Category Archives: Thought of the Day

October 26, 2013

Pop-Up Bookstores

By ritalovestowrite
The Bargain Book Warehouse in Harford Mall

The Bargain Book Warehouse in Harford Mall

Once upon a time there was a mall. It was a fine mall. Not too big. Not too small. The mall was just right. It had a place to buy food…and a place to buy Yankee Candles…and a place to buy clothing and fancy soap and shoes and cards for every holiday. But the mall didn’t have a book store. So the mall was sad.

Then one day some one put up portable shelving in an empty store. They opened long  sturdy tables. They hung vinyl banners announcing “Cookbooks” and “Children’s” and “Mystery.” Then they filled the shelves and the tables with discounted books and the Bargain Book Warehouse pop-up store was born.

There is no fancy neon sign above the entrance, just a simple fold up easel to tell folks that books reside inside. BARGAIN BOOKS.

As a writer I have a bit of a problem with the concept of Bargain Books. When the prices are slashed surely that means that the poor author is the one getting the shaft.

But as my mom (my companion, and my reason for being in the mall) eased into her second quarter-hour in the Hallmark Store I excused myself and slipped into the B.B.W. to “look.”

Frankly, I didn’t expect much. Usually these places are such a jumble of  cast-off you can’t find anything specific on your “to read” list. It’s best to approach with a “browse only” policy. Trying to find an individual author or title will only lead to tears.

So I headed over to the ART table. Low and behold they had some Graphic Design books. Some pretty decent Graphic Design books. I actually had my choice of books on Logo Design. Cool.

I brought my selection up the humble check out counter (another wooden table). The cash register shared space with more books and JOURNALS!

Jackpot! I picked up a  selection of lined and unlined journals. Things were looking up.

Then I went just a little too far. Thinking I might be able to pick up a few books for the upcoming JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America) meeting I asked the guy behind the cash register this question: “Could you point me towards your Jane Austen, please?”

He looked back at me, thinking hard. “Um?”  Thinking harder. “Do you know what kind of books she wrote?”

“Yes I do.” I answered, closing my mouth with a tight smile before he rest of my sentence — “and, as you work in a BOOKSTORE, you should know what kinds of books she wrote too” — came spilling out. I smiled. “She wrote novels in the Regency Period.”  Nothing. “About 200 years ago.”

“She wrote History?” He nodded to a vinyl banner with the letters HISTORY on it.

History

“No she didn’t write History, she wrote romantic fiction.”

“Oh, Romances.” He looked the other way at a banner emblazoned with a loopy typeface.

Romance

“No. She wrote Pride and Prejudice.” I tried again.

His face shifted with slow recognition. “Oh, yeah. I saw that movie.” GAR!  “Yeah all that old stuff is over there.”

I handed him my Journals and Graphic Design books. “That’s OK. If you don’t recognize her name you probably don’t carry her books.”

I smiled and handed over my money.

He smiled and handed me my receipt.

So, Pop-Up Bookstore guy I apologize for going all Jane-Austen-snobby on you.

My bad, I shouldn’t have broken the  golden rule about asking for a specific author.

I wont make the same mistake again.

English: "Protested that he never read no...

English: “Protested that he never read novels” – Mr. Collins claims that he never reads novels. Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. London: George Allen, 1894, page 87. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Leave a comment | posted in books, Jane Austen, JASNA, postaday, Thought of the Day, Writing

October 25, 2013

St. Crispin’s Day — This story shall a good man teach his son

By ritalovestowrite

It is a day to be remember-ed. The story starts with two third century shoe making saints and peaks on the fields of Agincourt (or the stage of  the Globe Theatre) with Shakespeare’s Henry V.

Martyrdom of SS Crispin and Crispinian.

Martyrdom of SS Crispin and Crispinian. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Saints… October 25th is the feast day of Saints Crispin and Crispinian.  Two noble born Romans (they might have been brothers, they might even have been twins …when it comes to Christian mythology from the 3rd Century  things get a bit iffy — which is why the feast day was down graded to a  little “f” and it  is no longer formally  celebrated post Vatican 2). They also happened to be Christians. The boys (who either lived in Rome or Britain) fled to Soissans (France) to avoid persecution.  Along the way they picked up the shoe making trade.

The legend relates that they were Romans of distinguished descent who went as missionaries of the Christian Faith to Gaul and chose Soissons as their field of labour. In imitation of St. Paul they worked with their hands, making shoes, and earned enough by their trade to support themselves and also to aid the poor. [Catholic Encyclopedia.com]

Unfortunately for the Crispin and Crispinian the long arm of the Roman Empire reached well into France and their work did not go unnoticed by the authorities. They were cajoled, threatened, and ultimately tortured (the usual stuff, “stretched on the rack, thongs were cut from their flesh, …awls …driven under their finger-nails,” [Ibid] thrown in the river with a millstone around their the neck, thrown in a fire– all of which they survived  –it was a miracle! How do you think they got to be saints?) But in the end the Emperor, Diocletian had them beheaded. Canonization followed and the brothers became the patron saints of cobblers, tanners and saddler’s.

The Battles … Three major historical battle have taken place on St. Crispin’s Day:

  • The Battle of Agincourt (1415)
  • The Battle of Balaklava (1854) (with it’s famous Charge of the Light Brigade)
  • and the Battle of Lyte Gulf (1944)

Agincourt had Shakespeare. (More on that in a moment.) Balaklava had Tennyson.

English: The Charge of the Light Brigade by Ca...

English: The Charge of the Light Brigade by Caton Woodville (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In reality it was an ill-fated tactical mistake but   on paper, under Tennyson’s pen, it was immortal glory.

Half a league half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred:
‘Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns’ he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

You can almost hear the hoof beats.

The Battle of Lyte Gulf is just as epic — it was the biggest naval battle of World War II, perhaps the largest in history. But, except for a pretty awesome Victory At Sea episode, Lyte Gulf has yet to receive its literary due.

Fifteenth-century miniature depicting the Engl...

Fifteenth-century miniature depicting the English victory over France at the Battle of Agincourt. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Shakespeare’s King Henry the Fifth’s St. Crispin’s Day speech that seeps the day into popular culture. We’ve watched Prince Hal grow from rambunctious rebel rouser to earnest King. His metal has been tested at the breach, but now, NOW his outnumbered, sick, weary English troops face the vanguard of the French army. Hal could have snuck away in the night, he could have randsomed himself to the French but he stands to fight. And before the fight he pulls his troops up with a speech to end all speeches.

Here’s Kenneth Branagh‘s 1989 version (the souring music is by Patrick Doyle) …

You can read along here:

WESTMORELAND. O that we now had here
But one ten thousand of those men in England
That do no work to-day!

KING. What’s he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin;
If we are mark’d to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God’s will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
God’s peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more methinks would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man’s company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call’d the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam’d,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say “To-morrow is Saint Crispian.”
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say “These wounds I had on Crispian’s day.”
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb’red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.

You should also check out Tom Hiddleston and Lawrence Olivier’s take’s on Henry V and their St. Crispin’s Day speech.  It is worth listening to more than once.

This story shall a good man teach his son.

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Leave a comment | posted in Thought of the Day

October 24, 2013

Farm Fresh Challenge: Sweet Potato and Leeks

By ritalovestowrite

Our weekly bounty from Calverts Gift Farm is coming to a close. My pick up yesterday was the penultimate box. Soon I shall have to re-acquaint myself with the produce aisle at the grocery store and Chopped Parkton will be a thing of the past. But today is not that day. Today I make Sweet Potato and Leeks!

INGREDIENTS:

From the Box:

  • Three cups of chopped Sweet Potatoes (about a half-inch )
  • One Leek (diced fine)
  • 2 cloves of Garlic (diced fine)
  • 2 Mushrooms (diced fine) (from previous box)
Leak (top) waits to be diced on a plate with prepared mushrooms.

Leak (top) waits to be diced on a plate with prepared mushrooms.

From the Pantry:

  • 2 tablespoons of Butter
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Water to boil the Sweet Potatoes

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put the Sweet Potatoes in a large pot and cover with 2″ of water. Bring to a steady boil. Continue to cook until Sweet Potatoes are soft. Drain in a colander and set aside.

2. In the same pot add the Butter and put back on the stove. Once Butter is melted added the diced Leek and Garlic. Saute until the Leak is translucent.

3. Add the Mushrooms and cook until they are soft. Add the Sweet Potatoes back into the pot and toss. Season to taste.

Sweet Potato Leak side dish. Ready to eat.

Sweet Potato Leak side dish. Ready to eat.

If you think Sweet Potatoes should be whipped up and served with mini marshmallows just move along,  this isn’t the dish you’re looking for.

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3 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Thought of the Day

October 22, 2013

Neil Gaiman on Libraries and Books

By ritalovestowrite
Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On October 14th Neil Gaiman was the featured speaker at the annual Reading Agency Lecture in London, England.  The forum is

as a platform for leading writers and thinkers to share original, challenging ideas about reading and libraries as we explore how to create a reading culture in a radically changed 21st century landscape. [readingagency.org.uk]

As a writer, reader and lover of libraries and all things books (paper, audio, electronic and otherwise) I found myself tearing up and cheering at the screen as I listened to the roughly 26 minute lecture on You Tube. [You can find it on the Reading Agency link, above and in the You Tube link,  below]  And since you read my blog, which is so often about writing and authors (and Gaiman), I thought I’d share some highlights with you for today’s Thought of the Day.

Neil Gaiman (2005)

Neil Gaiman (2005) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Gaiman admits his bias at the beginning of the talk. He wants libraries to thrive and he wants kids to learn the love of reading. Specifically he’d like to encourage kids to read fiction, because, he says “Its the gateway  drug to reading.”

It is obviously in my interest for people to read, for them to read fiction, for libraries and librarians to exist and help foster a love of reading and places in which reading can occur…So I’m biased as a writer. But I am much, much more biased as a reader. And I am even more biased as a British citizen. [Gaiman’s speech as reprinted in The Guardian.com]

But what he says goes for this side of the pond too. (And elsewhere, I dare say.) To have a thriving society one must have a reading society and that starts early, by teaching our children to read and showing “them that reading is a pleasurable activity.” [Ibid] Finding books they’ll want to read and not being judgemental  about their choices.

Fiction you do not like is a route to other books you may prefer. And not everyone has the same taste as you…Well-meaning adults can easily destroy a child’s love of reading: stop them reading what they enjoy, or give them worthy-but-dull books that you like, the 21st-century equivalents of Victorian “improving” literature. You’ll wind up with a generation convinced that reading is uncool and worse, unpleasant. [Ibid]

Fiction is the first rung on the ladder of literacy. It also builds Empathy.

Prose fiction is something you build up from 26 letters and a handful of punctuation marks, and you, and you alone, using your imagination, create a world and people it and look out through other eyes. You get to feel things, visit places and worlds you would never otherwise know. You learn that everyone else out there is a me, as well. You’re being someone else, and when you return to your own world, you’re going to be slightly changed. [Ibid]

It can change how you view the world and show you new worlds whole cloth. And “Once you’ve visited other worlds, like those who ate fairy fruit, you can never be entirely content with the world that you grew up in.” [Ibid] You’ll want to change it for the better. You’ll BELIEVE it can be better.

English: The main reading romm of Graz Univers...

English: The main reading romm of Graz University Library (19th century) on 2 Sep 2003. Picture taken and uploaded by Dr. Marcus Gossler. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Gaiman talks about the need for libraries. Libraries, he says, are about freedom.

  • Freedom to read
  • Freedom of ideas
  • Freedom of communication
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • and INFORMATION

He worries that people “Misunderstand libraries” nowadays. Perhaps they think the institutions are  “antiquated or outdated”

If you perceive a library as a shelf of books, it may seem antiquated or outdated in a world in which most, but not all, books in print exist digitally. But that is to miss the point fundamentally.I think it has to do with nature of information. Information has value, and the right information has enormous value. …Libraries are places that people go to for information. Books are only the tip of the information iceberg: they are there, and libraries can provide you freely and legally with books. More children are borrowing books from libraries than ever before – books of all kinds: paper and digital and audio. But libraries are also, for example, places that people, who may not have computers, who may not have internet connections, can go online without paying anything… Librarians can help these people navigate that world.[Ibid]

A library is a people’s place, a safe haven where anyone can come to find information, gather for a meeting, and, yes, READ — something Gaiman thinks people will continue to do with actual paper books (along with their audio and electronic counterparts).

…as Douglas Adams once pointed out to me…  a physical book is like a shark. Sharks are old: there were sharks in the ocean before the dinosaurs. And the reason there are still sharks around is that sharks are better at being sharks than anything else is. Physical books are tough, hard to destroy, bath-resistant, solar-operated, feel good in your hand: they are good at being books, and there will always be a place for them. [Ibid]

He closed his talk by quoting Albert Einstein. When Einstein …

was asked once how we could make our children intelligent. His reply was both simple and wise. “If you want your children to be intelligent,” he said, “read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” He understood the value of reading, and of imagining. [Ibid]

Here’s the You Tube video so you can hear Gaiman in his own words….

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Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Neil Gaiman, postaday, Thought of the Day, Writing

October 22, 2013

Muffin Monday: Hearty Harvest Muffins

By ritalovestowrite

Squeezing Muffin Monday in under the wire again this week. Darn that LIFE. Doesn’t it know I’ve got blogging to do?

Enjoy the muffins…

Fresh from the oven

Fresh from the oven

Hearty Harvest Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 tsp softened  Butter
  • 1 cup Brown Sugar
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 1 cup Milk
  • 1/3 cup Apple Cider
  • 2 cups White Whole Wheat Flour
  • 4 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Ginger
  • 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
  • 1 cup grated Zucchini
  • 1 Cup grated Apple
  • 1 cup grated Carrots
  • 1 cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
  • 1 cup roughly chopped Pecans

DIRECTIONS

1. Pre-Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare muffin cups. This recipe makes 18 large muffins.

2. In a large bowl mix the Butter and Brown Sugar.

3. In a liquid measuring cup beat the eggs. Then add them to the Butter and Sugar.

4. Add the Milk , Apple Cider and Vanilla to the wet ingredients.

5. In a smaller bowl combine the Flour, Baking Powder, Salt, Ginger and Nutmeg.

6. Mix the dry ingredients in with the wet to form the base batter.

This batter can be used as the base for any number of muffins. The nutmeg and ginger give it a Fall feel.

This batter can be used as the base for any number of muffins. The nutmeg and ginger give it a Fall feel.

7. Add the Zucchini, Apple, Carrot, Chocolate Chips and Pecans and stir gently until incorporated.

8. Divide evenly into 18 muffin cups.

Ready for the oven.

Ready for the oven.

9. Bake in hot oven for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown at the top. Muffins should pass the toothpick test.

10. Let cool a few minutes before enjoying.

The apples and apple cider in this recipe are from Manor Produce in Monkton, Maryland. But instead of picking them up at the Farmer’s Market I got these at the Hereford Fall Festival.  You can find out more about them at http://www.manorproduce.com

I think I’m going to brave a pumpkin from Manor Produce next week.   I’ve a hankering for some pumpkin muffins. Hmmm I’ll have to see how the spirit moves me.

As for today’s muffins… Well, what do you think?

The final product

The final product

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2 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Apple, Muffin Monday, Muffins, Thought of the Day

October 20, 2013

Secondary Character Saturday: Mr. Roat (Wait Until Dark)

By ritalovestowrite

WaitArkin1

Who: Mr. Roat

From: Wait Until Dark

Directed by: Terence Young, Written by: Frederick Knott, Robert Carrington and Jane-Howard Carrington

When: 1967

PROS: He’s a hipster, sociopath who wears sunglasses all the time. He’s played brilliantly by Alan Arkin, so there’s a certain coolness to his absolute evil. Besides that… not so much in the Pro category

CONS: He’s an amoral killer who threatens to burn Audrey Hepburn to death. No body messes with my girl Audrey.

Why I chose Roat: I specifically am referencing Alan Arkin’s movie portrayal of Roat, Harry Roat, Jr. and Mr. Roat, Sr.  in Wait Until Dark because he is absolutely wonderful in the role. He’s both funny and terrifying at the same time. And he’s really, really, really wicked.

6 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Audrey Hepburn, postaday, Secondary Character, Thought of the Day

October 18, 2013

What Up, Wooly? 10/17/13 Thought of the Day

By ritalovestowrite
Wooly bear caterpillar 5

Wooly bear caterpillar 5

For today’s blog I’d been thinking of doing a humorous screen play about the epic turf war between lady bugs and stink bugs currently raging on rural barn sidings, screened porches, and front doors  across the Mid Atlantic. As the temperature dances from hot to cool to hot and back, and the crops that acted as their summer homes are harvested, these poor winged creatures don’t seem to know what to do. The one thing they DO seem bent on doing is grossing me out. One stink bug… I can deal with that. A couple of lady bugs… we’ll call it a picnic. But depending on the temperature and location it’s like a scene from the Ten Commandments out there.

So, yeah… I was going to write something funny along the lines of West Side Story where the gangs are the Lady Bugs and the Stinkers (Stink Bug, Stink Bug, crazy Stink Bug — get cool Stink Bug! Da, da, da, do, da, do, dum.)

… But then I drove home from the library.

On the roughly three-mile stretch of black top from the library to my house I saw several dozen Wooly Bear Caterpillars crossing the road. All of them  curiously following the same straight line. All moving fast enough for me to notice the path their little bodies were taking as I sped along at 45 mph. They were like zombie Woolies, mindlessly following some greater command.

This, I quickly realized, would make a much better bug movie script… I mean blog post.

Wooly Bear Caterpillar 1 greeted me In the drive way.

Wooly Bear Caterpillar 1 greeted me In the drive way.

Mention “Wooly Bear Caterpillars” and the first thing people think about is not — oddly enough — a zombie bug apocalypse, but, the long-held myth that the fuzzy little creatures can tell how cold the upcoming winter will be. Some folks think a wide band of copper means a long hard winter. Others think a skinny band of copper and wider bands of black at the ends of the caterpillar indicates a rise in fleece and down-filled jacket sales. Actually it is neither. The change in coloration is due to the AGE of the caterpillar. The older the little fuzzy fella is the more black he will have at his polar regions. So IF Mr. Wooly is a weather indicator he is of the retro variety. If you see one with a lot of black (and a small band of copper) in the spring he has been in the caterpillar stage for a long period of time, because the temperatures have remained cold well into April.

Wooly bear caterpillar 2

Wooly bear caterpillar 2

So are Wooly Bears actually wooly? No. The black and red bands are considered BRISTLES. And, as any one who knits can tell you… wool good… bristles… err, not so good. Know the difference.

Is  a Wooly Bear a BEAR? Also NO. He is a CATERPILLAR, the larval stage of the Isabella tiger moth, a pale yellow moth that has small dark spots on its wings. The Isabella tiger moth lays  her eggs over the summer. Those eggs hatch and grow into our friend the Wooly Bear Caterpillar.

Isabella Tiger Moth, Pyrrharctia isabella, adu...

Isabella Tiger Moth, Pyrrharctia isabella, adult (imago), Location: Durham, North Carolina, United States (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Is the Wooly Bear named Wooly Bear because it looks like a wooly bear? If you think bears are 2″ long and oval in shape, then, YES. I’ll give you, they do LOOK furry, but THIS is a bear…

Brown bear rearing2

Brown bear rearing2 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

THIS is a caterpillar…

Wooly bear caterpillar 3

Wooly bear caterpillar 3

To further research “Wooly Bears Attack! The Movie” the dog and I kept a look out for the traveling hoards of caterpillars during our walk. [That’s where I took these photos. All the Wooly photos on this blog may look like one caterpillar model cleverly posed in different gravelly locations, but actually each photo is of a different W.B. actor. (And these were just a few of the ones we saw).]

It seems they are looking for a nice place to weather the winter.

Mature woolly bears search for overwintering sites under bark or inside cavities of rocks or logs. (That’s why you see so many of them crossing roads and sidewalks in the fall.) … When spring arrives, woolly bears spin fuzzy cocoons and transform inside them into full-grown moths. [Almanac.com]

Ah Ha! So the mystery of the zombie caterpillar road crossing is solved. And I think the only thing they are really predicting is that we’ll have lots of fuzzy cocoons next spring.

Wooly bear caterpillar 4

Wooly bear caterpillar 4

Wooly bear caterpillar 6

Wooly bear caterpillar 6

Wooly bear caterpillar 7 (This one was frightened by the dog.)

Wooly bear caterpillar 7 (This one was frightened by the dog.)

Wooly bear caterpillar 8

Wooly bear caterpillar 8

Wooly bear caterpillar 9

Wooly bear caterpillar 9

 OK  Which fuzzy critter do you like the best? Vote on your favorite Wooly Bear, leave a comment below. Cheers, Rita

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Leave a comment   |  tags: , | posted in Nature, postaday, Thought of the Day, Writing

October 16, 2013

Dwight Eisenhower 10.16.13 Thought of the Day

By ritalovestowrite

Here’s another blog I was working on for Monday that I didn’t get finished in time to post. (Sorry Ike)…

——————————————————————————

Dwight D. Eisenhower, official portrait as Pre...

“What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight; it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” — Dwight Eisenhower

Dwight David Eisenhower was on October 14 in Denison, Texas, USA in 1890. Monday was the 113 anniversary of his birth.

He was the third of seven sons born to Ida and David Eisenhower. Times were tough and David, who went to college for engineering,  cleaned railway cars to support his growing family.The Eisenhowers moved to Abilene, Kansas when Dwight was a year and half.  Dwight enjoyed his childhood in Abilene and considered it his home town. He played both football and baseball for Abilene High School before he graduated in 1909.

He worked at his family’s Bell Springs Creamery and as a fireman. In 1911 He earned an …

appointment at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, where attendance was free of charge. Once again he was a star on the football field, until a series of knee injuries forced him to stop playing. In 1915, Eisenhower proudly graduated from West Point at the top of his class, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. [Biography.com]

While he was stationed in Texas he met Mamie Doud. The two married six months later. During World War One Eisenhower was in charge of Camp Colt in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

By 1920, he was promoted to major, after having volunteered for the Tanks Corps, in the War Department’s first transcontinental motor convoy, the previous year. [Ibid]

In 1926 he graduated first in his class from Command and General Staff School in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He worked as the chief military aid to General Douglas MacArthur before becoming chief of staff for the Third Army. By 1942 he was a Major General.

In his early Army career, he excelled in staff assignments, serving under Generals John J. Pershing, Douglas MacArthur, and Walter Krueger. After Pearl Harbor, General George C. Marshall called him to Washington for a war plans assignment. He commanded the Allied Forces landing in North Africa in November 1942; on D-Day, 1944, he was Supreme Commander of the troops invading France. [WhiteHouse.gov]

General Eisenhower speaks with members of the ...

General Eisenhower speaks with members of the 101st Airborne Division on the evening of 5 June 1944 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After V-E day Ike was made military governor of the U.S. Occupied Zone. In 1947 He became president of Columbia University. In 1951 he left that post to become Supreme Allied Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

In 1952 Eisenhower  ran for President of the United States on the Republican ticket. He won the election  with 442 electoral votes over  Adlai Stevenson’s meager 89 and became the 34th POTUS.

Dwight D. Eisenhower photo portrait.

Dwight D. Eisenhower photo portrait. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Highlights of his presidency include:

  • Reduced Cold War tension with the USSR
  • Orchestrated an armistice that halted the Korean War
  • Started America’s manned Space Exploration
  • Eisenhower Doctrine — a 1957 policy that extended the Truman Doctrine to the countries of the Middle East.  Eisenhower promised military or economic aid to any nation in the area that needed help in resisting communist aggression.
  • Worked toward ending segregation. Desegregated the Armed Forces.

Difficulties:

  • First advisors sent into Vietnam.
  • U-2 Spy plane shot down over the Soviet Union
The Eisenhowers retired to a farm  in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1961.

Eisenhower died at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC  on March 28, 1969, he was 78 years old.

Funeral services for Dwight David Eisenhower

Funeral services for Dwight David Eisenhower (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Leave a comment   |  tags: , | posted in American History, Dwight D. Eisenhower, History, postaday, Thought of the Day, United States, US President

October 15, 2013

Muffin Monday: Apple Zucchini Muffins

By ritalovestowrite

WHAT? Today’s not Monday! Its OK. Don’t touch that dial. You haven’t fallen into a muffin time warp. I just got swamped by freelance yesterday and, although I did MAKE these yummy muffins yesterday, I didn’t get around to posting about it until today.

This recipe is Texas sized so it makes 24 muffins. (Plenty for a package or two for the nieces in college down in the Lone Star State.)

Mom-Mom Approved Apple Zucchini Muffins

Mom-Mom Approved Apple Zucchini Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 cups finely chopped  Apple
  • 2 cup grated Zucchini
  • 2 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 3 cups regular Flour
  • 1 cup Buckwheat Flour
  • 2 tablespoons Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 stick Butter
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 2 cups Milk (or Milk plus Zucchini juice to equal 2 cups)
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon Almond
  • 2 Egg

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prep muffin cups by spraying with cooking spray and dusting with flour.

2. Chop the Apples and grate the Zucchini. DRAIN the Zucchini! Its October and the Zucchini available at the farmer’s market is roughly the size of a preemie baby. I picked up two for a buck a piece on Saturday. Half of one of those mega Zukes was enough to yield the 2 cups I needed for this recipe, but the larger gourd meant much more fluid. So I put the whole grated batch in a sieve to remove the liquid. BONUS! I was able to cut down on the amount of milk by combining it with the Zucchini liquid. Plus the Zucchini liquid is an awesome bright green color that just makes me happy.

Zucchini juice green -- why isn't there a Crayola Crayon in this color?

Zucchini juice green — why isn’t there a Crayola Crayon in this color?

3. Combine the Apples and Zucchini with the Cinnamon and set aside.

4. In a medium bowl combine the regular Flour, the Buckwheat Flour, the Baking Powder and the Salt.

5. In a large bowl melt the Butter.

6. Add the Sugar to the Butter and mix. Add the Vanilla and Almond.

7. Add  the Eggs one at a time to the Butter/Sugar mix.

8. Add the MIlk/Zucchini to the liquid.

9. Working in thirds combine the wet and dry ingredients. Mix until combined, but don’t over beat.

10. Add the Apples and Zucchini.

11. Divide the batter evenly into 24 muffin cups.

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12. Bake for 30 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown and prove done when tested with a toothpick.

13. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes then remove from pan. Enjoy warm or cool.

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Mom-Mom S. was over for the weekend and she gave these muffins an unqualified stamp of approval. She particularly liked the hint of almond that the extract gave the muffins.  I like the little sweet kick you get when you bite into an apple morsel. We had them “right from the oven” with tea and they were delightful. But they are mighty good at room temperature too.

Enjoy.

The apples were also from the farmer’s market. I picked these up at the Manor Produce stand. The good folks at Manor Produce were able to guide me through the orchard of offerings on the table to the best apples for baking. (And they were right). They also had THE best fresh pressed apple cider.

Ahhh Fall. How I love thee.

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2 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Baking, Muffin Monday, Muffins, postaday, Thought of the Day