The Antique Show

I’ve completed a number of Jan Van Haasteren puzzles over the years. They work up quickly and are lots of fun. I don’t think I’ve ever included a picture of one (on this blog or my 360) because they don’t really photograph well. Too detailed and “busy”. That said, here is one I just finished entitled “The Antique Show”.

Christmas recipes

I’ve been taking Simple & Delicious magazine (formerly Quick Cooking) for a number of years. A part of Reiman Publications, it’s a great magazine filled with easy, yet tasty recipes. Seldom does an issue arrive that I don’t find at least one recipe that I want to try. Here are three I served on Christmas Eve… all of them “keepers”. I was out of milk, so I subbed light soy milk in the baked pancake, I omitted the hot pepper sauce in the dip, and I made the pie in a glass pan, so I dropped the temperature by five degrees and baked it for a full hour.


Baked Blueberry Pancake
Submitted by Norna Detig of Lindenwood, IL

2 cups pancake mix
1½ cups fat-free milk
1 egg
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Butter and maple syrup

In a large bowl, combine the pancake mix, milk, egg, oil and cinnamon just until blended (batter will be lumpy). Fold in blueberries (if using frozen, do not thaw).
Spread into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 400° for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with butter and syrup. Yield: 6 servings.


Sun-Dried Tomato Dip
Submitted by Andrea Reynolds of Rocky River, OH

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
½ cup sour cream
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and patted dry
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. hot pepper sauce
2 green onions, sliced
Assorted crackers and/or fresh vegetables

Place the first seven ingredients in a food processor; cover and process until blended. Add green onions; cover and pulse until finely chopped. Serve with crackers and/or vegetables. Yield: 2 cups.


Pear Custard Pie
Submitted by Barbara Rea of Glenshaw, PA

1 sheet refrigerated pie pastry
3 medium ripe pears, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Unroll pasty into a 9-in. pie plate; flute edges. Place pears in pastry. In a small bowl, combine sugar and flour. Stir in the eggs, cream and vanilla. Pour over pears. Bake at 375° for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Yield: 6 servings.

Christmas 2008

Our family gets together on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day. This tradition began one year when our children were small and Christmas fell on a Sunday. We knew it would be hard to get them up, do “Santa”, open gifts and still get to church on time. So… we opened gifts the night before and it was such a success, we decided to continue doing it that way every year. With the kids older now and some having to spread their time between more than one place, it works out quite well.

Another tradition we began several years ago is our annual game of “Holiday Bingo”. I like to be the “caller” and pick out the prizes, simple stuff like candy, fishing lures and fun lip balms. Last round is a cover-the-board game for the grand prize, a Wal-Mart gift card. After bingo we open gifts then spend the rest of the evening playing games, visiting, watching TV or whatever. This year Older Daughter, her new husband, Younger Daughter and I had some serious competition going with the Pictionary game!

Rather than trying to have a sit-down meal, we found it’s much easier to provide an array of snack items. Chip & dip, cheese & crackers, mini sandwiches (turkey, ham, beef, goose), boiled shrimp and lots of desserts. More than enough for everyone!

Things were quiet here on Christmas Day. My husband came in from checking the livestock and announced we had a new arrival, so I visited the pasture that afternoon with camera in hand in hopes for a glimpse of the “Christmas calf”. No luck, she had it hidden somewhere. I did get a few pictures of the donkeys, though. Here’s one of the baby Jenny had in October. He has on his fuzzy winter coat! I also couldn’t resist taking a picture of this cow (or maybe it’s Bully??) curled up in a ball. Cute!

2008 Holiday Edition of iPod Roulette

1. The Bells of Dublin/Christmas Eve (The Chieftains) – “Bells of Dublin”
2. Christmas Song (Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds) – “A Very Special Christmas 3”
3. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (various artists) – “Peaceful Christmas” This album is all instrumental featuring harp, flute, English horn, cello and guitar.
4. I Saw Three Ships (Bronn Journey) – “Christmas Rose”
5. Greensleeves (Vince Guaraldi Trio) – “A Very Special Charlie Brown Holiday Collection”
6. O Holy Night (Aaron Neville) – “Aaron Neville’s Soulful Christmas”
7. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (David Benoit Trio) – Another selection (but different artist) from “A Very Special Charlie Brown Holiday Collection”
8. Good Christian Men Rejoice (Phil Keaggy) – “Majesty & Wonder: An Instrumental Christmas” This has always been one of my favorite Christmas albums. .
9. We Wish You A Merry Christmas (Pete Jacobs Orchestra) – “Big Band Christmas”
10. Tonet, Ihr Pauken Erschallet, Trompeten (Leipzig University Chorus) – “Classical Christmas”
11. O Come All Ye Faithful (Nat King Cole) – “Now That’s What I Call Christmas! 3” He has one of the smoothest voices ever!
12. I Believe in You (Sinead O’Connor) – “A Very Special Christmas 2”
13. It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas (Johnny Mathis) – “Now That’s What I Call Christmas! 3”
14. O Holy Night (Faith Hill) – A recent “Single of the Week” on iTunes.
15. Just Like Me (Vanessa Williams) – Yet another from “A Very Special Charlie Brown Holiday Collection”.

For my special “holiday edition” of iPod Roulette, I decided to bend the rules just a bit. It amazed me that with 275 songs to choose from it “randomly” selected four from the same album (The Chieftains). So…. unless the song was by a different artist, I skipped to the next song when there was a repeat. There were so many good artists that didn’t get played in this round, but hey… there’s still plenty of time for holiday music!

Movie Time Again!

Our younger daughter is her father’s child when it comes to movies. She loves them! When she’s home from college we tend to rent, buy and watch more movies than ever. We’ve seen quite a few during the past week. A couple of them were newer movies: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Journey to the Center of the Earth. Both the kind of movie you love to pick apart, but still have fun watching. Last night we decided on the spur of the moment to go see The Day the Earth Stood Still. It was pretty good, but I thought the ending left a little to be desired.

While in the mood for “family movie viewing”, my husband and I decided to introduce her to a few of our favorite movies. First up was my all-time favorite Western, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Directed in 1962 by John Ford, it stars Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles and Lee Marvin. There are lots of great scenes in the movie, but my favorite is when Valance’s henchman volunteers to grab up the steak that’s been knocked to the floor and John Wayne’s character kicks him in the face. Trust me, in context it’s a very funny scene. In addition to the movie, I’ve always loved the song of the same title by Gene Pitney.

The next evening we watched Quigley Down Under starring Tom Selleck, Laura San Giacomo and Alan Rickman. I’ve been a big Tom Selleck fan since his Magnum PI days, but especially like him in gunslinger roles. In Quigley he’s hired to kill off wild dogs in Australia, but learns upon arrival that it’s actually Aborigines he’s expected to shoot. Naturally he refuses and ends up being the one hunted. Quite entertaining!

Finally, we watched Zulu starring Michael Caine and narrated by Richard Burton. Based on fact, it tells the story of the battle at Rorke’s Drift where approximately 100 British soldiers defended their post against 4000 Zulu warriors. Eleven Victoria Crosses (the British equivalent of our Presidential Medal of Honor) were given out as a result. The score by John Barry is fantastic and the Zulu songs and chants included are quite mesmerizing. Definitely a movie worth seeing at least once!

Stethoscope

Here's a YouTube clip I was sent earlier in the week that I couldn't resist sharing:

One of my favorite poems

This poem by Rebekah Tempest is found in the Women's Devotional Bible. I shared it at 360 the first Christmas I blogged there. It's so good I wanted to share it again here.

Enticed by love
they came to see
God
in human frailty,
a newborn babe
at purest birth
delivered, squirming
to the earth.
This promised child
clutched in his hand
Salvation
sent at God's command.
But with salvation
death was brought,
and pain and suffering
too, were caught
entangled in his tiny palm;
flailed silently
into the calm
of night that held,
so innocently,
the Man
who'd set his people free.
- Rebekah Tempest

Imperfect Christmas Cookies

Shelby is one of my best internet pals. We met on another site six or seven years ago and we've become quite good friends since then. Someday I hope we can meet in person… preferably at her house since she lives in France!

She posted a beautiful entry on her blog today and said I could share it here. I hope it touches you as much as it did me.

Imperfect Christmas Cookies

How I love imperfect Christmas cookies! You know the ones! They’re thick on one end and thin on the other. They’re the angels with the brown and white cow sprinkles or the purple maple leaves. After twenty years of child raising I think I’ve seen every imperfect cookie imaginable.

It all started out when I was a young lady, just a kid really. My mom and grandma were Christmas bakers extraordinaire! We seemed to have a new model every day of December; in fact our Norwegian heritage practically required it! The cookies were so good and looked so nice! I’d enjoy them while watching all those Christmas specials on tv and dream about my perfectly decorated house, with my color coordinated Christmas tree, my holiday ambient music and of course loads of Noel specialities, the king of which being the decorated Christmas cookie.

I got married to the man of my dreams and our first Christmas was spent together in the married couples dormitory at Bible school. Wanting enjoy every day of our vacation, I’d decided to make ahead my Christmas cookies in the dorm kitchen. I wasn’t much of a cook back then so my Christmas cookies were less than Better Homes and Gardens perfect. My man didn’t mind. He’s known as the family cookie monster now, but back then I was amazed at the relish with which he devoured those first cookies that I made. My perfectionism took a blow that day, when I showed him that first plate of Christmas goodies. It was so far from perfect. Little did I know the true importance of imperfect Christmas cookies.

A couple years later, I was sharing my Christmas baking skills with a blond cherub who looked like she was straight from a holiday card. I laugh when I remember that first baking day in our tiny suburban Paris apartment. It was a calm day compared to a few years later when my cherubs had multiplied and I was juggling three or four at once who wanted to roll, cut out and sprinkle all at once. Running from the dining room table to the oven, watching small hands, making sure the dough was being cut out and not eaten raw, I burned a few of those treats. No matter how imperfect those cookies were, that man of mine would sneak in and steal one while the kids were rolling and cutting (and arguing too from time to time). Everyone would stand back and appreciate their cookie craftsmanship with a glass of milk on those wonderful December afternoons. The floury faces and chubby hands would warm my heart. What was it about those oh so imperfect Christmas cookies that were so very delicious?

When the teens got to cookie making, the overall esthetic quality of the average Hill family Christmas cookie greatly improved. The kitchen was quite a mess after those baking sprees, but nothing that a whistle and a shout from mom couldn’t remedy. On those afternoons, we were lucky if we had a cameo appearance from the high school aged boys who’d throw on a handful of green and red sprinkles, swipe a cookie and run off to basketball or homework. Those magical cookies were just as good as last year... or were they better? One child loved those angels with bright red sprinkles. Another said the brown stars were the best. Dad would just smile and eat another one, basking in the bustle and holiday hum. I would just wonder, what was it about those Christmas cookies? Even when we’d give them as gifts or bring them to a Christmas party, they'd bring smiles to all faces.

This year, I’ve been too busy to do any yet. Lydia took over for me today and asked me for the recipe. I found our usual one and she started to make some with the two youngest. Today while listening absently to their cookie conversations, I realized what those magical ingredients were. No matter what the cookie looked like, or what decorations adorned it, the two most important ingredients remained the same.

Those ingredients are TIME and LOVE. It takes a little time to make those cookies. Actually you need to consecrate pretty much a whole afternoon to do it. That time consecration is important. Your priorities are the things that take the most of your time. This special time was set aside to make those Christmas treats. Time to mix and bake but also to talk.That cookie time is more than food prep. It says to the people you bake with and for that they are important enough to have that TIME spent on them and them only. The fact of spending that time on those cookies just for THEM equals LOVE. While baking, a lot of listening gets done. Undivided attention is given to family members during this holiday ritual. The bakers come away with that “good all over” feeling. They been listened to and communicated with. They’ve also sown into that baking time so the cycle of giving and receiving is complete. Love has been given and received. And that love reproduces itself later on when those imperfectly made cookies are given and eaten.Those imperfect Christmas cookies may never make the front page of any culinary magazines, but when they are made and eaten, something wonderful happens every time.

Visuwords ™

A friend sent me a link to an online graphical dictionary and thesaurus a few weeks ago. I just now got around to checking it out and found it to be a rather clever site.

Check it out for yourself!

Visuwords ™

Fall puzzles

It’s been a busy fall which hasn’t left much time for working puzzles. Here are two I’ve managed to complete over the past couple of months.

The first is a Joan Steiner puzzle. As I explained in an earlier entry at 360, the real fun in working her puzzles is identifying all the everyday items used to create the scene. This one is called Look-Alike City.


The next is a “Kodacolor” puzzle entitled Autumn in Portland, OR. It didn’t start out to be that difficult, but the last 200 or so pieces were a real challenge to place!

Two interesting novels

Historical Fiction has always been my favorite genre when it comes to books. I started with Anya Seton as a teenager and have read many other authors over the years.

My daughter picked up a book at Barnes & Noble last year which I just got around to reading last month. Year of Wonders: a Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks is based on true events that occurred in Eyam, Derbyshire during an infestation of the plague in the years 1665-1666. The book revolves around a housemaid, Anna Frith, as she and her fellow villagers choose to quarantine themselves from the outside world in an effort to halt the spread of the disease. Depressing, yes…. But also fascinating, informative and filled with hope and insight into the nature of people facing hardship.

The second Geraldine Brooks novel I read was People of the Book. It was inspired by the true story of a Hebrew codex known as the Sarajevo Haggadah. The central character is a book conservator named Hanna Heath. There is a certain amount of drama dealing with her personal life, but the interesting part to me is when the story goes back in time to explain the events surrounding various items she discovers while working on the Haggadah. I found it to be different, but equally as enjoyable as Year of Wonders.

Geraldine Brooks has a third novel, March, which I hesitate to read. From what I know about it, it is a sort of “sequel” to Little Women dealing with the absent father from the original novel. It’s been so many years since I read Little Women, I would feel as if I had to brush up on the story to enjoy March. Who knows… maybe someday?

Thanksgiving Feast

Thanksgiving dinner at our house is not just a one meal event. And no, I’m not referring to the leftover turkey that never goes away. I try to cook so that there will be leftovers… and plenty of them! My husband and his brother always want whatever food I’m willing to part with to take with them when they return to the duck camp Thanksgiving afternoon. The past two years they’ve had to compete with my son who wants to take leftovers home to his apartment. Of course my younger daughter and I try to keep some of our favorite stuff here for ourselves. Fortunately for everyone concerned, there was plenty to go around this year.

In addition to the two yummy desserts my older daughter brought (a turtle cake and a sopapilla cheesecake), we had: seasoned oyster crackers, fancy cheese & crackers, a condiment tray, turkey (a 20 pound bird!), cornbread dressing, gravy, goose, wild rice, green beans, corn, marinated carrots, black-eyed pea salad, spinach casserole, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, stuffed eggs, rolls, pumpkin pie and chocolate cherry cheesecake.

Yum, yum!!

The Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake was something new I tried. I got the recipe (which was contributed by Shelly Klingler of Bloomington, IL) from a recent issue of Simple & Delicious Magazine.

Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake

1 jar (12 ounces) maraschino cherries
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
½ cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 chocolate cookie crust (9 inches)

Drain maraschino cherries, reserving 2 teaspoons juice. Cut cherries into quarters; set aside in a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and reserved cherry juice. Add eggs; beat just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips and reserved cherries.

Pour into a crust (crust will be full). Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack.

Duck, Duck, Goose

The first time I went on a duck hunt was eight months into my courtship with the man I later married. For me it was an opportunity to be with the guy I was infatuated with. For him I believe it was an attempt to “cure me” of something he didn’t really think I was cut out for (though he denies that to this day). At the time he had a hunting membership at a dead-tree reservoir. I borrowed clothing, gun, shells and chest waders (about four sizes too large) then allowed myself to be plopped down next to a stump in about three feet of water. Lo and behold, I discovered the beautiful sight of ducks flying against a gorgeous sunrise, hearing them answer to a call and watching them cup their wings against the wind while coming in for a landing. I loved it!

During the first year of our marriage we invested in a rice farm in the Arkansas Delta with some friends and family. This provided us with ample opportunities for field hunting ducks, geese and dove. When our first wedding anniversary rolled around, my husband gave me what I still consider to be one of the best gifts I ever received: my own shotgun! I’ve acquired a number of firearms over the years, but that’s still the gun I prefer to use when hunting, whether it be duck, dove or deer.

That following year I hunted as many days of the season as my schedule allowed. Once our kids arrived, however, my time and priorities changed. It was just too hard to get away. The sleep deprivation of raising small children left little desire to voluntarily crawl out of a warm bed long before the crack of dawn. Duck hunting would have to be put on hold until the proverbial “empty nest” arrived.

The youngest chick flew the nest last year, but for one reason or another I still didn’t feel ready to step back into duck hunting. Those who read this blog on a regular basis know that my BOW weekend this past September changed that. Hearing the instructor talk about all the sights and sounds of an exciting hunt got me fired up to experience it again for myself. That was reinforced when my husband called from the farm this week and told me there were more ducks there than he’d seen in a long time.

The 2008-2009 duck season opened in Arkansas this weekend and I was a part of it. I had forgotten just how much fun it is!! My husband was right… I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many ducks in my entire life! Literally thousands and thousands of them!! Mallards, teal, pintails, black ducks, widgeons, gadwalls, and equal numbers of speckle-belly and snow geese. The weather conditions were totally different the two mornings we hunted. On Saturday it was 23 degrees with a cloudless sky. My husband said it was the first time he could remember having to break ice on opening day. Today was twenty degrees warmer and totally overcast. Although we limited out early both days, the ducks were working better today.

The beauty is not just in the ducks and geese. We saw dove and red-winged blackbirds, red-tailed hawks and at least five bald eagles (always a spectacular sight!). Yesterday morning while sitting in the blind waiting for legal shooting time we could hear thousands of geese in a nearby field. Huge flights of teal zipped around us, turning on a dime and masses of mallards talked to us as they checked out our decoy spread. Even then, before the first shot was fired, I knew the weekend had been worth the price of admission.

I hope it was just the first of many more hunts.

Squirrel-proof bird feeders

My husband saw these bird feeders in a catalog. They are supposed to be "squirrel-proof", so we thought we'd give them a try.

So far the squirrels don't seem to like them. Only problem is.... neither do the birds! I've seen a few birds feeding, but not nearly the numbers I've had in the past. I think these feeders are harder to get seed from than the traditional "tray" types. I won't give up hope until it gets colder and their food sources become scarce. Hopefully then they'll take advantage of the ready supply outside my window.

Is it gouging?

Each week our local paper publishes a list of current gasoline prices taken from various locations around the state. Each week our area is one of the highest, if not the highest. And each week I ask myself “Why???” We even have an oil refinery here, for crying out loud! Ours should be lower!

Evidently I’m not the only person who has wondered about this. Our Sunday paper addressed the issue today. Turns out there aren’t any simple answers.

Gasoline distributors purchase fuel at a set price, which is called the “rack price”, from refiners and then sell it to the station owners who market it to folks like you and me. State and local taxes are added to the rack price. The difference between this and what we pay at the pump is the profit which is split between the station owners and the distributors. How are these prices set and profits divided? The actual formula is unknown since they are set as private contracts between the distributors and gas stations.

Despite having a local refinery, much gasoline in South Arkansas is shipped in from Louisiana. This adds an additional factor of trucking costs (even for gasoline from the local refinery). According to the article, NW Arkansas receives much of its fuel from West Texas via pipeline. Gasoline from that area might be set at a lower cost which would account for lower prices in that part of Arkansas. Brand name gasoline prices can factor into the local pump price as well.

Ann Hines, executive director of the Arkansas Petroleum Retailers Association was quoted as saying that the industry is “anything but easy to understand” because there are so many different variables that factor into the pump price. She then likened it to going to Wal-Mart and looking at milk prices. Different brands have different prices. Go to your mom and pop store and the prices will be even higher. The same is true for gasoline.

Am I satisfied with the runaround…oops, answers given to my questions on area gas prices? Not really. But at least I know I haven’t been alone in wondering.

The holidays are upon us!

Yesterday we held the annual Holiday Bazaar at our church and once again, it was a great success!

Things were looking “iffy” earlier in the year as to the future of the event. Participation was flagging and we weren’t sure we’d have enough items to offer a decent bazaar. We discussed the idea of skipping a year and making it a biennial event instead, but agreed that would cause too much confusion. As summer progressed to fall, we gained some new members and activity in the craft room picked up. Everything fell into place and we ended up with a nice variety of crafts and holiday decorations, baked and preserved goods, and the usual spread of “Trash & Treasure”. We had a steady flow of customers from 7:00 a.m. until we closed at 11:00 and sold close to 100 breakfasts.

Once the dust settles and we make our final accounting, it looks like we’ll clear close to $3500 this year! That’s not as much as we made last year, but we didn’t have a $1000 dollhouse to auction off this time. So…. I’d say this year’s effort wasn’t too shabby!

Me Me Meme

This is almost as bad as a chain letter, but I'll do it anyway. (Gee....thanks Pam)

Here are the rules.

• 
  Link to the person who tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
• 
  Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
• 
  Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
• 
  Let people know they've been tagged by leaving comments on their blogs.

1. I got my single engine private pilot's license when I first got married. I decided if he wanted to learn to fly then, by golly, I was going to be able to do it too in case he had a heart attack or something!
2. I'm the only vegetarian hunter that I know of. Obviously I'm not a vegetarian for ethical reasons!
3. I could swim before I could walk.
4. A friend and I had a show on my Dad's radio station when we were kids. One of us was the "lady of the wake" and the other was the "silly maid of laugh-alot".
5. When I was younger I could put my entire fist into my mouth. Funny, though... I had to have teeth pulled as a kid because my mouth wasn't big enough! Small hands, I guess.
6. I was once the Duchess of Arkansas.
7. I play handbells and have performed all over the country including the Senate rotunda in DC.

Algernon

Quid

Bob

Shelby

Claire

Donna

Raven

Hit me with some Jazz

Considering my dad owned and managed a radio station which fell under the "Middle of the Road" label, my childhood was filled with "Easy Listening" music. My first introduction to what I would consider Jazz was Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. Perhaps I was initially just fascinated by the lady dressed only in whipped cream on the cover of "Whipped Cream and Other Delights", but I grew to have a true appreciation for Alpert and his trumpet.

Teenage years came along and wooed me over to Rock & Roll, especially the “Progressive” or “Art” Rock groups such as Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, ELP, etc. Jazz was pretty much forgotten until my 20s and 30s. None of my friends or relatives liked Jazz, but somehow, I learned of a few select Jazz artists and began a small CD collection which included performers like David Sanborn, Candy Dulfer, Lee Ritenour, Larry Carlton, Joe Sample and Miles Davis to name a few.

The advent of XM Radio broadened my horizons and opened me up to many new artists...or at least new to me. While looking up specific songs I’ve heard on the radio I often spend time browsing, and occasionally downloading, other songs at iTunes. For that matter, I’ve even found a few by reading other blog posts!

My library has grown to include a wide variety: Acoustic Alchemy, Steve Laury, Stanley Jordan, Victor Wooten, Gato Barbiere, Down to the Bone, Bill Bruford and more. With a few exceptions (most notably George Benson) I prefer instrumental Jazz to that with vocals.

Here’s a clip of a song I heard earlier in the week on XM. The title is "Summer Madness" and can be found on Jerald Daemyon’s 1995 "Thinking About You album". Enjoy!

Beware of Goats No More

It's the end of an era.

Well, perhaps not an era, but the end of a "season" at our house.

We purchased our first three goats (Tom, Ma and Jolly) in 2004. We were clearing some of our land for pasture and wanted the goats to help clear the brush. They did a wonderful job and it wasn't long before we added five more, then three, then another five or six. Goats have a gestation period of about five months, so we frequently had babies. They reach sexual maturity well before they're a year old, so you can imagine... our goat herd grew by leaps and bounds. This was not without its pitfalls, though. Those who followed my 360 blog saw frequent entries about the ups and downs of raising goats. Coyotes and dog packs are an ongoing problem and we lost far too many kids and young goats to attacks. We also learned about mastitis, mineral deficiencies and many other things that can go wrong.

The coyotes have been especially bad in the past month. Since selling John and five of his buddies (along with Debbie the donkey) and losing Tom in September, we were down to just a few goats. Ma was killed in October and I think that was sort of the last straw. We sold our remaining four goats (Phyllis, Pammy, Samson and Muley-head) and they left with their new owner last night.

Bella, Bella, Bella!

It's been close to a year now since Bella arrived at our house. She was a puppy at the time, probably around four months old. She hasn't changed much in looks as she's grown..... just filled out and lost some of her wrinkles. Fortunately her chewing problem has improved. For awhile there she destroyed everything she could sink her teeth into! Garden hoses, tail-light hookup on the utility trailer, my garden flag, sprinkler attachments, bottles (both plastic & glass), etc., etc. One day she brought home someone's workboot. It provided her much entertainment for several weeks. Of course she never wanted to chew the toys we provided for that specific purpose. What's the fun in that when you can be naughty instead?

This morning I picked up the phonebook to call the vet about something. Guess what? The page with the vet's number on it was one of the pages she chewed up when the phone company left our phonebook lying next to the door last spring! Hmmm... think she might have been sending us a message??

What Halloween Treat Are You?

Here's my contribution to Halloween. It's SO not me!!! Don't get me wrong.... when I was a kid I loved Halloween and have lots of fond memories. My two best costumes were probably my mummy (used Ace bandages and sheets) and my Santa Claus (used a mask from a Santa Pinata). Now I live in the "sticks" and don't get trick-or-treaters, which is fine with me. I don't have to buy all that candy and be tempted to eat it myself! I do put up some decorations in the house (thanks to my daughter supplying them for me a few years ago).

You Are Candy Corn

Your Halloween personality is whimsical, colorful, and creative. You see Halloween as a time to get your creative juices flowing. Each year, Halloween can't start soon enough for you. You tend to go all out for Halloween. You decorate like crazy and always dress up.

What Halloween Treat Are You?

Chicken Romano

I cut this recipe out of a magazine twenty years ago. It’s simple and fairly quick to prepare. I use chicken tenders instead of broiler-fryer pieces.

Chicken Romano

2 to 2-1/2 pounds broiler-fryer pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt
Pepper
1 medium onion, halved, sliced
1 bottle (12 oz) Heinz Chili Sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
Grated Parmesan cheese

In large skillet, brown chicken in oil. Drain excess fat. Season chicken with salt and pepper; add onion. Cover; cook 30 minutes longer, basting frequently. Skim excess fat from sauce. Serve sauce over chicken; sprinkle with cheese. Makes 4-5 servings (about 1-1/2 cups sauce).

Woodland Habitat

My least favorite part of working a jigsaw is sorting the pieces to get started. This is especially true with "shaped" puzzles like the one shown here. After dumping the puzzle onto a work surface, I sort the pieces that aren't edges into two trays leaving the border pieces on the table. With irregular-shaped puzzles it isn't always obvious which pieces are edges! I still attempt to sort them, but usually end up working the puzzle from the inside out rather than doing the border first. This one worked up fairly quickly once I got started.

OPINION: A real inconvenient truth (about taxes)

I was sent the following editorial piece in an e-mail and thought I would share it here.

OPINION: A real inconvenient truth (about taxes)
Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008

By Warren Stephens

I have never written a column in one of our newspapers and really had no intention of doing so, but after watching the debate last Tuesday night I feel compelled to put some facts to paper so that readers can make an informed decision about this election. Given the dearth of facts in the current debate, this may not be my only foray into writing for publication! I want to make sure I make the proper disclosures about who I support in this Presidential Campaign. I am the co-finance chair for Arkansas for the McCain Campaign and an ardent free market capitalist. I believe social issues are best left to individuals and while I have strong beliefs about them, I will not interject them into my choice of a candidate. Economics and taxes, on the other hand, are NOT subject to interpretation. Supply and demand curves are real and they work. This column is an attempt to put facts in front of you, particularly as they relate to taxes and the "fairness" of our tax code.

Senator Obama is proposing a tax increase for small businesses and the top 5 percent of tax paying Americans. He says that he will give 95 percent of Americans a tax cut and he and Senator Biden say it is fair and the "patriotic duty" of the top 5 percent to pay more. Again, full disclosure, I am in the top 5 percent and probably the top 1 percent. The facts, as to who pays taxes, paint a different picture and, for whatever reason, Senator McCain will not use them. The tables below really say it all:

_______Share of total_________

Top 1 percent Income Taxes Paid

1990 14 percent 25 percent

2000 21 percent 37 percent

2005 21 percent 39 percent



________Share of total________

Top 5 percent Income Taxes Paid

1990 27 percent 44 percent

2000 35 percent 56 percent

2005 36 percent 60 percent

Source: Treasury Department, October 2007



These statistics are from the U.S. Treasury Department and they reveal a startling and seldom talked about FACT. The top 1 percent of wage earners in this country pay 39 percent of the income taxes paid, while the top 5 percent pay 60 percent. That's right, 60 percent of all income taxes are paid by the same people on whom Senators Obama and Biden want to RAISE taxes. What is more, the percentage paid by this group has increased since the so-called Bush tax cuts. This is a real inconvenient truth for the Obama Campaign.

In 2006, the lower 50 percent of wage earners had 12.5 percent of the income and paid 3.0 percent of federal income taxes. The 2006 statistics also reveal that the top 5 percent of U.S. taxpayers paid $616 billion in federal income taxes which was MORE than the remaining 95 percent of taxpayers' total of $408.1 billion. Our system could hardly be more weighted to having the wealthy pay more, yet that is precisely what Senator Obama proposes. I will reluctantly accept (for now) that in our society the top wage earners will pay more (in percentage terms) in taxes, but if Senator Obama wants to raise taxes, he should say so. As The Wall Street Journal has been saying, you cannot give a tax cut to people who do not pay taxes. Senator Obama's plan is a redistribution of income from those who pay taxes to those who do not. It is nothing more than the granddaddy of all welfare plans and voters need to know it. For Senators Obama and Biden to couch this issue as one of fairness and a "patriotic duty" is an attempt to deceive the American public as to the facts.

I am not afraid of Senator Obama becoming President because he is a bad person. Rather I am concerned about his policies and their effect on our economy both in the short and long term. Higher tax rates will discourage investment and capital formation and that is not good for anyone.



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Warren Stephens is president and CEO of Stephens Inc., one of the largest investment companies off Wall Street, and an owner of Stephens Media, which publishes newspapers in nine states, including Arkansas.

October iPod Roulette

It’s been awhile since I popped in the ear buds and escaped from the world through music. Rather than picking and choosing, I opted for a round of iPod Roulette. My only disappointment was not having any jazz come up. Overall, a pretty good session! Of course the YouTube clips are not necessarily the versions I listened to.

1. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan) – I think Dylan is a great songwriter, but don’t always like listening to him sing. This is one of his better vocal performances, in my opinion.
2. One of These Nights (Eagles) – Okay… so I can’t hear the Eagles anymore without thinking of Quid! This is from their early stuff, which I prefer.
3. Can’t Get Enough (Bad Company) – One of those groups I rarely think about, but do enjoy a few of their songs.
4. My Sweet Lord (George Harrison) – I’ll be honest here. George was always my least favorite Beatle. This IS one of his better songs, though.
5. Bring the Rain (Mercy Me) – This group has some of best Contemporary Christian Music out there and this song never fails to lift me up.
6. Crazy [D-Influence Mix] (Mark Morrison) – I’ll never forget the first time I heard this. I’d bought the CD (back before I had iTunes and could get singles) for another song (Return of the Mack). The whole family was in the car when I popped it in the CD player the first time and the look on my husband’s face was priceless! NOT his kind of music!!
7. Love Bites (Def Leppard) – Decent classic rock.
8. Misunderstanding (Genesis) – This song is from the Duke album. I love the whole album, which tells a story when played in its entirety, but it’s apparent that their sound was starting to go “pop” at this point. My favorite Genesis is from the early 70s (Selling England by the Pound).
9. A Medley: For Sentimental Reasons, Tenderly, Autumn Leaves (Natalie Cole) – Her voice is almost as smooth as her father’s.
10. Respect (Aretha Franklin) – My version is from the Blues Brothers 2000 movie. It’s a little different from the original, but still classic Aretha!
11. Mainstreet (Bob Seger) – One of those songs I can’t help but sing along to.
12. Misty (Johnny Mathis) – From the movie Play Misty for Me (or did the song come out before the movie? I have a couple of versions on my iPod including an instrumental.
13. Dude [Looks Like a Lady] (Aerosmith) – Other than their song Dream On from when I was a teenager, I didn’t appreciate this band until I was in my 30s, I like lots of their stuff now.
14. Sweet Love (The Commodores) – One of those guilty pleasures. I love their smooth voices!
15. Symphony No. 40 in G minor K. 550 II: Andante Con Moto (Mozart) – A pleasant way to end my iPod Roulette session.

Jenny's new baby

Meet Jenny's new little boy! He was born on Wednesday and I took these pictures yesterday afternoon. He's the fifth donkey born in our pasture and Jenny's fourth with us.

Vampires & Werewolves!

My life has been busy! I haven’t had a lot of spare time in the past two weeks, but what time I’ve had has been spent in the company of vampires and werewolves. Yes, I finally decided to read the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer. I started Twilight on a Saturday night and turned the final page in Breaking Dawn eleven nights later. Despite the late hour that I finished the last book, I wasn’t able to sleep. The characters and their lives kept playing through my mind. I love writers that are able to make me feel that way about their characters. I knew from reading The Host earlier in the year that I liked Meyer’s writing style and these books were equally as good. I miss Bella, Edward, Jacob and all the rest. At least I have the movie to look forward to!

Esther, our rottie-girl celebrated her 9th birthday this past Monday! No party hats for her. She wouldn’t have been any happier to wear one than Betty was, so I decided I wouldn't torture her. She did get to have yogurt on her food that morning along with lots of extra treats during the day. Here’s a picture of her playing ball last week. Still in pretty good shape for an “older woman”!

We have a new baby donkey! It was born yesterday, but I haven’t had a chance to see it yet. I’ll try to post a picture and details soon.

At the Winter Feeder

I recently came across this poem in a book of devotionals and was quite taken by it.

At the Winter Feeder

by John Leax

His feather flame doused dull
by icy cold,
the cardinal hunched
into the rough, green feeder
but ate no seed.
Through binoculars I saw
festered and useless
his beak, broken
at the root.
Then two: one blazing, one gray,
rode the swirling weather
into my vision
and lighted at his side.
Unhurried, as if possessing
the patience of God,
they cracked sunflowers
and fed him
beak to wounded beak
choice meats.
Each morning and afternoon
the winter long,
that odd triumvirate,
that trinity of need,
returned and ate
their sacrament
of broken seed.

John Leax is the Poet-in-Residence at Houghton College in Houghton, NY.

AR BOW, Round 2

I just can’t say enough good things about the Becoming an Outdoors Woman program! My first workshop was in September of 2007 when I attended the AR BOW weekend in Ferndale, AR. I had such a good time I knew I’d have to do it again. In April of this year, I attended the LA BOW in Pollock, LA. Despite a few differences in the setting and setup, overall it was the same great experience. This past weekend I went back to the AR BOW for a repeat performance.

Two friends rode with me to the facility at Ferndale on Friday morning. One attended the LA BOW with me last spring; the other had never attended a BOW event. The fourth person in our room was a woman from California whose husband’s family has land in our community. They’ve just started spending some time in Arkansas and that’s why she signed up for the program.

The Arkansas program gives preference to first-timers, so this time I didn’t get all my first choices in classes. I don’t think there’s any such thing as a “bad” class, so it really didn’t matter. I was just glad to get in to the program at all. Friday afternoon I took Stream Ecology. We got lots of hands-on experience testing the water in a nearby stream for chemicals, turbidity, temperature, etc. We used nets to take samples and find out what types of bugs were present… which also help determine the “health” of a stream. Saturday morning I made lots of neat things in a Nature Crafts class. It was fun despite the injury I received from a hot-glue gun. There are some folks that just shouldn’t be allowed to use glue guns….namely, ME! Fortunately my injury didn’t keep me from having a great time learning to tie flies in my Saturday afternoon class. Everyone made five: an Olive Wooly Booger, a Scud (fresh water shrimp), a Peacock Soft Hackle (nymph), a Cone-headed Shad Streamer, and an Elk Hair Caddis. My final class on Sunday morning was Basic Duck Hunting. I’ve done a fair amount of duck hunting in the past, so it was pretty much a refresher course for me. I haven’t been in quite a few years, though, so it got me psyched up to go again this year.

Just like last year, the food was wonderful; there were lots of great door prizes and fun freebies just for attending (as well as give-aways in the classes) and fantastic entertainment both nights. Sponsorship is generous and the raffle items are top quality. Various BOW programs handle their raffles differently, but in Arkansas each participant is given five tickets to risk as they choose. I spread mine out between the three fishing packages available. I was thrilled to win the first raffle announced: A Pflueger Lady Trion spinning combo rod and reel with a Shakespeare 2-tray tackle box (filled with goodies)! I only had one ticket on that item so it just goes to show…one is all it takes!

My next goal is to attend a Winter BOW somewhere. There are several states that host them and I’ve already started doing my research. I’m not really a cold weather person, but I figure I can handle it for just one weekend!

Kilroy Was Here

Kilroy. A name I hadn’t thought of in years until I got an e-mail today with a link to an article about him! Kids of this generation have probably never heard of him, but he was a big part of my growing up. My dad was a major fan of the simple little drawing known as Kilroy. It’s probably the only positive thing he brought back with him from his tour of duty in WWII. I still have a ring binder filled with drawings he did of Kilroy – more than 150 of them! Taken from his imagination, they reflected the times we lived in: Stalin-roy, the Beverly Hill-roys, Mr. Clean-roy, Ringo-kil-beatle-roy, Ben-roy-Casey. Some were animals: elephant-roy, owl-roy, dog-roy. A few would be considered quite politically incorrect now. Most were just silly, but fun. Thumbing through the book today brought back a lot of good memories.

With permission of the author, here’s the article in its entirety.

How 'Kilroy Was Here' Changed the World
By Heather Whipps, LiveScience's History Columnist
posted: 15 September 2008 04:40 pm ET

Each Monday, this column turns a page in history to explore the discoveries, events and people that continue to affect the history being made today.

Long before the Internet made viral marketing a cinch, one long-nosed little character named Kilroy made his way around the world the old-fashioned way, becoming a legend among the millions of military men and women who served during World War II.

The rudimentary doodle, which featured a balding head peering over a wall along with the tag "Kilroy Was Here," popped up in unexpected places across all of the theaters of war visited by American troops.

While competitions to inscribe the graffiti in obscure locations kept the battle-weary soldiers busy and its appearances kept them inspired, the mysterious Kilroy character had Japanese intelligence officers and even Hitler himself worried over the seemingly ubiquitous guy.

Reportedly spurred by an American dockworker, the "Kilroy Was Here" fad was an iconic part of World War II and 1940s lore.

The riveter that launched a thousand ships

The origins of "Kilroy Was Here" remain murky and clouded by urban legend, but the most credible source of the saying comes from a shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, most historians agree.

On top of their military contribution overseas during World War II, the United States was heavily involved in the war effort producing ships, tanks, planes and weapons for the Allied Forces at plants across the country.

At one of the country's most prolific shipyards in Quincy worked James J. Kilroy — a rivet inspector who, like everyone in his trade, was paid by the number of rivets he checked and recorded his day's work on the machinery itself with a chalk mark. To avoid having his marks erased and moved by unscrupulous workers continuing his line of rivets, Kilroy began inscribing "Kilroy Was Here" on the machinery, historians say.

The dire need for ships overseas meant that most were launched into action before the workers' marks, including Kilroy's, were painted over or covered up.

American GIs began noticing the puzzling phrase scrawled on outgoing ships almost immediately, often tucked into hard-to-reach spots. At first, sailors treated an appearance of "Kilroy Was Here" like a kind of talisman, certifying that their ship had been properly checked and would be protected against the enemy. GIs later adopted Kilroy's standard and began tagging the places they'd visited across Europe, Asia and Africa.

The Kilroy character — just eyes and fingers visible from behind a wall or fence — was attached to the saying sometime early in the war.

Kilroy on the Moon?

By the end of World War II, "Kilroy Was Here" had achieved cult-like status, springing up in the unlikeliest of places — probably as a result of some friendly competition among GIs, historians believe — including some top-secret military installations. Latrines in France, beaches in the Pacific and walls in Germany were covered with the tag and, as the war progressed, it became a rally cry of the mounting Allied successes.

While Americans shared a few good-hearted laughs over the mysterious Kilroy, who somehow managed to arrive at every destination first, the slogan was a more serious matter for the opposition.

Japanese troops were so mystified by a "Kilroy Was Here" painted on a bombed out tank on the Pacific island of Guadalcanal that they reported the find to their senior intelligence officers, according to a U.S. Marine interviewed by World War II author Timothy Benford.

Hitler supposed that Kilroy was some kind of "Super-GI" or spy, other unconfirmed reports have stated, and ordered a contingent of men to track down the sneaky American. He would never be found.

The identity of the real Kilroy wasn't revealed until 1946, when a national radio contest searching for the original "artist" uncovered and authenticated the story of James Kilroy in Quincy, which still celebrates its hometown celebrity with Pin-the-Nose-on-Kilroy competitions.

The legend continues...

Despite a few unique appearances reported recently in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Kilroy fad largely faded from memory after a small resurgence in popularity during the Korean War in the 1950s.

Or did it?

A bit of a personal side-note — my grandfather, a British World War II veteran whose initials are W.W., often signed his cards and letters with the same little bulbous-nosed character peeking over a wall, his fingers scrawled in the shape of two Ws. Who knows where else Kilroy remains alive and well?!

These are a few other places where "Kilroy" is rumored to have showed up over the years:

· The Arc de Triomphe in Paris
· Mount Everest
· The Statue of Liberty
· The surface of the Moon
· The Great Wall of China

Feel free to check those out for yourself!

Wild weekend weather

Well I'm glad that's over! We didn't get nearly as much out of Ike as we did Gustav. We ended up with less than 2" of rain and, as the end of the storm zipped through last night, we had our biggest winds. (20-25 sustained and gusts up to 45) Things could certainly have been worse!

There was a brief moment of excitement while I was working at the Red Cross shelter set up at our church. Under tornado watch most of the day and evening, we had an actual warning right after lunch. That meant rounding up all the evacuees and volunteers and moving everyone to a safer part of the church. We weren't supposed to be a shelter this time around, but many of the people who stayed with us during Katrina/Rita/Gustav showed up on Friday. It's something when you have seen folks in a situation like this often enough to recognize and call by name! For their sake, I hope we don't see them again any time soon!

We still don't know the extent of our crop losses. The beans were flooded by rains from Fay. (since when did storms from Florida head west??) Gustav, and possibly Ike, damaged the rice crop with wind. Time will tell.

More importantly, we're all waiting to hear how much damage the oil industry received over the weekend. What a mess! I don't envy either candidate running for president. I can't imagine wanting to take on the baggage this country is carrying!

Photomosaics

I held off on working the second puzzle my daughter gave me for Christmas fearing it would be a nightmare to complete. Once I had it laid out, I realized it wasn’t going to be impossible… just challenging.

The title of the puzzle is “Sunflower” and it is part of the “Photomosaics” collection by Robert Silvers. “Photomosaics” are pictures made from pictures. Thousands of tiny photographs are pieced together to form a larger image. In “Sunflower” all the photos are flowers. Stepping away from the puzzle, the sunflower image is quite distinct, but upon closer observation, the individual photos become apparent.

There are several books of Silver’s work available. I have the first, published in 1997, which provides a nifty little magnifying lens for examining the individual photos. Although all the images are impressive, two of the more notable are a portrait of Abraham Lincoln done entirely with Civil War photographs and a portrait of Marilyn Monroe commissioned by Life magazine using only photos of Life covers (including all those featuring Marilyn and others in her life). The book also includes images from nature, art history, currency and more.

It’s a fascinating form of art!

September 11 - This day in history

The following information is taken from Wikipedia. Well, almost all of it.

9 - Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends.
506 - The bishops of Visigothic Gaul meet in the Council of Agde.
1185 - Isaac II Angelus kills Stephanus Hagiochristophorites and then appeals to the people, resulting in the revolt that deposes Andronicus I Comnenus and places Isaac on the throne of the Byzantine Empire.
1226 - The Roman Catholic practice of perpetual adoration begins.
1297 - Battle of Stirling Bridge: Scots led by William Wallace defeat the English.
1390 - Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392): the Teutonic Knights begin a five-week siege of Vilnius
1541 - Santiago, Chile, is destroyed by indigenous warriors, lead by Michimalonko.
1609 - Expulsion order announced against the Moriscos of Valencia; beginning of the expulsion of all Spain's Moriscos.
1609 - Henry Hudson discovers Manhattan Island and the natives living there.
1649 - Siege of Drogheda ends: Oliver Cromwell's English Parliamentarian troops take the town and execute its garrison.
1683 - John III Sobieski of Poland arrives on Kahlen Hill, leading to the Battle of Vienna the next day.
1697 - Battle of Zenta
1708 - Charles XII of Sweden stops his march to conquer Moscow outside Smolensk, marking the turning point in the Great Northern War. The army is defeated nine months later in the battle of Poltava, and the Swedish empire is no longer a major power.
1709 - Battle of Malplaquet: Great Britain, Netherlands and Austria fight against France.
1714 - Barcelona surrenders to Spanish and French Bourbon armies in the War of the Spanish Succession.
1773 - The Public Advertiser publishes a satirical essay titled Rules By Which A Great Empire May Be Reduced To A Small One, which is written by Benjamin Franklin.
1776 - British-American peace conference on Staten Island fails to stop nascent American Revolution.
1777 - Battle of Brandywine - major American Revolutionary war victory for British in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
1786 - The Beginning of the Annapolis Convention.
1789 - Alexander Hamilton is appointed as the first United States Secretary of the Treasury.
1792 - Hope Diamond is stolen along with other crown jewels when six men broke into the house used to store the jewels.
1802 - France annexed the Kingdom of Piedmont.
1814 - The climax of the Battle of Plattsburgh, a major United States victory in the War of 1812.
1847 - Stephen Foster's well-known song, Oh! Susanna, is first performed at a saloon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1857 - The Mountain Meadows Massacre: Mormon settlers and Paiutes massacre 120 pioneers at Mountain Meadows, Utah.
1888 - Death of the Argentine politician Domingo Sarmiento, after whom the Latin American Teacher's Day was chosen.
1891 - The Jewish Colonization Association is established by Baron Maurice de Hirsch.
1893 - First conference of the World Parliament of Religions is held.
1897 - After months of pursuit, generals of Menelik II of Ethiopia capture Gaki Sherocho, the last king of Kaffa, bringing an end to that ancient kingdom.
1903 - First race is held at The Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin. It is the oldest major speedway in the world.
1906 - Mahatma Gandhi coins the term "Satyagraha" to characterize the Non-Violence movement in South Africa.
1914 - Australia invades New Britain, defeating a German contingent there.
1915 - The Pennsylvania Railroad begins electrified commuter rail service between Paoli and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, using overhead AC trolley wires for power.
1916 - The Quebec Bridge's central span collapses, killing 11 men. The bridge initially collapsed in toto on August 29, 1907.
1919 - U.S. Marines invade Honduras.
1921 - Nahalal, the first moshav in Israel, is settled.
1922 - The British Mandate of Palestine begins.
1922 - The Treaty of Kars is ratified in Yerevan, Armenia.
1922 - One of the Herald Sun of Melbourne, Australia's predecessor papers The Sun News-Pictorial is founded.
1926 - An assassination attempt on Benito Mussolini fails.
1931 - Salvatore Maranzano is murdered by Charles Luciano's hitmen.
1932 - Franciszek Żwirko and Stanisław Wigura, Polish Challenge 1932 winners, are killed in a plane crash when their RWD 6 crashes into the ground during a storm.
1940 - George Stibitz pioneers the first remote operation of a computer.
1940 - World War II: Buckingham Palace is damaged during a German air raid.
1941 - Ground is broken for the construction of The Pentagon.
1941 - World War II: the U.S. Navy is ordered to attack German U-boats.
1941 - Charles Lindberg's Des Moines Speech accusing the British, Jews and FDR's administration of pressing for war with Germany.
1943 - World War II: German troops occupy Corsica and Kosovo-Metohija.
1943 - World War II: start of the liquidation of the Ghettos in Minsk and Lida by the Nazis.
1944 - World War II: the first Allied troops of the U.S. Army cross the western border of Nazi Germany.
1944 - World War II: RAF bombing raid on Darmstadt and the following firestorm kill 11,500.
1945 - World War II: liberation of the Japanese-run POW and civilian internee camp at Batu Lintang, Kuching, Sarawak on the island of Borneo by Australian 9th Division forces. Over 2,000 prisoners, including women and children, were due to be executed on September 15.
1955 - Dedication of the first Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Europe, the Bern Switzerland Temple.
1956 - People to People International is founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
1958 - Kelly is born! Today marks her 50th birthday!
1960 - The Young Americans for Freedom, meeting at home of William F. Buckley, Jr., promulgate the Sharon Statement.
1961 - Foundation of the World Wildlife Fund.
1961 - Hurricane Carla strikes the Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane, the strongest storm ever to hit the state.
1965 - The 1st Cavalry Division of the United States Army arrives in Vietnam.
1968 - Air France Flight 1611 crashes off Nice, France, killing 89 passengers and 6 crew.
1970 - 88 of the hostages from the Dawson's Field hijackings are released. The remaining hostages, mostly Jews or Israeli citizens, are held until September 25.
1970 - The Ford Pinto is introduced.
1971 - The Egyptian Constitution becomes official.
1972 - Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in San Francisco, California begins regular service.
1973 - A CIA backed coup in Chile headed by General Augusto Pinochet topples the democratically elected President Salvador Allende. Pinochet remains in power for almost 17 years.
1974 - Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 crashes in Charlotte, North Carolina, killing 69 passengers and two crew.
1978 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel meet at Camp David and agree on a framework for peace between Israel and Egypt and a comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
1980 - Voters approve the present Constitution of Chile.
1981 - A small plane crashes into the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino damaging it beyond repair.
1982 - The international forces that were guaranteeing the safety of Palestinian refugees following Israel's 1982 Invasion of Lebanon leave Beirut. Five days later, several thousand refugees are massacred in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.
1985 - Baseball: Pete Rose gets his 4,192nd career base hit, breaking Ty Cobb's record which had stood for over 60 years.
1987 - Dan Rather walks off the set of the CBS Evening News over disapproval of the handling of a major event being interrupted and postponed by a sports program, leaving six minutes of dead air.
1989 - The iron curtain opens between the communist Hungary and Austria. From Hungary thousands of East Germans throng to Austria and West Germany.
1990 - U.S. President George H. W. Bush delivers a nationally televised speech in which he threatens the use of force to remove Iraqi soldiers from Kuwait, which Iraq had recently invaded. He mentions the term "New World Order" in this speech for the first time, which is also named "Towards a New World Order".(full text of the speech)
1992 - Hurricane Iniki, one of the most damaging hurricanes in United States history, devastates the State of Hawaii, especially the islands of Kauai and Oahu.
1994 - Frank Eugene Corder steals a Cessna plane, intending to crash it into the White House. 1996 - Union Pacific Railroad purchases Southern Pacific Railroad.
1997 - NASA's Mars Global Surveyor reaches Mars.
1997 - After a nationwide referendum, Scotland votes to establish a devolved parliament, within the United Kingdom.
1998 - Independent counsel Kenneth Starr sends a report to the U.S. Congress accusing President Bill Clinton of 11 possible impeachable offenses.
1998 - Opening ceremony for the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysia is the first Asian country to host the games.
2000 - Activists protest against the World Economic Forum meeting in Melbourne, Australia. View of the WTC on fire and the Statue of Liberty
2001 - Coordinated attacks result in the collapse of the World Trade Center in New York City, destruction of the western portion of The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and an unplanned passenger airliner crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, which happened after airplane passengers fought back on the plane. In total, 2,974 people are killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks.
2002 - Through extreme and coordinated effort, The Pentagon is rededicated after repairs are completed, exactly one year after the attack on the building.
2003 - Swedish foreign minister Anna Lindh dies after being assaulted and fatally wounded on September 10.
2003 - The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety enters into effect.
2004 - All passengers are killed when a helicopter crashes in the Aegean Sea. Passengers include Patriarch Peter VII of Alexandria and 16 others (including journalists and bishops of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria).
2005 - The State of Israel completes its unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip.
2007 - Russia tests the largest conventional weapon ever, the Father of all bombs.