Weather ~ Picture of the Day ~ James Garner ~ Potato Tot Enchilada Casserole ~ Mike Hannan ~ Bird Day

  

Good 38º clear sunny morning. 

 

Yesterday no clouds and sunshine and we topped at 76º. Today is forecast to be warmer and then rain is forecast through Sunday.

 

 

Picture of the Day....timing! 

 

 

Interesting about James Garner ....

 

 ^1959 with Jack Kelly, Gary Cooper, and James Garner on the Maverick set.

 

James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor, producer, and voice artist. He starred in several television series over more than five decades, including such popular roles as Bret Maverick in the 1950s western series Maverick and Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files, and played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including The Great Escape (1963) with Steve McQueen, Paddy Chayefsky's The Americanization of Emily (1964), Grand Prix (1966), Blake Edwards' Victor/Victoria (1982), Murphy's Romance (1985), for which he received an Academy Award nomination, Space Cowboys (2000) with Clint Eastwood, and The Notebook (2004).

Shortly after his father's marriage to Wilma broke up, his father moved to Los Angeles, leaving Garner and his brothers in Norman. After working at several jobs he disliked, Garner joined the United States Merchant Marine at age 16 near the end of World War II. He liked the work and his shipmates, but he suffered from chronic seasickness.

 

Garner enlisted in the California Army National Guard, serving his first 7 months in California. He then went to Korea for 14 months, as a rifleman in the 5th Regimental Combat Team during the Korean War. He was wounded twice, first in the face and hand by shrapnel from a mortar round, and the second time in the buttocks from friendly fire from U.S. fighter jets as he dived head first into a foxhole. Garner received the Purple Heart in Korea for the first wound. He qualified for a second Purple Heart (eligibility requirement: "As the result of friendly fire while actively engaging the enemy"), but he did not actually receive it until 1983, 32 years after the event.

 

In the 1970s, Roy Huggins had an idea to remake Maverick, but this time as a modern-day private detective. Huggins worked with co-creator Stephen J. Cannell, and the pair selected Garner to attempt to rekindle the success of Maverick, eventually recycling many of the plots from the original series, according to both Huggins' and Cannell's Archive of American Television interviews. Starting with the 1974 season, Garner appeared as private investigator Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files. He appeared for six seasons, for which he received an Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1977.

 

In 2000, after an operation to replace both knees, Garner appeared with Clint Eastwood, who had played a villain in the original Maverick series in the episode "Duel at Sundown," as astronauts in the movie Space Cowboys, also featuring Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland.

 

On November 1, 2011, Simon & Schuster published Garner's autobiography The Garner Files: A Memoir. In addition to recounting his career, the memoir, co-written with nonfiction writer Jon Winokur, detailed the childhood abuses Garner suffered at the hands of his stepmother. It also offered frank, unflattering assessments of some of Garner's co-stars such as Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson. In addition to recalling the genesis of most of Garner's hit films and television shows, the book also featured a section where the star provided individual critiques for every one of his acting projects accompanied by a star rating for each. Garner's three-time co-star Julie Andrews wrote the book's foreword. Lauren Bacall, Diahann Carroll, Doris Day, Tom Selleck, and Stephen J. Cannell, and many other Garner associates, friends, and relatives provided their memories of the star in the book's coda.

 

The "most explosive revelation" in his autobiography was that Garner smoked marijuana for much of his adult life. "I started smoking it in my late teens," Garner wrote.

I drank to get drunk but ultimately didn't like the effect. Not so with grass. It had the opposite effect from alcohol: it made me more tolerant and forgiving. I did a little bit of cocaine in the Eighties, courtesy of John Belushi, but fortunately I didn't like it. But I smoked marijuana for 50 years and I don't know where I'd be without it. It opened my mind and now it eases my arthritis. After decades of research I've concluded that marijuana should be legal and alcohol illegal.

 

Garner was married to Lois Josephine Fleischman Clarke, whom he met at a party in 1956. They married 14 days later on August 17, 1956.

 

On April 22, 1988, Garner had quintuple bypass heart surgery. Though he recovered rapidly, he was advised to stop smoking. Garner quit smoking 17 years later.

Garner underwent surgery on May 11, 2008, following a severe stroke he had suffered two days earlier. His prognosis was reported to be "very positive".

 

A private and introverted man, according to family and friends, on Saturday evening, July 19, 2014, police and rescue personnel were summoned to Garner's Los Angeles-area home, where they found the actor dead at the age of 86.He had suffered a massive heart attack caused by coronary artery disease. He had been in poor health since a severe stroke in 2008.

 

 

From Mr. Food

 

We gave a family-favorite a tasty and modern makeover by adding a crispy, potato tot topping that's so good everyone will want to dig in right away! They'll be surprised to find such a tasty, gooey, cheesy, and meaty filling in this amazing Potato Tot Enchilada Casserole.

 

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (1-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 3 cups frozen potato tots
• 1 (10-ounce) can enchilada sauce
• 1 cup Mexican cheese blend
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced

 

1. Preheat oven to 400º. Coat a 2-quart casserole or 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook beef, onion, and garlic 6 to 8 minutes, or until browned; drain off excess liquid. Stir in taco seasoning; mix well. Add enchilada sauce and cook 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Spoon mixture into casserole and top with potato tots.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until potato tots are golden. Sprinkle evenly with cheese and cook 5 more minutes, or until cheese is melted. Garnish with scallion slices and serve.

 

 

Special birthday today, my friend and former Rogue River Fire Chief, Mike Hannan is celebrating. Mike comes over and does yard work for me and Dude loved him!

 

Your birthday Mike, is special in so many ways, National Bird Day, and your birth date 5-4-54!! Also, it's International Firefighters Day!!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Firefighters%27_Day

 

 

Historically this date.....

1932 – In Atlanta, Georgia, mobster Al Capone begins serving an eleven-year prison sentence for tax evasion.

1946 – In San Francisco Bay, U.S. Marines from the nearby Treasure Island Naval Base stop a two-day riot at Alcatraz federal prison. Five people are killed in the riot.

1946 – In San Francisco Bay, U.S. Marines from the nearby Treasure Island Naval Base stop a two-day riot at Alcatraz federal prison. Five people are killed in the riot.

1988 – The PEPCON disaster rocks Henderson, Nevada, as tons of space shuttle fuel detonate during a fire.

1998 – A federal judge in Sacramento, California, gives "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepts a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty.

And births this date include..

1929 – Audrey Hepburn, Anglo-Dutch actress (d. 1993)

1937 – Dick Dale, American guitarist (d.2019)

..... and the Del-Tones. We'd go to Balboa to see him!

 

1954 – Pia Zadora, American actress

1959 – Randy Travis, American musician

 

 

 

 

 

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

xo Sue Mom Bobo

We honor our feathered friends on several holidays called Bird Day in the United States. The day celebrates birds of all kinds across North America.

With over 2,000 species of birds in North America, birdwatchers and nature lovers alike will appreciate the beauty and variety of these winged friends offer. From songbirds to waterfowl and domesticated birds, they come in every color of plumage and wingspan.

During the spring, migrating birds move to their summer nesting grounds. It’s an excellent time for those new to birdwatching to learn to identify birds by species. Enthusiasts also know that birds will migrate through backyards and stop for a rest, a bite to eat, and a drink if the right habitat is provided. They stand prepared by their windows with binoculars and watch as new visitors arrive daily. Whether it’s an oriole, a tree swallow, the ruby-throated hummingbird, or an American Finch, you’ll want to make sure you’ve prepared food, natural habitat and water sources for your guests.

However, it’s not just the passersby that get birdists excited. It’s the long term residents and those of the greater outdoors. Year after year they watch robins collect their nesting material or chickadees caring for their brood. They wander through nature preserves seeking a glimpse of a varied thrush or a prairie warbler. When they do, they are often graced with a privileged view of a bald eagle soaring above them.

HOW TO OBSERVE 

Enjoy the pleasure of viewing and listening to the birds in your neighborhood. Share your favorite birdwatching experiences. While you’re out and about, take photos. 

BIRD DAY HISTORY

Charles Almanzo Babcock, Oil City, Pennsylvania Superintendent of Schools, established the first Bird Day in 1894. It was also the first holiday in the United States dedicated to the celebration of birds. Babcock founded the day, observed annually on May 4th, to advance bird conservation as a moral value.