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Sue Spitulnik

Writing, Sewing, Travel, and Thoughts

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Sue Spitulnik

I am a retired grandmother that grew up in western New York State, left for 25 years, and am now back in the area. I happily live with my husband and two cats. I am pro-military, writing, food, family, and quilting. I am con-exercise, insulting commercials, and lack of common sense. I have met some great friends through this website.

National Waffle Day

The first United States patent for a waffle iron was issued to Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, New York on August 24, 1869.

1911 – First electric waffle iron introduced by General Electric

1953 – Frank Dorsa’s Eggo Frozen Waffles are sold in Supermarkets for the first time

1964 – Belgian Waffles debut at New York’s World’s Fair.

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So now you know, the waffle you usually get when you order one in a restaurant is a Belgian Waffle.  In North America, they are a variety of waffle with a lighter batter, larger squares, and deeper pockets than ordinary American waffles. They were originally leavened with yeast, but baking powder is now often used.

I don’t ever remember eating a waffle at home while I was growing up.  I rarely ate breakfast food for breakfast.  I ate left overs from the night before, like cold spaghetti or pizza.  Sometimes it was fresh venison fried in butter then put on a piece of toast.

I spent many years working in the restaurant business.  One of my favorite treats was to get a waffle, slather it with butter, then fill all the squares with maple syrup and leave it under the heat lamps for at least fifteen minutes.  Of course it lost all its crispness, but that was the idea.  The buttery maple flavor was heavenly as I purposely chewed it in a deliciously slow manner.   I still like the occasional Belgian Waffle when I eat out, but now I order it with bananas, nuts and cinnamon sauce.  My tastes have matured some.

My grandson in a waffle lover.  His favorite is Eggos, heated in the toaster, any time of day or night.  He’s a skinny kid, he could eat waffles all day for a month with no adverse effects; unlike me.  I offer him an egg , bacon, or sausage to go along so he has some protein, but he usually declines.

And now we have waffle cones to eat our ice cream out of.  I like them much better than the round ones with the flat bottom that cut the roof of my mouth.  Shoot, now I want one!  Either will do, a gooey Belgian waffle or chocolate raspberry truffle ice cream on a waffle cone.

 

 

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National Ride With Wind Day

This day was set aside to recognize the first human powered flight, a cyclist in the basket of a glider.

The town of Dansville in western New York state is located in the basin of a large natural valley.  It’s location makes it an ideal spot for gliders, which to the locals, are so common we barely notice.  Labor Day weekend is another story.  That’s when the New York State Festival of  Balloons takes place.  It is a sight to behold; one of those things you could read about all day, but when you see it, it’s awesome.  Check out their web site for details.

balloon festival

When my husband and I were first married, we got up at 4 am to drive the hour south so we could watch the daybreak balloon launch.  Unfortunately when we got there, it was too windy to fly.  We had breakfast at a local restaurant, drove  home and went back to bed!  Years since we have purposely  driven down Rt. 390  so we could see the colorful balloons in the sky in the early evening.  There are many balloon festivals all over the country if you haven’t seen one, I recommend it as an event for the family.

The page describing this day suggested if all else fails, flying a kite would be a good way to commemorate the date.  The best success I ever had with a kite was on the beach in Biloxi, Mississippi.  Another good spot was in Rantoul, Illinois,  in a big flat field.  Oh how many years ago those experiences were.

 

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National Tooth Fairy Day

The Tooth Fairy came to life in 1937 in an eight page playlet by Esther Watkins Arnold.  At the same time, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle made his claim that fairies and gnomes were real by publishing pictures of two girls surrounded by “verified” fairies.  Schools started performing the play the following year and children started placing their newly lost teeth under their pillow, most hoping for a gift, and some hoping to actually see the fairy or gnome that visited.

I can remember wiggling a loose tooth until it was extremely loose.  My sisters or my mother would tell me it would bleed if I pulled it.  Oh well.  There was dime in the waiting.  What I didn’t realize that if I coaxed it out a couple of weeks ahead of itself, I would have a hole in that spot longer than I expected.  I guess the dime was more important at the time.

By the early 80’s when my children were loosing teeth, the fairy brought a quarter, but I know other children were already getting a dollar.  I checked in with my daughter and she said a dollar is the going rate, but my grandson never believed the fairy was real, so he doesn’t expect anything.  I think he needs to understand entreprenurialship better.

I was going through some boxes recently looking for a specific photo.  There were mementoes from my children’s childhoods; hospital bracelets, Brownie patches, Cub Scout troop numbers, perfect attendance awards from grade school, and a small round plastic container with some of their baby teeth.  My daughter’s response when I told her about them, was, “Gross.”  I’m wondering if she thought the Tooth Fairy should have thrown them away.

 

 

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National Senior Citizens Day

 

I’m one of those; a senior citizen.  Sitting here looking at the provided picture the most noticeable attribute is grey/white hair.  When I was young I wanted grey hair; who knows why. Now I am collecting social security, I still want grey hair, mostly so when I comment about the aches and pains of being older, people believe I am.  The fun part is I can usually fool one of those age guessers at a carnival or win a bet in a bar (about my age).  I have even been accused of lying about coloring my hair.  And now people are going blue, purple or green instead of blond.  I don’t think I’ll ever  jump on that band wagon.

Age is relative.  My husband and I eat out quite a lot.  One evening last week we were in a restaurant out of town for dinner and looking around realized we were the oldest people in the place.  That’s odd because when we go to  breakfast in our own neighborhood, we are usually the youngest and make comments about all the blue-hairs.  Then my grandchildren come to visit and they make comments about their teachers being old.  It makes me smile.

I have a wonderful friend that is 91.  I like to have lunch with her and chat away the afternoon.  She is a quilter also, so that is always part of the discussion.  Then she tells me stories about who is “dating” who in her assisted living facility.  She doesn’t mince words; she’s earned the right to not have to.  I look up to her as my elder, someone I can bounce my opinions off and get good advice from.  It’s nice to have a “Mom” figure in my life.

This day was originally mandated to be a day to recognize the contributions to society made by those that have come before.  We owe a lot to those people.  Think of all the inventions, the leadership and tutelage that have come from your elders and give them credit.  Then get on Facebook and think of Mark Zuckerberg.  Now he’s just a kid to me, but again, age, when you think about the contribution one has made, is all relative!

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National Radio Day

It was in the 1920s when the first broadcast stations began airing programs.  These first programs were those of news and world events.

  •  Radio ownership grew from two out of five homes in 1931 to four out of five homes in 1938.
  • According to FCC statistics, at the end of 2012, there were more than 15,000 licensed broadcast radio stations in the U.S.

WBEE is one of the local radio stations where I live.  Their format is new-country which means they play the music of the young country music artists.  The sound gets more “rocky” every year, but then I get older every year so maybe that’s why I hear it that way.

There are six major radio personalities that work throughout the day.  Three of those I know well enough to walk up to in a crowd and talk personal news with.  I consider that a privilege and honor. You see, from listening to them for years, I know them better than my own sisters because of the personal information they share over the air waves.  For instance, I can tell you Terry’s doctor’s name; where Steve’s wife works and what kind of beer he drinks;  where Newman grew up and what store he stops at for milk.  It also helps that I have donated a quilt to a local golf tournament every year for the last thirteen years and “my DJs” are usually in attendance at the awards dinner because WBEE is one of the sponsors.

When I was working I heard things on the radio in the early morning that became topics of discussion at work.  Some of my co-workers seemed very out of the loop because they often didn’t know about happenings in the local area especially road closures and current events.  Mind you, once in a while the conversation is of no real importance, like this morning they talked about whether an individual should wear anything to bed or not.  They decided it was a personal preference.  I’m not telling!

We have all seen pictures of people gathered around a radio in the past, to hear war news or listen to a baseball game.  Now we turn on the TV and switch channels until we find the information we want any time of day or night.  Sometimes I wish a lot of the news was still harder to get; maybe there wouldn’t be so much angst about what is going on in another country.

I’d be lost without my radio friends to spend the day with.  They share their thoughts, foibles and dreams, along with country music, traffic reports, and one minute news blurbs.   And let’s not forget the commercials;  most I can tune out, but not all.  I clean house, sew, cook, relax and never feel like I am home alone.  I almost forgot, the cat is here too, on my lap, under foot, or pushing me out of my chair so he can sleep in it.  Like I said, never alone.  Thank you WBEE.

 

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National Aviation Day

National Aviation Day was established in 1939 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to honor the originators of general aviation.  This date was picked because it was Orville Wright’s birthday.

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A couple of years ago my husband and I spent some time in Oregon.  A few nights in an ocean front hotel so I could hear the crash of the waves from my room was on my bucket list.  I had no idea that crash meant just that.  The waves were so noisy I had to shut our sliding glass door so I could sleep.

We stayed just north of the town of Tillimook.  One day we visited the cheese factory, which also has excellent ice cream.  Watching the modern cheese packing factory in operation was informational and fascinating.  We didn’t need to stop for lunch before we went into town to the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center.  This relatively small old school house is packed with a visual feast for anyone interested in any sort of textile.  One room was full of weaving looms, another had a display of quilts like I had never seen (they were two sided), and the third was a classroom where ladies were doing hand embroidery.  I could have stayed much longer than we did.

Once back in the car we drove south on Rt. 101.  Long before we got to it, we could see a huge building that said AIR MUSEUM on its curved structure.  It was a blimp hanger, that housed seven blimps, during World War II.  It is the largest clear-span wooden structure in the world.  My husband works in the construction field so he was fascinated with how the structure was built and the fact the cement floor didn’t have any cracks in it.  We walked in the doors that were three stories tall, in awe of the building’s size.  We didn’t have to just tilt our heads back, we had to stretch them back as far as they would go in order to look up at the center of the ceiling.  In one corner of the hanger, there is an area turned into rooms with lots of pictures of  blimps, their makers, and pilots; in the vast inner building there are antique WWII airplanes.  The building is so big, that the far end was being used as storage for RV’s, boats, and other things.  We talked quietly as our voices carried like over a lake in the still of night.

The next time you watch a sports event that has a blimp being used so camera shots from above can give you an aerial view, think about the originators of aviation, and the size of seven blimps (all in one structure)!

 

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