The namesake of both the brown and the white Tepary bean is pawi, the Papago Indian word for bean, and further, t’pawi—meaning ‘it is a bean.’ The Tepary plant is adapted to the dry conditions of the American southwest; it is drought-resistant and able to mature on a single irrigation or thunderstorm downpour. The plant also holds up well against disease. Before arriving on US soil, the Tepary bean had a rich cultural history that stretched back more than six thousand years in the arid landscape of Mexico. Both the brown and the white versions of the Tepary have a rich and nutty flavor. The beans are shelled and dried before use and are cooked into many traditional southwestern stews and casserole-like dishes as well as a ground Pinole. The Hopi Indians use the white Tepary beans to break a traditional fast by placing the beans under the hot sand and cooking them with salt water. http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/programs/ark_product_detail/brown_and_white_tepary_bean/#

Here's an adventure! What awaits
Beyond these closed, mysterious gates?
Whom shall I meet, where shall I go
Beyond the lovely land I know?
Above the sky, across the sea?
What shall I learn and feel and be?
Open, strange doors, to good or ill!
I hold my breath a moment still
Before the magic of your look.
What will you do to me, O book? Anonymous

A sunchoke is an underground vegetable like a cross between a rutabaga, potato, sunflower seed, and water chestnut. Also called a Jerusalem artichoke, it is not like an artichoke bloom, nor does it grow in Jerusalem. It's one of the few native tubers of North America. A sunchoke, related to the sunflower, makes a delicious addition to salad, salsa, marinade, and soup. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-sunchoke.htm

"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in the autumn of 1857. Even though it is commonly referred to as a Christmas song, it was actually written and sung for Thanksgiving. It was mistakenly branded as a Christmas song because being extremely popular at Thanksgiving, it was sung again around Christmas. James Lord Pierpont originally composed his song in 1850. A plaque commemorating the "birthplace" of "Jingle Bells" adorns the side of a building in Medford, Massachusetts. Pierpont wrote the song there, at the former Simpson Tavern, now 19 High Street in the center of Medford Square. According to the Medford Historical Society, the song was inspired by the town's popular sleigh races during the 1800s. "Jingle Bells" was originally copyrighted with the name "One Horse Open Sleigh" on September 16, 1857. It was reprinted in 1859 with the revised title of "Jingle Bells, or the One Horse Open Sleigh". The song's copyright status has since passed into public domain. The "Jingle Bells" tune is used in French and German songs, although the lyrics are unrelated to the English lyrics. Both celebrate winter fun. The French song, titled Vive le vent ("Long Live the Wind"), was written by Francis Blanche and contains references to Father Time, Baby New Year, and New Year's Day. "Jingle Bells" was first recorded by the Edison Male Quartette in 1898 on an Edison cylinder as part of a Christmas medley entitled "Sleigh Ride Party". In 1902, the Hayden Quartet recorded "Jingle Bells". "Jingle Bells" was the first song broadcast from space, in a Christmas-themed prank by Gemini 6 astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra. While in space on December 16, 1965, they sent this report to Mission Control: "We have an object, looks like a satellite going from north to south, probably in polar orbit... I see a command module and eight smaller modules in front. The pilot of the command module is wearing a red suit...." The astronauts then produced a smuggled harmonica and sleighbells and broadcast a rendition of "Jingle Bells." The harmonica, shown to the press upon their return, was a Hohner "Little Lady", a tiny harmonica approximately one inch long, by 3/8 of an inch wide. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jingle_Bells

The noun number by itself is singular:
The number on his jersey is 88.
The number of unemployed has risen.
However, the phrase a number of calls for a plural verb:
A number of protesters were arrested.
There are a significant number of sources. http://www.dailywritingtips.com/is-number-singular-or-plural/

Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, the Vatican Apostolic Library—or, as its present-day users call it, the Vat was founded as, essentially, a public information resource. The Vatican itself has had a historically vexed relationship to knowledge, power, secrecy, and authority. Recently, the Vat has been trying to address at least some of these problems. In September, the library reopened following a three-year-long closing—the final stage of a decades-long renovation of its premises and modernization of its technologies. The Vat’s collection, which has been accreting since the mid-fourteen-hundreds, is so vast that even the people who run it haven’t always known what they’re sitting on top of. The texts now enjoy the benefits afforded by online searches, enhanced cataloguing, digitally scanned imaging, and even electronic tagging. The origins of the Vat can be traced to Pope Nicholas V’s brief but energetic reign, from 1447 to 1455. Nicholas left eleven hundred Greek and Latin manuscripts to a successor, Sixtus IV, the second of the Vat’s three Papal founders. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/01/03/110103fa_fact_mendelsohn

Due to the rapidly changing state of publishing and bookselling, Stately Raven Bookstore in Findlay, Ohio is closing. Their 50% sale runs through January or until the shelves are bare. See address, phone number and hours at: http://www.statelyravenbookstore.com/ Stately Raven Bookstore was originally built for Immanuel Lutheran Church in the 1940s. After the church outgrew the building and moved to their new location on Northridge Road, the building housed various other congregations. Mike Cole made an offer and purchased the building in July 2006. Inspired by the architecture of the building and Edgar Allen Poe's famous poem "The Raven", Cole chose to call it Stately Raven Bookstore. "He's one of the most famous American writers of all time, and we wanted the building to have a literary inspiration. Mural artist Beth Covert completed the interior of the building with her whimsical wall and ceiling murals. Above the "Poe Fireplace" you will find a framed piece featuring an imagined gathering of famous artists. The "Weird Room" ceiling is covered with spooky and science fiction depictions from wall to wall. On the front of the "Reading Loft" is a mural of a bookshelf which displays books, maps and scientific instruments. Lining the stairway leading up the loft is a Sherlock Holmes inspired mystery played out on a London street scene. http://www.statelyravenbookstore.com/history.html

The Declaration of Independence, part two In 1823 Thomas Jefferson wrote that the other members of the committee "unanimously pressed on myself alone to undertake the draught [sic]. I consented; I drew it; but before I reported it to the committee I communicated it separately to Dr. Franklin and Mr. Adams requesting their corrections. . . I then wrote a fair copy, reported it to the committee, and from them, unaltered to the Congress." Jefferson's account reflects three stages in the life of the Declaration: the document originally written by Jefferson; the changes to that document made by Franklin and Adams, resulting in the version that was submitted by the Committee of Five to the Congress; and the version that was eventually adopted. On July 1, 1776, Congress reconvened. The following day, the Lee Resolution for independence was adopted by 12 of the 13 colonies, New York not voting. Immediately afterward, the Congress began to consider the Declaration. Adams and Franklin had made only a few changes before the committee submitted the document. The discussion in Congress resulted in some alterations and deletions, but the basic document remained Jefferson's. The process of revision continued through all of July 3 and into the late morning of July 4. Then, at last, church bells rang out over Philadelphia; the Declaration had been officially adopted. to be continued
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/print_friendly.html?page=declaration_history_content.html&title=Declaration%20of%20Independence%3A%20A%20Transcription