Taken from Encyclopedia Britannica
1862: U.S. Homestead Act signed
On this day in 1862, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, which provided 160 acres of public land virtually free of charge to those who had lived on and cultivated the land for at least five years.
Wow! 160 acres for free, if you worked hard to cultivate it, what a deal!

A good way to go toward healthy eating is to avoid the 5Cs
cookies
cake
candy
chips
cola

Ginny spent the night at her Grandpa’s. On the way back home, Grandpa took Ginny home in his pickup truck. He always listens to country music. This song was on the radio. Today Ginny looked it up on YouTube. It’s a good song with a good message:

Here’s a live version from the audience:

@ The ACT site you can prepare to take this college entrance exam. It also gives high school students good advice in preparing for college.

Taken from Back To The Bible
Elizabeth Elliot was a famous missionary to Equador during the 1950’s. Her husband was brutally killed by a savage tribe which left her alone with their toddler daughter. Amazingly, Mrs. Elliot returned to the place of her husband’s death and lived there among the native people with her daughter, Val. Val had quite a unique childhood. Elizabeth recalls the details of her little girl’s life:
While I was writing a letter at my desk fifteen years ago my small daughter interrupted to say that she had dropped two sucres (Equadorian coins) into the rain barrel, and could she please put on her bathing suit and swim to the bottom to get them? I said she could.
Today she is twenty-one.

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A fire station in Livermore, California has a lightbulb that has been burning for over 100 years!!

What was life like half a century ago? My mother was a teenager. Here’s a film clip from 1952:

Taken from Back to the Bible
She was Kath to her close friends, Dearie to my father, and always Mother (never Mom) to her six children.

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Check out this site. It is called Oddies. Here are some that caught my eye:
Here’s my favorite, Arthur Mole’s Extraordinary Mass Photography.
Here are 10 of the greatest office pranks.
7 Unbelievable lottery stories

SASSY SLAW
Ingredients:
3 Tablespoon(s) Sour Cream, reduced fat
1 lb Cabbage, sliced thin
3 Tablespoon(s) Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 sm Red Onion, chopped
2 Teaspoon(s) Sugar
1/4 Green Pepper, chopped
1 Teaspoon(s) Salt
1 Carrot, shredded
6 Drop(s) Tobasco Sauce, or Hot Sauce
Directions: Stir together sour cream, vinegar, sugar, salt and tobasco sauce in small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 to 2 days. Place cabbage, onion, pepper and carrot in plastic storage bag. Seal. Refrigerate 1 to 2 days. Before serving, combine sour cream mixture and cabbage mixture in large bowl. This may be done up to 1 day before serving. Serve cold.
Here’s the site for this Sassy Slaw recipe
HOLIDAY CRUNCH SALAD
2 bunches fresh broccoli, broken in sm. pieces
1 head cauliflower, broken in sm. pieces
1 red onion, chopped
2 c. cherry tomatoes, cut in half
DRESSING
1 c. mayonnaise
1 tbsp. vinegar
Dash of salt & pepper
1/2 c. sour cream
2 tbsp. sugar
Combine dressing ingredients, mix well. Toss with vegetables. Serve well chilled. Can be done a day ahead and is particularly pretty if served in a clear glass bowl. Serves 6.