Rare Disease Day is an observance held on the last day of February to raise awareness about diseases that most people will not know of, as well as to improve access to treatment. EURORDIS (The European Organization for Rare Diseases) says that treatment for many rare diseases is insufficient, and some people’s quality of life is greatly hindered by inequality, simply because people have never heard of their disease, or do not understand the disease and the patient’s needs. Since 2008, EURORDIS has been putting in place social networks to help support individuals with rare diseases and their families, as well as Coordinating events for Rare Disease Day at an international level.
2010 featured balloon releases, marathons, auctions and tree planting events to raise awareness, and each year people affected by rare diseases are encouraged to share pictures and their stories with the world.
thanks, shelley
Word of the Day
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| Definition: | (noun) A woman's loose-fitting dressing gown. | ||
| Synonyms: | neglige, wrapper, housecoat | ||
| Usage: | The tears came so fast to Mrs. Pontellier's eyes that the damp sleeve of her peignoir no longer served to dry them. | ||
Idiom of the Day
arm candy— An especially attractive person who acts as a romantic escort or date to social events, but who is not romantically attached to or involved with the person he or she is accompanying. |
History
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 | Hattie McDaniel was an African-American singer-songwriter, comedienne, stage actress, radio performer, and television star. She appeared in over 300 films and is best known for her role as Mammy in the iconic 1939 film Gone with the Wind, a performance that earned her the first Academy Award ever presented to an African American. McDaniel's Oscar was later lost | ||
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 | Shore was an American singer, actress, and TV personality who enjoyed widespread popularity during the Big Band era of the 1940s and 50s. She was the first singer of the era to achieve success as a solo artist, producing over 80 hit songs, including "Baby It's Cold Outside," before beginning a four-decade career in television. Shore was a hit with TV audiences as well and went on to earn nine Emmys, a Peabody Award, and a Golden Globe | ||
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 | The Earth actually takes longer than 365 days to complete its trip around the Sun—five hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds longer, to be precise. To accommodate this discrepancy, an extra day is added to the Gregorian calendar at the end of February every four years. The year in which this occurs is called Leap Year, probably because the English courts did not always recognize February 29, and the date was often "leaped over" in the records. There was an old tradition that women could propose marriage to men during Leap Year. The men had to pay a forfeit if they refused. | ||
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 | A 26-year-old patient is the nation's first recipient of a uterus transplant, doctors from the Cleveland Clinic announced on Thursday. | ||
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1302: the title characters -- Romeo and Juliet -- were married this day according to William Shakespeare.
1909: the first gold medal to a perfect-score bowler was awarded to A.C. Jellison by the American Bowling Congress.
1930: William Howard Taft became the first U.S. President to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Taft weighed over 300 pounds at his death.
1969: Levi-Strauss started selling bell-bottom jeans.
1993: Janet Reno was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to become the first female attorney general.
2010 - In Japan, the Tokyo Skytree tower was completed as the tallest tower in the world.
DAILY SQU-EEK
If You Were Born Today, February 29
You are a highly creative and sensitive person with a special, quiet magnetic appeal. You are loyal in partnership and often give more than you receive. You can be somewhat crisis-oriented, as you instinctively move towards new learning experiences. Your main challenge in life is to put the past behind you and to avoid letting worries and fear rule your life. While you are an eternal student of human nature and of life itself, you have much to teach others. Famous people born today: Dinah Shore, Tony Robbins, Antonio Sabato Jr., Joss Ackland, Dennis Farina, Ja Rule.
| Picture of the day | |
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The Lagoon Nebula is a giant interstellar cloud in the constellation Sagittarius. It is classified as an emission nebula and as a H II region. Discovered by Giovanni Hodierna before 1654, it is one of only two star-forming nebulae faintly visible to the naked eye from mid-northern latitudes. Seen with binoculars, it appears as a distinct oval cloudlike patch with a definite core. In the foreground is the open cluster NGC 6530.
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Celestial Spin
Photograph by Alexander Grabchilev, National Geographic
Alexander Grabchilev submitted this image of star trails over Karnataka, India. He made this photo while visiting Hampi, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the location of the extensive ruins of the Hindu city of Vijayanagar, built in the 14th through 16th centuries.
Grabchilev explains his process for photographing the star trails: “I [did] about a hundred shots with a 40-second exposure, one by one, and [the shots were] stitched in post-processing.”
knit
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Totally biased ! pattern by Susan Ashcroft
This is a quick and easy knit - perfect for long-striping or handpainted yarns.
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Nocturne Aran Diagonal Jacket pattern by Sandi Rosner & ...
This cozy cardigan makes a great indoor or outdoor jacket. It features a mitered design in garter stitch to flatter and fit well.
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Merry-Go-Round Potholder #9225 pattern by The Spool ...
Knit-Cro-Sheen (Size 10) by J&P Coats Thread 100% Cotton 150 yards average rating from 198 votes 1228 projects stashed 1354 times
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Finger Cozy tutorial pattern by MoonSc
hook it! add to faves to queue free! download About this pattern Finger Cozy tutorial by MoonSc no projects, in 10 queues More from MoonSc Mr. Wolf am...
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RECIPE
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CROCKPOT RECIPE
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A Busy Mom's Slow Cooker Adventures: Crock Pot Chicke...
One of my absolute downfalls is Chineese food! I love a good Chineese take-out! Chicken Chow Mein is one of my favorite dishes. I made a healthy version of...
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CRAFTS
With the exception of the ball of rag yarn I made (foreground) from that old hello kitty sheet that had been hanging around for too long, the resulting rag yarn is a bit lacking as far as colors that I prefer to work with, but one can never have too many balls of rag yarn, as once a rug is underway, some more "yarn" no matter what the color is always appreciated!
How To Make Yarn From Sheets And Pillowcases:
- Raid your linen closet, or the attic in my case, and find some linens that have seen better days.
- Make rag yarn from pillowcases by simply cutting off the closed end and the end that may be doubled over, and then starting at one of the openings, simple cut a spiral around and around, making sure to keep the width as even as possible. Roll into a small ball and voila!
- To make rag yarn from sheets, either flat or fitter, remove seams and elastic, and then starting at one edge either cut around the perimeter, making a flat spiral, or tear from corner to corner. Once you reach the middle of the sheet, you will likely have to cut strips, which can be attached by sewing them together or with my preferred method of cutting slits in each end and passing one strip through the other as follows:
- Join strips by cutting small slits in each end and then joining with slip knot. (Pull strip A through strip B just a bit, and then pull the long end of strip A through itself. To attach a prepared ball to work in progress you'll need to make a slit big enough to slip the whole ball through, but this gets lost in the crocheting, so don't worry.
That is really it, unless you have comforter covers to cut up, my favorite, which I generally cut in the same way that has been used to make t-shirt yarn
CHILDREN'S CORNER ... craft
How to Make a Shoelace Ladder Bracelet
PUZZLE
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QUOTE
CLEVER
Roman general Julius Caesar introduced Leap Years in the Roman empire over 2000 years ago. But the Julian calendar had only one rule: any year evenly divisible by 4 would be a leap year. This led to way too many leap years, but didn't get corrected until the introduction of the Gregorian calendar more than 1500 years later.
EYE OPENER
15 Ways to Re-purpose Plastic Bags
bamail
In recent years, we have seen (in most parts of the Western world) laws introduced to control the use of plastic bags, in an attempt to encourage us to reuse and recycle them. Nevertheless, this has not been introduced everywhere and those of us who do not dispose of our plastic bags, end up with scores of unused bags at home. So, what can you do to reuse both plastic bags, and plastic zipper bags?
These 15 ways may surprise you.
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In the kitchen:
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1. Use a plastic bag to store buns, cookies, and bread to keep them fresh for longer. In which case, a zipper plastic bag would be more ideal - allowing you to reuse the same bag over and over again.
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2. When peeling your vegetables, do so over a plastic bag - to make separate your waste all the more easier. This will also allow you to easily transport peels to your compost bin.
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3. When working with especially messy foods, put a couple of plastic bags over your hands - a great alternative for gloves.
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4. When defrosting meat and placing it in the fridge, put it in a plastic bag to keep the juices from spilling onto other foods.
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In the bathroom:
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5. When you want to read in a bathtub, place your tablet or phone in a zipper bag.
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6. One way to remove soap scum and mildew from your shower head is to fill a plastic bag with distilled vinegar and tie it around your shower head.
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| 7. If you've got any leftover slivers from soap bars, put them into a plastic bag. When the bag is full, melt the pieces together to create a new bar of soap. |
In the garden:
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8. Cut a plastic bag in half and use it to protect your knees from getting dirty when weeding the garden.
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| 9. Help plants sprout by covering small pots with plastic bags to create a mini greenhouse. |
Around the house:
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| 10. Fill a plastic bag with a damp cloth and put it in the freezer - a smart way to create a DIY ice pack. |
| 11. Use small plastic bags to store craft supplies like sequins, sticker, glue, so on and so forth. |
In the car:
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12. For a makeshift trash can, tie a plastic bag to the back of a headrest.
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| 13. To keep ice and snow from accumulating on your side mirrors and windshield wipers, wrap them up in plastic bags. |
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When traveling:
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| 14. To keep your shoes from getting scuffled and to keep other items in your suitcase from getting dirty, pack them in a plastic bag. |
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| 15. Carry an extra plastic bag with you to store dirty clothes and underwear. |
