Gone Playin'

Hello and welcome to a glorious fall Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is the 19th and I admit it: I have been playing hooky.

I usually have my posts done and scheduled to go live by 12:00 am Saturday. But with the 2-day mini-break, aka MEA, half the family gone hiking along the North Shore, ample time to play with the remaining kids, and well...the sunshine really wasn't helping my self-discipline either. Now, here I am, at the Roseau Public Library, on this gorgeous Saturday afternoon banging out something for our readers as fast as I can so I can get back to some R&R.

Here's a quick recap of our week:

• Snow - The littles wasted no time getting outside to enjoy the SNOW last weekend. Even dad erected an impressive 5-foot snowman whose feet remain to this day, icy remnants of Mother Nature's bizarre blizzard blitz only one week ago.

• Potato Day - The Oldest and I attended Potato Day over in Williams. A curious thing: we navigated thick slush heading east to Williams, which surprisingly petered out to sleet, then rain. The further east we traveled the lighter the sky until we came across blue skies and sunshine. But perhaps a more curious thing: Why is Potato Day singular? Why not Potato Days? Grab your potato recipes, folks, and test your skills in all things potatoes at Potato Day 2020. I'm bringing my Czech potato salad.

• Sweet 16 - The Second Oldest turned 16 this week! We have been celebrating since Saturday. He is now on course to learn Japanese in 90 Days and is equipped with his brand new multi-purpose tool - the hallmark 16th birthday gift at our house - on the North Shore as I type this.

• Cross Country Season Ends - The oldest three had their last race of the regular season in Bemidji. It fell on the 16 year old's "real" birthday (Note: We'd been celebrating since Saturday). Unfortunately neither hubby or I could attend, so a friend in my stead had strangers shout "Happy Birthday!" to the kid as he crossed the finish line. Far less embarrassing than his mother doing it, I imagine.

• Goose Poop - As a coach for Lego League, I learned a lot about goose poop and just how excited our Wannaskan city administrators are about solving this pesky problem. Stay tuned!

• Beuller...Beuller.... - We watched Ferris Beuller's Day Off. - A classic from my youth, film director John Hughes had a particularly gifted capacity to study the plight of pubescence as evidenced by his films. (Note: We watched The Breakfast Club the week prior.)

• Movie Rec of the Week - The Oldest and I also watched the movie, Long Shot, which I give a hearty thumbs up for, not only being funny, but bringing the topic of integrity to the table in an intriguing, unique setting.

• In the name of Science - The Toddler and I discovered a perfectly unblemished, deceased vole on the driveway. We analyzed the teeth, the tail, the little paws that looked impressively human, only to discover the vole absolutely flattened and bloody the next morning. My first question was, who would want to step on a pristine specimen of dead animal readily available for observation? Then I realized: The Oldest had unknowingly run it over the night before while parking the van in the garage.

• College Applications - The Oldest continues piecing together the remaining required bits of materials for her college application. By the time we're done with this process, I'm going to be able to recite all of our financial details by memory.

• Kid Books Read - Favorite books read with the kids this week include: Snail & Slug, Absolutely One Thing: Featuring Charlie and Lola, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, What Dads Can't Do, Emily Brown and Father Christmas.

• My Own Reading - On the adult pile, I'm almost done with The Shakespeare Requirement by Julie Schumacher and scored an audiobook copy of Virgil Wander by Leif Enger. Both Schumacher and Enger will be teaching and speaking at The North Shore Readers and Writers Festival in Grand Marais in November. I'm pretty pumped.

• Reading Coda - My favorite part of The Shakespeare Requirement is the abundant usage of words I have never heard of (Word Wednesday Joe would love it) and liberal use of the colon. (The punctuation.) On the other hand, I'm not so sure about the liberal use of the Minnesota accent in the audio version of Virgil Wander.

• Potato Chips for Breakfast - Ha Ha. No, not really. Fruit, bread and cheese were served with hot green tea first. Hey, we're on vacation!

On This Day

Historic Highlights (credits)

2005 - Trial of Saddam Hussein Begins
The Iraqi Special Tribunal started the trial of deposed President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, and 7 other defendants for crimes against humanity. Hussein, who was the fifth President of Iraq was found guilty and was executed by hanging a year later on December 30, 2006.

1954 - Cho Oyu Scaled for the First Time in Recorded History
The 6th highest mountain peak in the world, Cho Oyu is part of the Himalayan mountain range and lies on the Nepal-China border. It was scaled by Nepalese Pasang Dawa Lama and Austrians Joseph Jöchler and Herbert Tichy.

1950 - Battle of Chamdo (Qamdo) Ends
Also known as the Liberation of Tibet in China, the war between China and Tibet began on October 6, when Chinese military forces under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping entered the country from Sichuan. At the end of the battle, the Chinese had taken over the border city of Chamdo. The battle was the starting point for negotiations between the two countries over the status of Tibet.

1943 - Streptomycin is Discovered
The miracle antibiotic that became the first line of offense against tuberculosis in the mid 20th century was isolated for the first time by graduate student Albert Schatz while working under Selman Abraham Waksman at Rutgers University. Schatz later sued Waksman to gain a portion of the profits and notoriety which came from the discovery. Waksman eventually received the Nobel Prize for the achievement. However, there was controversy as the award went to Waksman only.

1914 - First Battle of Ypres
Part of the Battle of Flanders during the First World War, the First Battle of Ypres was fought in the Belgian city of Ypres. It was fought between German forces on one side and the Belgian, French and British troops on the other. Fighting continued until November 22, when harsh weather forced the two sides to take a break from the hostilities.

Happy Birthday to You!🎶 

1962 - Evander Holyfield, American boxer

1958 - Michael Steele, American politician, 7th Lieutenant Governor of Maryland

1946 - Philip Pullman, English author

1945 - John Lithgow, American actor

1944 - Peter Tosh, Jamaican singer-songwriter, guitarist

Remembering You

1893 - Lucy Stone, American activist

1813 - Józef Poniatowski, Polish general

1745 - Jonathan Swift, Irish author

1682 - Thomas Browne, English author

1216 - John, King of England

Skip some chores, get outside and make it a great Saturday!

Kim