McYummy

"Mom, is it okay if I bake something?" Little Girl asked.

All day and half the night, i answered.  You know you are welcome to bake whenever you want.

"Yeah, but I just wanted to make sure you weren't about to use the toaster oven."

Nope, it's all yours.

"And do you still have those pans that fit in it?"

Sure, they're right here.

"Cool."  She spent a few minutes gathering ingredients and then said, "This recipe is really originally an experiment someone did, and I just want to try it."

As she puttered and mixed, she noted that we are almost out of vanilla.

Time to buy some vodka, then, i said.

"What!" #1 Son almost yelled as he came in.   "Did I hear you talk about buying vodka?"

To put in with the vanilla beans, i explained.  You leave it for about six months, and you have vanilla extract.  That's what extract is, mostly, alcohol.

"Oh, I didn't know that," he said.

"Yeah, so mom buys vodka once in a while to make more vanilla," Little Girl said.

"And since you just use it to make vanilla, i guess it doesn't matter what kind you get, you just buy cheap stuff?" he asked.

Actually, i noted, the better the brand of vodka, the better quality the extract, so i don't just buy rot gut brands.

"Rot gut is right!" he said.  "I can't stand the taste of vodka, that stuff is nasty.  I don't know how anyone can drink it!"

A little while later, Little Girl pulled her finished creation out of the toaster oven, topped it with one mixture, and made the icing that went on top of that.  She had plenty of icing left, so when she cut a pice, she put it on her plate and drizzled more icing on.

"Oooh, this is good!" she said.

"What's good?" #2 Son asked.

"This cinnamon cakey-type dessert I just made.  Have some!"

He helped himself, took a bite, and exclaimed, "Cinnamon Melts!  This tastes exactly like the Cinnamon Melts we serve at McDonalds!"

"Really?" she asked.  "I've never had those!"

"This tastes exactly like them!  The cake part is a bit different texture, but the taste is exactly like it!  Festus!  Come taste this!"

Festus came and tasted.  "Yummm!" was his pronouncement.  "It tastes just like Cinnamon Melts!"

"See, I told you!" #2 Son said.  "You came up with a recipe for Cinnamon Melts, but better!  Kid, you did good!"

#1 Son, Bigger Girl, and Sweetie also had their share, and all agreed.  It was good.

They attacked so fast, i only got a picture of half of it.  This part didn't last long, either.

Today is

Baby Boomer Recognition Day

Baymen's Seafood and Music Festival -- Tuckerton, NJ, US (this year including a micro-brewers tent with the seafood and music; through tomorrow)

Eastern Music Festival --  Guilford College, Greensboro, NC, US (an acclaimed festival and school, with world-class guest artists; through July 26)

Father's Day -- Egypt; Jordan; Lebanon; Palestine; Syria; Uganda

Go Skateboarding Day -- and break something?  leaving this to the young; sponsored by the International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC)http://www.goskateboardingday.org/

GRABAAWR / GReat Annual Bicycle Adventure Along the Wisconsin River -- WI, US (fun bicycle adventures for all ages, levels, and abilities; through next Saturday)

KCQ Country Music Fest -- Saginaw, MI, US (country music's hottest stars, classic car show, art fair, and great food)

Long Beach Bayou and Blues Festival -- Rainbow Lagoon, Long Beach, CA, US (celebrating Cajun/Creole culture, food, music, arts and crafts, and even a Mardi Gras parade; through tomorrow)

Longest Dam Race -- Fort Peck, MT, US (a run that crosses 1.8 miles of the Fort Peck Dam, as well as a fun run, a bike race, and more)

Madame Lou Bunch Day -- Central City, CO, US (Old Flop House Celebration of the Madam who ran the city's most famous house of ill repute during the gold rush, complete with period costumes and a brass bed race!)

Martyr's Day -- Togo

Mermaid Parade -- Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY, US (wacky and wonderful and worth every wild moment)

Midsummer's Day -- Aland; Finland; Sweden

Napoleon Bivouacs -- Waterloo, Belgium (reenactment of Napoleon's military camp at the sight of his battle battle against Allied forces led by the Duke of Wellington; through tomorrow)

National Aboriginal Day / First Nations Day -- NT, Canada

National ASK Day -- prevent gun violence and accidental deaths, ASK if there is an unlocked gun anywhere that your child plays

National Peaches & Cream Day

Norskedalen's Midsummer Fest -- Coon Valley, WI, US (celebrate summer solstice and Sankt Hans Dag[St. John's Day] the way pioneer Scandinavians did; through tomorrow)

Pixie Day -- Ottery St. Mary, Devon, England (reenacting of the "Revenge" of the Pixies who bothered the town until midsummer in 1454; now fun, games, music, pageant, and more)

Reaping Machine Day -- Cyrus McCormick was granted a patent for his mechanical reaper this day in 1834

Solennität -- Morat, Switzerland (on Morat Commemoration Day, a Youth festival remembering the pivotal role this tiny town played in winning a battle in 1476)

Solstice -- 10:51GMT/6:51 am EDT; related observances:
     Aimless Wandering Day -- use the extra daylight to wander someplace with nothing particular to do
     Anne and Samantha Day -- remembrance for Anne Frank and Samantha Smith, and their contributions to our worldhttp://www.anneandsamantha.com/
     Daylight Appreciation Day -- celebrating the benefits of sunshinehttp://nationaldaylightday.com/2013/05/05/national-daylight-appreciation-day-celebrates-benefits-of-sunlight-on-longest-day-of-the-year-june-21/
     Finally Summer Day/Finally Winter Day
     Hump Day -- Tasmania (because it is the shortest in the year, Taswegians today feel they are over the "hump" of winter.)
     Inti Raymi -- Inca (festival of the sun god Inti, ongoing);Sacsayhuamán Andes Mountain Natives (winter solstice and New Year festival)
     Litha / Yule -- Wicca/Pagan (northern hemisphere / southern hemisphere)
     Midnight Sun Baseball Game -- Fairbanks, AK, US (begins promptly at 10:35pm local time, and played without any artificial lights allowed)
     Midsomarsblog -- Norse Viking celebrations (time of fishing, trading, and raiding)
     Midsummer -- Midsummer Festivals begin -- Juhannus Day in Finland and Midsommar in Denmark and Norway, celebrated over the next several days in many Scandinavian traditions; often this time is also associated with betrayal, as the sunlight begins to decrease, this is when Baldur was betrayed, as well as Sigurd.
     Midsummer -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan
     Midsummer Baal -- Ancient Celtic Calendar
     Polar Bear Swim -- Nome, AK, US (if they can break through the ice!)
     Solsticio de Invierno / Ano Nuevo Aymara -- Bolivia (Winter Solstice / Aymara Indiginous People's New Year)
     We Tripantu -- Chile (Mapuche natives winter solstice festival)
     Wadjet Summer Solstice Ceremony -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate, it may have been a multi-day ceremony that began on Midsummer's Eve)

Spirit of the Woods Folk Festival -- Brethren, MI, US (a family friendly good time in the park)

St. Alban's Day (Patron of epileptics, people with hernias; against epilepsy, hernias, kidney stones)

St. Aloysius Gonzanga's Day (Protector of young students, young men; Patron of AIDS care-givers and patients; for relief from pestilence; Castiglione delle Stiviere, Italy; Valmonte, Italy; against sore eyes)

Tiger-Get-By's Third Birthday -- Fairy Calendar

Ulloortuneq -- Greenland (National Day)

Virginia State Championship Chili Cook-Off -- Roanoke, VA, US (the best chili from around the country, and much more)

World Handshake Day -- no one likes them fishy, and it's not a contest; practice a firm grip and a smile! not to be confused with National Handshake Day, today's sponsor is here

World Music Day -- begun in the UK, now celebrated everywhere


Anniversaries Today:

New Hampshire becomes the 9th US State, 1788


Birthdays Today:

Kris Allen, 1985
Prince William (William Arthur Philip Louis), 1982
Juliette Lewis, 1973
Larry Wachowski, 1965
Sammi Davis-Voss, 1964
Doug Savant, 1964
Berkeley Breathed, 1957
Rick Sutcliffe, 1956
Benazir Bhutto, 1953
Nils Lofgren, 1951
Meredith Baxter, 1947
Michael Gross, 1947
Ray Davies, 1944
Mariette Hartley, 1940
Joe Flaherty, 1940
Bernie Kopell, 1933
Maureen Stapleton, 1925
Jane Russell, 1921
Jean-Paul Sartre, 1905
Al Hirschfeld, 1903
Reinhold Niebuhr, 1892
Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1859
Daniel Carter Beard, 1850
Daniel D. Tompkins, 1774
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, 1731
Increase Mather, 1639


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Evita"(Musical), 1978
"Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg"(Wagner opera), 1868


Today in History:

Jews are expelled from Nurenberg Bavaria by Emperor Maximillian, 1498
The Incident at Honno-ji takes place in Kyoto, Japan, 1582
In Montreal in New France, a slave known by the French name of Marie-Joseph Angélique is put to death, having been convicted of the arson that destroyed much of the city, 1734
Halifax, Nova Scotia, is founded, 1749
The first Victoria Cross is awarded during the bombardment of Bomarsund in the Åland Islands, 1854
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police fire a volley into a crowd of unemployed war veterans, killing two, during the Winnipeg General Strike, 1919
The first successful west-to-east navigation of Northwest Passage begins at Vancouver, British Columbia, 1940
Columbia Records introduces the long-playing record album in a public demonstration at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, 1948
Ellen Louks Fairclough is sworn in as Canada's first woman Cabinet Minister, 1957
In handing down the decision in Miller v. California 413 US 15, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the Miller Test for obscenity in U.S. law, 1973
SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately funded spaceplane  to achieve spaceflight, 2004
Pluto's newly discovered moons are officially named Nix & Hydra, 2006
Greenland assumes self-rule, 2009
The U.S. officially charges Edward Snowden with espionage, 2013

Happy Christmas to All

How do we prepare for holidays?  With cooking and baking.  Little Girl and i were busy the other day, and most of the treats didn't even make it until today.  That's okay, they were enjoyed.

Hojaldras -- a sweet flatbread, for Grandpa.

Little Girl's experiment -- peanut butter cookies with Nutella, too.  They taste like Reese's, the kids say.

Fudge cookies, regular crisp rice treats, and butterscotch crisp rice treats.

In and among all of this, Young Jacob and #2 Son had a "sword" fight with my Christmas wrapping paper rolls, and Festus came in.

"Where have you been?" #2 Son asked him.

"It had been almost two hours since I had fast food, so I had to go get a fix!" Festus answered, holding up his McDonald's bag.

Little Girl and Bigger Girl started a conversation about a movie they had seen, and i caught just the last bit of what Little Girl was saying about a particular character.  "It was an adequate portrayal," she noted.

"You mean accurate, don't you?" Bigger Girl said.

"No, I mean adequate!  Either word would work, but I meant 'adequate' in this case," Little Girl answered.  Then she laughed and said, "Don't tell me how to English!  I know how to English!"

So at least we were entertained while baking, and had a lot of laughter along the way.

Have a blessed and beautiful day, everyone; no matter what or how you celebrate, may there be laughter.



Today is:

A'phabet Day -- a/k/a No "L" Day!  yes, go ahead and groan

Carol Day -- internet generated, listed as different dates, but this is the last day this year you should have to listen to Christmas songs, so enjoy

Children's Day -- Cameroon; Chad; Central African Republic; Congo; Congo DR; Equatorial Guinea; Gabon; Uruguay

Christmas Day/Feast of the Nativity -- Christian/Orthodox Christian

Constitution Day -- Taiwan

Dies Natalis Invicti Solis -- Ancient Roman Calendar (birthday of the invincible sun god)

Ennead Feast in the Houses of Ra, Horus, and Osiris -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Family Day -- Angola; Mozambique; Uruguay

Icelandic Traditional Calendar Month Morsugur "Fat Sucker" begins -- Iceland (referring to the daily fare becoming scant in deep winter and body fat is used up)

Malkh-Festival -- Nakh peoples of Chechenya and Ingushetia (a sun god festival)

National Pumpkin Pie Day

Quaid-e-Azam's Day -- Pakistan (birth anniversary of "Great Leader," the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah)

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Day -- introduced by Montgomery Ward Department Store this day in 1939

St. Anastasia of Sirmium's Day (Patron of martyrs, weavers, and widows)


Anniversaries Today:

Hirohito becomes Emperor of Japan, 1926
Washington crosses the Delaware, 1776


Birthdays Today

Dido, 1971
Rickey Henderson, 1958
Shane MacGowan, 1957
Annie Lennox, 1954
Karl Rove, 1950
Ron Foos, 1949
Sissy Spacek, 1949
Barbara Mandrell, 1948
Larry Csonka, 1946
Jimmy Buffett, 1946
Gary Sandy, 1945
Hanna Schygulla, 1943
Carlos Castaneda, 1925
Rod Serling, 1924
Anwar Sadat, 1918
Quentin Crisp, 1908
Cab Calloway, 1907
Humphrey Bogart, 1899
Cal Farley, 1895
Robert Ripley, 1893
Dame Rebecca West, 1892
Conrad Hilton, 1887
Evangeline Cory Booth, 1865
Clara Barton, 1821
Isaac Newton, 1642
Traditional Birthday of Mithras
Traditional Birthday of Sol


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Sword in the Stone"(Cartoon Film), 1963
"The Steve Allen Show"(TV), 1950
"Metropolitan Opera Radio Broadcasts", 1931
"Why Marry?"(Play, first to win a Pulitzer for Drama), 1917
"Symphony Fantastique: Épisode de la vie d'un Artiste ... en cinq parties"(Berlioz Symphony), 1830


Today in History:

The first Christmas, according to calendar maker Dionysus Exiguus, 1
The earliest possible date that Christmas was celebrated on the 25th, 337
The first definite date that Christmas was celebrated on the 25th, 352
Coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome, 800
William I, Conqueror, crowned king of England, 1066
Boudouin I of Boulogne crowned king of Jerusalem, 1100
Count Roger II of Sicily is crowned the first King of Sicily, 1130
St Francis of Assisi assembles the first Nativity scene, in Greccio, Italy, 1223
The city of Natal, Brazil is founded., 1599
Gov William Bradford of Plymouth forbids game playing on Christmas, 1621
The Massachusetts General Court ordered a fine of five shillings for "observing any such day as Christmas", 1651
The first performance of "Silent Night" takes place in the church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria, 1818
Louisiana & Arkansas are the first US states to observe Christmas as holiday, 1831
Despite bitter opposition, Pres Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all persons involved in Southern rebellion (a/k/a the Civil War, or, tongue planted firmly in cheek, that recent unpleasantness between the States), 1868
The legendary/unofficial "Christmas Truce" takes place between the British & Germans, 1914
Emperor Taisho of Japan dies; his son, Prince Hirohito succeeds him as Emperor Showa, 1926
Montgomery Ward introduces Rudolph the 9th reindeer, 1939
The first in Europe artificial, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was initiated within Soviet nuclear reactor F-1, 1946
The Stone of Scone, traditional coronation stone of British monarchs, is taken from Westminster Abbey by Scottish nationalist students, 1950
Richard Starkey gets his first drum set for Christmas, 1957
Apollo 8 performs the very first successful Trans Earth Injection (TEI) maneouver, sending the crew and spacecraft on a trajectory back to Earth from Lunar orbit, 1968
Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Northern Territory Australia, 1974
Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with President of Egypt, Anwar Sadat, 1977
The first successful trial run of the system which would become the World Wide Web, 1990
Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the Soviet Union (the union itself is dissolved the next day), 1991
Cassini orbiter releases Huygens probe which would later successfully land on Saturn's moon Titan, 2004

Do you know a muffin man?

Not yet, but at the rate at which she is going, Little Girl may become a muffin woman.  Meanwhile, she decided, spur of the moment, to try her hand at scones.

"Mom, what does it mean to cut in butter" she asked.

Pulling out my pastry cutter, i explained how to put cold butter into the dry ingredients and work it in until it resembled coarse crumbs.

She measured flour and leavening and sugar, then cut in the butter.  "Is this right?" she asked, and i told her yes.

Then she put in the wet ingredients, and mixed, and i showed her how to turn it out onto a floured surface and knead in a bit more flour.

When i saw her trying to form it with her hands, i grabbed my trusty rolling pin and got her started on rolling it into a square so she could cut them into the traditional wedge shape. 

Pulling out the shortening, she greased the cookie sheet and set them in the oven.  Nervously, she paced back into the kitchen multiple times while they were baking to check on them.

After about 15 minutes, it was time for hot, buttered scones.  And except for me helping a little in a couple of places, she did it herself.

Today is:

Alcatraz Day -- the first prisoners arrived this day in 1934

Carnaval del Pueblo -- London Pleasure Gardens Royal Victoria Docks, London, England (promoting and preserving world heritage in London)

Day of Honor for Oddudua -- Santeria religion (cognate of the Roman Catholic St. Clare of Assisi; credited with the creation of humans)

Dog Days end -- yes, supposedly, in this heat, at least in some traditions

Don't Wait, Celebrate! Week -- 2nd full week of August each year; because spontaneous and frequent celebrations are good for you

Feast of St. Attracta -- Irish Catholic Saint (founded a hospice and convents, and supposedly slayed a dragon; Patron of Achonry, Ireland; Men of Lugna)

Independence Day -- Chad(1960)

Ingersoll Day

Melon Day -- Turkmenistan (the country that really loves its muskmellons)

National Peacekeepers Day -- Canada (obs. on Sunday closest to the 9th)

National Raspberry Bombe Day or Raspberry Tart Day -- whichever one you like best, or both, if that's the way you roll

Osaka Castle Takigi-noh -- Osaka Castle, Osaka City, Japan (free Noh performances, through tomorrow)

Palio Del Golfo -- La Speza, Italy (a special, traditional rowing contest over a 2,000m course)

Play in the Sand Day -- as per many internet sites; yeah, like at the beach, nothing like sand in your shorts, i get enough of that on vacation, thank you

Presidential Joke Day**

Son and Daughter Day -- the day to give your son(s) or daughter(s) the gift of time

St. Clare of Assisi's Day -- (Foundress of the Order of Poor Ladies [Poor Clares] Franciscan nuns; Patron of embroiderers, eyes, gilders/gold workers/goldsmiths, good weather, laundry workers, needle workers, telegraphs, telephones, and television writers; Assisi, Italy; Santa Clara Indian Pueblo; against eye disease)***; related observance
     Fiesta de Santa Clara -- Santa Clara Pueblo, NM, US (Native American celebration of St. Clare of Assisi, their Patron saint, with a corn dance and prayers for rain)

St. Philomela's Day (Patron of babies, children, desperate causes, forgotten causes, impossible causes, lost causes, orphans, poor people, priests, prisoners, sick people, students, test takers, toddlers, young people; against barrenness, bodily ills, infertility, mental illness, sickness, sterility)


Birthdays Today:

Hulk Hogan, 1953
Arlene Dahl, 1928
Mike Douglas, 1925 (Note: he also died on this date in 2006)
Alex Haley, 1921
Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, 1667 (Last of the Medicis)


Today in History:

First day of the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar, used my the Maya and other pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, BC3114
Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founder of the Armenian nation, BC2492
Battle of Artemisium, naval battle of the Greco-Persian War, fought at the same time as the Battle of Thermopylae of the same war; Leonidas, King of Sparta, dies in the land battle, BC480*
Papandayan Java volcanic eruption kills 3,000, 1772
Charles Lawrence gives expulsion orders to remove the Acadians from Nova Scotia beginning the Great Upheaval, 1755
The world's first roller rink opens in Newport, RI, 1866
The first civilian prisoners arrive at Alcatraz, 1934
Actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil receive a patent for a frequency hopping, spread spectrum communication system that later became the basis for modern technologies in wireless telephones and Wi-Fi, 1942
A bomb explodes on Pan Am Flight 830, en route from Tokyo to Honolulu, killing one teenager and injuring 15 passengers, 1984
NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history, 2003


*some historians give different dates

**because presidents have a sense of humor, too, as shown this day in 1984 when Reagan thought the microphone was off and joked about Russia being outlawed

***why tv? because when she became too ill to attend mass at the end of her life, a miraculous image of the service would display on the wall of her room

Blessed with Bananas

I am more than blessed with bananas.

Banana bread will figure largely in the gifts I will be giving people this year, as I was able to get a good quantity of bananas. They are just at the slightly overripe stage where they are great for bread and smoothies, and therefore marked down for quick sale.

Now I just need to convince the kids to do the baking for me (won't take much convincing, actually, they do it all the time, and leave the evidence in the sink for me to find the next morning), with me supervising so #2 Son doesn't use too much nutmeg. In his opinion, there is no such thing as too much nutmeg, but trust me, there is.

Babies are fun, and little kids cute, but still home and old enough to cook or really help cook is a great age for children.


Today is:

Bona Dea Festival -- Ancient Roman Calendar (celebration of goodness)

Feast of Liu-Hsing, China (stellar god of happiness)

Grange Day

Independence Day, Singapore

International Day of Persons with Disabibilities

Jazz Day

Make a Gift Day

National Ice Cream Box Day

Reinvigorate Your Brain by Reading Something Day

St. Francis Xavier's Day (patron of Australia, Borneo, China, Goa,

India, missionaries, Outer Mongolia, tourism)

Telescope Day


Anniversaries Today:

Illinios becomes the 21st US State, 1818


Birthdays Today:

Brendan Fraser, 1968
Daryl Hannah, 1960
Julianne Moore, 1960
Ozzy Osbourne, 1948
Jean-Luc Godard, 1930
Andy Williams, 1927
John Backus, 1924
Joseph Conrad, 1857
Charles Alfred Pillsbury, 1842


Today in History:

Sir Thomas Herriot introduces potatoes to England, 1586
In an uprising over mining licenses, which came to be called the rebellion at the Eureka Stockade, more than 20 goldminers at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia are killed by state troopers in what many claim to be the birth of Australian democracy, 1854
The trial of Jefferson Davis starts with the first blacks on a US trial jury, 1868
Settlers arrive at Petach Tikvah, Israel, 1878
Neon lights make their public debut at the Paris Auto Show, 1910
The Quebec Bridge, after almost 20 years of planning and construction, opens, 1917
The first successful Technicolor movie, "Tall of the Sea," premiers in NYC, 1922
Chinese refugee ship "Kiangya" explodes in E China Sea, killing 1,100, 1948
Paul Harvey begins his national radio broadcast, 1950