Weather ~ Picture of the Day ~ Lipstick History ~ Toad-in-the-Hole ~ Herman & Karen Baertschiger ~ National Hot Chocolate Day

  

Good 19º freezing morning. 

 

 

Yesterday we warmed to 56º.

 

 

Picture of the Day...crazy restaurant name

 

 

 

Interesting about lipstick....

 

Lipstick is a cosmetic product used to apply coloration and texture to lips, often made of wax and oil. Different pigments are used to produce color, and minerals such as silica may be used to provide texture. The use of lipstick dates back to early civilizations such as Sumer and the Indus Valley Civilisation, and was popularized in the Western world in the 16th century. Some lipsticks contain traces of toxic materials, such as lead and PFAS, which prompted health concerns and regulation.

 

Lipstick has been prominent in several women's fashion trends, often associated with women's sexuality. The color of lipstick has aesthetic and cultural significance as different colors carry different connotations. Red lipstick has historically been associated with sensuality or women's independence while black lipstick is worn by both men and women in alternative subcultures, especially punk and goth. Celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Madonna, and Taylor Swift have contributed to the popularity and iconic images of lipstick in fashion and media.

 

Early history

Ancient Sumerian and Indus Valley men and women were possibly the first to invent and wear lipstick, about 5,000 years ago. Sumerians crushed gemstones and used them to decorate their faces, mainly on the lips and around the eyes. Egyptians like Cleopatra crushed bugs (carmine) to create a color of red on their lips. Women in the ancient Indus Valley civilization have used rectangular pieces of ochre with beveled ends as lipstick. The Kamasutra describes lip coloring made of red lac and beeswax and method it was used. Ancient Egyptians wore lipstick to show social status rather than gender. They extracted the red dye from fucus-algin, 0.01% iodine, and some bromine mannite, but this dye resulted in serious illness. Lipsticks with shimmering effects were initially made using a pearlescent substance found in fish scales.

 

The Chinese made lipsticks that were made from beeswax over 1,000 years ago to protect the delicate skin of the lips. During the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE), scented oils were added to them, which gave the mouth an enticing factor.

 

In Australia, Aboriginal girls would paint their mouths red with ochre for puberty rituals.

 

Lip coloring started to gain some popularity in 16th-century England. During the time of Queen Elizabeth I bright red lips and a stark white face became fashionable. At that time, lipstick was made from a blend of beeswax and red stains from plants. Only upper-class women and male actors wore makeup.

 

Throughout most of the 19th century, the obvious use of cosmetics was not considered acceptable in Britain for respectable women, and it was associated with marginalized groups such as actors and prostitutes. It was considered brazen and uncouth to wear makeup. In the 1850s, reports were being published warning women of the dangers of using lead and vermilion in cosmetics applied to the face. By the end of the 19th century, Guerlain, a French cosmetic company, began to manufacture lipstick. The first commercial lipstick had been invented in 1884, by perfumers in Paris, France. It was covered in silk paper and made from deer tallow, castor oil, and beeswax. Prior to this, lipstick had been created at home. Complete acceptance of the undisguised use of cosmetics in England appears to have arrived for the fashionable Londoner at least by 1921.

 

United States

In the 19th century, lipstick was colored with carmine dye. Carmine dye was extracted from cochineal, scale insects native to Mexico and Central America which live on cactus plants. Cochineal insects produce carminic acid to deter predation by other insects. Carminic acid, which forms 17% to 24% of the weight of the dried insects, can be extracted from the insect's body and eggs. Mixed with aluminum or calcium salts it makes carmine dye (also known as cochineal).

 

This lipstick did not come in a tube; it was applied with a brush. Carmine dye was expensive and the look of carmine colored lipstick was considered unnatural and theatrical, so lipstick was frowned upon for everyday wear. Only actors and actresses could get away with wearing lipstick. In 1880, few stage actresses wore lipstick in public. The famous actress, Sarah Bernhardt, began wearing lipstick and rouge in public. Before the late 19th century, women only applied makeup at home. Bernhardt often applied carmine dye to her lips in public.

 

In the early 1890s, carmine was mixed with an oil and wax base. The mixture gave a natural look and it was more acceptable among women. At that time, lipstick was not sold in screw up metal tube; it was sold in paper tubes, tinted papers, or in small pots. The Sears Roebuck catalog first offered rouge for lips and cheeks by the late 1890s.

 

By 1912 fashionable American women had come to consider lipstick acceptable, though an article in the New York Times advised on the need to apply it cautiously.

 

By 1915, lipstick was sold in cylinder metal containers, which had been invented by Maurice Levy. Women had to slide a tiny lever at the side of the tube with the edge of their fingernail to move the lipstick up to the top of the case, although lipsticks in push-up metal containers had been available in Europe since 1911. In 1923, the first swivel-up tube was patented by James Bruce Mason Jr. in Nashville, Tennessee. As women started to wear lipstick for photographs, photography made lipstick acceptable among women. Elizabeth Arden and Estee Lauder began selling lipstick in their salons.

 

During the Second World War, metal lipstick tubes were replaced by plastic and paper tubes. Lipstick was scarce during that time because some of the essential ingredients of lipstick, petroleum and castor oil, were unavailable. World War II allowed women to work in engineering and scientific research, and in the late 1940s, Hazel Bishop, an organic chemist in New York and New Jersey, created the first long lasting lipstick, called No-Smear lipstick. With the help of Raymond Specter, an advertiser, Bishop's lipstick business thrived.

 

Another form of lip color, a wax-free, semi-permanent liquid formula, was invented in the 1990s by the Lip-Ink International company. Other companies have imitated the idea, putting out their own versions of long-lasting "lip stain" or "liquid lip color."

 

If you want to read more, go here:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipstick

 

 From Mr. Food

 

If you've never heard of toad-in-the-hole, well, let us enlighten you! It's a recipe that is perfect for breakfast, dinner, or even brinner -- that's breakfast for dinner! Our Sheet Pan Toad-in-the-Hole comes together with all the flavors you love, without any of the mess of a traditional big breakfast. Once you try it, you're gonna wonder how you lived without it!

 

• 6 slices bacon
• 6 (1/2-inch-thick) slices country-style bread
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 6 eggs
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt for sprinkling
• Black pepper for sprinkling
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced (optional)

 

1. Preheat oven to 400º. Place bacon in single layer on baking sheet. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until crispy. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate, let cool slightly, then coarsely crumble.
2. Meanwhile, coat another baking sheet with cooking spray. 
3. Using a 2-1/2-inch biscuit cutter or the rim of a drinking glass, make a hole in the center of each bread slice. Butter one side of each slice and place on baking sheet, buttered side down. Lightly butter top side.
4. Gently crack an egg into each bread hole. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.
5. Cook 12 to 15 minutes or until eggs are cooked to your desired doneness. Sprinkle with bacon and scallion, if desired, and serve immediately.

 

• Love this toad-in-the-hole recipe? The minimal cleanup makes it so worth it!

 

 

 

Special Anniversary today, my friends Herman & Karen (aka Sugar Bear) Baertschiger. Happy Anniversary kids!!! xo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Baertschiger_Jr.

 

 

 

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

1876 – The United States orders all Native Americans to move into reservations. 

 

 

1930 – 3M begins marketing Scotch Tape.

1957 – Eight people on the ground in Pacoima, California are killed following the mid-air collision between a Douglas DC-7 airliner and a Northrop F-89 Scorpion fighter jet.

 

1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 14 – Astronauts Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell, aboard a Saturn V, lift off for a mission to the Fra Mauro Highlands on the Moon.

 

2001 – In the Netherlands, a Scottish court convicts Libyan Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and acquits another Libyan citizen for their part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.

 

 

And births this date include.... 

 

1872 – Zane Grey, American novelist (d. 1939) 

 

 

 

 

His home in Avalon on Catalina Island, turned into a hotel, was a favorite place for Jerry and I to stay. Whatta view!

 

 

1902 – Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (d. 1968) 

 

 

 

1919 – Jackie Robinson, American baseball player (d. 1972) 

 

 

 

1934 – James Franciscus, American actor (d. 1991) 

 

 

 

1937 – Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (d. 2008) 

 

 

 

 

 

1947 – Nolan Ryan, American baseball player 

 

 

 

1959 – Anthony LaPaglia, Australian actor 

 

 

 

1981 – Justin Timberlake, American singer 

 

 

 

 

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

xo Sue Mom Bobo

Hot chocolate is a warm beverage made with ground chocolate, heated milk or water, and sugar. In America, we often use the terms hot chocolate and hot cocoa interchangeably. However, the two beverages are different.

Cocoa vs Hot Chocolate 

We make hot cocoa with cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and sugar. We’re able to do this thanks to a process developed by father and son chemists. The thicker, more flavorful beverage, we make hot chocolate from ground chocolate containing cocoa butter. It’s also called drinking chocolate. Hot chocolate has also been around longer than hot cocoa. In the early 1800s, Casparus van Houten Sr. developed a process to separate the cocoa solids from the butter. His son, Coenraad Johannes made those fats more soluble in water. Together their processes made cocoa powder possible.

But before then, everyone drank hot chocolate. This thicker, creamier beverage often offered medicinal benefits for stomach ailments during the 19th century. In fact, long before the beverage’s popularity in Victorian times, it served in ceremonial culture.

2000 years ago, the Mayans likely created the first chocolate beverage. A cocoa beverage was also an essential part of Aztec culture by 1400 AD. Europe popularized the drink after it was introduced from Mexico in the New World.

Make it and Benefit

Hot chocolate can be enjoyed in a variety of combinations, topped with whipped cream or marshmallows. Sometimes a sprinkle of cinnamon or a dash of peppermint makes the chocolate extra special. In the United States, an instant form of hot chocolate is popular. It is made with hot water or milk and a packet containing mostly cocoa powder, sugar, and dry milk. People enjoy topping it with marshmallows or whipped cream.

There are health benefits to drinking hot chocolate. Cocoa contains significant amounts of antioxidants that may help prevent cancer. It has also been shown that the cocoa beans help with digestion. The flavonoids that are found in the cocoa also have a positive effect on arterial health.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Enjoy a cup of hot chocolate. You can make it with dark or milk chocolate. While you’re at it, try experimenting, too. Add some cinnamon or other flavors to your chocolate. Of course, inviting a friend to join you is essential to the celebration, too. Try adding these toppings.

• Whipped cream
• Marshmallows
• Sprinkles
• Candied fruit

Weather ~ Granddaughter Sami ~ Crows and Ravens ~ After School Pizza Puffs ~ National Croissant Day

  

Good 16º morning. Burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

 

Yesterday we started at 29º and topped at 56º.

My mountain enjoying the morning sun..

 

 

Picture of the Day ...

My granddaughter Sami....

 

She was in a gymnastics competition last weekend up by Portland. She took 1st Place!

 

 

 

Interesting about Crows and Ravens.......

Crows and ravens belong in the Corvid family (which includes jays, nutcrackers and magpies) and are considered to be among the most adaptable and intelligent birds. Crows and ravens can appear to be very similar, making it a challenge for someone to tell the difference between the two birds. Both birds are completely black and both species are commonly found across North America. Tips for telling the difference between a crow and raven can be found by comparing the size of the bird, shape of the tail feathers, the smoothness of the bird’s neck, the birds’ sound and how the birds socialize.

 

Crows have a glossy, all-black plumage with a relatively long, dark bill and dark legs. In flight, the crow has a rather long, fan-shaped tail. The Juveniles are similar to adults, but they have a pale iris and a brownish overall tinge to their plumage.  Crows on average are 17-20 inches in length. When crows molt, the old feathers can appear brownish or scaly compared to the glossy new feathers. Both sexes are alike in appearance although the females are a little smaller in size. Its coal-black coloring, highly social behavior and distinct call makes the crow one of the most frequently seen and heard birds.

 

 Crows live in large, close-knit families and like social creatures; they not only hunt and forage together but also defend territories together. Crows will occupy almost any woodland, farmland, orchard or residential neighborhood as long as sufficient shelter and enough trees suitable for nesting are available.  They seem to prefer lower elevations and moist places, including creeks, streams and lake shores.

Crows reach sexual maturity around 2 years of age though most do not breed until they are at least 4 years old. After mating, both members of a breeding pair help build the nest. Young birds from the previous year sometimes help as well.  The nest is made primary of medium-sized twigs with an inner cup lined with pine needles, weeds, soft bark or animal hair.

 

Ravens

The Raven is a very large black bird with a thick neck, shaggy throat feathers, and a long, thick beak. In flight, ravens have a long, slightly wedge-shaped tail, long, broad, rather pointed wings with long thin “fingers” at the wingtip. They are about the size of hawks, growing to between 22 and 27 inches in length. The Raven is an acrobatic flier, and is often seen doing barrel rolls and somersaults in flight. 

Ravens are scavengers and will eat almost anything including carrion, small animals, birds as large as Rock Pigeons and nestling Great Blue Herons, eggs, a variety of arthropods, fish, grains, buds and berries, and most types of human food including garbage. Ravens also eat fowl and their eggs, including chickens, ducks, guineas and geese. Ravens generally have few predators-eagles, hawks, owls and human hunters. Humans are the main predators.

A female raven will lay between 3-7 eggs in the nest and incubates them for about 18 days. The male and female will both tend to their young. Young leave the nest between 5 and 7 weeks of age. They sometimes disperse or may stay in the area where they were born. Sexual maturity is reached at about 3 years of age.

 Ravens are very intelligent and are known to work in pairs to raid colonies of nesting seabirds; one bird distracts an incubating adult while the other grabs an egg or chick. They can make a wide variety of sounds ranging from low baritone croaks to high bell-like notes, and can even mimic the calls of other bird species. Their most common call is a long hoarse kraah. Ravens also have been to peck and destroy irrigation piping and drip lines resulting damage and preventing the flow of water to crops.

 

BASIS OF COMPARISON	CROWS	RAVENS
Habitat	Crows will occupy almost any woodland, farmland, orchard or residential neighborhood as long as sufficient shelter and enough trees suitable for nesting are available.	Grasslands, beaches, forests, islands, sagebrush, deserts, mountains, tundra, ice floes and agriculture fields.
Size	A crow is about the size of a dove, with a body length of about 19 inches and weighs about 0.57 kg.	A raven is about the size of a hawk, measuring about 24-27 inches in length and weighs about 1.13 kg.
Bills	Crows have weaker bills that are smaller and mostly flat.	Ravens have black, larger, thicker, curved and more powerful beaks.
Feathers	The feathers of crows are less shiny and may have lighter markings.	The feathers of ravens are generally shiny with a wet sheen.
Throat Feathers	The crow has a smooth throat with relatively short feathers.	Ravens have shaggy feathers around the throat and above the beak.
Wings	Crows have straight wings that have very little blending along either the leading or trailing edge.	Raven’s wings are longer with a more visible crook at the wrist and the primary feathers are more splayed, showing more ‘’finger’’ space between them.
Tail	Crows have shorter tails with only a very slight curve showing when the tail is fanned in flight.	Ravens have longer tails and the feathers in the center of the tail are significantly longer, creating a distinctly pointed wedge, diamond or V-shaped.
In-Flight	In flight, crows are more energetic with frequent flaps.	In flight crows occasionally somersault and are more likely to soar and glide with only shallow, infrequent flaps.
In Flight Sound	In flight, the wings of crows are typically silent.	In flight wings of ravens may make a distinct swishing sound.
Sheen	In the right light conditions, the crow’s sheen appear greenish.	In the right light conditions, the Raven’s sheen is blue or purple.
Lifespan	Crows have a lifespan of up to 8 years.	Ravens have a lifespan of about 30 years.
Nature	Crows are gregarious birds that will travel in family flocks and use communal roosts, creating large groups of raucous birds.	Ravens are much more solitary or are found frequently in pairs, but very rarely in larger groups.
Diet	Crows only eat carrion on occasion, and their diet includes many other food items, including insects, mollusks, seeds, fruit, nuts, mice, eggs, nestlings of other birds and fish.	Ravens are scavengers and will eat almost anything including carrion, small animals, birds as large as Pigeons, eggs, a variety of arthropods, fish, grains, buds and berries, and most types of human food including garbage.
Call	Crows makes a typical ‘’caw-caw’’ call.	Common ravens have a much coarse, rattling call that that sounds like a long, slow croaking ‘’grooonk’’ tone.

 

 

From Mr. Food

 

With just a few convenient items from our market refrigerated case, we have the shortcut to some warm and welcoming After School Pizza Puffs. The kids are sure to do their homework with a smile when you serve these up!

• 1 (12-ounce) package refrigerated biscuits (10 biscuits)
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce, divided
• 1/3 cup refrigerated cooked crumbled sausage
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• Grated Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling
• Cooking spray

 

 

1. Preheat oven to 375º. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. 
    
2. Separate biscuit dough into 10 pieces. Make an indentation in the center of each biscuit with your thumb. Spoon a teaspoon of sauce into each indentation. Top evenly with crumbled sausage and mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
    
3. Pull dough over filling and pinch together firmly so that filling is completely enclosed. Place seam side down on prepared baking sheet. Lightly spray tops with cooking spray and sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese.
    
4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm with remaining pizza sauce.

 

 

 

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

1835 – In the first assassination attempt against a President of the United States, Richard Lawrence attempts to shoot president Andrew Jackson, but fails and is subdued by a crowd, including several congressmen.

 

1847 – Yerba Buena, California is renamed San Francisco.

 

And births this year include....

1882 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, American politician, 44th Governor of New York, and 32nd President of the United States (d. 1945)

 

1914 – John Ireland, Canadian actor (d. 1992)

 

1914 – David Wayne, American actor (d. 1995)

 

1922 – Dick Martin, American comedian (d. 2008)

 

 

1925 – Dorothy Malone, American actress (d.2018)

 

1930 – Gene Hackman, American actor

 

1937 – Vanessa Redgrave, English actress

 

 

1941 – Dick Cheney, American politician, 7th White House Chief of Staff, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wyoming, 17th United States Secretary of Defense and 46th Vice President of the United States

 

 

 

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

xo Sue Mom Bobo

In the United States, National Croissant Day recognizes a flaky pastry enjoyed at every meal.  Croissants are a buttery, crescent-shaped rolls that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. 

The key to a perfect croissant is laminating the dough. Laminating the dough is a process by which butter is folded into the mixture creating multiple thin layers of butter and dough. The result is a mouth-watering flaky crust and airy body.

Legend surrounds this pastry, as is often the case with a popular, worldly treat. What is known, is that crescent-shaped breads have been found around the world for ages. One of these was the Kipferl which originated in Austria as far back as the 13th century. This nonlaminated bread is more like a roll.

Credit for the croissant we know today is given to an Austrian military officer, August Zang. In 1939 he opened a Viennese bakery in Paris introducing France to Viennese baking techniques.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Stop by the bakery for a fresh, warm croissant. Be sure to give your baker a shout out, too! Of course, you can always try baking your own. We’ve even provided a recipe to try.

Croissants recipe.

 

NATIONAL CROISSANT DAY HISTORY

The earliest we’ve found the observance being celebrated is in 2006. National Day Calendar continues researching the origins of this buttery food holiday.