Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Scrabble Day April 13, 2016

DIANE'S CORNER ... Celebrate Scrabble Day

By far the best way to celebrate Scrabble Day is with Oxyphenbutazone.
That’s right, Oxyphenbutazone is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug – you already knew that – but it’s also the word that, in a single play, can give the highest possible score on a Scrabble board. The chances of it ever coming up are similar to the chances of winning this week’s lottery, as you’d need to join all seven of your tiles with eight already on the board across three triple word scores. Still, it’d be worth waiting for, scoring 1,778 points. You’d almost certainly win the game with that.
There’s no need to chase rainbows though; everyone loves Scrabble, so why not spend Scrabble Day with someone you like, in a friendly battle of words and wits? In the kingdom of Scrabble, the one ‘i’d man might be ‘king’, but the lady with the ‘q’ will definitely be queen.


Word of the Day

raffish 


Definition:(adjective) Marked by smartness in dress and manners.
Synonyms:jauntynattyrakishdapperspiffysprucedashingsnappysmart
Usage:His raffish costume befits his confident personality.

Two blondes were filling up at a gas station and the first blonde says to the second, "I bet these awful gas prices are going to go even higher."
The second blonde replies, "Won't affect me, I always put in just $10 worth."

Idiom of the Day

dark days

 — Times of extreme misfortune or difficulty.




History

George Frideric Handel's Oratorio Messiah Debuts (1742)


Composed by Handel, the great master of baroque music, Messiah is one of the most popular choral works in the Western world. Its immense popularity has resulted in the erroneous conception of Handel as primarily a church composer. In truth, the contemplative, English-language oratorio stands apart from the rest of his 32 oratorios, which are dramatically conceived.

Alfred Mosher Butts (1899)


In the 1930s, Butts, an unemployed architect, invented a game called Lexiko, in which players drew lettered tiles from a pool and then attempted to form words. After unsuccessful attempts to sell the game to board-game makers, Butts sold the rights to entrepreneur James Brunot, who made a few minor adjustments and renamed the game Scrabble. More than 150 million sets have been sold in multiple languages since.

Jefferson's Birthday


Unique among American presidents, Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was not only a statesman but a scholar, linguist, writer, philosopher, political theorist, architect, engineer, and farmer. In the US, he is remembered primarily as the author in 1776 of the Declaration of Independence. A birthday commemoration is held each year at Monticello, Jefferson's home in Virginia, as well as at the Jefferson Memorial on the Mall in Washington, DC.

For Smokers, Finding a Job Is Harder


Unemployed smokers have more difficulty finding a job - and when they do find one, they tend to earn less than their smoke-free counterparts, a study suggests. 
READ MORE:
For smokers, finding a job is harder

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1782 - Washington, NC, was incorporated as the first town to be named for George Washington. 

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1796 - The first known elephant to arrive in the United States from Bengal, India. 

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1808 - William "Juda" Henry Lane perfected the tap dance. 

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1870 - The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in New York City.

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1933 - The first flight over Mount Everest was completed by Lord Clydesdale. 

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1943U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Jefferson Memorial. 

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1949 - Philip S. Hench and associates announced that cortisone was an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. 

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1964 - Sidney Poitier became the first black to win an Oscar for best actor. It was for his role in the movie "Lilies of the Field." 

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1997 - Tiger Woods became the youngest person to win the Masters Tournament at the age of 21. He also set a record when he finished at 18 under par. 




DAILY SQU-EEK




If You Were Born Today, April 13

You are a success-oriented person. Although you may not actively pursue success, it tends to come to you anyhow as you work determinedly. While you are willing to take some risks, you are basically very security-conscious. You rarely ask for help, feeling that if you can't learn or do something on your own, it is somehow not very satisfying. You can be a bit of a workaholic and should try to avoid being so consumed by your work that your personal life suffers. Famous people born today: Thomas Jefferson, Don Adams, Ron Perlman.


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Picture of the day
Siberian rubythroat
The Siberian rubythroat(Luscinia calliope) is a small passerine bird generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher of the family Muscicapidae. This migratory insectivorous species breeds in mixed coniferous forest with undergrowth in Siberia, where it nests near the ground. It winters in ThailandIndia and Indonesia. It is an extremely rare vagrant to Western Europe and the Aleutian Islands.


Picture of a sailboat in front of a blood moon

Sailor's Delight

Photograph by Michael Hannig, National Geographic 
Michael Hannig submitted this shot of what he calls a “journey to the moon.” A blood moon, hanging low in the horizon in this photo, occurs when the moon passes behind the Earth and into its shadow—a lunar eclipse. The Earth's shadow casts the moon in a captivating red tint.

One day, Jill's husband came home from the office and found her sobbing convulsively.
"I feel terrible," she told him. "I was pressing your suit and I burned a big hole in the seat of your trousers."
"Forget it," consoled her husband. "Remember that I bought an extra pair of pants for that suit."
"Yes, and it's lucky for you that you did," said Jill, drying her eyes. "I used them to patch the hole."

knit

knit

knit, 6 - 9 mths

knit

knit
Dragon Lady Shawl Free Knitting Pattern



crochet

crochet
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Crochet Spot » Blog Archive » Crochet Pattern: Musical N...
These fairly small appliques would be perfect sewn onto a musical lovers blanket or scarf! The pattern is also great for using up scraps since each note takes...
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crochet
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Crochet Dreamz: Bella Ruffled Bag (Free Crochet Pattern)
This bag was made by Grace Anne of  WouldYouLikeYarnWithThat.blogspot.com, lovely isn't it? I love how she added her own touch with a flower.
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crochet

crochet
thanks, helen
ROSE LACE COWL
undeniableglitter
 
I used a little over one skein of Simply Soft Light in Bubble Gum with a G hook. 

Ch 273, join, without turning with a sl st. 

Row 1: ch 2, *sk next ch, sc in next ch, ch 1; rep from * to end across, join with sl st in 1st ch of beg ch 2
Row 2: ch 1, *sc in next ch 1 sp, ch 1; rep from * to end across, join with sl st in beg ch 1
Row 3: ch 2, *sc in next ch 1 sp, ch 1; rep from * to end across, join with sl st in 1st ch of beg ch 2

Rep rows 2 and 3 until your cowl is the desired width. For me, I repeated rows 2-3 until I finished the first skein, and then I started on the second. 

Edging:
Row 1: ch 1, sc in every sc and ch 1 sp around, join to beg ch 1 with sl st
Row 2: ch 1, sc in next sc, * ch 4, sk 2 sc, sc in next sc; rep from * to end around to last 2 sc, ch 4, join in beg ch 1 with sl st
Row 3: sl st to ch 4 sp, ch 3 (counts as dc), (ch 2, dc, ch 4, sl st in 1st ch of ch 4, ch 1, dc, ch 2, dc) in next ch 4 sp, * sk next ch 4 sp, (dc, ch 2, dc, ch 4, sl st in 1st ch of ch 4, ch 1, dc, ch 2, dc) in next ch 4 sp; rep from * to end across, sk next ch 4 sp, join to 1st ch of beg ch 3 with sl st

Fasten off, and weave in ends. 
I did not block this because it's acrylic and acrylic typically doesn't block all that well, but if you're using a different type of yarn, like a wool blend, you could definitely block it go open the lace and define the points of the edging more. 
My finished cowl is 7"x54". 
I love the effect this simple lacy edging has on the scarf. 


Two blondes were walking down the road and the first blonde said, "Look at that dog with one eye!"
The other blonde covers one of her eyes and says, "Where?"

RECIPE


CROCKPOT RECIPE
Slow Cooker Chicken Poutine

A blonde decided to redecorate her bedroom. She wasn't sure how many rolls of wallpaper she would need, but she knew that her blonde friend from next door had recently done the same job and the two rooms were identical in size.
"Buffy," she said, "How many rolls of wallpaper did you buy for your bedroom?"
"Ten," said Buffy.
So the blonde bought the ten rolls of paper and did the job, but she had 2 rolls leftover. "Buffy," she said. "I bought ten rolls of wallpaper for the bedroom, but I've got 2 leftover!"
"Yes," said Buffy. "So did I."

CRAFTS




CHILDREN'S CORNER ... gardening
Mini Cereal Box Seed Starters
whimsy-love

I'm ready for Spring things. And this project gets me in the mood.
Start seedlings indoors with this whimsical spin on a peat pot.

Brightly colored mini cereal boxes create cozy little homes for seeds as they work their way through the soil to become big grown up flowers.
Glue the top of the box closed with a glue gun. And then take a knife & cut open, along the "dotted" lines on the front of the box. Did you know there were "dotted" lines?? When my bro & I were kids, we used to open our cereal boxes that way sometimes, slice open the bag of cereal, pour the milk right in & eat it from the box.


Fill boxes with dirt & seeds. *Dymo labels as plant markers are optional.* A Sharpie works just as swell.
I have been keeping mine on the windowsill. Make sure when you water that you have a flat dish underneath. (The water seeps out of the corners of the box.) Over time your box will warp from the waterings.
When your seedlings are big enough, transplant them to big pots! Yay for flowers! And recylcing!


A blonde bought two horses and could never remember which was which. A neighbor suggested that she cut off the tail of one horse, which worked great until the other horse got his tail caught in a bush. The second horse's tail tore in the same place and looked exactly like the other horse's tail. Our blonde friend was stuck again.
The neighbour then suggested that she notch the ear of one horse, which worked fine until the other horse caught his ear on a barbed wire fence. Once again, our blonde friend couldn't tell the two horses apart.
The neighbour then suggested that she measure the horses for height. When she did that, the blonde was very pleased to find that the white horse was 2 inches taller than the black one

PUZZLE



QUOTE


Blonde Interview
The executive was interviewing a young blonde for a position in his company. He wanted to find out something about her personality so he asked, "If you could have a conversation with any person, living or dead, who would that be?"
The blonde quickly responded, "The living one."


In December 2015, adventurer John Beeden became the first person ever to row the Pacific Ocean alone and nonstop, traveling from North America to Australia and rowing up to 15 hours a day! -------------------- The Great Stalacpipe Organ uses Virginia’s Luray Caverns to produce music—softly striking cave’s stalactites to produce sound! -------------------- Chess Village The tiny Indian village of Marottichal in Kerala is known as the “Chess Village” thanks to 100% participation in the game—every villager plays!




CLEVER
ellen's new blog




EYE OPENER
The Easy Trick To Falling Asleep In Literal Seconds
distractify



As anyone who has struggled with insomnia will tell you, the inability to fall asleep is one of the more frustrating things in this world, if only because you cannot just WILL it. You try counting sheep, popping melatonin, tossing and turning to find a position your body will find comfortable enough to acquiesce itself to snoozing— but still, nothin’.


A simple breathing technique could be the game-changer you’ve been lacking. Developed by Arizona’s Dr. Andrew Weil, the 4-7-8 method is a yoga-inspired system and is “utterly simple, takes almost no time, requires no equipment and can be done anywhere.” Better still, it has helped previous sleep-strugglers fall asleep in under a minute as it reduces stress and tension in your body, behaving as a “natural tranquilizer for the nervous system.”

SLEEP

Here's how it works:

1. Before you begin, place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth just above your teeth and keep it there throughout the exercise.
2. Exhale completely through your mouth quite forcefully so you make a "whoosh" sound.
3. Close your mouth and inhale quietly and softly through your nose for a mental count of four.
4. Hold your breath and count to seven.
5. Next, exhale completely through your mouth, making another whoosh sound for eight seconds in one large breath.
6. Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three times for a total of four breaths.
Remember: All inhaling breaths must be quiet and through your nose and all exhaling breaths must be loud and through your mouth.

Here's how it helps:

1. It takes on more oxygen, thus relaxing the parasympathetic nervous system and promoting a state of calmness.
2. It helps rebalance the nervous system, which becomes over-stimulated during times of stress.
3. It helps you connect with your body and your breathing, distracting you from those racing thoughts that prevent you from relaxing.


So there you have it. Next time you lay awake, staring at your ceiling as intrusive thoughts pummel your headspace, just try to B R E A T H E.

Diane-lilyvalleyoval-julea


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2 comments:

  1. I have been thinking about trying a knit potholder like today's. I have a couple of the crocheted version made by my neighbor when we lived in Walla Walla. The only change I would make is to do a double needle cast on, alternating stitches on the needles. This would alleviate the need for one seam and joining the round. I have some more scrappy wool to use up. This is may be my next project. Thank you!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Scrabble is part of my every day regime. I'll make a note of that nice word and let you know when (if) it pops up!

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