Weather ~ Labor Day ~ Picture of the Day ~ Gregory Peck ~ Beefy Stuffed Zucchini ~ Loren Otto ~ Patty (Hickey) McNaughton ~ Karen Baertschiger ~ National Wildlife Day

  

Good dark cloudy 57º Labor Day morning. 

 

 

Yesterday we started off dark and gloomy...........

 

Later we got sun on and off......................and we topped at 82º.

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed in 1885 and 1886. From these, a movement developed to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During 1887, four more states – Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York – created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September of each year a national holiday.

 

Picture of the Day....architecture failure

 

 

Interesting about Gregory Peck...

 

Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood Cinema.

 

After studying at the Neighborhood Playhouse with Sanford Meisner, Peck began appearing in stage productions, acting in over 50 plays and three Broadway productions. He first gained critical success in The Keys of the Kingdom (1944), a John M. Stahl–directed drama which earned him his first Academy Award nomination. He starred in a series of successful films, including romantic-drama The Valley of Decision (1944), Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound (1945), and family film The Yearling (1946). He encountered lukewarm commercial reviews at the end of the 1940s, his performances including The Paradine Case (1947) and The Great Sinner (1948). Peck reached global recognition in the 1950s and 1960s, appearing back-to-back in the book-to-film adaptation of Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951) and biblical drama David and Bathsheba (1951). He starred alongside Ava Gardner in The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952) and Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday (1953).

 

Other notable films in which he appeared include Moby Dick (1956, and its 1998 mini-series), The Guns of Navarone (1961), Cape Fear (1962, and its 1991 remake), The Omen (1976), and The Boys from Brazil (1978). Throughout his career, he often portrayed protagonists with "fiber" within a moral setting. Gentleman's Agreement (1947) centered on topics of antisemitism, while Peck's character in Twelve O'Clock High (1949) dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder during World War II. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), an adaptation of the modern classic of the same name which revolved around racial inequality, for which he received universal acclaim. In 1983, he starred opposite Christopher Plummer in The Scarlet and The Black as Hugh O'Flaherty, a Catholic priest who saved thousands of escaped Allied POWs and Jewish people in Rome during the Second World War.

 

Peck was also active in politics, challenging the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 and was regarded as a political opponent by President Richard Nixon. President Lyndon B. Johnson honored Peck with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969 for his lifetime humanitarian efforts. Peck died in his sleep from bronchopneumonia at the age of 87.

 

Eldred Gregory Peck was born on April 5, 1916, in the neighborhood of La Jolla in San Diego, California, to Bernice Mae "Bunny" (née Ayres; 1894–1992), and Gregory Pearl Peck (1886–1962), a Rochester, New York–born chemist and pharmacist. His father was of English (paternal) and Irish (maternal) heritage, and his mother was of English and Scots ancestry. She converted to her husband's religion, Catholicism, and Peck was raised as a Catholic. Through his Irish-born paternal grandmother Catherine Ashe (1864–1926), Peck was related to Thomas Ashe (1885–1917), who participated in the Easter Rising less than three weeks after Peck's birth and died while being force-fed during a hunger strike in 1917.

 

Peck served as the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1967, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Film Institute from 1967 to 1969, Chairman of the Motion Picture and Television Relief Fund in 1971, and National Chairman of the American Cancer Society in 1966. He was a member of the National Council on the Arts from 1964 to 1966.

 

Personal life

In October 1942, Peck married Finnish-born Greta Kukkonen (1911–2008), with whom he had three sons: Jonathan (1944–1975), Stephen (b. 1946), and Carey Paul (b. 1949). They were divorced in December 1955. Peck's eldest son was found dead in his home on June 26, 1975, in what authorities believed was a suicide.

 

During his first marriage, Peck had a brief affair with Spellbound co-star Ingrid Bergman. He confessed the affair to Brad Darrach of People in a 1987 interview, saying: "All I can say is that I had a real love for her [Bergman], and I think that's where I ought to stop ... I was young. She was young. We were involved for weeks in close and intense work."

 

On New Year's Eve in 1955, the day after his divorce was final, Peck married Véronique Passani (1932–2012), a Paris news reporter who had interviewed him in 1952 before he went to Italy to film Roman Holiday. He asked her to lunch six months later, and they became inseparable. They had a son, Anthony Peck (b. 1956), and a daughter, Cecilia Peck (b. 1958). The couple remained married until Peck's death. His son Anthony is a former husband of supermodel Cheryl Tiegs. Peck had grandchildren from both marriages. One of his grandsons from his first marriage is actor Ethan Peck.

 

 

On June 12, 2003, Peck died in his sleep from bronchopneumonia at the age of 87 at his home in Los Angeles. His wife, Veronique, was by his side.

 

Gregory Peck is entombed in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels mausoleum in Los Angeles. His eulogy was read by Brock Peters, whose character, Tom Robinson, was defended by Peck's Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. Celebrities who attended Peck's funeral included Lauren Bacall, Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Shari Belafonte, Harrison Ford, Calista Flockhart, Mike Farrell, Shelley Fabares, Jimmy Smits, Louis Jourdan, Dyan Cannon, Stephanie Zimbalist, Michael York, Angie Dickinson, Larry Gelbart, Michael Jackson, Anjelica Huston, Lionel Richie, Louise Fletcher, Tony Danza, and Piper Laurie.

 

^{If you want to read a lot more, go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Peck}

 

 

From Mr. Food

 

If you're new to eating stuffed zucchini then you're in for a real surprise! This stuffed zucchini recipe is healthy, hearty, and full of Italian flavor. Perfect for a low-carb diet, our Beefy Stuffed Zucchini will soon become one of your favorites!

 

 

• 3 zucchini, sliced in half lengthwise
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1/2 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup no-salt-added tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese

 

1. Preheat oven to 400º. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. With a spoon, scoop meat out of zucchini halves; set aside shells and chop zucchini meat finely.
2. In a medium-sized skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat and saute ground beef, onion, and red bell pepper for 6-8 minutes, or until beef is no longer pink. Stir in chopped zucchini, Parmesan cheese, basil, oregano, black pepper, and 1/3 cup tomato sauce, and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until tender.
3. Stuff zucchini shells evenly with meat mixture, spoon remaining tomato sauce evenly over zucchini, and place on baking sheet. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
4. Remove foil and top evenly with mozzarella cheese. Bake 5-10 minutes more, or until zucchini are tender and cheese is melted.

 

 

 

Three special birthdays today.........

Loren Otto, Marine Corps League, is celebrating. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOREN!

 

 

Also today is the birthday of Patty (Hickey) McNaughton. HAPPY BIRTHDAY PATTY!!!

 

 

And also my pal Karen Baertschiger aka Sugar Bear is celebrating. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUGAR BEAR!

 

 

Historically this date......

1781 – Los Angeles, California, is founded as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora La Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of Porziuncola) by 44 Spanish settlers.

1888 – George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak and receives a patent for his camera that uses roll film.

1957 – The Ford Motor Company introduces the Edsel.

1972 – Mark Spitz becomes the first competitor to win seven medals at a single Olympic Games.

1998 – Google is founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two students at Stanford University.

 

And births this date include...
 1913 – Mickey Cohen, American gangster (d. 1976) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1928 – Dick York, American actor (d. 1992)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1931 – Mitzi Gaynor, American actress

 

 

 1981 – Beyoncé, American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and actress

 

 

 

 

 

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

xo Sue Mom Bobo

National Wildlife Day on September 4th encourages improved awareness of the species around us and in the broader world.

This National Day aims to focus on endangered species, preservation, and conservation efforts around the world. Zoos, aviaries and marine sanctuaries provide a variety of ways to get involved.

No matter where you live, opportunities abound to learn and participate in the day. Wildlife doesn’t just exist in the forest or outside the city limits. Look closely. The creatures and animals sharing our world live under our feet and in the sky above us. Our rivers, lakes and oceans are teeming with wildlife of all sizes. It’s essential to understand how we impact the habitats that animals need to survive. Their homes supply their food and shelter.

Since wildlife relies on a stable habitat, understanding conservation and preservation is important. Developing strategies helps to maintain existing habitats and repair or replace those that have been destroyed. These strategies are especially important when a decline in a species is detected. For example, last month, International Whale Shark Day brings attention to the plight of the world’s largest fish. Despite efforts, the gentle giant continues to decline in numbers.

Around the world, facilities and organizations will present seminars and educational programs. Additionally, podcasts and documentaries alert us to the changing conditions for various species around the world.  Some may be as close as your own back yard. From the sky to the depths of the ocean, wildlife surrounds us.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Participate in a presentation or volunteer to fund-raise for rehabilitation services. Learn about the needs of endangered species and how conservation efforts work. While learning, implement your own techniques, as suggested by preservationists. Go on a wildlife walk and learn about the inhabitants near you. Visit the National Wildlife Federation to learn more.

 

NATIONAL WILDLIFE DAY HISTORY

Colleen Paige, the Pet Lifestyle Expert, and author founded National Wildlife Day in 2005 in memory of wildlife conservationist Steve Irwin.  The day serves to bring global awareness and education concerning the number of endangered animals and the need for conservation and preservation.