Red Rose Day - June 12, 2020

DIANE'S CORNER ... Celebrate Red Rose Day

A well-known symbol of love in addition to being a beautiful and fragrant flower, it’s no wonder that Red Rose Day is such a popular occasion. Celebrating the many facets of the rose, Red Rose Day is a time for gardeners, florists, and romantics to come together and enjoy the rose in all its splendor. Red Rose Day gives fans a chance to see roses at their best, blooming in glorious abundance at the height of the season.

When it comes to roses, the choices are plenty, but with all of this choice comes great responsibility. If you are thinking of treating a lady or gentleman that happens to have botanical interests, you need to be mindful of the roses you choose.

First and foremost, let us address the small elephant in the digital room. If you are from across the water, roses can also mean a small cheap box of chocolates, 20% of which nobody will ever eat, unless you are hoping for a divorce, you should probably steer well clear of these.

Of course, when it comes to shopping for actual roses, you still need to be mindful. Roses are one of the international symbols of passion and love, but there are some roses, such as the Rosa violet Carson, which is often associated with death and getting closer to heaven.

Now, while you may approach the situation with the best intent, should you pass one of these beautiful rose hybrids to somebody with a little botanical knowledge, this situation is tantamount to visiting your parents with retirement home catalogs.

All joking aside, when it comes to the one flower that can place you into the embrace of another, or in some cases save you from a lengthy divorce, the rose really is that flower. The question most people seem to have at this point is about how a flower can have so much power, so let’s find out.

Why is the rose so powerful

It seems that from all of the universal constants that have been discovered over many centuries, the one that seems to have lasted longest and been most prominent is that men are useless when it comes to conveying their emotions.

Roses seemed to become somewhat a communication device for men to say something wonderful without ever having to say a word. In essence, it seems that the rose is, in fact, the earliest form of Snapchat. 

On a more serious note, though, roses really are an international symbol of love. It matters not where in the world you may be if you present a loved one with a rose, you are certain to be passing over a message of love.

Having something like Red Rose Day in the modern world is magical; the world is full of trials and tribulations, and it’s nice to think that an emotion as deep and complicated as love can be expressed with the giving of a single flower.

The History of Red Rose Day

When it comes to when Red Rose Day began, well, that information is a little skewed, and in truth, we don’t even know who started the whole thing off; the one thing we do know though, is why it began.

Believe it or not, Red Rose day used to be a part of the celebrations of Valentine’s week, but for some unknown reason became separated at some point over the last ten years. The history behind the red rose, and why we give it though, well, that is far more rich and full.

The earliest records we can see in regards to the cultivation of roses dates back almost 5000 years, and like most things, it starts in the far east. Rose cultivation started in China but soon found its way to Rome and Greece. 

It is thought that roses were seen as a luxury muse and distributed among the rich who would then give them to artists to inspire them. It seems that, like most botanical pickings of this time, roses also found their way in the medicine of the time, and this was all before a single person had used one as an apology.

If we fast forward a little, we soon see that roses went from symbols of hope, peace, and love to become a symbol of war. In England, during the 15th century, there was a well-known war that saw two parties, both using the symbol of a rose to represent their army.

While now the rose is something that represents love, still to this day, we know this great 15th century battle as the war of the roses.

So, as you can see, even something as perfect as a rose can come with some bad blood in its history, the joy is that it’s most notable trait has carried through time, and it seems that it will continue to do so for many more years to come. 

It seems that while the world is becoming infatuated with automation, technology, and doing everything online, days that celebrate romance will always hold a special place in the hearts of all. 

Whether it’s Valentine’s Day or Red Rose Day, you should try to make things as special and wonderful as you can for the person that you love. Nowadays, it can be hard to convey a message of love, especially with all the convenience of modern life that surrounds us.

thanks, Brenda

Joke of the Day

thanks, Bev

Word of the Day

Niagara

Voute sous la Chute du Niagara - Niagara Falls

MEANING:

noun: An outpouring; a deluge.

ETYMOLOGY:

After the Niagara river which forms the Niagara Falls, a group of three massive waterfalls, between the US and Canada. Earliest documented use: 1800.

USAGE:

“The sight of the eyes triggered something -- something massive. A Niagara of memory came thundering back.”
Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child, and R.L. Stine; Gaslighted; Simon & Schuster; 2014.

Idiom of the Day

49. Not turn a hair

Meaning: Not exhibiting any emotion where it is expected.

This Day in History

1839 - Abner Doubleday created the game of baseball, according to the legend.

1849 - Lewis Haslett patented a gas mask. (Patent US6529 A)

1897 - Carl Elsener patented his penknife. The object later became known as the Swiss army knife.

1923 - Harry Houdini, while suspended upside down 40 feet above the ground, escaped from a strait jacket.

1935 - U.S. Senator Huey Long of Louisiana made the longest speech on Senate record. The speech took 15 1/2 hours and was filled by 150,000 words.

1935 - At age 17, Ella Fitzgerald recorded her first songs. The two songs were "Love and Kisses" and "I'll Chase the Blues Away."

1939 - The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was dedicated in Cooperstown, New York.


1963 - "Cleopatra" starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison, and Richard Burton premiered at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City.

1965 - The Beatles received their MBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) awards.


1971 - Tricia Nixon and Edward F. Cox were married in the White House Rose Garden.


1985 - Wayne "The Great One" Gretsky was named winner of the NHL's Hart Trophy. The award is given to the the league Most Valuable Player.


1987 - U.S. President Reagan publicly challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.

1989 - Graceland opened the Elvis Presley Autoland Museum, which contains over 20 cars owned by Presley.

2003 - In Arkansas, Terry Wallis spoke for the first time in nearly 19 years. Wallis had been in a coma since July 13, 1984, after being injured in a car accident.

2009 - In the U.S., The switch from analog TV transmission to digital was completed.

thanks, Cora

DAILY SQU-EEK

If You Were Born Today, June 12:

You are sociable, popular, and insatiably curious. You have writing and/or speaking skills and enjoy expressing yourself. At the same time, others find you an interesting conversationalist. Moodiness and restlessness come when you are not intellectually stimulated or on the move. Even so, it would be wise to slow down from time to time in order to get in touch with your deeper needs and intuition. Famous people born today:

1924 George H. W. Bush, 41st US President (R, 1989-93) and 43rd US Vice President (R, 1981-89), born in Milton, Massachusetts (d. 2018)

1929 Anne Frank, Dutch Diarist and Jewish victim of the Nazi Holocaust (Diary of Anne Frank), born in Frankfurt, Germany (d. 1945)

1952 Pete Farndon, English musician (The Pretenders), born in Hereford, England (d. 1983)

thanks, Alice

READERS INFO

1.

thanks for the Offbeat Holiday, Patty

JUNE 12: NATIONAL JERKY DAY

No explanation required: chew and be merry.

2.

JUNE 13 -

Find a KIP - World Wide Knit in Public Day

3.

JUNE 14, 1986

TODAY: In 1986, Jorge Luis Borges dies.

.

4.

Coronavirus Style

Nature is healing

FRIDAY'S INTERESTING FACTS

Kit Harrington is related to the man who invented the flush toilet, and one of the Gunpowder Plot perpetrators.

Kit Harrington (Jon Snow from Game of Thrones) is a descendent of Sir John Harrington (on his father’s side), inventor of the flushing toilet, and also Robert Catesby (on his mother’s side) who tried to blow up Parliament with Guido Fawkes.

The original London Bridge is now in Arizona.

It was taken apart in 1963 and shipped overseas before being reassembled piece by piece. This was to help bring people to the new, developing town.

By 400BC, Persian engineers mastered the technique of storing ice in the middle of desert summers.

This was done through the use of subterranean storage space and thick, heat-resistant construction materials.

Before 1913, you could legally mail a baby.

Mailing children became a common practice in rural America as the price of postage for a child was cheaper than the price of child’s train or bus ticket. Thank goodness this one’s not legal anymore!

In the 18^th Century Smallpox scars would get you a job.

By having Smallpox scars it showed that you had already had Smallpox so employers didn’t have to worry about you getting it and taking time off work.

PATTERN BOOK FRIDAY

Easy Crochet

Pictures of the day

Mariana is an 1851 oil-on-panel painting by John Everett  Millais, depicting a young female character from William  Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. In the play, Mariana  was engaged to be married, but was rejected when her dowry was lost in a shipwreck. Her story was retold in "Mariana", a  poem published in 1830 by Tennyson; Millais's painting  includes many details that relate directly to Tennyson's poem.  Mariana is depicted in a blue dress and stretching her aching  back, having toiled too long on a needlepoint that lies on the  table in front of her. The painting now hangs in Tate Britain in  London.

Swarming under the stars

Mayflies swarming on Hungary’s River Rába. The mayflies emerge from the tributary of the Danube, transform from larvae, before they mate, flying upstream to lay their eggs and eventually dying from exhaustion.

knit
thanks, Ruth

Fabulous Zigzag Bag

knit
thanks, Amber

Summertime Shawl
knit

Bird on a Wire Dishcloth

knit

Azalea Bloom Socks

knit ... Independence Day

Stars & Stripes Mini Flag

Knit Pattern of the Day: 

thanks, Valerie, Canadian Correspondent

Ciri

Grafton


crochet
thanks, Marge

Ulysses Butterfly Bookmark

crochet
thanks, Rose

Unicorn Coffee Cozy pattern by Lisa M Fox

crochet

Summer top crochet pattern and chart free

crochet

Dream Catcher

crochet

Red Heart Crochet Mask for Adult

Quarantine Cooking Recipes

thanks, Debbie

The Easiest Peanut Butter Overnight Oats Recipe Ever

RECIPE

thanks, Shelley, New York Food Correspondent

Instant Pot™ Creamy Butternut Squash

CROCKPOT RECIPE

Bourbon-Mango Pulled Pork



SWEETS

thanks, Stacy

No Bake Classic Woolworth Cheesecake

COOKBOOK FRIDAY

Free Low-Calorie Dinner Cookbook

thanks, Julia


ADULT COLORING

FUN

Get from the roots of the tree to the storage chamber of the tree house.

solution:

CRAFTS

thanks, Zoey

My Teacup Succulent Garden!

CHILDREN'S CORNER

thanks, Jill

Get a vase for a buck and spray it brown (because the pennies have a little bit of space between them).

 ...and then... just glue a bunch of pennies-front and back at all different directions and call it a day. Easy enough!

Fill it with wheat just because!

PUZZLE

Butterfly Hanger Jigsaw Puzzle

WORD SEARCH

across around bombardment channel code confidence

danger deem delight enough expectation finger flower

gross heart immovable island lesson lore

marry mend mercy mine money mother movie pernicious prayer

resort shock strict unite until whose

SUDOKU ... very hard

solution:

QUOTE

thanks, Patsy


thanks, Sofia

CLEVER 

thanks, Karla

Slice or dice your eggplant before brushing it with oil and cooking over direct heat. Peeling the skin is up to you. Depending on how thick your slices or cubes are, it could take your eggplant anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes to reach the right tenderness.

Butternut squash, acorn squash and pumpkins do well over indirect heat. After pealing and seeding the squash, slice it or dice it and put it over indirect heat, turning occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes. When the squash is almost done, you can move it over the direct heat to give it a nice brown finish.

If you've got a whole artichoke, remove the choke and halve it before parboiling in salt water. Baby artichokes and artichoke hearts can be skewered. Brush with oil and cook over direct heat for about 10 minutes.

Before putting your potatoes on the grill you'll need to parboil them in salted water. Once they're tender, cut them up, brush them with oil and toss them on the heat. You can cook potatoes over direct heat (15 to 20 minutes) or over indirect heat (turning occasionally, 20 to 25 minutes).

Buy tomatoes that aren't quite ripe yet. That way, when you turn them on the grill, they won't fall apart. You can slice your tomatoes, halve them or put them on a skewer.

You can peel your onions and cut them into wedges, or you can halve them, unpeeled, right through the root. Either way, brush them with oil and cook them over direct heat, turning only once. They'll be done after about 15 minutes, when they're nicely browned.

Peppers make colorful kebobs, and they're also great grilled alone. Cut them in half, remove the seeds and insides, and cook them over direct heat for about 10 to 15 minutes. Look for dark brown, blistered skin.

Small mushrooms should be skewered, but larger mushrooms, like portobello, can be set right on the grill (just don't forget to brush them with oil). Cook them over direct heat for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the mushrooms are browned and tender.

Simply trim the bottoms and toss with oil before throwing asparagus on the grill. Cook the stalks over direct heat for 6 to 12 minutes depending on their thickness. You'll want to be able to pierce the bottom with a knife tip.

Cut your zucchini lengthwise into half-inch pieces. Brush with oil, cook over direct heat turning occasionally and voila -- tender, browned zucchini. Zucchini is also great cut into disks and skewered onto kebobs.

Throw corn right on the grill in its husk -- 15 to 20 minutes later you'll have perfectly browned kernels. Just occasionally turn your cobs while cooking them over direct heat. If some kernels are charred but most are lightly browned, you've done it right. If you shuck the corn, cut the grilling time in half.

EYE OPENER 

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali, who died in 2016, explained how he used to ask his mother about white representation in an interview with Parkinson in 1971. This is an excerpt from an interview Mr Ali did with Parkinson in 1971.

Muhammad Ali: 'Why is everything white?'

Months and months into lockdown

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. -Anne Frank, Holocaust diarist (12 Jun 1929-1945)

OPTICAL ILLUSION

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