Today the Bluebirds are back, they love the Boardwalk Blend I put out on the deck. The Flicker and Starlings are dueling it out for the suet, I need to put more out as we are to get snow tonight. The Downey has been up eating as well. The Juncos are picking up the pieces of suet the Flicker drops. And there goes Mr Hawk while the little birds scatter.
Meet Lucy my new shared pet. She belongs next door, an 8 week old female black lab. She is the cutest and so full of energy. They are at the parade today and I am babysitting. My first pet was a black lab when I was 4, my dad got her at the pound, she was full grown. She was not a full lab and do not what else she was and she did not like water, it got on her belly and she was done.
I look forward to watching Lucy grow up and be a part of her life.
(JTA) — Ira “Bob” Born, the son of the Russian Jewish immigrant who founded the company that makes Peeps candies, has died. He was 98.
Born was the former president of Just Born Quality Confections, the 100-year-old family-owned candy company in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, that makes Mike and Ikes, jelly beans and Goldenberg Peanut Chews, but is probably best known for the marshmallow treats that are staples in Easter baskets.
Just Born’s Jewish roots came as a surprise to this reporter, who in 2012 reported for the New Jersey Jewish News on the company’s acquisition of Goldenberg Peanut Chews, a venerable Philadelphia brand that had recently dropped its kosher “pareve” certification. Ross Born, Bob’s son and co-CEO of the company, explained the difficulty in sourcing ingredients for the candies and spoke about the family’s commitment to Jewish causes in the Lehigh Valley and beyond. (Peanut Chews are kosher dairy; Peeps are not kosher.)
He also spoke about his father’s innovations as head of the company, which the elder Born joined in 1945 after graduating from Lehigh University with a degree in engineering physics and service in the U.S. Navy. Born had been accepted to medical school but fell in love with the business.
After Just Born acquired a maker of marshmallow candies in 1953, Bob Born devised a way to greatly speed the process. At the Bethlehem factory, huge machines squirt armies of the chick-shaped confections onto a conveyer belt, on which they glide past little guns that paint on the eyes.
Bob Born also cut down on waste when he figured out what to do with Mike and Ike candies that emerged misshapen in the manufacturing process: He remelted the candies, added a hot cinnamon flavor to mask their original taste, and repurposed them as Hot Tamales.
“That was his nature. He didn’t say, ‘No, we can’t do something.’ He said ‘Well, we’ll figure it out,’” Ross Born told the Lehigh Valley News.
Bob Born was born on Sept. 29, 1924, in New York City. His father, Sam Born, had been a rabbinical student from Berdichev, Ukraine, before his family fled to Paris, where he learned the art of chocolate-making. After opening a factory and store in Brooklyn, Sam brought his brothers-in-law, Irv and Jack Shaffer, into the business. A nephew, David Shaffer, is currently board chair and co-CEO of Just Born.
Bob Born retired after almost 40 years at Just Born and moved to Florida, where he was chairman of a literacy program in an underserved community.
In addition to his talents as a candymaker, Born was a musician, woodworker, chess player and photographer, according to his son. In 2019, the city of Bethlehem declared Feb. 15 as “Bob Born Day.”
Ross, a past president of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley, told the local newspaper that his father will be remembered as a “real mensch” — Yiddish for a person of integrity and honor.
“He was a kind person, he was generous with his talents, sharing his abilities. He was very fair minded: he wanted to embrace differences rather than just tolerate them,” Ross Born said.
The family asked that contributions be made to the American Technion Society, Israel Guide Dog Center or any literacy program.
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Oh what is that smell says my model, sawdust, quick text Scrappy and let her know wood is being cut today for her house. It is pine and it smells so good and i see stain for the floor and you know what those canvases you can buy at Hobby Lobby they are perfect walls, and I hear a lot of oh crap that won't work and erasing and re-doing math and I heard a sizzle, oh oh I think her brain has fried for the day. I know she keeps coming back to the drawing board and erasing and re doing the math and she has boxes of stuff that will be more than enough for the house and oh I wish she could just wiggle her nose and it would be done and I can move in.
Last weekend she went to the Toy and Miniature Museum and got so many ideas for my house. I hope she is eating and sleeping and keeping up her strength cos this is gonna take a long time to get it all done.
Did I mention I am getting another cat, she found an all black cat and named it Midnight, so now I will have 2 cats. I better make sure she gets more litter boxes.
Off to dream of what my new house will look like, I am such a lucky girl to have such a crazy dresser.
New February outfit, I do love the berets.
My neighbors have 2 dogs Jake the Irish Setter and Wyatt the Beagle. Jake has been failing for a while now and during the night he decided to cross the Rainbow Bridge. I take care of them when they are gone or out for the day cos you know dogs need to use the yard for the bathroom not the litter box like my cats. Jake was a sweetheart, he would see me in the yard start barking and come bounding over and at times almost knock me down, he was basically bigger than I am. I loved that dog, and will miss him a lot. He was almost 16 which is old for a dog and I knew him for 14 of those years. RIP Jakie and I will see you some day. (I wish I had a picture of him but realize I do not).
I got his Christmas picture
So plans are under to start building the frame of my house. I wish I could see it but i have a feeling my model will send me messages as she gets a look at things. She said there are boxes of items for each room around the house and bags of fabric, yarn, etc for creating something for me. I think the plan is to have it done by end of this year.
Meanwhile here are some pics of my lastest outfits.
Groucho would have been 19 next March. She was a feral and Bucky's aunt and Smudgey's half sister. She was the sweetest girl and the minute I sat down she was on my lap. Did not want to be picked up and carried but she would sit on my lap 24/7. She had lost quite a bit of weight down to 4 pounds and yet acted like she was starving but lately she was not eating much, she had no teeth, and was not drinking as much water. She had constipation issues and the ER vet said her muscles just could not get it all pushed out. The past week she was very restless, pacing around the main level, circle after circle. Sunday night she would not settle down, finally I laid down on the couch and she got on my chest and went to sleep. Tuesday morning when I got home from an appointment I could not find her and finally found her hiding, I know what that means, and I scooped her up to the vet. It was time. She was my second longest next to Garfield who was almost 21. It is so quiet in the house even though BigBoy is very talkative but still when you had 3 one morning and now you have one, it is so quiet. He is crying and wandering and looking for her and his is very clingy which is not like him at all. So for now it is just one cat and I would kind of like it to stay that way. Those of you with multiple pets know how much time it takes. I know he has pancreas issues and his numbers bounce all over the place but he is mine as long as I can keep him.
It sucks to lose a pet when you have them for so long. She is my 8th cat to be in the pet cemetery. I am sure one day someone may dig up my back yard and wonder what the heck I was doing.
So for now God and my dad will take care of her til I can go home and be will all my kitties. RIP Groucho Marx, mommy loves you and I miss you and so does your brother.
I was at the vet today with Groucho who crossed the Rainbow Bridge. While there I showed a picture to the receptionist of Chuffles, the little gray tom I found and one of the vet techs said hey that is my friends cat. Sure enough Oliver came from a home about 10 miles away. It seems he may have got out in the garage and up into her car and when his human mom was in my neighborhood he got out. So he is home and I am sad and happy for them.
Tough to go from 3 to 1 cat all in one day and losing Smudgey 2 weeks ago. So for now I am down to one pet and it has been 40 years since I have just had one.
I wore this outfit last year as I only had a few and it is kind of my ugly Christmas sweater. Anyway it is cold and of course since I live in the warehouse it is even colder, so I am all bundled up with a week from Christmas. I hear I am getting a very pretty outfit next week for Christmas. Hope everyone is ready for the big day.
Meet Chuffles. I knew the minute he entered the house he was probably not going to leave cos I think my purpose in life is to take care of the stray cats that come in my yard. He chuffles when he snuggles and boy does he like to snuggle. He is very lovable and a chunker. He does not like can food, gonna have to work on that and needs to go on a diet. His legs are short and while his face looks somewhat fox like he looks like a munchkin breed. I know someone can still claim him as I have posted him on a couple lost pet websites. But if no one does well he is mine. Now to get him acclimated in the house with the other two. I have never had 2 toms at the same time before. Wish me luck.
Smudgey will have been gone 2 weeks tomorrow. I know Groucho's days are probably numbered. So I was just going to settle for having BigBoy for as long as I can as I know he has health issues. Well I was looking out the dining room window and saw a cat in the cul de sac, close to my curb, there were lots of cars as the neighbor was having a party. I thought it was the neighbor cat who often eats at my house cos they are awful pet parents, so I put a can of food out. She always comes running when I do but this cat did not. OH that is not the neighbor cat, he started crying loud like he was scared to death. Oh crap, I went and he let me pick him up so I carried him to the front porch and put him down thinking he belonged in the neighborhood and was just out so I thought he would eat and go home. Nope as soon as I opened the door in he ran and finally hid under the couch. Now what do I do, I got a not so good picture and posted it in the HOA webpage and the lost pet page in hopes someone had lost their cat. He did eat a bit ago and my two are hiding not knowing what is going on.
I need to decide what to do do I keep him if no one claims him? or do I take him to a shelter?
So my dresser was going to get started on the next phase of my house, however she can no longer find those boxes so instead of a camper she is going to make me a house out of plastic canvas based on the camper plans. Everyone needs a Winter project, right. So she is off making lists of rooms, what goes in each room, etc. I can hear her brain sizzling with ideas. She thinks she will turn my apartment into a she shed which she was gonna build anyway, so a few changes and that will be done. And oh I need my Jeep first.
Stay tuned.
