MANOR ISM
WAUNAKEE MANOR NEWSLETTER
April showers bring May flowers,
That is what they say.
But if all the showers turned to flowers,
We’d have quite a colorful day!
There’d be bluebells and cockleshells,
Tulips red and green,
Daffodils and Chinese squill,
The brightest you’ve ever seen.
You’d see tiger lilies and water lilies,
Carnations pink and blue,
Forget-me-not and small sundrop
Glistening with the dew.
We’d have fireweed and milkweed
And many more different flowers.
Mexican star and shooting star,
Falling in the showers.
And if all the showers turned to flowers
On that rainy April day,
Would all the flowers turn to showers
In the sunny month of May?
APRIL 2016
Historic April Fools' Pranks
Millionaire auctions off iceberg: In 1978, a businessman and adventurer named
Dick Smith announced he would be towing an iceberg from Antarctica to break
into smaller cubes for sale. He advertised that these Antarctic ice cubes would
freshen the taste of any drink for the price of ten cents a cube. The media was on
site in the Sydney Harbor to report on the barge towing the iceberg, which was
revealed to be actually sheets covered with shaving cream and fire extinguishing
foam.
The Derbyshire Fairy: Lebanon Circle Magic Co. (which should have been the first
clue) posted a picture of what looked like a small mummified fairy on their
website in 2007, stating that a man had found the creature while walking his dog
out in the country. The photo attracted thousands of visitors to the sites and
resulted in many interested emails. But on April 1st, the site's owner admitted the
creature was an April Fools' hoax. However, the most interesting part of this story
is that many continued to contact the website stating that they did not believe
that the fairy was fake.
Big Ben Goes Digital: The BBC reported in 1980 that the famous Big Ben clock
tower would be converted to a digital clock in order to modernize the tower's
look. This outraged many citizens, as the clock tower was a historical part of
London's culture. BBC Japan even offered the clock hands in a contest to the first
four callers, which actually resulted in some bidding.
Loch Ness Monster Found: In 1972, a photo surfaced that the Flamingo Park Zoo
in Yorkshire claimed to be the body of the Loch Ness Monster, discovered by a
team of zoologists at Loch Ness. However, upon further inspection, the photo
appeared to be of a seal. The zoo's education officer eventually confessed to the
hoax, saying that he'd placed the seal in the water after shaving its whiskers.
Sweden Covers their TVs in Tights: In 1962, Sweden's only television channel
announced that the station could be viewed in color if one cut up tights and placed
it over the television's screen, which would bend the television's light to make it
appear in color. Thousands of Swedes cut up stockings and taped them over their
television only to realize they were victims of a hoax.
The Earth Loses Gravity: In 1976, BBC Radio 2 reported that due to rare
astronomical alignment of Pluto behind Jupiter, the Earth's gravity would
decrease. Listeners were told to jump in the air at 9:47 AM to take advantage of
this, which would result in a floating feeling. Many reported that they had felt this
floating sensation, one even stating that she and her friends lifted from their chairs
to float around the room together.
FROM THE KITCHEN
SPINACH ROLL UPS
2 (10 OZ.) Pkg. Frozen, chopped spinach, thawed, drained
½ cup bacon bits
3T. Chopped onions
1 (1oz.) Pkg. Ranch dressing mix
10 (12in.) Flour tortillas
1 cup Mayonnaise
1 cup Sour Cream
In a medium bowl, combine spinach, ranch mix, mayo, sour
cream, bacon bits and onion. Spread the mixture onto each
tortilla and roll it up. Refrigerate the rolled tortillas until ready
to serve.
Slice each roll-up into 1 in. servings no more than 3 hours before
serving.
Can February
March?
~ No, but April May!
KICKY STEAK STRIPS WITH RICE
½ cup Worcestershire sauce
2 T. yellow mustard
1 lb. Top sirloin steak cut into
Strips
1 cup Uncooked white rice
1 T. Olive oil
½ cup Chopped sweet
Onions
1 t. pepper
2 cup Water
In a medium container, mix Worcestershire sauce and mustard.
Place steak strips in the mixture. Cover, and marinate in the
refrigerator at least 30 minutes.
Place rice and water in the medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat, cover and cook 20 minutes.
Heat olive oil over medium heat. Stir in onion and garlic and
cook until tender. Season with pepper. Place steak into
saucepan and cook 5 to 7 minutes on each side. Serve over rice.
LEMON CHESS PIE
1 (9in.) Pie shell
2 cups white sugar
½ c. butter, softened
5 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1 T. all-purpose flour
1 T. Cornmeal
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 T. Lemon zest
Preheat oven to 350º.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together sugar and butter until
light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and milk. Add flour, cornmeal,
lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix until smooth. Pour mixture
into pastry shell.
Bake in oven for 35 to 40 minutes until set in center.
If April showers
bring May flowers,
what do May
flowers bring?
~ Pilgrims!
What did the big
flower say to the
little one?
~ You're really
growing, bud!