On the label of every bottle of Tabasco Brand hot sauce, you will see that it is produced by the McIlhenny Company of Avery Island, Louisiana. There are scores of legends and stories about the founder of the company, the family, and the origin of the Tabasco recipe.
Some of the stories are just legends -- like the idea that founder E. A. McIlhenny was the first to release the South American nutria rat into Louisiana. He did not begin farming the varmints, as a separate operation from his hot sauce company, until after another farmer had already released several.
Then some stories, like the one mentioned below in Today in History, are accurate. He did successfully hunt that record alligator.
The nutria cause a great deal of damage in the bayous and to the levees, but now the alligators are starting to figure out that nutria taste good. Both, of course, taste good spiced up with some Tabasco. Somehow, that strikes me as a form of poetic justice.
Today is:
Advent of Isis -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar
Advent of Inanna -- Ancient Sumerian Calendar
Ancestry Day, Haiti
Berchtoldstag (Nut Festival), Switzerland
Earth at Perihelion
Festival of Four Winds and All Sky
Good Luck Day, Macedonia
Granada Day, Spain
Happy Mew Year for Cats Day
Kakizone -- Japan ("first writing", the first calligraphy written at the
beginning of the New Year)
Miniature Golf Day
National Cream Puff Day
National Science Fiction Day
Ninth Day of Christmas
Revolution Day, Cuba
Run Up the Flagpole and See if Anyone Salutes It Day
Shigoto Hajime (Beginning of Work Day), Japan
St. Adelard's Day (Patron of gardeners.)
St. Basil's Day, Russia (Patron of hospital administrators)
St. Blidulf of Bobbio
St. Gregory of Nazianzus' Day
St. Macarius' Day (Patron of of cooks, confectioners and pastry chefs.)
St. Seraphim of Sarov's Day
Anniversaries Today:
Georgia becomes the 4th US State, 1788
Birthdays Today:
Christy Turlington, 1969
Cuba Gooding, Jr. 1968
Tia Carrere, 1967
Gabrielle Carteris, 1961
Alan Beckwith, 1952
Dennis Hastert, 1942
Jim Bakker, 1939
Roger Miller, 1936
Isaac Asimov, 1920
Sally Rand, 1904
Barry Goldwater, 1902
Today in History:
The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire, 366
Emperor Joseph II orders Jews of Galicia Austria to adopt family names, 1235
Spain recaptures Granada from the Moors (Granada Day), 1492
The first American revolutionary flag is displayed, 1776
The British Institution of Civil Engineers is founded, 1881
"The Liberator", and abolitionist newspaper, begins publishing in Boston, 1831
The British reestablish rule in the Falklands, 1833
The first US wire suspension bridge for general traffic opens in Pennsylvania, 1842
Because of anti-monopoly laws, Standard Oil is organized as a trust, 1882
Alice Sanger becomes the first female White House staffer, 1890
A record 19'2" alligator is shot in Louisiana by E. A. McIlhenny, 1890
Pres. T Roosevelt shuts down post office in Indianola Miss, for refusing to accept its appointed postmistress because she was black, 1903
The American anarcho-syndicalist union known as the Industrial Workers of the World forms, 1905
The Canadian branch of the Royal Mint opens in Ottawa, 1908
Lithuania gains independence, 1919
The US & Canada agree to preserve Niagara Falls, 1929
The black-eyed peas are on the stove, simmering in the home made chicken stock with the bacon and drippings and onions.
The sauerkraut and applesauce and bratwurst and onions are simmering in the crock pot, with the Swiss cheese (yes, really) to be added later.
Cabbage is in the fridge, for cole slaw later on.
Thus armed for good luck, let the New Year begin!
Quote of the Day:
Be like the jutting rock against which waves are constantly crashing, and all around it the frothing foam then settles back down. Say not "Oh, I am so unfortunate that this has happened to me." But rather "How fortunate I am that, even though this has happened to me, I continue uninjured, neither terrified by the present nor in fear of the future.
Marcus Aurelius
Today is:
Black Nazarene Fiesta (through Jan. 8), Philippines
Bonza Bottler Day
Coon Carnival, South Africa (equivalent of Mardi Gras)
Daddy Frost Day, Russia
Eighth Day of Christmas
Feast of St. Basil -- Orthodox Christian
First-Foot Day
Gantan-sai (New Years) -- Shinto
Independence Day, Samoa, Sudan
Jupiter and Juno's Day -- Old Roman Calendar
Kalends of January
Kwanzaa, Day 7 (final day): Imani (faith)
Mary, Mother of God -- Catholic Christian
Mummer's Parade
National Bloody Mary Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Dishonor List Day
Shogatsu, Japan (New Year, most important holiday of the year)
St. Agatha's Day (protector from starvation, fire)
St. Basil's Day (Patron of hospital administrators)
St. Clarus' Day (patron against myopia)
St. Odilo's Day
St. Fulgentius' Day
St. Telemachus' Day
Tournament of Roses Parade
Universal Hour of Peace (noon, Greenwich Mean Time)
Z Day
Birthdays Today:
Verne "Mini-Me" Troyer, 1969
Kathleen Casey, 1946
Don Novello, 1943
J. D. Salinger, 1919
Barry Goldwater, 1909
Xavier Cugat, 1900
J. Edgar Hoover, 1895
Betsy Ross, 1752
Paul Revere, 1735
Today in History:
The Julian Calendar takes effect for the first time, BC45
Origin of the Christian Era, 1
The last gladiator competion in Rome, 404
Muhammad sets out toward Mecca with his army, 630
Jews of Sicily are no longer required to attend conversionist services, 1430
Portuguese navigators become the first Europeans to see the Guanabara Bay, which they thought was the mouth of a river and first called Rio de Janeiro (River of January), 1502
German astronomer Simon Marius first sees Jupiter's moons (he did not report them, though, Galileo did, on July 10 of the same year), 1610
Samuel Pepys makes his first diary entry, 1660
The first traveler's cheques go on sale in London, for use in 90 European cities, 1772
The Irish Parliament votes to join the Kingdom of Great Britain, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1801
The dwarf planet Ceres is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi, 1801
Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tay San Dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Hue, Vietnam, 1803
Haiti gains independence from France (National Day). 1804
The first homestead under the Homestead Act claimed, near Beatrice, Nebraska, 1863
England's Queen Victoria proclaimed empress of India, 1877
The first Tournament of Roses is held, 1900
Vancouver, BC starts driving on the right side of road, 1922
Emperor Hirohito of Japan announces he is not a god, 1946
Just a couple of random thoughts from my abnormal brain.
When did we go from saying that a restaurants' food was just like home made to saying, about something we made at home, that it tastes as good as any we've had in a restaurant? Sweetie's best compliment about my turkey salad sandwiches was that they tasted as good as any he's ever had when he went out to eat.
I know that I am supposed to think that the years are going by too fast. That's what is supposed to happen as you get older. (After all, when you are 8 years old, a year is only 1/8th of your life span, and when you are 48 it is 1/48th, so of course it seems to have gone by more quickly.) But when did it start happening to kids that they feel the same way? My Little Girl, age 11, is already complaining about how fast time flies, and the other kids are agreeing with her.
Side note: Yes, time is going fast. She is my "baby", and we measured her on the door frame yesterday. She is now 1/16 of an inch taller than I am. I know, I'm only 5'0", so that is not a very great feat to outdo me, but it is official now. All of my children are taller than I am. Yippee!
A couple of health stories that did not get covered much last year:
The Harvard Medical School Nurses Health Study has determined that yo-yo dieting is not bad for your health -- you should go ahead and try to lose weight, if you want to, even if you have lost and regained before.
On the other hand, the Academy for Eating Disorders (AED), Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA), Eating Disorder Coalition (EDC), International Association for Eating Disorder Professionals (IADEP), and National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) all feel that if you are eating healthy, exercising, feel good, and have general good health, you don't really need to worry about the number on the scale or the BMI.
The Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York City study of 120,000 post-menopausal women, which followed their diets for over 8 years, has determined that eating red meat does not raise your chances of getting breast cancer. So go ahead and have some red meat now and then, as part of that overall healthy eating plan.
A quote for the day: Never miss an opportunity to make others happy, even if you have to leave them alone in order to do it. ~Author Unknown
Enjoy the full moon tonight, and I pray for all a blessed New Year.
Today is:
Baal Fire Festival, Allendale, Northumberland
Check Your Smoke Alarms Day
Cowbellion de Rakin Revel, Mobile, Alabama (One of the first "Mystik Krewes" founded in 1830 to celebrate Mardi Gras.)
Fairy Eve's Year News -- Fairy Calendar
Festival Day, Montserrat
Full Long Night Moon (A "blue moon", one of the rare months that has two full moons in it!) -- Also, a partial lunar eclipse will be visible in Europe, Africa, and Asia with this full moon.
Harvest Day, Benin
Hogmanay Day, Scotland
Independence Day, Comoros
Kwanzaa, Day 6, Creativity
Make Up Your Mind Day
Namahge, Japan (devil appearing holiday)
National Champagne Day
New Year's Eve
No Interruptions Day
No Resolution Day
Noche de Pedimento (wishing night)
Omisoka Day, Japan
Procrastinator's Day -- you have to make up your mind
Republic Day, Congo
Revolution Day, Ghana
Saint Sylvester's Day - Belgium, Germany, France and Switzerland
Samoan Fire Dance, Samoa
Seventh Day of Christmas
Solidarity Day, Azerbaijan
Watch Night -- Christian
World Peace Meditation Day (International observance of one hour beginning 12:00 PM GMT, focusing thought and energy on peace.)
You're All Done Day (More like "all done in" if you are like me!)
Birthdays Today:
Joe McIntyre, 1972
Val Kilmer, 1959
Bebe Neuwirth, 1958
Donna Summer, 1948
Tim Matheson, 1947
Barbara Carrera, 1945
John Denver, 1943
Ben Kingsley, 1943
Andy Summers, 1942
Sarah Miles, 1941
Anthony Hopkins, 1937
Odetta, 1930
Simon Wiesenthal, 1908
George C. Marshall, 1880
Henri Matisse, 1869
Today in History:
80,000 Vandals, Alans and Suebians attack the Rhine at Mainz, crossing into and beginning the invation of Gallia, 406
Byzantine General Belisarius completes the conquest of Sicily, defeating the Ostrogothic garrison of Syracuse, and ending his consulship for the year, 535
Ch'an monk Ho-tse Shen-hui interred in a stupa built in China, 765
James I of Aragon the Conqueror enters Medina Mayurqa (now known as Palma, Spain) thus consummating the Christian conquest of the island of Majorca, 1229
100,000 Jews expelled from Sicily, 1492
The British East India Company chartered, 1600
The first Huguenots depart France to Cape of Good Hope, 1687
A window tax is imposed in England, causing many shopkeepers to brick up their windows to avoid the tax, 1695
Rhode Island establishes wage & price controls to curb inflation: Limit is 70 cents a day for carpenters, 42 cents for tailors, 1776
Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as new capital of Canada, 1857
The cornerstone is laid for Honolulu, Hawai'i's Iolani Palace, the only royal palace in the US, 1879
Edison gives 1st public demonstration of his incandescent lamp, 1879
Ellis Island (NYC) opens as a US immigration depot, 1890
Brooklyn's last day as a city, it incorporates into NYC (1/1/1898), 1897
Boers & British army sign peace treaty, 1902
The first New Year's Eve celebration is held in Times Square, then known as Longacre Square, in New York, New York, 1904
For the first time a ball drops at Times Square to signal the new year, 1907
The last San Francisco firehorses are retired, 1921
Dr R N Harger's "drunkometer," the first breath test, is introduced in Indiana, 1938
Work went long today, lots to clean after the wedding this past weekend.
Today is:
Festival of Enormous Changes At the Last Minute
Independence Day, Madagascar
Kwanzaa, Day 5, Purpose
Miracle Day
National Bicarbonate of Soda Day
Republic Day, Romania
Rizal Day, Philippines
Sixth Day of Christmas
St. Sabinus' Day
Anniversary Today:
Rutherford B. Hayes (19th US President) marries Lucy Ware Webb, 1852
Birthdays Today:
LeBron James, 1984
Kristin Kreuk, 1982
Eliza Dushku, 1980
Laila Ali, 1977
Tiger Woods, 1975
Sean Hannity, 1961
Tracey Ullman, 1959
Matt Lauer, 1957
Meredith Vieira, 1953
Patti Smith, 1946
Davy Jones, 1945
Michael Nesmith, 1942
Del Shannon, 1939
Noel Paul Stookey, 1937
Sandy Koufax, 1935
Russ Tamblyn, 1934
Bo Diddley, 1928
Jack Lord, 1920
Bert Parks, 1914
Rudyard Kipling, 1865
Today in History:
Hugo Capet, King of the Franks, crowns his son Robert the Pious king and co-ruler, 987
Tokyo is hit by an earthquake, about 37,000 die, 1703
The first coffee is planted in Hawaii (Kona), 1817
Gyula, Count Andrássy, of Hungary, issues the Andrassy Note, calling for Christian-Muslim religious freedoms, 1875
Gilbert & Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance," premieres, 1879
The American Political Science Association founded at New Orleans, 1903
Iran becomes a constitutional monarchy, 1906
The All India Muslim League is founded in Dacca, East Bengal, British India Empire, which later laid down the foundations of Pakistan, 1906
Japan dedicates the first subway in the Orient (route under 2 miles long), 1927
The internet connection here is running so slowly this morning that it took me over 10 minutes just to get to the page to write this post.
I'm not sure what is up with this, but I hope it is not a picture of how my day is going to run.
Since I have to wait for Sweetie to get up to run an errand with me today, and he has a tendency to sleep until the crack of noon any time he has a day off, it just may be one of those "slow as molasses in January" days.
Today is:
Birthday of Ra -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (sun god)
Broadway Day
Festival of Autonomous Media
Fifth Day of Christmas
International Day for Biological Diversity
Kwanzaa, Day 4, Cooperative Economics
National Chocolate Again Day (Because someone, somewhere, believes it
can't be chocolate something-or-other day often enough.)
Paternoster Row Day
Pepper Pot Day
St. Gabriel - Ethiopia
St. Thomas of Canterbury's Day (patron of the blind)
St. Tropez's Day (patron of children; against gout)
St. Trophimus of Arles' Day
Tick Tock Day
Anniversaries Today:
Texas becomes the 28th US State, 1845
Birthdays Today:
Jude Law, 1972
Bryan "Dexter" Holland, 1966
Ed Autry, 1954
Ted Danson, 1947
Marianne Faithfull, 1946
Jon Voight, 1938
Mary Tyler Moore, 1936
Billy Mitchell, 1879
Andrew Johnson, 1808
Charles Goodyear, 1800
Today in History:
Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, is assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II; he subsequently becomes a saint and martyr in the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church, 1170
The first nautical almanac in US published by Samuel Stearns, Boston, 1782
Gas lights are installed at White House, during the Polk administration, 1848
The fir1st Young Men's Christian Association chapter in the US opens, in Boston, 1851
Emma Snodgrass is arrested in Boston for wearing pants, 1852
The first telegraph ticker used by a brokerage house, Groesbeck & Co, NY, 1867
Edison patents "transmission of signals electrically" (radio), 1891
Mongolia gains independence from the Qing dynasty, 1911
The first movie serial, "Adventures of Kathlyn," premieres in Chicago, 1913
Fred P Newton completes longest swim ever (1826 miles), when he swam in the Mississippi River from Ford Dam, Minn, to New Orleans, 1930
Some people consider today to be the unluckiest day of the year. I'm not sure why that is so, but there you have it, superstitions are not supposed to make sense. (Maybe it was made up by moms so tired from the obligatory work of Christmas/solstice/whatever celebrations that they started the superstition as a way to get a day off!)
According to many of these people, any work undertaken today will never be finished. Well, if that is so, then I will never finish the laundry, ever, or the cooking, dishwashing, sweeping, cat care, people care, shopping, or any of the other work I do around the house.
I don't know about the rest of you, but around here I'm not sure that this constitutes bad luck so much as job security.
Today is:
Bairns Day, Scotland (Begins the runic half-month of Eoh, the yew tree,
which signifies the dead, so today is considered by some the unluckiest
day of the year, and no work should be undertaken today.)
Card Playing Day
Childermas a/k/a Holy Innocents Day, various Christian traditions,
called Inocentes in Mexico, and sometimes celebrated as Mexican December
Fool's Day (Herod fooled himself into thinking he had gotten rid of his
rival king born in Bethlehem.)
Cross Day, Ireland
Dyzemas Day a/k/a Tithe Day
Eat Vegetarian Day
Fairy Academy of Window-Frosting Winter Exhibition -- Fairy Calendar
Fourth Day of Christmas
Independence Day, Indonesia
Kwanzaa, Day 3, Collective Work and Responsibility
National Chocolate Day
Proclamation Day, South Australia
Unluckiest Day of the Year, various traditions state no work should be
started today, for whatever is started today will never be finished!
Anniversaries Today:
Iowa becomes the 29th US State, 1846
Birthdays Today:
Denzel Washington, 1954
Edgar Winter, 1946
Don Francisco, 1940
Maggie Smith, 1934
Nichelle Nichols, 1933
Martin Milner, 1931
Johnny Otis, 1921
Sam Levenson, 1911
Lew Ayres, 1908
Cliff Arquette, 1905
Earl "Fatha" Hines, 1905
Hendrik Meijer, 1883
Woodrow Wilson, 1856
Today in History:
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, a/k/a Westminster Abbey, is consecrated, 1065
The reign of Emperor Hanazono of Japan begins, 1308
King Taksin is crowned as king of Thailand and establishes Thonburi as a capital, 1768
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes Echigo, Japan, killing 30,000+, 1828
John Calhoun becomes the first US Vice President to resign (over differences with President Andrew Jackson), 1832
Spain recognizes independence of Mexico, 1836
Rangoon Burma, destroyed by fire, 1841
The United States claims Midway Island, the first territory annexed outside Continental limits, 1867
The world's first movie theater opens in Paris, 1895
The first daily wireless weather forecasts are published in London, 1904
An earthquake in Messina, Italy, results in nearly 80,000 deaths, 1908
The Peak District becomes the United Kingdom's first National Park, 1950
Really.
We cleaned the church this week on Wednesday for the special Christmas Eve service Thursday.
They wanted us to come clean again this morning (just a quick vacuum of the sanctuary, and wipe up the little -- and big -- boy misses is the restrooms), because there is a wedding being held there this afternoon.
The youth pastor decided to have the youth serve muffins and coffee and donuts as part of the youth hosting the service today, doing songs, plays and skits.
So we had to clean up after the service again.
It was worth it to watch the youth ushers almost drop the collection basket and the children commit such bloopers as "Jesus was born in a bar." (No disrespect intended, the child was young and honestly, unconsciously, hilarious.)
Today is:
Asarah B'Tevet -- Judaism
Ashura -- Islam
Constitution Day, Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Feast of the Holy Family -- Roman Catholic
Feast of Marimba, South Africa (goddess of musical happiness)
Kwanzaa Day 2, Self-Determination
Make Cut Out Snowflakes Day
National Fruitcake Day (Unless, of course, you are like me and have spent your last several days with fruitcake relatives, at which point you get a day off from fruitcakes! ;D )
St. Fabiola's Day
St. John the Divine's Day (patron of Turkey, writers; against poison)
Third Day of Christmas
Visit the Zoo Day
Birthdays Today:
Heather O'Rourke, 1975
Bill Goldberg, 1966
Gerard Depardieu, 1948
Cokie Roberts, 1943
John Amos, 1939
Oscar Levant, 1906
Marlene Dietrich, 1901
Sydney Greenstreet, 1879
Louis Pasteur, 1822
Johannes Kepler, 1571
Today in History:
The Hagia Sofia of Constantinople is completed, 537
The Spanish Crown issues the Laws of Burgos, governing the conduct of settlers with regards to native Indians in the New World, 1512
The first public railroad using steam locomotive completed in England, 1825
Worst English avalanche kills 8 of 15 buried in Lewes Sussex, 1836
Ether is first used in childbirth in US, in Jefferson, Ga., 1845
The sorld's first cat show is held at the Crystal Palace, London, 1871
Carrie Nation's first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel, Wichita, Kansas, 1900
Unsuccessful attempt on prince-regent Hirohito of Japan, 1923
Stalin's faction wins All-Union Congress in USSR, Trotsky is expelled, 1927
The Shah of Persia declares Persia is now Iran, 1934
