★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
May 16, 2014

★~ Today’s Quote: “People are hungry for stories. It’s part of our very being. Storytelling is a form of history, of immortality too. It goes from one generation to another. -Studs Terkel”

★~ Tree Love Day:

A few suggestions on how to love a tree…..

~ Release your inner “tree hugger” – Just get out there and wrap your arms around your favorite old arboreal pal.

~ Give your tree a long, cool drink – In the garden setting, trees are the tall silent type. They are not usually crying for attention the way those bratty flowers and shrubs do. Think of them as nature’s middle child. But, trees have needs too, and one of the main ones is for more water. Watering a tree means soaking the root system. It takes time and patience but the result is a regular root soaking will make a world of difference to a tree’s long-term health.

~ Provide some wildlife-friendly ornamentation – Even if trees are fairly stoic they can be a tad vain. Every tree enjoys a little nature-appropriate ornamentation. Perhaps a good bird feeder, bird house, or bird bath.  I  bought the hanging bird bath, in the picture above, for $11.00 at Menards (Home Depot type store). It’s pretty and despite the chilly weather the birds seem to really like it. It fills with rain or I can add water using the hose. 

★~ Sea-Monkey Day:

Sea-monkeys, are a variety of the brine shrimp. They’ve been marketed as pets since 1960, when scientist Harold von Braunhut observed their eggs have a long shelf life out of water, and, once hatched, they’re pretty easy to care for.

After re-naming them “Instant Life,” von Braunhut started selling packets of sea-monkey eggs as pets for 49 cents. Since then sea-monkey kits have been sold from the back pages of comic books, in toy stores and, of course, on the Web. Today’s sea-monkeys come with a two-year guarantee and are sold in 12 countries worldwide. (Some of you wondered the last time we celebrated sea monkey day if you could still purchase them…yes)

If you are interested in purchasing Sea Monkeys enlist the help of Susan Barclay, a Canadian woman who likes to be called “The Sea-Monkey Lady.” Susan is know for running the best sea-monkey site on the Web. 

★~ Purple for Peace Day: 

Purple for Peace Day is celebrated as a way to welcome aliens to earth. Apparently, aliens like the color purple. Think of it as a Pep day for Aliens. Put on your purple, grab your pom pom’s and cheer….(thank you Cousin Carla for the cheer-you are never ending source of inspiration)

Give me a U
Give me an F
Give me an O

What do we want?
Aliens
How do we want them?
IN P E A C E
Come on Down Aliens!

★~Coquilles St. Jacques Day

At one time scallops were enjoyed in the same manner as baked clams. The mollusk was diced and mixed with bread crumbs, sauce and baked in its original shell. Printed recipes for Coquilles Saint-Jacques, or scallops smothered in a creamy wine and mushroom sauce, date back to French cookbooks of the early 1900s. The mixture is cooked in the shell of the scallop and is named after Saint Jacques.

According to legend, Saint Jacques saved the life of a drowning knight. The knight emerged from the sea covered with scallops shells. Scallops were named ‘Coquilles St. Jacques’ in St. James honor, as was the dish.”

This sounds really good, and I have the appropriate shells to make it with, but ya know I think I’ll just order this dish from a menu. For those of you who enjoy cooking this recipe looks good, is rated five stars, and shares more about what makes  Coquilles St. Jacques special! Coquilles St-Jacques (Gratinéed Scallops)

★~ Today in History: 

♥~ 1960 – On the cover of LIFE magazine: the wedding of England’s Princess Margaret.

♥~ 1975 – Junko Tabei (born Sept. 22, 1939) led and all-woman expedition to Mount Everest. On May 16, 1975, she was the first woman ever to reach the summit via the South-East Ridge route according to Everest News. But the climber didn’t stop with Mount Everest. Tabei’s name is also on the short list of climbers who have climbed the summits of the highest peaks on all seven continents.

♥~ 1981 – Bette Davis Eyes, by Kim Carnes, climbed to the top spot of the pop music chart and stayed there for five straight weeks, took a week off (replaced by Stars on 45 Medley by Stars on 45) and came back to number one for four more weeks! It

♥~ 2002 – Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones opened in the U.S.

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1912 – Studs (Louis) Terkel writer: “Chicago is not the most corrupt American city. It’s the most theatrically corrupt.”   Studs Terkel worked as a young man living in Chicago and went on to host TV and radio programs interviewing writers and celebrities but at heart Studs was a story teller. In the 1960’s Studs began interviewing ordinary people about different subjects and published  a series of books that included:Working (1974), “The Good War”: An Oral History of World War II (1984), RACE: How Blacks and Whites Think and Feel about the American Obsession (1991), and Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Reflections on Death, Rebirth, and Hunger for a Faith (2001). Hope Dies Last (2003)

♥~1921 – Harry Carey Jr. actor: Comanche Stallion, Last Stand at Saber River, Tombstone, The Exorcist III, Back to the Future Part III

♥~ 1955 – (Mary) Debra Winger actress: Forget Paris, Shadowlands, A Dangerous Woman, Leap of Faith, Legal Eagles, Terms of Endearment, An Officer and a Gentleman, Urban Cowboy, French Postcards, Slumber Party ’57, Wonder Woman

♥~ 1966 – Janet Jackson singer: Again, Control, Miss You Much, That’s the Way Love Goes, What Have You Done for Me Lately; LPs: Janet Jackson, Dream Street, Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814, janet, Design of a Decade, The Velvet Rope [has sold some 40-million albums worldwide]; actress: Good Times, Fame, Diff’rent Strokes; Michael’s sister

♥~ 1973 – Tori Spelling actress: Beverly Hills, 90210, Co-ed Call Girl, Scream 2, Perpetrators of the Crime, Scary Movie 2.

★~ Good to Know: It’s Friday….

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The senior play opens next week, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and there is lots of work behind the scenes to get done. It’s fun and I’m enjoying supporting the production. Following the play our seniors head off to Hawaii for two weeks and I’ll be over my head putting together the graduation slide show. These last few weeks are flying by and I still need to decide what I want to wear to the end of year occasions! I’ll figure something out, I have an idea…

We are still gathering tree information. Currently we are leaning towards a Maple.

Go forth and have a fabulous Friday!

Odd Loves Company,