Weather ~ Picture of the Day ~ Five Crazy Things Presidents Have Done ~ Crock-Pot Ranch Pork Chops ~ Odd Names ~ Melinda Plumbridge Art ~ National Peanut Butter Day

 

Good 31º dark cloudy morning. 

 

Yesterday we started foggy and dark and in the 30ºs. Then we got some clouds and blue sky and a tad of sunshine...

We topped at 54º.

 

 

 

Picture of the Day .... Flippin Arkansas

 

 

 

 

Interesting.....

Five crazy things Presidents have done.....

Overdosed On Cherries

After serving just 16 months in office, President Zachary Taylor died from eating too many cherries. Specifically, at a Fourth of July celebration in the capital in 1850, Taylor chomped down on large amounts of cherries washed them down with iced milk. The combination of the acidic cherries along with the milk is believed by some to have caused gastroenteritis, causing severe cramping, nausea, dehydration, and, eventually, death on July 9.

 

Lost The Nuclear Launch Codes

According to then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at one time during his presidency Bill Clinton lost the personal ID code needed to confirm nuclear launches (also known as the "nuclear biscuit") for months. "That's a big deal," said the chairman, "A gargantuan deal." In effect, without Clinton's "biscuit," as the personal identifier is called, the President would not have been able to initiate a launch order or confirm a launch order executed by someone else.

 

Threw Up On The Japanese Prime Minister

President George H.W. Bush was attending a dinner hosted by Kiichi Miyazawa, the then Prime Minister of Japan, and became ill during the meal. Unfortunately, he threw up in Miyazawa's lap and then fainted. Regaining consciousness, he apologized. It was later explained that he had suffered an attack of acute gastroenteritis, but felt much better after he took a drug to counter his nausea.

 

Personally Conducted An Execution

Grover Cleveland was one interesting guy. When Cleveland served as the sheriff of Erie County, New York, he apparently took his duties personally. When a man named Patrick Morrissey was convicted of killing his own mother, Cleveland opted to hang the guy himself. As the Times said of the incident, "Thus it was that Sheriff Cleveland, standing behind a screen, some twenty feet away from the law's victim, pushed the lever that dropped the gallow's trap upon which poor Morrissey stood."

 

The Didn't Call Him Johnson For Nothing

Lyndon Johnson was the kind of politician you wouldn’t want to get into a pissing contest with. LBJ loved to pee. Lyndon B. Johnson was an earthy man with no problems “letting himself go” in public. According to Robert Caro, his biographer, he urinated outside the House Office Building in the parking lot when he needed to. He once asked a Secret Serviceman to shield him while he peed outside, but that's not the strange part—LBJ apparently purposely peed on the agent's trouser leg. When the agent mentioned how gross that was, LBJ was unapologetic, apparently saying, "I know. That's my prerogative."

 

 

from the Slow Roasted Italian

CROCKPOT RANCH PORK CHOPS

Crockpot ranch pork chops are tender and juicy with a scrumptious cream sauce. Make this recipe for an easy meal the whole family will love!

• 1 (15 oz) cream of mushroom soup (1 can)
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/3 cup white wine or chicken broth
• 4 to 6 boneless pork chops
• Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped, for garnish (optional)
• Cooked rice or pasta, for serving

 

1. In a medium bowl, add cream of mushroom, dried parsley, dried dill, garlic powder, onion powder, dried basil, and black pepper. Use a hand mixer (or a spatula and some elbow grease) to mix the ingredients on LOW until only small clumps of cream cheese remain, about 2-4 minutes.
2. Add white wine (or chicken broth) to bowl and gently fold in with the cream until absorbed, about another 2-4 minutes.
3. Place pork chops in the bottom of a 6 quarts crock pot and arrange in an even layer. Pour ranch mixture on top and spread until the tops of the pork chops are covered.
4. Cover crock pot and cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours.
5. Serve pork chops on a bed of rice or pasta and garnish with parsley (optional).

Historically this date.....

1848 – California Gold Rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter's Mill near Sacramento.

 

 

1908 – The first Boy Scout troop is organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell.

 

1916 – In Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., the Supreme Court of the United States declares the federal income tax constitutional.

 

1933 – The 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, changing the beginning and end of terms for all elected federal offices.

 

 

1961 – Goldsboro B-52 crash: A bomber carrying two H-bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina. The uranium core of one weapon remains lost.

 

 

1972 – Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II.

 

1989 – Notorious serial killer Ted Bundy, with over 30 known victims, is executed by the electric chair at the Florida State Prison

 

 

 

And births this date include....

1917 – Ernest Borgnine, American actor (d.2012)

1941 – Neil Diamond, American singer

1943 – Sharon Tate, American actress and Manson murder victim (d. 1969)

 

1949 – John Belushi, American actor (d. 1982)

1968 – Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast

                

1983 – Scott Speed, American race car driver

................this is funny, his name and profession. He was destined to race. Just like one of the doctors in the Cardiology unit is named Dr. Lightheart.... destiny in a name.

 

And my son, with the last name Pendleton was destined to be a Marine!

 

This is fun.... let's see ... who else.... Linda Toot played the flute in the Milwaukee Symphony!

 

Mr. Sues is an attorney.

 

Dr. Fingers is a gynecologist.

 

Dr. Dick Bone (WHAT were his parents thinking????????) is a osteopath.

 

Dr. I. Doctor is an ophthalmologist.

 

In El Monte there was a dentist Dr. Ow.

 

 

 

 

My nephew Jim's wife Melinda Plumbridge, artist, had one of her paintings purchased by the former "first lady" Dawn of Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons and it's in the state capital......

 

All I know. Nuff said. Have a good Sunday. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom Bobo

National Peanut Butter Day on January 24th recognizes an American staple in our pantries. Whether creamy or chunky, with chocolate or with jelly, peanut butter gets the recognition it deserves each year on this day. 

The early peanut butter made by the Aztecs and Incas around 1000 BC was more of a paste and not nearly as creamy as the peanut butter we know now.

Peanut butter didn’t become widely used until the 20th century. First, the peanut had to be considered more than animal feed, which was until the late 1800s. At the turn of the century, inventions that made planting, cultivating and harvesting the legume (the peanut isn’t a nut at all) made it possible to see the peanut as a retail and wholesale food item. (See more by visiting National Peanut Day -September 13)

Peanut butter is a good source of vitamin E, B6, niacin, calcium, potassium and iron, is packed with protein and is rich in healthy monounsaturated fat.

Bringing Peanut Butter to the Masses

We can thank four men for the inventions and processes that bring us the creamy, smooth peanut butter we enjoy today: Marcus Gilmore Edson of Canada, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, Dr. Ambrose Straub of St. Louis, Missouri and chemist Joseph Rosefield.

In 1884, Edson developed a process to make peanut paste from milling roasted peanuts between two heated plates. The famous cereal maker and health food specialist of the time, Kellogg, patented a process with raw peanuts in 1895. Dr. Straub is responsible for patenting a peanut butter making machine in 1903.

Peanut butter was introduced to audiences at the 1904 Universal Exposition in St. Louis at C.H. Sumner’s concession stand.

But the man who brought us the peanut butter we know and love today was Joseph Rosefield. In 1922, through homogenization, Rosefield was able to keep peanut oil from separating from the peanut solids. He later sold the patent to a company that began making Peter Pan peanut butter. Rosefield then went into business for himself selling Skippy peanut butter through Rosefield Packing. He also supplied peanut butter for military rations during World War II.

 

I love peanut butter especially with chocolate.... love Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and also a Hershey bar slathered with peanut butter!