Sappy (Not)Cat Blogging from ritaLOVEStoWRITE. Go to her site and see more.
Archive for January, 2014
What am I sappy cat blogging?
January 31, 2014What am I commemorating today?
January 30, 2014
Today is Lifeboat Day – the day the first purpose-built lifeboat was launched in England on the River Tyne. More below from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
1790: The first shore-based boat designed specifically for use as a lifeboat is tested on the River Tyne in northern England.
Christened the Original, she was a 30-foot-long, double-ended, 10-oar longboat built by Henry Greathead of South Shields. She carried 7 hundredweight (784 pounds or 356 kilograms) of cork for added buoyancy and was designed to be self-righting.
Although smaller craft had been pressed into service as lifeboats in the past, Original was the first boat built specifically for sea rescue. She was stationed at the mouth of the Tyne and launched from a shore station. In a career spanning 40 years, she was responsible for saving hundreds of lives.
By 1839, there were 30 lifeboat shore stations operating in the British Isles.
Original was built as the result of an incident in 1789, when a crew was lost after its ship ran aground in stormy seas off the mouth of the river. Although the eight men were in sight of the shore, no one could be persuaded to attempt a rescue that was viewed as suicidal.
Local businessmen upset by the tragedy offered a prize to anyone who could design a true rescue boat. A local parish clerk named William Wouldhave was the winner, and Greathead built Original using Wouldhave’s design.
The first lifeboat association, Britain’s National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (later renamed the Royal National Lifeboat Institution), was organized in 1824. By 1860, the RNLI could claim to have saved more than 12,000 lives at sea.
Shipboard lifeboats — carried on davits aboard larger ships and generally associated with this type of craft — did not appear until later in the 19th century.
(Source: Maritime and Coastguard Agency, RNLI)
A British postage stamp was issued in 1974 to mark the 150th anniversary of the RNLI. This depiction of the rescue of the crew of the Daunt Lightship by the Ballycotton lifeboat Mary Stanford was chosen as the image to be represented on that postage stamp. (source-Wiki)
This is a reposting, but I think it bears the repetition.
Raise a glass to the members of the Lifeboat Service.
What is tattoo Tuesday about?
January 28, 2014Today is National Kazoo Day, but believe it or not, I could not find a photo of a kazoo tattoo. So here are some hummingbirds.
To make this more interesting, here is a video of baby hummingbirds from the time they hatched to fledging.
What am I tootling today?
January 28, 2014
Today is National Kazoo Day – celebrating 146 years of kazoo playing in the USA.
The kazoo is a musical instrument that adds a “buzzing” timbral quality to a player’s voice when the player vocalizes into it. The kazoo is a type of mirliton, which is a membranophone, one of a class of instruments which modifies its player’s voice by way of a vibrating membrane. (Wikipedia)
This weirdly disturbing video describes the history of kazoos.
A little bit of kazoo science:
I really, really want this one:
You can even buy an electrified kazoo that will plug into your amplifier:
Fun for the whole family:
Did I ever tell you that I was once the director of a kazoo band?
What am I celebrating?
January 27, 2014This weekend, Pies on Parade was the celebration in Rockland, Maine. The event centers around National Pie Day (January 23), was sponsored by several local inns in Rockland, and benefits the local food kitchen.
Pie has a broad interpretation in Rockland, including the cute little puffin cream puff pictured above.
“Pie” as a term of art here in Rockland, is broadly interpreted and includes not only the fruit pies that we all love but savory pies and pizza pies as well. You’ll find all of the old favorites, apple, blueberry (of course, this is Maine which is famed for its wild blueberries), cherry, pumpkin and even lemon meringue. Maine is also notable for the Whoopee Pie and these are also very much on the menu, including delicious examples made from the exotic oils and vinegars at Fiore on Main Street. But you will also find heartier fare such as real mincemeat pie, quiches of several varieties, the Franco-Canadian special holiday meat pie – tourtiere, and several varieties of pizza, among other choices. Perhaps the most entrancing offering are the tiny puffin “Cream Puffins” at the Maine Audubon Puffin Project.
Quote is from the examiner.com.
I did not see any coconut cream pie.
Caramel Apple Tart
A variety of fruit pies.
Lobester Quiche
What quiz am I taking?
January 27, 2014
This one from Zimbio about characters from the Big Bang Theory.
Turns out I am Amy. Sigh. Well, I really do love tiaras.
Who is the Bakery Blogumentary about this time?
January 23, 2014
Following the demise of the favorite bakery of my childhood (Hough Bakery) it has been my quest to discover excellent bakeries in the Western Reserve, or in places to which I travel. These are the subject of the Bakery Blogumentary.
This time the Bakery Blogumentary features Blackbird Baking Company in Lakewood, Ohio. The folks at Blackbird specialize in a type of bread that uses a levain to make the bread rise:
Levain is not only this traditional French bread’s name, but levain is actually a bread starter used as a leavening agent and sometimes called “wild yeast.” Acting in much the way yeast does, levain helps dough rise but also effects the flavor and characteristics of the Pain au Levain (bread of a wild yeast.) The essence of levain rests in patience. To make levain, water and flour are mixed together and allowed to sit for up to several days to develop flavor and strength as the starter is exposed to air and grows good fungus (this fungus actually keeps bad bacteria away making levain safe.) A well-ripened levain will be bubbly, and extremely elastic. Levain can be kept for years if fed often and maintained.
The levain cannot be bought, making levain unique to each baker who begins to cultivate this starter. Some are soupy, some are firm and tough. Theses differences ultimately effect the mildness or sourness, the weight, texture and look of the finished bread.
In addition they make a variety of incredible baked goods, such as filled croissants (chocolate, apricot, raspberry, etc.), cream biscuits, cinnamon buns, pecan rolls, savory filled croissants, scones, and cookies.
And you can watch the busy bakers work.
Stop here for a moment of silence for the chocolate chip cookies. I read reviews of them before I tried them. I wondered if any cookie could possibly rate that much devotion. Yes – It – Can. These cookies sell out quickly, but if you are fortunate to get to the bakery when there are still some left, the experience is indescribable.
Mine.
What am I wearing?
January 22, 2014Just for fun from random spots across the internet.
Nope
Oh, Really No
Nope
Maybe
I like these
Interesting
Lose the guy in the background, but I think this is lovely.
The Norwegian Curling Team
Oy!
What is tattoo Tuesday about?
January 21, 2014
Here is the Nautilus approaching New York
The USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear submarine, was launched today in 1954. This occurred in the midst of the Cold War and advances by Soviet scientists into the space race. Nautilus was the first vessel to reach and cross the north pole while submerged – which brought Russia much closer to the reach of this new nuclear Navy.
USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was the world’s first operational nuclear-powered submarine. She was the first vessel to complete a submerged transit to the North Pole on 3 August 1958. Sharing names with the submarine in Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and named after another USS Nautilus (SS-168) that served with distinction in World War II, Nautilus was authorized in 1951 and launched in 1954. Because her nuclear propulsion allowed her to remain submerged far longer than diesel-electric submarines, she broke many records in her first years of operation, and traveled to locations previously beyond the limits of submarines. In operation, she revealed a number of limitations in her design and construction. This information was used to improve subsequent submarines. (Wikipedia)
Sharing the same name is the craft from the Jules Verne novel, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
And, of course, the tattoos – of the chambered nautilus.
Gunsmoke and Knitting 