Have you ever wondered where the ice cream cone originated? I can remember reading about how the ice cream cone was invented at the 1904 World's Fair held in St. Louis, MO when I was in the 4th grade. Being proud Missourians, the whole class thought this little tidbit of history was pretty neat. If I remember correctly, the teacher even had a question about it on our social studies test.
Since July is National Ice Cream Month, I decided to research the subject of ice cream and soon started looking into the whole ice cream cone ordeal. Here's what I found out:
*A New York City vendor is actually credited for the invention of the ice cream cone dating back back to 1896. He later patented the idea in 1903.
*The ice cream vendor teamed up with a nearby waffle vendor when he couldn't keep up with
demand and kept running out of dishes.
*Popularity for the ice cream cone soared when it was introduced at the 1904 World's Fair.
*It takes about 50 licks to finish off a one scoop cone.
So there we have it...Missouri can't really claim the first ice cream cone. I don't guess it really matters, it still tastes great!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Farm Wife Anniversary
My husband & I celebrated our anniversary this last week. Several of my friends sent us well wishes via the internet and suggestions on how we should celebrate. The most common suggestion was that we should take the day off & go out to eat at a nice restaurant. Sounded good to me; only one problem...we're farmers. Taking the day off just wasn't gonna happen on that particular day. Just like we didn't get to do anything on Father's Day because we spent the day working with a cow that was having trouble calving (both cow & calf are doing great).
While I'm not suggesting that farmers never take a day off, I will have to say that we don't always get to schedule those days off like we might like. We had several things going on and not enough help to cover all the chores around the farm. It's okay, we'll just go out to dinner another time.
So what did my dearest get me? Honestly, we were both so busy that we didn't get each other anything. I have a few friends that would be furious with their husband if they didn't get something, but not me. Over the last few years we've gotten "practical" about gift-giving. In the many years I've received: a tractor on Mother's Day, a new pump for the slurry store for Christmas, a load of lime for Valentine's Day, a used chore truck for a birthday and my personal favorite...a manure scraper for an anniversary (I actually picked that one out myself). While some of my friends have been shocked by some of these "gifts", my farm-friendly pals have laughed and actually shared similar stories of "gifts". In all fairness, I have received flowers, jewelry and the like over the years, so please don't think my hubby is a bad person.
We'll find a day sometime soon when things are a little less hectic and have dinner to celebrate our anniversary. Maybe I can get another manure scraper the next time the dairy supply truck comes (I wore the old one out). In the meantime, we'll keep putting the care of our cows first. After all, that's what being a farm wife is all about.
While I'm not suggesting that farmers never take a day off, I will have to say that we don't always get to schedule those days off like we might like. We had several things going on and not enough help to cover all the chores around the farm. It's okay, we'll just go out to dinner another time.
So what did my dearest get me? Honestly, we were both so busy that we didn't get each other anything. I have a few friends that would be furious with their husband if they didn't get something, but not me. Over the last few years we've gotten "practical" about gift-giving. In the many years I've received: a tractor on Mother's Day, a new pump for the slurry store for Christmas, a load of lime for Valentine's Day, a used chore truck for a birthday and my personal favorite...a manure scraper for an anniversary (I actually picked that one out myself). While some of my friends have been shocked by some of these "gifts", my farm-friendly pals have laughed and actually shared similar stories of "gifts". In all fairness, I have received flowers, jewelry and the like over the years, so please don't think my hubby is a bad person.
We'll find a day sometime soon when things are a little less hectic and have dinner to celebrate our anniversary. Maybe I can get another manure scraper the next time the dairy supply truck comes (I wore the old one out). In the meantime, we'll keep putting the care of our cows first. After all, that's what being a farm wife is all about.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Dairymom blog?
Do you love your job? Do you take your work home with you? Can you imagine not being able to leave work? While this may sound extreme, it's what most farmers do every day. We live on the farm that we work on and it's where we raise our family. It has it's ups and downs, but for the most part, I don't think we would change much about our way of life.
Last month I started blogging. Some of my friends think I've lost my mind. Honestly, some days I think my mind went out the window a long time ago. So why would a mom/wife/farmer want to blog or tweet? Maybe it's a form of venting, but mainly it's a way for me to get the true story of agriculture out there.
There's nothing like having your child come home from a school trip and inform you that we're "bad people" because we farm. He was told on this field trip (sponsored by a water shed group) that "farmers pollute the water". After the initial shock wore off, I talked with my son about how many regulations we abide by and how much good water quality means to us as dairy farmers. Not only does the well that we get our drinking water from supply our home, it supplies water for our animals and is used to clean our milking system. The well gets tested on a regular basis to ensure that it's up to standards for cleaning the milk system. Thankfully he understood, but the damage was already done and would be very hard to undo to his very impressionable classmates.
So here I am, blogging, tweeting and spending time on facebook trying to undo some of the misconceptions in agriculture. Will I be able to make a difference? Maybe. I guess if nothing else, I can do some venting.
You can also take a virtual tour of our farm on : http://www.farmersfeedus.org/mo
Last month I started blogging. Some of my friends think I've lost my mind. Honestly, some days I think my mind went out the window a long time ago. So why would a mom/wife/farmer want to blog or tweet? Maybe it's a form of venting, but mainly it's a way for me to get the true story of agriculture out there.
There's nothing like having your child come home from a school trip and inform you that we're "bad people" because we farm. He was told on this field trip (sponsored by a water shed group) that "farmers pollute the water". After the initial shock wore off, I talked with my son about how many regulations we abide by and how much good water quality means to us as dairy farmers. Not only does the well that we get our drinking water from supply our home, it supplies water for our animals and is used to clean our milking system. The well gets tested on a regular basis to ensure that it's up to standards for cleaning the milk system. Thankfully he understood, but the damage was already done and would be very hard to undo to his very impressionable classmates.
So here I am, blogging, tweeting and spending time on facebook trying to undo some of the misconceptions in agriculture. Will I be able to make a difference? Maybe. I guess if nothing else, I can do some venting.
You can also take a virtual tour of our farm on : http://www.farmersfeedus.org/mo
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