Friday, September 21, 2012
The summer of 2012 is hitting record books as one of the hottest ever, according to national climate data
- SUMMER
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Friday, September 21, 2012
This June, July and August made for the third hottest summer period ever, the National Climatic Data Center reported this week. And the first eight months of 2012 were the hottest ever recorded in the continental United States. The three hottest summers on record were 1998, 2010 and 2012, according to a USA Today report. The hot summer took a toll with extensive drought over much of the United States - and intense heat that killed an elderly couple in the Lehigh Valley in July. The nation as a whole is averaging 4 degrees Fahrenheit above average for the year. That's a full degree higher than the same period in 2006, the second hottest January-August on record, CNN noted in its report on the new climate data. Above-average temperatures …
Friday, August 31, 2012
What was the best part of summer 2012 for you and your family - a Musikfest concert, trip to the shore or backyard cookout?
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
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Friday, August 31, 2012
We're heading into the final holiday weekend of summer and we'd like to know what you'll remember about this year's vacation, day trips and warm weather activities. Tell us in the comments section below and post your photos to this article. Did you go to the shore, do the chicken dance at Musikfest, ride the new Stinger roller coaster at Dorney Park or cool off at the local pool? Share your stories and pictures.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Glow water made from highlighters has lots of uses.
You're probably aware of this (!) but school starts one short week from today, so this will be our last Kid Kraft Korner for the summer. Additionally, Jennifer Marangos, the very fun mom and Emmaus Patch editor who invented Kid Kraft Korner, is having some extreme fun of her own this week on a well-deserved beach vacation. We miss her. The good news is that even though the crack research team at Lower Macungie Patch is a grandparent now, she once had bored kids at home during the summer. Indeed, one of my most amusing memories is of the day my Jessica came in from playing outside and told me "there's nothing to do but sweat." Karma being what it is, she is now a mother and a speech pathologist who longs for the days she had nothing to do …
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
October 2011 snowstorm packed a wallop and it remains to be seen whether our wisteria will return to its former glory.
“Ignorance may be bliss” as the old saying goes, but sometimes “controlled ignorance is prudent.” Such is the case with the now beloved wisteria growing next to our front porch. When we first moved into our home, we had no idea what the twisted viney monstrosity was and my husband was quite tempted to chop down the grizzly and disfigured old girl. Instead, we adopted a wait-and-see philosophy with the wisteria, as we did with most of the foliage on the property. In that first year, as things bloomed, we would say “oh, that’s Echinacea” or “look those are gladiolas.” Not so with the wisteria. About the only thing it did in the first year or so that we lived in our house was produce long brown pods that kind of resembled flattened vanilla …
Monday, August 13, 2012
An inexpensive store-bought perler bead activity kit can provide hours of indoor fun.
I cannot tell a lie. Screens have become a bit of a crutch in my home over the past few weeks. As a result, this week’s kids’ craft activity evolved from this mom’s desire to wean the kids from their summer-time screen overload and ready them for the rapidly approaching school year. I am quite happy to report that it worked. And – get this – it’s a craft activity that required little involvement from me besides getting it out and setting it on the kitchen table and then operating my iron at the end. Ever heard of perler beads? They are tiny tube-shaped beads in a variety of colors that the kids place in various patterns on a plastic base covered in tiny teeth. After the pattern is completed you cover the base with wax paper and iron the …
Friday, August 10, 2012
Omni Hotels & Resorts creates new "Flying Squirrel" cocktail in honor of 2012 Olympic games in London.
Omni Hotels & Resorts, headquarted in Texas, created the Flying Squirrel cocktail in honor of the 2012 Olympic games. The resort chain, which has 47 properties in North America, emailed the recipe to Patch in response to last week's summer cocktail recipe for an Ouzo Special. The Flying Squirrel is being served at all Omni properties through the remainder of the games. What we'd really prefer is to know what YOU love to drink in the summer. Send your favorite cocktail recipes to mariella.savidge@patch.com and we'll feature them in the long, hot weeks to come! Ingredients: Directions: Pour tequila and triple sec into a highball glass one-third filled with crushed ice. Add sour mix and lime juice. Fill with orange juice, and serve. Serve in…
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
You’ve probably heard of peppermint and spearmint. But there are more than 20 other varieties out there too.
It’s in toothpaste. It’s in candy canes. It’s in mojitos. In whatever form it crosses your path, it’s hard to miss the distinctive taste and aroma of this well-known herb. It grows well in flowerpots, provided it gets enough water. It grows like a weed in a sunny, well-watered yard and if left unchecked will pretty much take over everything. We have spearmint and peppermint growing in our yard and we dry it all summer long. We regularly tie in it bunches from our clothesline, and then fill spice jars with it for cooking and making teas. All of this made me pretty proud of myself and my knowledge of the world of mint, until a recent stroll through our yard with a neighbor put me in my place. As he was passing the corner of the flowerbed in …
Monday, August 6, 2012
Tie-dying is a great outdoor summer craft activity, suitable for all ages.
Believe it or not, the kids and I tie-dye pretty much every summer as school approaches. I know that it might seem like a bizarre end of summer tradition, but to each his own, right? One reason I, as a mom, enjoy the pre-school tie-dye is the chance to breathe some new life into T-shirts that might be needed in the opening weeks of school but don’t quite make the grade for school attire because of a stain or two or a fading decal. Add a bit of tie-dye pizzazz to said shirts and viola, you have some vibrant new duds suitable for the heat of Indian summer, without investing in new T-shirts that will surely be too small by spring. The kids, I would suppose, like tie-dyeing because we do it out in the yard, we typically do it with a group of …
Friday, August 3, 2012
It's 5 o'clock somewhere, right?
History buffs or those married to Greeks may be aware that the first modern Olympic games were held in Athens in 1896. This week’s cocktail recipe pays homage to the Hellenic parentage of this global sporting extravaganza. Ouzo is Greece’s national drink, made only in Greece. It is made with grapes, herbs and spices, especially anise. Greeks most often drink ouzo mixed with water, ice or straight up. It is pretty much always served with appetizers known as mezedes. What we'd really prefer is to know what YOU love to drink in the summer. Send your favorite cocktail recipes to mariella.savidge@patch.com and we'll feature them in the long, hot weeks to come! For those not yet ready to gold medal in ouzo-drinking, I present a lighter ouzo …
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
It’s summer, we’re supposed to eat veggies. We all get that.
This week’s “Taste of Summer” recipe capitalizes on a vegetable that seems to be most abundant at this time of year, whether you grow your own, hit the farmer’s market or shop at the local grocery store. Enter the green zucchini. Add eggs and you have a healthy meal suitable for day or night. In my house, we call this one, “Green Eggs From Zucchini,” and it’s my husband’s go-to meal these days, since our zucchini plants are overtaking our entire garden and hence our diets. Ingredients Onion, 1 small Zucchini, 2 medium Eggs, 2 Oil, about 2 tablespoons Lemon, ½ Salt and Pepper White Wine (optional) Cheese (optional) Preparation 1. Chop onion. 2. Cut zucchini into quarters, then chop into quarter-inch pieces. 3. Fry onion in oil until …
Mary Ellen Alu
9:28 pm on Saturday, September 1, 2012
Family campout at the Wildlands Conservancy in June, with a few families from my daughter's kindergarten class. We stayed in tents (provided), had a moonlit hike that was capped with a bonfire and s'mores. The girls had a blast. more ›