Weather ~ Picture of the Day ~ Shopping Carts History ~ Chicken a la King ~ New Year's Eve ~ National Champagne Day

  

Good 45º cloudy possible rain day. 

 

 

Yesterday we topped at 46º.

 

 

Picture of the Day

 

 

Interesting about shopping carts.......

 

A shopping cart (American English), trolley (British English, Australian English), or buggy (Southern American English, Appalachian English), also known by a variety of other names, is a wheeled cart supplied by a shop or store, especially supermarkets, for use by customers inside the premises for transport of merchandise as they move around the premises, while shopping, prior to heading to the checkout counter, cashiers or tills. Increasing the amount of goods a shopper can collect increases the quantities they are likely to purchase in a single trip, boosting store profitability.

 

In many cases customers can then also use the cart to transport their purchased goods to their vehicles, but some carts are designed to prevent them from leaving either the store or the designated parking area by magnetically locking the wheels. In many places in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, customers are encouraged to leave the carts in designated areas within the parking lot, and store employees will return the carts to the entrances. In some areas carts are connected by locking mechanisms that require the insertion of a coin or token to release an individual cart. Returning the cart to its designated area releases the coin to the customer.

 

Studies have shown that it is advisable for shoppers to sanitize the handles and basket areas prior to handling them or filling them with groceries due to high levels of bacteria that typically live on shopping carts. This is due to the carts having a high level of exposure to the skin flora of previous users.

 

One of the first shopping carts was introduced on June 4, 1937, the invention of Sylvan Goldman, owner of the Humpty Dumpty supermarket chain in Oklahoma. One night, in 1936, Goldman sat in his office wondering how customers might move more groceries. He found a wooden folding chair and put a basket on the seat and wheels on the legs. Goldman and one of his employees, a mechanic named Fred Young, began tinkering. Their first shopping cart was a metal frame that held two wire baskets. Since they were inspired by the folding chair, Goldman called his carts "folding basket carriers". Another mechanic, Arthur Kosted, developed a method to mass-produce the carts by inventing an assembly line capable of forming and welding the wire. The cart was awarded patent number 2,196,914 on April 9, 1940 (Filing date: March 14, 1938), titled, "Folding Basket Carriage for Self-Service Stores". They advertised the invention as part of a new “No Basket Carrying Plan." Goldman had already pioneered self-serve stores and carts were part of the self-serve retail concept.

 

Another shopping cart innovator was Orla Watson, who invented the swinging rear door to allow for "nesting" in 1946. Orla Watson continued to make modifications to his original design. Advice from his trusted business partners Fred Taylor, a grocery store owner in Kansas City, and George O'Donnell, a grocery store refrigeration salesman, and the incorporation of Watson's swinging door yielded the familiar nesting cart that we see today using the "double-decker" approach. Goldman patented a similar version of the cart with only one basket rather than the double-decker feature, which he called the "Nest-Kart" in 1948, over one year after Watson filed for his patent. The Nest-Kart incorporated the same nesting mechanism present on the shopping carts designed by Watson, and an interference investigation was ordered by Telescope Carts, Inc. alleging infringement of the patent in 1948. After a protracted legal battle, Goldman ultimately recognized Watson's invention and paid one dollar in damages for counterfeit, in exchange for which Watson granted Goldman an exclusive operating license (apart from the three licenses that had already been granted).

 

In 2012, a driverless shopping cart was made by Chaotic Moon Labs. The device, called "Project Sk8" or "Smarter Cart" was basically a cart fitted with Windows Kinect (to detect obstacles), and an electric drivetrain, and used in conjunction with a Windows 8 tablet. For smaller stores, shopping baskets with wheels can be used either as a large basket or a small cart. These carts are designed for indoor use only.

 

In 2017, a mobile device shelf was added to shopping carts at Target stores to support the digital in-store shopping experience. The shelf was invented and designed by Nick Dyer, an employee of Target from 2011 - 2015.

 

 

 

From Mr. Food

 

Fancy-shmancy just got easy-"pea"sy with our recipe for Chicken a la King in a Hurry! This comforting dinner recipe is said to have been created for a King, who loved it so much he put it on his hotel menu the very next day. Now your whole gang can enjoy having it on their menu.

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 (10-3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups chunked cooked chicken (about 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
• 1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
• 1 (2-ounce) jar diced pimientos, drained

 

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter; saute mushrooms 4 to 5 minutes, or until tender. Add soup, milk, salt, pepper, and chicken; mix well and cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until hot.
    
2. Stir in peas and pimientos and continue cooking 5 to 7 minutes, or until warmed through.

 

****Serve over warm cooked egg noodles or buttermilk biscuits.

 

 

 

Historically this date.........

1862 – American Civil War: Abraham Lincoln signs an act that admits West Virginia to the Union, thus dividing Virginia in two.

1879 – Thomas Edison demonstrates incandescent lighting to the public for the first time, in Menlo Park, NJ.

1907 – The first New Year's Eve celebration is held in Times Square (then known as Longacre Square) in New York City, New York.

1909 – Manhattan Bridge opens.

1960 – The farthing coin ceases to be legal tender in the United Kingdom.

................OMG, I first thought this said "farting" coin!

1983 – The AT&T Bell System is broken up by the United States Government.

1999 – Boris Yeltsin, the first president of Russia, resigns as President of Russia, leaving Prime MinisterVladimir Putin as the acting President.

 

And births this date include...

1920 – Rex Allen, American actor, singer, and songwriter (d. 1999)

 

 

1943 – John Denver, American singer and songwriter (d. 1997)

 

1943 – Sir Ben Kingsley, English actor

 

 

1947 – Tim Matheson, American actor

1958 – Bebe Neuwirth, American actress

 

1959 – Val Kilmer, American actor

 

 

 

 

 

1965 – Nicholas Sparks, American author

1974 – Tony Kanaan, Brazilian racing driver

 

 

 

All I know. Nuff said. Have a good New Years Eve. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom Bobo

Every year on December 31st, people around the world celebrate New Year’s Eve, the last day of the year. It’s a day to say “goodbye” to the old and “hello” to the new.

Also known as Old Year’s Day or Saint Sylvester’s Day, New Year’s Eve is one of the most exciting holidays of the year. In some countries, such as the Philippines and Latvia, New Year’s Eve is a public holiday. In Japan, it’s a government holiday. In other countries, many businesses let their employees off of work early so that they can partake in the many festivities.

There are many reasons this day is one of the biggest nights of the year. Not just because it’s a time of big parties and celebrations all around the world. New Year’s Eve can be a significant turning point in your life. It’s a time to reflect on the past year and all of the lessons you have learned. It can be a time you decide to start making better choices. If you have had a rough year, New Year’s Eve offers a feeling of relief. You can be thankful that the year is finally over

New Year’s is also a time to forgive past mistakes and form new habits. Many people make New Year’s resolutions. Although, only 8% of people actually accomplish them. Instead of making resolutions that you’re not going to keep anyway, it’s better to set three or four goals. Breaking down goals into actionable steps, and reviewing your progress daily helps to keep them. It’s also a good idea to find a friend or mentor that can hold you accountable.

HOW TO OBSERVE

As we count down the last hours and seconds of the old year, it is an excellent time to look back at the year and reminisce with friends and family.  

Many cities throughout the world go all-out to celebrate this exciting night. Fireworks, concerts, countdowns, and ball drops are usually among the many festivities. Some of the best cities to celebrate include New York City, Sydney, Bangkok, Dubai, Cape Town, London, and Las Vegas.

In Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries, it is a tradition to eat 12 grapes during the countdown to midnight, symbolizing hopes for the new year. Around the world, eating anything in the form of a circle or ring symbolizes coming full circle and is considered good luck.

As a Christian observance, it is traditional to hold an evening Mass the night before a Holy Day. New Year’s Day in the Roman Catholic Church honors the Virgin Mary. In some countries, St. Sylvester, Pope of the Catholic Church from 314 to 335, is celebrated on New Year’s Eve.

Other ways to participate:

• Host a party to ring in the New Year
• Set some achievable goals
• If you can’t be at a celebration, watch one live on television
• Have a game night with your family and see who lasts until midnight
• Go for a midnight run
• Attend a concert that goes past midnight
• Go ice-skating at a nearby park or indoor rink
• Kiss your spouse or significant other at midnight
• Enjoy a quiet evening at home journaling
• Think about what you can do to make next year the best one of your life

 

NEW YEAR’S EVE HISTORY

The first New Year’s celebrations were thought to be held in ancient Mesopotamia. Because of the calendar at the time, these celebrations took place in March. Ringing in the New Year consisted of an 11-day festival. When the calendar switched from the lunar year to the solar year, the New Year began in January. This occurred in 46. B.C., when an astronomer convinced Julius Caesar to follow the solar year. It seems that since way back then, the coming New Year has been cause for celebration. Through the years, many New Year’s traditions have formed. Some of which include fireworks, parties, and singing “Auld Lang Syne.”

 

Today is also...

 

Genuine champagne only comes from France’s Champagne region. French law protects where and how it is made. With some exceptions, only Champagne made according to set specifications and within the French region may label their wines using the term “Champagne.” Other foods and beverages fall under this type of protection in France and other parts of the world.

Champagne, France, is located northeast of Paris and provides ideal temperature and soil to produce the grapes required for Champagne. French law allows only eight varieties of grapes for the production of Champagne in the Champagne region. Primarily, the three grapes used to create Champagne are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. 

Unlike other wines, Champagne ferments in the bottle allowing the vintner to trap the CO2 in the bottle. The bubbles give Champagne its effervescence.  

While Champagne can be spendy, if you are looking for a little pop on New Year’s Eve, other varieties of sparkling wine are available from Italy, California, and even the South of France. They offer a sparkle that won’t put a fizzle in your pocketbook. Then again, some New Years mean an opportunity for splurging and celebrating no matter the expense.

Weather ~ Picture of the Day ~ Kindergarten History ~ Amish Applesauce Cake ~ Dan Cermak ~ Bacon Day

  

Good 43º dark rainy morning. Lots more rain on the way.

 

 

Yesterday we topped at 44º.

 

 

Picture of the Day

 

 

Interesting about Kindergarten...........

Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th century in Germany, Bavaria and Alsace to serve children whose parents both worked outside home. The term was coined by German pedagogue Friedrich Fröbel, whose approach globally influenced early-years education. Today, the term is used in many countries to describe a variety of educational institutions and learning spaces for children ranging from 2 to 6 years of age, based on a variety of teaching methods.

 

Early years and development

In 1779, Johann Friedrich Oberlin and Louise Scheppler founded in Strasbourg an early establishment for caring for and educating preschool children whose parents were absent during the day. At about the same time, in 1780, similar infant establishments were created in Bavaria. In 1802, Princess Pauline zur Lippe established a preschool center in Detmold, the capital of the then principality of Lippe, Germany (now in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia).

 

In 1816, Robert Owen, a philosopher and pedagogue, opened the first British and probably globally the first infants school in New Lanark, Scotland. In conjunction with his venture for cooperative mills Owen wanted the children to be given a good moral education so that they would be fit for work. His system was successful in producing obedient children with basic literacy and numeracy.

 

Samuel Wilderspin opened his first infant school in London in 1819, and went on to establish hundreds more. He published many works on the subject, and his work became the model for infant schools throughout England and further afield. Play was an important part of Wilderspin's system of education. He is credited with inventing the playground. In 1823, Wilderspin published On the Importance of Educating the Infant Poor, based on the school. He began working for the Infant School Society the next year, informing others about his views. He also wrote The Infant System, for developing the physical, intellectual, and moral powers of all children from 1 to seven years of age.

 

Countess Theresa Brunszvik (1775–1861), who had known and been influenced by Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, was influenced by this example to open an Angyalkert ("angel garden" in Hungarian) on May 27, 1828, in her residence in Buda, the first of eleven care centers that she founded for young children. In 1836 she established an institute for the foundation of preschool centers. The idea became popular among the nobility and the middle class and was copied throughout the Kingdom of Hungary.

 

Creation of the kindergarten

Friedrich Fröbel (1782–1852) opened a "play and activity" institute in 1837, in the village of Bad Blankenburg, in the principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Thuringia, as an experimental social experience for children entering school. He renamed his institute Kindergarten (meaning garden of children)^[12] on June 28, 1840, reflecting his belief that children should be nurtured and nourished "like plants in a garden". Fröbel introduced an educational environment into his school, in contrast to other earlier infant establishments, and is therefore credited with the creation of kindergartens. Around 1873, Caroline Wiseneder's method for teaching instrumental music to young children was adopted by the national kindergarten movement in Germany.

 

Women trained by Fröbel opened kindergartens throughout Europe and around the world. The first kindergarten in the US was founded in Watertown, Wisconsin in 1856, and was conducted in German by Margaretha Meyer-Schurz.

 

Elizabeth Peabody founded the first English-language kindergarten in the US in 1860. The first free kindergarten in the US was founded in 1870 by Conrad Poppenhusen, a German industrialist and philanthropist, who also established the Poppenhusen Institute. The first publicly financed kindergarten in the US was established in St. Louis in 1873 by Susan Blow.

 

Canada's first private kindergarten was opened by the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, in 1870. By the end of the decade, they were common in large Canadian towns and cities. In 1882, The country's first public-school kindergartens were established in Berlin, Ontario (modern Kitchener) at the Central School. In 1885, the Toronto Normal School (teacher training) opened a department for kindergarten teaching.

 

The Australian kindergarten movement emerged in the last decade of the nineteenth century as both a philanthropic and educational endeavor. The first free kindergarten in Australia was established in 1896 in Sydney, New South Wales, by the Kindergarten Union of NSW (now KU Children's Services) led by reformer Maybanke Anderson.

 

American educator Elizabeth Harrison wrote extensively on the theory of early childhood education and worked to enhance educational standards for kindergarten teachers by establishing what became the National College of Education in 1886.

 

In the United States, kindergarten is usually part of the K–12 educational system. In most schools, children begin kindergarten at age five for one year. Forty-three of the fifty states (the exceptions being Alaska, Idaho, Minnesota, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, and Pennsylvania) require school districts to offer a kindergarten year. Students develop skills such as numeracy, literacy, and a greater awareness of the world around them geographically, scientifically, socially, and culturally.

 

 

From Mr. Food

 

 

Our Amish Applesauce Cake is packed with old-fashioned goodness that only a from-scratch cake can deliver. Applesauce adds a tangy-sweet taste and moistness to this Amish cake recipe that will take your taste buds to a Lancaster County farmhouse. Serve up this recipe for applesauce cake with a cold glass of milk or a hot cup of coffee. No matter what you pair it with, everyone will love this applesauce cake.

 

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

 

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Coat a 9- x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
    
2. In a large bowl, cream sugar and shortening with an electric beater on low speed. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; beat until well mixed. Add applesauce and vanilla; mix well then stir in the walnuts and pour batter into prepared baking dish.
    
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool.

 

 

 

Special birthday today.... Dan Cermak, Ace Hardware retiree this year in Rogue River, is celebrating today........ HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG D!!

 

 

 

Historically this date............

1862 – The USS Monitor sinks off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

1903 – A fire at the Iroquois Theater in Chicago, Illinois kills 600.

..... the deadliest single building fire in US history!

1924 – Edwin Hubble announces the existence of other galaxies.

 

 

And births this date include...

1920 – Jack Lord, American actor (d. 1998)

 

 

  

 

 

1934 – Russ Tamblyn, American actor, dancer, and singer

(West Side Story)

 

 

1935 – Sandy Koufax, American baseball player

 

1942 – Michael Nesmith, American singer and musician (The Monkees)

(d. 2021)

 

1945 – Davy Jones, English singer (The Monkees) (d.2012)

Interesting that they were both born on the same day!

 

 

 

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

xo Sue Mom Bobo

On December 30th each year, bacon lovers celebrate one of nature’s favored gifts on Bacon Day!

Everything is better with bacon. Someone said that once. And our research shows very little to dispute this assertion.

In the United States and Canada, bacon is made from the pork belly. Elsewhere in the world, the side and back cuts of pork are used. The meat is cured in either a salt brine or in a salt pack. It is then either dried, boiled, or smoked.

Bacon is a very popular food in the USA.  You can find many items also flavored or scented with bacon, including popcorn, soap, candles, air fresheners, and much more. While these uses are options, we suggest cooking with bacon.

It’s not just for breakfast anymore, either. Bacon improves everything from beverages to dessert. Some cocktails such as the Bloody Mary and Caesar add bacon to the olives, pickles, and other assorted ingredients. Bacon improves the flavor of many appetizers, sandwiches, and soups. Incorporate bacon into salads as a topping or mix it into the dressing. When it comes to dessert, bacon pairs well with maple frosting or maple ice cream. Thanks to the salty, smoky flavor of bacon, it compliments sweet quite well. The possibilities are endless.

NATIONAL BACON DAY HISTORY

Danya “D” Goodman and Meff “Human Cannonball” Leonard founded Bacon Day in 1997 as the one great day to bond everyone together.