~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
February 20, 2013

★~ Today’s Quote: You need to let the little things that would ordinarily bore you suddenly thrill you. – Andy Warhol

★~ Hoodie Hoo Day:

Walk outside at high noon today (whatever the time zone you live in), extend your arms above your head, wave them around rapidly while doing your favorite little dance, and shout “hoodie hoo.” Apparently, this Hoodie Hoo sound  is supposed to scare winter away and prepare for spring, which is exactly one month away.

Hoodie hoo to you!

★~ Love Your Pet Day:

Last year, I switched this holiday to Love Your Owner Day: There are a zillion holidays to love, adore, rescue, and cherish your precious pet. When do pet owners have their day to lounge in the sun; reclaim the middle of the bed; walk out of the house without being drooled on, shed on, or jumped on; eat the last bite of peanut butter toast or their cheese sandwich; hold a book instead of a leash; and not feel guilty when they decline a muddy, slobbered-on ball?

Pets everywhere, let it be known that today is Love Your Owner Day. We are taking the middle of the bed tonight—and all the blankets! And listen up! The food in the bowl with your name on is yours, and the cheese sandwich is all mine, especially the last bite.

Well, maybe not the very last bite . . .

★~ Cherry Pie Day:

George Washington’s cherry-tree-chopping story has long been debunked by historians as nationalistic myth, but according to his biographers, our first president did love cherries, which may be why the cherry pie is associated with him.

English tradition credits Queen Elizabeth the First with having created the cherry pie dessert, but I am simply not falling for the idea that Queen Elizabeth spent a lot of time in her kitchen pitting cherries!

I do, however, have it on good authority that Charming Billy Boy’s girl could make a cherry pie as quick as a cat can wink an eye; but she had mother issues, and no one is sure if she actually ever made Billy a pie, so this could be pie in the sky.

In case you are wondering, President Lincoln’s favorite dessert was apple pie. America produces about 300 million pounds of cherries each year, 75 percent of which come from Michigan.

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1792 – President George Washington signed the Postal Service Act. Letters delivered up to 30 miles cost six cents to mail. For letters up to 150 miles, postage was 12-1/2 cents. And, just like today, letters over 150 miles were not guaranteed to be delivered at all.

♥~ 1872 – Luther Crowell received a patent for a machine for manufacturing paper bags. Patent #123,811 allowed for the bags to have two longitudinal inward folds.

♥~ 1872 – Silas Noble and J.P. Cooley of Granville, MA patented the toothpick manufacturing machine.

♥~ 1952 –The African Queen, opened at the Capitol Theatre in New York City. The film starred Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, under the direction of John Huston. Critics accused Huston of larking when he adapted the famous book to film. And he laughed all the way to the bank.

♥~ 1962 –  John Glenn, astronaut, became the first American to orbit Earth as he flew aboard the Friendship 7 Mercury capsule. “Godspeed, John Glenn. You’re cleared for orbit.”

♥~ 1989 – Tone-Loc’s Wild Thing was certified double-platinum in the U.S;  the single  sold two-million copies.

★~ Born Today:

♥~ 1925 – Robert Altman – This iconoclastic filmmaker was master of satire, ensemble casts and the long take. His long and lauded career included such classic films as M*A*S*H (1970), McCabe and Mrs Miller (1971), Nashville (1975), The Player (1992) and Gosford Park (2001). Altman received a Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 2006. Born at Kansas City, MO, Altman died Nov 20, 2006, at Los Angeles, CA.

♥~ 1927 – Sidney Poitier Academy Award-winning actor: Lilies of the Field [1963]; Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, To Sir With Love, Sneakers

♥~ 1946 – Sandy Duncan dancer, actress: Peter Pan, Pinnochio, Roots, The Hogan Family

♥~ The five children of Ralph and Carolyn Cummins of Clintwood, Va., Catherine, Carol, Charles, Claudia, and Cecilia were born Feb. 20, 1952; Feb. 20, 1953; Feb. 20, 1956; Feb. 20 1961; and Feb. 20, 1966.

♥~ 1954 – Anthony Stewart Head, Actor: “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”

♥~ 1957 – Joe Ruscitti: great dad, challenging and loving husband, passionate, dreamer

♥~ 1966 – Cindy Crawford supermodel, actress: Fair Game, Sex with Cindy Crawford, The Simian Line

★~ Did You Know:

GUNTHER THE GERMAN SHEPHERD (39 million):  In July 2000, the singer Madonna sold her eight bedroom Miami villa for 8 million to agents acting on behalf of a German Shepherd dog called Gunther IV. Apparently, Gunther IV had inherited his fortune from his father, Gunther III, who had in turn been the sole heir of the estate of his owner, a German Countess by the name of Karlotta Liebenstein who left millions to her dog when she died in 1992. Gunther IV soon made headlines again, when he paid $1,500 to buy a rare white truffle in a fiercely contested auction in Turin a year later, this time appearing in dog, along with two of his domestic staff. His property portfolio is also said to include estates in the Bahamas, Italy and Germany.

KALU THE CHIMPANZEE (61 million): It is the duty of every rich and elderly lady to change her will from time to time, if only to keep her family on their toes. But pity poor Frank O’Neill. The former Australian swimming champion made a pilgrimage to the Sydney Olympics – and while he was away his wife decided to leave her fortune to her pet chimp, Kalu. Patricia O’Neill, the daughter of the Countess of Kenmore, had been close to Kalu since finding her tied to a tree outside the home of the Argentinian Consul-General in war-torn Zaire. She took the chimp back to her estate near Cape Town in South Africa. Whether or not the chimp was aware she and Mr O’Neill were rivals is unclear.

TROUBLE (9 million): They didn’t call her the Queen of Mean for nothing: Leona Helmsley cut her grandkids from her will but left her dog millions. Thanks to the 9 million dollar bequest from Helmsley, Trouble lived out the rest of her years in the manner she was accustom and when she passed on was buried by Leona’s side in the Helmsley Mausoleum.

TINA AND KATE ($695,000): It can be traumatic for a dog when their owner dies and they lose their home as well as their human companion. But collie crosses Tina and Kate were spared this indignity. Nora Hardwell, who died the day before her 90th birthday, ensured her two dogs would live out the rest of their days in luxury by leaving them the run of her home and five acres of land in Peasedown St John, near Bath, as well as $695,000 to be spent on their every whim. Her will stipulated that a carer must be employed to look after the two dogs, and that the house must be kept clean at all times.

JASPER THE MONGREL ($231,000): This is a true rags to riches tale. Jasper, an illegitimate labrador-doberman cross from a broken home, spent his early days in Battersea Dogs’ Home. His glossy black coat and big pink tongue proved irresistible to brewery heiress Diana Myburgh, who rescued him and cared for him until she died, aged 74, in 1995. Mrs Myburgh left a trust fund to care for Jasper and her other dog, a whippet called Jason – and when Jason passed away his share was inherited by Jasper.

TINKER THE CAT ($154,000): After befriending an elderly widow, Margaret Layne, who died in 2003 aged 89, Tinker the stray, then eight, ensured he would never want for  creme again. Under the terms of her will, Layne stipulated that the black cat would have the run of her three bedroom house in Harrow, Middlesex, and his every every meow would be attended too.

PORGY, PRIDE, JOY & RONALD (Cats) AND SILVERSTONE (Tortoise) EACH INHERITED $27,000 from the late bookshop queen Christina Foyle – owner of Foyles in Charing Cross Road – The bequest also included a live-in housekeeper and a cottage.

COWS AND SHEEP INHERIT MILLIONS:  Thanks to a 5 million dollar trust created by the Queen Mother before she died, the herd of 150 Aberdeen Angus cattle and 200 North Country Cheviot sheep on the Castle of Mey Farm can claim to be perhaps the wealthiest set of animals in Britain. Each of the animals can boast a personal fortune of almost $12,300.

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Pats and Praise for all the wonderful pet owners who stop by Odd today. Most of our precious furs won’t inherit millions but we will spend a small fortune on their health and happiness and tell them they are priceless.

Cole and I will be toasting Joe with family tonight at one of our favorite fun restaurants and spreading a few birthday remains. . . Birthdays are hard but memories make them sweeter.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

♥~