Guide dogs are amongst the most phenomenal animals on the planet, and the difference they make to the lives of those without sight simply cannot be overstated. It is impossible to feel anything but pure love and awe when you witness just how dedicated these guys are to their owners, or, it seems, best friends, and how precious and adorable the relationship the two of them have is. To celebrate these dogs and the patient and talented people who train them, and pay tribute to the important role they each play in our society, people across the world come together to partake in International Guide Dogs Day. It isn’t just those who need Guide Dogs that celebrate this special day, either. The crucial work they do is recognised by everyone, and on International Guide Dogs Day, lots of people like to go out of their way to honour and express their gratitude to these dogs who have impacted the lives of so many.
Word of the Day
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| Definition: | (noun) An instrument for measuring wind force and velocity. | ||
| Synonyms: | wind gauge | ||
| Usage: | The storm chasers loaded their van with high-tech gear, including a number of powerful anemometers. | ||
Idiom of the Day
dodge a bullet— To narrowly avoid something or some situation that turns out to be undesirable, disastrous, dangerous, or otherwise harmful. |
History
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 | Wollstonecraft was an English author who turned to writing while teaching and working as a governess and as a translator for a London publisher. She was an early proponent of educational equality between men and women, and her most important book, A Vindication of the Rights of Women, is widely regarded as the founding document of modern feminism. In 1797, she married the philosopher William Godwin. | ||
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| Take a deep breath, scratch any errant itches, and feast your eyes upon the latest bed bug research: According to a study published Monday in the Journal of Medical Entomology, the infuriating insects might prefer red and black to other colors. | |||
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1880 - Francis Clark and M.G. Foster patented the electric hearing aid.
1897 - Grant's Tomb was dedicated.
1938 - Geraldine Apponyi married King Zog of Albania. She was the first American woman to become a queen.
1946 - The SS African Star was placed in service. It was the first commercial ship to be equipped with radar.
1965 - "Pampers" were patented by R.C. Duncan.
1989 - Student protesters took over Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
2006 - In New York, NY, construction began on the 1,776-foot One World Trade Center on the site of former World Trade Center.
DAILY SQU-EEK
If You Were Born Today, April 27
You are poised and come across as calm and refined. You are not easy to get close to, and much of your nature remains a mystery to others. Nevertheless, you are charming and others tend to respect you. You are extremely observant and generally think before you speak, and you are a great listener. Famous people born today: Jack Klugman, Coretta Scott King, Ulysses S. Grant, Sheena Easton, William Moseley.
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Americae Sive Quartae Orbis Partis Nova Et Exactissima Descriptio is an ornate geographical map of the Americas made in 1562 by Spanish cartographer Diego Gutiérrez and Flemish artist Hieronymus Cock. The map encompasses the eastern coast of North America, the whole of Central and South America, and parts of the western coasts of Europe and Africa. This is the earliest scale wall map of the New World and the first to use the name "California". Two extant copies are known.
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On the Prowl
Photograph by Drew Rush with the National Park Service
Notoriously elusive, cougars vary their range in response to their prey, mostly elk and deer. In winter they favor the shallow snow in the northern reaches of Yellowstone. This cougar was caught on the prowl by a camera trap set behind an elk rack on a cliff.
knit, MOTHER'S DAY
knit
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Springing Up Flowers pattern by Kris Knits
Theres is a detailed easy to follow pattern on my blog as well as a chart for those who enjoy them.
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Spring Fling pattern by Jordana Paige
Description from Knitty.com:
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crochet, MOTHER'S DAY
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Pansy Motif Tea Cozy pattern by Lily / Sugar'n Cream
Free membership is required for download. Minimum information requested.
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crochet
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RECIPE
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CROCKPOT RECIPE
SWEETS, crockpot
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CRAFTS
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CHILDREN'S CORNER ... MOTHER'S DAY
Hershey Kiss Flowers
ediblecraftsonline
This Hershey kiss chocolate flower bouquet is an easy and adorable present for Mom. Kids and grandkids will have fun helping you too.
To make this candy flower bouquet you will need:
- a basket
- Hershey’s kisses in gold wrappers
- cardstock of various colors
- wooden skewers
- floral foam or Styrofoam
- narrow green ribbon
- green tissue paper
- gold curling ribbon
- scissors and wire cutters
Step 1. Prepare a basket for your candy centerpiece. Remember that the bigger the basket, the more candy flowers you need to create a full and attractive centerpiece.
I used 5.5" wide and 11" high (including a handle) basket in this example.
Step 2.Cut a piece of floral foam to fit tightly inside the basket.
You can buy Foam or Styrofoam at a craft store. If you make a lot of candy arrangements you can buy a sheet of insulating foam at a home improvement store to save money. That’s what I used for this Mothers Day gift basket. I cut two discs (one smaller for the bottom of the basket and one bigger for the top) and secured them together with dots of hot glue.
You can wrap the foam with green tissue paper to disguise the foam as shown in the picture. Then insert foam into the basket.
Note: You can also cover the foam with green plastic grass or shredded paper.
Step 3. Take yellow, orange, red cardstock and cut out several flowers. Here is a printable flower template I used to make this present for Mum.
Step 4. Make delicious flowers for your Mother’s Day candy bouquet.
Prepare Hershey kisses in gold wrappers (classic milk chocolate with almonds). Instead of Hershey kisses, you can also use Dove chocolate pieces.
Take a cardstock flower (place it on a piece of foam for convenience) and make a small hole in the center of the flower with scissors first. Then, insert the wooden skewer with a pointy end through the hole.
Take a Hershey kiss and insert the pointy end of the skewer into the bottom of the kiss.
To prevent the paper flower from sliding down or being loose on the stick, apply a piece of narrow Scotch tape around the stick right under the paper flower to keep it as close to the chocolate kiss as possible. See the picture.
Make as many chocolate flowers as necessary. 15 flowers were made for this bouquet.
Take green narrow satin ribbon and tie it around each flower stem. They will make the leaves of the candy flowers.
Step 5. Arrange the chocolate flowers to create a beautiful Mothers Day gift basket.
Insert flowers in the center of basket.
Top View
Continue inserting flowers.
Present for Mom – Front View
Present for Mum – Back View
Step 6. As a finishing touch, you may want to add some decorative elements.
For example, add some gold curling ribbon to the centerpiece (I tied the ribbon around the center of the basket handle).
You can add a bow to the front of the basket or insert a Happy Mother’s Day balloon.
PUZZLE
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QUOTE
CLEVER
Cut corn off the cob by standing it on a Bundt cake pan.
EYE OPENER
Famous Food Dishes and How they Got Their Names
factmonster
People often ask what is in a particular dish they are about to eat, but seldom do they ask how that particular meal got its name. The origins of a dish are often as interesting as the food itself, as the following guide indicates.
Beef Stroganoff
A combination of beef, mushrooms, and sour cream, Beef Stroganoff was the prize-winning recipe created for a cooking competition held in the 1890s in St. Petersburg, Russia. The chef who devised the recipe worked for the Russian diplomat Count Pavel Alexandrovich Stroganov, a member of one of Russia's grandest noble families.
Once called Lobster Wenberg, the name of the dish was changed after Ben Wenberg participated in a brawl at the originating restaurant.
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Beef Wellington
A national hero for defeating Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815, Arthur Wellesley was made the first Duke of Wellington. He loved a dish of beef, mushrooms, truffles, Madeira wine, and paté cooked in pastry, which has been named in his honor.
Caesar Salad
In the 1920s, Caesar Cardini, owner of an Italian restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico, and his brother, Alex, invented a salad of romaine lettuce, anchovies, coddled egg, lemon juice, grated Parmesan cheese, and garlic-flavored croutons tossed with a garlic vinaigrette flavored with Worcestershire sauce. At first it was called Aviator's Salad, but later Cardini named the dish after himself.
Chicken Marengo
A French dish of chicken braised with garlic, tomatoes, olives, white wine or brandy, and garnished with crayfish and sometimes fried eggs, Chicken Marengo was born on the battlefield. On June 14, 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the Austro-Hungarian army at the village of Marengo, in northern Italy. After a ferocious battle in which 5,800 French and 9,400 Austrians were killed, the victorious French were ravenous. Chicken Marengo was made from whatever ingredients they were able to take from the village.
Delmonico Steak (and Delmonico Potatoes)
Swiss immigrants, the Delmonico family created New York City's first real luxury restaurant, which they ran from 1835 to 1881. With a menu printed in French and English, Delmonico's featured French and American cuisine. Under the direction of French chef Charles Ranhofer, Delmonico's set the standard for gourmet food. Delmonico Steak, a tender strip of usually boneless top loin, has become an American classic. It is also known as Kansas City strip steak or New York steak. Delmonico Potatoes are boiled, buttered potatoes sprinkled with parsley and lemon juice. Eggs Benedict and Lobster Newburg were also created at the restaurant.
Eggs Benedict
Eggs Benedict was most likely created at Delmonico's Restaurant, in New York City, in response to a complaint that the menu never changed. Regulars at the fancy restaurant, Mr. and Mrs. LeGrand Benedict asked for something new. To oblige, the chef served up eggs on ham served on a muffin and covered in Hollandaise sauce.
Ingredients 2 cups chopped apples 1 1/2 lemons, juiced 1/4 cup chopped celery 1/4 cup chopped walnuts 1/4 cup raisins 1/4 cup seedless grapes, halved 1/2 cup plain yogurt 1/4 cup mayonnaise 2 green onions, chopped Directions 1. In a bowl, toss together the apples, lemon juice, celery, walnuts, raisins, and grapes. 2. In another bowl, fold together the yogurt and mayonnaise. Add to salad and mix well. |
Lobster Newburg
In the mid-1800s, shipping magnate Ben Wenberg asked Charles Ranhofer, chef at Delmonico's Restaurant, to prepare a meal he had discovered in South America—chunks of lobster sautéed in butter and served in a sauce of cream and egg flavored with paprika and sherry. The meal was such a success that it was added to the Delmonico's menu as Lobster Wenberg. However, some time later, Wenberg consumed too much wine from Delmonico's renowned cellars and got into a brawl. He was banished from Delmonico's forever and his name stricken from the menu. "Wenberg" became "Newburg."
Peach Melba
Sometimes called the greatest chef who ever lived, Auguste Escoffier created a dessert of poached peach halves, vanilla ice cream, and raspberry sauce in honor of Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba. A Frenchman, Escoffier worked at the Ritz Hotel in London in the early 1900s, the period when Melba performed regularly at the Covent Garden opera house. Escoffier also created Melba toast—bread heated in a low oven until golden brown and very brittle—in Melba's honor.
Salisbury Steak
J. H. Salisbury, a nineteenth-century English nutritionist, advocated a diet of lean meat. Salisbury Steak is a fried or broiled ground beef patty mixed with egg, breadcrumbs, onions, and seasonings. It is sometimes served with gravy.
Waldorf Salad
In 1896, Oscar Tschirky, the maître d'hôtel of the famed Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, created a salad of apples, celery, and mayonnaise. Immediately popular, the new dish was called Waldorf Salad. Chopped walnuts later became an ingredient.
Hooray for the guide dogs and the service & therapy dogs too!
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