tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19720161860239928852024-03-27T15:29:02.444-05:00 Jo's Favorite Things Interesting, beautiful, silly, and thoughtful stuff!Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-61089186149619484682023-04-09T17:22:00.000-05:002023-04-09T17:22:46.964-05:00It's Easter! Time to Enjoy Boozed Up Bunny Jello Shots!<p> <b style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-large;"><i>Booze up your chocolate Easter bunnies:</i></b></p><h3><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">It's that time of the year again! After a busy day of Easter baskets, Easter dinner, and kids charged up on chocolate, sugar, and excitement, you need a treat.</span></h3><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35r3LrHzwfzKG8dPnYmGZ9hiM91bjIhxAy8tWgWpDsioJrAFOPRM0rJl4ZFP2XW09L8K9vI7U9PXY223XEKs6Up5nWzstb0yQT8qpVj9JQmzKLcgpaFwhOHYEqCPVXR1PgPxcwVYsjak/s1600/Easter+bunny+jello+shots.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35r3LrHzwfzKG8dPnYmGZ9hiM91bjIhxAy8tWgWpDsioJrAFOPRM0rJl4ZFP2XW09L8K9vI7U9PXY223XEKs6Up5nWzstb0yQT8qpVj9JQmzKLcgpaFwhOHYEqCPVXR1PgPxcwVYsjak/s640/Easter+bunny+jello+shots.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="color: #0b5394; font-size: small;"><b>Photo and recipe from <a href="http://www.ohbiteit.com/2015/03/easter-bunny-jello-shots.html" target="_blank">OhBiteIt</a></b></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">I first saw this photo somewhere, can't remember where, but I had to track down the original.. which apparently was published several years ago at a site called "O Bite It".. very clever for a food blog, I must admit!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Just a quick description before I send you off to OhBiteIt for the specifics..</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">The vodka (or perhaps another alcoholic beverage) replaces the water in the Jello recipe. So simple! In this recipe you carefully cut off and save those bunny ears and later "glue" them back on with whipped cream.</span></div><br /><br /><a href="http://www.ohbiteit.com/2015/03/easter-bunny-jello-shots.html" target="_blank"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Boozed Up Bunny Jello Shots from Oh Bite It HERE!</b></i></span></a>Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-20689363908981316772019-03-19T20:09:00.000-05:002019-03-19T20:10:08.274-05:00Do Eggs Balance on the First Day of Spring?<h3 class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>There's a myth that eggs will stand on end during the Equinox. Is it true? <a href="http://www.snopes.com/science/equinox.asp" target="_blank">Snopes says..</a><br /></i></span></h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fvb23LTUrPB_WTox-Gi1gk30nBJzZk_-0BFkqe0mvsGes4cQ8IHwtsvdFLio1RX-viKp8ky2pyvevbWe1O7fikIyYTbYlPeM2T-sbIPS5dFS-c4dOXoW9EBt4Ge2TbjKjMv-uDKfQsqr/s1600/sring+eggs+on+end+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="249" data-original-width="587" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fvb23LTUrPB_WTox-Gi1gk30nBJzZk_-0BFkqe0mvsGes4cQ8IHwtsvdFLio1RX-viKp8ky2pyvevbWe1O7fikIyYTbYlPeM2T-sbIPS5dFS-c4dOXoW9EBt4Ge2TbjKjMv-uDKfQsqr/s640/sring+eggs+on+end+.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Photo of eggs found on Snopes</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Chinese are often cited as having originated the practice of standing eggs on end during the equinox. Just as the equinox symbolically restores balance to the world by signaling its rebirth after a season of darkness, the equinox literally balances the day by dividing it into equal portions of darkness and light. If the symbol of fertility, eggs, could be balanced on end during a day equally divided between day and night, this was a sign that all nature was in harmony</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nonetheless, the vernal equinox brings no special egg-balancing properties with it. Standing an egg on its end is something just about anyone can do any day of the year; the feat simply takes the right egg and a little trial and practice. Since the vast majority of people never see or try balancing eggs on their ends on any day other than the equinox, though, many of them come away from the experience believing that something special must have occurred on that particular day.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">More <a href="http://www.snopes.com/science/equinox.asp" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE</i></b></a> on Snopes. </span>Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-24014292343661728272019-03-19T19:46:00.000-05:002019-03-20T10:50:52.432-05:00Spring 2019 Comes Today, Wednesday, March 20! Flower Dreaming...<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's still cold out there and the furnace is still purring here in Chicago, but Spring is literally just around the corner. The Northern Hemisphere enters Spring for 2019 tomorrow, Wednesday, March 20th, at 4:58 p.m. Central Daylight Time (5:58 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time).</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The vernal equinox (autumnal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere) means that the days and nights are just about equal all over the world. The word "equinox" comes from Latin words meaning "equal night".</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, as we in the Northern Hemisphere wait, here are a few beautiful still life studies of Spring flowers by Russian painter Sergey Potapov with which to welcome and ponder Spring 2019:</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3rsrVu8E9MTk3RSUMBwsA0HaXQLehaM98pVl3ls95I_qlSQOMdejfzo5cB0a5unqvCzjrnyGyFbit6OMtKcvbl-0CJRqFGa4hrjm9lW5DR14u9VmLgjuxM5cInU6cgBS5vRIvBZVfB9TT/s1600/Art+Spring+Sergey+Potapov+Russian+Still+Life+via+Cherubin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="700" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3rsrVu8E9MTk3RSUMBwsA0HaXQLehaM98pVl3ls95I_qlSQOMdejfzo5cB0a5unqvCzjrnyGyFbit6OMtKcvbl-0CJRqFGa4hrjm9lW5DR14u9VmLgjuxM5cInU6cgBS5vRIvBZVfB9TT/s1600/Art+Spring+Sergey+Potapov+Russian+Still+Life+via+Cherubin.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Still Life by Sergey Potapov (Russian)</b></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9t783AUXs1uLm5Vyr5gnp_h-465YCEOfnzEW9xj-MoBgjeRA8GRGjjNOnUD5tjL6wGQ1QY80I-pmKzs-mmRqQWjbbdohfvKu_hhd11XFZ5fmYMPsxYbTMhtNAy8CP9Bhyphenhyphenrvxe6gydnqbE/s1600/Art+Spring+Sergey+Potapov+Russian+Still+Life+2+via+Cherubin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="617" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9t783AUXs1uLm5Vyr5gnp_h-465YCEOfnzEW9xj-MoBgjeRA8GRGjjNOnUD5tjL6wGQ1QY80I-pmKzs-mmRqQWjbbdohfvKu_hhd11XFZ5fmYMPsxYbTMhtNAy8CP9Bhyphenhyphenrvxe6gydnqbE/s1600/Art+Spring+Sergey+Potapov+Russian+Still+Life+2+via+Cherubin.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Still Life by Sergey Potapov (Russian)</b></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVi6sGM74h-pcC93_EimLcBxd1nAAd9QL3nqv2S3u_bCVWG2YQEMnDVcjOKylgGOQjnvZsaf73aXOaxXpX5Hb3K44CtkzrH_SrinzqNXQ8c7WpeHJ8Cori3Gv3lsiOG2r6zy1IifJPqZKp/s1600/Art+Spring+Flowers+Tulips+Sergey+Potapov+Russian+Still+Life+4+via+Cherubin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="700" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVi6sGM74h-pcC93_EimLcBxd1nAAd9QL3nqv2S3u_bCVWG2YQEMnDVcjOKylgGOQjnvZsaf73aXOaxXpX5Hb3K44CtkzrH_SrinzqNXQ8c7WpeHJ8Cori3Gv3lsiOG2r6zy1IifJPqZKp/s1600/Art+Spring+Flowers+Tulips+Sergey+Potapov+Russian+Still+Life+4+via+Cherubin.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Still Life by Sergey Potapov (Russian)</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(I found these paintings on Facebook, introduced </span><a href="https://business.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202675990981204&set=a.10202675990301187.1073748619.1841284373&type=3&theater" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE</i></b></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> by Facebook user Samuel Cherubin via <b><i><span style="color: purple;"><a href="http://art-katalog.com/" target="_blank">Art-katalog.com</a>.</span></i></b>)</span></div>
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</span></span>Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-90775158329553641282019-03-07T14:08:00.001-06:002019-03-19T14:48:41.835-05:00It's World Book Day, March 7: For the Love of Books <h3>
<span style="background-color: white; color: purple; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Why We Read: </i></b></span></h3>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.josfavoritethings.com/2018/05/for-love-of-books.html"><i>Books are magic.</i></a> They can take you anywhere you want to go. They take you to different times; they let you visit people who lived hundreds of years earlier; they let you imagine what it would be like to live hundreds of years later. You can be rich or you can be poor; you can experience anything through a book.</b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0P6zmwP2JalZ8UxbXdh7Q8tYEIgeY2oJhWXSWj6108WkDbcvqtb2y7zntf6oUpFMAXHOBwJMxzhO5-CA90Bb-iSW0pUDJsddFy93Um2zS2zB0lw5gwZsbKIi10k8aSB-3Ocg0z54n8s44/s1600/Book+wall+via+Maxine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="766" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0P6zmwP2JalZ8UxbXdh7Q8tYEIgeY2oJhWXSWj6108WkDbcvqtb2y7zntf6oUpFMAXHOBwJMxzhO5-CA90Bb-iSW0pUDJsddFy93Um2zS2zB0lw5gwZsbKIi10k8aSB-3Ocg0z54n8s44/s640/Book+wall+via+Maxine.jpg" width="508" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>(A friend posted this illustration on Facebook . If I can find the source, I will credit it.) </b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />In honor of World Book Day, at least World Book Day in the UK, I'm going to reintroduce an article I wrote last year about the joy and magic of books:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>At one time we had hundreds of books, actually we had several thousand books. My first husband and I were both book collectors; our first date included a trip to a used book store with thousands of cheap books. My ex-husband built bookshelves everywhere... We had library stacks in the basement, library stacks in the extra rooms on the third floor; the closets that we didn't need for clothing or storage were turned into floor-to-ceiling book shelves. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>But then life changed..... </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The story continues here:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span><a href="https://www.josfavoritethings.com/2018/05/for-love-of-books.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>For the Love of Books.......</b></i></span></a></blockquote>
<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Book_Day_(UK_and_Ireland)" target="_blank"><span style="color: white;">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Book_Day_(UK_and_Ireland) </span></a>Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-52786637391805181832018-05-02T02:33:00.001-05:002019-03-07T13:48:43.505-06:00For The Love of Books <h3 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>I love books.</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br />Not just the function of books. But <b style="color: black;"><i>real</i></b><span 400="" font-weight:=""> books with paper pages. And sometimes with beautiful photographs or sketches. Hard cover, paperback; that doesn't matter.. but BOOKS. Not books you read online, not even Kindle books. Books that smell like paper. Even some with a touch of mustiness... REAL books.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg_WHfAQxQweL9iZ07gzTwVOAxq4A5f9StXmIm_xHLB_4gHTYvx64zc_bViyh-9jN17sLSDbNpDFqzDaAbGvXWkmG6HLBpMlfXfWg9pW9jsS8g9gAHhXueTr5LHz5ZLfHt3j17A0tJlAum/s1600/Home+Book+chair+via+Alexander+Love+Luxury+launches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="770" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg_WHfAQxQweL9iZ07gzTwVOAxq4A5f9StXmIm_xHLB_4gHTYvx64zc_bViyh-9jN17sLSDbNpDFqzDaAbGvXWkmG6HLBpMlfXfWg9pW9jsS8g9gAHhXueTr5LHz5ZLfHt3j17A0tJlAum/s640/Home+Book+chair+via+Alexander+Love+Luxury+launches.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Book chair by Alexander Love. You can buy it <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheLibraryChair" target="_blank">at etsy! </a></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">At one time we had hundreds of books, actually we had several thousand books. My first husband and I were both book collectors; our first date included a trip to a used book store with thousands of cheap books. My ex-husband built bookshelves everywhere... We had library stacks in the basement, library stacks in the extra rooms on the third floor; the closets that we didn't need for clothing or storage were turned into floor-to-ceiling book shelves. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">At one time I had these books pretty well organized. Fiction was in the basement, arranged alphabetically by author. Greek and Roman history were in the back room of the third floor. Psychology and philosophy were also in that back room.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">When our son was born, we added more books. Books about pregnancy and child-rearing. Beautiful hard-covered picture books for children. When I returned to teaching, we added shelves of books about child development, education, and teaching.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">When we divorced, we sold that house and we had to do something with all of those books. I took some, he took some, and many, many, many were tossed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">I rented a house, and never unpacked many of those books as it was only a temporary home. When we (me, new husband, son, two dogs, cat) moved into this house, the house we live in now, I went through the boxes again, and I threw many out. Some went into the basement in the new house. We filled up a small van with books, but after I returned that van, I was still moving books from the rented house to this house in my car for days. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">But then we had a flood down here, a pretty significant flood, four feet of water in our finished basement, and many moldy wet books were tossed into big heavy garbage bags. I tried not to look too closely at those books as I tossed them. I KNOW there were some I was going to miss.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Well, times change. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">My son grew up, went to college, then came home for a year or so. At one point he and his soon-to-be-wife decided they were going to help me clean up the garage and those piles of boxes of books. He "encouraged" me to throw out books. Nobody needs books anymore, he told me; I haven't looked at most of those books for years, maybe decades, and there were shelves in the garage packed to the ceiling with boxes of books, and the garage was a mess. We couldn't clean and organize the garage until we got rid of a lot of books.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">My husband had already thrown out almost all of his books, but he had never been as much of a book hound as my first husband. And, of course, we had the Internet by that time... so who needs books? Well, I threw out a few books, but my heart wasn't in it. I have to confess; when my son wasn't around, I dug through the garbage and pulled out some of those books. I did feel like a Hoarder, un-throwing away books.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>But I had hit bottom. I just couldn't get rid of any more books. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">And then my son moved out. It was time; he was 26. No one to guilt me about boxes of books. My husband will say something every so often about the boxes of books, but he really doesn't care that much--- Though he has urged me from time to time to "Call a truck and haul all of those boxes out of there." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">So there most of the books sit. In boxes which are stacked on shelves in the garage, in boxes which are stacked in piles in the basement, which has not (and hopefully will not) flood anymore due to city sewer and flood control improvements.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Now that my son has moved out, there is an empty room in the back that could be easily turned into some kind of library; a home for those poor neglected books.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Back in the fall we had a beautiful evening; not too hot nor too cool to look through books in the garage. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">As I opened the first easily-reached box, I found.. poetry. Hard covered children's picture books. A book by a man named Neil Postman called The Disappearance of Childhood. A couple of beautifully illustrated books, including a Flower Fairy book by Cicely Mary Barker, an English poet and illustrator who lived from 1885 through 1973.<br /><br />I have no idea how long I was out there in the garage looking through boxes of books.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>And this is why I won't throw out those boxes of books. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">You can take a book into a corner, onto the patio, or you can read it on the couch. It is quiet. No T.V. blaring at you, no radio, no music. No Tweets or text messages beeping at you, no PM's from Facebook to distract you. You can read as slowly or as quickly as you wish. You can reread something. Your eyes may not be as strained as they are from the light of the computer screen. There's something about the smoothness of those pages.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">I thought about my history with books: We grew up on books. We didn't own many books, but we went to the library. It was exciting to get our library cards, and we could leave with piles of books, bring them back, and get new piles of books. I remember reading in the back yard, in the front yard under the elm tree, on the porch, in my bedroom, anywhere. <br /><br />Books are magic. They can take you anywhere you want to go. They take you to different times; they let you visit people who lived hundreds of years ago; they let you imagine what it would be like to live hundreds of years from now. You can be rich or you can be poor; you can experience anything through a book. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Walking into the library in college or into a community library after I left school was almost a religious experience. It was quiet and the ceilings were high; there were shelves and shelves of books, tempting titles, piles of books.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">There was a time in my life when I always had a pile of books by my side of the bed. Then the Internet came. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">That beautiful night last fall, as I was digging through that box of books of poems, as I was fingering those pages and illustrations, I remembered the Magic of Books. I remembered the smell, the feel, the pure joy of opening a new book; the wonderful familiarity of finding a book that you've loved in the past.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="color: #351c75;">So that's it. </span></i></b><br /><br />For the love of books, I may never throw any more of these books away, no matter how much the men in my life protest. For the love of books, let's hope that there always will be books, real books, on paper books; quiet, smooth, enticing, beautiful, and powerful. </span></div>
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Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-84524375838787811482018-04-01T20:43:00.003-05:002018-04-01T20:43:24.020-05:00Happy Easter! Happy Passover! Easter Bunny detours....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">The Easter Bunny gets a taste for something green and makes a detour:</span></span><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></h3>
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1oZVUOQKmfHbjEcWIFdMySjBWsorE4VY_QjnfMwlqLrK7Dxv4-LCUrAZ8noFPbb0WyqMlcLW3vBWdWTXo75brYXrKk1tcM6xPOyt4YYWryFjVDyrUWirfGf68qmpOxquznUlhtm0rf5HB/s1600/Passover+and+Easter+humor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1oZVUOQKmfHbjEcWIFdMySjBWsorE4VY_QjnfMwlqLrK7Dxv4-LCUrAZ8noFPbb0WyqMlcLW3vBWdWTXo75brYXrKk1tcM6xPOyt4YYWryFjVDyrUWirfGf68qmpOxquznUlhtm0rf5HB/s640/Passover+and+Easter+humor.jpg" width="517" /></a><br />
<br /><br /><br /><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Happy Easter! Happy Passover!</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">More Easter humor </span><a href="http://www.josfavoritethings.com/2017/04/easter-humor-page-1.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-large;" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE</i></b></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i> </i></b>and </span><b><i><a href="http://www.josfavoritethings.com/2017/04/easter-humor-page-2.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-large;" target="_blank">HERE...</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">.</span></i></b></div>
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Easter foods and treats? Boozy bunnies <a href="https://www.cheesechocolateandmanydelights.com/2017/04/easter-time-to-enjoy-boozed-up-bunnies.html" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE</i></b></a> and <b><i><a href="https://www.cheesechocolateandmanydelights.com/2017/04/boozy-bunny-jello-shots.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>,</i></b> Easter egg Jello and pudding shots <a href="https://www.cheesechocolateandmanydelights.com/2018/03/egg-shaped-jello-shots-for-easter.html" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE</i></b></a> and <a href="https://www.cheesechocolateandmanydelights.com/2018/03/cadbury-easter-egg-pudding-shots.html" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE</i></b></a>, and simple Easter cakes <a href="https://www.cheesechocolateandmanydelights.com/2018/04/easter-bunny-cake.html" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE</i></b> </a>and <b><i><a href="https://www.cheesechocolateandmanydelights.com/2017/04/easter-desserts-simple-easter-nest-cake.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</i></b></div>
</span>Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-54319377221460270182018-03-08T10:23:00.002-06:002018-03-10T18:00:59.822-06:00St. Patrick's Countdown: Nine Days until St. Patrick's Day!<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>St. Patrick's Day falls on a Saturday this year; giving fans of the holiday -- Irish or those who are just Irish for the day -- extra time to celebrate and wear green! </i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We do know that everybody is Irish on St. Patrick's Day.. Actually though, tens of millions of people in the United States have Irish heritage.. including many millions who are unaware of their Irish roots.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There's another reason that so many celebrate the Saint: St. Patrick's Day means that Spring is just around the corner and that's reason enough to celebrate, even if you don't have a proverbial drop of Irish blood. But it is usually still pretty darned cold in Chicago, so we still need to wear coats when we watch the parade, watch the Chicago River being dyed green, or engage in some bar-hopping or pub-crawling or green-beer-drinking.</span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSfeu9K0xF_JhMMoSi9ec76sD3nx6N2W1fVW1ipCAS7jbKGXPh0Zz-qQctd4SpRqn3mrPWD1hsBlYPvw08kK88-JX8fLz_UPfPc4Q6D0gz_7o5jwR5wV0s78zF8v5usc0g9RF2A34juZ5S/s1600/St.+Patricks+vintage+via+Nanalulus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #6699cc; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="790" data-original-width="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSfeu9K0xF_JhMMoSi9ec76sD3nx6N2W1fVW1ipCAS7jbKGXPh0Zz-qQctd4SpRqn3mrPWD1hsBlYPvw08kK88-JX8fLz_UPfPc4Q6D0gz_7o5jwR5wV0s78zF8v5usc0g9RF2A34juZ5S/s1600/St.+Patricks+vintage+via+Nanalulus.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">No idea where this vintage St. Patrick's Day card came from, but I found it at one of my favorite Facebook pages, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Nanaluluslinensandhandkerchiefs/" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Nanalulu's Linens and Handkerchiefs</a></span></b></span></td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;">Irish parades in various cities:</span></span></i></b><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">Chicago: </span></i></b> Listings for Chicago St. Patrick's Day festivities can be found <a href="http://redtri.com/chicago/celebrate-st-patricks-day-windy-city-style/" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE</i></b></a> and <a href="https://www.timeout.com/chicago/st-patricks-day" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE.</i></b></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Atlanta touts <b><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">Savannah</span></i></b> as preparing for the "Nation's second largest St. Patrick's Day parade"</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </span><a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/local/savannah-prepares-for-nation-second-largest-patrick-day-parade-grand-marshal-ready/4YByfEZo3mjyvrHPRnaqlN/" style="color: #6699cc; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE</i></b></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">. (If so, I had no idea.)</span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"><br />Boston:</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Well, we know that people in Boston celebrate St. Paddy's Day. Try </span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.boston-discovery-guide.com/st-patricks-day-events.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">this link</a> </i></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">for more information.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I'll add information about celebrations in various cities as I come across it. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;">Irish (or kind of Irish) food and drink:</span></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Two articles about Irish Soda Bread can be found at <a href="http://www.cheesechocolateandmanydelights.com/" target="_blank"><b><i>Cheese, Chocolate, and Other Delights:</i></b></a></span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Traditional Irish Soda Bread <a href="http://www.cheesechocolateandmanydelights.com/2018/03/irish-soda-bread-whats-traditional.html" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE.</i></b></a></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Enhanced Americanized Irish Soda Bread <a href="http://www.cheesechocolateandmanydelights.com/2018/03/irish-soda-breads-yep-two-recipes.html" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE.</i></b></a></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I've also got some great recipes for homemade Irish cream liqueur, Irish Stew, and a few others, some traditional recipes, some just fun. So check back! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I've already published <a href="http://www.cheesechocolateandmanydelights.com/2018/03/st-patricks-day-green-jello-cake.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i>this very faux-Irish (but very green)</i></b></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">dessert that will make a colorful addition to any St. Patrick's Day celebration: </span></span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0HRcFjWOlC2GrrdtVPOjUYGOow8SpQeMZUkbmf40jPwUpdOCIbLJ-rE7aEDAOU7NkABnDlPmVlncuP7ER9Pwa12quxQbAajbkjgF_glfa2GYK6TjTEsuPF5fQweBDgJVURrgViY7EjQ-o/s1600/St.+Patrick%2527s+Day+green+Jello+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #6699cc; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0HRcFjWOlC2GrrdtVPOjUYGOow8SpQeMZUkbmf40jPwUpdOCIbLJ-rE7aEDAOU7NkABnDlPmVlncuP7ER9Pwa12quxQbAajbkjgF_glfa2GYK6TjTEsuPF5fQweBDgJVURrgViY7EjQ-o/s320/St.+Patrick%2527s+Day+green+Jello+cake.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: x-small;"><b>Original of this from Taste of Home, recipe reproduced <a href="http://www.cheesechocolateandmanydelights.com/2018/03/st-patricks-day-green-jello-cake.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">HERE.</a></b></span></td></tr>
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Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-42520474901519251802018-03-07T12:05:00.000-06:002018-03-08T10:10:54.728-06:00St. Patrick's Countdown: Ten Days until St. Patrick's Day!<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">St. Patrick's Day falls on a Saturday this year; giving fans of the holiday -- Irish or those who are just Irish for the day -- extra time to celebrate and wear green! </span></i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We do know that everybody is Irish on St. Patrick's Day.. Actually though, tens of millions of people in the United States have Irish heritage.. including many millions who are unaware of their Irish roots.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There's another reason that so many celebrate the Saint: St. Patrick's Day means that Spring is just around the corner and that's reason enough to celebrate, even if you don't have a proverbial drop of Irish blood. But it is usually still pretty darned cold in Chicago, so we still need to wear coats when we watch the parade, watch the Chicago River being dyed green, or engage in some bar-hopping or pub-crawling or green-beer-drinking.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSfeu9K0xF_JhMMoSi9ec76sD3nx6N2W1fVW1ipCAS7jbKGXPh0Zz-qQctd4SpRqn3mrPWD1hsBlYPvw08kK88-JX8fLz_UPfPc4Q6D0gz_7o5jwR5wV0s78zF8v5usc0g9RF2A34juZ5S/s1600/St.+Patricks+vintage+via+Nanalulus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="790" data-original-width="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSfeu9K0xF_JhMMoSi9ec76sD3nx6N2W1fVW1ipCAS7jbKGXPh0Zz-qQctd4SpRqn3mrPWD1hsBlYPvw08kK88-JX8fLz_UPfPc4Q6D0gz_7o5jwR5wV0s78zF8v5usc0g9RF2A34juZ5S/s1600/St.+Patricks+vintage+via+Nanalulus.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>No idea where this vintage St. Patrick's Day card came from, but I found it at one of my favorite Facebook pages, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Nanaluluslinensandhandkerchiefs/" target="_blank">Nanalulu's Linens and Handkerchiefs</a></b></span></td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;">Irish parades in various cities:</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">Chicago: </span></i></b> Listings for Chicago St. Patrick's Day festivities can be found <a href="http://redtri.com/chicago/celebrate-st-patricks-day-windy-city-style/" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE</i></b></a> and <a href="https://www.timeout.com/chicago/st-patricks-day" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE.</i></b></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">Atlanta touts <b><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">Savannah</span></i></b> as preparing for the "Nation's second largest St. Patrick's Day parade"</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"> </span><a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/local/savannah-prepares-for-nation-second-largest-patrick-day-parade-grand-marshal-ready/4YByfEZo3mjyvrHPRnaqlN/" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE</i></b></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">. (If so, I had no idea.)</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;">Boston:</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Well, we know that people in Boston celebrate St. Paddy's Day. Try </span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://www.boston-discovery-guide.com/st-patricks-day-events.html" target="_blank">this link</a> </i></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">for more information.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'll add information about celebrations in various cities as I come across it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">Irish (or kind of Irish) food and drink:</span></i></b></span></div>
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I've got some great recipes for homemade Irish cream liqueur, Irish Stew, several varieties of Irish Soda Bread, and a few others. So check back. </div>
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I've already published <a href="http://www.cheesechocolateandmanydelights.com/2018/03/st-patricks-day-green-jello-cake.html" target="_blank">this very faux-Irish (but very green)</a></div>
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dessert that will make a colorful addition to any St. Patrick's Day celebration: </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0HRcFjWOlC2GrrdtVPOjUYGOow8SpQeMZUkbmf40jPwUpdOCIbLJ-rE7aEDAOU7NkABnDlPmVlncuP7ER9Pwa12quxQbAajbkjgF_glfa2GYK6TjTEsuPF5fQweBDgJVURrgViY7EjQ-o/s1600/St.+Patrick%2527s+Day+green+Jello+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0HRcFjWOlC2GrrdtVPOjUYGOow8SpQeMZUkbmf40jPwUpdOCIbLJ-rE7aEDAOU7NkABnDlPmVlncuP7ER9Pwa12quxQbAajbkjgF_glfa2GYK6TjTEsuPF5fQweBDgJVURrgViY7EjQ-o/s320/St.+Patrick%2527s+Day+green+Jello+cake.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Original of this from Taste of Home, recipe reproduced <a href="http://www.cheesechocolateandmanydelights.com/2018/03/st-patricks-day-green-jello-cake.html" target="_blank">HERE.</a></b></span></td></tr>
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Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-69116717148881276962018-03-01T11:19:00.000-06:002018-03-06T11:27:36.682-06:00How Long Until Daylight Savings Time Begins? Click Below!<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180311T00&p0=64&msg=Daylight%20Savings%20Time%20Starts%20in%3a" target="_blank">Click HERE for the number of Days and Hours Until Daylight Savings Time!</a></i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180311T00&p0=64&msg=Daylight%20Savings%20Time%20Starts%20in%3a" target="_blank">Click HERE for the number of Days and Hours Until Daylight Savings Time!</a></i></span></h3>
<span style="color: white; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-7884523401317707372018-03-01T01:46:00.001-06:002018-03-01T11:15:25.842-06:00Daylight Savings Time for 2018 begins Sunday, March 11th! <div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Yes, friends! We are almost there! Only one completely dark weekend left and one more dark week. (I'm writing this on the evening of February 28th, 2018, around 8:30 p.m. Central Standard Time.) </i></b></span></h3>
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>We've noticed earlier evenings even though we've had many grey days lately: When it is sunny out, it is still light until after 5 p.m. <br /><br />But on Sunday evening March 11th....</i></b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /><span style="font-size: large;">We Spring Ahead! Daylight Savings Time in 2018 starts Sunday, March 11th. We need to move our clocks ahead one hour on Saturday night and we get one less hour of sleep, but it will seem worth it when we notice that we can still see our hands in front of our faces at 7 p.m.! Enjoy!</span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYIfunPEExqtXNVIVqpv5wS5xlA7iF4VLVmb1jk3jWzFGDpV6XNmeOZewYO1WdJYLyt94nt39HidayAUyA6nX2qid71NrxziSo94ZeACi2FdrphAs9vnxw-pCh5F42rn-WQ8zPhn_Vb4bV/s1600/Daylight+Savings+Time+2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="888" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYIfunPEExqtXNVIVqpv5wS5xlA7iF4VLVmb1jk3jWzFGDpV6XNmeOZewYO1WdJYLyt94nt39HidayAUyA6nX2qid71NrxziSo94ZeACi2FdrphAs9vnxw-pCh5F42rn-WQ8zPhn_Vb4bV/s1600/Daylight+Savings+Time+2018.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br /><b>So: Turn your clocks FORWARD Saturday night, March 11th, before you go to bed. Spring ahead!!</b><br /><br /></span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180311T00&p0=64&msg=Daylight%20Savings%20Time%20Starts%20in%3a">How Many Days and Hours Until Daylight Savings Time? Click HERE!</a></b></span></i></span></i></div>
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Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-79395011244570848252018-02-10T05:57:00.000-06:002018-02-10T05:57:01.448-06:00Valentine's Day Strikes Fear!<h3>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Valentine's Day strikes fear into the hearts of strong men everywhere. </i></span><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></h3>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Let's just address this head on:</span></b></i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnuRV9ithajeDNnwc_qBprKk24HOiVWDzoKKIxEiGu-S8mgaQwJRXKfdaiWVBEw5sKmUW78sO-aedfhEHs2xZYIpBenxrGMYkd2Jqgf48vRJC7Vsk71Zb8OpXfkeM5XQJmGLvsPBJl24_D/s1600/valentine_kiss_mug+expired.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnuRV9ithajeDNnwc_qBprKk24HOiVWDzoKKIxEiGu-S8mgaQwJRXKfdaiWVBEw5sKmUW78sO-aedfhEHs2xZYIpBenxrGMYkd2Jqgf48vRJC7Vsk71Zb8OpXfkeM5XQJmGLvsPBJl24_D/s1600/valentine_kiss_mug+expired.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />For many people, especially men but women too, there is nothing pleasant about planning Valentine's Day. They don't know what is expected of them; they feel that the wrong thing will be held against them; they feel that they don't have enough money to plan a "proper" Valentine's Day... and they are really tempted to break up with their girlfriend or pick a fight with their wife the week before Valentine's Day just to get out of the whole thing.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><b style="color: #a64d79; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Here's a question from a reader:</span></i></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Q:</span></i></b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Hi Jo... It's almost Valentine's Day, and I'm a nervous wreck. I've been with my girlfriend for about six months now, and we are talking about moving in together. We are getting more serious by the day. But I panic around Valentine's Day! My ex-wife always seemed disappointed after Valentine's Day, and we usually fought afterwards. I thought that dinner and flowers was an acceptable way to spend Valentine's Day, but she seemed to want something more or "different"...... How do I guarantee that my new girlfriend will be satisfied without breaking the bank? And what do I do if she seems displeased? ... Scared</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnY1Hizuc6SBohO7qxbzpenByUGmwkfCofPOYu45QvSfNwgTdzRrO1Gmstm98aJ3UaN_-fm9anByyNy_BMCbAyCCtkYSFiD9x2t6cn0Xr_8ukD0f4wXWqQSCt26y3IZxEm8hnHD8L3gDep/s1600/heart+pin+etsy+rough+magic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnY1Hizuc6SBohO7qxbzpenByUGmwkfCofPOYu45QvSfNwgTdzRrO1Gmstm98aJ3UaN_-fm9anByyNy_BMCbAyCCtkYSFiD9x2t6cn0Xr_8ukD0f4wXWqQSCt26y3IZxEm8hnHD8L3gDep/s640/heart+pin+etsy+rough+magic.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>These oxidized Copper Heart Brooches by <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/87928973/oxidized-copper-heart-brooch-pin-rustic" target="_blank">Rough Magic</a> were found at Etsy a few years back, but they appear to be unavailable now. </b></span></td></tr>
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<b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Answer:</span></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"> Have you tried a hot air balloon ride? Or a train ride on the Orient Express? What about 4 carat pink diamond earrings? O.K., I'm joking. Let's be realistic here.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><br />Scared, if she truly likes you for who you are and things are going well.. and she's a decent woman.... there isn't much you can do to screw up Valentine's Day.... except perhaps to forget the whole thing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />It would probably be best to talk to her well before the big day. Does she expect a big production? A dinner and flowers? If so, a fancy dinner? Maybe she dislikes the Valentine's Day dinner scene (as I do) and she's planning on cooking for you. But don't let things fester.. If she's as great as you think and hope she is, she will be happy to talk about her expectations and what might be reasonable. Don't let your experiences with your ex-wife color your experiences with this one. The ex may have been spoiled, demanding, and petty. Perhaps that's why she is an ex?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />My sense is that, for most women, flowers, a bit of candy, and perhaps a small gift (according to your budget), are more than enough.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">By the way, she should be doing something for you as well.. A small gift, your favorite candy, a home-cooked meal. Valentine's Day shouldn't be a one way street!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">(Cross posted from <a href="https://lovestuff-byjo.blogspot.com/2010/01/valentines-day-strikes-fear.html" target="_blank">Love Stuff by Jo</a>)</span></div>
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Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-64869472687360829752018-02-09T06:14:00.000-06:002018-02-09T15:14:01.110-06:00February 9: Pizza, Bagels, and the Beatles!<br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i style="color: #0b5394;">Snow Day!</i><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It's snowing in the Midwest and that snow is supposed to be heading East. We may get 10 or more inches in Chicago. If you live in the Midwest or the Northeast, you may get a snow day.. or you may be able to work at home or leave early. That would be a nice way to celebrate February 9th!</span><br /><br /><i style="color: #0b5394;">And Happy Birthday Carole King!</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOClNl83BDiWMkzTGA-O1eX862hVOTOeMh9wZkuyvp8UP_VzzP6TlNbucQBfN4LZAs_SOeEvTTgPknUmTl73Dh-94MTSrLUzIHOuFfD2ihVdC37Golvtd0Ga3zBgfFZaxd3W1meFbGvQ2/s1600/National+pizza+Day.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOClNl83BDiWMkzTGA-O1eX862hVOTOeMh9wZkuyvp8UP_VzzP6TlNbucQBfN4LZAs_SOeEvTTgPknUmTl73Dh-94MTSrLUzIHOuFfD2ihVdC37Golvtd0Ga3zBgfFZaxd3W1meFbGvQ2/s1600/National+pizza+Day.jpeg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br />If it is too snowy, you can celebrate <b><i>National Pizza Day</i></b> (see below) by popping a pizza in the oven, or, better yet, getting a pizza delivered, that is, if the roads are clear enough to let the pizza delivery guy get through.<br /><br />Many places are having special deals for National Pizza Day; Google your city and the words "National Pizza Day" and see what you get. </span></div>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><b style="font-style: italic;">Is your birthday today?</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">If you were born on February 9th, you share your birthday with:</span></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">William Henry Harrison, the 9th President of the United States, who caught a nasty cold at his inauguration March 4, 1841, and died of pneumonia a month later.</span></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carole_King" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-large;" target="_blank">Carole King,</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> prolific songwriter, was born in 1942 in Manhattan. She is "the most successful female songwriter of the latter half of the 20th century in the USA, having written or co-written 118 pop hits on the</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Hot_100" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-large;" title="Billboard Hot 100"><i>Billboard</i> Hot 100</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> between 1955 and 1999.</span><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carole_King#cite_note-3" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;">[3]</a>"</sup></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Economist and Nobel prize winner Joseph Stiglitz (born in 1943).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Novelist Alice Walker of "The Color Purple" fame was born in 1944.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Mia Farrow, of Rosemary's Baby fame, wife of Frank Sinatra, long-time girlfriend of Woody Allen, and mother of many, was born in 1945. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Other February 9th birthday babies are listed <b><i><a href="https://www.onthisday.com/birthdays/february/9" target="_blank">HERE</a>. </i></b><br /><br />Your birthstone is the beautiful lavender <i><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amethyst" target="_blank">amethyst </a>. </b></i>(Ancient Greeks believed that the stone protected the wearer from drunkenness and enabled them to keep a balanced mindset.) You were born under the sign of Aquarius. (I can't help hearing that song "The Age of Aquarius" whenever I write that.) I hope you are having a Happy Birthday!</span></span></div>
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<b style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-large;"><i>How many hours of daylight now?</i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">The sun rose this morning at 6:53 a.m. local Chicago time and it will set at 5:16 p.m., about two minutes later than it set yesterday. We have two minutes and 29 seconds more daylight than we had yesterday. (Other cities? Continue below.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">We have 10</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: justify;"> hours, 22 minutes, and 6 seconds of daylight today, so we've added back</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: justify;"> 1 hours 15 minutes of daylight since the Winter Solstice on December 21st. </span></span></div>
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<b style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="color: black; font-weight: 400;" /><b style="color: black;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-large;">Countdown to Daylight Savings Time</span></i></b></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Check out the exact time until Daylight Savings returns <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180311T00&p0=64&msg=Countdown+to+Daylight+Savings+Time&font=sanserif" target="_blank">HERE!</a></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">One of my friends has been counting down the days until we return to Daylight Savings Time and get back an hour of evening light. I can't say that I blame her at all. That will happen on ---</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Sunday, March 11, 2018, <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180311T00&p0=64&msg=Daylight+Savings+Time&font=sanserif" target="_blank"><b><i>meaning we have 30 more early evenings</i></b></a> until sunset in Chicago, today at 5:16 p.m., jumps to 6:52 p.m. We will then have about 1 hour and 14 minutes more daylight in total than we have now -- and 2 hours and 35 minutes more daylight than we had on the Winter Solstice on December 21, 2017.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">(Did you know that the earliest sunset of the year is NOT on the winter solstice? In 2017 in Chicago, the earliest sunset of the year happened on December 8th, almost two weeks before the solstice on December 21st! <b><i><a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/equation-of-time.html" target="_blank">HERE's an explanation.</a>)</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Oslo, Norway? Detroit, Michigan? Denver, Colorado? </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Oslo is much farther north than Chicago. Whereas Chicago has 10 hours and 22 minutes of sunlight today, Oslo only has 8 hours and 41 minutes of sun today. The sun won't rise until 8:10 a.m. Oslo time, and it will set by 4:52 p.m. Their days are getting longer, but they still have very dark long nights. <br /><br />Detroit, just a bit north of Chicago, has 10 hours and 20 minutes of daylight, only about 2 fewer daylight minutes than Chicago. The sun rises at 7:36 a.m. Detroit time, though, almost an hour later than it rises in Chicago, so the sun doesn't set on Detroit until 5:56 p.m., about 45 minutes later than it sets in Chicago.<br /><br />Denver, Colorado, is a bit south of Chicago. Denver has 10 hours and 30 minutes of daylight, about 8 more minutes of daylight than Chicago has.<br /><br /><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">What about MY city?</span></i></b><br /><br />You can search for your city <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE</i></b></a> at the sunset/sunrise lookup of the <a href="http://www.timeanddate.com/" target="_blank"><b><i>TimeAndDate</i></b></a> site.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">How Many Days Until...</span></i></b></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Valentine's Day on Wednesday, February 14? <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">5 days </span></i></b> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Mardi Gras on Tuesday, February 13? <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">4 days</span></i></b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Ash Wednesday on Wednesday, February 14? <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">5 days</span></i></b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Easter on Sunday, April 1? <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">51 days</span></i></b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">St. Patrick's Day on Saturday, March 17? <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">36 days</span></i></b></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Famous people who died on February 9:</span></i></b></span><br />
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<li style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Queen Elizabeth's sister Princess Margaret died in 2002. She was 72.</li>
<li style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Bill Haley, vocalist (Rock Around Clock), dies of heart attack at 55 in 1981.</li>
<li style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Gaus, an orangutan who lived to be 59 died in 1977.</li>
<li style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Yasgur" target="_blank">Max Yasgur,</a> owner Woodstock-festival farmland, died in 9173 at age 53.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fyodor_Dostoyevsky" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(0, 155, 255, 0.3); box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700; text-align: left; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 300ms ease;" target="_blank">Fyodor Dostoyevsky</a><span style="text-align: left;">,</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"> Russian novelist (Crime and Punishment, The Dream of a Ridiculous Man) who helped shape literary modernism and existentialism, died from a pulmonary hemorrhage at 59 in 1881.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">Other deaths listed <a href="https://www.onthisday.com/deaths/february/9" target="_blank">HERE</a></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">What happened on February 9th?</span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.onthisday.com/history/events/date/1267">1267</a> Synod of Breslau orders Jews of Silesia to wear special caps.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.onthisday.com/history/events/date/1775">1775</a> British Parliament declares Massachusetts colony is in rebellion</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.onthisday.com/history/events/date/1825" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-large;">1825</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> House of Representatives elects </span><a href="https://www.onthisday.com/people/john-quincy-adams" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-large;">John Quincy Adams</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> 6th US president. No candidate received a majority of the Electoral College, so the Congress decided the winner. Adams took his oath of office on a book of Constitutional Law instead of the Bible. </span></li>
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<a href="https://www.onthisday.com/history/events/date/1886" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-large;">1886</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> US President </span><a href="https://www.onthisday.com/people/grover-cleveland" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-large;">Grover Cleveland</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> declares a </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_riot_of_1886" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-large;" target="_blank">state of emergency in Seattle because of anti-Chinese violence. </a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> (I had never heard of this before. Apparently the anti-Chinese fervor in the northwest turned into riots and the forcible expulsion of several hundred Chinese workers.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">1964 (54 years ago)-- THE BEATLES' FIRST LIVE PERFORMANCE: The Beatles make their first live American television appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," broadcast from New York by CBS.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgfzpdCdhBpIno9YIEt7LXrPNC25DQY3NEkXNMjJf81DoBqDWCLPLqasm-x6ErZvfJtEg-r3q6Dgjg_ldiYxpIezrBUujHU-1Kj0LvSOEvP4QMubS8k_IAydL0wbrjCQnODA8cwLy5d9B/s1600/Beatles.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="699" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgfzpdCdhBpIno9YIEt7LXrPNC25DQY3NEkXNMjJf81DoBqDWCLPLqasm-x6ErZvfJtEg-r3q6Dgjg_ldiYxpIezrBUujHU-1Kj0LvSOEvP4QMubS8k_IAydL0wbrjCQnODA8cwLy5d9B/s1600/Beatles.jpeg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Several other February 9th events are listed at these links:</span></div>
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<li><a href="https://www.onthisday.com/history/events/february/9" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>On This Day history events.</i></b></span></a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/february/9" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>February 9 events from Time and Date</i></b></span></a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/today-in-history-february-9/ss-AAmJasw" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Photos from Today in History at MSN</i></b></span></a></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Anything besides pizza and the Beatles?</span></i></b><br /><br />The National Day Calendar lists many interesting and/or weird "celebrations" for each day. <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/today-in-history-february-9/ss-AAmJasw" target="_blank"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">For February 9th,</span></i></b></a> try <b><i>National Pizza Day, National Bagel Day, National Toothache Day</i></b>, and <b><i>National No One Eats Alone Day. </i></b> Personally, I'll take the pizza and the bagels. I don't want to celebrate toothaches. But I do like the idea of "no one eats alone", so ... invite someone to eat with you (either at home or out) who lives by themselves!<br /><br /><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><i>Check out <a href="https://nationaldaycalendar.com/2018/02/08/february-9-2018-national-pizza-day-national-bagel-day-national-toothache-day-national-no-one-eats-alone-day/" target="_blank">this link</a> for interesting facts about pizza, bagels, toothaches, and "National No One Eats Alone". Now you have an excuse to order a pizza for dinner tonight! And find some old Beatles clips to watch on You Tube: Either that treasured 1st performance on Ed Sullivan or the movie A Hard Day's Night.</i></b></span></span></div>
Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-76825184918055017682018-02-05T19:18:00.000-06:002018-02-05T19:19:14.718-06:00February 5: Super Bowl Hangover, Spinal Tap, and Nutella<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<b style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Here's an image from the movie <a href="http://amzn.to/2BW8pvw" target="_blank">This Is Spinal Tap</a>. What does that have to do with February 5th? Read on!</span></i></span></span></b></b></h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJQQQtJFd1lbi3wZJVNaC-WFvDU5feigealljpaT4rx1ezfJUCo39Tx4Jyz_KXDoNuvlX9PsCdzGmMXbK8I5sD2MdvLM9qBZ9VYY9Ks9yM9wV-43TTSLbwjRaInD3wk6wjKJl_GJzwcIVk/s1600/Spinal+Tap+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJQQQtJFd1lbi3wZJVNaC-WFvDU5feigealljpaT4rx1ezfJUCo39Tx4Jyz_KXDoNuvlX9PsCdzGmMXbK8I5sD2MdvLM9qBZ9VYY9Ks9yM9wV-43TTSLbwjRaInD3wk6wjKJl_GJzwcIVk/s1600/Spinal+Tap+image.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>From "Curious Creative" on Ultimate-Guitar <a href="https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/11_facts_about_spinal_tap-68483" target="_blank">"11 Facts about Spinal Tap"</a></b></span></td></tr>
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<b style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Is your birthday today?</span></i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">If you were born on February 5th, your birthstone is the beautiful lavender <i><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amethyst" target="_blank">amethyst </a>.</b></i>(Ancient Greeks believed that the stone protected the wearer from drunkenness and enabled them to keep a balanced mindset.) You were born under the sign of Aquarius. (I can't help hearing that song "The Age of Aquarius" whenever I write that.) I hope you are having a Happy Birthday!</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="color: #0b5394;"><i>It's supposed to be cold and snowy today in Chicago, a good day to work at home for those of you who have that option. Especially those of you who partied and celebrated the Super Bowl.</i></b></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Though it is cold and it's supposed to be snowy, we will still get an extra minute or more of sunlight... even if we can't see that sunlight through the clouds.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>How many hours of daylight now?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">The sun rose this morning at 6:58 a.m. local Chicago time and it will set at 5:10 p.m., about one minute later than it set yesterday. We have two minutes and 25 seconds more daylight than we had yesterday. (Other cities? Continue below.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">We have 10</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: justify;"> hours, 12 minutes, and 16 seconds of daylight today, so we've added back</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: justify;"> 2 hours 25 minutes of daylight since the Winter Solstice on December 21st. </span></span></div>
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<b style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="color: black; font-weight: 400;" /><b style="color: black;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-large;">Countdown to Daylight Savings Time</span></i></b></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Countdown to Daylight Savings Time as of 7 p.m., February 5, 2018.</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">One of my friends has been counting down the days until we return to Daylight Savings Time and get back an hour of evening light. I can't say that I blame her at all. That will happen on ---</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Sunday, March 11, 2018, <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180311T00&p0=64&msg=Daylight+Savings+Time&font=sanserif" target="_blank"><b><i>meaning we have 34 more early evenings</i></b></a> until sunset in Chicago, today at 5:10 p.m., jumps to 6:52 p.m. We will then have about 24 minutes more daylight in total than we have now -- and 2 hours and 49 minutes more daylight than we had on the Winter Solstice on December 21, 2017.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">(Did you know that the earliest sunset of the year is NOT on the winter solstice? In 2017 in Chicago, the earliest sunset of the year happened on December 8th, almost two weeks before the solstice on December 21st! <b><i><a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/equation-of-time.html" target="_blank">HERE's an explanation.</a>)</i></b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-large;">Seattle, Washington? London, UK? Philadelphia, Pennsylvania?</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">London is farther north than Chicago. Whereas Chicago has 10 hours of sunlight today (10 hours and 12 minutes), London only has 9 hours and 24 minutes of sunlight today. (The sun doesn't rise until 7:32 a.m. London time.)<br /><br />Seattle, a bit north of Chicago, has 9 hours and 47 minutes of daylight, about 25 less minutes of daylight than we have in Chicago. <br /><br />Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where people are not doing anything today but celebrating their first Super Bowl win, is slightly south of Chicago. Philadelphia has 10 hours and 20 minutes of daylight today, about 8 more minutes of daylight than Chicago.<br /><br /><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">What about MY city?</span></i></b><br /><br />You can search for your city <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE</i></b></a> at the sunset/sunrise lookup of the <a href="http://www.timeanddate.com/" target="_blank"><b><i>TimeAndDate</i></b></a> site.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">How Many Days Until...</span></i></b></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Valentine's Day on Wednesday, February 14? <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">9 days </span></i></b> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Mardi Gras on Tuesday, February 13? <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">8 days</span></i></b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Ash Wednesday on Wednesday, February 14? <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">9 days</span></i></b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Easter on Sunday, April 1? <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">55 days</span></i></b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">St. Patrick's Day on Saturday, March 17? <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">40 days</span></i></b></span></li>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Famous people who were born today</i></b></span><br />
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">1848 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Starr" target="_blank"><b><i>Belle Starr [Myra Belle Shirley]</i></b>,</a> US female outlaw (wild west) </span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">1866 <b><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Keith" target="_blank">Arthur Keith</a>,</i></b> one of the early "nationalists" who felt that prejudice was "<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">part of human nature" and "(has) been grafted deeply into our natures for particular purposes" such as "some higher survival purpose."</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">1900 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adlai_Stevenson_II" target="_blank"><b><i>Adlai E Stevenson</i></b>,</a> (Gov-D-Ill), presidential candidate (D) (1952, 1956).</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">1959 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Granholm" target="_blank"><b><i>Jennifer Granholm</i></b></a> American Politician, 47th governor of Michigan.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">1948 Nigel Tufnel, rocker (<a href="http://amzn.to/2BW8pvw" target="_blank"><b><i>Spinal Tap</i></b></a>) </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Nigel Tufnel? Well... Nigel Tufnel, the guitarist in Spinal Tap, really WAS a fictional character. But <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Guest" target="_blank"><b><i>Christopher Guest</i></b>,</a> husband of Jamie Lee Curtis and former member of the UK House of Lords, who gave life to Nigel Tufnel, really was born on February 5, 1948.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">As it is cold and snowy today in many parts of the country, perhaps a good way to celebrate the day and the birthday of Christopher Guest would be to watch always-hilarious <b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2BW8pvw" target="_blank">This Is Spinal Tap</a>.</i></b> <b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2EhUHbf" target="_blank">Best in Show</a></i></b> is great also. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />Famous people who died today</span></i></b></span><br />
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<li>Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1917-2008)</li>
<li>2011: <a href="http://www.legacy.com/ns/obituary.aspx?n=brian-jacques&pid=148462642">Brian Jacques</a>, English author known best for his "Redwall" series, dies at 71.</li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br />Other February 5th deaths listed <b><i><a href="https://www.onthisday.com/history/deaths/february/5" target="_blank">HERE.</a> </i></b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Other February 5th events listed at these links:</span></div>
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<li><a href="https://www.onthisday.com/history/events/february/5" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>On This Day history events.</i></b></span></a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/february/5" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>February 5 events from Time and Date</i></b></span></a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/today-in-history-february-5/ss-BBIsSN7" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Photos from Today in History at MSN</i></b></span></a></li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijFcdoQppRSCLDUAwlQvGB_DnBYkBxDfvsLV6Y4t7_yifaQP48UPi3umqNSiTxtdIYhEbkJOHCLRG361-SUsyQhCumQKqj32Ulg4J2kEd0UCKHSfdy4Dv-w6anR2gugZ9OaganctY-fhVz/s1600/recipes+braided-nutella-bread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijFcdoQppRSCLDUAwlQvGB_DnBYkBxDfvsLV6Y4t7_yifaQP48UPi3umqNSiTxtdIYhEbkJOHCLRG361-SUsyQhCumQKqj32Ulg4J2kEd0UCKHSfdy4Dv-w6anR2gugZ9OaganctY-fhVz/s1600/recipes+braided-nutella-bread.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>It's World Nutella Day! Try this braided Nutella bread.. if you dare. Link to recipe below.</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Anything to Celebrate?</span></i></b><br /><br />If you are not in Philadelphia and you aren't a fan of Spinal Tap, what else can you celebrate today, February 5?<br /><br />The National Day Calendar lists many interesting and/or weird "celebrations" for each day. <a href="https://nationaldaycalendar.com/2018/02/04/february-5-2018-national-shower-with-a-friend-day-world-nutella-day-national-weatherpersons-day/" target="_blank"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">For February 5th,</span></i></b></a> they list National Weatherperson's Day, National Shower With A Friend Day, and World Nutella Day.<br /><br /><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Nutella</span></i></b><br /><br />Surely you heard about the riots in France just a week or so ago when some stores had a really good deal on Nutella: 70% off?<br /><br />Nutella, a hazelnut/chocolate spread, really is loved by many! I personally think it is okay, but I've had a jar here in the house for a while now and not touched it. But... for the Nutella fans in the crowd, here are a few recipes, with more at the link above at National Day Calendar:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">You'd have to really love Nutella to undertake the Nutella braided bread in the photo above, but it might be something to tackle once a year if you have someone who goes insane for Nutella in your home.<br /><br />You can find the recipe <a href="http://goodshomedesign.com/braided-nutella-bread/" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE</i></b></a> at GoodsHomeDesign.com. (Somewhere I found a Nutella bread Christmas tree based on the same basic recipe.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://abeautifulmess.com/2013/01/frosting-mixology.html" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE's</i></b></a> an article about mixing Nutella into chocolate frosting for a different cupcake taste.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Try <a href="http://www.hamptonroadshappyhour.com/nutellatini" target="_blank"><b><i>Nutellatini..</i></b></a> A drink made with hazelnut liqueur, creme de cocoa and a teaspoon of Nutella.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiYP8LodKIh0V86LLOPYqI5Dr1KYN20RC5rd0Xai_K3X15zWgZLeA89W9dVXQHDMqg73xcW1jJobdvC-R0s4CKBRk_IikHQ8N_QfaOP-4WlFnBeFG_wwXID1VrHg3utlqhBoDinRaOsk5T/s1600/Recipes+drinks+nutellatini+via+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="364" data-original-width="450" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiYP8LodKIh0V86LLOPYqI5Dr1KYN20RC5rd0Xai_K3X15zWgZLeA89W9dVXQHDMqg73xcW1jJobdvC-R0s4CKBRk_IikHQ8N_QfaOP-4WlFnBeFG_wwXID1VrHg3utlqhBoDinRaOsk5T/s320/Recipes+drinks+nutellatini+via+.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">A Nutellatini from Hampton's Road Happy Hour. </span></b></td></tr>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Finally, try these <a href="https://holidayspage.net/nutella-cheesecake-cupcakes/" target="_blank"><b><i>creamcheese Nutella cupcakes:</i></b></a>made with oreos (!) and Nutella.<b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span></b></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br />So if you are really fond of Nutella, you have drinks, breads, desserts for World Nutella Day. I wonder if someone has invented a salad with nutella or a meatloaf with nutella. I can't decide if those dishes would be interesting.. or just weird.</span></div>
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Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-8943924261564672002018-02-02T03:48:00.001-06:002018-02-02T03:48:27.980-06:00Groundhog Day 2018: Groundhogs, winter, and narcissists<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<i style="color: #38761d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Six more weeks of winter...?</i></h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />The "official" Groundhog Day rodent, good old Punxatawney Phil from Pennsylvania, may see his shadow later this morning, thus predicting six more weeks of winter.. or.. he won't! And we'll have an early spring!<br /><br />The <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/01/30/groundhog-day-2018-weather-forecast-punxsutawney-phil-see-his-shadow/1081021001/" target="_blank"><i>prominent weather forecasters</i></a> are predicting snow, cold.. and shadows tomorrow morning, Friday, February 2nd, in Pennsylvania. That should mean that Phil won't see his shadow.. and we'll have an early spring? Yeah, sure. I'll believe it when I see it.<br /><br />It seems that Phil usually does see his shadow and we get those six more weeks of winter. Can you remember when he didn't? (I had to look it up.. I was surprised to find that the various groundhogs actually <b><i>HAVE</i></b> forecast an early spring.)</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Secret-First-Iris-Hiskey-Arno/dp/1559718676/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=oaubh-20&linkId=d1da86080f49040847f04314f6d6a88c" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="532" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1559718676&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=oaubh-20" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Very cute book about Groundhog's Day for the wee ones. <a href="http://amzn.to/2s1TU9x" target="_blank">Click on the link</a> for more info. </b></span></td></tr>
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<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=oaubh-20&l=li3&o=1&a=1559718676" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">You may wish to check out the account of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Groundhog Day on Wikipedia.</a>.. There is much history about the day that I didn't know.<br /><br />Several rodents that are coaxed out of their holes in various places in the United States and abroad. There's a lot of spectacle, but not a lot of real prediction.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>As for "accuracy", Wikipedia reports: </i></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; text-align: start;">Punxsutawney Phil's statistics are kept by the Pennsylvania’s Groundhog Club which cares for the animal. Phil has predicted 103 forecasts for winter and just 17 for an early spring.</span><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-:0_66-0" style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 1; text-align: start; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day#cite_note-:0-66" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">[51]</a></sup><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; text-align: start;"> As it turns out, Phil’s predictions have been recorded as only 39% accurate according to Stormfax Almanac’s data. It seems as though referring to the city’s official weather services to determine the seasonal changes may be more reliable.</span><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-:0_66-1" style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 1; text-align: start; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day#cite_note-:0-66" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">[51]</a></sup><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; text-align: start;"> Other poor results from analysis are reported by the </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; text-align: start;"><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmer%27s_Almanac" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Farmer's Almanac">Farmer's Almanac</a></i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; text-align: start;"> as "exactly 50 percent" accuracy,</span><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-67" style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 1; text-align: start; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day#cite_note-67" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">[52]</a></sup><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; text-align: start;"> and </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_National_Geographic_Society" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: sans-serif; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;" title="The National Geographic Society">The National Geographic Society</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; text-align: start;"> reporting only 28% success.</span><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-68" style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 1; text-align: start; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day#cite_note-68" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">[53]</a></sup><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; text-align: start;"> But a </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middlebury_College" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: sans-serif; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Middlebury College">Middlebury College</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; text-align: start;"> team found that a long-term analysis of temperature high/low predictions were 70% accurate, although when the groundhog predicted early spring it was usually wrong.</span><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-69" style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 1; text-align: start; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day#cite_note-69" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">[54]</a></sup></span></b></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So.... Pay no attention to the oversized rat in his hole on February 2nd. We usually have 6 more weeks of winter.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Groundhog Day the Movie and Self-absorbed Narcissists</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the most enjoyable (and warmest) Groundhog Day traditions is the annual watching of the 1993 movie starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. Isn't it everybody's dream that the self-absorbed narcissists that clutter our lives (the Bill Murray character for the few who have never seen this movie) might be forced to spend years, decades, eternity even.. confronting their ---- unpleasant selves? Realizing that not everybody thinks they are as wonderful as they think they are? Forced to "fix" themselves until they wake up as redeemed people. Ah, yes, the joys of fantasy. But have a Groundhog Day-watching party for one or two or more.. and, if you dare, invite the narcissists in your life. (And if you've been invited to dozens of Groundhog Day-watching parties over the years, you might ask yourself if your friends and coworkers are trying to tell you something.) <br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://amzn.to/2BNKzlv" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="http://amzn.to/2BNKzlv" border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B001KEHAI0&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=wwwjosfavorit-20" height="640" width="496" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>The Blu-Ray 15th anniversary edition.. (Reg DVD available.) Click <a href="http://amzn.to/2BNKzlv" target="_blank">HERE</a> for more info.</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=wwwjosfavorit-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001KEHAI0" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you are interested in buying Groundhog Day, you might want to buy a Bill Murray box set like<i style="font-weight: bold;"> <a href="http://amzn.to/2GF0Cpb" target="_blank">THIS ONE with Stripes (Extended Cut), Ghostbusters, and Groundhog Day</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=wwwjosfavorit-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000BYRCQK" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
</i><br /><br /><br /><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Celebrating the Day</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It may be a bit too late to plan a Groundhog's Day Party this year, 2018, but next year Groundhog's Day is on a Saturday morning, the day before the Super Bowl. You may want to blow off the whole weekend with various celebrations. As Groundhog's Day has its origins in Germany, you may want to invite a few friends over Friday night, drink German beer all night long, watch the Groundhog Day movie, and then watch the celebration from Pennsylvania. Then go to bed. <br /><br />Or just get up early on Saturday morning, watch the celebration, eat breakfast while watching the movie, and then go back to bed. <br /><br />Whatever. You decide. Just.. have fun!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Information, links, and fun:</span></i></b><br /><br /><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/01/30/groundhog-day-2018-weather-forecast-punxsutawney-phil-see-his-shadow/1081021001/" target="_blank">Will Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow?</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2018/02/01/the-groundhog-crawls-out-of-his-hole-tomorrow-morning-what-do-you-want-him-to-see" target="_blank">What do you want the groundhog to see when he crawls out of his hole tomorrow? </a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/groundhog-day-2018-prediction" target="_blank">Groundhog's Day 2018</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2018/02/groundhog_day_2018_when_what_day_punxsutawney_phil_results_shadow.html" target="_blank">2018: Will the groundhog see his shadow?</a><br /><br /><a href="http://time.com/5124801/fun-groundhog-day-facts/" target="_blank">Four Crazy Groundhog Day Facts</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=wwwjosfavorit-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B004X8W63O" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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<br />Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-81614897804388113032018-01-28T20:20:00.000-06:002018-01-28T20:20:32.076-06:00January 28: More Daylight and Blueberry Pancakes<b style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Is your birthday today?</span></i></b><br />
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<b style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;"><br />If you were born on January 28th, your birthstone is the deep red </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garnet" style="font-weight: 400;" target="_blank">garnet</a><span style="color: black; font-weight: 400;"> (though garnets can be found in many other colors than deep red) and you were born under the sign of Aquarius. Oh, and have a Happy Birthday!<br /></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>A few more minutes of daylight!</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">It was sunny yesterday and it seemed as though the sun didn't set forEVER. Well, that's an exaggeration. The sun continues to set a bit later every day. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>How many hours of daylight now?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: justify;">The sun rose this morning at 7:06 a.m. local Chicago time and it will set at 5:00 p.m., one minute later than it set yesterday. We have two minutes and ten seconds more daylight than we had yesterday. (Other cities? Continue below.)<br /><br />We have </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: justify;">9 hours, 53 minutes, and 52 seconds of daylight today, so we've added back</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: justify;"> 45 minutes and 56 seconds of daylight since the Winter Solstice on December 21st. </span></div>
<b style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br style="color: black; font-weight: 400;" /><b style="color: black;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Countdown to Daylight Savings Time</span></i></b></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Countdown to Daylight Savings Time as of 4 p.m. January 28, 2018. </span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span></i></b>One of my friends has been counting down the days until we return to Daylight Savings Time and get back an hour of evening light. I can't say that I blame her at all. That will happen on </span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Sunday, March 11, 2018, <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180311T00&p0=64&msg=Daylight+Savings+Time&font=sanserif" target="_blank"><b><i>meaning we have 42 days of these early evenings</i></b></a> until sunset in Chicago, today at 5:00 p.m., jumps to 6:52 p.m. We will then have 1 hour and about 50 minutes more daylight in total than we have now-- and 2 hours and 36 minutes more daylight than we had on the Winter Solstice on December 21, 2017.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">(Did you know that the earliest sunset of the year is NOT on the winter solstice? In 2017 in Chicago, the earliest sunset of the year happened on December 8th, almost two weeks before the solstice on December 21st! <b><i><a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/equation-of-time.html" target="_blank">HERE's an explanation.</a>)<br /></i></b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-large;">Charleston, South Carolina? Paris, France? New York City? Other Cities?</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Paris, France, is farther north than Chicago. Whereas Chicago has almost 10 hours of sunlight today (9 hours and 54 minutes), Paris only has 9 hours and 15 minutes of sunlight today. (The sun doesn't rise until 8:26 a.m. Paris time.)<br /><br />New York City, slightly south of Chicago, has 9 hours and 59 minutes of daylight, about 6 more minutes of daylight than we have in Chicago. Charleston, South Carolina, where people were astounded earlier in the month by inches of SNOW, is fairly far south. Charleston has 10 hours and 31 minutes of daylight today, about 37 more minutes of daylight than Chicago.<br /><br /><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">What about MY city?</span></i></b><br /><br />You can search for your city <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE</i></b></a> at the sunset/sunrise lookup of the <a href="http://www.timeanddate.com/" target="_blank"><b><i>TimeAndDate</i></b></a> site.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">How Many Days Until...</span></i></b></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Valentine's Day on Wednesday, February 14? <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">17 days </span></i></b> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Mardi Gras on Tuesday, February 13? <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">16 days</span></i></b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">The Super Bowl on Sunday, February 4? <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">7 days</span></i></b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Ash Wednesday on Wednesday, February 14? <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">17 days</span></i></b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Easter on Sunday, April 1? <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">63 days</span></i></b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">St. Patrick's Day on Saturday, March 17? <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">48 days</span></i></b></span></li>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Famous people who were born today</i></b></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">St. Thomas Aquinas</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Morton_Stanley" target="_blank"><b><i>Henry Morton Stanley</i></b></a> (of Stanley and Livingstone, African explorers, fame.. or infamy)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colette" target="_blank"><b><i>Colette</i></b></a> (best known as the author of Gigi, but her other works and her life are fascinating)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">The twins, August and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Piccard" target="_blank"><b><i>Jean Piccard</i></b>,</a> Swiss scientists and explorers (Recognize the name? The brother Jean also died on this day on his 79th birthday.) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Artist Jackson Pollard</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Sculptor Claes Oldenburg</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Carlos Slim, at one time the world's richest man</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Many others listed <a href="https://www.onthisday.com/history/birthdays/january/28" target="_blank"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">HERE</span></i></b></a></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Famous people who died today</span></i></b><br /><br />The space shuttle Challenger blew up on this date in 1986, taking seven astronauts, including the first "teacher in space", Christa McAuliffe, to their deaths. I remember the day very well. I was working when co-workers came in with the news. We watched and speculated all day as to what might have happened. The shock was extreme; we were used to space shots as routine by that time and never expected any kind of tragedy.<br /><br />Other January 28th deaths listed <a href="https://www.onthisday.com/history/deaths.php" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE.</i></b></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Historical events that occurred on January 28:</span></i></b></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.onthisday.com/history/events/date/1547">1547</a> 9-year-old Edward VI succeeds <a href="https://www.onthisday.com/people/henry-viii">Henry VIII</a> as King of England.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.onthisday.com/history/events/date/1754">1754</a> Horace Walpole, in a letter to Horace Mann, coins the word "serendipity".</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">1813: Jane Austen publishes Pride and Prejudice anonymously.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">1820: Continent of Antarctica is discovered.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">1958: Lego brick is patented.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">1973: Vietnam War cease fire goes into effect.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">1986: Challenger blows up. (see above)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">1990: Romanians take to the street to protest the government of Iliescu.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Many events are listed at these links:</span><br />
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<li><a href="https://www.onthisday.com/history/events/january/28" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">On This Day history events.</span></a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/january/28" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">January 28 events from Time and Date</span></a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/today-in-history-january-28/ss-AAvbI9l" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Photos from Today in History at MSN</span></a></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Anything to Celebrate?</span></i></b><br /><br />Assuming that you aren't a Jane Austen fan and therefore won't celebrate the publishing of <b>Pride and Prejudice</b> with a Jane Austen party, you may wish to check out the following events from the National Day Calendar.<br /><br />The National Day Calendar lists many interesting (and some weird) "celebrations" for each day. <a href="https://nationaldaycalendar.com/2018/01/27/january-28-2018-national-fun-at-work-day-data-privacy-day-national-kazoo-day-national-blueberry-pancake-day/" target="_blank"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">For January 28th,</span></i></b></a> they list National Fun At Work Day (since it is Sunday, that "fun at work" may mean that you AREN'T at work and therefore can do something fun!), Data Privacy Day, National Kazoo Day (!), and, perhaps most important, National Blueberry Pancake Day!<br /><br /><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">National Blueberry Pancake Day</span></i></b><br />Here's a hint: Add the blueberries either immediately AFTER you've poured the batter onto the hot griddle, or immediately BEFORE you pour the batter onto the hot griddle. This will prevent your pancakes from turning blue. And remember that blueberries are really good for you! <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/20177/todds-famous-blueberry-pancakes/" target="_blank">Here's a great blueberry pancake recipe from someone named Todd. </a></span></i></b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Blueberry Pancakes (and another recipe) found at <a href="https://www.culinarycovers.com/2010/08/blueberry-pancakes/" target="_blank">Culinary Covers</a></b></span></td></tr>
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Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-9633066991665194462018-01-15T05:00:00.000-06:002018-01-15T16:11:27.812-06:00January 15: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>King Day, celebrated on January 15 in 2018, is a United States federal holiday to honor the memory of Civil Rights leader, humanitarian, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King, Jr. </i></b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's celebrated the third Monday in January, and, as it is a federal holiday, it means that we have no mail delivery; federal courts and offices are closed; most schools are closed; and we should fly the flag. (Almost all states also recognize Martin Luther King Day with closures of state offices and other officially recognized ceremonies.)</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGJ_vjXAXBVOZN-W07tUspH8_PYF0_fg8CRPRxmS27DOptxG5qklIBXoWgiK228JCqAHubq-NnNAm5vA8Db9QkUDbZcbfNTQnvVTptIkOoBA25LDilsutADxoIjtNbu-PRQg-JdMc-Rd7V/s1600/Martin_Luther_King_Jr_St_Paul_Campus_U_MN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="343" data-original-width="466" height="471" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGJ_vjXAXBVOZN-W07tUspH8_PYF0_fg8CRPRxmS27DOptxG5qklIBXoWgiK228JCqAHubq-NnNAm5vA8Db9QkUDbZcbfNTQnvVTptIkOoBA25LDilsutADxoIjtNbu-PRQg-JdMc-Rd7V/s640/Martin_Luther_King_Jr_St_Paul_Campus_U_MN.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: small;">Martin Luther King talking in Minnesota in 1967. Photo from the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/minnesotahistoricalsociety/5355384180/sizes/o/in/photostream/" target="_blank">Minnesota Historical Society</a> found <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19183908" target="_blank">at Wikipedia</a></span></b></td></tr>
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<br /><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /><br /><span style="color: white;">M</span><br /><span style="color: #0b5394;">Martin Luther King would be 89 if he were still with us.</span></span></i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, so this year, 2018, we are celebrating King Day on King's actual birthday, which happens to be the third Monday of the month this year. King would be 89 if he were still living, but he was assassinated on April 4, 1968, when he was only 39 years old.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was in high school in a suburb of Chicago, and I remember that time well. It was a time of sadness, anger, and uncertainty. </span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The death of King was followed by riots in many cities and towns, and I can remember military helicopters flying over Chicago, 8-10 miles east of the suburb that we lived in.<br /><br /><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">The Beginning of King Day</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I also remember some of the first celebrations of Martin Luther King, even before King Day became an official federal holiday in 1986. I don't remember the exact year, but in 1979 or 1980, before government offices and financial institutions were routinely closed for King Day, a black woman that I worked with organized the black employees in the office to bring treats on King's birthday, focusing on family recipes, all to raise awareness among all of us of the life and times of Dr. Martin Luther King. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">No school, but what does that mean?</span></i></b><br /><br />Now schools are out on Martin Luther King Day, and that is a good way to get children, both as parents and as teachers, to talk about Martin Luther King, the Civil Rights movement, where we are today in the world, and where we go from here. The birthday of Martin Luther King should never be treated as "just" a day off from school. Many talk about Martin Luther King Day as a Day of Service. Here's a start: The (Martin Luther) King Center in Atlanta, Georgia, talks about the meaning of the King holiday <a href="http://www.thekingcenter.org/meaning-king-holiday" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE.</i></b></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Many publications have include information about the meaning of Dr. King's work and the origins of the holiday, and many include links and ideas for parents about meaningful commemorations of King Day. Some of these articles were published last year or the year before, but the ideas are still valid. Here are a few links:</span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/martin-luther-king-day" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Martin Luther King Day holiday</i></b></span></a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/852067/celebrating-martin-luther-king-jr-day-with-kids" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day with kids</i></b></span></a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/852021/how-to-celebrate-martin-luther-king-jr-day" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Celebrating Martin Luther King Day</i></b></span></a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="http://mashable.com/2016/01/17/martin-luther-king-jr-celebrate/#L7OsysmpXEqU" target="_blank">6 ways to meaningfully honor Martin Luther King</a></i></b></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="http://www.aascu.org/programs/ADP/MLKDay/" target="_blank">Amer Assn of State Colleges and Universities: Martin Luther King Day of Service</a></i></b></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.momtastic.com/parenting/171193-5-ways-to-celebrate-martin-luther-king-jrs-birthday/" target="_blank"><b><i>Five Ways to Celebrate Martin Luther King Day</i></b></a></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Many cities have ceremonies and exhibits commemorating the life of Martin Luther King, some geared to children, some for people of all ages. Again, some of these lists were published last year or the year before, so verify dates and times before you go anywhere. Here's a partial list:</span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/822307/10-awesome-places-to-visit-this-martin-luther-king-jr-day" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Awesome places to visit this King Day</i></b></span></a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="http://hvparent.com/mlk-day" target="_blank">Hudson Valey Parent's ideas for celebrating King Day</a></i></b></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://redtri.com/chicago/martin-luther-king-day-events-for-kids/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Chicago: Martin Luther King Day events for kids</i></b></span></a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/ways-celebrate-martin-luther-king-jr-day-around-country-n497676" target="_blank"><b><i>Celebrating Martin Luther King Day around the country</i></b></a></span></li>
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Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-70898440788850909382018-01-14T07:30:00.000-06:002018-01-21T16:47:05.915-06:00Happy January 14!<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>It's cold but sunny outside today in Chicago, Illinois. </b></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />The days are actually getting longer even though it still seems pretty bleak outside. The sun rose this morning at 7:16 a.m. local time and it will set at 4:43 p.m., one minute later than it set yesterday in Chicago. We have a total of one minute and thirty two more seconds of daylight than we had yesterday. Altogether, we have added back 19 minutes and 40 seconds of daylight since the Winter Solstice on December 21st. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Seattle? New York City? Other Cities?</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Seattle, Washington, is just a bit farther north than Chicago. Whereas Chicago has over 9 hours of sunlight today (9 hours and 27 minutes to be precise), Seattle only has 8 hours and 50 minutes of sunlight today. And New York City, slightly south of Chicago, has 9 hours and 34 minutes of daylight, about 7 more minutes of daylight than Chicago. You can search for your city <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE</i></b></a> at the sunset/sunrise lookup of the <a href="http://www.timeanddate.com/" target="_blank"><b><i>TimeAndDate</i></b></a> site.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Not sure where this gorgeous photo came from, but it is a perfect expression of the beauty of winter.</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>How Many Days Until Daylight Savings Time Comes Back?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of my friends has been counting down the days until we return to Daylight Savings Time and get back an hour of evening light. I can't say that I blame her at all. That will happen on Sunday, March 11, 2018, 56 days from now. Sunset in Chicago, today at 4:43 p.m., will jump to 6:52 p.m. and we will have 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 4 seconds more daylight in total than we have now-- and 2 hours, 35 minutes, and 44 seconds more daylight that we had on the Winter Solstice. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Did you know that the earliest sunset of the year is NOT on the winter solstice? In 2017 in Chicago, the earliest sunset of the year happened on December 8th, almost two weeks before the solstice on December 21st! <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/equation-of-time.html" target="_blank"><b><i>HERE's an explanation.</i></b></a></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Other than those precious few minutes of sunlight, what else is noteworthy about January 14th? </span></i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Check out the (somewhat) famous people </span><a href="https://www.onthisday.com/history/birthdays/january/14" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;" target="_blank"><b><i>born on January 14th.</i></b></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Some of these names may be familiar; some may not be familiar at all. There are more people born on January 14th at the link above.</span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Marc Antony 83 b.c. (only lived until 30 b.c., or about 53)</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Fantin-Latour" target="_blank">Henri Fantin Latour</a> (artist)</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berthe_Morisot" target="_blank">Berte Morisot</a> (artist)</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thornton Burgess (author of Peter Rabbit)</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Schweitzer" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Albert Schweitzer</span></a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hugh Lofting (author of Dr. Doolittle)</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Niem%C3%B6ller" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Martin Niemoeller</span></a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">John Dos Passos</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">William Bendix (Life of Riley)</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Andy Rooney</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zuzana_R%C5%AF%C5%BEi%C4%8Dkov%C3%A1" target="_blank">Zuzana Ruzikova</a> (A Czech musician who was imprisoned by the Nazis and harassed by the Communists)</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Brakhage" target="_blank">Stan Brakhage</a> (Influential experimental filmmaker) </span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Julian Bond</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Faye Dunaway</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepard_Smith" target="_blank">Shephard Smith</a> (Fox News host)</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Grohl" target="_blank">Dave Grohl</a> (Nirvana, FooFighters, born in Ohio in 1969. Yep, he turns 49 today!) </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Then check out <a href="https://nationaldaycalendar.com/2018/01/13/january-14-2018-national-dress-up-your-pet-day-ratification-day-national-hot-pastrami-sandwich-day-national-sunday-supper-day/" target="_blank"><b><i>Things to Celebrate or Commemorate on January 14th.</i></b></a> Since it is Sunday and cold and most people don't have to work-- and it is supposed to snow this afternoon in Chicago-- why not go back to bed? (Consider having <a href="http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/hot-pastrami-sandwich-286157" target="_blank"><b><i>a Pastrami sandwich </i></b></a>for lunch or dinner today in honor of National Pastrami Day, one of today's Things To Celebrate. Or perhaps just some hot chocolate or make a dreamy, creamy soup. I'm going to make a cream of potato soup this afternoon. Not sure what recipe I'm going to use yet.)<br /><br /><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Enjoy the day!</span></i></b></span></div>
Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-72034463534684281992017-12-31T11:23:00.000-06:002017-12-31T11:23:48.858-06:00Ringing in the New Year: How did you celebrate? How do you celebrate now? <h3 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Another New Year's Eve, bringing memories, hopes, cheers, and even a few fears as we move into 2018: </i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We lived in the city of Chicago when I was very small, in the neighborhood known as Pilsen. My grandmother lived just a block away, and one of my aunts and uncles lived just two blocks away. I remember New Year's Eve celebrations at my Grandma's house. We rang cowbells! As we were little kids, we tried to stay up until the New Year rang in and that was quite a treat. That was it! But we knew it was a special night from the time we were little.<br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttKKy0VR3pR92LPv5rnmGEw24XXYXcE-A-LmD735VOb9kz7OOvlAtSyIe2znjg8cuyzFOmozXaH0LPTGK0J1AKQTs62z6M0Xd_ype5uqeWwcE5sYiPxxlmByiVi5xpIYQX9k7wIiJUUEP/s1600/New+Year%2527s+Eve+with+Mae+West+and+tinsel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttKKy0VR3pR92LPv5rnmGEw24XXYXcE-A-LmD735VOb9kz7OOvlAtSyIe2znjg8cuyzFOmozXaH0LPTGK0J1AKQTs62z6M0Xd_ype5uqeWwcE5sYiPxxlmByiVi5xpIYQX9k7wIiJUUEP/s1600/New+Year%2527s+Eve+with+Mae+West+and+tinsel.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Mae West celebrating New Year 1936 with tinsel. (John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images)</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><b><i><span style="color: purple;">Other memorable New Year's Eves?</span></i></b></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />I remember putting on makeup, sparkly makeup, at my parents' house when I was 15. I believe a friend or two was with me that night.. just girls waiting for the years when we would be more grown up and we could put on that sparkly make up, fancy dresses, and party. When I was 18, my first Christmas holiday home from college, I went to see Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with a high school friend. We were riding home just as the New Year rang out. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="color: purple;">Party Like It's 1999</span></i></b><br /><br />We celebrated New Year's Eve 1999 at Navy Pier where, at the time, we had a stall selling toys. My son and one of his friends were with us and I remember Prince's "Party Like 1999" song playing over and over as we watched the fireworks over the Pier. A year later, on New Year's Eve 2000, we climbed to the rooftop of our home to watch the same fireworks at Navy Pier, but they were far away that year. </span></div>
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I never went to many New Year's parties, and the parties I did go to were unmemorable. We had small parties at home; shrimp and seafood and fondue were big menu items. Most New Year's Eves in Chicago have been cold, of course, though not all of them were as bone-chilling as New Year's 2018 is scheduled to be. (It's supposed to be a good three degrees below zero tonight as 2017 passes the baton to 2018.) </div>
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Last year I was driving for Uber on New Year's Eve, but I called it a night around 11 p.m., as the reveling passengers appeared to be more and more inebriated. So another quiet welcome to New Year 2017 was spent at home. </div>
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So tonight? I will work until 9:30 p.m., and probably won't be home until 10:30 p.m. Then we will stay cozy and warm. No special foods, other than a bubbly toast in beautiful champagne glasses, the only time during the year we use them. I'll come out of the house at midnight to shout Happy New Year! into the cold of our neighborhood and I'll listen for fireworks and bells. (I wish I knew what happened to that New Year's cowbell that my Grandmother had.) </div>
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So have a Happy New Year, everyone! Stay warm and, if you are out drinking, don't drive! Ubers, sober friends, and free mass transit rides are your friends as we roll the clock over to 2018. <br />
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And here are a few links with information and thoughts about New Year's celebrations:</div>
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<li><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/new-year-s-eve-worst-holiday-everyone-secretly-knows-it-ncna833571" target="_blank">New Year's Eve is the worst holiday and everyone secretly knows it</a><br />("All over the world, we count down to the moment when we can officially put all our painful memories and disappointments firmly in the past and while toasting our newly hopeful futures.")</li>
<li><a href="http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2017/12/29/unique-new-years-eve-traditions-found-in-pa-towns/" target="_blank">Unique New Year's Eve traditions found in Pennsylvania towns.</a><br />("In Hershey, Pennsylvania, they mark the new year by raising – not lowering – a large, seven-foot high, nearly 300-pound aluminum replica of a Hershey kiss in the town square at Chocolate and Park avenues at midnight.")</li>
<li><a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/year-eve-celebrated-world-171228130120603.html" target="_blank">New Year's Eve around the world</a><br />It is traditional to eat 12 grapes before the New Year in Madrid! Other traditions and festivities are listed as well!</li>
<li><a href="http://www.countryliving.com/life/g5075/new-years-eve-traditions/" target="_blank">12 ways to celebrate New Year's Eve the way our grandparents did</a> (with great old photos, such as the photo of Mae West above.) </li>
<li>More to come! </li>
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Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-88403586097387663492017-12-31T00:46:00.000-06:002017-12-31T09:35:27.735-06:00Happy New Year 2018!<div style="line-height: text-align: justify;">
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Update: As of 9:30 a.m. Chicago time, Happy 2018 New Year to Samoa, the Christmas Islands, New Zealand, Australia, Tokyo, Seoul, and North Korea. </span><i style="color: #351c75; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-large;"> </i></blockquote>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>Just a few hours before 2018 is here!<br /><br />The first places to welcome 2018 will be...</i></span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEike_WE9v8ETvy4oH4vL4et378iFWKXY4nxhVtWa4QCSy1Xq_0lRm4TDZC1ZhWhZblog_AG2mx51gMUvG6oD4OpW-T7FptrQWwQoDLbzPuUtSFedvJrgpEt72xJcVk69waAzuemQh_A46bC/s1600/Happy+New+Year+maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEike_WE9v8ETvy4oH4vL4et378iFWKXY4nxhVtWa4QCSy1Xq_0lRm4TDZC1ZhWhZblog_AG2mx51gMUvG6oD4OpW-T7FptrQWwQoDLbzPuUtSFedvJrgpEt72xJcVk69waAzuemQh_A46bC/s640/Happy+New+Year+maxresdefault.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />The first places to welcome 2018 will be Samoa and Christmas Island and the small country of Kiribati (the former Gilbert Islands). The New Year is coming to those small countries in the middle of the Pacific in (as of 12:33 a.m. Chicago time) in 3 hours and 26 minutes, which is 20 hours before we will welcome 2018 in Chicago, in the Central Time Zone. So when we awake on New Year's Eve, part of the world will already be experiencing 2018!<br /><br />You can watch the world turn to 2018 at this link:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/counters/multicountdown.html" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Time left before the New Year around the globe!</a><br /><br /><br />Actually, the whole <b><i><a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/counters/new-year-trivia.html" target="_blank">Time and Date website</a> </i></b>is full of interesting tidbits. I'm surprised I never came across it before.<br /><br />Follow me on Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/josfavoritethings" target="_blank"><b><i>Jo's Favorite Things at Facebook</i></b></a></span></div>
Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-24362893757133109292017-11-15T00:51:00.000-06:002019-11-03T22:21:00.468-06:00Late Autumn: A Glorious Autumn Finale by Photographer Robert Blair<h3 style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="color: #990000;">Autumn is a very special time for photographers. I found this photo somewhere on my wanderings a few years back and I saved it. An image search led me to the incredible photography of Robert Blair. His gallery contains dozens of beautiful photographs, most of them with nature themes, most of them very seasonal.</span></span></span></i><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span></span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But the glorious photo below is the first that drew me to Robert Blair; a photo he took in mid-November 2013 and called "Autumn Finale 2.0" Perfect for this time of the year: Snow on the ground, but still some leaves on the trees.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: start;">From Rob Blair at </span><a href="http://www.robertblairphotography.com/" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">Robert Blair Photography</a>:<span style="text-align: start;"></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEJGCSW_LT_qcGTbHxQ1T8wk9oZFc8jc7MQh7xehpkP1218CKYeti7Xvk2MzHTSjej2rku-EMghmhMWhTsThvq4v8NgUpNYC88G-AXp3FYnWgCmGkyqzCk4jN48j9DXbAYEVd7OFbYFUZ1/s2400/Rob+Blair+Autumn+Finale+2.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEJGCSW_LT_qcGTbHxQ1T8wk9oZFc8jc7MQh7xehpkP1218CKYeti7Xvk2MzHTSjej2rku-EMghmhMWhTsThvq4v8NgUpNYC88G-AXp3FYnWgCmGkyqzCk4jN48j9DXbAYEVd7OFbYFUZ1/s1600/Rob+Blair+Autumn+Finale+2.0.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Found </b></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span id="goog_1988523025"></span>HERE</b></span><span id="goog_1988523026"></span></a></td></tr>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Blair took the above photo in mid-November 2013 and wrote:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Today in northeast Ohio, we had a rare, beautiful combination of autumn color with fresh fallen snow.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He added to his description of this photo recently:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Autumn Finale 2.0</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>An amazing day where winter collided with autumn in Munroe Falls, Ohio on November 12, 2013. This is a special edit of the original version, a few man-made objects removed and some slight color and contrast adjustments for improved printing results.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Blair's stunning photography can be found <a href="https://500px.com/robertblairphotography" target="_blank"><i><b>here at Robert Blair Photography</b></i>,</a> with this and many other images available for purchase. Blair writes: </span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>I'm mainly a video guy, but I have recently developed a passion for still photography. I have always enjoyed exploring the beauty of creation and finding ways to share the experiences I encounter.</b></span></blockquote>
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Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-43967667621209561112017-11-05T10:12:00.000-06:002019-11-03T21:11:28.379-06:00November Comes and November Goes...<br />
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>"November comes and November goes with the last red berries and the first white snows."</i></span></span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvbZulNQ7ALT6cV1SHoEpRynjPWvOPITwPODQDPNUBvY2RTKtHz4_pOIoP5_j5rI_EnyyRlhhsTE81psA172xGs_J5Bw3ZS8JWDQAGtriHXRtoEE89ZenHc5RUJQjIE_MYimhuCef0S-v8/s1600/November+comes+and+goes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="763" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvbZulNQ7ALT6cV1SHoEpRynjPWvOPITwPODQDPNUBvY2RTKtHz4_pOIoP5_j5rI_EnyyRlhhsTE81psA172xGs_J5Bw3ZS8JWDQAGtriHXRtoEE89ZenHc5RUJQjIE_MYimhuCef0S-v8/s1600/November+comes+and+goes.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><br />................................................................................................ Ode To November...</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"November comes and November goes with the last red berries and the first white snows."---I love this poem..November is such a transitional month.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I found this photo at the Facebook page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/If-ThE-wOrLd-HaD-a-FrOnT-pOrCh-139819609494469/" target="_blank"><b><i>"If the World Had a Front Porch"</i></b></a> a couple of years ago and saved it. But the original photo accredited this poem about November to a woman named Clyde Watson... It seems the real author was poet Elizabeth Coatsworth, born in 1893, who lived most of her life in New England and died in 1986.<br /><br />And please visit <a href="https://www.facebook.com/If-ThE-wOrLd-HaD-a-FrOnT-pOrCh-139819609494469/" target="_blank"><b><i>"If the World Had a Front Porch"!</i></b></a> A beautiful collection of photos! </span></span></div>
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</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. </span>Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-56224148958654721462017-09-22T03:28:00.000-05:002017-09-22T03:35:19.182-05:00Autumn Begins Friday afternoon, September 22nd!<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<i style="color: #990000; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-large;">Happy Autumn! <br />Friday, September 22, 2017</i></h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://makerfairesingapore.wordpress.com/2015/06/30/an-interplay-of-colours-textures-and-designs-glass-mosaic-art-by-anjali-venkat/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Art mosaic glass by Singapore artist Anjali Venkat</b></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, <a href="http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/autumnal-equinox.html" target="_blank"><i><b>Autumn greets us</b></i></a> (or we greet Autumn) tomorrow, September 22, 2017, at 3:02 p.m. Central Daylight Time. </span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> That's 4:02 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time and 1:02 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">September 2017 has been cool and pleasant but very dry.. except for the last week, in which temperatures here in the Midwest again hit the 90's! (I thought we were done with the air conditioning.) Today was particularly hot and muggy, much more like early September than late September, so I'm looking forward to the cool evenings of October. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Just in case you can't quite remember the science of the Autumnal Equinox, which is the time when the sun appears to cross the equator and the days and night are of equal length, here's a primer from <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_equinox" target="_blank">Wikipedia:</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>The September equinox (or Southward equinox) is the moment when the sun appears to cross the celestial equator, heading southward. Due to differences between the calendar year and the tropical year, the September equinox can occur at any time from the 21st to the 24th day of September. </b></i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>At the equinox, the sun rises directly in the east and sets directly in the west. Before the Southward equinox, the sun rises and sets more and more to the north, and afterwards, it rises and sets more and more to the south. In the Northern Hemisphere the September equinox is known as the autumnal equinox. In the Southern Hemisphere it is known as the vernal or spring equinox.</b></i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">And just in case you forgot that the tilt of the Earth is responsible for the seasons, <a href="http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/climate/cli_seasons.html" target="_blank"><i>here's a good link</i></a> that explains that whole thing.<br /><br />So.. what do we have to look forward to this Autumn? I'm copying my Autumn primer from an earlier post, as Autumn is always my favorite season.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b><i>September</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 27px; text-align: justify;">To me, autumn has always meant the start of school (even though so many kids start school in summer now), tomatoes and zinnias in early September, the last barbecues of summer, many, many birthdays in our family, then, by the end of the month, cooler nights, leaves starting to change colors, chrysanthemums and asters (Michaelmas daisies), and a few more family birthdays. And overflowing Farmer's Markets. And football.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /><b><i><span style="color: #990000;">October</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">October is full of beauty, golden and red colors, gourds, squashes, especially pumpkins, haystacks and hayrides, and the last apples straight from the orchards. Then witches, ghosts, goblins and Halloween.<br /><br /><b><i><span style="color: #990000;">November</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">November brings Thanksgiving in the United States and the start of the Christmas holiday season. As a kid, November always seemed just cold and grey, but now that I'm older, I really appreciate the peaceful quality of November. The gardening is done; the craziness of the Christmas season hasn't yet started, and those empty branches against the deep blue of an early sunset are always stunning.<br /><br /><b><i><span style="color: #990000;">Apple Cobbler, Soups, Stews, and Meatloaf</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #333333;">I absolutely refuse to turn on the oven when the air conditioning is running, so Autumn means baking, casseroles, breads, soups and stews. I always promise myself that I will try more new recipes than I actually do, but I'm definitely going to make that wonderful apple cobbler with home-whipped whipped cream that I made almost every year when my son was little.. if I can find the recipe. And there will definitely be meatloaves and lasagna. Definitely! </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-style: italic;"><b>For your autumn reading pleasure...</b></span><br /><br />In addition to the Wikipedia article referenced above, check out <a href="https://www.almanac.com/content/first-day-fall-autumnal-equinox" target="_blank"><i>the Old Farmer's Almanac website with a long article on autumn.</i></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/22/us/first-day-of-fall-facts-trnd/index.html" target="_blank"><i>Five facts about autumn that you may not know thanks to CNN. </i></a><br /><br /><i> <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2017/09/21/1st-day-fall-almost-here-but-sure-wont-feel-like-most-u-s/689792001/" target="_blank">Tomorrow is the first day of fall, but it won't feel like it for most of us in the US!</a></i></span></div>
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Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-3426315088859983022017-05-14T20:52:00.000-05:002017-05-14T23:46:11.434-05:00More Mother's Day Humor! <h3 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Dedicated to all of the Slightly Insane Mothers out there. Happy Mother's Day!</i></span><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
(More Mother's Day humor and thoughts <a href="http://www.josfavoritethings.com/p/happy-mothers-day.html" target="_blank"><i>HERE</i>.</a>)</div>
</span><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>I haven't checked the source of this quote, but I know it to be true from personal experience:</i></span></h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqc33Gzwjvt-VWHiuS-tE6LgQE1OdtqFW9meU2CAEPZdBkFKn3Eg4uNa83kU601gAVtNLmfPRFbjvgDFvbTpY4rtFWZAOjBYlz4qWv7tbKTMiAL_GlDdPasH4iFg7PGC7PQUyKEjBzI2n6/s1600/Mothers+are+all+slightly+insane+Purple+Clover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqc33Gzwjvt-VWHiuS-tE6LgQE1OdtqFW9meU2CAEPZdBkFKn3Eg4uNa83kU601gAVtNLmfPRFbjvgDFvbTpY4rtFWZAOjBYlz4qWv7tbKTMiAL_GlDdPasH4iFg7PGC7PQUyKEjBzI2n6/s640/Mothers+are+all+slightly+insane+Purple+Clover.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>From Purple Clover</b></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc4zVgbP0_09n0LoQMve2kn-RZComoCl1uK24D5T81l6ghK2q4f0m4DxrtcDHIXUQBP-uAhIQC0IYA08TRB1JmZA4mu0KqkXbyTlxzPVTXKKSg_3KWlAaotA20KSA5KW1RXdR79j5fZ4pz/s1600/Mothers++I+have+two+Mommys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc4zVgbP0_09n0LoQMve2kn-RZComoCl1uK24D5T81l6ghK2q4f0m4DxrtcDHIXUQBP-uAhIQC0IYA08TRB1JmZA4mu0KqkXbyTlxzPVTXKKSg_3KWlAaotA20KSA5KW1RXdR79j5fZ4pz/s640/Mothers++I+have+two+Mommys.jpg" width="469" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>From the New Yorker</b></span></td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">But there is a missing apostrophe in this one... It does get better when the kids get older and move out. Then you magically remember how to use apostrophes again. </span></i></b>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH-XWup-NKIoqnmURPLx_ihu7ciBckVNq9owRR6-XUVZOlxPeO39GVM7Pjfn0mIiitbzbSq0sIYpkAlp0uzpCE257KQ6PZlfnSaO82SSH9RQcVquXTC7RprfqQohbhHrNJLKuDiBvqW8nJ/s1600/Mother+humor+twitter+never+peeing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH-XWup-NKIoqnmURPLx_ihu7ciBckVNq9owRR6-XUVZOlxPeO39GVM7Pjfn0mIiitbzbSq0sIYpkAlp0uzpCE257KQ6PZlfnSaO82SSH9RQcVquXTC7RprfqQohbhHrNJLKuDiBvqW8nJ/s640/Mother+humor+twitter+never+peeing.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>I didn't notice the fortune teller when I first posted this cartoon:
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMagd5VNDHJgj1TtzssKz_7_balRGS_A5qCLGPIAK2u26pVtFQj0V79wfHXjLSuU0wk8CdfsmCm3M-A-ZucctJAOxrtBKD8l3-6J3rG-WnyChh-ZyCYQwqG93F02eBL_wg7I05NNLQo_wH/s1600/Mother%2527s+Day+fill+ins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMagd5VNDHJgj1TtzssKz_7_balRGS_A5qCLGPIAK2u26pVtFQj0V79wfHXjLSuU0wk8CdfsmCm3M-A-ZucctJAOxrtBKD8l3-6J3rG-WnyChh-ZyCYQwqG93F02eBL_wg7I05NNLQo_wH/s640/Mother%2527s+Day+fill+ins.jpg" width="468" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Where's the gardener?</b></span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAa5ZtPrSyUSvQ_eYi_26tYhC_6QbXXsUAgMSu8CYB1XWzahRS47gEo8rmcQliWsiR47KUGsO4SQsr20vkrNTB634nhRFNcYahxKm2mnndnYiCQ122gcRyhHzNvNibCwMV8cbqz_oFnsPF/s1600/Mother+humor+Two+Drunk+Ladies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAa5ZtPrSyUSvQ_eYi_26tYhC_6QbXXsUAgMSu8CYB1XWzahRS47gEo8rmcQliWsiR47KUGsO4SQsr20vkrNTB634nhRFNcYahxKm2mnndnYiCQ122gcRyhHzNvNibCwMV8cbqz_oFnsPF/s640/Mother+humor+Two+Drunk+Ladies.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Some of us were more rotten teenagers than others.</i></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYAvae5jiqFOXArqGuBoBXI4Y4B0Li9TT9UFVvHBNFcVu2Nk2UqFxTt5BpX6fXlpp-15e87upqmzXgq3lSFbVvuxKboQBcL27QUpHXv8zAtaY7c7cTiEy2uf8Gmx0IHjHPKemN3Kqaoaaw/s1600/Mothers+Day+jhill-mothers-day-sorry-teenager.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYAvae5jiqFOXArqGuBoBXI4Y4B0Li9TT9UFVvHBNFcVu2Nk2UqFxTt5BpX6fXlpp-15e87upqmzXgq3lSFbVvuxKboQBcL27QUpHXv8zAtaY7c7cTiEy2uf8Gmx0IHjHPKemN3Kqaoaaw/s1600/Mothers+Day+jhill-mothers-day-sorry-teenager.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>I made homemade playdough with my son, many cakes, breads, and cookies from scratch, and we even did the natural-colored Easter eggs a few years. I must say that I never tried the rainbox spaghetti.</i></b></span></div>
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<br />Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-7926682221796205942017-04-18T21:48:00.000-05:002019-03-24T01:38:43.482-05:00Life Without Zeus.. Garbage and raccoons and expressways and quiet.<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Our huskie dog Zeus left us about a month ago, on March 16, 2017.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was cold and snowy on the day he died; we had one of those late winter snows which gifted us with several inches of heavy wet snow. Zeus was a husky, and I was glad that he got to walk in that last snow. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now spring has sprung. We've had at least one day when the thermometer hit 80 dgrees here in Chi-town, several 70 degree days, and several strong April rains (more than showers) that are bringing May showers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Life is different without Zeus. Though we have a fenced-in yard, I walked Zeus every night, and, often every afternoon, including the day before he left us. He walked more and more slowly, particularly over the past year, but our walks were still the highlight of his day-- and of my day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So at 1:30 in the morning I walked out into the cold of the night to look at the sky. I stood outside and thought about the many walks that Zeus and I took late, sometimes as late as 1 in the morning, particularly if I was working and came home late. Zeus would be waiting for that walk, even if it was after midnight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I stood quietly; there was not a car driving down our block nor could I hear a car down Foster Avenue, a somewhat busy street at the far end of the block. But I could hear cars and El trains near Chicago's Kennedy Expressway. We don't live that close to the Kennedy as it runs about 2 miles south of us, but when it is very quiet outside, we can clearly hear cars zooming down the Kennedy. The Blue Line El train to O'Hare Airport runs down the center of the Kennedy, and on quiet nights, like last night, I can hear the El trains heading to and coming from O'Hare.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Then there are the raccoons. For years our dogs kept the raccoons away from the old partially hollow tree in the corner of our yard. The dogs did have a few altercations with the raccoons over the years, and the dogs won! I got into the habit of making sure there were no raccoons in the tree before I'd let the dogs out. Now, of course, the tree .. and our yard.. is being reclaimed by raccoons. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have a habit of throwing smelly bags of garbage out the side door to get them out of the house. For the 12 years we have lived in this house, that wasn't a problem. When I'd take the dogs (then just The Dog after Daisy left us) out later in the evening, I'd just pick up the smelly garbage bag by the side of the house and throw it in the city garbage cans in the alley. <br /><br />Well, I tossed a smelly garbage bag out the side door a few days ago. Yep, you know where this is going. With no dog to walk, no dog to let in and out, with Easter busy-ness, I completely forgot about that bag of garbage. I went out there today and it was clear that the raccoons had discovered the smelly garbage and had a field day; they'd ripped that garbage bag open and there was ripe garbage all over the yard. And tonight, as I stood in front of the house musing about Zeus and the sounds of quiet, I saw a big fat raccoon happily crossing the street from our neighbor's yard to the park and the river across the street. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm sure that our yard now has a big fat X on it in the eyes of the neighborhood raccoons. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So life goes on. We still tear up from time to time as we are reminded about something about the two dogs that lived with us for 18 years and left us, the last one just a month ago. I loved having two happy, active dogs to take care of, and I loved having one very old dog who needed help in so many ways in those last years as well.</span></div>
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The yard, the alley, the walk by the river, are all different without our dogs, particularly without Zeus who left us a month ago. </div>
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But life goes on. Time to pick up the garbage in the yard.. .and to remember that there are no longer any dog walks to remind me to take that garbage out to the alley.<br /><br />Goodnight, Zeus, wherever you are. We miss you and we always will.</div>
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Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972016186023992885.post-83547948208212724452017-04-15T23:43:00.000-05:002017-12-16T02:11:02.526-06:00Boozy Bunny Jello Shots<h3>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Another way to booze up your chocolate Easter bunnies:</i></b></span></h3>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35r3LrHzwfzKG8dPnYmGZ9hiM91bjIhxAy8tWgWpDsioJrAFOPRM0rJl4ZFP2XW09L8K9vI7U9PXY223XEKs6Up5nWzstb0yQT8qpVj9JQmzKLcgpaFwhOHYEqCPVXR1PgPxcwVYsjak/s1600/Easter+bunny+jello+shots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35r3LrHzwfzKG8dPnYmGZ9hiM91bjIhxAy8tWgWpDsioJrAFOPRM0rJl4ZFP2XW09L8K9vI7U9PXY223XEKs6Up5nWzstb0yQT8qpVj9JQmzKLcgpaFwhOHYEqCPVXR1PgPxcwVYsjak/s640/Easter+bunny+jello+shots.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Photo and recipe from <a href="http://www.ohbiteit.com/2015/03/easter-bunny-jello-shots.html" target="_blank">OhBiteIt</a></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I first saw this photo somewhere, can't remember where, but I had to track down the original.. which apparently was published two years ago at a site called "O Bite It".. very clever for a food blog, I must admit!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Just a quick description before I send you off to OhBiteIt for the specifics..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The vodka (or perhaps another alcoholic beverage) replaces the water in the Jello recipe. So simple! In this recipe you carefully cut off and save those bunny ears and later "glue" them back on with whipped cream.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.ohbiteit.com/2015/03/easter-bunny-jello-shots.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>Boozed Up Bunny Jello Shots from Oh Bite It HERE!</b></i></span></a>Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04591581663784265719noreply@blogger.com0