Through the Keyhole - November 2023

 

 

Through the Keyhole November 2023 Take a break from your day... Not your typical company OR newsletter       "This 'dome' and its location are of great significance to a couple religions. Said to be constructed in the year 691, it is a place open for prayers and referred to as a shrine.  Two different religions share this sacred place as the Foundation Stone and where the Prophet ascended to heaven are said to have taken place.  The rock is said to have two footprints, one belonging to the Prophet and the other to the angel Gabriel." Can you guess the location?   These Kids Won Halloween:                 It's Getting Cold.  Must be November... Well November is here and the cold has arrived.  Still many leaves on the trees but most have already changed color and it's officially raking season again.  If you have not done so yet here is your reminder to get your patio furniture put away for the year and get everything buttoned up because it is supposed to be a snowy winter.   Every year I have to decide in the month of July if I will be paying for snow removal 'per plow' or simply do the unlimited plan.  That is, pay roughly for 15 plowable snow storms or pay for the season no matter what happens.     For the last few years, my snowplower has made out like a bandit as it has snowed very little and I have always built in the 'unlimited snow plow' plan into my budget.  I know for a fact, that if I continue to pay for the full season, it will snow very little.  However, if I choose to pay 'per plow' it will snow like the Blizzard of '79 every week for 4 months...   As such, I am all in once again.  For those of you who don't like snow...you're welcome.  However, even my snowplower thinks it is time we had a rough season.  I told him that I hope he's right and that it snows 2 inches (the minimum amount he will plow) every other day until April 1st.  BRING IT ON!   Here are some fun facts about November: ·     The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in November 1621. ·     The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has been held in New York City every year since 1924. ·     The largest producer of cranberries in the world is the United States, and over 95% of the country's cranberries are harvested in November. ·     The first Black Friday sale was held in 1952. ·     The largest Thanksgiving Day turkey dinner ever served was to 10,000 people in 2011. On November 3, 1964 The Gulf on Tonkin incident occurred which led to the escalation of the US being involved in Vietnam...The Bolshevik Revolution started on November 7, 1917.     Also interesting to note that the Balfour Declaration was issued November 2nd in 1917.  This British declaration expressed its support for the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine.  That did not happen until 1947 when the state of Israel was established.   Interesting things happen in November.                     Tutanota (funny name) is just one of many open source Email Services...   Most popular email platforms are free, but nothing is really free. In exchange for using free email services like Gmail and Yahoo Mail, you agree to let them harvest your data for advertising purposes to earn revenue. Understandably, many people are not comfortable with such an arrangement and seek encrypted email alternatives.   Tutanota is one of the best secure email providers. It doesn’t have ads but, instead, relies on donations and premium subscriptions to earn revenue. Tutanota is open-source and customizable, meaning third parties are free to analyze its encryption standards and confirm. The platform claims to have over 2 million users worldwide, which is impressive for something that’s been around for just a decade.   Free to use for personal use and maybe a good alternative for those who are wary of Google and Yahoo as public facing accounts...   See it HERE.       Guess the Location Game Last month the winner of the guess the location game was Clifford Grill who guessed the right answer.  I appreciate all of the participation.  THANKS FOR PLAYING!       ANSWER: Key West, Florida           "These two gentlemen just repainted this local landmark after vandalism.  This place is very south and famous for Sloppy Joes, Hemingway, Conch Trains and really laid back people.  Sometimes you just paint on your clothes. Ugh." Key west is a really great place to visit.  Not sure I could live there as it has a very active nightlife and come to think of it...the bars are full all day long.   Often people only catch a glimpse of this place while visiting on a cruise ship as it is a popular port.  Sun shines most days here and the little city is usually bustling with all kinds of fascinating people.  They are generally friendly and you can go on many different tours to see many cool things in Key West... ·     Conch Train Tours ·     Trolley Tours ·     Sunset Cruises on a catamaran ·     Snorkeling and Diving Tours ·     Nightlife Tours ·     Paranormal Tours Most people don't know that Key West is a haven for paranormal activity.   The island has a long and storied history, and many believe that its haunted past is still present today. There are numerous reports of ghost sightings, unexplained noises, and other paranormal phenomena all over Key West.   One of the most popular places to experience paranormal activity in Key West is the Fort East Martello Museum. The fort was built in the 1860s and was used as a military base during the Civil War. Today, it is a museum that tells the story of Key West's military history. However, the fort is also known for its resident ghost, Robert the Doll.   Robert the Doll is a life-sized porcelain doll that was given to a young boy named Robert Eugene Otto in 1906. According to legend, the doll was possessed by a malevolent spirit, and it was responsible for a number of strange and unexplained events in the Otto household. The doll is now on display at the Fort East Martello Museum, and it is said to be one of the most haunted dolls in the world.   Another popular spot for paranormal activity in Key West is the Key West Cemetery. The cemetery is the final resting place for many of Key West's most famous residents, including Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams. However, the cemetery is also known for its haunted headstones and ghostly apparitions.   Visitors to the cemetery have reported seeing strange lights, hearing disembodied voices, and even feeling the presence of spirits. One of the most famous haunted headstones in the cemetery is the headstone of Sloppy Joe Russell, a former bartender at Ernest Hemingway's favorite bar. Russell's headstone is said to be able to predict the weather, and it is said to sweat when it is going to rain.                                      Jimmy Buffett Tribute ~ 2 minutes          Best Bars in Key West ~ 3 minutes         Conch Train ~2 minutes       Well this is Random...                                                           Thanksgiving FAILS         Seven Nation Army with 1000 musicians...         6 minutes     Good Use of a Flamethrower...          ~ 57 seconds     John Wayne...         Some of you know John Wayne as an actor.   You may not know what happened to him before he died. This is that story!   Robert Schuller’s teenage daughter, Cindy, was in a motorcycle accident and had to have her leg amputated. John Wayne was a big fan of Robert Schuller. He heard Dr. Schuller say on one of his programs that his daughter had been in an accident and had to have her leg amputated.   John Wayne wrote a note to her saying:   Dear Cindy, sorry to hear about your accident. Hope you will be alright. Signed, John Wayne.   The note was delivered to her and she decided she wanted to write John Wayne a note in reply.   She wrote:   Dear Mr. Wayne, I got your note. Thanks for writing to me. I like you very much. I am going to be alright because Jesus is going to help me. Mr. Wayne, do you know Jesus? I sure hope you know Jesus, Mr. Wayne, because I cannot imagine heaven being complete without John Wayne being there. I hope, if you don’t know Jesus, that you will give your heart to Jesus right now. See you in heaven. And she signed her name.   She had just put that letter in an envelope, sealed it, and written across the front of it “John Wayne” when a visitor came into her room to see her. He said to her: What are you doing? She said: I just wrote a letter to John Wayne, but I don’t know how to get it to him.   He said:   That’s funny, I am going to have dinner with John Wayne tonight at the Newport Club down at Newport Beach. Give it to me and I will give it to him. She gave him the letter and he put it in his coat pocket. There were twelve of them that night sitting around the table for dinner. They were laughing and cutting up and the guy happened to reach in his pocket and felt that letter and remembered.   John Wayne was seated at the end of the table and the guy took the letter out and said: Hey, Duke, I was in Schuller’s daughter’s room today and she wrote you a letter and wanted me to give it to you. Here it is.   They passed it down to John Wayne and he opened it. They kept on laughing and cutting up and someone happened to look down at John Wayne. He was crying...   One of them said: Hey, Duke, what is the matter? He said (and can’t you hear him saying it?): I want to read you this letter. He read the letter.   Then he began to weep. He folded it, put it in his pocket, and he pointed to the man who delivered it to him and said: You go tell that little girl that right now, in this restaurant, right here, John Wayne gives his heart to Jesus Christ and I will see her in heaven. Three weeks later John Wayne died!     Funny                                               Expensive FAILS.         ~3 minutes     Edgy.                                   More Edgy Stuff...                                             Best Blueberry Cobbler         Ingredients ·     3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter ·     1 cup all-purpose flour ·     2 teaspoons baking powder ·     1/2 teaspoon salt ·     1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg ·     1 cup sugar ·     2/3 cup milk ·     2 cups blueberries (about 11 ounces) Preparation 1. Preheat oven to 375°F. 2. In an 8-inch square or other 2-quart baking dish melt butter. Into a bowl sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg and stir in sugar until combined well.   3. Add milk and whisk batter until it is just combined. Pour batter into melted butter; do not stir. Pour berries into center of batter; do not stir.   4. Bake cobbler in middle of oven 40 minutes, or until cake portion is golden and berries exude juices. 5. Serve cobbler warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or ice cream.         All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: 210 S. Milwaukee Ave. Wheeling, IL 60090 USA