The Inuvik Sunrise Celebration – the annual celebration of the return of the sun after an absence of about 28 days. A bonfire and fireworks add to this celebration on the Saturday closest to the sunrise.
More about Inuvik at L’Encyclopedie canadienne.
It is an important day in science relatively speaking – the 107th anniversary of Einstein’s publication of the Theory of Relativity.
Here is a little video that explains how Einstein came up with the equation:
Because September 26 is the birthday of John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed, born in Leominster, Massachusetts in 1774.
The popular image is of Johnny Appleseed spreading apple seeds randomly, everywhere he went. In fact, he planted nurseries rather than orchards, built fences around them to protect them from livestock, left the nurseries in the care of a neighbor who sold trees on shares, and returned every year or two to tend the nursery. Although apples grown from seed are rarely sweet or tasty, apple orchards with sour apples were popular among the settlers because apples were mainly used for producing hard cider and apple jack. In some periods of the settlement of the Midwest, settlers were required by law to plant orchards of apples and pears in order to uphold the right to the claimed land. For these reasons, Johnny Appleseed planted orchards made for popular real estate on the frontier. His first nursery was planted on the bank of Brokenstraw Creek, South of Warren, Pennsylvania. Next, he seems to have moved to Venango County along the shore of French Creek, but many of these nurseries were located in the Mohican area of north-central Ohio. This area included the towns of Mansfield, Lucas, Perrysville, and Loudonville.
Okay, here’s another apple recipe – a really easy one for Apple Crisp.
Heat your oven to 350 degrees
Peel, core and slice 4 apples – medium to large in size.
Jonagolds are good for this recipe.
Place them in an 8″ square glass baking dish
Squeeze half a lemon over the apple slices
In a separate bowl mix 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of sugar with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of salt
Take a stick (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter and dice it up into about 1/4 inch cubes
Mix the butter into the flour mixture – use your hands to kind of rub the butter into the flour.
Sprinkle the flour-butter mixture over the apple slices and bake for about 30 minutes – or until the apple slices are soft and kind of bubbly and the top begins to get browned.
The history quote is from Wikipedia; the recipe is from my head.
Crop circles? Messages from space?
Well, sort of. The Derthick family has constructed a corn maze that is an homage to Ohio astronaut and former U.S. Senator, John Glenn. The farm is located in Mantua, Ohio (in this part of the world, the town is pronounced MAN-a-way.)
Derthick’s publicity invites you to “come and be cornfused.”
Arrrrrgh!
She be Talk Like a Pirate Day and thanks to Artie Smartie-Pants (Black Morty Rackham) for reminding me! Want to find out your pirate name? Take the quiz: http://www.piratequiz.com/
Pirate Social Networking
Recipe for Hard Tack
Mix one teaspoon of salt with one pound of flour.
Add enough water to make a very stiff dough.
Flatten the dough to about 1/2 inch and cut it into about 4 inch circles. Punch holes in each circle with a fork.
Bake in a flat pan at 250 degrees for two or three hours.
If the hard tack should happen to go bad, just remember to choose the lesser of two weevils.
Happy birthday to Boston Harbor Lighthouse – the first lighthouse to be built in what is now the United States of America – it was first lit on September 14, 1716. I was interested to learn that it is the only US lighthouse that still has an official keeper. It was built to guide the way into Boston Harbor – already an important commercial port in the early 1700s – it was financed by a tax on the tonnage arriving at the harbor.
Located on Little Brewster Island in Boston’s outer harbor, it is a National Historic Landmark and an active U. S. Coast Guard aid to navigation.
Ref. Boston Lighthouse History
The Battle of Lake George, September 8, 1755. This battle was actually a collection of skirmishes fought on and around Lake George in northern New York, and was part of the effort to force the French from North America. All of these conflicts are within the context of the French and Indian War (in North America) and the Seven Years War (in Europe).
It is interesting that, although called the French and Indian War, native soldiers were engaged in the fighting on both sides of the conflict in North America. In addition to shaping the political interests in the early years of our nation (and Canada), the French and Indian War also brought leaders such as George Washington to the forefront, while foreshadowing the lessening of British dominance in the area.
In case you missed it, August 30 was Toasted Marshmallow Day. These days marshmallows are a confection, but they started out as a medicinal product made from the extract of the marshmallow flower, a wildflower with a sticky sap. The concoction was used as a demulcent – a compound that forms a smooth or protective coating over an irritated or inflamed area. This was a time-intensive process, and as industrialization provided commercial gelatin and sugar became more readily available, recipes were developed and marshmallows became easier to create.
Here is a history of marshmallows at About.com.
Level: Easy
Yield: 20 to 40 marshmallows
Ingredients
Directions
Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and allow to sit while you make the syrup.
Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.
With a sieve, generously dust an 8 by 12-inch nonmetal baking dish with confectioners’ sugar. Pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan, smooth the top, and dust with more confectioners’ sugar. Allow to stand uncovered overnight until it dries out.
Turn the marshmallows onto a board and cut them in squares. Dust them with more confectioners’ sugar.
A little art history this week featuring:
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty, and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that “Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to Watteau.”
In addition to feminine beauty and sensuality, he was also frequently painted cats.
Juliet Manet and Cat
Woman and Cat
Sleeping Cat
Reference:
Wikipedia
Just when you pancake it any longer, it’s time to celebrate – National Waffle Day. On August 24, 1869, the first waffle iron was patented in the U.S. by Cornelius Swarthout.
Some Waffle History from Mr. Breakfast
13th Century A.C. – Ancient Greeks cook flat cakes between two metal plates. These early waffles were called obleios and were primarily savory in nature, prepared with cheeses and herbs.
1620 – The pilgrims bring Dutch “wafles” to America.
1735 – The word “waffle” – with two “f”s – appears in English print for the first time.
Late 1800’s – Thomas Jefferson returns to the U.S. from France with a long handled, patterned waffle iron.
1869 – Cornelius Swarthout patents the first U.S. Waffle Iron.
1953 – Frank Dorsa’s Eggo Frozen Waffles are sold in Supermarkets for the first time.
1964-65 – Brussels restaurateur Maurice Vermersch brings his wife’s Brussels Waffle recipe to the World’s Fair in New York. The fluffy yeast-infused waffle becomes a huge hit and becomes known as the Belgium waffle.
Firearms, fibers, any news or behaviors that make me say, "hmm, let me take another look at this."
I still miss my man, but my aim is getting better.
Gunsmoke and Knitting 