By today’s standards, Nancy Drew may not seem all that amazing.

But for several generations of young girls, this teen sleuth, who fearlessly solved every mystery that came her way (quite a few!)  was a feminist role model.

The Nancy Drew series of books, written under the name “Carolyn Keene,” was started in the 1930’s.  The author was Harriet Adams, who collaborated with Andrew Svenson and several ghostwriters on the series.

Nancy was a bit spoiled, it’s true (she belonged to the country club set and had her own spiffy car), but she was also quite the heroine who excelled in almost every field you can think of.

She was an expert swimmer, dancer, mechanic, artist, and marksman.

Moreover, she had the intelligence to crack every case from the “The Secret of the Old Clock” to “The Spider Sapphire Mystery.”

Competent, active, and courageous, Nancy was (and is) an inspiration to her young female readers.

Share This

• 2 tbsps  corn starch (rounded tablespoons)
• 3/4 cup  sugar
• 1/3 cup Chinese rice vinegar (white)
• 1 tsp  sherry (light, dry drinking wine)
• 1/3 cup  water
• 2 tbsps  soy sauce (Kikkoman preferred)
• 1 dab  Chinese thick molasses (optional)

1. Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan.
2. Stir constantly while cooking.
3. Boil sauce until thickened (will turn dark and glazy)
4. Store for use on the shelf or in the refrigerator.

- Thanks ShyAnne! 

Share This

A man walked into his garden one day to find his dog with a piece of dirty fur in its mouth.

Examination proved that the dirty piece of fur was actually a prize rabbit belonging to the neighbor. It was very dead, although no obvious injury could be seen.

The man was horrified and felt terrible.

He took the rabbit inside, shampooed and blow dried it, and then quickly snuck next door to put it back in the hutch before the neighbor got home.

A few days went by and he heard nothing. Then on the weekend he was talking over the fence to his neighbor, who he said that a strange thing had happened to him that week. When he came home from work one night he found his prize rabbit dead in its hutch.

“Oh, no,” says the man. “How awful!”

“That’s not the strange part,” says the neighbor. “What’s weird is that it had died earlier that morning and I buried it before going to work!”

Share This

If you are traveling through the Smokey Mountains make sure you go to Cherokee, North Carolina Museum of the Cherokee.

This very unimposing museum is very interesting and educational.

There is the story of the Cherokee, their very advanced civilization and dioramas that show the typical life of the Cherokee before the white man maliciously decimated nearly every aspect of their peaceful culture.

A movie will take you along on the aptly named “Trail of Tears.”

You will leave this museum with a new view of the Cherokee people and a new respect for their past.  You can visit this museum on the web at

http://www.cherokeemuseum.org

Share This

Ok, Ive got a huge peeve.  I was at the toll booth, and when I was going through, the toll person over-charged me and made me pay more than I was worth!  I’m serious!  The toll was $.75, and she charged me a $1.50!  OK, I paid her $.75, and said, “Good day, madam.”  just as I was pressing the gas, she said, “Wait Lady!”  I stopped, thinking that I’d dropped my toll slip or something.  “You didn’t pay me enough!”  she said.  I said, “The sign says that I owe $.75.  I’ve paid you $.75, so, please let me through.”  The lady said, “Not untill you pay me $1.50.”  So, I used my extra change to pay her the money, and since there were more tolls on the road, I had to spend extra time taking backroads and byways to avoid the tolls!  (annoyed sigh) Oh yeah, and I was late too because of her.

 - Signey

Share This

Russian-born Sofya Kovalevsky liked math.

Unfortunately, liking math was not a thing that her nineteenth century parents found appealing in their daughter.  They forbid her to study the subject and she had to surreptitiously work her math equations on the back of old wallpaper.

Her parents weren’t the only ones who felt math was inappropriate for the female gender.  When Sofya later applied to a university to pursue her love of numbers, she was denied admission.

Undaunted, she left Russia and went to Germany to study at the University at Heidelberg.

Before long, she was recognized as a top mathematician and was awarded a professorship in Stockholm as well as the Prix Bordin from the French Academy of Sciences.

Share This

• 1 tbsp. Olive oil
• 1 lb chicken breast meat cubed
• 3 green onions w/tops
• Garlic to taste
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
• 12 oz fresh mushrooms sliced
• 14 oz can tomatoes drained and diced
• Basil to taste
• Pasta

1. In large skillet cook chicken, green onion, onion and garlic
2. Saute until chicken is no longer pink.
3. Stir cornstarch into 2 tbsp milk.
4. Add to skillet with remaining milk, Romano cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes.
5. Bring to a boil.
6. Reduce heat and simmer 5-10 minutes until sauce is slightly thick; stir in basil.
7. Toss pasta with sauce.

- Thanks James!

Share This

When microwaves first started appearing in public homes there were many people not sure on the proper use of them.

People putting food in for way to long and placing inappropriate items in the oven caused fires.

Then there was the woman whose toy poodle, Fifi, had a run in with a skunk one chilly fall night. She bathed poor Fifi, first in tomato juice, and then in regular shampoo, then repeated the process. By the time she was done poor Fifi was shivering uncontrollably.

Carrying Fifi into the kitchen to warm up her eyes lit upon her new microwave that her husband had just bought her. She new that she could put in a plate of food on her microwave dishes and the food would come out warm and the dish still cool to the touch.

Wanting to spare poor Fifi any more traumas she reached for her largest microwave dish and placed Fifi in the oven. The time she placed Fifi on is subject to much debate, but it doesn’t really matter as anytime in a microwave is to long for a living dog. She opened the oven to “Fifi Flambe” and promptly had a nervous breakdown.

Share This

Gatlinburg, TN has turned from a sleepy little ski town at the base of the Smokey Mountains to a thriving tourist stop.

Streets filled with souvenir shops and amusements abound.  There are several great “campy/kitschy” places to visit.

One that is a lot of fun is the “WORLD OF ILLUSION”.  Here is where you get to see the secrets of major illusions revealed.  Mostly, you get to see how little tricks work - like how Superman’s X-Ray vision permits him to see Lois Lane’s underwear.

Other illusions include one in which a person can be made to appear in a genie bottle and an illusion where you can walk away from your own shadow.

One thing I loved about this attraction is the mannequins were obviously acquired from some feature that included movie stars.

Have fun spotting some of your favorite stars in new roles!

Share This

I hate to get ripped off—and it happens every time I buy a chicken to fry.

Why is it that there is always that big lump of FAT that the processors leave behind???

I’m sure they leave it for the ‘extra’ weight—think of hundreds of thousands of chickens, each one with that extra FAT that is left behind.

I know it’s not a big issue in the scope of life—but it still bugs ME!  Thanks.

 - Gary

Share This