★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
March 26, 2014

★~ Today’s Quote:  In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on. Robert Frost

★~ Make Up Your Own Holiday:

If you could “call a holiday,” what would it celebrate? Brussels sprouts? Cable television? YOU?  How about a “Bring it Out and Use it Now” holiday or a “No Bills” holiday?  I have never seen a day that celebrates picking up poop. Although I try to make scooping poop fun and and give myself a score for the level of difficulty each pile presents. The hardest being slushy wedge between ice.  What holiday do you think we should celebrate?

★~ National Nougat Day:

The first documentation of nougat goes back to ninth-century Greece, but the confection didn’t gain popularity until it was introduced to France during the seventeenth century. In Spain, nougat is referred to as turrón, and in Italy, it is called torrone. Persians refer to it as gaz, and the Germans call it schmelz-schokolade.

Pancakes Filled With Ricotta and Toblerone

★~ Spinach Day:

Spinach originated in ancient Persia, eventually making its way to Italy in 827 and finally gracing European tables in the 1300s. Its appearance in early spring made this a fast favorite when other vegetables were scarce during Lenten diets. Spinach was mentioned in some of the first known English cookbook.

When Catherine de’Medici became the queen of France in 1522, she insisted that spinach be served at every meal because she loved it so. Today when you hear of spinach dishes referred to as “Florentine,” that is because Catherine was born in Florence.

Spinach is available in a variety of types: Savoy, flat leaf and semi-savoy. Savoy is a nice dark green color with curly leaves, sold in fresh bunches. Flat leaf shows up mostly canned, frozen, in soups or baby food. Semi-savoy is a hybrid variety with crinkly leaves and appears fresh and processed.

In 1937, spinach growers in Crystal City, Texas erected a statue of spinach-loving Popeye to celebrate the staple crop of the local economy.

There is an entire board dedicated to Spinach Day recipes on Pinterest. Check it out out!

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1917 – The Seattle Metropolitans, of the Pacific Coast League of Canada, defeated the Montreal Canadiens to become the first U.S. hockey team to win the Stanley Cup.

♥~ 1936 – The first telescope with a 200-inch-diameter, reflecting mirror was shipped — very, very carefully — from Corning, New York to Mt. Palomar Observatory in California. The lens of the Hale telescope weighed 20 tons. It was dedicated at Mt. Palomar in 1948.

♥~ 1937 – Joe DiMaggio said he’d take Ty Cobb’s advice and use a 36 or 37-ounce baseball bat instead of a 40-ounce stick during that season. The result? ‘Joltin’ Joe’ hit .346 during the season with 46 home runs — the most he ever hit in a single year. In the words of Yankee broadcaster Mel Allen, “How about that!”

♥~ 1969 – Marcus Welby, M.D., a TV movie, was seen on ABC. Ratings showed the program to be so popular that it was turned into a long-running series starring Robert Young.

♥~ 1979 – Michigan State and Indiana State met in the all-time highest rated basketball telecast. The NBC coverage earned a 24.1 rating. Indiana State’s unprecedented 33 consecutive-win streak came to an end as the Spartans of Michigan State won 75-64. A pair of future NBA Hall of Famers played against each other that night: Larry Bird, later of the Boston Celtics, scored 19 points while Magic Johnson, even later, of the Los Angeles Lakers, scored 24 points

★~ Born Today:

♥ ~ 1874 – Robert Frost four-time Pulitzer prize-winning poet: Birches, Mending Wall, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening; read The Gift Outright at inauguration of John F. Kennedy; died Jan 29, 1963

♥~ 1880 – Duncan Hines author, traveler, cake-mix mogul; died Mar 15, 1959

♥~ 1904 – Joseph Campbell, author:   Is most noted for his monumental study of mythology. Campbell’s book the ‘Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949) traces the common theme of the spiritual quest in myth(1949). Writers found it a treasure trove for their own work, from the poet Robert Bly to the filmmaker George Lucas, who said that without it, he would never have been able to write Star Wars

♥~ 1911- Tennessee (Thomas Lanier) Williams Pulitzer prize-winning playwright: A Streetcar Named Desire [1948], Cat on a Hot Tin Roof [1955]; The Glass Menagerie, Night of the Iguana,Summer and Smoke, The Rose Tattoo, Camino Real, Sweet Bird of Youth, Small Craft Warnings; died Feb 25, 1983

♥~ 1940 – James Caan actor: The Godfather, Rabbit Run, Brian’s Song, Dick Tracy, Rollerball, Alien Nation, For the Boys, Misery, Las Vegas

♥~ 1942 – Erica Jong (Mann) writer: Fear of Flying, Becoming Light, How to Save Your

♥~ 1943 – Bob Woodward investigative reporter: Washington Post: Watergate [w/reporter Carl Bernstein]; author: All the President’s Men [w/Carl Bernstein]

♥~ 1968 – Kenny Chesney singer: Fall in Love, Me and You, She’s Got It All, That’s Why I’m Here, How Forever Feels, You Had Me From Hello, Don’t Happen Twice

★~Good to Know: 

♥~ Julia Child concocted her first “recipe” while working as a spy during WWII. It was a shark repellent.

♥~ In 1912, a Paris orphanage held a raffle to raise money—the prizes were babies.

♥~  Lord Byron, attempting to bring his dog with him to Cambridge Trinity College, was informed that dogs were not allowed. He retaliated by bringing a bear instead.

♥~  Ronald Reagan was a lifeguard during high school, at Lowell Park, near Dixon. He was credited with saving 77 lives during the seven summers he worked there

♥~ Saint Nicholas didn’t live near the North Pole. He lived in Demre, Turkey (where no one celebrates Christmas).

♥~  Queen Elizabeth I banned potatoes from her court. The story is that when the potatoes arrived (a gift from Sir Walter Raleigh) the box did not include cooking instructions. The court cooks tossed the root tubers and cooked the greens. The queen and her court became ill from eating the potatoes and they were banned by order of the Queen.

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It’s been fun spending time with my teen this week. He completed his internship hours last week and is using this week to work on the Bug,  and hang out with his Mom. Hanging out with me is his default mode when all his friends are at school. But I’ll take it. There is birthday money to be spent! Monday and Tuesday we hit the outlet malls and today I think we are thrifting. Shopping with my kid is worthy of it’s own blog post. And now that I have a new computer (an incredible surprise, thanks to a very generous client and dear friend) I shall be posting with gay abandon.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Odd Loves Company!

♥~