DIANE'S CORNER ..

Celebrate World Prematurity Day

World Prematurity Day calls attention to the special issues facing infants born prematurely, celebrates the development and growth of older babies and children who were born prematurely, and is a great day to support members of your community who work with newborns or premature infants, or are parents adjusting with a prematurely born infant.

History of World Prematurity Day

A full-term pregnancy lasts between 37 and 42 weeks, and “prematurity” describes when a baby is born earlier than 37 weeks (gestational time). Prematurely born infants face many special issues, which can include breathing difficulties, feeding difficulties, and low birth weight.

Prematurely born babies generally have a longer hospital stay than babies born full-term, and many end up spending time in NICU units (neonatal intensive care) or special care nurseries until it can be established that they are stable and healthy enough to be brought home. This can be a very difficult time for many families.

There are some risk factors for having a premature birth, such as the mother’s general health and lifestyle choices, and carrying multiple babies (twins or triplets), but for many mothers who deliver a premature baby, it is unexpected, with no discernible cause or identifiable risk factors- mothers under excellent prenatal care, who do everything “right” can still end up delivering their baby prematurely.

If you are pregnant, it is a good idea to learn the warning signs of pre-term labor, which include cramping, regularly times contractions, and backache, and discuss pre-term labor risks and planning with your care provider. If you do believe you are experiencing pre-term labor signs, it is critical to seek medical attention right away, because there are steps that can be taken to manage, delay, or prevent a baby from being born prematurely.

Thanks to advances in modern healthcare, the prognosis for most babies born prematurely has improved dramatically. Statistically, the earlier a baby is born, the more serious his or her health problems are likely to be.

Cheese is the most stolen food in the world.

JOKE OF THE DAY

thanks, Bev

You’ll eat about 35,000 cookies in a lifetime

WORD OF THE DAY

shifty

2008 film

MEANING:
adjective:
1. Evasive; untrustworthy.
2. Changing directions frequently.
3. Resourceful: able to accomplish what needs done.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Old English sciftan (to arrange or divide). Earliest documented use: 1570.

USAGE:
“He was shifty and sly -- there was something very distasteful and loathsome about him.”
Mari Emm; A Rumour From The Firehouse; AuthorHouse; 2015.

“The smart, shifty forward showed he could excel at the pro game.”
Jason Bell; Just Ducky; Winnipeg Free Press (Canada); Oct 13, 2021.

Every second, Americans collectively eat one hundred pounds of chocolate

TODAY'S ARTIST
thanks, Natalie
Nicolas Lancret (22 January 1690 – 14 September 1743)
was a French painter. Born in Paris, he was a brilliant depicter of light comedy which reflected the tastes and manners of French society during the regency of the Duke of Orleans and, later, early reign of King Louis XV.

When Heinz ketchup leaves the bottle, it travels at a rate of 25 miles per year

IDIOM OF THE DAY

What does 'Bedroom eyes' mean?

Meaning: Someone with bedroom eyes has a sexy look in their eyes.

DAILY SQUEEK

If You Were Born Today, November 17:
Although you have a talent for communicating, you are not an open book. Your personality is vibrant, and others notice you wherever you go. As emotional as you are, you prefer to present the strong side of your personality to others. You may readily discuss your personal past, but you are not one to whine about your life. You do have an interesting life story, no doubt about it, as you tend to attract change and even crisis into your life with your controlled yet powerful emotions. Your life is far from static, likely because your personality is very dynamic. Famous people born today:
1925 Rock Hudson, American actor (Pillow Talk, A Farewell to Arms, Ice Station Zebra), born in Winnetka, Illinois (d. 1985)

1938 Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian folksinger ("Sundown"; "The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald"), born in Orillia, Ontario

1942 Martin Scorsese, American film director (Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, The Departed), born in Queens, New York

1944 Danny DeVito, American actor (Taxi, Ruthless People, Twins), born in Neptune Township, New Jersey

1944 Lorne Michaels [Lipowitz], Canadian producer, actor and comedy writer (Saturday Night Live), born in Toronto, Ontario

1960 RuPaul [Andre Charles], American drag queen, actor, singer and TV personality (RuPaul's Drag Race), born in San Diego, California

(Not So) TOTALLY USELESS FACTS OF THE DAY

There's roughly 20 million tons of gold in the earth's oceans. It would be worth about $771 trillion if we could collect it all!

In 1981, a California doctor worked around the clock to save the life of a 3.2 pound premature baby boy. Exactly 30 years later, that baby (who grew up to be a paramedic/fireman) saved the life of that doctor when a semi-truck hit his car.
Article

A person who hides their pain behind a smile is called an “eccedentesiast.”

READERS INFO
1.
1800-

The U.S. Congress held its first session in Washington, D.C.

2.

18th November – Mickey Mouse Day.

thanks for the Offbeat Holiday, Patty

Mickey Mouse is probably one of the most globally recognized icons ever. Today is about celebrating this globe-trotting rodent and all his cheery Disney propaganda. Who’s the leader of the club that’s made for you and me? M-I-C-K-E-Y- M-O-U-S-E!

3.
Coronavirus Style by Sylvia, CAN DO Correspondent

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cookies

These are really, REALLY good. Yeah. Really good.

2 c. GF cake & pastry flour (or 1-1/2 c. white rice flour + 1/2 c. corn starch)
1/2 c. cocoa (Dutch-processed is good)
2-1/4 t. sifted baking powder
1/2 t. fine salt (not coarse Himalyan, if you please)
1/2 t. Xanthan gum
1/2 c. butter, soft
1 c. light brown sugar (fine)
2 eggs
1/2 t. Almond or Rum extract
1/2 t. Vanilla extract

Sift the dry ingredients together in a smaller mixing bowl. In a larger bowl, cream the butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs and extracts. Mix in the dry ingredients until you have a lovely cookie dough.

For refrigerator-type cookies, roll into a log, wrap in plastic, and let chill 20 minutes before slicing and baking.
Or, roll them in 1″ balls and, dent them with your thumb, and stick a sweetened cranberry or half a maraschino cherry in the dent.
Or, flatten the balls and dunk in fruit sugar (superfine) mixed with some powdered sugar before baking for a crackled type of cookie.

And if you haven’t nibbled all the dough gone, bake these little darlings at 325 degrees for 10 minutes.

Then hide them in a air-tight tin.

COFFEE
thanks, Ella

PICTURES OF THE DAY

The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. Cubs are highly vulnerable to predators during the first few weeks of life, and predation is the leading cause of mortality among cheetah cubs. A study showed that in areas with a low density of predators (such as Namibian farmlands) around 70 per cent of the cubs survived beyond the age of 14 months, whereas in areas like the Serengeti National Park, where several large carnivores exist, the survival rate was just 17 per cent. This cheetah cub was photographed in the Phinda Private Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, amid long grass.

Cotton Candy

knit .. Christmas
thanks, Nancy

Holiday Raglan Mini-Sweaters pattern by Laura Kanemori

knit
thanks, Ruth

Men's pullover knitting pattern

knit

Paw-some Dog Cowl + Matching Paw-some Infinity Scarf

knit

Cosy Rainbow Cardigan

knit .. Christmas

Vogue Knitting LIVE! Sweater Garland

CROCHET PATTERNS OF THE DAY

thanks, Valerie, Canadian Correspondent

C2C Snowman Scarf

Crop Cardigan

crochet .. Christmas
thanks, Jessica

Retro Christmas Tree Scarf

crochet
thanks, Annarita

Inspirational Hexies Blanket pattern by Christina Hadderingh

crochet

Free Beginner Crochet Sweater

crochet

Rows o' Ruffles Dress, 3-4 yrs

crochet .. Christmas

Filet Skaters

RECIPE

thanks, Shelley, New York Food Correspondent

Five Layer Mexican Dip

PANTRY RECIPE

thanks, Debbie

Cranberry Crescent Pastries

CROCKPOT RECIPE

thanks, Marge

Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff

Pineapples has proteins that degrade meat. Many people who work in pineapple plantations have obscured or removed fingerprints.

VEGAN/ VEGETARIAN RECIPE

Both vegetarian and vegan diets may provide health benefits, including reduced body weight, lower cholesterol levels, and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, it is important for vegetarians and vegans to ensure that they are meeting all of their nutritional requirements.

thanks, Alice

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Mapo Tofu

Fortune cookies were actually invented in America, in 1918, by Charles Jung.

COPYCAT RECIPE

thanks, Jenny

Copycat Chick-fil-A Nuggets

Two-thirds of the world’s eggplant is grown in New Jersey.

RETRO RECIPE

thanks, Ann

Gingerbread Cookies

Royal Icing for Cookie

SWEETS RECIPE .. Thanksgiving

thanks, Denise

Cinnamon Honey Butter

ADULT COLORING

FUN

thanks, Renee

The World's First Crossword Puzzle has one word already filled in—“fun,” the name of the newspaper section in which the puzzle was published. The clues are slightly different—instead of “across” and “down,” the clues say the numbers of the starting and ending boxes of that word. For instance, the word below “fun,” 2 across, is written as “2-3” in the clue list. The clue for 2 down is “2-11.”

Some of the words are a little old-fashioned, and you might have to brush up on your Russian geography, but overall, we’re sure it’s nothing a word-savvy puzzler like yourself can’t handle. (Finally, here’s one more hint: the word “dove” is in there twice.) Now get puzzling!

2-3.	What bargain hunters enjoy.	6-22.	What we all should be.
4-5.	A written acknowledgment.	4-26.	A day dream.
6-7.	Such and nothing more.	2-11.	A talon.
10-11.	A bird.	19-28.	A pigeon.
14-15.	Opposed to less.	F-7.	Part of your head.
18-19.	What this puzzle is.	23-30.	A river in Russia.
22-23.	An animal of prey.	1-32.	To govern.
26-27.	The close of a day.	33-34.	An aromatic plant.
28-29.	To elude.	N-8.	A fist.
30-31.	The plural of is.	24-31.	To agree with.
8-9.	To cultivate.	3-12.	Part of a ship.
12-13.	A bar of wood or iron.	20-29.	One.
16-17.	What artists learn to do.	5-27.	Exchanging.
20-21.	Fastened.	9-25.	To sink in mud.
24-25.	Found on the seashore.	13-21.	A boy.
10-18.	The fibre of the gomuti palm.

Puzzle Solution

						R
					F	U	N
				S	A	L	E	S
			R	E	C	E	I	P	T
		M	E	R	E		F	A	R	M
	D	O	V	E				R	A	I	L
M	O	R	E						D	R	A	W
	H	A	R	D				T	I	E	D
		L	I	O	N		S	A	N	D
			E	V	E	N	I	N	G
				E	V	A	D	E
					A	R	E
						D

CRAFTS .. Thanksgiving

Craft your own personal pumpkin patch using old quilts and fabric scraps.

To make: Start with a round piece of fabric and a ball of batting (about the size you want your finished pumpkin to be). Gather the fabric up around the batting and hot glue it together in the center. Collect dried stems, or purchase faux stems, and attach with hot glue for a realistic touch. Line the middle of a long farmhouse table with a runner, then pile on your creations and other seasonal greenery. These would be an adorable accent to a mantel or buffet as well.

Eating an excessive amount of blue M&Ms can turn your skin bright blue temporarily.

CHILDREN'S CORNER .. Chanukah

thanks, Joanne

Make Festive Hanukkah Watercolor Cards

The Baby Ruth candy bar was actually named after Grover Cleveland’s

baby daughter, Ruth.

PUZZLE

Cat Looking Back Jigsaw Puzzle

WORD SEARCH

board

clear
comprehend
crash

desire
doctor
dome
draft
dudes

empty
entice
eyes

failure
focus
follow

hugs

lover

matter
measure
midway
miracles
model
mute

need

psychiatrist

reach
replace
revive

scale
seat
seeker
sport
student

table
third

understand

SUDOKU .. hard

solution:

ICE BREAKER

thanks, Kris

You can use 'ice breaker questions' to build a rapport, enabling strangers to engage in back and forth conversion. With a little practice and possibly a beer or two, you’ll be breaking more ice than the Titanic.