No one can win hearts like man’s best friend and in honor of this bond between man and canine, Dog Day is celebrated.
Take time to appreciate the love and value that dogs bring to our daily lives, and to do your bit for homeless and abused dogs the world over. From keeping us safe working for the emergency services to supporting people who are blind, deaf or disabled, dogs do a lot for us humans, and this is an opportunity to give something back.
Recommendations for ways to celebrate Dog Day range from adopting a dog from a rescue home to giving your dog a holistic spa treatment or even buying yourself and your dog matching t-shirts.
The National Dog Day Foundation supports all breeds and varieties of dogs and discourages purchasing from unethical backyard breeders and puppy mills; instead, support reputable breeders or adopt from rescue homes.
Word of the Day
| |||
| Definition: | (noun) The quality or condition of being weakened, worn out, impaired, or broken down by old age, illness, or hard use. | ||
| Synonyms: | dilapidation | ||
| Usage: | Despite his sixty years and snow-white hair, his handshake was firmly hearty, and he showed no signs of decrepitude. | ||
History
| |||
 | Adopted by France's National Assembly in 1789, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen contains the principles that inspired the French Revolution. Influenced by the American Declaration of Independence, it serves as the preamble to France's Constitution of 1791. It guarantees rights to liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression, as well as freedom of speech and of the press | ||
| |||
 | Apollinaire was a French poet who developed a casual, lyrical poetic style characterized by a blend of modern and traditional images and verse techniques. His poetry was marked by daring technical experiments, and his use of unusual verbal associations and word patterns to create surprise is often considered the start of Surrealism. | ||
| |||
 | Regardless of which legend one believes, what began in 1945 as a few tossed tomatoes as a show of disdain has developed into full-fledged tomato warfare inBuñol, Valencia, Spain, on the last Wednesday in August. Residents prepare for the impending food fight by protecting their storefronts and homes with plastic and donning special clothing. Thousands of pounds of tomatoes are trucked into town and dropped off at the Plaza del Pueblo, and the light-hearted battle commences. After the cleanup, celebrants continue to enjoy the festival's fireworks, parades, food, and music. | ||
| |||
 | Spirits arrived at the International Space Station on Monday. Not the ghostly ones, but the kind you drink -- distilled spirits. A Japanese company known for its whiskey and other alcoholic beverages included five types of distilled spirits in the space station cargo ship. | ||
 | |||||||
Japan Delivers Whiskey to Space station_ for Science
Spirits arrived at the International Space Station on Monday. Not the ghostly ones, but the kind you drink -- distilled spirits. The six astronauts won't be sn...
| |||||||
1498 - Michelangelo was commissioned to make the "Pieta."
1873 - The school board of St. Louis, MO, authorized the first U.S. public kindergarten
1939 - The first televised major league baseball games were shown. The event was a double-header between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers.
1947 - Don Bankhead became the first black pitcher in major league baseball.
1961 - The International Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto opened.
1987 - Sonny Bono announced that he was running for mayor of Palm Springs, CA. He won the election.
DAILY SQU-EEK
If You Were Born Today, August 26
You have a warm, mischievous, likeable, and charismatic personality. Stability and security are extremely important to you, and you can be very practical and realistic. However, you have a dramatic streak and a craving for excitement which keep you moving forward. You have a strong character, but rarely a dominating one. People see you as sincere and humble. While there can be insecurities and worries in your youth, you are positive and growth-oriented, and many of you learn to get past them. You have a strong desire to be a master in whatever work you do, and you can usually succeed, but it typically comes when you let go of the desire and instead focus on working hard and enjoying yourself. Your emotions are powerful and you can be impulsive at times, but if you are able to channel this power into passion and focus, you can move mountains. You love to entertain and make people happy. Partnership is important to you, and you may even feel somewhat lost without it. You seek stability in love, and you have staying power in relationships. Famous people born today: Macaulay Culkin, Mother Theresa, Chris Burke, Dylan O'Brien, Chris Pine, Melissa McCarthy, Amanda Schull.
| Picture of the day | |
 |
All Saints Church is an Anglican church in the village of Odiham, Hampshire. The oldest visible parts of the current church, the chance land the base of the tower, date back to the 13th century; several additions, including the tower and the nave, were built over subsequent centuries.English Heritage has designated the All Saints Church as a grade I listed building.
|
The Pinch of Salt
Photograph by Jino Lee, National Geographic
“Salt farming is sadly a dying trade in Bali,” writes Jino Lee. But on the east side of the Indonesian island, Lee says, a small and declining number of salt farmers still plies the trade today.
knit
Cabled e-Reader Cozy
knit
 | |||||||
Big Waves Throw - Patterns | Yarnspirations
Get cozy with this quick and easy ripple blanket, knit in Bernat Mega Bulky.
| |||||||
knit
 | |||||||
susan in stitches: Bluebell Bootees
EDIT : my friend Jejeune has turned this pattern into a PDF which you will find here I LOVE the people at Patons Australia.
| |||||||
knit
 | |||||||
Java Flower Coasters pattern by Lusted to Wander
A new version of this pattern has been published - your Java Flowers will now be Flat!
| |||||||
knit
 | |||||||
Ten Stitch Wrap pattern by Frankie Brown
This wrap is a development of my Ten Stitch Wave pattern. A ten stitch wide strip is shaped with short rows and joined as you go to make a versatile shawl. T...
| |||||||
crochet
 | |||||||
FREE PATTERN - Bracelet in Cream, Maroon and Olive ...
FREE PATTERN - Bracelet in Cream, Maroon and Olive Green by Melbangel Published in Nicely Created For You Craft Crochet Category Jewelry → Bracelet...
| |||||||
crochet
 | |||||||
Crochet Bow Slippers pattern by Little Miss Stitcher
I made these slippers to fit my feet. I am a size women’s 5 (also a size 3 in girls) in U.S. sizing
| |||||||
crochet
crochet
 | |||||||
crochet
 | |||||||
Up cycled Crochet Dress pattern by Annoo Crochet
A big Stain of Blueberries on her T-shirt? No problem, since it was on the lower part of the belly, I decided to Up-cycle it, and turn it into an adorable Spring...
| |||||||
RECIPE
 | |||||||
100% Healthy - Veggie Popsicles - Kids Activities Blog
If you want your kids to eat more veggies this is the way to go! 100% fruit and veggie popsicles. These have zero added sugar, are colorful and YUMMY!
| |||||||
CROCKPOT RECIPE
stephanie o'dea
CrockPot Refried Beans Recipe
We eat a lot of refried beans in our house. The kids love them in simple bean and cheese burritos, and Adam I like them covered in salsa for an afternoon snack.
We also have also have a 25-pound sack of pinto beans that lives in our garage. I think we've probably moved with the beans twice.
I bought the bag at a restaurant supply store when I taught preschool and was planning on starting a preschool or home school co-op in our home. Kids really like playing with beans---it's a great sensory activity and it's soothing to pour the beans back and forth between measuring cups and feel them falling through fingertips.
Anyhow, we were out of refried beans the other day, so I decided to make my own. Don't worry, I didn't use the beans the kids had been playing with. The rest of the bag was tightly sealed.
The Ingredients.
--2 cups of dried pinto beans that have been picked through to get all the broken and funky-looking pieces taken out
--water
--1 1/2 yellow onions
--1 1/2 red onions
--10 whole garlic cloves
--2 tsp cumin
--1 tsp coriander
The Directions.
You will need to soak the beans overnight. Not only will this soften them better, but it will help release the gas.
Rinse the beans well in a colander, and dump into the crockpot. Add enough water so the beans are fully immersed, with an two to three inches of water on top. Put the lid on your crockpot. Do not turn on.
Let them soak.
In the morning, drain and rinse the beans under cold running water.
Put them back in the crockpot with enough clean water to cover the beans with about an inch of water.
Stir in the cumin and coriander.
Peel and cut the onions in half, and put them in the crockpot. Peel all of the garlic, but toss them in whole.
Cover the crock and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until the beans are tender.
I cooked ours for exactly 9 hours. The were soft, and some of the beans had split.
Fish out the onion and the garlic cloves. If you want to keep some of the garlic in for flavor, you may. It's your choice. If the beans are soft and you still have a bit of liquid left, carefully drain it, saving a little to help with the smooshing and for added flavor.
Using a potato smasher, or hand mixer, mash the beans.
Now you have two options. You can just start using the beans (the way I did, because I'm pretty darn lazy), or you can scoop hunks of smooshed beans out of the crock and fry them on the stove top with a bit of butter or olive oil (or lard (ick)). Your choice.
No salt was added, so you'll need to season to taste.
The Verdict.
These were surprisingly easy and tasty. The kids have been eating them for lunch. The next day they were a bit dried out, but a touch of warm water fixed that. I needed to add quite a bit of salt to make them taste like the canned variety. I have 4 baggies of ready-to-go beans in the freezer, which is great for after-school snacks.
CRAFT
Tab top dolls
CHILDREN'S CORNER ... craft
 | |||||||
Preview by Yahoo
| |||||||
PUZZLE
thanks, heide
 | |||||||
Bucket-o'-Yarn jigsaw puzzle
Bucket-o'-Yarn puzzle in Handmade jigsaw puzzles on TheJigsawPuzzles.com. Play full screen, enjoy Puzzle of the Day and thousands more.
| |||||||
Preview by Yahoo
| |||||||
QUOTE
The Land – A Different Kind of Playground Where Kids Get to Play with Fire and Take Risks
By Sumitra
‘The Land’ is a different kind of adventure playground in Wrexham, Wales, which doesn’t follow the traditional format of swings and slides. Instead, it allows kids to explore independence and take risks. The Land resembles a junk yard, where kids get to jump over barrels and into mud puddles, poke sticks into open fires, and hammer sharp nails into wooden planks.
“It’s shaped by children who attend,” said Claire Griffiths, play department manager at the Association of Voluntary Organisations, which manages The Land. “It’s open access provision so children come and go as they please. They build dens, saw, hammer; they create and they destroy.”
That pretty much sounds like a parent’s worst nightmare, but the concept is surprisingly popular. Most parents seem to agree that The Land offers a valuable childhood experience that has been missing for decades. It is the complete opposite of over-protective parenting that encourages children to stay indoors.
"Good Morning" in Yiddish (Russia, USA) - Ah gut morgen
CLEVER
thanks, patty
EYE OPENER
Oklahoma school replaces chalkboards, finds 98 year old drawings and lessons hidden behind them (14 Pics)
When contractors began work on four classrooms of Emerson High School in Oklahoma, they knew their remodel would improve education — but they never expected it would impact local history.Looking to upgrade the rooms with new whiteboards and smart boards, the workers had to first remove the outdated chalkboards. But when they began to pull away the old boards, they made a startling discoveryBeneath the current boards rested another set of chalkboards — untouched for nearly 100 years. Protected and totally undisturbed, the century-old writings and drawings looked like they were made just yesterday. Here, a November calendar rolls into December. A turkey marks the celebration of Thanksgiving.A multiplication table gives us a glimpse into the curriculum and methods taught in 1917, techniques perhaps lost in the passage of time. When regarding a wheel of multiplication, Principal Sherry Kishore told The Oklahoman, “I have never seen that technique in my life.”But Oklahoma City school officials aren’t just shocked by what is written, but how it is written. Penmanship like this is clearly a lost art. This board reads, “I give my head, my heart, and my life to my God and One nation indivisible with justice for all.”Within each of the four rooms, the subject matter and lessons mirrored one another — indicating, as an Oklahoma Public School Twitter caption reads, “aligned curriculum in 1917.”And though the boards’ style and subject matter might be unfamiliar to younger folks, they certainly resonate with older generations. Principal Kishore told The Oklahoman what it was like to show her 85-year-old mother the boards: “She just stood there and cried. She said it was exactly like her classroom was when she was going to school.”But these boards actually predate Principal Kishore’s mother by 13 years. Two dates were found on the boards: November 30, 1917, and December 4, 1917.Some of the writings and drawings were done by students, while others were made by teachers — but i’s not always clear whose is whose.Regardless, the work is a striking look into days long gone. While reading the boards — like this one listing “My Rules To Keep Clean” — the past comes alive in a very personal way.English teacher Cinthea Comer told The Oklahoman, “It was so eerie because the colors were so vibrant it looked like it was drawn the same day. To know that it was drawn 100 years ago… it’s like you’re going into a looking glass into the past.”Built in 1895, Emerson High School has seen many renovations and improvements throughout the years — but nothing like this has ever been discovered.When removing old chalkboards in the past, contractors have only found broken pipes and wires, so this is a shocking surprise. Oklahoma City and the school district are now working to preserve these beautiful boards.Hopefully, the spirit of these teachers and their students will be enjoyed for many years to come. Who knew that scribbles on a chalkboard could become such a precious piece of history.
Off to Odiham, Hampshire to check out the old church. Old churches have such presence and echoes of so many voices mingling.
ReplyDelete