A New Beer’s Eve is an unofficial holiday in the U.S. celebrating the ending of Prohibition. The end of Prohibition occurred as a result of the Cullen-HarrisonAct and its signing into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Sales of beer in the U.S. would become legal on April 7, 1933, provided that the state in question had enacted its own law allowing such sales. The beer had to have an alcohol content less than 3.2%, because it was considered too low to produce intoxication. On the evening of April 6, people lined up outside breweries and taverns, waiting for midnight when they would be able to legally purchase beer for the first time in over 13 years. Since then, the night of April 6 has been referred to as “New Beer’s Eve” and April 7 is known as “National Beer Day.” Please plan accordingly.
Thanks for the phone call, Roma. Bet your roasted cabbage was delicious. The name of the seasoning is Montana MEX Sweet with sea salt, orange, cinnamon and ginger. It’s great on baked or grilled apples or salmon. The HEB in LJ carries it in the section across from the seafood department.
A 65-year-old Southern California woman was arrested on suspicion of felony elder abuse and misdemeanor animal neglect after her 96-year-old wheelchair bound father, her 74-year-old sister and multiple pets were found living in a home loaded with feces, urine, and garbage. It was also thought that the house was infested with as many as 700 rats in addition to eight dogs, two rabbits, a cat, a parrot and 55 pet rats that were removed by Animal Control.
‘Bump stocks’ are the gun add-ons that can dramatically increase rate of fire and are now officially illegal in the U.S. Anyone selling or owning bump stocks can now face up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 for each violation. The devices allow a semi-automatic rifle to fire nearly as fast as a machine gun. The ban requires any bump stocks to be destroyed or turned in to law enforcement authorities because the new federal rule re-classifies them all as machine guns, no matter when they were purchased and owning one becomes a felony. One of the country’s largest bump stock retailers turned over its entire inventory (about 60,000) to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives last week in Fort Worth to be crushed. Some gun owners are not happy and believe the decision should be left up to Congress. Others say that after the massacre in Las Vegas two years ago, someone had to act. Will a mentally unstable person turn in a gun?Impossible to know. We must act more responsibly on who we sell guns to in the future.
Since the March 15th terrorist attack which killed 50 people, New Zealand has acted swiftly to change their gun laws and has now proposed a buyback of semi-automatic firearms that could cost as much as $300 million (NZD which is $200 million in USD), according to the country’s deputy prime minister. In New Zealand, gun owners require a license, but do not have to register their weapons, so therefore, no one can know for sure how many guns are in circulation.
Ultimate Fighting Championship star Conor McGregor retired on the same day it was revealed that Irish police are investigating him for sexual assault. Hmmm.
Na-na na-na boo-boois achildish playground taunt that sets the mood for telling you the following: Since we believe that our own ‘little bit of heaven’ in Brazosport, Texas is the greatest and best at most everything, it may hurt you to know that the Houston and the surrounding areas have one of the highest pollen counts in the U.S. right now. The main culprit is oak. So, there. So much coughing and sneezing at my office and every other place that I’ve been to for the past three weeks. I know that everyone is ready for it to be over. Oh, and yesterday I saw the first of the tent caterpillars that invade us every spring. Aaugh. I hate those things.
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Screen, song legend, animal welfare activist Doris Day is 97. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, her popularity increased with her first hit recording “Sentimental Journey“. After leaving to embark on a solo career, she recorded more than 650 songs from 1947 to 1967, which made her one of the most popular and acclaimed singers of the 20th century. I’ll Be Home for Christmas, Winter Wonderland, Sentimental Journey, Move Over Darling, Secret Love, Que Sera Sera, Silver Bells, Dream a Little Dream of Me.Celebrations included a 60th anniversary screening of Pillow Talk, the romantic comedy she made with Rock Hudson and Edy’s Slow Churned Chocolate Fudge ice cream.
Barron Trump is now 13. Youngest child of President and Melania Trump. Actress Sharon Acker is 84. Della Street in The New Perry Mason. Rock musician Dave Robinson is 70. The Cars. Singer producer Ric Ocasek is 70. The Cars. Movie reviewer Gene Shalit is 93. Feminist activist author Gloria Steinem is 85. Singer Sir Elton John is 72. Author Kate DiCamillo is 55. The Tale of Despereaux, Because of Winn-Dixie, The Magician’s Elephant. (If you haven’t read any of these, then YOU NEED TO. No matter what your age.)
Singer Eddie Money is 70.Baby Hold On, Two Tickets to Paradise, Maybe I’m a Fool, Think I’m in Love, Take Me Home Tonight.Hall of Fame racer Cale Yarborough is 80. Actor director Austin Pendleton is 79. My Cousin Vinny. Actor Brian Tarantina is 60. Uncle Buck. Actor Scott Eastwood is 33.
Today was a really, beautiful sunshiny day, so I went to lunch (I normally eat left-overs at my desk) so I could go to Office Depot to pick-up paper. Walking in, I saw a friend that I hadn’t seen in a while. We talked before we shopped. Then I ventured over to the post office for stamps and visited with another friend that I hadn’t seen in a really long time. While we were talking, I could hear birds. Lots of birds. I filed it away as the loading dock doors open because of the wonderful weather and the birds were going crazy with joy because it is no longer raining. By the time I got up to the counter, the bird noise was fairly loud, so I asked, “Where are the birds?” Her answer was very matter-of-factly, “Oh, yes. Tractor Supply will be here soon to pick them up.” Tractor Supply! Oh, I got it! The Baby chicks that we visit every spring at Tractor Supply are sent through the post office. I would never have guessed. I’m going to Tractor Supply this weekend.
Dear LOL, thanks for being there when I have nothing else to say.
A Florida woman was arrested after leaving her five children in a car while she went into a bar to drink. Her husband arrived home from work shortly after midnight, became worried then called her phone which was answered by his 5-year-old daughter, who did not know where they were located, but told him that she and her four siblings were in the car alone. The daughter tried to describe their location, but she couldn’t so the father told her to beep the horn to get an adult’s attention, but no one came to the vehicle, so he left their house, spotting his wife’s vehicle at a bar, blocked her car and called the sheriff’s office. The bartender said mom had been there for about 30 minutes and had purchased two drinks. Now, for the really bad part…the children were ages 5-years, 3-years, 11-months and twin 20-day old infants. Too bad you’re not required to have a license in order to have a child.
A Texas man said that he crawled under his house to troubleshoot after heavy winds disrupted his cable television and he identified a few snakes, left quickly and called Big Country Snake Removal. Workers later pulled 45 rattlesnakes (45 snakes!!) from underneath his house. It is believed that more people are having snakes in their yards and around their homes because housing developments are destroying their habitat. Just one of many habitats that we are destroying.
My niece sent me a text last weekend along with a picture of her new chicken coop and a cute yellow baby chick that needed a name. Oooh. I asked her for 24 hours so I could make the right decision. Names are so important. The next day I asked my niece if she knew who Yoko Ono is? “No.” Well, then that means we can’t name her Yolko Ono. I suggested more silly names like Mary Poopins. Princess Lay-a. Dixie Chick. Hmmm. This did not seem to excite my niece, so I changed to old-fashioned names. Minnie. Lulu. Clara. Mabel. Bertha. Then I happened to take-a-peek outside to my flower garden and saw that my first poppy was blooming. So, Poppy is the name of the new chick. Twin sister is Winnie.
In San Mateo, California, a real estate agent permitted a man to tour an ‘Open House’, alone. Video cameras show him walking from room to room and then stuffing something in his jacket. Several ‘somethings’ in his jacket…big bulge. It seems that the man took 5 bras and nothing else. Hmmm.
On March 22, President Jimmy Carter turned 94 years and 172 days old and became the longest living former president in U.S. history. He continues building houses for Habitat for Humanity and recently won his third Grammy for Spoken Word Album – an award he’s been nominated for 9 different times.
This excites me so, just telling you. Finally, finally, there is tad bit of information about the Downton Abbey movie which is going to reunite the cast of the beloved series and premiere on September 20, 2019 (that’s only 5-plus months so mark your calendar.) The film takes place in the fall of 1927 – a year and half after the events of the series finale and there is some sort of mysterious grand event happening. Is it the Dowager Countess’s 85th birthday? Is there a Grantham vow renewal? Even Carson is called out of retirement to be there. Does Tom Branson find love again? Has Lady Mary matured in her loyalty to Downton and is Edith adapting to her new rank as marchioness? Bates and Anna? Marigold? Inquiring minds want to know. Stay tuned.
Maggie Smith as Dowager Countess –“One must have standards, but one must not be inflexible.”
A LJ area lawyer was sentenced in Houston Federal Court to three years in prison for his role in an elaborate $5 million mortgage fraud scheme involving ten big-dollar beach homes in Freeport and Surfside by selling the homes to ‘straw buyers’ for two-three times their appraised values.The ‘straw buyers’ submitted loan applications listing fake addresses, employers and incomes, all information that banks rely on to make good mortgage decisions.The buyers each defaulted on the mortgages, the homes ended up in foreclosure and he was able to buy them back for market value. The judge also ordered him to pay $5.3 million in restitution to Wells Fargo Bank and other lenders. According to Investopedia: “A ‘Straw Buyer’is a person who makes a purchase on behalf of another person…the act is considered illegal where the transaction involves fraud or purchasing goods for someone who is legally barred from making the purchase themselves.
A California man was preparing to build a 6-ft. fence at his home when he received a letter from the city stating the fence violated an ordinance limiting such barriers along sidewalks to 3-ft. So instead of building his 6-ft. fence, the man seated four naked fashion mannequins around a wicker table with matching wicker chairs, with another mannequin standing with shamrocks over her breasts, along with a nearby sign that reads, “Reserved seat for the nosey neighbor that complained about my fence to the city.” He said, “The neighbor wanted me to tear down my fence to see inside my yard and now they get to.”Compromise, don’t you love it?!?
Have a lovely week-endand most of all, thanks for reading this. Lisa
😊 Lisa
