Dog Biscuit Day FEBRUARY 23, 2016

DIANE'S CORNER ... Celebrate Dog Biscuit Day

Every dog has its day – and this is it. Nobody seems to know the origins of Dog Biscuit Day, but every canine in the world knows the best way to celebrate it. Pets will be wagging their tails with glee when their owners serve up unusual or home-made doggy snacks to mark the occasion.

The first dog biscuits were developed in the mid-19th century by American manufacturer James Spratt. He came up with the idea after he visited Liverpool in England, where he observed stray dogs hungrily tucking into ship’s biscuits. The first Spratts biscuits were produced in London, with a secret recipe including both meat and vegetables.

Today, dog biscuits are often used in training and as rewards in the show ring. There are even special types of biscuit which clean dogs’ teeth – so giving your best friend a treat can help to keep him healthy!

Word of the Day

smattering
Definition:	(noun) A small, scattered amount or number.
Synonyms:	handful
Usage:	Her skin had a healthy glow, and her nose was dotted with a smattering of freckles.

Idiom of the Day

harrowing experience  — An experience that is frightening, chilling, or disturbing, either due to an implied or actual element of danger, or from being physically or emotionally unpleasant

History

Pope Paul II (1417)

Born in Venice as Pietro Barbo, Pope Paul II was the successor of Pope Pius II, and the nephew of Pope Eugene IV. A Renaissance pope, he patronized printing, beautified and improved Rome, and collected antiquities. Like Pius II, he was involved in struggles with the Bohemian George of Podebrad, who was the leader of the Utraquists, or the moderate Hussites, in the wars between Hussites and Catholics. Paul excommunicated George in 1466

Terminalia

In ancient Rome, February 23 marked the end of the year and was therefore an appropriate time to honor Terminus, the god of boundaries and landmarks. The terminus, a boundary stone that marked the outer limits of Rome, stood between the fifth and sixth milestones on the road to Laurentum. During the observance of the Terminalia, property owners would gather there—or at the boundary stones that marked their private lands—to place garlands around the stone and offer sacrifices. Afterward, there would be singing and socializing among family members and servants.

Gelatinous Sea Snails "Fly" through Water like a Butterfly, Say Scientists
	New research suggests that sea butterflies swim through Arctic waters much like flying insects traverse the air – by flapping their wings.

READ MORE:

Gelatinous sea snails ‘fly’ through water like a butterfly, say scientists.

				Gelatinous sea snails ‘fly’ through water like a butterf... Are these marine mollusks really honorary insects?
				View on www.csmonitor.com	Preview by Yahoo

1685 - Composer George Frideric Handel was born. 



1792 - The Humane Society of Massachusetts was incorporated.



1813 - The first U.S. raw cotton-to-cloth mill was founded in Waltham, MA. 



1821 - The Philadelphia College of Apothecaries established the first pharmacy college. 



1874 - Walter Winfield patented a game called "sphairistike." More widely known as lawn tennis. 



1886 - Charles M. Hall completed his invention of aluminum.



1896 - The Tootsie Roll was introduced by Leo Hirshfield. 



1940 - Walt Disney's animated movie "Pinocchio" was released.

 

1954 - The first mass vaccination of children against polio began in Pittsburgh, PA.



2000 - Robbie Knievel made a successful motorcycle jump of 200 feet over an oncoming train.

DAILY SQU-EEK





If You Were Born Today, February 23

Considerate, sensitive, and passionate, you are also determined in your work, once you've found the right path for you. Focusing on one path, however, is something that can be challenging for you, as you value variety in your work and you are multi-talented with many different interests. You possess a wonderful blend of logic and intuition, as both sides are well-developed and this means you can understand most any concept or subject. Idealistic in relationships, you must avoid the trap of expecting too little or too much from them. Famous people born today: Peter Fonda, Johnny Winter, Michael Dell, Dakota Fanning, Aziz Ansari, Emily Blunt.

Picture of the day

Aries and Musca Borealis as depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London c. 1825. Aries, one of the constellations of the zodiac, is located in the northern celestial hemisphere between Pisces and Taurus. Its name is Latin for ram, an animal it has represented since late Babylonian times. Aries is one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy; it remains one of the 88 modern constellations, while Musca Borealis does not.

Early to Rise

Photograph by Hardik Desai, National Geographic 

“The place has its unique appeal,” Hardik Desai writes of Iceland’s Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon. “Dawn happens two hours before sunrise, and the sunrise colors usually last almost 90 minutes if there are no clouds.” A day after scouting out the location, Desai drove 30 minutes to arrive at the lagoon in time to capture the sunrise, hoping for exactly this result.

knit, free pattern, must register

https://www.anniescatalog.com/knitandcrochetnow/patterns/detail.html?code=309NK&source=CJAAFF&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=cj

knit

Blanket Lovely baby pattern by Olga Dryganets

				Blanket Lovely baby pattern by Olga Dryganets Gauge 13 stitches and 20 rows = 4 inches in st st
				View on www.ravelry.com	Preview by Yahoo

knit

Sweater Girl Peg Dolls pattern by Kat Lewinski

				Sweater Girl Peg Dolls pattern by Kat Lewinski These sweet peg dolls show off tiny little sweaters inspired by the Icelandic Lopapeysa. The pattern includes three different sweater charts. There are also ...
				View on www.ravelry.com	Preview by Yahoo

knit

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/winter-queen-2

knit

CrafterNews – Free Pattern – Buggy Knits from Morehouse Farm Merino Knits

				CrafterNews – Free Pattern – Buggy Knits from Morehous... Crafternews: whether your passion is fiber, cloth, paper, metal, or clay, Crafternews is your crafting community for ideas, inspiration, free projects, and in...
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crochet

Tipsy Granny Square pattern by Kimberly Aumada

				Tipsy Granny Square pattern by Kimberly Aumada The idea for the Tipsy Granny Square is to crochet with 2 different colors alternating back and forth with the second color filling in the gaps in a traditional g...
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crochet

Starburst New Millenium 12" Afghan Block pattern by Margaret MacInnis

				Starburst New Millenium 12" Afghan Block pattern by Ma... You need BOTH patterns; one is the tutorial for the little blocks and the other is the squaring off one.
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crochet

Cat's Claw Afghan 12" or 10" block pattern by Margaret MacInnis

				Cat's Claw Afghan 12" or 10" block pattern by Margaret M... A unique block designed and classed for ‘adventurous intermediate crocheters’. Excellent thicker block for afghans and block exchanges, it includes quite ...
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crochet

Desert Flower II pattern by Susan Hinton

				Desert Flower II pattern by Susan Hinton A great square for swaps and blankets! It starts with a circle, then becomes a square. Some stitches used are clusters and stitching in the back loop. I have r...
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crochet

Cross My Heart Square pattern by James G Davis

				Cross My Heart Square pattern by James G Davis Super Saver Solids by Red Heart Aran / 10 ply 100% Acrylic 364 yards / 198 grams average rating from 11575 votes 152869 projects, stashed 50393 times
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RECIPE ... dog treat day

http://www.kimberlylayton.com/2015/01/homemade-heart-dog-treat-recipe/

CROCKPOT RECIPE

Chicken Marsala – Carrabba’s Style

http://www.crockpotguys.com/recipe/chicken-marsala-carrabbas-style/

CRAFTS
Fortune Cookies with Your Own Message
a simple tutorial on how to take store bought fortune cookies, 
remove the fortune and add in your own.

First print out custom fortunes using any text editor.  I used the font Calibri in size 8.

Wet a paper towel and ring slightly.  You want the paper towel to be damp but not dripping wet.
Wrap towel around fortune cookie and microwave for 20 seconds.
Unwrap fortune cookie from towel carefully, towel may be hot.
The fortune cookie should now be pliable enough to open.
Quickly removed existing fortune cookie message and replace with your custom printed one.
Reshape fortune cookie (should be fairly simple, as the cookie already has its form) and hold for 10 seconds to keep form.
You want to do the last two steps quick, the fortune cookie cools very quickly.

Custom message fortune cookie.

Wrap damp towel over fortune cookie and microwave for 20 seconds.

Open fortune cookie, insert message, hold closed for 10 seconds.

Message in fortune cookie before closed.

CHILDREN'S CORNER ... craft

How to Make a Baby Doll out of a Bottle

				How to Make a Baby Doll out of a Bottle Really cool baby dolls are usually pretty expensive, so here is how to make one yourself. Your aim is to keep it warm just like a real baby. It doesn't look re...
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PUZZLE

Flamingo Edge Jigsaw Puzzle

				Flamingo Edge Jigsaw Puzzle Flamingo Edge Jigsaw Puzzle, 67 Piece Classic. Flamingo on the water's edge, pink webbed feet and head reflected in water.
				View on www.jigzone.com	Preview by Yahoo

QUOTE

"what is your name?" in Bambara (Mali) - I togo be di?

CLEVER

For when those party guests messed up your furniture, use your hair dryer.

EYE OPENER

10 Animals That Stand Out From The Crowd

     

 

Nature has given animals a wide variety of distinctive colorings that we can all immediately recognize. Many of these colors and patterns have become iconic in their own right and have even influenced human fashion and design. However, nature being nature, it occasionally throws us a surprise. These rare conditions have given these animals colors which make them stand out from the crowd in the most beautiful ways.
1. The Brown Panda

  

Pandas have one of the most famous and distinctive colored coats in the animal kingdom, and it's one that has enchanted humans for centuries. However, it isn't always black and white in the panda world. In one remote region of China, lives a small number of special pandas with brown fur. It is believed that the color of their coat has come from a combination of diet and generations of genetic mutations. Brown pandas are very rarely spotted in the wild unfortunately, although there are examples in captivity.

 

 

 

2. The Pink Dolphin

 

 

 

Pink Dolphins look like they have swam straight out of a children's fairytale but they are real and can be found in the Amazon Rainforest of South America. Their cheery, pink hue is provided by their blood vessels which are located unusually close to their skin's surface. Some are more pink than others, with the most brightly colored examples offering a fantastically unique sight.

 

 

3. The Chimera Cat

 

 

 

Meet Venus, the incredible cat with two faces. The unusual coloring comes from a condition called chimerism, which occurs when two distinct genetic cells exist in one single organism. As well as one half of the face being black, and the other half being ginger, Venus has one blue eye and one yellow. She is something of a celebrity and even has her own webpage.

 

 

4. The Albino Gorilla

 

 

 

Albinism is a congenital condition, characterized by a lack of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes. It exists across numerous species, including humans. It is very rare in large primates and this albino gorilla called Snowflake lived most of his life at Barcelona Zoo, fathering 22 offspring before his death in 2003. All the hair on his body was completely white.

 

 

 

5. The White Tiger

 

 

White tigers are one of the most majestic and beautiful animals in the world, famed for their icy coloring and piercing eyes. They are a pigment variation of the more familiarly colored Bengal tiger but are not albinos. Just as humans can have blonde hair or brown hair, white tigers are simply a variation - one that we can all be thankful for.

 

           

 

6. The Black Penguin

 

 

 

This penguin looks like he forgot to put his apron on in the morning, but he is actually the result of a very rare genetic quirk. In fact, it is so rare that only one black penguin has ever been spotted. Since this one was photographed by National Geographic, they have appealed for more sightings of all-black penguins and asked the public to post their own evidence of this extremely rare variant of an iconic species.

 

 

7. The Strawberry Leopard

 

 

 

A leopard never changes its spots, as the old saying goes, but this one looks like he has. There are only two known 'strawberry' leopards in existence, and they display stunning ginger spots rather than the black coloring standard in their species. It is believed that they get their unusual spots from a rare condition which results in an overproduction of red pigment, but it makes them look particularly special.

 

 

8. The Pink Katydid

 

 

  

Crickets and stick insects are known for their ability to blend into their green surroundings, but this one may find camouflage rather difficult, unless he happens to be in a raspberry field! The ultra-rare, pink katydid gets its color from the same disorder that has given us strawberry leopards, and although it makes them look spectacular, it isn't particularly practical given that it makes them very visible fodder for passing predators!

 

 

 

9. The Blue Lobster

 

 

 

Blue Lobsters are the result of a genetic mutation that infuses them with a large amount of a particular protein that gives their exoskeleton a bizarre blue color rather than the familiar red. It is not as rare as some of the other mutations discussed in this list, with over 2 million blue lobsters estimated to be in existence. Their color often saves them from the human cooking pot so it's a little more useful than the pink is to the katydid!

 

 

10. The Golden Zebra

 

 

This zebra is one of very few examples in existence in the world and has light, gold stripes rather than black. Aptly, named the 'golden zebra', she  is not an albino but has a similar pigmentation mutation caused by a condition called amelanism. She looks like she has stepped out of a fantasy world and you have to wonder whether she realizes just how special she really is!