Footle and Grok

Happy September. The last third of the year is here.

Since I have been doing a running streak all year, I know exactly how many days are left in 2020 (121). I’ve also been working on Christmas presents, so I wanted to know how many days until Christmas (115). Halloween (my favorite holiday) is in 60 days. I can’t wait.

If you don’t want to know how many days are left until some important date, stop reading here. However, this might be the only year in which everyone is looking forward to the end. So, bring on fall and winter. Let’s make each day memorable.

• Days until New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31) – 121
• Days until Christmas (Dec. 25) – 115
• Days until the Winter Solstice (Dec. 21) – 111
• Days until Hannukah (Dec. 11) – 101
• Days until Thanksgiving (Nov. 26) – 86
• Days until Halloween (Oct. 31) – 60
• Days until my birthday (Oct. 19) – 48
• Days until the Fall Equinox (Sept. 22) – 21
• Days until Labor Day (Sept. 7) – 6

Happy National Diatomaceous Earth Day!

This is the weirdest holiday I’ve heard off, and as you know, Footle and Grok is all about weird holidays. This one is registered, and since it’s about a rock, I had to know more.

Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is a sedimentary rock made of single-celled algae called diatoms. Live diatoms create over 50% of the oxygen in the atmosphere, so they are essential. When they die, they fall to the bottom of the ocean. There are so many diatoms that, over time, they stack up and compress. The organic material weathers away and all that is left is the hard silica parts. This becomes a soft rock called Diatomaceous Earth that is mined around the world.

Here is a very incomplete list of what this highly durable and slightly abrasive rock is used for. It has hundreds of industrial and individual applications.

• Filtrates beer, wine, swimming pool water, chemicals, and other items.
• Makes flat paint flat
• Absorbs oil spills
• Gets rid of fleas, bed bugs, and lice
• Used in deodorant, toothpaste, and face masks
• Removes stains
• Controls garden pests

Now that I know how useful DE is, I agree that it deserves its own holiday. Spread the word and try some out today.

It’s Toasted Marshmallow Day!

It seems everyone has an opinion about marshmallows, and that opinion is definite, which makes it a perfect survey topic. Writing this post makes me wish I had a perfectly browned marshmallow right now. Although it would make my keyboard sticky, so I think I’ll wait.

A Sticky Survey

1. Do you like toasted marshmallows? (If no, you can skip the other questions.)
2. Do you like them lightly browned, golden brown, or torched?
3. Do you prefer to eat toasted marshmallows by themselves or as part of a S’more?
4. Do you like mini, regular, or jumbo marshmallows best?

My answers. 1: Definitely, yes! 2: golden brown on all sides 3: I like my first one on a S’more, and the rest just slid from the marshmallow stick into my mouth 4: I like regular marshmallows best. The volume to surface area ratio is just right.

Goodbye summer.

I know it’s not technically over, but I’m ready for fall, so for me, autumn starts September 1. By the way, I’m not the only person who’s ready. A lot of people on Facebook have been sharing autumn and Halloween posts, and I’ve been enjoying them all.

In honor of summer (unnofically) almost ending, I went hunting for a lovely quote. It has been a hard summer for many, but time continues on. Today can be a beautiful day.

“To say it was a beautiful day would not begin to explain it. It was that day when the end of summer intersects perfectly with the start of fall.”

– Ann Patchett

Of course, I’m going to recommend a Disney movie.

I love Disney movies, but I haven’t seen them all (I’m working on that.) Some (like Chicken Little) have been out for a long time, and I have yet to see them. Part of the problem is I love to rewatch movies, so I don’t always pick a new one. Also, what if I hate the movie? Then I will have wasted my time.

But what if I love the movie? Then I’ll be mad that I waited so long to see it. It’s a no-win situation.

I’m going to save you some trouble. If you are looking for a kid-friendly movie that isn’t Frozen or Moana, I recommend The Emperor’s New Groove.

This movie came out in 2000. Yikes. I didn’t see it until 2018. From watching the previews, I thought it looked dumb, and I skipped it when it was new. My in-laws wanted to watch it one night while they were visiting, so I figured I’d tolerate it.

Wrong!

There’s nothing to tolerate. This is a great movie. The music is pumping, a lot of the humor is designed for grown-ups, and the story has a wonderful lesson. It’s a fun and funny film. Plus, it’s only an hour and eighteen minutes long, so it’s perfect for squeezing between Friday night dinner and family game time.

If you follow any Disney threads on Facebook, you’ll see lots of memes with the villain and her minion from The Emperor’s New Groove. Watch the movie and learn why it gets so much love.

I had so much fun doing Story A Day in May that I’m doing it again.

The Story A Day project happens in May and September. When I signed up in May, I thought it would help improve my daily writing habit. I didn’t expect to love the results so much. One of my stories won a writing contest, and I sent another to a literary agent. That would never have happened without Story A Day, so I can’t wait to do it again.

It’ll be harder this month because I’m on vacation for the first ten days, However, I will make the time. Those stories might be shorter, but I will finish them all.

I encourage you to find something you can do every day in September. Story A Day is great because I get an email prompt every day, so I can’t forget. Help yourself remember by putting a star on the calendar each day you work on your project. After a while, you won’t want to break the chain.

If you want to keep going after September, feel free. After all, I write a blog every day without end. However, when it comes to writing daily short stories, I’m glad I get to do something different on October 1. Sometimes having an end date helps with discipline.

Have a productive September, and whatever you do this month, remember to have fun.

Happy birthday, Aunt Patti!!!

Birthdays make me think of cake and cake makes me think of frosting. And frosting makes me think of a birthday dessert survey. In honor of my Dad, who prefers pie to cake, I included a question about that too.

Have Your Cake and Eat it Too Survey

1. Which do you prefer, pie or cake? (If it’s pie, you can stop here.)
2. When you eat your cake, do you enjoy the cake or the frosting more?
3. Do you make your cake from scratch, from a box, or buy it from a store or bakery?
4. Do you prefer your frosting homemade or from a can?

My answers: 1. Cake! 2. Frosting 3. From a box 4. From a can

Let me know your answers in the comments and enjoy some cake.

My family has been having toe problems.

Since I’ve been thinking about toes so much, I wondered if they had more official names. It turns out one of them does.

The big toe is the hallux. It’s the only foot digit that has a Latin name.

Not that way!

One of my goals this year was to learn how to poach eggs in a pot of water. I always order poached eggs in restaurants because it is my favorite way to eat an egg. I judge a restaurant by how well they poach my egg in a pot of water and not just in a poaching pan.

Since I now have a poached egg every day for breakfast, I can confidently say I know how to poach an egg. I started with Alton Brown’s instructions but have adapted it for what works for me. Below are my tips and tricks.

Jennifer’s Poaching Advice

• Alton Brown adds vinegar and salt to his poaching water. I don’t think it matters, so I just add salt.
• My egg didn’t stay together until I bought a small saucepan.
• Even though I swirl the water with a spoon handle, the egg looks messy when it is first dropped in.
• Set the timer for five minutes for a medium-hard yoke, which is perfect for me.
• Store-bought eggs cook faster than the eggs I get from my neighbor.
• Use a laddle to retrieve the egg and help the egg hold its shape.
• After placing the egg in a small serving bowl, tip the bowl to get rid of excess water.

Do you poach eggs in a pot of water? What works best for you? It’s been fun to cook eggs my favorite way and not have to wait for when I visit a restaurant.

2020 has been hard on my flight plans.

I was initially going to fly in early August. Due to family illness, I had to change my flights to late August. Then my hubby went to the hospital (he is healing now,) so I had to change my trip to September. Thanks to the lovely people at Travelocity, this was a simple process.

I have used Travelocity for years because I’m not loyal to any airline, and I like to get the best price possible. The few times I’ve had to call their customer service, I’ve been impressed with the help I received.

This time I was changing flights, which most years would be a no-no, but this is 2020, and the rules have changed. I called Travelocity, and they took care of everything. Easy-peasy.

Then I had to make more changes, and I had no idea if I even could. I used their online chat and got all my answers questions. Since I was flying both Delta and Alaska, I would’ve had to contact both airlines to get my problems solved. The Travelocity agent talked all the involved parties, and since she spoke the lingo had an easier time.

Now I have new flights. I hope I get to keep these since I doubt the third time will be the charm.

If you are looking for an aggregate website to find a cheap flight, I recommend Travelocity. They have been in my corner every time.