defenders, Ironside, Hawaii Five-O [1960s], Kojak, Father Dowling Mysteries; died Sep 6, 2011

♥~ 1968 – Lisa Marie Presley singer: Lights Out, Savior, Nobody Noticed It, Important, Indifferent, To Whom It May Concern but better known for being Elvis’ daughter and marrying Michael Jackson.

★~  Good to Know: 

School District Seizes Lunches From 40 Elementary Students in Debt: As many as 40 students at Uintah Elementary in Salt Lake City had their lunches—which they’d already received from the cafeteria—seized and trashed by school authorities because their parents were behind on payments. Click to read more. 

My thoughts:

Adults should not throw untouched  lunches in the garbage.  There are hungry kids in Africa. Oh wait, their are hungry children right in front of you. 

I don’t think reposing a kids lunch should be a part of anyones job description.  Just say no. The internet will support you. 

Flakey parents who don’t pay their kids school lunch bill should be made to eat Bologna sandwiches  for a week.  No fruit.  If parents need help, figure it out with the school.

Does anyone else wonder, If we can feed child molesters three healthy meals in jail why can’t we  find a way to make sure kids have lunch, as needed, at school? 

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It’s snowing: Of the nearly 50″ of snow which has fallen this season–nearly two and a half times normal—nearly half (49% ) has fallen on Saturdays and Sundays!

January 6th; Chicago’s coldest temperature of the winter.  Minus 16 with driving winds and sub zero wind chills.  Chicago is in the midst of it’s tenth coldest winter on record, and it’s fifth snowiest.  We’ve had more snow than in any winter over the last three decades.

The last time Chicago was this snowy was 1978-79, the year of the infamous Jane Byrne, Michael Bilandic blizzard.

Misery loves company:  While we’re shivering, the Hawaiian islands, in just the past week, have been pounded by some of the biggest waves they’ve seen in a decade, some 50 feet or five stories high…..

Alaska have been treated to warmer temperatures than Chicago, the warmest January temperatures ever observed, 62 degrees in some cases.

El Morno is late because I was out shoveling again. No, I wasn’t, we don’t shovel. There are people on Craigslist that will shovel very inexpensively. Dearly departed Joe would not approve of hiring someone Ha. His opinion no longer counts. Cole shovels, when he is home. I had a much better attitude 40 inches ago….

Enjoy your Saturday. I am eating mini-hot dogs, and watching The Office. Might escape later. Happy February!