S - Sack

Here in Arizona I've known it as gunnysack but I understand that in the Northeast it is known as a burlap bag and in Eastern North Carolina a tow bag. In Georgia is may be called a crocus sack and in the gulf states a croker sack

Just as varied in names are the uses of sacks.....there is the potato sack (guess that is where the slang (sittin like a sack of potatoes) came from and of course if they are empty you can put them to good use.

 There is a sack lunch

 A hackysack

 I included a video in case you would like to learn to play.

And if you are a football fan you would know that when the quarterback gets tackled behind the line of scimmage it is a sack.

There is that slang (still in the sack)

 The amazing embryo sack

and you wouldn't want to forget Santa's sack.

Here in the city people are encouraged to bring a sack when they walk their dogs and pick up after them .....

This might be considered the extreme.

R - Rabbit

My daughter's love for rabbits all started with just one rabbit who's name was zippy. The cutest LITTLE black rabbit you ever saw...I posted about him here when we took him "speed dating".

Well, that love has grown and she now has now adopted/fostered eight rabbits. All are bonded and through her ventures I have learned a great deal about rabbits.

Up until that time a jack rabbit was the extent of my knowledge....

You know....the kind out in the desert that are wild and not really very cute but oh my there are so many others....

 A little dwarf rabbit.......

 A lion head rabbit

 A Flemish giant rabbit

 These are the hardest to place for adoption. Apparently people don't like the pink eyes.

 The lop eared rabbit

 

Do you know what a rabbit does when it is REALLY happy?

  It called "blinging"

 

and when it is un-happy?

  Thumps

and why they ever came up with the Easter bunny

 is sure a mystery since they don't lay eggs.

 

Q - Quadruplets

I am following the excitement  over at Linda's Life Journal. Her daughter, Amber,  is expecting quadruplets!

Three girls and one boy

Around 22 weeks she was put in the hospital to monitor. Babies each weighted around 1 pound. Being pregnant with multiples is a whole different ball game.


Terms used for the order of multiple births in human beings are largely derived from the Latin names for numbers. Two offspring (twins) is the most common form, eight (octuplets) is the largest number ever successfully carried to full term with all children surviving.

• Two offspring – twins
• Three offspring – triplets
• Four offspring – quadruplets
• Five offspring – quintuplets
• Six offspring – sextuplets
• Seven offspring – septuplets
• Eight offspring – octuplets
• Nine offspring – nonuplets
• Ten offspring – decuplets
• Eleven offspring – undecuplets
• Twelve offspring – duodecuplets
• Thirteen offspring – tridecuplets
• Fourteen offspring – quadecuplets
• Fifteen offspring – quindecuplets
• Sixteen offspring – sexdecuplets
• Seventeen offspring – septdecuplets
• Eighteen offspring – octdecuplets
• Nineteen offspring – nondecuplets
• Twenty offspring – icosuplets/viguplets

P - Ping

In 1959 Karsten Solheim founded PING in his garage. He was inspired to create a putter which would make a ‘pinging’ sound which could help to solve his own putting woes.

The Solheim family is proud to share the history and success of PING Golf, and one of the unique ways in which they do that is by offering free tours of the manufacturing facility in Phoenix. Reservations are required, as they will only take a limited number of people on each guided tour. During the busy season (October through April) they are often booked months in advance.

I am not a golfer and really know very little about it

but I was impressed that you could spend three days at the plant in Phoenix, learning about PING products, how they are manufactured, and how to fit golf clubs "Karsten's way." The result is a custom-fit  golfer but the thing that really impressed me?

They donate about 50 full sets of golf clubs every year for the Wounded Warrior Project.    

    They also offer special rebates to members of military as a Thank You for their service.

Go Ping!

O - Oval

Lazare Kaplan created the Oval shaped diamond in the early 1960s. It is a variation of the Round Brilliant and, with its 56 facets, is full of brilliance and fire.
The Oval cut is an adaptation of the Round Brilliant and usually looks larger than a round stone of the same carat weight. It is a great alternative for someone wanting the look of the Round Brilliant, but also looking for something a little different. The length of the Oval accentuates long slender fingers.

The Oval Office, located in the West Wing of the White House, is the official office of the President of the United States.
The room features three large south-facing windows behind the president's desk. It has four doors: the east door opens to the Rose Garden; the west door leads to a private smaller study and dining room; the northwest door opens onto the main corridor of the West Wing; and the northeast door opens to the office of the president's secretary.

There are many oval race tracks and one of the better known ones....

Indianapolis Speedway...........Two and a half miles long the race is 200 laps which makes 500 miles.




Although that diamond is tempting....my most favorite oval?

 This antique oval picture of my mother.

N - Noodles

Noodles....who doesn't like them?

Eat them with your fingers.....

Eat them with a fork........

Eat them with chop sticks.......

Or just slurp them in. No matter how you eat them they are.......GOOD!

Have you ever eaten or fixed home made noodles? Maybe you think you need one of these...

but the truth is you only need one of these.....

and it is so easy. Won't you give it a try?

 

Mom's recipe for Home made noodles  (I usually double this recipe).

1 egg         3 tbl. cold water

Beat the above together with fork. Add enough flour to make a real stiff dough. Roll the dough out thin

and let dry, turning  over every so often, should take a few hours.

Roll dough up and cut.....

Unroll and drop noodles into broth of your choice.... Cook until soft like regular noodles but you won't believe the difference in taste......umm.

You can make chicken/pork broth and shred the meat over over top

My Dad's favorite was to add shrimp, green onions and hard boiled egg

 

M - Mystery Castle

Mystery Castle is located in the foothills of South Mountain Park in Phoenix, Az. It was built by a man by the name of Boyce Luther Guller in the 1930's for his daughter Mary Lou Gulley. He had been diagnosed with tuberculosis and came here to Arizona where he lived until he died in 1945. It was at that time that Mary Lou and her mother were notified they had inherited this "castle".

Said to be held together by a combination of mortar, cement, calcium  and goat milk this sprawling 18 room, three story building is built from a wide range of materials that were easily available to Guller. Such things as stone, adobe, automobile parts, salvaged rail tracks, refrigerator parts and telephone poles to name a view.
Mary Lou and her mother moved in and began giving tours of the unique dwelling and in fact Mary Lou did so until her death in 2010.

When I visited the castle many years ago she was not there but I think it would have been wonderful to have her rendition of the place. The one thing that I thought was ingenious is that the heavy iron bed was on railway tracks and could be pushed close to the window in the summer and away from the window in the winter. Electricity and plumbing were not added until 1992 if you can imagine in our Arizona heat.

How about this window?

Or maybe you would prefer this one?

Or better yet this one....glass refrigerator parts were used to make this one.

He built a stone frame around the view of  Phoenix and didn't forget the dog either...

with this little tepee dog house.

Ingenious yes but can you imagine the amount of work all this rock work took.
Guller made this house out of nothing. Literally what he found in the dessert an what he was able to purchase amazingly cheap from junk dealers. But out of it, he built a monument of love for his daughter.

Even though the daughter is deceased as of this date the castle is still open for tours from Oct. to May and Thurs. - Sun. 

L - Laughter

Laughter is good for your health (for best results turn off music)

Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.

Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.

Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.

Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.

 You have heard of laughing gas right?

Well, it really works.........

and who can resist those babies......

  Check out these laughing hyenas

Even laughing cow cheese makes one smile......

But hold your hat and cross your legs for this one!.....

Now don't you feel better?

K - King Crab

The most common crab eaten in the U.S. is  the red crab from Alasaka.

Alaskan king crab fishing is carried out during the winter months in the waters off the coast of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. The commercial harvest is performed during a very short season, and the catch is shipped worldwide.

Alaskan crab fishing is very dangerous, and the fatality rate among the fishermen is about 80 times the fatality rate of the average worker. It is suggested that, on average, one crab fisherman dies weekly during the seasons.

Over 80% of the deaths are caused by drowning or hypothermia. There is also great risk of crippling injuries causded by working with the heavy machinery and gear.


These facts drew the attenion of the Discovery Channel and on April 12, 2005 the first season of ten episodes of the aired.

 

Is it no wonder it tastes so good.