World Parkinson’s Disease Day marks the birthday of Dr. J Parkinson. On this day there are efforts made to increase the public awareness of this terrible disease, as well as all the good works put forth by the worlds organizations dedicated to eradicating this disease. There are activities to promote this the entire world over, and the opportunity to participate is open to any and all who want to help in this effort.
Dr. Parkinson first described the disease in “An Essay on the Shaking Palsy”, he described a pattern of lessened muscular power, involuntary tremulous motion, even if these are supported. There is at tendency to bend the body forwards, and to involuntarily switch from a walking to a running pace, while the sense and intellect deteriorate.
One of the prominent symbols of Parkinson’s disease is the red tulip, and this was established at the 9th World Parkinson’s Disease Day at the Luxembourg Conference. The story of the Red Tulip can be tied back to J.W.S. Van der Wereld, a Dutch Horticulturalist who was suffering from Parkinson’s disease. He had successfully generated a Red and White Tulip, and named it in honor of the man who named his medical condition. On the tail of this, the Tulip received the Award of Merit, granted by the Royal Horticultural Society in London, and then was granted the Royal General Bulb Growers, Trial Garden Award.
Word of the Day
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| Definition: | (noun) The habitation of a hermit or group of hermits. | ||
| Synonyms: | abbey, monastery, retreat | ||
| Usage: | He spent two years in his hermitage near the lake, pondering the mysteries of the universe. | ||
History
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 | The Little Mermaid is a fairy tale written in 1837 by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid who is willing to give up everything to gain the love of a prince and an eternal soul. The story has been adapted into numerous films, TV series, an opera, and a ballet. | ||
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 | A Cambridge graduate, Smart settled in London and pursued a literary career—writing poetry, editing a humorous magazine, and producing plays. His two best known works are A Song to David, an inspirational piece rife with superb imagery, and Jubilate Agno, an idiosyncratic and often anthologized paean to his cat, Jeoffry, that only survives in fragments. Both were written while he was confined in an asylum for a religious mania. | ||
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 | Known to golf fans everywhere as The Masters, this annual tournament has been held at the exclusive Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia since it was first started there in 1934. The qualifying rounds are held on Thursday and Friday of the four-day tournament, and the top 44 finishers participate in the final round. In addition to the cash prize, the winner receives a trophy and a green blazer. On the Tuesday night before the tournament, there is a Champions Dinner attended by past winners and hosted by the defending champion—all of them wearing their distinctive green jackets. | ||
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 | The consequences of losing a language may not be understood until it is too late. It is a singular fate to be the last of one's kind. That is the fate of the men and women, nearly all of them elderly, who are the last known speakers of a language: Wukchumni, Kusunda, Hupa, and Amurdag. | ||
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1921 - Iowa became the first state to impose a cigarette tax.
1940 - Andrew Ponzi set a world's record in a New York pocket billiards tournament when he ran 127 balls straight.
1947 - Jackie Robinson became the first black player in major-league history. He played in an exhibition game for the Brooklyn Dodgers
1970 - Apollo 13 blasted off on a mission to the moon that was disrupted when an explosion crippled the spacecraft. The astronauts did return safely.
1985 - Scientists in Hawaii measured the distance between the earth and moon within one inch.
1986 - Dodge Morgan sailed solo nonstop around the world in 150 days.
Born Today, 1921 (deceased, 1992)
 Kevin Joseph "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992)
Chuck Connors was a actor, writer and professional basketball and baseball
player. He is one of only 12 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have played both Major League Baseball and in the National Basketball Association. With a 40-year film and television career, Connors is best known for his five-year role as Lucas McCain in the highly rated ABC series The Rifleman (1958–63). He died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles at the age of 71 of pneumonia stemming from lung cancer.  |
83 Years Old Today
Omar Sharif’s films include Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago(1965)
and Funny Girl (1968). He has been nominated for an Academy Award and
has won three Golden Globe Awards.
and Funny Girl (1968). He has been nominated for an Academy Award and
has won three Golden Globe Awards.
Enacted Today, 1968
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
The Civil Rights Act of 1968 is commonly known as the Fair Housing
Act and was meant as a follow‑up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Act and was meant as a follow‑up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
If You Were Born Today, April 11
You are fiercely protective of those you love, and you will rise to any challenge, quickly picking yourself up after a fall. You are hopeful and mostly optimistic, although you are subject to many mood swings, of which only those closest to you truly know about. You are generous with your time and quite helpful, but you also instinctively know when to draw the line, as you need time to and for yourself. Famous people born today: Tricia Helfer, Joss Stone, Ellen Goodman, Jennifer Esposito.
Come Dancing
Photograph by Visarut Teerawatvichaikul, National Geographic
The light and shimmer of the Starlight Room at San Francisco’s Sir Frances Drake Hotel absorbs a couple moved to dance the tango. “I heard the tango music while I was setting up my camera on a tripod,” writes Visarut Teerawatvichaikul, who visited the lounge while at work on a school project. “Suddenly, I saw one couple run up to the dance floor. They danced like a shadow among the stars. I was watching them dance for a while, and I felt like time was paused in that moment between me and them, so I took a shot.”
knit
knit
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Fähnchen Spüli / Dishcloth Flags pattern by Silke R
Picture shows a 32-stitches plus 2 stitch border version.
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knit
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Corn pattern by Kimberly Chapman
Perfect Match by Caron Aran / 10 ply 100% Acrylic 355 yards / 198 grams average rating from 244 votes 1574 projects, stashed 1083 times
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knit
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Fred, the Frog pattern by Stana D.Sortor
Finished bookmark /toy size: 10.5” (27cm)
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crochet
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Crochet Socks pattern by Kemberlee Shortland
Sizes available 8.5-9 usa ladies/39-41uk ladies
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crochet
crochet
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Sprout Chains Shawlette pattern by Kristin Omdahl
The long chain and solo single crochet stitch pattern featured in this shawl is easy to memorize and relaxing to crochet. The flower fringe border makes me...
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crochet
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Crochet Patterns Only: Teddy Bear Square
Teddy Bear Square Copyright to Judith Prindle 9/4/05 (Revised 9/05/05) Crocheted Teddy Bear Square Finished size about 9 inches square.
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RECIPE
Crustless Broccoli and Cheddar Quiche
By Kathy Brennan and Caroline Campion, authors of KEEPERS
Makes one 10-inch quiche
You'll need:
Unsalted butter for greasing the pie dish
Salt
3 cups small broccoli florets (from about 1 large head of broccoli)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup heavy cream
6 large eggs
Pinch of nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
Pepper
What to do:
Preheat the oven to 350F, with a rack in the middle position. Butter a 10-inch glass pie dish, then set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and season it generously with salt; it should taste like seawater. When it returns to a boil, add the broccoli and gently boil, stirring once or twice, until just crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, then thoroughly pat dry and scatter over the bottom of the pie dish. Scatter the cheese evenly over top.
In a 1-quart measuring cup (see tip below) or medium bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, eggs, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste until smooth, then pour over the cheese. Bake until the custard is just set in the center, 35 to 40 minutes. (Don’t worry if the center is a little trembly; it will cook a little more as it rests.) Let cool slightly before serving.
TIP: For convenience, we use a four-cup measuring cup to measure all of the ingredients for the quiche, ending with the custard, which we whisk right in the cup. First, measure the broccoli, then the cheese. Next, measure the 1 cup milk, add enough cream to reach 1 2/3 cups, then add the eggs, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Whisk together, then pour the custard into the dish.
Makes one 10-inch quiche
You'll need:
Unsalted butter for greasing the pie dish
Salt
3 cups small broccoli florets (from about 1 large head of broccoli)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup heavy cream
6 large eggs
Pinch of nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
Pepper
What to do:
Preheat the oven to 350F, with a rack in the middle position. Butter a 10-inch glass pie dish, then set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and season it generously with salt; it should taste like seawater. When it returns to a boil, add the broccoli and gently boil, stirring once or twice, until just crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, then thoroughly pat dry and scatter over the bottom of the pie dish. Scatter the cheese evenly over top.
In a 1-quart measuring cup (see tip below) or medium bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, eggs, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste until smooth, then pour over the cheese. Bake until the custard is just set in the center, 35 to 40 minutes. (Don’t worry if the center is a little trembly; it will cook a little more as it rests.) Let cool slightly before serving.
TIP: For convenience, we use a four-cup measuring cup to measure all of the ingredients for the quiche, ending with the custard, which we whisk right in the cup. First, measure the broccoli, then the cheese. Next, measure the 1 cup milk, add enough cream to reach 1 2/3 cups, then add the eggs, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Whisk together, then pour the custard into the dish.
CROCKPOT RECIPE
stephanie o'dea
CrockPot Gumbo Recipe
There seem to be a lot of different ways to make gumbo. I've never been to New Orleans, so haven't had real gumbo--I hope to go, soon.
The Ingredients:
--4 cups of chicken broth
--1 cup of brown rice
--1 cup frozen okra
--1/2 cup frozen corn
--1/2 chopped yellow onion
--1 can tomatoes and juice
--4-5 fully cooked sausages (I used 3 Chicken with garlic and artichokes, and 2 Chicken Cajun)
--1 1/2 cups frozen shrimp
The Directions:
--chop up your vegetables. I was using mostly frozen veggies, so only needed to chop the onion. If you have bell pepper, it would be a very nice addition.
--slice sausage into rounds
--dump everything into the crock, except for the frozen shrimp
--because the sausage has so much flavor, I opted to not season this any further. If you aren't sharing with children, you might want to add some additional cajun seasoning--your choice.
--cook on low all day, or on high for 4-6 hours. The longer soups and stews are cooked, the better. The rice will cook, and absorb a lot of the liquid, but it will still be soup-y. If you are putting this together the night before, don't add the rice until you are going to turn on the crock.
--20 min before serving, stir in the frozen shrimp
--serve with some crusty bread or corn muffins
The Verdict.
We all really enjoyed this! My kids adore shrimp and gobbled every piece that was in the pot, and picked out the not-too-spicy pieces of sausage. I gave a tupperware to my mom, and she liked it. When I had the leftovers for lunch the next day, most of the liquid had been absorbed by the rice, but it was still very tasty. I was impressed at how easy it was to throw together.
CRAFT
Custom Wall Hook
Custom Wall Hook by Teri from Giddy Giddy
Materials you’ll need::
1) a roll of 22 gauge wire
2) roll of 16 to 18 gauge wire (thick wire)
3) elmers glue
4) scrap paper
5) wire cutters and benders
6) acrylic paint
7) washers
Step 1: shape the 18 gauge (thick wire) into desired form, keeping in mind to have long lower appendages. these will then be bent to form a U shape hook.
Step 2: use thinner wire to run throughout the shape. this reinforces the basic form.
Step 3: twist wire around a washer and integrate this into the wire form. This will be where you can drive a nail through when attaching to your wall. placing this near the TOP of the shape works well.
Step 4: apply some masking tape on top of some of the wire. this gives the papier mache something to stick on to later.
Step 5: make papier mache paste from 1/2 part elmers glue and 1/2 part water. dip pieces of paper in the paste and cover front and back of wire form.
Step 6: apply 4-5 layers making sure to allow the paper to dry in between layers. the wall hook will become rock hard!
Step 7: using acrylic medium, paint to your hearts desire.
Step 8: remember the washer? well hammer a nail through the washer when attaching your wall hook on your wall.
PUZZLE
'where's the bathroom?' in Maldivian -Faahanaa kobaitha?
QUOTE
CHILDREN'S CORNER ... craft
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CLEVER
EYE OPENER
17 Miniature Chairs Made from Champagne Corks
twisted shifter
The winners of the annual Design Within Reach Champagne Chair Contest were recently announced and this year’s pool of entries outdid themselves once again. The rules of the contest are simple:
Use any or all of the materials (except glass) from no more than two (2) champagne bottles. Glue is the only permitted adhesive. You are not permitted to use any additional materials – including tape and/or paint. The chair must measure no more than 4x4x4 inches.
The top three entries received gift cards to DWR for $1,000, $500 and $250 respectively.
1. First Place
The Crescent Chair by Bruce Hirschman
2. Second Place
The Bubbly Chair by Zach Martin
3. Third Place
The Piper Beach Chair by Jeffrey Burke Whitten
4. Lounge Chair
5. Club Chair by Monte Allen
6. Adirondack Chair by Isabella Artale
7. Modular Swivel Chair by Dima
8. Lounger by David Ryan
9. Wrought Iron Chair by Ann Daigneault
10. Gravity Chair by Raul Flores
11. Recliner by Ryan Bromm
12. Eames Chair by Tak
13. Beach Chair by Richard Rodgers
14. DCA Lounger by David Cox
15. Chair by Quiethype
16. Quercus Chair
17. Prestige Lounger
Loved all those mini-chairs. I knew I could have been doing something useful this past winter! I will most likely be watching Omar in August--the best time to watch Dr. Zhivago is during the dog days of summer!
ReplyDeletecompletely agree with the Quote :-)
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