★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
May 30, 2014

★~Today’s Quote: I’m an Idealist. I don’t know where I’m going, But I’m on my way. ~ Carl Sandburg

★~Mint Julep Day:

On the first Saturday in May we celebrate the Kentucky Derby. But on May 30 we celebrate “National Mint Julep Day,” the signature drink of the Run for the Roses. Historians believe the mint julep originated in the 1700s, somewhere along the east coast of the United States. It first appeared in print, however, in 1803, described as a “dram of spirituous liquor that has mint in it, taken by Virginians in the morning.”

Furthermore…

“The preparation of the quintessence of gentlemanly beverages can be described only in like terms. A mint julep is not the product of a FORMULA. It is a CEREMONY and must be performed by a gentleman possessing a true sense of the artistic, a deep reverence for the ingredients and a proper appreciation of the occasion. It is a rite that must not be entrusted to a novice, a statistician, nor a Yankee. It is a heritage of the old South, an emblem of hospitality and a vehicle in which noble minds can travel together upon the flower-strewn paths of happy and congenial thought.”

Mint Julep Recipe

★~ Water A Flower Day!

April showers bring May flowers, but then you have to water them to keep them alive! Today is a great reminder to show a little love to all those beautiful spring blooms.

★~ Back in the Days

[youtube]http://youtu.be/QTEIWK9CaEs[/youtube]

♥~ 1431- Joan of Arc was 19 years old when she was burned at the stake as a witch in Rouen, France but declared innocent 25 years later.  Joan of Arc has been portrayed in more than 20 films; the first was made by director Georges Méliès in 1899. And she’s the subject of more than 20,000 books.  St. Joan was canonized in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV.  My guess (and I did not know her…) is that Joan would have declined being made a saint by the same church that burned her at the stake.

♥ ~ 1539 – Hernando de Soto landed in Florida with nine ships, 632 men, 223 horses, and 13 pigs.

♥ ~ 1783 – The Pennsylvania Evening Post, was the first daily paper published in the United States. It was published by Benjamin Towne in Philadelphia, PA

♥ ~ 1848 –W.G. Young of Baltimore, MD patented the ice-cream freezer.

♥~ 1872 – Mahlom Loomis, patented his wireless telegraphing inventions (whilst working as a dentist in Washington DC).

♥ ~ 1927 –Toronto attorney Charles Miller set off the goofiest race in history when he died and willed his $568,000 estate to the Toronto woman who could give birth to the most children in the ten years following his death. Ten years later, on this date in 1937, four women split the purse in the so-called Stork Derby. Each had produced nine children.

♥~ 1933 – Sally Rand made a name for herself as she introduced her exotic and erotic fan dance to audiences at Chicago’s Century of Progress Exposition.

♥ ~ 1975 – Alice Cooper received a gold record for the romantic album, Welcome to My Nightmare. Alice’s real name was Vincent Furnier. He changed his name to Alice Cooper in 1966 and was known primarily for his bizarre stage antics. He appeared in the film Prince of Darkness in 1987 and had 11 hits on the pop/rock charts in the 1970s and 1980s, including a pair of million-selling singles: I Never Cry and Poison.

♥~ 1988 –  REM released Green, arguably one of R.E.M.’s best albums and one that pretty much made them, for a time, the biggest band in the world.

★~ Born Today:

♥ ~ 1908 –  Mel Blanc ‘the man of a thousand voices’: cartoon voice: Barney Rubble, Dino the Dinosaur, Bugs Bunny, Tweety Bird, Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, Quick Draw McGraw; actor: Jack Benny Show [radio]

♥ ~ 1909 –  Benny Goodman Welcome to My Nightmare clarinetist, bandleader: Jersey Bounce, Taking a Chance on Love, Let’s Dance, Sing, Sing, Sing, Stompin’ at the Savoy, Alexander’s Ragtime Band, St. Louis Blues, Goodnight My Love, One O’Clock Jump, Perfidia; Benny Goodman

♥ ~ 1964 –  Wynonna Judd (Christina Claire Ciminella) Grammy Award-winning singer: with her mother, Naomi: The Judds

★~Good to Know: 

[youtube]http://youtu.be/d1NkQhzZXDE[/youtube]

(feel good video, nobody dies, nobody gets hurt.)

Staff Sgt. Julian McDonald’s life was saved in Afghanistan when Layka took down an enemy, despite being shot four times. The incident left her with one less leg, and out of a job.

To the military, dogs are war equipment, to be discarded when no longer useful. To the service members who know them, they are fellow soldiers. McDonald slogged through a difficult bureaucratic battle and managed to take Layka home to his family, where she enjoys the retirement and forever home she deserves.

Layka’s picture is on the cover of the June issue of National Geographic magazine, which has an article on military working dogs.

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Watching the sun rise this morning. Feels like a brisk day which is a good thing since it appears I need a new air conditioner. It has a leak in the coil which does not seem to be fixable. My day will be spent researching my options. Leaks must come in threes  — Along with the ac leak, my van is leaking power steering fluid leak, and I have a leak under my sink which I hope will be fixed this weekend. On the bright side my lilacs smell good and my Azalea bush is in full bloom.

It’s Friday! I hope you have a wonderful day.

Odd Loves Company,
♥