Popcorn Day January 19, 2018

DIANE'S CORNER ... Celebrate Popcorn Day

Oh Popcorn! Delicious and delightful popcorn is part of so many traditions. Popcorn balls at Halloween, Popcorn strings at Christmas, and Popcorn all year round at the movies! Corn has played an important role in the diets of many cultures, and has spread to be a worldwide phenomenon since it was imported from the new world. So on Popcorn Day make sure you have yourself a great big bowl of this delicious treat!

History of Popcorn Day
To discuss the history of Popcorn Day one must understand the history of Popcorn. The original corn was derived from a small grass with kernels not much different than that of wheat, careful selection and generations of breeding has resulted in what we think of today as the corn plant. When settlers came to the New World from the Old Country, they discovered this amazing crop and that it had been in use for time out of mind.

Sometime along the line it was realized that certain corn kernels, when subjected to heat, will pop and reveal their soft fluffy endosperm in a cloud around their shell. Before long it was discovered to be a light and delicious treat, and cultivation led to the popcorn we have today. There’s actually two types of popcorn, but the familiar yellow popcorn we all see in movie theaters is by far the most popular. Popcorn has been used for everything from arts and crafts to the foundation of some of the most popular treats around. You can find it just about anywhere you go. The National Popcorn Board decided that this fluffy treat needed a day of celebration and recognition of its own, and thus was born National Popcorn Day!

thanks for sharing Mika with us, Patty

Mika Ichii (* 1968 Hyo-Go, Japan) studied Fine Arts at the Faculty of Education of Kobe University. Among the most important illustrated books are: The Pikari cat and the stars in the windows (Akane-shobo), One candle (Komine-shoten), The green caterpillar (Ssho-gakukan), Little pig Burton (Alice-kan) way (Hikari no kuni). She currently lives with her family in Shiga Prefecture, where she has transformed her old hospital clinic into her own atelier.

Word of the Day

mensuration
Definition:	(noun) The act or process of assigning numbers to phenomena according to a rule.
Synonyms:	measuring
Usage:	The mensuration of the faculties of the mind has, I believe, no place in the catalog of known arts.

Idiom of the Day

long-run  — (used before a noun) Involving, maturing after, or lasting for a long period of time.

History

British Parliament Expels John Wilkes for Libelous, Racy Writings (1764)

Despite his notoriously dissolute reputation, Wilkes became a champion of the freedom of the press as a journalist and politician. While a member of the British Parliament, he repeatedly published criticisms of King George III, riling the monarch. During the 1760s, he was variously arrested, prosecuted, shot in the stomach, and expelled from Parliament multiple times, ostensibly for his racy writings.

Janis Joplin (1943)

Joplin began singing folk rock in Texas bars after running away from home at the age of 17. In 1966, she moved to San Francisco and became lead vocalist of the rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company. The band catapulted Joplin to stardom. By the late 1960s, she was almost as well known for her unconventional lifestyle as for her gritty, memorable vocals. Before her death from a heroin overdose at 27, she released hit albums with two other bands beside Big Brother. 

Timqat

Because the Ethiopian Christmas, Ganna, falls on January 7, Epiphany (Timqat) is celebrated on January 19. It celebrates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. It begins at sunset on Epiphany Eve, when people dress in white and go to their local church. From there they form a procession with the tabot, or holy ark, in which the ancient Israelites put the Tablets of the Law, or Torah. They accompany it to a lake, stream, or pond. It is placed in a tent, where it is guarded all night while the clergy and villagers sing, dance, and eat until the baptismal service the following morning. 

Madagascar's Ancient 'Pelican Spiders' Are As Striking As They Are Strange

Traipsing through the thick brush of the Madagascan jungle in search of exotic spider species, all the while plucking bloodthirsty land leeches from your legs and eyeing the sky for signs of cyclones, might not be an activity high on your personal bucket list. For ...

READ MORE:

Madagascar's Ancient 'Pelican Spiders' Are As Striking As They Are Strange

1825 - Ezra Daggett and Thomas Kensett of New York City patented a canning process to preserve salmon, oysters and lobsters. 

1907 - The first film reviews appeared in "Variety" magazine. 

1915 - George Claude, of Paris, France, patented the neon discharge tube for use in advertising signs. 

1937 - Howard Hughes set a transcontinental air record. He flew from Los Angeles to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds. 

1953 - Sixty-eight percent of all TV sets in the U.S. were tuned to CBS-TV, as Lucy Ricardo, of "I Love Lucy," gave birth to a baby boy. 

1955 - U.S. President Eisenhower allowed a filmed news conference to be used on television (and in movie newsreels) for the first time. 

1957 - Pat Boone sang at Dwight Eisenhower's presidential inauguration ball.

1957 - Philadelphia comedian, Ernie Kovacs, did a half-hour TV show without saying a single word of dialogue. 

1977 - Charlie Daniels and the Marshall Tucker Band played for Jimmy Carter's inauguration. 

1993 - Fleetwood Mac reunited to perform at Bill Clinton's inauguration. 

1998 - Pat Boone was awarded the first annual Michael the Archangel Award by the National Assn. of Chiefs of Police.

2006 - NASA's New Horizons spacecraft was launched. The mission was the first to investigate Pluto. 

2013 - In Scottsdale, AZ, the original Batmobile for the TV series "Batman" sold at auction for $4.6 million. It was the first of six Batmobiles produced for the show. 

DAILY SQU-EEK

If You Were Born Today, January 19

You have a fabulous sense of humor, your own unique sense of style, and powerful emotions. Success-oriented, when you are able to focus on specific goals it would be hard to steer you from the path towards them. You are personally powerful and have a strong presence or aura, and others tend to follow your lead. You can be very stubborn at times! You are also very hard-working, caring, and kind to those you love. Although you don’t easily let down your guard, once you do trust, you are very protective.  Famous people born today: Edgar Allen Poe, Paul Cezanne, Janis Joplin, Dolly Parton, Robert Palmer.

READERS INFO

• Applications for the Bookselling Without Borders scholarship, which brings US booksellers to international book fairs, are now open. | Bookselling Without Borders

Founded in 2016, BWB awards scholarships to American booksellers to attend international book fairs, where they meet with publishers, editors, authors, agents, and other publishing professionals; connect with booksellers and with bookseller trade associations from around the world; speak on and attend panels; visit local bookstores, distributors, cultural agencies, and literary arts organizations. 

Booksellers return better connected, better informed, more aware of the international book panorama, and better equipped to put international and diverse literatures into the hands of readers.

Bookselling Without Borders

Pictures of the day

Waiting is a pastel on paper by the French Impressionist Edgar Degas, completed between 1880 and 1882. Part of a series of pastels, paintings, mixed media drawings and sculptures of ballerinas, it depicts one accompanied by her chaperone, bent over ostensibly to massage her foot but with body language indicating anticipation. The work, which is jointly owned by the Norton Simon Art Foundation, Pasadena, and the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, has been read as emphasizing the brevity of a ballerina's career and the stress they undergo to obtain fleeting moments of elegance.

UUMMANNAQ

Uummannaq is a small island in Greenland, home to about 1200 people. It was really a treat waking up with such views on the colorful houses, with the icebergs in the fjord as backdrop. They say you leave a piece of your heart behind when you leave Uummannaq… it is true.

knit

thanks, Nancy

What Does the Sweater Say Pattern

knit

thanks, Dawn

Better Dorm Boots Deluxe

knit

https://torontoknitcafe.wordpress.com/2014/07/17/504-king-west/

knit

Baby in a basket crib

knit, 6 - 24 mths

http://www.yarnspirations.com/patterns/funny-bunny-pullover.html

crochet

thanks, Ava

Elizabeth Stitch Boot Cuff Crochet Pattern

crochet

thanks, June

Easy Crochet Hat Design

crochet

Crochet Heirloom Cabled Sweater

crochet

Kruimel de Kat pattern by Stip & Haak

crochet

Free Rainbow Ruffle Blanket Pattern

RECIPE

thanks, Shelley

Thin Pan-Seared Pork Chops Recipe

CROCKPOT RECIPE

thanks, Joanne

Slow-Cooker Braised Beef with Carrots & Turnips Recipe

SWEETS

Caramel Corn

ADULT COLORING

CRAFTS

$6 Decorating At The Dollar Tree

CHILDREN'S CORNER ... recipe

Homemade Microwave Colored Popcorn

PUZZLE

Ben Ledi Jigsaw Puzzle

WORD SEARCH

attack average candlestick case chaps chase decide description discharge

empty exclaim fell financial follow fortunate fudge future

glare gross limit mare noise option

pant party permit rain risky said seek seer silt slide

trade trend vilification winner yore

SUDOKU ... very hard

solution:

QUOTE

CLEVER

DRIZZLE ON THE GOODNESS

Melted chocolate and caramel instantly transform a bowl of popcorn into a sweet tooth's dream.

EYE OPENER

25 Clever Uses for Ziploc Bags

mommysavers

Ziploc bags are an incredibly handy product.  They are best known for food storage and are great for making prepackaged freezer meals at home.  However,  there are lots of other clever uses for Ziploc bags.  Here are some ideas:

The Gallon Ziploc Bag

• Tablet Protector in the Kitchen:  Prevent spills that will ruin your Kindle Fire or iPad mini while using it to reference recipes during meal prep.  *Note:  The device’s touch screen still works through the plastic.
• Kids Activity Kits (for Travel):  Go to the Target Dollar Spot or Dollar Store and fill a bag with, little puzzles, travel games, note pads, stickers, crayons, mini books, and other fun things to keep kids busy while traveling.
• Extra Clothing for Kids:  Preschools usually want an extra set of clothing on hand in case of accidents.  Send a weather-appropriate top, bottom, underwear, and socks in a Ziploc bag.  They are also good to keep in diaper bags or in the car.  Plus, it’s a good place to stick the dirty outfit until you return home to wash it.
• Car Care:  Keep a few in your glove compartment for wet collapsible umbrellas.  You can also use Ziploc bags to store your jumper cables neatly.  They also make great garbage bags for the kids’ wrappers after snacking.
• Knead Dough:  Use the bag like a glove and knead your dough, preventing your hands from getting sticky.
• Shoe Storage:  Stick each pair of shoes in a Ziploc bag while traveling to keep your clothes clean.
• Car Mirror Protectors:  If you know there is  going to be a huge ice or snow storm, slide bags over your rear view mirrors.  Then you can just slide them right off in the morning.

The Quart Ziploc Bag

• Travel Kits:  Collect all of those samples and freebies and create toiletry kits for travel.  That way, all you have to do is grab-and-go.
• Essentials Kits:  Create kits with toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, shampoo, lotion, a wash clothes, and other essentials.  Drop them off at a homeless shelter so the workers can distribute them. 
• Kids Care Kits (for the Car):  Keep a Ziploc bag in your center console or glove compartment with things travel sized items like, sun screen, bug spray, hand sanitizer, hand wipes, and other things you always wish you had on hand (it’s better than carrying it all around in your purse!).
• Diaper Disposal:  Keep a couple in your diaper bag for those nasty-smelling dirty diapers.  It will help keep the smell at bay until you can find an outdoor trash can.
• Craft Supply Storage:  After opening a bag of craft supplies, dump it directly into a Ziploc bag for future use.  Examples:  Sequins, buttons, ribbon, pom poms, feathers, shells, etc. Label them and stick them all in a plastic bin.
• Piping Frosting:  Fill bag with frosting, seal it, and cut off the tip of a corner to create an instantly bakery bag.

Sandwich Size Ziploc Bag

• Cosmetic Storage:  Line your makeup bag with a ziplock so your powders and eye shadows don’t make a mess while in your purse.
• Crayon Storage: When school supplies are on sale, buy 8-packs of crayons and put them in bags.  Then you can grab one at a time.  When the crayons in one pack are used, broken, and unwrapped, pull out a “fresh” bag.
• Wax or Gum Remover:  Put some ice into a bag, seal it, and then set it over the spilled candle wax or gum stuck to the carpet.  Wait until the hardens then scrape it off.

Snack Size Ziploc Bag

• Office/School Supplies: Use for thumb tacks, paper clips, erasers, pencil sharpeners, and other objects.
• Sachet Bag:  Fill with potpourri or dried lavender. Poke tiny holes with a sewing pin.  Then you can keep these in a drawer to keep your clothes smelling fresh.

Other Uses for Ziploc Bags:

• Small Toy Storage:  Organizing any small toys like Legos or Polly Pockets and Matchbox cars are a great way to use Ziploc bags.
• Ice Packs:  Keep different sizes of Ziploc bags in the freezer filled with water or gel for bumps and bruises.
• Medications for Travel:  If you need daily doses of medications, put the individual daily doses into a snack size bag.  Label them by name and day of use.  Then seal those into a quart-size  Ziploc bag.
• Waterproof Electronics:  Store your phone, camera, or tablet in a Ziploc while at the beach, by the pool or on a boat.
• Use as a Funnel:  Fill up the bag with whatever you need whether it be water, rice, cereal, stones, etc.  Then snip off the end and hold it over the container you want filled.
• Cooking Oil Disposal:  Used cooking oil can’t go down your drain.  Wait for it to cool, pour it into a bag and seal.  Then throw it in the garbage can.
• Cookie Dough Coloring:  Put the cookie dough into a plastic bag, then put in the drops of food coloring.  Seal the bag and let the kids have fun squishing the dough until the color has spread evenly.  This avoids stained hands.