Reader response to blue plate special Your librarian friend refers to the blue plate special as having been served on a blue plate. However, I'm not sure when or where I had a blue plate special; maybe when dime stores had full service lunch counters. But I do remember the plates were divided as she said, but the plates were not solid blue, but were a "blue willow" sort of pattern.

A hobby horse (or hobby-horse) is a child's toy horse, particularly popular during the days before cars. Children played at riding a wooden hobby-horse made of a straight stick with a small horse's head (of wood or stuffed fabric), and perhaps reins, attached to one end. The bottom end of the stick sometimes had a small wheel or wheels attached. This toy was also sometimes known as a cock horse (as in the nursery rhyme Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross). From "hobby horse" came the expression "to ride one's hobby-horse", meaning "to follow a favourite pastime", and in turn, the modern sense of the term hobby. The term is also connected to the draisine, a forerunner of the bicycle, invented by Baron Karl von Drais. In 1818, a London coach-maker named Denis Johnson began producing an improved version, which was popularly known as the "hobby-horse". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobby_horse

Gardens I have enjoyed in California
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden http://www.sbbg.org/
Wrigley Memorial & Botanic Garden (Santa Catalina Island) http://www.catalinaconservancy.org/index.php?s=visit&p=wrigley_memorial_and_botanic_garden
Filoli (Woodside) http://www.preservationnation.org/travel-and-sites/sites/western-region/filoli.html?gclid=CPSasMPhz6QCFUIUKgodezm5EA

"Taliesin was the name of a Welsh poet, a druid-bard who sang to Wales the glories of fine art. Many legends cling to that beloved reverend name in Wales. Richard Hovey's charming masque, 'Taliesin,' had just made me acquainted with his image of the historic bard. Since all my relatives had Welsh names for their places, why not Taliesin for mine? . . . Literally the Welsh word means 'shining brow.' Frank Lloyd Wright
See images of Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona and Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin. http://www.taliesin.edu/pages/campuses.html

Frank Lloyd Wright was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin on June 8, 1867. His parents, William Cary Wright and Anna Lloyd-Jones, originally named him Frank Lincoln Wright, which he later changed after they divorced. When he was twelve years old, Wright's family settled in Madison, Wisconsin where he attended Madison High School. During summers spent on his Uncle James Lloyd Jones' farm in Spring Green, Wisconsin, Wright first began to realize his dream of becoming an architect. In 1885, he left Madison without finishing high school to work for Allan Conover, the Dean of the University of Wisconsin's Engineering department. While at the University, Wright spent two semesters studying civil engineering before moving to Chicago in 1887. http://www.cmgww.com/historic/flw/bio.html

To search for books and authors, try Google Book Search at: http://books.google.com/bkshp?hl=en&tab=wp To see Books and other searchable features including Blogs and Photos, start at the Google page, and click on more at the top of the screen.

Iowa Pork Chops Supreme
6 pork chops
1 c. ketchup
6 tbsp. honey
1 large lemon, sliced
Wipe chops with damp paper towel. Blend ketchup and honey--put over each chop. and top with lemon slice. Bake uncovered at 325 degrees one hour or until done. Optional: Substitute chicken or veal for pork.

sienna (see-EN-uh) noun
A color derived from clay, ranging from yellowish brown (in raw form) to reddish brown (when roasted). From Italian terra di Siena (earth of Siena). After Siena, a city in Italy once noted for the mining of this mineral. In its roasted form, the color is known as burnt sienna. nankeen or nankin (nan-KEEN or nan-KIN) noun
1. A yellow or buff color. 2. A sturdy yellow or buff cotton fabric.
3. (nankeens) Trousers made of this cloth.
4. A Chinese porcelain having blue designs on a white background. After Nanking, a city in China, where it was first made, now spelled as Nanjing. Nanjing is literally "southern capital". Beijing means "northern capital". A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg