TRIVIA, FASCINATING FACTS, MIND GAMES, BEST PUMPKIN BREAD RECIPE EVER, HUMOUR AND FABULOUS OWL ART
GREETINGS friends (!)
Presenting Wednesday’s Reader.
Another great line-up today beginning with:
Quick Question – What’s the key to living a good life? It took me a few years to live my answer … it’s Peace. Love. Joy. You?
Mind Games is a mind tripper. I got tripped up on a couple.
Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread Recipe is one that I clipped from a magazine years ago. We made lots and lots of loaves to sell at Hippie Cowboy this time of year. It’s a simple recipe to whip up, the aroma coming out of the oven as it bakes is spectacular and the bread is outta this world delicious and moist. I totally guarantee that you will not be disappointed. It’s beautiful goodness.
Tracy Beckerman’s column is – as always – relatable fun!
And the Owl illustrations are gorgeous!
Thank you friends for sliding by today and giving us a part of your day + sharing your thoughts and supportive love. We are grateful!
Have a wonderful Wednesday. We’ll catch ya Friday. Same time. Same place.
POP QUIZ
- BY LAW, STRAIGHT BOURBON MUST BE MADE PRIMARILY FROM WHICH GRAIN?
a) Barley
b) Corn
c) Rice
d) Wheat - WHAT COLOR IS A BAY HORSE?
a) Black with black mane and tail
b) Gray spotted with white mane and tail
c) Red-brown with black mane and tail
d) White with white mane and tail - WHICH COLOR IS USED MOST OFTEN ON NATIONAL FLAGS?
a) Blue
b) Red
c) White
d) Yellow - “CAVE CANEM” WRITTEN ON SIGNS OUTSIDE HOUSES IN ANCIENT ROME MEANT WHAT?
a) Beware of Dog
b) Keep Off the Grass
c) No Trespassing
d) Welcome to Our Home
QUICK QUESTION
WHAT’S THE KEY TO LIVING A GOOD LIFE?
POP QUIZ ANSWERS
- By law, straight bourbon whiskey must be made from a grain mixture with at least 51 percent corn.
- A bay horse is red-brown with black mane and tail.
- Red is the most widely used color on national flags; white is a close second.
- “Cave Canem” means “Beware of dog.”
~ COPYRIGHT 2023 LESLIE ELMAN
DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM
MIND GAMES
Exercise of the brain is as important as exercise of the muscles. As we grow older, it’s important that we keep mentally alert. The saying: “If you don’t use it, you will lose it,” also applies to the brain, so below is a very private way to gauge your loss or non-loss of intelligence. Take the following test and determine if you are losing it or still “with it.”
OK, relax, clear your mind and … begin
-
- What do you put in a toaster?
ANSWER: “Bread.” If you said “toast” then give up now and go do something else. Try not to hurt yourself. If you said “bread,’ go to Question 2. - Say “silk” five times. Now spell “silk.” What do cows drink?
ANSWER: Cows drink water. If you said “milk,” please do not attempt the next question. Your brain is obviously over stressed and may even overheat.
If you said “water,” proceed to Question 3. - If a red house is made from red bricks, and a blue house is made from blue bricks, and a pink house is made from pink bricks and a black house is made from black bricks, what is a green house made from?
ANSWER: Greenhouses are made from glass.
If you said “glass,” then go on to Question 4. - Twenty years ago, a plane was flying at 20,000 feet over Germany. If you recall, Germany was politically divided into West Germany and East Germany. Anyway, during the flight, TWO of the engines failed. The pilot, realizing that the last remaining engine is also failing, decides on a crash landing procedure. Unfortunately, the third engine fails before he has time to attempt an emergency landing, and the plane crashes smack in the middle of “no man’s land” between East Germany and West Germany. Where would you bury the survivors? In East Germany or West Germany or in “no man’s land”?
ANSWER: You don’t, of course, bury survivors.
If you said, “Don’t bury survivors,” proceed to Question 5. - If the hour hand on a clock moves 1/60 of a degree every minute how many degrees will the hour hand move in one hour?
ANSWER: One degree! If you said, “360 degrees” or anything other than “one degree,” you are to be congratulated on getting this far, but you are obviously out of your league. Turn in your pencil and exit the room. Everyone else proceed to the final question. - Without using a calculator —
You are driving a bus from London to Milford Haven in Wales.
In London, 17 people get on the bus.
In Reading, six people get off the bus, and nine people get on.
In Swindon, two people get off and four get on.
In Cardiff, 11 people get off and 16 people get on.
In Swansea, three people get off and five people get on.
You arrive at Milford Haven.
What was the name of the bus driver?
ANSWER: Oh, for goodness sakes! Don’t you remember? It was YOU!
- What do you put in a toaster?
~ Courtesy and with permission poeticexpressions.co.uk
Thanks Mike and the Team
LIFE IS 10 PERCENT WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU AND NINETY PERCENT HOW YOU RESPOND TO IT.
~ Charles Swindoll ~
(( Starve the landfills. Recycle. ))
RIDDLE ME THIS
WHAT RUNS AROUND A WHOLE YARD WITHOUT MOVING?
DOWNEAST MAINE PUMPKIN BREAD
~ The writer of this recipe quotes, “This classic moist pumpkin bread from Down East is spiced with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. The bread improves with age, so plan to make it a day ahead if possible.”
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2/3 cup water
- 3 cups white sugar
- 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350*
Grease and flour three 7×3 inch loaf pans
In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger
Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended.
Pour into the prepared pans.
Bake for about 50 minutes in preheated oven.
Loaves are done when a toothpick or knife inserted in center comes out clean.
LET COOL:
Flip baking pan over and gently release pumpkin bread.
Store in plastic bags.
Eat. Gift. Freeze.
~ Hippie Cowboy recipe box
RIDDLE ANSWER
A FENCE
LOST IN SUBURBIA
ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
BY TRACY BECERMAN
Apparently, there is a warrant out for my arrest.
I’m not sure exactly what it is that I did wrong, but according to the voicemail I got, I had 24 hours to call a certain phone number or the local police were going to come arrest me.
Then the voice on the other end of the line wished me a nice day.
I don’t know how you’re supposed to have a nice day when someone tells you that you’re about to go to jail, but I figured they were just trying to be polite.
Although I was pretty sure this was some kind of phishing scam (since they never mentioned my name or what it was that I’d done), I though I’d check with my friends to see if they had received the same phone call.
They had not.
So, either I was just the first of my friends to get hit with this scam, or there really was a warrant out for my arrest. Still, I was pretty sure that if the police wanted to arrest you, they would have some lady call you and let you know it was going to happen. I think if they are going to arrest you, they come to your door unannounced, with a warrant, and then they cuff you and take you in. And nobody wishes you a nice day. Out of curiosity, I checked with a friend who was a former police officer about this, and he said he’d never called anyone before he arrested them — but he did slam the bars behind a really bad guy, laugh, and wish him a nice day. But I don’t think he meant it.
It occurred to me that calling you and telling you you’re going to be arrested is: a) kind of a tip-off that you’re going to get arrested, and b) the kind of news that would make most sane people immediately buy a plane ticket to Cuba. Since the number of arrests would probably dip dramatically if the alleged criminal got a forewarning that the police were coming for him, I finally and definitively decided this whole thing must be a scam.
Still, on the off-off chance that this might be a real thing, I thought I should consider all the things I’d done that might get me in trouble.
First, I recalled I had left the top off the toothpaste that morning AND squeezed from the middle. It was possible my husband had called this infraction into the police, although I’m pretty sure, while annoying, it didn’t break any actual laws.
Next, I remembered that I’d burnt the steaks on the grill last night. Again, I didn’t actually break any laws, but I think my family was pretty unhappy about having charred hockey pucks for dinner.
Finally, I remembered that I had made my own parking spot at the supermarket when I was buying the meat I would burn at dinner because there were no actual spots available. This time I think I did actually break the law. I wondered if someone had reported me for wanton parking space consumption. Was that a real thing? Was this something that could actually get me arrested? I started to break out in a sweat. Then I thought for a minute more and decided at most, I might get a parking ticket for parking in a not-a-parking spot and that it probably would not lead to me being arrested.
Confident that the whole thing was a bunch of baloney, I deleted the voicemail.
Then I went and put the cap back on the toothpaste, just to be sure.
~ Tracy Beckerman is the author of the Amazon Bestseller, “Barking at the Moon: A Story of Life, Love, and Kibble.”
COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM
Fascinating Stuff
FASCINATING STUFF
- Jeannie’s bottle on the TV series “I Dream of Jeannie” was a special edition Jim Beam bourbon decanter made for Christmas 1964. For the show’s first season filmed in black-and-white, the gray-green bottle was decorated with gold painted leaves and swirls. When the series went to color in subsequent seasons, Jeannie’s bottle was repainted in pink and purple. The original authenticated green glass bottle with gold leaves sold at auction in 2017 for close to $35,000.
- Paraguay is the only United Nations member country whose national flag has different designs on its front and back. The obverse, or front, of the flag shows a yellow star symbolizing independence surrounded by palm and olive leaves and the words “Republica del Paraguay.” The reverse shows a lion facing east, a staff, a Phrygian cap and the words “Paz y Justica” (Peace and Justice). In the United States, Oregon is the only state whose flag has different designs on either side: the state seal on the front and a golden beaver on the back.
- Since his death, Christopher Columbus’ bones have traveled almost as much as he did when he was alive. He died and was buried Vallodolid, Soain, in 1506, and then was moved to Seville sometime after that. In 1542, his bones were sent to the Dominican Republic, to Havana in 1795 and then back to Seville. Yet folks in the Dominican Republic contend that at least some of his remains never left the island. Thus, there are tombs for Columbus in Seville and in the Dominican Republic. It’s possible both sites contain a bit of him.
- The Vasa Museum in Stockholm, Sweden, traces the history of the royal ship Vasa, which launched on August 10, 1628, and sank the same day, less than a mile from shore. Thirty people died in the accident, including crew members and members of their families who’d been invited to sail on the first leg of the ship’s maiden voyage. The Vasa remained submerged until 1961 when the waterlogged ship was raised to the surface. Over the next few decades, the Vasa was dried out, restored and placed in the museum built to house it.
- You’d expect world-renowned architects to design skyscrapers, cathedrals, schools, libraries, museums — but gas stations? Yes, indeed. Gin Wong, who worked on the Transamerica pyramid in San Francisco and the Theme Building at LAX, also designed a modernist gas station in Beverly Hills. Denmark’s most famous modern architect, Arne Jacobsen, designed a gas station in 1937 that’s still operating near Copenhagen. And the R.W. Lindholm service station opened in 1958 and still pumping in Cloquet, Minnesota, was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
~ COPYRIGHT 2023 LESLIE ELMAN
DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM
Those owls are amazing! Great pictures all!
Loved the mind games, can always use a good chuckle.
Really enjoyed the mid-week respite. Thanks for all the fun features. And yummy recipe.
Glad you enjoyed, Carol!
The owls are super cool pieces, for sure. I’ve always been intrigued by owls and their very distinctive Whooooo Whoooooo sound. And wasn’t it an owl – years ago – in the Tootsie Pop commercial that determined it took 3 licks to get the the center of a Tootsie Pop? Makes me smile remembering. The Pumpkin Bread recipe will not disappoint!
Thanks so much for the love and support.
FANTASTIC
Wow, I laughed aloud on the biscuit – biscotti dog remark/cartoon as that’s exactly what goes on around here.
My little 8 lb. red poodle, Winston Churchill, treats me the same. Since there are only two of us living here, he has figured out how to order me around.
Orders such as: “Time to eat!” “Open the door so I can go out!” “No I don’t want that pink ball, but the pink ball that looks exactly like it!” “Time for our walk.” “Squirrel patrol, speed it up!” “Time for bed.”
And then there’s, “Listen to my different bark tones ’cause I’m telling you which friend or family person just pulled up!”
Since my grade continues improving, I know there’s another lesson coming. Believe me, I often ask myself could cats be this sassy?
Pretty funny stuff, Marty!
You and your little Winston Churchill sound like you 2 have some good times.
Appreciate you reading us and taking time to share.
HAPPINESS
p.s. And just to let you know (me, as a cat owner) — yeah, they’re plenty sassy and arrogant! ha