Compost is an eco-friendly, cheap and effective option for fertilizing your garden, plants and crops. Learn About Composting Day encourages you to explore the world of composting, and to identify all of the different types of household waste that can contribute to your composting efforts.
Word of the Day
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| Definition: | (verb) To shrink back in fear; cower. | ||
| Synonyms: | cringe, flinch, recoil, wince | ||
| Usage: | The little boy quailed at the teacher's angry voice. | ||
I guess that’s one way to get over a puddle
History
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 | Spengler was a German historian and philosopher whose major work, The Decline of the West, brought him worldwide fame. In it, he contends that every civilization passes through a life cycle, blossoming and decaying like a natural organism, and that Western culture has passed its creative stage and entered the period of decline. He was ostracized after 1933 for refusing to support Nazi ideas of racial superiority. | ||
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 | NASA flight controllers are preparing to relocate a storage module at the International Space Station on Wednesday, marking the biggest change to the space outpost's structure since the module was installed in 2011. The Permanent Multipurpose Module, which is used for storage, will be detached from the Unity module and carefully moved via a robotic arm to the forward port of the station's Tranquility module, NASA officials said. | ||
1912 - Fifteen women were dismissed from their jobs at the Curtis Publishing Company in Philadelphia, PA, for dancing the Turkey Trot while on the job.
1913 - Igor Stravinsky's composition "The Rite of Spring" premiered in Paris.
1942 - Bing Crosby, the Ken Darby Singers and John Scott Trotter Orchestra recorded Irving Berlin's "White Christmas."
1951 - C.F. Blair became the first man to fly over the North Pole in single engine plane.
1953 - Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became first men to reach the top of Mount Everest.
1962 - Buck (John) O’Neil became the first black coach in major league baseball when he accepted the job with the Chicago Cubs.
1969 - The debut album "Crosby, Stills and Nash" was released.
2001 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that disabled golfer Casey Martin could use a cart to ride in tournaments.
Born, 1903
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003)
Hope won an amateur talent contest for his Charlie Chaplin
impersonation in 1915. In 1997, the U.S. Congress declared
him the "first and only honorary veteran of the U.S. armed
forces."
impersonation in 1915. In 1997, the U.S. Congress declared
him the "first and only honorary veteran of the U.S. armed
forces."
1928, Debut of All Color All Talking Movie
The musical film On with the Show! was released by Warner Bros. It is noted as
the first ever all-talking, all-color feature length movie, and the second color
movie released by Warner Bros. Unfortunately, only black and white copies
survived.
the first ever all-talking, all-color feature length movie, and the second color
movie released by Warner Bros. Unfortunately, only black and white copies
survived.
DAILY SQU-EEK
If You Were Born Today, May 29
You are an "idea person" with a sharp mind and a gift for gab. You are exceptionally passionate and quite idealistic about love, which can lead to ups and downs in your love life. You exude strength of character, although sometimes your harder outer "shell" can hide a person with many soft corners inside. Famous people born today: John F. Kennedy, Bob Hope, La Toya Jackson, Melissa Etheridge, Annette Bening.
| Picture of the day | |
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The head of an impact sprinkler, a type of irrigation sprinkler in which the sprinkler head, driven in a circular motion by the force of the outgoing water, pivots on a bearing on top of its threaded attachment nut. Invented in 1935 by Orton Englehardt, it quickly found widespread use.
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Bird Feeders
Photograph by Abderazak Tissoukai, National Geographic
Abderazak Tissoukai was near Xingping in China’s Guanxi region when he captured this picture of a cormorant fisherman at sunset. “Xingping is definitely one the most beautiful places in China, with its scenic karst landscapes [and] traditional and genuine people,” he writes. Curious to learn more about the local practice of cormorant fishing—in which trained birds with snared throats capture fish they’re unable to swallow—Tissoukai took a high-speed train from Zhuhai to Xingping to shoot fishermen on the Li River. “I wanted a complete, iconic definition of cormorant fishing,” he writes.
knit (must log in)
Eyelet Swing Cardi
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Over 6,000 Free Patterns on LionBrand.com
Discover over 800 yarns and 6,000 free knit, crochet, and craft patterns on LionBrand.com. Discover the perfect pattern for you.
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Kittens snuggling
crochet
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crochet (must log in)
Beach Cover Up
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crochet
crochet
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Jay's Boutique Blog: FREE PATTERN: Comfy Toddler Sa...
50 yards worsted weight yarn (I used Vanna's Choice in Barley) - color B G (4.00mm) crochet hook or size 7 (4.5mm) crochet hook (depending on how loos...
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crochet
cutest puppy tickle
RECIPE
Pan-seared polenta with kale and marinara
today food
Casey Barber
Bored with the same old pasta and sauce routine? Mix things up with these crispy Italian corn cakes topped with marinara. They're kid-friendly but elegant enough for a family-style appetizer at a dinner party.
Makes 4 servings
- 1 18-oz. tube precooked polenta (or make your own; see below)
- 3-4 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 large bunch kale, rinsed, stems removed
- 1 25-oz. jar of your favorite marinara sauce
Slice the polenta into 16 rounds.
Heat a large, high-sided skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat and add 1 teaspoon olive oil, swirling to cover the bottom of the pan.
Add a layer of polenta rounds and pan-fry until crispy and golden brown, cooking for about 4-5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the additional olive oil and polenta rounds.
Reduce the heat to medium low and add the kale to the same skillet (a few handfuls at a time, if it doesn't all fit in one batch). Toss with tongs until the kale is wilted, about 2-3 minutes.
Stir in the marinara sauce and 1 cup water, and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, until the kale is tender.
Return the polenta to the pan to briefly reheat, then serve immediately.
To make polenta from scratch:
Bring 1 quart (4 cups) water to a boil and add 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Whisk in 1 cup dried polenta and reduce the heat to low. Whisk frequently for 30-45 minutes, until the water is fully absorbed and the polenta is tender.
Pour the cooked polenta into a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Allow to cool completely in the refrigerator, then slice into squares and pan-sear as above.
CROCKPOT RECIPE
stpehanie o'dea
CrockPot Vietnamese Pho Soup Recipe
This is good.You should make some. I think one of the best things about making this soup was the day of jokes. The jokes rock. "You made this? Pho reals?" "Pho sure I did."
Every Monday Adam goes out to lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant and has pho. I've never gone out for pho, and he has never brought me back any. After about the sixteenth week, I stopped secretly hoping he'd bring me some and started whining about it out loud.
I was thrilled when I discovered Erin's blog and read her Pho recipe. I could tell that it would transfer nicely to slow crockpot cooking, and was excited to have some pho of my own.
The Ingredients.
--2 inch chunk of ginger (I just read that Erin said to use 1/4-1/2 inch of peeled ginger. oops. I didn't peel and just threw a hunk in)
--3/4 t anise
--1 cinnamon stick
--2 sliced green onions
--1 lb thin sliced beef (I used stir-fry meat from the butcher)
--package of rice noodles (usually in the ethnic aisle in the grocery store)
--1 t fish sauce (anchovies, salt, water. ethnic aisle again. it smells horrible.)
--1/2 t kosher salt
--1/2 t black pepper
The Directions.
Put all of the broth into the crockpot. Add the meat, green onion, ginger, fish sauce, and spices. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 4-6. It's done when the meat is fully cooked. I used a 6qt Smart Pot for this recipe and it took a good 4 hours on high for the large amount of broth in my crock to get hot enough to cook the meat.
15 minutes before serving, add the entire package of rice noodles to the pot. Push them under the liquid with a wooden spoon, and cover.
By the time you set the table, the noodles will be tender and glass-like. Serve in bowls. We didn't add any additional garnish, but you can add bean sprouts, fresh cilantro or basil, and lime wedges.
The Verdict.
This has a very nice mellow flavor. I loved the hint of anise (tastes like black licorice) and the cinnamon. I needed to add more salt because I used the homemade stock as the base. Adam said it tasted the same as the restaurant's, but not as oily or as salty. The next day the flavors were even more pronounced (but the noodles got weird. Next time I'm not going to add all the noodles at once) and made a lovely lunch. The night I prepared this, we had company and the children were playing too hard to stop and give it a taste test. But the little one ate quite a bit the next day for lunch.
PUZZLE
CHILDREN'S CORNER .. coloring pages
CRAFT
QUOTE
Artist’s Painted Portraits Look More Like High-Definition Photographs
By Sumitra
Italian artist Marco Grassi paints portraits of women that are so perfect, down to the fine hair lines, pores and freckles on the skin that people often mistake them for photographs.
However, Grassi differentiates himself from other hyper-realist painters by giving his artworks a surreal twist. In one painting, for example, his subject’s back is adorned with a tribal motif that seems carved into her back revealing a hollow interior. Other of his ‘surreal hyper-realistic” include a woman with spectacular glowing tattoos that seem to emerge from her skin, or another with a futuristic glass necklace around her neck. Although his human subjects appear photographed, it’s these little impossible details that give them away as paintings.
"Good Morning" in Arabic (N Africa, Middle East) - Sabaah al-khayr
CLEVER
One Simple Trick To Dehydrate Fruit At Home
family health freedom network
Do you like candy? Don’t answer that. Either you’ll say “no” and you’ll be lying, or you’ll say “yes” and you’ll want to grab a bag of candies and start eating. But candies are full of refined sugars, glucose, fructose, and other harmful ingredients. So how do you satisfy your sweet-tooth?
Dehydrated fruit is a great treat. The natural sugars in fruits make them sweet, making them the perfect snack. But have you bought dehydrated fruit from the grocery store recently? It’s expensive. It comes in excess packaging. And there could be sugars and other added ingredients.
DEHYDRATING FRUIT AT HOME IS EASY
You don’t need to buy an expensive dehydrator. It may take a little while, but your oven works just fine. All you need to do is bake at a low heat for a long time. Using a higher heat will take out more moisture and a lower heat will leave the fruit pieces slightly chewier.
It’s your candy – so make it how you want! Here’s the very simple instructions, along with a few different fruits that are easily dehydrated. They’re great as a snack in your kids’ lunch, a mid-morning pick-me-up, or even in a nice, healthy dessert.
HOW TO DEHYDRATE FRUIT
- Set your oven to 135-200℉ – any hotter and you’ll be baking instead of dehydrating.
- Clean, core & stem your fruits. You don’t need to peel them, but can if you wish. Some (apples, bananas, etc…) need to be sliced. The thickness of the slice determines how quickly the fruits will dehydrate.
- Place the fruit on a dehydrator sheet or oven sheet, and into the oven. Most fruits take several (6-10) hours to dehydrate. Some may take longer.
- None of these times and temperatures are set in stone. Play around with heating, timing, and consistency; check often, and perfect your recipe!
Apples
Apples take anywhere from 10-20 hours to fully dry in the oven, depending on the type of apple and how thick they’re sliced. If your oven is set higher than 200℉ you’ll probably end up with apple chips (which are also delicious).
Sweet flavorful apples are said to work best. Here’s a list of which apple types are best to dehydrate:
- Gala
- Fuji
- Golden Delicious
- MacIntosh (my fave)
- Whatever your favorite is!
Cherries & Berries
Blueberries, cranberries, and strawberries all do very well in the oven and take very little effort to prepare: just spread them out on a baking tray and toss it into the oven. Cherries need to be pitted before going in the oven.
Set your oven to 135℉ and bake cherries or berries for 10 hours. You can reduce the time to 6-8 hours by upping the oven to 200℉ – just be sure to check more often to ensure you get the texture you’re aiming for.
Bananas
Peel and cut your bananas to whatever thickness you desire. Set your oven to the lowest setting (125-200℉) to avoid scorching or burning the outsides. The longer you leave banana slices in the oven, the more likely you are to get banana chips.
Most tutorials say to dip the bananas (and other fruits) in lemon juice to kill bacteria and prep it properly for dehydrating.
Enjoy your homemade candies. And if you bake the fruit for too long, enjoy your homemade chips.
EYE OPENER
Loved the old black and white photographs. We certainly do have it much easier today! I enjoy being able to take 400-500 digital photos and not have to pay for processing nor find a place to house and organize real prints. Hope you had a good birthday yesterday!
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