Good Morning and a very happy Tuesday to you! I truly did not intend to bypass Monday, but honestly there wasn’t a choice. Sunday brought our area some blustery winds which knocked out our power until after we were in bed for the night. By the time it came back on I was almost asleep and honestly didn’t feel that getting up to write about Monday, followed by going to bed and staring at the ceiling once I was wide awake, was a very good idea. So here we are today, once again looking at multiple days celebrations and making up for lost time.
Moments With Moose –
In spite of being cooped up inside yesterday, Moose dealt with it nicely. It is fortunate for me that he seems to have a built in respect for the sound of trees whipping in the wind and finds himself seeking shelter. That meant he wasn’t fussy about not going for a walk, and I was happy at being inside away from flying debris. It was a win win!
Monday – September 21st –
Miniature Golf Day – I really enjoy miniature golf. It’s so much fun, and it is the only kind of golf I’m any good at playing. OK, well, good is relative . . . I EVENTUALLY get that little tiny ball to its destination. It sometimes takes awhile, but I have a lot of fun throughout the process. We have a couple of different miniature golf courses around here, but for some reason we’ve never tried them out. We did play last year when we were in Leavenworth, and had so much fun. Hubby and I don’t sleep in when we are away from home. Well, truth be told, we don’t actually do much sleeping in at home – though I do more often than he does. No, we get up and out of the hotel and explore before there are crowds which is what we did when we were in Leavenworth, and had a wonderful time. It’s pretty hot over there in the summer too, so getting started early is a good idea if I don’t want to feel like I’m passing out from the sun beating down on me. This is a good game for pretty much any age, just keep your sense of humor and have fun with it.
Tuesday – September 22nd –
Business Women’s Day – Today the value and contribution of women in the business world is recognized. This day goes all the way back to the late 1940s. While men were off fighting WWII, women had to fill the void in the workforce. When the soldiers returned they found that the women were eager to have them home again, but not so eager to go back to their traditional roles in the home. In the years since then, the contribution of women in the work force has grown and evolved. Ladies, whether you work outside the home, or have decided to be a stay at home mom, your efforts are appreciated, valuable and absolutely necessary. Happy Business Women’s Day!
Dear Diary Day – Journaling is very therapeutic. Whether you are writing down your thoughts and feelings, listing your food for diet purposes, keeping track of events in your life, or blogging about vacations you’ve taken, it’s always good to put those memories somewhere so you don’t forget them. You may THINK you’ll never forget, but over time some of the details get lost. If you’ve never kept a diary, maybe today would be a good time to start! Better late than never!
426037.TIF
Elephant Appreciation Day – Elephants are fascinating. Whether they are in a zoo, the circus, a wildlife special on TV, or in the actual wild they captivate our attention. Their sheer size, their intelligence and their lumbering beauty fills us with wonder as we watch them go about their business. Today you can show your appreciation for elephants by visiting the local zoo, making a donation towards their support, or contributing to an elephant conservation effort. They are still, sadly and horrifically enough, slaughtered for their ivory and this needs to stop! Did you know that elephants LOVE pumpkin? Of course, that makes sense, since pumpkins are delicious! Here is a video I found at an elephant sanctuary that is pretty cute – a load of pumpkins is dropped off for the elephants. They sure do get a kick out of the special treat!
National Centenarian’s Day – Do you know anyone who has reached 100 years old? Anyone getting close? My Grandma is 94, and the stories she has to tell are pretty incredible, very entertaining, and full of information about how life was when she was growing up. People who reach the century mark have seen remarkable achievements throughout their lives, and have seen such change! Some good, some not so good, but still major changes. Though this holiday isn’t as well known as other holidays, it is becoming more recognized. As our population has grown, so has the number of centenarians. In June 2008 the US Census Bureau estimates that there are about 95,000 centenarians, with the number steadily increasing. To put into perspective some of the changes they have seen . . . they were born when Teddy Roosevelt was president, a gallon of milk was 32 cents, bread was a nickel per loaf, and the cost of a postage stamp was 2 cents. Wow
National Walk n’ Roll Dog Day – This is pretty amazing, and I’m sure after taking a look, you’ll agree. In August 2012 Barbara Techel created this day in memory of her much loved Dachshund Frankie. Frankie was a wheelchair dog. She was paralyzed after a fall and given a diagnosis of Intervertabral Disc Disease (IVDD). Barbara saw that Frankie could be happy and live a long and quality filled life using a wheelchair, once she was given a chance. Celebrating these animals and embracing their differences is a positive and wonderful thing. The day was founded with the express purpose of bringing positive awareness to all dogs in wheelchairs around the world. It is also a day to raise funds to help paralyzed dogs who are in need of a wheel chair to help them regain their mobility. Funding is granted to families in financial stress and disabled dogs that are in rescue, which will improve their chances of getting a forever home. While Frankie was alive she visited over 400 schools and libraries, made over 250 visits to a senior assisted living facility, hospice and hospitals as a registered therapy dog, spreading joy, love and hope wherever she went. There are two children’s books written about Frankie. Frankie the Walk ‘N Roll Dog and Frankie the Walk ‘N Roll Therapy Dog Visits Libby’s House, and there is a memoir, “Through Frankie’s Eyes: One Woman’s Journey To Her Authentic Self, and the Dog on Wheels Who Led The Way.”
National Voter Registration Day – If you aren’t registered to vote, and you are of legal age and a citizen, please register. It is up to the people to tell our politicians what we want and how we want it, and the voices of those who aren’t registered aren’t counted at all. Of course in recent years I haven’t felt like my voice is heard either, but I am firmly of the opinion that anyone who has something to complain about with regards to how this country is being run, has no rights to complain at all if they don’t bother to vote. Period. So, grab your ID – because though it isn’t required in some places, it SHOULD be – and go register to vote. Do your duty as an American citizen. Oh, and do it legally. Dead folks can’t vote (even though a great number of dead voters seem to have missed that little tidbit of information), and you are only allowed, BY LAW, to register once. I don’t care who you are, if you register more than once, on purpose, then you are a horrible person and shouldn’t be allowed a voice anyway.
This Day In History –
Sept 21, 1945 – Henry Ford retires from Ford Motor Company.
Sept 22, 1999 – The record for drinking Ketchup belongs to Dustin Phillips (USA). On this day, he drank a 14 oz. bottle of Ketchup through a 1/4″ straw in 33 seconds.
Food Celebration of the Day –
21st – National Pecan Cookie Day – When I was little we didn’t buy many store bought cookies. Most of the time when Mom made homemade cookies, they were chocolate chip, peanut butter or sugar cookies. At Grandma’s house we would get her homemade applesauce cookies or her amazing oatmeal cookies. I know that sounds like we were spoiled for wonderful home baked treats, but I remember sometimes Mom would buy a package of either ginger snaps or these pecan sandies for my Dad. They were for his lunch, so we weren’t allowed to dip into the package without permission, but when Mom would open them up, she’d hand us one with our milk. I’d nibble little bits off of the edges very slowly, and the butter nutty deliciousness would just melt in my mouth. I’ve always loved them, though oddly enough I don’t actually buy any for myself now that I’m a grown-up. What I DO do though, is annually bake Mexican Wedding Cakes at Christmas for my Mom, and I end up doing a double batch because I love them too. There’s still that buttery, melt in your mouth deliciousness, combined with the sweet messiness of powdered sugar. It’s nearly that time of year again, when the cookie planning must begin, and those are usually on the very top of my list. If I have time today after staining that cupboard, my plan is to try out a new pecan cookie recipe I found recently. It’s a beautiful cookie and if it turns out to be half as tasty as it looks in the pictures, we may have a new favorite around the holidays! I’ll post a picture when I’m done to let you know. Here are some recipes that are more than worthy of making an appearance in your cookie jar, but don’t expect them to last long!
Copycat Keebler Pecan Sandies
Mexican Wedding Cakes
Czech Chocolate Pecan Cookies
Butter Pecan Shortbread
Rich Butter Pecan Cookies
Pecan Tassies
Butter Pecan Cookies
22nd – National White Chocolate Day – Some people think that white chocolate isn’t really chocolate, but it IS made from the cocoa plant. It’s just processed differently than milk and dark chocolates. A lot of people don’t really like white chocolate, but it could possibly be that they haven’t really had a GOOD piece of white chocolate from a top chocolatier. Before 2002 the USDA’s standards of identity declared that white chocolate wasn’t even chocolate because it didn’t contain cocoa solids. If it did, then it wouldn’t be white. Well, today white chocolate that contains at least 20% cocoa butter can hold its head high – because it is officially chocolate. It’s just a matter of picking a good one to get you started, and these recipes a great place to start!
White Chocolate Mousse Tart With Oreo Crust
White Chocolate Party Mix & Candy Jumble
Coconut Cupcakes With White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Raspberry White Chocolate Fudge Brownies
Banana White Chocolate Cake With Icing
White Chocolate Cheesecake
White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies
22nd – Ice Cream Cone Day – On September 22, 1903, 110 years ago today, Italo Marchiony of New York filed a patent application for what he called a “molding apparatus for forming ice cream cups”, which were the forerunners to the ice cream cone. Some people credit an ice cream cone vendor at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair with inventing the cone. It was Marchiony who actually filed the first patent. By 1924, Americans were eating 245 million ice cream cones per year, and now? It is well over a billion cones each year! It’s not just people who love ice cream cones – cats, dogs and zoo animals do too! Yum!
Hopefully things will return to a normal schedule for at least a little while now. Food poisoning and burning myself are out of the way. Hopefully the windstorms are done for at least a little while, and life should settle down to its normal day by day pace. Sounds good in theory, right? Speaking of normal day by day pace, it’s time to get this pacing dog out and on his walk. He’s a creature who loves routine and we certainly have been off of ours lately. God Bless You and I’ll see you tomorrow.