1997 House Purchase ~ Picture of the Day ~ California History ~ Nanno's Scotch Cherry Cake ~ National Eat A Red Apple Day

Good 35º dark cloudy morning. 

On this day in 1997 Jerry and I bought this Oregon house.

We moved from Temple City in 1998... Jerry almost immediately bought this 1940 John Deere tractor...

Picture of the Day.... 

Interesting about California....

California’s name is derived from a bestselling novel.
In 1510, Spanish author Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo penned “Las Sergas de Esplandián” (“The Deeds of Esplandián”), a novel in which Amazon-like warriors who lived on the island of California, a paradise that abounded in gold and precious stones, aided the protagonist Esplandián. The story was so popular that when Spanish explorers under the command of Hernan Cortes landed on what they believed to be an island on the Pacific coast, they named it California after Montalvo’s mythical island.

California once declared itself an independent country—for a month.
On June 14, 1846, American settlers in Sonoma rose up against the Mexican authorities who governed the territory and declared the establishment of the independent California Republic. The rebels fashioned a makeshift flag with a lone red star and a crude drawing of a grizzly bear. Unbeknownst to the leaders of what became known as the Bear Flag Revolt, however, the United States had already declared war on Mexico, and when American Commodore John D. Sloat seized Monterey and raised the American flag over the city, the rebels gave up their notion of independence only weeks after it began and declared their allegiance to the United States.

The grizzly bear on the California state flag was modeled after one captured by William Randolph Hearst.
In 1889 newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst dispatched one of his journalists, Allen Kelly, to capture him a wild grizzly bear that he could put on display in San Francisco. Although Kelly had no hunting experience, he managed to lead an expedition that netted his boss an elusive grizzly, which had all but disappeared from the state by that time. Hearst named the 1,200-pound animal Monarch and put him on display in San Francisco’s Woodward’s Gardens. After Monarch died in 1911, his pelt was stuffed and put on display at the California Academy of Sciences. When California decided that same year to honor the Bear Flag Revolt by replicating the rebels’ banner, Monarch served as the model for illustrators. The grizzly bear is now extinct in California.

California has both the highest and lowest point in the continental United States.

The snow-capped summit of Mount Whitney—the highest peak in the contiguous United States at 14,505 feet—is just under 85 miles away from Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park, the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level.

Nanno's Scotch Cherry Cake

(not a picture of this recipe, but close. never took a picture of the cherry cake we made!)

This recipe was my grandmother's. Born in Glasgow Scotland, Isabel Dunbar Mills (we called her Nanno.) She made this every Christmas and I did for a lot of years also. One of our family's favorites!

3/4 pound butter

5 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 pound glazed cherries (half red and half green)

1/2 pound glazed pineapple

5 eggs

3/4 cup milk

small t. baking powder

Cream butter and sugar. Add well beaten eggs. Mix well. Add BP. Mix well. Put fruit into bowl with about 1/3 cup of the flour. Flour fruit well, so it's all separated.

Alternately add flour and milk to egg mixture, mixing well. Fold in the fruit. Place in two buttered loaf pans.

Bake 300º for about 1 1/2 hours, or until golden brown.

Test center of cake with a sharp thin knife. Will come out clean if baked long enough.

Historically this date...

1824 – United States presidential election, 1824: Since no candidate received a majority of the total electoral college votes in the election, the United States House of Representatives is given the task of deciding the winner in accordance with the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

1885 – First serving of the soft drink Dr Pepper at a drug store in Waco, Texas (United States).

1952 – The New York Daily News reports the news of Christine Jorgenson, the first notable case of sexual reassignment surgery.

1969 – Vietnam War: The first draft lottery in the United States is held since World War II.

2001 – Captain Bill Compton brings Trans World Airlines Flight 220, an MD-83, into St. Louis International Airport bringing to an end 76 years of TWA operations following TWA's purchase by American Airlines.

And births this date include....

1913 – Mary Martin, American actor and singer (d. 1990)

1933 – Lou Rawls, American singer (d. 2006)

1935 – Woody Allen, American film director, actor, and comedian

1939 – Lee Trevino, American golfer

1940 – Richard Pryor, American comic and actor (d. 2005)

 

Raised in a brothel run by his grandmother where his mother was a prostitute beaten by his ne'er-do-well father; a victim of sexual molestation at age six; abandoned by his mother at age ten; a high school drop-out by 14; a father himself by 17... 6 wives, 7 children. Pryor set himself on fire after freebasing cocaine while drinking 151-proof rum. The man was a mess! Heart attack and multiple sclerosis.

1945 – Bette Midler, American actress and singer

Married to Martin Von Haselberg since 1984! Daughter Sophie.

1951 – Treat Williams, American actor

All I know. Nuff said. Happy Sunday. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom Bobo

On December 1, National Eat a Red Apple Day encourages everyone to eat a red apple. As the adage goes, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” and today is a perfect time to put that theory to taste.

An apple is both delicious and nutritious. With over 7,500 varieties of apples and over 7.5% of the world’s production coming from the USA, apples are widely available.

When it comes to a difference in health benefits between red and green apples, it’s a close call. Both have their advantages. Green apples beat the red apple slightly in fiber content. They also have less sugar and carbohydrates. However, red apples tend to taste better eaten fresh. They’re already naturally sweet and don’t require added sugar. The red apple slightly edges out the green in antioxidants. 

Most green apples are reserved for baking and preserves. Since most green apples are tart, the added sugar in recipes brings about a better flavor for eating. 

HOW TO OBSERVE 

Sink your teeth into a delicious and juicy red apple. This time of year, apples of all kinds are plentiful. Pick up several and give a few to friends to enjoy, too. They make great snacks with a slice of cheddar cheese or with a small cup of yogurt, too. Sprinkle them with a little cinnamon.