Weather/Rain ~ Picture of the Day ~ Cowboy Hats ~ Easy Moussaka ~ Vanette Christensen ~ National Potato Chip Day ~ National Napping Day

  

Good 38º dark cloudy morning. 

 

 

Yesterday we had rain and rain and more rain. We topped at 49º.

 

 

Picture of the Day...when it snows, decorate your car!

 

 

Interesting about cowboy hats...........

 

 

The cowboy hat is a high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat best known as the defining piece of attire for the North American cowboy. Today it is worn by many people, and is particularly associated with ranch workers in the western and southern United States, western Canada and northern Mexico, with many country, regional Mexican and sertanejo music performers, and with participants in the North American rodeo circuit. It is recognized around the world as part of Old West apparel.

 

The cowboy hat as known today has many antecedents to its design, including Mexican hats such as the sombrero, the various designs of wide-brimmed hat worn by farmers and stock men in the eastern United States, as well as the designs used by the United States Cavalry.

 

The first western model was the open-crowned "Boss of the Plains", and after that came the front-creased Carlsbad, destined to become "the" cowboy style. The high-crowned, wide-brimmed, soft-felt western hats that followed are intimately associated with the cowboy image.

 

The concept of a broad-brimmed hat with a high crown worn by a rider on horseback can be seen as far back as the Mongolian horsemen of the 13th century. The hat has a tall crown that provides insulation, and a wide brim that provides shade. Hot and sunny climates inspire designs with very wide brims such as the sombrero of Mexico.

 

It is not clear when the cowboy hat received its name. However, European-Americans in the Western United States originally had no standard head wear. People moving West wore many styles of hat, including top hats, bowlers, Civil War headgear such as cavalry and slouch hats, and sailor hats. Contrary to popular belief, it was the bowler and not the cowboy hat that was the most popular in the American West, prompting Lucius Beebe to call it "the hat that won the West". The working cowboy wore wide-brimmed and high-crowned hats. The hats were most likely adopted from civil war era slouch hats and may have been influenced by the Mexican Vaqueros before the invention of the modern design. John Batterson Stetson is credited for originating the modern day American Cowboy Hat.

 

The original "Boss of the Plains", manufactured by Stetson in 1865, was flat-brimmed, had a straight sided crown, with rounded corners. These light-weight, waterproof hats were natural in color, with four-inch crowns and brims. A plain hatband was fitted to adjust head size.^] The sweatband bore Stetson's name. While only making one style of hat, they came in different qualities ranging from one-grade material at five dollars apiece to pure beaver felt hats for thirty dollars each. J.B. Stetson was the first to market the "Boss of the Plains" to cowboys, and it has remained the universal image of the American West. The charisma of the West was carried back East when adventurers returned in the expensive "Boss of the plains" style hat. In the 19th century and first half of the 20th century, a hat was an indispensable item in every man's wardrobe. Stetson focused on expensive, high-quality hats that represented a real investment for the working cowboy and a statement of success for the city dweller.

 

The durability and water-resistance of the original Stetson obtained additional publicity in 1912, when the battleship USS Maine was raised from Havana harbor, where it had sunk in 1898. A Stetson hat was found in the wreck, which had been submerged in seawater for 14 years. The hat had been exposed to ooze, mud, and plant growth. However, the hat was cleaned off, and appeared to be undamaged.

 

Design

 

Modern cowboy hats are made of fur-based felt, straw or, less often, leather. They are sold with a tall, rounded crown and a wide flat brim. They have a simple sweat band on the inside to stabilize the fit of the head, and usually a small decorative hat band on the outside of the crown. Hats are customized by creasing the crown and rolling the brim. Hats are also sold pre-creased and pre-rolled. Often a more decorative hat band is added. In some places, "stampede strings" or "wind strings" are also attached. Hats can be manufactured in virtually any color, but are most often seen in shades of beige, brown and black. Beginning in the 1940s, pastel colors were introduced, seen often on hats worn by movie cowboys and rodeo riders. "Today's cowboy hat has remained basically unchanged in construction and design since the first one was created in 1865 by J.B. Stetson."

Modern designs

The modern cowboy hat has remained basically unchanged in construction and underlying design since the Stetson creation. The cowboy hat quickly identified its wearer as someone associated with the West. "Within a decade the name 'John B. Stetson' became synonymous with the word 'hat' in every corner and culture west of the Mississippi River." The shape of the hat's crown and brim were often modified by the wearer for fashion and to protect against weather by being softened in hot steam, shaped, and allowed to dry and cool. Because of the ease of personalization, it was often possible to tell where a cowboy hat was from, right down to which ranch, simply by looking at the crease in the crown.

 

Later as the mystique of the Wild West was popularized by entertainers such as Buffalo Bill Cody and western movies starring actors such as Tom Mix, the Cowboy hat came to symbolize the American West. John Wayne christened them "the hat that won the West". The Boss of the Plains design influenced various wide-brimmed hats worn by farmers and ranchers all over the United States. Later designs were customized for law enforcement, military and motion pictures.

The first American law-enforcement agency to adopt Stetson's western hat as part of their uniform was the Texas Rangers. The Texas Legislature designated the cowboy hat as the official "State Hat of Texas" in 2015.

 

 

 

 

From Mr. Food

 

 

This Greek favorite has a few shortcuts, which land it on your table in no time! Easy Moussaka, with tender layers of eggplant, ground beef and a creamy custard topping, makes 'em shout "Opa!" every time you serve it!

 

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 small eggplant, peeled and diced (about 4 cups)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups spaghetti sauce
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups milk, warmed

 

 

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Coat a 3-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
    
2. In a large skillet, sauté the ground beef over medium-high heat 7 to 8 minutes, or until crumbly and only slightly pink; drain off any excess liquid.
    
3. Add the eggplant to the skillet and sauté 5 to 6 minutes, until the eggplant begins to soften. Add the garlic, cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt, and the pepper; mix well. Add the spaghetti sauce and cook 4 to 5 more minutes, until hot; place mixture in the baking dish.
    
4. In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and stir until smooth, 3-4 minutes. Add the warm milk to the flour mixture, 1 cup at a time whisking continuously until smooth. Bring to a boil, stir in remaining salt and cook for 2-4 minutes or until thickened. Pour over meat mixture.
    
5. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until the custard-like top is set.

 

****If you want to make this a day or two before serving, go ahead. Just put it together through Step 3. Cover and refrigerate the meat mixture in the baking dish until ready to finish as directed in Steps 4 and 5.

 

 

 

Special birthday today.... Vanette (Ford) Christensen (LASD ret. Temple Station and ELA Sgt.) ..HAPPY BIRTHDAY VAN!

 

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

1910 – Lakeview Gusher, the largest U.S. oil well gusher near Bakersfield, California, vented to atmosphere.

 

1951 – Korean War: For the second time, United Nations troops recapture Seoul.

 

1964 – A jury in Dallas, Texas, finds Jack Ruby guilty of killing Lee Harvey Oswald, assumed assassin of John F. Kennedy.

 

 

1995 – Space Exploration: Astronaut Norman Thagard becomes the first American astronaut to ride to space on-board a Russian launch vehicle.

 

 

And births this date include....

1863 – Casey Jones, American railroad engineer (d. 1900)

 

 

1879 – Albert Einstein, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1955)

1914 – Lee Petty, American race car driver (d. 2000)

 

 

Lee Petty is shown here with son, Richard, grandson, Kyle and great-grandson, Adam in a 1999 photo.

 

Sadly, Lee Petty passed away on April 5, 2000 and Adam died tragically about a month later in a racing incident when he was practicing with a Busch series car at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

 

Racing was in their blood right on down the line from Lee.

 

 

 

1920 – Hank Ketcham, American cartoonist (d. 2001)

 

 

1928 – Frank Borman, American astronaut and CEO

 

 

 

 

1933 – Sir Michael Caine, British actor

 

 

 

1946 – Steve Kanaly, American actor

 

 

 

1948 – Billy Crystal, American actor and comedian

 

 

 

1958 – Albert II, Prince of Monaco

 

 

 

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

xo Sue Mom Bobo

National Potato Chip Day on March 14th celebrates America’s #1 snack food. Millions will enjoy their favorite chip this holiday. It’s a good thing there are so many to choose from, too!

 

Saratoga Chips

On August 24, 1853, an unhappy restaurant customer kept sending his potatoes back to the kitchen, complaining they were thick and soggy. Chef George Crum decided to slice the potatoes as thin as possible, frying them until crisp and added extra salt. To the chef’s surprise, the customer loved them. The crispy potatoes soon became a regular item on the restaurant’s menu under the name of “Saratoga Chips.”

Other explanations point for the existence of the potato chip point to recipes in Shilling Cookery for the People by Alexis Soyer (1845) or Mary Randolph’s The Virginia House-Wife (1824). While many references between these dates sliced potatoes and fried them in grease, uncertainty remains whether the potatoes were fried to a crisp.

However, by the late 1870s, menus across the country used the term “Saratoga Chips” on train cars, hotel restaurants, and street carts. The name carried into grocers when bakeries made the chips in larger batches. They shipped them by wagon to the restaurants and grocers by the barrel. The grocers sold them to private families by the pound. Folks were instructed to bake the chips in a hot oven for a few minutes, and the chips would be as crisp as if fried that same day.

 

Classic Potato Chips

The Dayton, Ohio-based Mike-sell’s Potato Chip Company, founded in 1910, calls itself the “oldest potato chip company in the United States.”  New England-based Tri-Sum Potato Chips, originally established in 1908 as the Leominster Potato Chip Company, in Leominster, Massachusetts, claims to be America’s first potato chip manufacturer.

In the 20th century, potato chips spread beyond chef-cooked restaurant fare and began to be mass-produced for home consumption. Flavored chips were introduced in the 1950s. Potato Chip revenues are over $15 billion a year worldwide!

HOW TO OBSERVE

While we enjoy potato chips as a simple snack, they also provide a great ingredient in recipes, too. Favorite recipes include chocolate-dipped chips and crushed chips dusted over fish.

 

And today is also..

 

Each year, National Napping Day recognizes our need the day following the return of daylight saving time. Not only does the observance encourage a nap, it reminds us that there’s no shame in taking one either. While preparing for the time change can offset the shock to our internal clock, many other things in our life may not handle the change so well causing us to still lose sleep. Young children and pets do not adjust as easily and certain work schedules do not permit early adjustment, either.

 

Mid-afternoon naps are an integral part of most cultures, and scientifically proven to be good for you.

A needed rest can make you feel better and also improve your mood. After having the extra amount of sleep, a person will notice that they will be more productive and energetic. Numerous studies have shown that short 10-20 minute naps are the most effective when midday fatigue hits. Improvements in alertness, productivity, and mood have all been shown to improve with this type of snooze.  

Though there are some of us who are just not the napping kind, if you can reap those benefits, find a cozy spot for 10 minutes or so on National Napping Day.

HOW TO OBSERVE

• Catch some zees!
• Be sure to nap early enough in the day so as to not interrupt your regular sleep cycle. 
• Create a perfect napping environment. 
• Share your favorite type of nap or why you enjoy a good snooze.

  NATIONAL NAPPING DAY HISTORY

  William Anthony, Ph.D., a Boston University Professor, and his wife, Camille Anthony, created National Napping Day in 1999 as an effort to spotlight the health benefits to catching up on quality sleep.  

Q. Are there any benefits to taking a nap?
A. Yes. Several

Q. Can a nap be too long?
A. Yes. Long naps and naps taken late in the day can negatively impact our nighttime sleep habits. According to the Mayo Clinic, an optimal nap time is between 10 and 20 minutes.