Pumpkin Day October 26, 2017

DIANE'S CORNER ... Celebrate Pumpkin Day

There’s one thing that represents October more than anything else, and it’s not Halloween (though it’s involved). That thing? The pumpkin. It starts appearing on shelves and farmers market’s stands on the last week or two of September, and is the herald that lets you know that Pumpkin Pies, Jack-o-Lanterns, and all the joys of fall are just around the corner. Pumpkin Day celebrates these noble squash’s, and the history and tradition tied up in their iconic orangeness.

Often when people think of Halloween, they think of Jack-o-Lanterns and pumpkins, and even when you’re looking at that ‘false medieval’ imagery that’s present in most fantasy games, you’ll regularly see pumpkins being present, especially during Halloween events. What many people don’t know is that the pumpkin is actually a plant from the new world, like all squash, so the image of pumpkin jack-o-lanterns in front of ancient medieval homes is just plain wrong. These are an all American (And South American) plant, and the jack-o-lantern at Halloween is a distinctly New World thing.

So let’s learn a little bit about the Pumpkin in honor of Pumpkin Day, starting with what the word pumpkin means. It’s pretty simple, as it comes from the Greek word pepon, or ‘Large Melon’, but it didn’t go straight to pumpkin. First it was pompon to the French, and then pumpion to the British. It was the Americans that finally changed the word to its present Pumpkin, and so it’s been ever since! Pumpkin Day is a great opportunity to add this delicious squash to your diet, whether in the form of a traditional pumpkin pie, or a rich and savory pumpkin soup.

Word of the Day

congeal
Definition:	(verb) Become gelatinous.
Synonyms:	jell, set
Usage:	We waited patiently for the jello to congeal before cutting it into fun shapes with cookie cutters.

Idiom of the Day

a joy to behold  — A thing, event, or experience that creates a profound sense of joy or elation in the spectator.

History

USA PATRIOT Act Signed into Law (2001)

Enacted quickly and with little opposition in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the sweeping USA PATRIOT Act dramatically enhanced the powers of law enforcement and intelligence-gathering agencies within the US. The bill has since come under increasing scrutiny and criticism, and aspects of it have faced legal challenges in the courts. After it was renewed in 2006, most of its sections became permanent. 

Mahalia Jackson (1911)

As a child, Jackson sang at the New Orleans church where her father preached. After moving to Chicago, she sang with a touring gospel quintet. Her warm, powerful voice first came to wider public attention in the 1930s. Called "The Queen of Gospel," she sang at an inaugural party for US President John F. Kennedy, at the 1963 March on Washington, and at the funeral of Martin Luther King, Jr. Despite many offers, she refused to sing secular songs

Punkie Night

In the English village of Hinton St. George, Somerset, it is traditional for both children and adults to walk through town carrying "punkies," or lanterns made from carved-out mangel-wurzels, or mangolds (a variety of beet), with candles in them. Although this custom is observed in other English towns, the celebration at Hinton St. George is by far the best established. There is a procession of children carrying punkies through the streets, begging for money, and singing the "punky song." A prize is given out for the best carved punky.

Fish Depression Is Not a Joke

Can a fish be depressed? This question has been floating around my head ever since I spent a night in a hotel across from an excruciatingly sad-looking Siamese fighting fish. 
READ MORE:

Fish Depression Is Not a Joke


1825 - The Erie Canal opened in upstate New York. The 363-mile canal connected Lake Erie and the Hudson River at a cost of $7,602,000. 


1854 - Charles William Post was born. He was the inventor of "Grape Nuts," "Postum" and "Post Toasties."


1858 - H.E. Smith patented the rotary-motion washing machine. 


1881 - The "Gunfight at the OK Corral" took place in Tombstone, AZ. The fight was between Wyatt Earp, his two brothers and Doc Holiday and the Ike Clanton Gang. 


1935 - Judy Garland, at the age of 12, sang on Wallace Berry's radio show on NBC. 


1955 - New York City's "The Village Voice" was first published. 


1958 - Pan American Airways flew its first Boeing 707 jetliner from New York City to Paris. 


1970 - Elton John's "Your Song" was released in the U.S. 


1970 - "Doonesbury," the comic strip by Gary Trudeau, premiered in 28 newspapers across the U.S. 


1990 - Wayne Gretzky became the first NHL player to reach 2,000 points. 




1998 - A U.S. federal judge refused to issue an injunction against the sale of MP3 players. The device is used to play music downloaded from the Internet. The Recording Industry Association of America had brought the case to court. 

DAILY SQU-EEK

If You Were Born Today, October 26

You express yourself with authority, sometimes intimidating others without ever intending to do so! Your mind is sharp and incisive, and your wit is on the ball. You have the benefit of both analytical skills and perceptive understanding of others. It is hard to put anything past you! When you care about someone, you are generous to a fault. Although you certainly possess business sense and ability, you are not a traditional businessperson in that you have a strongly idealistic and humanitarian side of your nature. Famous people born today: Hillary Clinton, Pat Sajak, Jaclyn Smith, Dylan McDermott, Mahalia Jackson, Keith Urban, Morgan Saylor, Seth MacFarlane.

READERS INFO

1.
October 26, 1916

Fania Mindell arrested for distributing birth control material.

Fania Mindell was only 22 when she became part of a seminal moment in the history of women’s reproductive freedom.

Born in Minsk, Russia on December 15, 1894, Fania emigrated to Brooklyn, New York in 1906 with her family.  Fania became the proprietor of Little Russia, a small boutique in Greenwich Village just off Washington Square, which featured curios from Russia, but her true passion was for feminist and progressive causes. 

 As a young political activist in 1916 she met the now famous feminist Margaret Sanger and her sister Ethel Byrne.  Together, the three women opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, known as the "Brownsville Clinic" (after the Brownsville section of Brooklyn in which it was located).  The clinic’s aim was to educate and distribute birth control materials. At the time, publishing or selling any material about sexuality or the prevention of pregnancy was a prosecutable offense under the Comstock Act, which made the dissemination of “obscene” material through the mail illegal.  The clinic served more than a hundred neighborhood women on its opening day.  Mindell administered the storefront clinic during its first week, canvassed the neighborhood with flyers written in English, Yiddish, and Italian.  

On October 26, 1916, ten days after the clinic opened, an undercover policewoman and vice-squad officers raided the clinic, confiscated an assortment of contraceptives, along with 20 “books on young women,” and arrested Sanger, Byrne, and Mindell.  After their arraignment, the three women spent the night in jail and were released the next morning on $500 bail.  All three women were found guilty, with Mindell convicted of disturbing the peace and fined $50.  Eventually all their verdicts were overturned, and the women’s campaign eventually led to major changes in social policy and to the laws governing birth control and sex education around the world.

Margaret Sanger later became the founder of the American Birth Control League, the precursor to the Planned Parenthood Federation.

Fania Mindell went on to become a costume and set designer for Broadway plays.  She also translated Russian plays into English versions, including the premiere of Maxim Gorky’s classic The Lower Depths (Night Lodging).  On December 3, 1929 Fania married historian Ralph Edmund LeClercq Roeder, who shared her interest in drama and theater.  The couple traveled extensively, eventually settling in Mexico City, where Roeder was honored with Mexico's highest literary award, the Orden del Águila Azteca, for his seminal biography of Benito Juárez.  Mindell died in Mexico City on July 18, 1969.

2.

The Farmstead Corn Maze & Pumpkin Festival 2017

Sep 22 - Oct 28, 2017| Meridian, ID

The Farmstead|1020 S Rackham Way

Kick off the autumn season with the Farmstead Corn Maze & Pumpkin Festival. Pick out the plumpest pumpkin for the ghouliest jack-o-lantern. Make your way through Idaho’s largest, most intricate corn maze. When the October sun sets, enter the Field of Screams.

further information: The Farmstead Corn Maze & Pumpkin Festival

3.

Siegel's Cottonwood Farm Pumpkin Festival 2017

Sep 23 - Oct 31, 2017 | Lockport, IL

Siegel's Cottonwood Farm|17250 Weber Road 

Siegel's Cottonwood Farm covers 40 acres of land and sits about an hour outside of Chicago. This year, the festival includes new attractions such as paintball, the Statesville Zombie Farm, hayrack trips and more. On weekends only, the Siegel's offer their home-brewed sodas as well as cherry wine. Don't miss out on the festival's delicious food!

further information: Home - Siegel's Pumpkin Farm




Pictures of the day


A design by Chief Engraver of the United States Mint Frank Gasparro for the Susan B. Anthony dollar, a dollar coin minted from 1979 to 1981 and again in 1999. Proposed as a smaller replacement for the cumbersome Eisenhower dollar, the coin was initially intended to depict an allegorical representation of Liberty. However, legislative and popular demand led to the likeness of social reformer and women's rights activist Susan B. Anthony being used instead. In 1978, Gasparro began preparing a design, going through multiple versions depicting Anthony at various stages of her life before settling on an approximation of her at age 50. After the final design was approved, the dollar was first struck in 1978.

Stuttgart, Germany

A man fishes on an autumnal day

thanks, Amber

Rose Trellis Shawl Vest pattern by Vera Sanon

knit
thanks, Marilyn

# 69 Pullover mit Längs- und Querrippenmuster pattern by Lana Grossa

				# 69 Pullover mit Längs- und Querrippenmuster pattern b... Free Download only in German and English,
				View on www.ravelry.com	Preview by Yahoo

knit

Chair Paws

knit

Iceberg Socks - Intarsia in the Round

knit, XMAS
SIX UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER PATTERNS:

The Best of the Worst - Ugly Sweaters 2014 eBook

crochet

thanks Marge 

Little Miss Pompom Hat

crochet
thanks, Bertha

City Neckwarmer

crochet

Cinnaminn's Crafts: Jacqui's Patterns

crochet

The Crochet Cottage Bag Pattern!

crochet

Bowtie for Little Man pattern by Randy Cavaliere

RECIPE
Smith family favorite

Cheddar Olives

Makes enough to feed 6-8 as an appetizer

18- to 10 ounce jar of pitted green olives, either pimento-stuffed or plain. 
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon cayenne, smoked paprika or freshly grated black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400° F.

Drain the olives well, and dry them completely with clean dish towels. Set aside.

Combine the cheese, flour, butter, and spices in a medium bowl and knead it within the bowl until a dough forms. If the dough is still crumbly and won't hold together, add water 1 teaspoon at a time until it does.

Pinch off a small amount of dough, and press it as thin as you can between your fingers to flatten. Wrap and smoosh the dough around a dry olive. Pinch off any excess, then roll the olive in your hands until smooth. Continue until all the olives are covered.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown all over. Alternatively, freeze the olives on a baking sheet until firm, then wrapped tightly and freeze for up to a week. Bake straight from the freezer for 20-25 minutes.

CROCKPOT RECIPE
thanks, Shelley

Slow-Cooker Southwest Artichoke and Spinach Dip

SWEETS ... Halloween
thanks, Lesley

Witches Hats and Broom Sticks

ADULT COLORING






CRAFTS

DIY CIRCLE ROPE BAG 

What You Need

1. 20 yards of rope (10 yards for each side)
2. Hot glue gun and glue
3. Fishing line or clear jewelry cord and large eye needle
4. Mugs or plates to act as weights
5. Optional thick embroidery floss for tassels

DIY  Circle Rope Bag Instructions

Step 1: Cut your cord into 2 equal lengths, ideally at least 10 yards each (but more is even better!)

Step 2: Hot glue the end of one piece of cord onto itself

Step 3: Continue to glue and wind the cord on itself into a circle. Once it gets larger, use a mug and a plate to hold it flat. You can also use the mug and plate to help turn the rope as you glue.

Step 4: Towards the end of winding, determine the length of the strap that you would like. Make sure you have at least 6″-8″ of the rope to glue on the far side of the circle. Repeat steps 1-4 again for the other side of the bag

Step 5: Lay both halves of the bag on top of each other so that the end points are on opposite sides. Hot glue the outside rim together and let dry.

Step 6: Thread the needle with jewelry cord and insert the cord at the bottom of the strap into the second row of rope. Tie a knot to secure the cord.

Step 7: Bind the edge of your bag with jewelry cord by consistently sewing top to bottom, in the second row of rope.

Step 8: Tie with a knot to secure!

DIY  Embroidery Floss Tassels

Step 1: Wrap the embroidery floss around your hand 20-30 times

Step 2: Slide off your hand and tie a long piece of floss around the top corner to secure the loops

Step 3: Slide the knot of the tie to the inside of the loops and use the ends to wrap around the top of one loop in opposite directions. Double knot the edges together to finish and trim the edges.

Step 4: Cut the ends open of the loop and trim so they are all even.

Step 5: In order to tie the tassel onto your bag, use the needle to thread the top of the tassel with floss.

CHILDREN'S CORNER ... pumpkin coloring






PUZZLE

Tennis Balls Blue Jigsaw Puzzle



WORD SEARCH

afraid alias attach betray bright bruise catch clock

dabble dare deed defer dessert drugstore duty empty fraud funeral

globe longs mercy paste pipes poor popular proponent

rare reaction revert secret sell senate several steer

taut thorn tongue trust waitress worldwide

SUDOKU ... very hard




solution:







QUOTE








CLEVER

Painted Pumpkins with Glittered Stems

Paint your pumpkins to match any color scheme and then give them a glittered, whimsical stem!

EYE OPENER 

SPREAD KINDNESS: EASY, FREE THINGS YOU CAN DO TODAY

prettyextraordinary

1. Send you kid’s teacher a note just to say thank you.
2. Do a small favor for someone you love – fold your spouse’s laundry, pack your child’s backpack.
3. Make eye contact – let people know you see them.
4. Allow someone to jump in front of you in the grocery store line. Or at the bank. Or the coffee shop.
5. Call people by name if you can – waiters and waitresses, flight attendants, grocery store clerks.
6. Offer words of encouragement to the person you know who needs it most.
7. Listen. Being heard is one of the greatest gifts.
8. Donate the items in your home that will make someone else’s day. Clothes and toiletries to a shelter. Books to a library or school.
9. Send a thank you note.
10. Smile.
11. Pass on a book you loved to someone who will appreciate it.
12. Encourage your small people to join you in spreading kindness.
13. Be patient as you drive – let someone cut in front of you or give them your parking spot.
14. Offer to help a friend with their errands.
15. Turn off technology and devote an hour to something good.
16. Send a beautiful photo or funny meme to make someone smile.
17. Go old school. Mail a letter.
18. Give a new mother a few hours by herself …offer to watch the kids.
19. Bring your neighbor’s trash cans from the end of the driveway to the garage.
20. Leave a note of kindness or inspiration on a sticky note in a public place.
21. Offer to help a parent who has their hands full at the grocery store or getting on a plane.
22. Tell your kids you are proud of them.
23. Tell en employee’s boss they did a great job.
24. Offer to take a photo for a family or couple.
25. Leave coupons on items in the grocery store so anyone can grab them.
26. Offer to help someone with their bag while flying – putting it overhead or taking it off the carousel.
27. Volunteer. At your kid’s school, for a local food bank, for disaster relief.
28. Donate your airline miles to someone in need.
29. Include yourself – make a list of the things you like about yourself.

A few bonus ideas that include spending just a little cash, but spread goodness just the same.

1. Leave a $5 in a library book as a book mark
2. Pay for coffee or lunch for the person behind you in line in the drive-through
3. Put change in an expired parking meter – or leave some extra for the next driver.
4. Send a nursing home a magazine subscription.
5. Support your friends who own their own businesses or write their own books