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

 ★~ Today’s Quote:  “The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.” Olympic Charter.

★~ Olympics Opening Ceremony: 

Although there will be a few competitions starting on Feb. 6, the Sochi Olympics will not officially begin until the end of the opening ceremony on Feb. 7.

Here is a look at how to view it in the United States, which will only be shown on delay in prime time on NBC. The American flag will be held by Todd Lodwick during the parade of nations. Lodwick is a Nordic combined skier and will be competing in his sixth games.

What: 2014 Olympic Opening Ceremony

When: Friday, Feb. 7 at 11 a.m. ET

Where: Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi, Russia

TV: NBC, 7:30 p.m. ET

★~ Go Red For Women: 

National Wear Red Day — the first Friday each February — has been created by the American Heart Association to bring attention to the risk of Heart attacks and women. AHA click to find read more.

★~ Wave All Your Fingers at Your Neighbor Day:

Not one, not two, not even three! Make sure you wave all your fingers at your neighbor today. That’s right, turn to the person on your right, put on a big smile and… jazz hands!

★~ Fettuccine Alfredo Day:

Fettuccine Alfredo was first created by Alfredo de Lelio in Rome in 1914. Though it was an instant success in Italy, it did not become popular in other parts of the world until after World War II.

Fettuccine noodles are wider and flatter than linguine. They also have flat edges, unlike round spaghetti noodles. The translation of the word “fettuccine” in English is “little slices” of pasta. Pasta was designed in various shapes and textures in order to hold sauces differently in certain dishes? Wide noodles (like fettuccine) work best with cream sauces.

To celebrate National Fettuccine Alfredo Day, Cook your fettuccine in boiling water with a little bit of salt until al dente. Drain. Add melted butter, grated parmesan cheese, heavy cream and toss it all with a bit of seasoning. Sprinkle with a bit more parm and serve. Add broccoli or chicken for a contemporary twist!

Bon appétit!

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1827 – Ballet was introduced to the US by renowned French danseuse Francisquy Hutin with a performance of The Deserter, staged at the Bowery Theater, New York, NY. A minor scandal erupted when the ladies in the lower boxes left the theater upon viewing the light and scanty attire of Mme Hutin and her troupe. 

♥~ 1962 – The U.S. began an economic embargo on Cuba, which remains in effect today. The embargo came in response to Cuba’s allegiance with the Soviet Union in the Cold War.

♥~ 1964 – More than 3,000 fans jammed JFK Airport in New York City as Beatlemania invaded the U.S. The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr arrived for their first U.S. visit (including an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show). The ‘Fab Four’ controlled the top spot on the pop music charts for the next 15 weeks and owned the top of the album charts for 10 weeks. Meet The Beatles, indeed!

♥~ 1985 – New York, New York became the official anthem of the Big Apple. The announcement was made by then New York mayor, Ed “How’m I Doin’?” Koch. Sinatra fans rejoiced at the honor.

♥~ 1986 – History’s most productive duck died in Princes Risborough, Great Britain. The Aylesbury duck laid 457 eggs in 463 days, including 375 days in a row.

♥~ 1987 – Madonna’s Open Your Heart hit #1 in the U.S. It was the third straight number-one single from her True Blue album.

♥~ 1990 – The Soviet government made a major policy change, when the Communist party gave up its monopoly on power in the nation. Less than two years later, the Soviet Union would be disbanded.

★~Born Today:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/mvCgSqPZ4EM[/youtube]

♥~ 1478 – Sir Thomas More ‘Man for All Seasons’: statesman, author; found guilty of treason: beheaded July 6, 1535; sainted in 1935

♥~ 1812 – Charles Dickens novelist: David Copperfield, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist; died June 9, 1870

♥~ 1867 – Laura Ingalls Wilder writer: Little House series including Little House on the Prairie and Little House in the Big Woods; died Feb 10, 1957…..”Once upon a time, sixty years ago, a little girl lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs….

♥~ 1960 – James Spader Emmy Award-winning actor: Boston Legal [2004, 2005, 2007]; The Practice, Crash, Wolf, Stargate, True Colors, sex, lies and videotape, Wall Street, Mannequin, Endless Love, The Family Tree

♥~ 1962 – Garth Brooks Grammy Award-winning singer: In Another’s Eyes [1998 w/Trisha Yearwood]; Friends in Low Places, The Thunder Rolls; LPs: Ropin’ the Wind[first LP in history to debut at #1 on Billboard’s pop and country charts], The Chase, In Pieces, Fresh Horses, Sevens, Double Live; has sold over 80 million albums — second only to The Beatles

♥~ 1962 – David Bryan musician: keyboard: group: Bon Jovi

★~ Good to Know: Sochi 

♥~ Sochi is a resort city located in the Russian Federal Subject of Krasnodar Krai. It is north of Russia’s border with Georgia along the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains. Greater Sochi stretches 90 miles (145 km) along the sea and is considered one of the longest cities in Europe. The City of Sochi covers a total area of 1,352 square miles (3,502 sq km).

♥~ Sochi has a long history that dates back to Ancient Greek and Roman times when the area was inhabited by the Zygii people. From the 6th to the 11th centuries though, Sochi belonged to Georgia’s kingdoms of Egrisi and Abkhazia.

♥~ After the 15th century, the region making up Sochi was known as Ubykhia and was controlled by local mountaineer clans. In 1829 however the coastline region was ceded to Russia after the Caucasian and Russo-Turkish Wars.

♥~ In 1838, Russia founded the Fort of Alexandria (which was renamed Navaginsky) at the mouth of the Sochi River. In 1864, the final battle of the Caucasian War took place and on March 25 a new fort Dakhovsky was established where Navaginsky had been.

♥~ Throughout the early 1900’s, Sochi grew as a popular Russian resort city and in 1914, it was granted municipal rights. Sochi’s popularity grew further during Joseph Stalin’s control of Russia as Sochi as he had a vacation home, or dacha, built in the city. Since its founding, Sochi has also been the served as the location where various treaties have been signed.

♥~ As of 2002, Sochi had a population of 334,282 people and a population density of 200 people per square mile (95 per sq km).

♥~  Sochi’s topography is varied. The city itself lies along the Black Sea and is at a lower elevation than surrounding areas. However it is not flat and has clear views of the Caucasus Mountains.

♥~ The climate of Sochi is considered humid subtropical at its lower elevations and its winter low temperatures rarely dip below freezing for long periods. The average January temperature in Sochi is 43°F (6°C). Sochi’s summers are warm and temperatures range from 77°F to 82°F (25°C-28°C). Sochi’s receives about 59 inches (1,500 mm) of precipitation yearly. It is considered a SUMMER Resort.

♥~ Sochi is known for its various vegetation types (many of which are palms), parks, monuments and extravagant architecture. Around two million people travel to Greater Sochi during the summer months.

♥~ In addition to its status as a SUMMWR resort city, Sochi is known for its sports facilities. For example, tennis schools in the city have trained such athletes as Maria Sharapova and Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

♥ – Due to its popularity among tourists, historic characteristics, sports venues and proximity to the Caucasus Mountains, the International Olympic Committee selected Sochi as the site of the 2014 Winter Olympics on July 4, 2007.

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Sochi sounds like a lovely place to visit, but not to hold the 2014 Olympics. Wouldn’t your first clue that it was not ideal location for Winter Olympic be the fact that it is considered a warm weather resort?  And why did America agree to send its athletes to a place where terrorism lurks behind the barb wire,  gay rights are not valued, stray dogs and cats used to roaming the village are being killed by the hundreds, and the labor force is not large enough to finish construction on hotel rooms? And perhaps the worst travesty is to the people who live and work in Sochi year around and will remain behind to pick up their community when the torch goes out.

I’ve always loved watching the winter Olympics and with luck the worst that will happen are accommodation inconveniences. However, when I overheard someone say, “I just hope we can get all the Olympic athlete’s home safely” I thought,  Sheesh, are we sending them to war or to ice skate and ski.

Well, what is done is done. The snow is on the mountain, we will cheer the US teams,  watch them give their hearts and souls to the events they love best, and hope to high heaven they stifle their own National Pride, don’t offend the Russians, and come safely home.

Today, the Senior class of 2014 declared it Ditch Day. So tonight (Thursday) they are having a class slumber party at a classmates house and today plan to have a group breakfast and go bowling. I’d love to be a fly on the wall watching all thirteen of them coordinate the days activities. They aren’t worried about school because our teen rebels decided to tell their advisors they would not be there and send coffee and donuts to school. It seems they did not want to worry anyone or violate their teachers trust. I hope their teachers toast each other with mugs of coffee for a job well done and enjoy their free periods.

Wishing you a Fab Friday!

Odd Loves Company!