Friday Unwind #13: The Covenant; Pumpkins; China; Wings; 11 Days Lost; History Quiz

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🎬 GROOVIE MOVIE: THE COVENANT

In 2018 US Army Special Forces Master Sergeant John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his unit are ambushed during a routine vehicle inspection in Afghanistan. Kinley’s interpreter is killed.

The movie is the story about the relationship that develops between Kinley and his new interpreter, Ahmed Abdullah (Dar Salim), the near fatal quest to save Kinley, and the determination of one man to uphold his pledge to another human being.

I watched The Covenant because I was upset about the evacuation of Afghanistan. The movie took me inside the human lives that were so devastatingly impacted.

High marks from Rotten Tomatoes. A big ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐from yours truly. Available on Amazon Prime.

If you watch, be sure to stay through the screen credits at the end.

🎃 PUMPKINS - AFTER ALL IT IS ALMOST HALLOWEEN

This is kind of a story and kind of a quiz. Sorry.

Here’s the Quiz part:

1. What US state grows the largest pumpkins?

2. Why is this state able to grow these giant jack-o-lanterns?

3. What’s the record weight for the largest pumpkin?

Answers:

There’s a lot of talk these days about celebrities with big egos and big heads. But at this state fair the celebrities and big heads belong to cabbages. The cabbages are so popular that limericks have been written about them.

Oh that I were a cabbage today

Waiting in line to see what I weigh

My folds and my girth

Show off what I’m worth

Exuberant crowds will shout hooray!

The world record holding cabbage weighed in at 138 pounds back in 2012.

These cabbages and pumpkins, along with other prize winning veggies have their moment in the sun (so to speak), but their crowning achievement is their very personal donation to local wildlife rescues.

Read the whole story of the rise and demise of these celebrities here.

🌏 CHINA

I’ve never been to China, but the history is just so fascinating. And with the current tensions between China and the U.S., what better time to explore the Great Wall.

Is it 3,000 miles, 5,100 miles, maybe more? And what about the hidden bodies of some of the more than 300,000 workers who died during construction? I could write about it all, but why when a picture (or video) is worth a thousand words…

🍗 WINGS

Have I told you before that I’m addicted to my air fryer? It was a gift from my oldest daughter, which I didn’t thoroughly appreciate until I started using it. One of my favorite recipes is an amalgamation of several recipes. You could say I decided to just wing it…😁

Crispy wings. This is not a picture of my wings. Sorry, I ate them before remembering to snap a shot. But they were yummy, trust me. 🤣

Ingredients:

16-20 wings
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1-2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil (I use avocado oil)

Now What:

Pat the wings with paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible
Put the wings in a large bowl and coat with oil (the wings, not the bowl 😁)
Mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl, then sprinkle them on the wings and mix to coat
Preheat your air fryer at 400 for 2 minutes
Place the wings in the air fryer (not touching each other)
Cook at 400 for 10 minutes
Flip the wings and cook for another 10 minutes
Flip again and cook for another 7 minutes
I like mine extra crispy so I flip again for another 7 minutes
You can see when they are done - they look crispy and not oily
Serve with your favorite dipping sauce or just eat plain (my favorite way)

📅 ELEVEN DAYS LOST

Pope Gregory XIII

On October 4th,1582 Pope Gregory XIII decreed that the day following October 4, 1582 would not be October 5th. (what?) Instead it would October 15, 1582.

Now that’s power. His decree corrected a 10 day error that had accumulated because of the Julian Calendar. It also created the new calendar called….you guessed it…the Gregorian Calendar. Such modesty.

Now I’m ok with the switch. But what about all those people in 1582 who had birthdays between October 5th and October 14th? Did they lose a year? Get to live a year longer? Not get cake? If Marie Antoinette had been around then she certainly couldn’t have said, “Let them eat cake.”

Britain and the American colonies were a bit behind the rest of the civilized world, adopting the Gregorian Calendar in 1752. It’s the calendar we still use today. Thank you Pope Gregory XIII.

🙋‍♀️❓🙋‍♂️ HISTORY QUIZ

Let’s go back in history for the week of October 1 - October 6.

Can you match the date with the event?

• October 1, 1949

• October 3, 1863

• October 4, 1957

• October 6, 1927

1. President Lincoln declares the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day.

2. The People’s Republic of China was founded with Mao Zedong as Chairman.

3. The Russians launch Sputnik into orbit.

4. The Jazz Singer, the first ‘talkie’ opened in New York.

💬 COMMENTS

1. Did you lose your birthday between October 5th and 14th? 🍰

2. How do you ‘wing it’ with your air fryer?

3. You nailed that history quiz, right? (no answers provided 😈🤣🔨)

4. Who has been to China? Who wants to go?

5. Got a pumpkin limerick?

6. Hi….yes, this is still here…🙋‍♀️

7. This #7 just popped up, so I had to write something….

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Wherever you are, I hope life is sunny. 🌞❤Heather

PS: My other publication, Kindness Magnet, is out getting a makeover. But you can still subscribe (Oh, please do. She may have a different name when you click this link). She’s a little wonky right now, but she’ll be back in a few weeks. You’ll want to be there for the before and after pics of her makeover. I promise not to show the surgery… 💚🤕