DIANE'S CORNER: National Puppy Day

DIANE'S CORNER ..

Celebrate Nat'l Puppy Day

They’re fluffy and playful, they yip and bark and are just all-around adorable, and all they want is to be loved. What could we be talking about? That’s right, puppies! National Puppy Day celebrates that most adorable of our four-footed friends, the baby canine, and it’s quite possibly the cutest day ever. It doesn’t matter the breed or gender, all puppies are the perfect solution to a terrible day.

They’ll cuddle and crawl and… well, occasionally pee all over everything… but they’re puppies! When National Puppy Day comes around, you better be ready for a barking good time, there’s no way to avoid it when the day is about the ultimate ball of heart-melting fluff!

History of National Puppy Day

You know what’s magical and fantastic? Oh right, we’ve already been fanboying about it, haven’t we? That’s right, don’t care! Puppies! Puppies bring the gift of love without boundaries to us, and they’re absolutely determined to be the best friend you’ve ever had.

When you come home from school, that’s all they care about, is that you’re home. Long day at work? Just a big happy ball of fluff coming to see you right at the door, more reliable than the bestest romantic partner. What’s amazing about the love for puppies is that it spreads across the world, through every culture and every social strata. Puppies just bring us all together!

National Puppy Day was established to bring awareness to the world about puppy mills and how to go about adopting. Puppy mills are often some of the most horrible establishments, with the females bred until they either can’t conceive, or die giving birth. They’re literally run like a factory, money in, puppies out. Between these heinous establishments and both wild and family dogs remaining unsprayed and unneutered, the population of dogs is getting out of control.

JOKE OF THE DAY

Why are books on anti-gravity so popular?

Because they are hard to put down!

WORD OF THE DAY

mollify

MEANING:
verb tr.:
1. To pacify or appease.
2. To soften or reduce, as in intensity.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin mollis (soft). Earliest documented use: 1425.

USAGE:
“Mr. Gordhan is not mollified. The apology, he wrote in a newspaper article, did not go far enough.”
Global Firms and the Gupta Connection; The Economist (London, UK); Dec 8, 2017.

TODAY'S ARTIST thanks, Natalie

John Plumb (6 February 1927 – 6 April 2008)
was an English abstract painter who emerged in Britain after World War II.

thanks, Patsy

(Not So) TOTALLY USELESS FACTS OF THE DAY

Alfred Hitchcock didn't have a belly button. It was eliminated when he was sewn up after surgery.

Every photograph of an American atomic bomb detonation was taken by Harold Edgerton.

Dr. Samuel A. Mudd was the physician who set the leg of Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth, and whose shame created the expression for ignominy, "His name is Mudd."

READERS INFO
Coronavirus Style by Sylvia, CAN DO Correspondent
Carolyn Taylor’s Butter Swim Biscuits

¼ c. unsalted butter, melted      |1/2 c.
1-1/4 c. all-purpose flour      |2-1/2 c.
2 t. baking powder      |4 t.
2 t. white sugar     |4 t.
½  t. salt      |1 t.
1 c. buttermilk, as needed           |1-3/4 c. (as needed)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Place butter in a loaf pan (if making a half batch for 1 or 2) or 8×8 glass or ceramic baking dish.
Sift all dry ingredients into a bowl. Add buttermilk and stir until combined. Pour over melted butter and spread over the melted butter.
Bake in preheated oven until biscuit tops begin to brown 20-25 minutes.
The bottom and top will be crispy and the inside is light and tender. Delicious

COFFEE
thanks, Ella

PICTURES OF THE DAY

The lemon, Citrus × limon, is a citrus tree, a hybrid of cultivated origin. The fruit are cultivated primarily for their juice, though the pulp and rind (zest) are also used, primarily in cooking or mixing. Lemon juice is about 5% citric acid, which gives lemons a sour taste; its pH is 2.3, so because of its acidity, lemon juice is commonly used in chemistry experiments.

Mother’s Little Headful, Chambal River, India

A female gharial hangs out in the water while her babies use her head as a basking perch. She is one of a colony of gharials that have nested at this riverbank site. The mothers keep watch from the river, with the female acting as chief guard for 100 or so hatchlings. Adults will protect the young for at least a month until the monsoon rains arrive and they move down river to feed in deeper water. Gharials are under pressure from illegal sand‑mining in nesting areas, illegal fishing, egg collection and pollution.

knit
thanks, Helen

Diving In {recipe} pattern by Mam'zelle Flo

knit
thanks, Clara

Center Cable Vest

knit

Soft and Cozy House Slippers

knit

Twirling Top

knit

George Blanket

CROCHET PATTERNS OF THE DAY

thanks, Valerie, Canadian Correspondent

How to Crochet the Knit-Like Cowl and Infinity Scarf

Denim Dreams Triangle Scarf

crochet

thanks, Bertha

Dog and Cat Magnet pattern by Naztazia

crochet

thanks, Marge

Buttercup Baby Doll pattern by Neogurumi

crochet

Dylan

crochet

Wedgy Edgy Dishcloth

crochet

Crochet Floral Clutch

RECIPE

thanks, Shelley, New York Food Correspondent

Macaroni Salad With Lemon and Herbs Recipe

PANTRY RECIPE

thanks, Debbie

Freezer-Friendly Bulk Pie Crust

Our flaky, buttery (and freezer-friendly) pie crust is a delicious basis for pies, quiches, and pot pies. With only 3 ingredients plus water, this bulk pie crust recipe is all natural and contains none of the lard and preservatives found in most commercially prepared crusts.

PREP TIME20 mins

COOK TIME8 mins

TOTAL TIME28 mins

COURSEBulk Cooking

CUISINEAmerican

SERVINGS crusts

CALORIES997

INGREDIENTS

6 cups flour
1 lb. butter, softened (4 sticks)
2 tsp. salt
1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups cold water

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix flour and salt.
If mixing by hand, use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in butter a little at a time until mixture is crumbly. If using a stand mixer, use the pulse function to mix. The flour and butter mixture does not have to be completely uniform; it's actually good to leave a few larger bits of butter mixed in.
Add water a little at a time and mix until mixture forms a ball.
If your dough starts to get greasy because the butter is melting, place it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before working with it further.
Add water as necessary to get correct texture, but try to add as little water as possible. You only need enough water so that the dough holds together; the final product will not look like a smooth ball.
Divide dough in half, then divide each half into 3 equal parts.
At this point roll each section out to be ready for a pie plate before freezing, or you can freeze it in discs to be rolled before use. If you want to do the extra step of rolling it out, place each section of crust on lightly floured parchment paper and roll it out to your preferred size, then starting at one end of the parchment paper, gently roll it up with the pie crust inside.
If you are freezing without rolling, form each section into a slightly flattened disc and place parchment paper between each disc of dough. Freeze in a freezer container.
If you rolled the pie crusts out and rolled them up in parchment paper, place them on a cookie sheet or other flat surface and freeze for a couple of hours. Once the crusts are individually frozen, you can combine them and place them together in a freezer container or wrap them with freezer paper and freeze.

NOTES

The dough can be mixed by hand or with a sturdy stand mixer.
Nutrition data is per pie crust.
Freshly ground whole wheat flour may be used in this recipe instead of white flour at a one to one ratio.
To bake an unfilled crust, cook at 475ºF for about 8 minutes. For filled crusts, bake according to recipe instructions.

NUTRITION PER SERVING

Serving: 1 pie crustCalories: 997 calCarbohydrates: 95 gProtein: 13 gFat: 62 gSodium: 1179 mgFiber: 3 g

CROCKPOT RECIPE

thanks, Anna

Crockpot Ham Potato Cabbage Soup

VEGAN/ VEGETARIAN RECIPE

Both vegetarian and vegan diets may provide health benefits, including reduced body weight, lower cholesterol levels, and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, it is important for vegetarians and vegans to ensure that they are meeting all of their nutritional requirements.

thanks, Alice

Stuffed Shells

COPYCAT RECIPE

thanks, Jenny

Panera Copycat Macaroni Cheese

RETRO RECIPE

thanks, Ann

Crunchy Spinach Casserole

SWEETS RECIPE

thanks, Gloria

Easy Banana Cake

ADULT COLORING

FUN

What is the peculiar property of this sequence of words?

WHAT, HOLE, ALES, TEST

solution:

If you take the first letter from each word, you will spell the first word in the sequence.
If you take the second letter from each word, you will spell the second word in the sequence.
If you take the third letter from each word, you will spell the third word in the sequence.
If you take the fourth letter from each word, you will spell the fourth word in the sequence.

W	H	A	T
H	O	L	E
A	L	E	S
T	E	S	T

CRAFTS

thanks, Kitty

Nail Varnish Marbled Coasters

CHILDREN'S CORNER

thanks, Bella

How to Make Rainbow Rock Candy

PUZZLE

Foliage Weave Jigsaw Puzzle

WORD SEARCH

agent
appear
arouse
ashamed

beach
better

chime
conceal
count

dense

fight

gain
gallop
grand

happy

knees

library

magic
mass

pads
plane

raffle
range
retire

search
shake
share
shies
simple
singer
sneak
story

threesome
thud
trumpet

under
university

wonder

yellow

SUDOKU .. very hard

solution:

ICE BREAKER

thanks, Kris

You can use 'ice breaker questions' to build a rapport, enabling strangers to engage in back and forth conversion. With a little practice and possibly a beer or two, you’ll be breaking more ice than the Titanic.