DIANE'S CORNER ... Celebrate Meatball Day

Just the word meatball is enough to bring to mind great family meals for most people. These little balls of various meats can be found throughout the world in almost every culture. Most people may associate them with Italian cuisine, though spaghetti and meatballs is an American dish. No matter your background, you can jump in and enjoy Meatball Day!

History of Meatball Day

There are many times in history that meatballs have been recorded in culinary records. In Turkey, there is a dish called kofte which has many different variations. In China, there is a record of a recipe that can date back to 221 BC! Ancient Rome can add a claim to meatballs as there is a surviving cookbook that holds a variety of recipes with balls of meat. It’s easy to see that people have been enjoying meatballs for a very long time.

Meatballs are made by taking ground or minced meat that has been mixed with spices, breadcrumbs, eggs or other ingredients and then rolled into a ball to be cooked. Cooking methods vary and include frying, braising, or baking. There is no wring way to choose to make your version of the meatball. Just remember to make a large enough batch so that all your friends and family will get to try them!

Cute facts about cats and kittens

Americans really love their pet cats. There are approximately 14 million more house cats than dogs in the US.

Joke of the Day

THE WORD IMPOSSIBLE

Boss: “The word 'Impossible' does not exist in my dictionary!”

Secretary: “Well Sir, maybe you should have checked it first before buying it.”

Male cats are called toms and females are called queens or mollies

Word of the Day

quidditative

MEANING:

adjective: Relating to the essential nature of something or someone.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin quid (what), which also gave us quidnunc, quid pro quo, and quiddity. Earliest documented use: 1600.

USAGE:

“And if a butterflying pair of wings can precipitate disaster at the other edge of the world, are those not the real angels to oppose God? Aren’t they the ones who can never be allowed into heaven? And isn’t that why they have beauty that nothing shares, totally quidditative?”
Alec McGuire; Luther; demiHorse Books; 2009.

According to statistics, cat owners are healthier than those without cats. The risk of heart attack is cut by a third among people who have a pet cat.

Idiom of the Day

(A) TASTE OF ONE’S OWN MEDICINE

When someone does something unpleasant and the same is wished on him/her
My boss is a real bully. Someone should give her a taste of her own medicine!

It’s not a flock, it’s not a herd – a group of cats together is known as a ‘clowder’.

This Day in History

1454 - Amerigo Vespucci was born in Florence, Italy. Matthias Ringmann, a German mapmaker, named the American continent in his honor.

1793 - Jean Pierre Blanchard made the first balloon flight in North America. The event was witnessed by U.S. President George Washington.

1822 - Charles M. Graham received the first patent for artificial teeth.

1858 - Albert Potts was awarded a patent for the letter box.

1863 - General Ulysses Grant was appointed commander-in-chief of the Union forces.

1905 - In Egypt, U.S. archeologist Davies discovered the royal tombs of Tua and Yua.

1949 - The first all-electric dining car was placed in service on the Illinois Central Railroad.

1959 - Mattel introduced Barbie at the annual Toy Fair in New York.

1964 - Production began on the first Ford Mustang.

1969 - "The Smothers Brothers' Comedy Hour" was canceled by CBS-TV.


1990 - Dr. Antonia Novello was sworn in as the first female and Hispanic surgeon general.


2011 - Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation that abolished the death penalty in his state.

thanks, Alice

DAILY SQU-EEK

If You Were Born Today, March 9

You are an imaginative person who is also resolute and determined, so you can go very far in life. There are many extremes in your nature, and you tend to go through a lot of ups and downs on an emotional level. You often have impulsive mood changes. Love improves when you learn to be a little less accommodating. Your career is extremely important to you, and you are likely to be very successful. Self-mastery is a goal, and you are always searching for ways to improve and grow. Famous people born today: 

1824 Leland Stanford, American business tycoon (Southern Pacific Railroad), 8th Governor of California and founder of Stanford University, born in Watervliet, New York (d. 1893)

1910 Samuel Barber, American composer (School for Scandal), born in West Chester, Pennsylvania (d. 1981)

1930 Ornette Coleman, American jazz saxophonist and composer (Downbeat Musician of Year 1966), born in Fort Worth, Texas (d. 2015)

1934 Yuri Gagarin, Russian cosmonaut and 1st man into space (aboard Vostok 1), born in Klushino, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (d. 1968)

1943 Bobby Fischer, American chess player (world champion (1972-75), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2008)

READERS INFO

1.

(Not So) Totally Useless Facts of The Day:

In the 1960s, seven ‘respiratory polios’ in Edmonton’s University Hospital worked with the universitys Computing Science department to become computer programmers, to give them a ‘very real hope of useful and gainful employment.’

The rosy-cheeked woman in the Allentown Art Museum was initially attributed to Rembrandt, but experts downgraded it to a painting by his studio. Now, restoration has confirmed the original assessment: Portrait of a Young Woman, 1632, was in fact painted by Rembrandt himself.

Peter Mayhew was given the choice of either Chewbacca or Darth Vader roles. He went for Chewbacca because he wanted to play a hero.

2.

1959 -

Ruth Mosko Handler unveiled the Barbie Doll at the International American Toy Fair in New York. It is one of the most loved, emulated and criticized toys of the 20th Century. 

3.

Embroidery Idea:

Cats are thought to be pretty smart, and with a brain 90% similar to the human brain, it’s no surprise.

Pictures of the day

The Portrait of Comtesse d'Haussonville is an 1845 oil-on- canvas painting by French Neoclassical artist Jean-Auguste- Dominique Ingres. Although more interested in depicting  historical scenes, Ingres received few commissions for them,  and found that he could better support his family if he painted  portraits instead. By 1845, he was at the height of his fame as  a portrait painter, and accepted a commission to paint Louise  de Broglie, Countess d'Haussonville. She was 27 at the time;  Ingres had sketched her with black chalk as a preparatory  drawing two or three years earlier, and begun an oil-on-canvas painting, but that was abandoned when she became pregnant  with her third child and was thus unable to pose further. Ingres's new portrait differs from the original in showing her facing the  opposite direction and introducing her reflection in a mirror. The  countess found the long and slow sittings wearisome, at one stage  complaining that "for the last nine days Ingres has been painting  on one of the hands". The painting is now part of the Frick  Collection in New York City.

Upernavik, Greenland

Upernavik is a fishing village on a tiny island in west Greenland. Historically, Greenlandic buildings were painted different colors to indicate different functions, from red storefronts to blue fishermen’s homes—a useful distinction when the landscape is blanketed in snow. 

When Abraham Lincoln was US President, he had four pet cats who lived with him in the White House.

knit ... Easter
thanks, Vicky

Easter Eggs pattern by Julie Williams

knit ... St. Patrick's Day
thanks, Nancy

Shamrock bookmark pattern by Sandra Jäger

knit

Pattern of the Month

knit

ISSUEss19 ** Pompompop

knit

Snowflake pattern by Sharon Winsauer

The record for the largest number of kittens in the same litter was 19.

Knit Pattern of the Day: 

thanks, Valerie, Canadian Correspondent

Easter Bunny Dolly

Mom's Easy Lace Stole pattern by Louis Chicquette

There are about 70 different cat breeds and a staggering 500 million pet cats in the world.
crochet ... Easter

thanks, Gabby

Toddler sweater

crochet
thanks, Helen

Fro Yo Triangle Scarf

crochet

Puff Stitch Heart Afghan Square

crochet

Cable Knit Beanie pattern with earflaps - child

crochet

Tapestry Square Afghan Project

The front paws of a cat are different from the back paws. They have five toes on the front but only four on the back.

RECIPE

thanks, Shelley, New York Food Correspondent

Roasted Zucchini With Garlicky Bread Crumbs and Mozzarella Recipe

The kidneys of a cat are quite amazing, since they can filter water before using it. This means that a cat can drink sea water and the salt will be filtered out.

CROCKPOT RECIPE
thanks, Marge

Slow-Cooker Chicken Thighs

It’s not just humans who are right-handed or left-handed. Most female cats prefer using their right paw, while male are more likely to be ‘left-pawed’.

SWEETS

thanks, Helen

Four Ingredient Cookie Pie

The oldest cat to give birth to kittens was called Kitty. She was 30 years old when she birthed her last kittens.

ADULT COLORING

Ever noticed your cat sleeping most of the time? On average, cats sleep for about 16 hours per day.

CRAFTS

thanks, Stella

DIY Oil Diffuser

A ‘haw’ is the third eyelid of a cat, which might only be seen when the cat isn’t well.

CHILDREN'S CORNER ... cooking

thanks, Betty

2-Ingredient Banana Pancakes (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Paleo)

When you see a cat rubbing up against a human, it is being affectionate but also marking its territory to make other cats aware.

PUZZLE

Pine Cone Fish Jigsaw Puzzle


Dogs make 10 different sounds, while cats can make as many as 100 different noises.

WORD SEARCH

artist average balcony become below block climate concept crack

drain emission flimsy hall inside invite

leak lien mares marker mining mope patch porch promote

recover remind renew responsible school screen sector seven sheep

slogan smirk song swing troll wrote zeal

House cats can run at a speed of 30 miles per hour.

SUDOKU ... very hard

solution:

London was the home of the first ever cat show. It took place in 1871 and started a trend which has continued ever since.

QUOTE

thanks, Joan

Taurine is an amino acid which can be found in cat food. Without this substance, your pet cat would eventually go blind.

Many cat owners take their pets to the vet to be neutered, and by doing so, increase the life expectancy of their pets by 2-3 years.

CLEVER 

Put a sheet under car-seats

If you have small kids in your family, you more than likely have a car seat. When you remove that car seat, you usually see everything your kid dropped and left behind – for better or for worse.

You’re busy and don’t want to have to clean the car all the time. So put a sheet underneath, and that way when things fall through the car seat, the sheet will collect everything for you.

Cats’ hearts beat at a rate of 110-140 beats per minutes – around twice as fast as the average human.

EYE OPENER 

thanks, Judy

THE WORLD'S LARGEST OPEN ACCESS DIGITAL ACHIEVE -

DEDICATED TO LIFE ON EARTH

Biodiversity Heritage Library

‘Mau’ is the Egyptian word for cat, and the oldest surviving cat breed is known as the Egyptian Mau, translated to mean the ‘Egyptian cat’.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Why should a poet pray thus? poets scorn / The boundaried love of country, being free / Of winds, and alien lands, and distances, / Vagabonds of the compass, wayfarers, / Pilgrims of thought. -Vita Sackville-West, poet and novelist (9 Mar 1892-1962)

Ancient Egyptian cat owners would shave off their eyebrows when mourning for their dead kitties.

OPTICAL ILLUSION

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