Tarragon - is a leafy green herb that is highly aromatic with a subtle licorice flavor. It adds a fresh, spring taste and a bit of elegance to a variety of recipes, including salad dressings, sauces, and fish and chicken dishes, and is commonly used in French cooking. Tarragon is sold both fresh and dried and is available year-round. It is a culinary herb that is known for its glossy, skinny leaves and aromatic flavor.

The most common type used in cooking is the French variety. Tarragon is an ingredient in many French dishes, including Béarnaise sauce, and because of its delicate flavor pairs well with fish, chicken, and eggs. In France, it is referred to as "the king of herbs" because of its ability to elevate a dish and is one of the four herbs in the French mixture fines herbs, a combination of parsley, tarragon, chervil, and chives. Tarragon is a perennial, meaning once planted, it will grow back every year. It is in the Artemesia genus, which includes other licorice-tasting greens like the one used in making the French aperitif absinthe. The stems are tough and woody, and the leaves are long and thin with pointed ends.

Tarragon is one of those herbs people tend to either love or hate, depending on whether they prefer the taste of licorice. But this herb has a complex flavor that brings more than just anise to the palate. It is a combination of bitter and sweet, with touches of vanilla, mint, pepper, and eucalyptus, distinguishing it from other licorice-tasting foods like fennel. That being said, the French variety is mild, marrying these contrasting flavors together to create an elegant and delicate herb.

Dried tarragon leaves

United Steelworkers (The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, the United Steelworkers represents workers in Canada, the Caribbean, and the United States. The United Steelworkers represent workers in a diverse range of industries, including primary and fabricated metals, paper, chemicals, glass, rubber, heavy-duty conveyor belting, tires, transportation, utilities, container industries, pharmaceuticals, call centers and health care. The United Steelworkers is currently affiliated with the AFL–CIO in the United States and the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) in Canada as well as several international union federations. On July 2, 2008, the United Steelworkers signed an agreement to merge with the United Kingdom and Ireland–based union Unite to form a new global union entity called Workers Uniting. The current International President of the United Steelworkers is Tom Conway, who was installed as President after the retirement of Leo Gerard. Rank-and-file members, as well as representatives, of the United Steelworkers refer to themselves, and are most often referred to, as Steelworkers. The use of the capitalized single word Steelworker or Steelworkers, as opposed to the lowercase two-worded steel worker or steel workers, is also an identifier of those who are part of, or affiliated with, the United Steelworkers International Union rather than being general non-union workers within the steel industry. This distinction is important in North America wherein a vast majority of the steel industry is unionized. For example, some of the most recognizable and largest companies in the business such as United States Steel (USS) and Cleveland-Cliffs, with their combined hourly workforces at facilities in North America being Steelworkers and represented by the USW, including the largest facilities on the continent, like US Steel's Gary Works in Gary, Indiana, Cleveland-Cliffs's Burns Harbor in Burns Harbor, Indiana, Indiana Harbor East and West in Northwest Indiana, and Cleveland Plant in Cleveland, Ohio, all of which are situated on the Great Lakes freshwater system. On the other hand, some steel companies, usually at facilities known as "mini-mills", like Nucor Steel and its facility in Crawfordsville, Indiana, are non-union shops not represented by the United Steelworkers)

Steelworker's headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA................

USW represents many different industries...................

OMG, while looking for a video I came across this one and the first woman in the video (Colleen) I went to Leadership Training with, and we were roommates for 2 of the 4 years we had the training.................

Proud USW member, Local 9349!! My father is also a Steelworker, having worked at a local taconite mine.

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Calling it a night..........................

Verbena - also known as vervain or verveine, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 150 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas and Asia; however, Verbena officinalis, the common vervain or common verbena, is the type species and native to Europe. In English, the name Verbena is usually used in the United States and the United Kingdom, whereas elsewhere the terms verveine or vervain are in use. When used alone, the terms usually refer to common verbena. Verbena is an herbaceous flowering plant, belonging to the Verbenaceae family, and may be annual or perennial depending on the species. The leaves are usually opposite, simple, and in many species hairy, often densely so. The flowers are small, with five petals, and borne in dense spikes. Typically some shade of blue, they may also be white, pink, or purple, especially in cultivars. Although verbena ("vervain") has been used in herbalism and traditional medicine, usually as an herbal tonic, there is no high-quality evidence for its effectiveness. Verbena has been listed as one of the 38 plants used to prepare Bach flower remedies, a kind of alternative medicine promoted for its effect on health. According to Cancer Research UK, "essence therapists believe that using essences can help to increase your mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. However, essences are not used to prevent, control, or cure cancer or any other physical condition."

Waterberg Plateau Park (is a national park in central Namibia on the Waterberg Plateau, 68 kilometres (42 mi) south-east of Otjiwarongo. The plateau and the national park are named after the prominent table mountain that rises from the plateau, the Waterberg (Afrikaans: Water Mountain). The Waterberg Plateau is a particularly prominent location, elevating high above the plains of the Kalahari of Eastern Namibia. Waterberg Park and some 405 square kilometres (156 sq mi) of surrounding land were declared a Nature Reserve in 1972. As the plateau is largely inaccessible from beneath several of Namibia's endangered species were relocated in the early 1970s to protect them from predators and poaching to extinction. The program was very successful and Waterberg now supplies other Namibian parks with rare animals. In 1989, the black rhinoceros was reintroduced to the area from Damaraland. The Waterberg Plateau Park is ecologically diverse and rich and has over 200 different species of bird with some rare species of small antelope on the lower hills of the mountain. Geologically, the oldest rock stratum is over 850 million years old and dinosaurs tracks were left there some 200 million years ago. The plateau was declared a National Monument in 1956)

FYI: From my Africa topic folder

Calling it a night.....................

Xalapa - or Jalapa, officially Xalapa-Enríquez, is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In the 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which it serves as municipal seat reported a population of 413,136. The municipality has an area of 118.45 km2. Xalapa lies near the geographic center of the state and is the second-largest city in the state after the city of Veracruz to the southeast.

Yankee Tavern (is a historic sports bar and restaurant, arguably the oldest in The Bronx, that has been serving patrons continuously since 1927. One block from Yankee Stadium, we have been a watering hole for Yankees fans, locals, and tourists for almost a century. Family owned since 1927, the Yankee Tavern was once a watering hole for Lou Gehrig, Yogi Berra, and Babe Ruth (who was known to buy a round after the game). These days the extensive surf-turf-and-pasta menu draws a crowd of regulars (middle-aged fans and nearby courthouse employees) and home game goers. At the long bar in front, chow down on some grub while listening to music from the jukebox or watch the game on flat screen TVs; in the narrow backroom, art deco lights gleam off the pressed-tin ceiling, while cherry-colored wood chairs tucked under tables share real estate with banquettes painted bomber blue. Every bit of wall space pays homage to the home team: players' posters, photos of Joltin' Joe and Jason Giambi, even a bat signed by Berra over the bar. On game days, when hours are often extended, dear-departed Yankee fanatic Freddy Sez is known to stop by to bang his shamrock-adorned frying pan, too)

There's also one in Minnesota but doesn't have the rich history the one in New York has................

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Zephyrhills, Florida - is a city in Pasco County, Florida, United States. The population was counted at 17,194 in the 2020 census. It is a suburb of the Tampa Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. Zephyrhills is also known as the headquarters of the Zephyrhills bottled water company and is a member of Tree City USA. Zephyrhills began as the town of Abbott on April 18, 1888, and consisted of 280.74 acres. A voting district was established in 1893 followed by a post office in 1896. In 1909, Captain Howard B. Jeffries, a Civil War Union veteran from Pennsylvania, purchased 35,000 acres and created the Zephyrhills Colony Company with a plan to create a community for Civil War veterans. In 1910 the town voted to change its name to Zephyrhills; it was incorporated in 1914. The city created a historic district in 1999; in 2001 the Zephyrhills Historic District was nominated for and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A Founders Day celebration is held annually in March.

Round 5.......................

Arctic SnowHotel and Glass Igloos (is one of the biggest Snowhotels in the world, and carved from snow and ice each year, and each SnowHotel is designed to be different to earlier years. SnowHotel provides unique rooms and unforgettable nights surrounded by snow and ice. The igloo’s decorated ice rooms are kept at a cool 23 to 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 to -5 degrees Celsius). You won’t feel the chill when tucked inside your thermal sleeping bag. And, thanks to the electric lights, the rooms have a warming glow. The snow igloos have glass roofs that offer breathtaking 360-degree views of the sky. When the northern lights make an appearance, an alarm system notifies guests that this magical phenomenon is visible. With heated floors, an ensuite bathroom, and a motorized bed that changes position, you’ll be kept comfy and cozy your whole trip. The property features an ice bar and three restaurants that serve traditional Lappish meals. Feast on braised Arctic Ocean salmon, savory mushroom soup, and succulent roast elk. Breakfast is included in your room price and served in the heated Log Restaurant. A Finnish sauna experience is also included in your room rate)

FYI: From my Architecture topic folder

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Calling it a night........................

Yeah, as soon as I saw the title I knew that was from your "Architecture" folder.

Buckingham Palace - is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the center of state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a focal point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and mourning. Originally known as Buckingham House, the building at the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 on a site that had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was acquired by King George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte and became known as The Queen's House. During the 19th century it was enlarged by architects John Nash and Edward Blore, who constructed three wings around a central courtyard. Buckingham Palace became the London residence of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837.

The last major structural additions were made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the East Front, which contains the well-known balcony on which the royal family traditionally appears to greet crowds. A German bomb destroyed the palace chapel during the Second World War; the Queen's Gallery was built on the site and opened to the public in 1962 to exhibit works of art from the Royal Collection. The original early-19th-century interior designs, many of which survive, include widespread use of brightly colored scagliola and blue and pink lapis, on the advice of Sir Charles Long. The palace has 775 rooms, and the garden is the largest private garden in London. The state rooms, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public each year for most of August and September and on some days in winter and spring.

Aerial view of Buckingham Palace during Queen Elizabeth II's official 90th birthday celebrations in 2016. The principal façade, the East Front, was originally completed in 1850, and was remodeled in 1913 by Aston Webb.

 Buckingham Palace, c. 1710

Elizabeth II's final appearance on the balcony during Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022

YouTube

Inside The $5 Billion Buckingham Palace

Inside The $5 Billion Buckingham Palace

This video below is an animation of the palace and doesn't show the real thing. However, it does a good job of explaining what is what in the palace.

YouTube

What's inside of Buckingham Palace?

Buckingham Palace is in London and its the home to the Queen and to the Royal Family. In this video I show you as much as I can about the interior of the bu...

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Would love to visit one of those Ice Hotels, there are a few around the world....................

Cornhole ((also known regionally as sack toss, or bags) is a lawn game popular in North America in which players or teams take turns throwing fabric bean bags at a raised, angled board with a hole in its far end. The goal of the game is to score points by either landing a bag on the board (one point) or putting a bag through the hole (three points). The game was first described in Heyliger de Windt's 1883 patent for "Parlor Quoits" displays most of the features of modern cornhole, but with a square hole instead of a round one. Quoits is a game similar to horseshoes, played by throwing steel discs at a metal spike. De Windt's patent followed several earlier "parlor quoits" patents that sought to recreate quoit gameplay in an indoor environment. His was the first to use bean bags and a slanted board with a hole as the target. He sold the rights to the game to a Massachusetts toy manufacturer that marketed a version of it under the name "Faba Baga." Unlike modern cornhole, which has one hole and one size of bags, a Faba Baga board had two different-sized holes, worth different point values, and provided each player with one extra-large bag per round, which could score double points. In September 1974, Popular Mechanics magazine published an article written by Carolyn Farrell about a similar game called "Bean-bag Bull's-eye." Bean-bag bull's-eye was played on a board the same width of modern cornhole boards (24"), but only 36" long as opposed to the 48" length used in cornhole. The hole was the same diameter (6") but was centered 8" (rather than 9") from the back of the board. Each player threw two bags, weighing eight ounces each, "in succession." The boards in bean-bag bull's-eye were placed "about 30 ft. apart for adults, 10 ft. for kids." Scoring was essentially the same as that used in cornhole (three points for a bag in the hole, one point for a bag remaining on the board) and also used cancellation scoring. In the Chicago area, a similar game is referred to as "bags," but uses rectangular bags. The game spread in Chicago, Illinois, and the Northwest region of Indiana in the late 1970s and early 1980s, perhaps due to the Popular Mechanics article mentioned above. Cornhole as it is now known originated and gained popularity on Cincinnati's west side (near Ferguson Avenue) in the 1980s and spread to surrounding areas in Kentucky and Southeast Indiana)

This game is popular in my neck of the woods...........was also in my Summer topic folder

I apologize in advance, but this was too funny.................

Calling it a night........................