02.03.2009

Hello and happy February. West Virginia's French Creek Freddie did not see his shadow Monday morning. I know this is supposed to mean an early spring. However, since the reason he didn't see his shadow was because the sun was covered by thick snow clouds, I have my doubts about his prediction. Freddie's famous cousin, Punxsutawney Phil, did see his shadow and I think Phil has been at this longer than Freddie, so...
~Toni
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I thought it was strange that it worked out this week for our state to be Kentucky since they were hit so terribly hard by last week's ice storm. Sure do hope that power will be restored to everyone there, and other areas that were hit, very soon so that things can get back to normal.

~Mammoth Cave is the world's longest cave and was first promoted in 1816, making it the second oldest tourist attraction in the United States. Niagara Falls, New York is first.

~Kentucky is the state where both Abraham Lincoln, President of the Union, and Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, were born. They were born less than one hundred miles and one year apart.

~Cumberland is the only waterfall in the world to regularly display a moonbow. It is located just southwest of Corbin. http://d21c.com/moonbud/moonbow.jpg

~Christian County is wet while Bourbon County is dry. Barren County has the most fertile land in the state. (I love this one!)

~The song "Happy Birthday to You" was the creation of two Louisville sisters in 1893.

~Bluegrass is not really blue--its green--but in the spring bluegrass produces bluish purple buds that when seen in large fields give a blue cast to the grass. Today Kentucky is known as the Bluegrass State.

~The public saw an electric light for the first time in Louisville. Thomas Edison introduced his incandescent light bulb to crowds at the Southern Exposition in 1883.

~The radio was invented by a Kentuckian named Nathan B. Stubblefield of Murray in 1892. It was three years before Marconi made his claim to the invention.

~In the War of 1812 more than half of all Americans killed in action were Kentuckians.

~Middlesboro is the only city in the United States built within a meteor crater.

~The world's largest free-swinging bell known as the World Peace Bell is on permanent display in Newport.

~More than $6 billion worth of gold is held in the underground vaults of Fort Knox. This is the largest amount of gold stored anywhere in the world.

~The Lost River Cave and Valley Bowling Green includes a cave with the shortest and deepest underground river in the world. It contains the largest cave opening east of the Mississippi.

~Frederick Vinson who was born in Louisa is the only Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court known to be born in jail.

~Pike County the world's largest producer of coal is famous for the Hatfield-McCoy feud, an Appalachian vendetta that lasted from the Civil War to the 1890s.
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Tips from Cheryl:

Jewelry Turning Your Skin Green? To stop it, paint clear fingernail polish on the part that touches your skin, such as the inside of a bracelet, ring or watch band. You also can have a jeweler coat it.

If a Casserole Gets Runny You can thicken it quickly by adding shredded or grated cheese, instant dry potatoes, crushed potato or tortilla chips to the casserole. The chips would add flavor to a Mexican casserole, while the potatoes would be good in an Italian casserole.
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New stamp issue

The 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s (1809-1865) birth will be recognized on four commemorative stamps Feb. 9, in Springfield, IL. The 10 a.m. dedication ceremony takes place at the Old State Capitol Historic Site, Representative Hall, #1 Old State Capitol Plaza, in Springfield.

The stamp art was created by Mark Summers, who is noted for his scratchboard technique, a style distinguished by a dense network of lines etched with exquisite precision. Each stamp features a different aspect of Lincoln’s life. Summers worked under the art direction of Richard Sheaff of Scottsdale, AZ.

Rail-Splitter The stamp showing Lincoln as a rail-splitter includes the earliest-known photograph of Lincoln, dated 1846, by N. H. Shepherd, and depicts Lincoln as a youth splitting a log for a rail fence on what was then the American frontier. When he was a candidate for president in 1860, the Republican Party used the image of Lincoln as a “rail-splitter” to enhance his appeal to the workingman.

Lawyer The stamp featuring Lincoln as a lawyer includes a photograph of Lincoln, dated May 7, 1858, by Abraham Byers, and shows Lincoln in a courtroom in Illinois, the state where he was a practicing attorney for nearly 25 years.

Politician The stamp of Lincoln as a politician includes a Feb. 27, 1860, photograph of Lincoln by Mathew Brady, and shows Lincoln debating Stephen A. Douglas during their 1858 campaign for a U.S. Senate seat from Illinois.

President The stamp featuring Lincoln as president, includes a Nov. 8, 1863, photograph of Lincoln by Alexander Gardner, and depicts Lincoln conferring with generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman toward the end of the Civil War. The depiction is based on “The Peacemakers” (1868), a painting by George P. A. Healy.
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I wanted to do something since we celebrate the anniversary of his birth next week, so here are some quick and interesting facts about Abraham Lincoln:

~He was born on February 12th 1809, and died April 15th 1865 at the age of fifty six.
~His home state is Illinois.
~His party was Republican and he was president for four years from 1861-1865, when he was assassinated.
~His wife was called Mary Todd Lincoln, who was brought up into a very wealthy family.
~Mary’s parents disagreed with her marrying Abraham because he had a poor background.
Abraham had four children, Robert Todd Lincoln, Edward Lincoln, Willie Lincoln, Tad Lincoln. Only Robert Todd Lincoln survived into adulthood.
~Abraham was an unaffiliated Christian as he never officially acquired church membership.
~He created a national banking system with the National Banking Act in 1863, resulting in a standardized currency.
~He was the first president to be assassinated.
~He had deep depression, even though he would frequently tell stories and jokes to friends and family.
~He was the tallest U.S president at 6ft 4 inches.
~He patented a system to alter buoyancy of steamboats in 1849.
~His birth mother died from milk sickness.
~His father remarried a widow, and Abraham was very close to his step mother.
~He ran a store in New Salem.
~Even though he was strong, a talented wrestler, and proficient with an axe, Lincoln disliked killing and harming animals, even for food.
~Lincoln proposed to Mary just one year after meeting her in Springfield 1839.
~He was the first president to have a beard.
~Lincoln, one week before his death, had a dream of someone crying in the White House, when he found the room; he looked in and asked who had passed away. The man in the room said the President. When he looked in the coffin it was his own face he saw.
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A completely new way of choosing which books to read...http://www.whichbook.net/
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Did you know...

Chester Greenwood was born in Farmington, Maine in 1858. A grammar school dropout, he invented earmuffs at the age of 15 (1873). While testing a new pair of ice skates, he grew frustrated at trying to protect his ears from the bitter cold. After wrapping his head in a scarf, which was too bulky and itchy, he made two ear-shaped loops from wire and asked his grandmother to sew fur on them. He patented an improved model with a steel band which held them in place and with Greenwood's Champion Ear Protectors, he established Greenwood's Ear Protector Factory. He made a fortune supplying Ear Protectors to U.S. soldiers during World War I. He went on to patent more many other inventions. In 1977, Maine's legislature declared December 21 "Chester Greenwood Day" to honor a native son and his contribution to cold weather protection.

Farmington Maine is now the Earmuff Capital of the World. There is a parade that celebrates Chester's birthday the first Saturday in December, with local police cruisers in the parade decorated as giant earmuffs.

Another of Chester's inventions was the steel-tooth rake - U.S. patent #2066036, issued on December 29, 1936. Chester Greenwood accumulated over 100 patents in his lifetime.
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Your kids should file a tax return. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) doesn't care how old they are. If they earn more than $5,450 in a given year (in wages and/or interest income), they have to file--even if you claim them as dependents. And if they make less than that, they should still file because they'll get back all the money their employer withheld. Help them fill out the paperwork. It's a great learning experience that may earn them some extra cash.
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Young love

The average age of a first marriage for German men is 32. For German women it's 29. But don't tell that to 6-year-old Mika and 7-year-old Anna-Lena of Hanover. The two sweethearts reportedly decided to elope to Africa early on New Year's Day and brought along Anna-Lena's 5-year-old sister as a witness. With their belongings packed and their parents asleep, the three children walked to a local tram stop, took a tram to the central train station, and waited for a train to the airport. Security guards at the station spotted them and heard their story, convinced them they wouldn't get far without money, and contacted their parents. But all is not lost for Mika and Anna-Lena, police spokesman Holger Jureczko told the AFP news service: "They can still put their plan into action at a later date."
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This site has the coolest stuff if you're looking for gifts for kids, teens or people like me that enjoy science stuff. I thought this terrarium was especially cool and a good deal. Lots and lots of other things besides the terrarium of course.

http://scientificsonline.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_3082567
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Soon it will be Valentine's Day, which makes me think of candy, and wow here is a fantastic candy site that even has old time favorites! Check it out.

http://www.economycandy.com/
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Sue shares this joke with us:

A man was sick and tired of going to work every day while his wife stayed home. He wanted her to see what he went through so he prayed: Dear Lord,I go to work every day and put in 8 hours while my wife merely stays at home. I want her to know what I go through, so please allow her body to switch with mine for a day Amen.

God, in his infinite wisdom, granted the man's wish. The next morning,sure enough, the man awoke as a woman. He arose, cooked breakfast for his mate, awakened the kids, set out their school clothes, fed them breakfast packed their lunches, drove them to school, came home and picked up the dry cleaning, took it to the cleaners and stopped at the bank to make a deposit, went grocery shopping, then drove home to put away the groceries, paid the bills and balance the check book. He cleaned the cat's litter box and bathed the dog. Then it was already 1pm and he hurried to make the beds, do the laundry, vacuum, dust,and sweep and mop the kitchen floor. Ran to the school to pick up the kids and got into an argument with them on the way home. Set out cookies and milk and got the kids organized to do their homework, then set up the ironing board and watched TV while he did the ironing.

At 4:30 he began peeling potatoes and washing vegetables for salad, breaded the pork chops and snapped fresh beans for supper. After supper he cleaned the kitchen, ran the dishwasher, folded laundry, bathed the kids, and put them to bed. At 9 P. M. he was exhausted and, though his daily chores weren't finished, he went to bed where he was expected to make love which he managed to get through without complaint.

The next morning he awoke and immediately knelt by the bed and said, "Lord, I don't know what I was thinking. I was so wrong to envy my wife's being able to stay home all day. Please, oh please, let us trade back." The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, replied, "My son, I feel you have learned your lesson and I will be happy to change things back to the way they were.You'll just have to wait nine months, though. You got pregnant last night."
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Last week's riddle Take a five-letter sign on certain doors, remove its first letter, and you'll have a word meaning sign. Remove the new word's first letter and it's a sign on nearby doors. Can you guess all three words? Answer: women, omen, men
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Here are two well-respected websites where you can find medical information:

http://www.medlineplus.gov/
http://www.mayoclinic.com/
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If you've never tried Breathe Right Nasal Strips and have wondered do they work and are they worth the price, allow me to tell you that I love these things! I have a lot of nighttime congestion and these are just the perfect thing for that. John informs me that when I don't wear one at night I snore, although I can't imagine that is true. However there is no doubt that HE snores and I have tried for years to get him to use the strips. Finally he tried one and it was the most restful night of sleep I've had in years.

You can read more about them, and get coupons too, at their website.

http://www.breatheright.com/
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Travel, history, Old West, Route 66, ghost towns, treasure tales and more...
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/
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From Cheryl:

The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved'--the pig was 'committed'.