Wednesday, April 10, 2013

A to Z Challenge: I is for Icebox

 No, i don't remember far enough back that it was an actual ice box.  My grandmother did, though, and that's what i grew up calling it, and still do sometimes.

It must have been difficult to deal with, as the melt from the ice had to be caught and taken outside and dumped, but i would imagine the convenience of being able to keep foods truly cold no matter the weather would have made up for that.

We are spoiled with refrigerators/freezers that are (mostly) frost free and ridiculously easy and convenient.  Even our non-frost free chest freezer doesn't take that much maintenance.

Right now our icebox is full, so i have declared today a "leftover night."  If you can't find enough to eat in my overcrowded icebox, you are just too picky and need to go volunteer someplace where people go hungry.

Oh, and the letter I is also for inherited, as in traits.  Bigger Girl asked, "Mom, we all know who the boys and I look like in the family, but what about Little Girl?  She doesn't quite look like anyone in the family, so where did she inherit her looks?"

Before Little Girl could come back with her usual answer when strangers ask the question, which is "I'm adopted," and no she isn't, Sweetie called out, "The mailman!"


Today is

ASPCA Day/Humane Day -- anniversary of founding in 1866

Birthday of Cybele -- Ancient Roman Calendar (great mother goddess)

Commodore Perry Day

Dust the Ceiling Fan Day -- before it gets hot and you have to turn it on and find out you forgot how dusty it gets up there the hard way

Encourage a Young Writer Day -- can't find out who started this, but it sounds like a great idea

Feast of Bau -- Ancient Babylonian Calendar (date approximate, around the same time of year the Romans honored Cybele)

Feast of Ezekiel the Prophet -- Roman Catholic

Feast of the Rivers and Seas -- Ancient Sumerian Calendar (mother of Ea[Earth]; date approximate, around the same time of year the Romans honored Cybele)

Founder's Day -- Salvation Army

Frances Perkins Day -- US (birth anniversary of the first woman appointed to a Presidential Cabinet position)

Ghode Jatra -- Katmandu, Nepal (festival of horses)

Golfer's Day -- anniversary of founding of the Professional Golfers' Association of America in 1916

Iroquois Thunder Ceremony -- Iroquois Native Americans (week long ceremonial thanksgiving for the rain, which brings new growth in spring; date approximate, but most tribes celebrate in mid-April)

National Cinnamon Crescent Day

National Siblings Day

Safety Pin Day -- patented this day in 1849 by Walter Hunt

St. Macarius of Antioch's Day (Patron of plague victims; Ghent, Belgium)



Birthdays Today:

Haley Joel Osment, 1988
Mandy Moore, 1984
Ryan Merriman, 1983
Liz McClarnon, 1981
Shemekia Copeland, 1979
Steven Seagal, 1952
John Madden, 1936
Omar Sharif, 1932
Max Von Sydow, 1929
Chuck Connors, 1921
Harry Morgan, 1915
Joseph Pulitzer, 1847
James Bowie, 1796
Commodore Matthew Perry, 1794
Cybele, Roman goddess (traditional, year unknown)


Today in History:

Halley's Comet and Earth experienced their closest approach to one another when their separating distance equalled 0.0342 AU (3.2 million miles), 837
the lama Deshin Shekpa visits the Ming Dynasty capital at Nanjing. He is awarded with the title Great Treasure Prince of Dharma, 1407
The Charter of the Virginia Company of London is established by royal charter by James I of England with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America, 1606
The first law regulating copyright is issued in Great Britain, 1710
The Mount Tambora volcano in Indonesia begins its peak eruption period that lasts until July 15, 1815
The 10,500 inhabitants of the Greek town Messolonghi start leaving the town after a year's siege by Turkish forces. Very few of them survive, 1826
The NY "Tribune" begins publishing under editor Horace Greeley, 1841
The safety pin is patented by Walter Hunt of NYC, who sells the rights for only $100, 1849
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by Henry Bergh, 1866
The first Arbor Day is celebrated in Nebraska, 1874
The Titanic leaves Southampton, England, 1912
Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata is ambushed and shot dead by government forces in Morelos, 1919
Warner Brothers debuts the first 3-D movie, "House of Wax," 1953
Adolf Eichmann is put on trial as a war criminal in Israel, 1961
In an attempt to thaw relations with the United States, the People's Republic of China hosts the U.S. table tennis team for a weeklong visit, 1971
A 7.0 earthquake kills 1/5 of population of Iranian province of Fars, 1972
H J Heinz, Van Camp Seafood & Bumble Bee Seafood say they would not buy tuna caught in nets that also trap dolphins, 1989
A rare tropical storm develops in the Southern Hemisphere near Angola; the first to be documented by satellites, 1991
President of Fiji Ratu Josefa Iloilo announces he will suspend the constitution and assume all governance in the country, creating a constitutional crisis, 2009

10 comments:

  1. and does it make ME OLD I remember the mailman and that joke?! :)

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  2. ha, great story! I think people used to also joke it was the Milkman too - I wasn't around that long ago to see an actual milkman, but my old house had a little box on the outside wall for his deliveries!

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  3. LOL, in my day it was the Milkman, but nobody has those anymore. Fun blog. I love all your "days" and history.

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  4. I do remember iceboxes in my far off childhood. But only for a bit and then we had a refigerator. Our modern conveniences are quite something ! I sure enjoy your family stories...have a great day!

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  5. Carla, no, you are younger than i am, and so you are not old!

    Jessica and ShellFlower, thanks for stopping by, and when i was a kid, we did still have a milkman! In fact, you can still get milk delivered here, by a local dairy, but it is expensive.

    Kathe, i'm glad we can entertain people.

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  6. Leftovers sound a good option! Out of the mouths of babes!

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  7. It's interesting how some kids resemble their parents and others don't. I don't see much of me or Mrs. Chatterbox in our son.

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  8. Funny story, and I must say that I love the convenience of a fridge and freezer!

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  9. Paul, some days it's the best option, and you are right about kid comments.

    Stephen, i'm sure he resembles someone, you just don't know who, as we don't. It could be a great, great grandparent of whom you don't have a picture. That's what i'm betting it is with Little Girl.

    Sarah, we love it, too -- in some ways i think we've gone soft with all these conveniences, but i don't want to have to toughen up and do without them!

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  10. The baby pictures of my dad and myself could be interchangeable, so there is no question of who I look like. And my Grandparents always called it an ice box. We have a quite literal ice box in a trailer. Odd thing is that it's rather hard to get ice in big blocks where we live now... Hmph. Mailman... Heh.
    Cat

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