On This Day
1881 – Cleopatra’s Needle, a 3,500-year-old Ancient Egyptian obelisk is erected in Central Park, New York.[14]
Cleopatra’s Needle in New York City is one of three similarly named Egyptian obelisks. It was erected in Central Park, west of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan, on February 22, 1881.[1] It was secured in May 1877 by judge Elbert E. Farman, the United States Consul General at Cairo, as a gift from the Khedive for the United States remaining a friendly neutral as the European powers – France and Britain – maneuvered to secure political control of the Egyptian government. The transportation costs were largely paid for by railroad magnate William Henry Vanderbilt, the eldest son of Cornelius Vanderbilt.[2][3]
Made of red granite, the obelisk stands about 21 metres (69 ft) high, weighs about 200 tons,[4] and is inscribed with Egyptian hieroglyphs. It was originally erected in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis on the orders of Thutmose III, in 1475 BC.[4] The granite was brought from the quarries of Aswan near the first cataract of the Nile. The inscriptions were added about 200 years later by Ramesses II to commemorate his military victories. The obelisks were moved to Alexandria and set up in the Caesareum – a temple built by Cleopatra in honor of Mark Antony or Julius Caesar – by the Romans in 12 BC, during the reign of Augustus, but were toppled some time later. This had the fortuitous effect of burying their faces and so preserving most of the hieroglyphs from the effects of weathering.
Born On This Day
1805 – Sarah Fuller Flower Adams, English poet and hymnwriter (d. 1848)[41]
Sarah Fuller Flower Adams (or Sally Adams)[1] (22 February 1805 – 14 August 1848) was an English poet and hymnwriter.[2] A selection of hymns she wrote, published by William Johnson Fox, included her best-known one, “Nearer, My God, to Thee”, reportedly played by the band as the RMS Titanic sank in 1912.
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How Do You Love???
Yesterday I broke a crystal vase that was important to me. It was given to me by someone I love, and I was really upset with my clumsiness.
My husband, seeing my distress, was soothing and calm, and said, “Let me see what I can do with this.” While I continued to rant at myself for my clumsiness, he quietly took the pieces away, worked his magic and made it like new again.
When he brought it back to me his face was filled with sweetness, and it occurred to me that this repaired vase was a gift of love.
I began thinking about all the ways he shows me he loves me. Words are nice, but his actions speak volumes, and I’m so very blessed to have him in my life.
I then thought of a woman I know who complains that her husband and children don’t love her. She says they never say it, and she feels that nobody cares. However, when I look at her family, I realize that there is a lot of love being given. She just doesn’t recognize it so doesn’t know how to receive it.
When her husband goes to work at a job he doesn’t like, so that she can do what she wants, which is stay home and raise the children, that’s a gift of love. When her adolescent son offers to pick up something at the store so she won’t have to pack up the smaller kids to go out, that is his way of telling her he loves her.
Love is all around us, but we’re often like my friend who expects it to come in a specific form. When it doesn’t, we miss it and feel unloved.
So, this month I’m reflecting on being aware of ALL the ways people show me love, and being happy to receive it in whatever form it’s given.
How about you?
Sandy Abell
Sandy Abell is a best-selling author, speaker, business and life coach, and Licensed Professional Counselor. She is also co-host of the new podcast, Your Personal Power Pod. You can listen wherever you stream your podcasts or on the website at www.yourpersonalpowerpod.com . Also, you can visit Sandy on her website at www.insidejobscoach.com to sign up for her free newsletter.
NASA: Astronomy Picture of the Day
Recipes
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By Recipe Round-ups: 10 Of The Best Mug Cake Recipes To Make This Winter Craving cake, but too lazy to bake? These microwave cakes are what you need!
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- Spinach French Onion Cob Dip – Australia’s favourite dip! June 19, 2026Meet Australia’s favourite dip!!! This Spinach French Onion Cob Dip is made using a French Onion Soup mix and is served in a cob bread loaf. It is unapologetically retro, gloriously unfashionable, breaks every real-food rule I preach, and is completely addictive!! Spinach French Onion Cob Dip This dip has been a fixture at Australian... […]Nagi
- Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Beef June 16, 2026Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Beef is what you make when you want a big batch of crowd-pleasing food with relatively little effort. The succulent pulled beef is smothered in an incredible homemade barbecue sauce, and there’s so many ways to serve it – pile into sliders, heap onto plates or stuff into baked potatoes! Easy... […]Nagi
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 19 June 19, 2026Picture of the day Alley on Escheckstraße (and part of the cuckoo clock trail), Schönwald im Schwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 18 June 18, 2026Picture of the day Red-headed weaver (Anaplectes rubriceps leuconotus) male building nest in the Soysambu Conservancy, Kenya.
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Welcome to the Stump the Bookseller blog!
Stump the Bookseller is a service offered by Loganberry Books to reconnect people to the books they love but can’t quite remember. In brief (for more detailed information see our About page), people can post their memories here, and the hivemind goes to work. After all, the collective mind of bibliophiles, readers, parents and librarians around the world is much better than just a few of us thinking. Together with these wonderful Stumper Magicians, we have a nearly 50% success rate in finding these long lost but treasured books. The more concrete the book description, the better the success rate, of course. It is a labor of love to keep it going, and there is a modest fee. Please see the How To page to find price information and details on how to submit your Book Stumper and payment.
Thanks to everyone involved to keep this forum going: our blogging team, the well-read Stumper Magicians, the many referrals, and of course to everyone who fondly remembers the wonder of books from their childhood and wants to share or revisit that wonder. Isn’t it amazing, the magic of a book?