Morning Chat

[DaveA]

It's my wife and I's 20 year anniversary!

[Blackcat31]

Good Morning all! Bright and sunny here today! Yay!

Today we celebrate

National Cheese Souffle Day ~ observed May 18th, we can all enjoy a little of this French delight. The word souffle is the past participle of the French verb, souffler, which means “to blow up” or “puff up.” Combine egg whites with custard, and it will puff up into a fine, golden souffle when baked.

Gruyère cheese, parmesan, cheddar, provolone, and fontina are just a few of the cheeses you can use to make an amazing soufflé. Add complimentary herbs and spices and your dish will be a hit at the dinner table!

National No Dirty Dishes Day ~ On May 18th, National No Dirty Dishes Day suggests taking a break from your regular daily routine. There are a few options for this day.

1. Eat all meals out. Order take out and eat your meals in the containers they come in. If it’s possible, it would be a bonus treat.
2. Use disposable plates, cups, and silverware. To stay earth-friendly, choose ones that are biodegradable.
3. Fast. While not everyone can fast, occasional fasting can be good for the body.
4. Eat only foods that come in their own containers and eat small meals. For example, eat a banana for breakfast. Prepare hard-boiled eggs the day before and enjoy them for lunch.
5. Finally, avoid dirty dishes by washing every dish you use as you use it. That way, no dirty dish ends up in the sink.

National Visit Your Relatives Day ~ on May 18th encourages family members to stay connected. Our hectic lives makes it easy to get so caught up in the busyness of today’s fast-paced lifestyle. We often lose touch with our relatives. The observance reminds us to stop for a moment, take some much-needed time and visit those relatives we care about and have not seen or spoken to for a while.

Sometimes it is hard when families do not live close. Often siblings, cousins, parents, and dear relatives are scattered across the country. A visit can be a phone call or a face-to-face live chat on the computer. With today’s technology, we are now able to communicate with loved ones living far away, yet seeing them as if they are right beside us.


So have a wonderful day everybody and maybe touch base with a relative you haven't talked to in a while, after all life is much too short not to make time for family!

[Annalee]

I'm not a cherry nor walnut person but am hit or miss on the pack rat! If I'm in the RIGHT mood, I can chunk ANY THING! But if the mood isn't right, I may keep too much stuff! Therefore, I make sure I'm in the RIGHT mood before deep cleaning.

[Blackcat31]

Good morning everyone! Bright sunny and super warm temps in the forecast this week! Yay!

Today we celebrate

National Walnut Day ~ Each year May 17th recognizes the holiday squirrels go a little nutty over, National Walnut Day.

Rounded, single-seeded stone fruits of the walnut tree, walnuts are a high-density source of nutrients, particularly proteins and essential fatty acids. Like other tree nuts, walnuts must be processed and stored properly. Grown for their seeds, the Persian or English Walnut and the Black Walnut are the two most common major species of walnuts.

The United States exports more walnuts than any other country. Ninety-nine percent of the nation’s commercial English walnuts are produced in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys of California.

National Cherry Cobbler Day ~ May 17th each year dedicates the celebration of National Cherry Cobbler Day to the delicious tart dessert that many enjoy with ice cream.

In the United States, cobbler refers to a variety of dishes consisting of a fruit filling (cherry being a popular choice ) covered with a batter, biscuit, or pie crust that is then baked. Some cobblers have both a top and bottom crust.

Cobblers originated in the early British American colonies. Due to the lack of suitable ingredients and proper cooking equipment, English settlers were unable to make their traditional suet puddings. They improvised by covering a stewed filling with a layer of uncooked biscuits or dumplings.

A cherry cobbler differs from a crisp as a cobbler lacks oatmeal. Sometimes the cobbler is topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, too!

National Pack Rat Day ~ Each year on May 17th, National Pack Rat Day encourages us to take a look at ourselves and see if we have “Pack Rat” tendencies within us. A Pack Rat holds on to, collects or hoards often unneeded items.

According to Meriam Webster, the phrase pack rat dates back to 1885 and references a wood rat known for hoarding food and random objects. Today, the phrase is loosely used to describe people who do the same.

Have you ever cleaned out a closest and critically examined every item, tossing and donating things so that you had a clean space? Then days or weeks later discovered you needed one specific item you donated or tossed. It may be a document or container, but it never fails to happen. In the age of recycling, reusing, and repurposing, pack rats consider every item before they toss and donate.

The observance is an opportunity for the pack rat in all of us to examine our collecting tendencies.

Have a wonderful Monday! Stay healthy, happy and safe!!

[CeriBear]

We actually did the chicken dance to get our wiggles out yesterday but I had no idea it was dance like a chicken day. Great timing. 😀

[GirlMomma]

I should have taught the kids the chicken dance today! 🤗

[Blackcat31]

Good morning everyone!! Happy Friday!!

Today we celebrate

National Buttermilk Biscuit Day ~ May 14th ushers in National Buttermilk Biscuit Day to celebrate this high-rising breakfast staple.

Biscuits are made using baking powder or baking soda as a leavening agent rather than yeast. A typicalbuttermilk biscuit recipe contains flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, butter, and buttermilk. Before the American Civil War, biscuits emerged as an inexpensive addition to meals. This sturdier bread product soon became popular as people realized it absorbed the gravy on their plate better than plain bread. Soon a new family favorite, biscuits, and gravy, was created.

Supermarkets offer canned biscuits that are refrigerated until ready to be baked. In 1931, Ballard and Ballard patented these refrigerator biscuits.

Biscuits have been a staple of the Southern United States cuisine for many years and are often made with buttermilk. Traditionally served as a side dish with butter, they are also served at breakfast with molasses, light sugarcane syrup, maple syrup, sorghum syrup, honey, jam, or jelly, or as a breakfast sandwich.


National Decency Day ~ on May 14th celebrates the basic standard of civility that every American deserves. DECENCY is a non-partisan grassroots movement launched to inspire decency in everyday life – in both conversations and actions. By raising awareness, the movement aims to encourage schools and local community groups to embrace DECENCY and integrate it into both curriculum plans and service projects.

DECENCY is all about:
Active listening
Better understanding
Compassion

Decency offers an opportunity to be better role models for our children. If we can all be civil with one another, we are setting the right example.

National Dance Like a Chicken Day ~ on May 14th encourages everyone to dance like a chicken! This day entertains from start to finish with people flapping their arms and strutting chicken-like. Everyone has probably danced the “Chicken Dance”at least once in their lifetime. This silly fun song is popular at wedding dances, Oktoberfest, and other celebrations, too. The song gets people of all ages up and moving on the dance floor.

Originally written with the name Der Ententanz (The Duck Dance), rumors suggest the song was written as a drinking song for Oktoberfest. The song’s title later changed to Vogeltanz (The Bird Dance). Upon arriving in America in the 1970s, the song acquired choreography with repetitive beak, wing, and tail motions, as well as the new name, The Chicken Dance.

Hoping everyone's week ends on a positive note! Stay happy and healthy!

[GirlMomma]

It’s FRIDAY! 🥳

[Josiegirl]

Happy Friday everyone!! The sun is coming out Hope everyone has fun plans for the weekend so you get to recharge after your busy chaotic stressed out week!

I love apple pie, hot with vanilla bean ice cream but I like apple crisp more.
I also like croutons and have been known to eat them right out of the bag. To heck with the healthy green stuff.
A frog that jumped over 21'?? That is amazing. My dcks used to go gaga over frogs/toads when they found one, along with bugs, worms and every other living moving thing we had in the yard.

[Blackcat31]

Good Morning Everybody!

Today we celebrate:

National Apple Pie Day ~ America’s favorite dessert, is observed annually on May 13th.
The first apple pie recipe printed was in England in 1381. The list of ingredients included good apples, good spices, figs, raisins, pears, saffron, and cofyn (a type of pastry crust).

While the apple pie existed well before the Pilgrims landed on the eastern shores of what is now The United States, Americans wax poetic about how American apple pie is. The phrase “as American as apple pie” has been around for more than 100 years.

Soldiers during World War II were often quoted they were fighting “for Mom and apple pie.” In 1970, advertisers used the patriotic connection with a commercial jingle “Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet.”

National Crouton Day ~ on May 13th each year recognizes a tasty topping that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Many of our words for bread-related foods come from the French and for good reason. The French love bread. Croutons are no different. The French word croûte means crust. Croutons are often made from day-old bread which has been cut into cubes and seasoned with herbs, oil, or butter. The bread is then either toasted in the oven or tossed in a hot pan until crunchy.

National Frog Jumping Day ~ Observed each year on May 13th, National Frog Jumping Day is a favorite of young and old alike.

In 1865, Mark Twain published his first short story, Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog. Later, he changed the name and published it as The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. This same story also had a third title, The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.

The current frog jumping record was set in 1986 by Rosie the Ribeter, who jumped 21 feet, 5-3/4 inches.


Have a happy, stress less and safe day!!

[Blackcat31]

CenterTeacher20 Apparently fudge sold there is really good as Mackinac Island was mentioned in the summary of the day. It said, "In 1886, a letter was found written by Emelyn Bettersby Hartridge a Vassar College student in Poughkeepsie, NY about her Baltimore, MD cousin. It referred to a fudge her cousin had made and sold for 40 cents per pound. Hartridge obtained the recipe, and in 1888, she made 30 pounds of fudge for the Vassar College Senior Auction.

Late in the 19th century, some shops on Mackinac Island, Michigan, began to produce similar products as the Vassar College fudge and sold it to summer vacationers. Fudge is still made in some of the original shops there today."

[CenterTeacher20]

Ughhhhhh yummmm... thinking about fudge makes me want to go back to Mackinac Island. I swear there was a fudge store every ten feet on the strip! So many, I think we still have some frozen in our deep freeze. I'll have to check that out when we get home. Yummmmm

[Josiegirl]

Uhoh now I want fudge. Peanut butter fudge.

Hope you all are having a good week; it's half way done. I've been to different stores this week trying to buy everything we need for gardening this year. Either it's a little early or their stock isn't great. Plus prices have jumped, especially on things like manure and gardening soil. Eeks.

[Blackcat31]

Good Morning everyone!! Hoping the week has been kind for all so far!

Today we celebrate

National Third Shift Worker Day ~ Each year, National Third Shift Workers Day on the second Wednesday in May recognizes the workers who face the night to keep businesses running, hospitals staffed, and streets safe. The day is also known as National Night Shift Workers Day. Whether it’s a manufacturing facility in high demand or a processing plant that requires an overnight cleaning or cycle change, businesses function as efficiently as possible.

Hospitals, first responders, and nursing homes work 24 hours a day, too. Metropolitan areas of any size have employees working overnight to ensure the safety and reliability of water, power, and other infrastructure. The day honors all third shift workers whether they rotate in and out of the shift or not.

National Limerick Day ~ Observed annually on May 12th, National Limerick Day celebrates the birthday of English artist, illustrator, author, and poet Edward Lear (May 12, 1812 – Jan. 29, 1888). Lear is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry, prose, and limericks.

Limerick poems were popularized by Edward Lear’s book “Book of Nonsense” in 1846. A limerick is a very short, humorous, nonsense poem. Within a limerick, there are five lines. The first two lines rhyme with the fifth line and the third and fourth line rhyme together. The Limerick also has a particular rhythm which is officially described as anapestic trimeter.

THERE WAS A YOUNG LADY
By Edward Lear

There was a Young Lady whose chin
Resembled the point of a pin;
So she had it made sharp, and purchased a harp,
And played several tunes with her chin.

National Nutty Fudge Day ~ Each year on May 12th, National Nutty Fudge Day tempts you to indulge in smooth chocolate fudge filled with crunchy nuts.

A Western confection, fudge is usually sweet and delicious. It consists of combining sugar, butter, and milk, heating it to the correct temperature, and then mixing it while it cools to a smooth, creamy consistency. There are many varieties and flavors of fudge, with chocolate being the most popular.

Many candy makers include pecans and walnuts when they prepare their fudge. As a celebratory treat, fudge makes a delicious gift. It packages well and recipients are often overjoyed to receive homemade fudge.

Have a wonderful, safe and awesome day!!

[Cat Herder]

Too sweet. Mine (the one not deployed) is in an avoid mama and have fun running the highways with the guys from work phase. lol!! 22 years old, what can you do? With all the extra rain we have had, I was able to pressure wash this afternoon, instead. It is rare to have days with no infants (so my husband can supervise nap while doing desk work) so I can knock out outdoor projects. The storm started just as I finished and came in, the sun shined on me the whole time I was working, it was awesome!