Archive for category: Friday Afternoon

Ok, so today’s a big day in February – Valentine’s Day – a time for a bit of flirting, quiet time, and love with your significant other.  If you are reading this, and STILL have not purchased a gift – here’s a quick and wonderful idea you can do on your way home – a thoughtful bottle of wine paired with the proper chocolates. Whether your preference is a big bold red with dark chocolate, champagne with white chocolates, or tasty port and hazelnuts, I’ve got you covered. So, enjoy a bit of trivia below to get you motivated and then go find the combo that’s right for you. And, if you want to really make it special, instead of going out for dinner, bring home the chocolates and wine with you as you expertly, or in my case not so expertly, prepare a wonderful dinner for my amazing wife. Thanks to Google, wineenthusiast.com, and YouTube for the insights and links. ENJOY!!

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This weekend we again get to be a part of a fun and very important tradition – Groundhog Day.  This blend of history, folklore, and modern culture makes Groundhog Day a unique and enduring American tradition. Without the groundhog, February 2 would be just another day on the calendar. But the great Punxsutawney Phil is also our harbinger of warmer weather to come. Will he see his shadow or won’t he? Why do we care so much? Groundhog Day combines humor, tradition, and community engagement and serves as a great way to break the monotony of winter and bring people together. Here in Cleveland, any opportunity to get the clubs out faster is always appreciated.  Besides predicting the weather, here are some other quirky facts surrounding this kooky holiday that you need to know. Special thanks to Google, goodhousekeeping.com and YouTube for the info, and let’s all hope we see spring come a bit earlier this year.

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It’s fun sometimes to look back at events that shaped our fascination with the world around us. For me, seeing rocket ship launches, a man walking on the moon, jets overhead, up close photography of creepy, crawly things like fascinating fly eyes and hairy spiders (still very creepy!), steam power and crystal snowflake formations (ok, so I’m a thermal processing geek), I’ve always been interested in our oceans and the undersea world. Like our team here, with their dedicated exploration into solving your PIA (pain in the @%$) Jobs!, I love it when a team takes on their own explorations and discovers things we didn’t know existed, like GPS, energy, weather forecasting, computers of all kinds, medical breakthrough cures, and so much more. Technology is in a word…. AMAZING  As a kid, there was a TV show that I loved – I was glued to the television set every time Jacques Cousteau’s “Undersea World” was on. His amazing camera photography caught my attention, as I could feel myself swimming along with the divers. Today marks 57 years ago when his famous TV show debuted. Here are some fun trivia, links, and background on one of our greatest explorers, and teachers, who touched so many kids in his amazing explorations. Thanks to Britannica.com, Wikipedia.org, YouTube.com,  and thelegendsofq.com for the links, images and history. Enjoy!

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OK, so you made it through the holidays – opened your gifts, returned some items, put away the decorations and are now settling into embrace 2025. Whether you sleep in (have breakfast in bed!!) or wake up early, there are plenty of ways to make the most of the new year. 2024 was certainly a challenging year for many, but you can start 2025 off on the right foot by making the most of it. It will take some planning, and effort on your part, but I know you’ll enjoy this checklist. Thanks to gardenary.com, and supercook.com for the info. Enjoy!

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OK, I’ll admit it. I LOVE the holidays. Family festive atmosphere, gift giving (and receiving), music, decorations … and especially all the food. One thing I never tire of is Christmas/holiday cookies. I like the classics of course – frosted butter sugar cookies, peanut butter Hershey kiss drops, snickerdoodles, hello dollies (weird name), and of course gingerbread. To get some “new idea” recipes I thought I’d venture on to the internet and find what’s out there for this year. YIKES! The web is loaded with websites and videos filled with ideas – “68 Best Ever”, “101 Must Haves”, “45 to Die For” and more. I knew I had to share something with you, so I chose a smaller number – “34 Recipes to Try This Year” – (it’s from 2023 – I hope that’s ok). Below is the link, along with just some of my favorites. As always, if you have an incredible family recipe, please share it with me (skowalski@khtheat.com). I’m sure Jackie would help me give it a go or just push me out of the kitchen (again). For some reason, she is always less than happy with me when I snitch one of the cookies just before she puts them in the oven! I also included one of our family favorites. Although I do love the classic Snowball cookies (so good – so messy!), my absolute favorite comes with a story. When Jackie and I were first married we had really nice older neighbors. Since I’ve always been an early bird, I would shovel their drive before heading off to KHT. As a thank you, Rose (our neighbor) would bake these incredible cookies for us (ME!!) Jackie would joke with her that I loved shoveling their driveway just for the cookies! The recipe is below – be sure to give it a try! Enjoy, and thanks to foodnetwork.com for the info. 

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