That’s what you get

49 thoughts on “That’s what you get”

1. Chris
   Wow. Those deer must be hurting. I keep my potatoes outside the de-fence system. Damage is rare, but every once in a while a young and stupid rabbit takes a nibble. Once.
   Gerry

2. Yo, Chris – Your talk about the economy? Green Wizards? I’m sure the Q & A will be interesting. After giving it, you might post it here. I’m sure it would be valuable. Maybe along with some of the Q & A.

   You know, if you tossed chocolate at people these days, you’d probably be arrested for assault. 🙂 I suppose you could issue a trigger warning. “Warning! Chocolate will be thrown!

   I’m sure a lot of “Bulls–t Jobs” will be eliminated. I just hope they don’t excise something vital, by mistake. Grocery prices are still on the rise. Housing prices have not come down, in any appreciable amount. And those two promises were among many promises that the present administration got elected on. It’s early days, but if they don’t deliver …

   Been there, got that. “It’s only business.” Much too long of a story to go into, but I was tossed out of an antique mall, where I had a space. Oh, well. I had four more spaces, on the go, in other malls.

   Let me tell you about jobs, that paid the bills. Or, I have, over the years. From 14 (and there was employment before … veg picking, paper routes, etc..) until I retired, I was never unemployed more than 2 weeks. Even in really poor economic times. “Odd jobs” packs a lot of different meanings.

   I thought the video was very good. So that’s the new chapeau. Utilitarian, yet stylish. And, it’s blue! 🙂 Well, the Editor and you had a busy and productive week. Though all weeks at Fern Glade Farm are busy and productive. But, I don’t think it will be a popular video. It will just make people who aren’t busy and productive, feel bad. Tough luck! Slackers.

   The tree fern looks like it needs a little water. Or is that just natural die back?

   I think your potatoes will be o.k.. In some ways, potatoes are as tough as old boots. I’ve hacked a volunteer, down to the ground on occasion, and they just bounce back.

   I threw and handful of dried tomatoes, in tonights dinner. They do jazz up a meal.

   The apple, grapes and figs look just yummy. Squash and pumpkin flowers, do attract the pollinators. I’ve seen as many as three different species of pollinators, working over the same blossom. Everyone just seems to bump along and get along. Lew

3. Hello Chris,
   Regarding the economy, I for me the writings of Charles Hall and David Graeber have been formative.

   When people talk loose about inflation, I usually point them to a graph of gold price. Or oil price. Or any mineral price.
   The point is that for a gram of gold/oil we get more coins every year.
   Whereas there was essentially no (around 0.03%) yearly inflation from year 0 to 1750 in Europe. A skilled worker or a soldier cost a a denarius (3g silver) per day.

   Debt can make us delusional. As you say, the amounts of overspending are quantum-economics.
   Another way of looking at Umericas overspending is that other vassal states supply the center of the empire with “gifts” that keep flowing as long as the military threat is strong.
   But when resources run dry, the sword will not be directed outwards.
   What Ugo Bardi wrote about a couple of months ago: https://senecaeffect.substack.com/p/the-syrian-disease-death-of-a-petrostate

   We live in strange times.

   Much more inspiring are your photos of well-fed pumpkins and figs! That is true wealth!

   Peace,
   Göran

4. Hi Pam,

   That’s kind of what I’m seeing here. The number and diversity of bird life this property supports is quite astounding. I met a local blueberry farmer who was employing some sort of laser device to keep the birds off the crop. It’s an option, but so is factoring in enough production to support our avian friends. However, having said that, the deer are pushing the boundaries of friendship, and may even have poisoned themselves from eating the potato leaves. An unwise choice if you ask me.

   Ha! We had no time for pick-your-own blueberry antics. There was a tasty nacho grazing box and pint of cider calling. 🙂 It was not a difficult choice to make, and candidly the thornless blackberries produce better and more reliably here at this time of year.

   Oh no! The rodents know every trick in the book. And no engine bay is safe. But why, oh why, did the toothy rodents sharpen their teeth on the most expensive hose in the engine bay? It was a bad idea.

   I agree with Mr Baby, but a youthful feline would eat many of the small birds which call this place home. Consider the Blue Fairy Wrens. Surely Mr Baby would enjoy such brightly coloured fairies in your garden?

   Oooo. Coconut oil is very good indeed, and I chuck a small amount in each of our breakfasts every day – including the dogs brekkie. If you want good skin, that oil does decent work.

   Cheers

   Chris

5. Hi Margaret,

   You’re in good company. The subject of maths needn’t be boring, but the way it was taught, not to mention all of the other distractions, was a problem here as well. And I so hear you about that, marking bias really is an issue. The final High School exams were marked independently by people who’d never met me, and yeah that was my experience as well – the grades were far higher. Sometimes, you get the impression that some teachers believe a harsher level of expectations can improve upon results, but in reality, it’s just applying harsher expectations. Has to do with the personality type you know we share – great expectations which aren’t necessarily applied to our peers. Hmm.

   There’s always a funny story. After the independently marked high school results were received, I went to see the Head Master of the grammar school for a written reference. Such things being needed for job applications way back in the day. Anywhoo, so I’m having a lovely chat with him in this very formal setting, and he says to me: Your results exceeded our expectations and you came 30th place in the year as distinct from the 50th we’d forecast. Things that make you go hmm.

   And yeah, about your college experience. Having travelled an exactly similar path, it does give pause for thought. Oh well, such abstract knowledge was perhaps never to be yours or mine.

   The deer are a nuisance, but trust me, a three-oh-eight message will soon be delivered, if you know what I mean. 😉 Being down under, you can’t just rock on up to the shop and get one of those things, oh no. A person has to jump hoops. Probably not a bad idea.

   Frosts are hard aren’t they. Hope Salve was OK with the slip? The two Kelpies are idiots when the ground is icy. Ollie at least shows some common sense.

   Margaret, is it possible that Marty is of the ‘debater’ personality type? I met someone like that recently, and they’ll debate all manner of topics just because. It was quite unsettling, at first. Now I just say – this is what it is, and don’t engage. Far out.

   Fingers crossed that soon, is sooner. 🙂

   Yes, the food that you are eating is at its lowest protein and mineral content right now. And that is the sort of result. Hope you are feeling better soon.

   Cheers

   Chris

6. Hi Gerry,

   You’re not wrong. Apparently Solanum leaves are toxic for both deer and rabbits. Like you said, I too reckon they’d be feeling sick to their guts after eating those leaves.

   It’s interesting, but the last time I saw the herd here last week, it was down to a bull, cow and fawn. And then there was the other unattended bull which had taken an interest in the six foot tree fern – which is the most expensive plant we’d ever purchased. When we made the previous video a neighbour was clearly out in the forest culling the herd, but I’m yet to learn of the details.

   Yup, young and dumb is the correct description for the activity nibbling on potato leaves, may their guts hurt bad.

   Of late, the rabbits have been pretty much wiped out by the foxes and owls. But in the nearby township, the rabbits have little competition.

   Did you notice that the potato harvest had been reduced by the leaf nibbling?

   Cheers

   Chris

7. Hi Göran,

   I’ll tell you a funny story. Before the US elections, gargle basically appeared to be throttling traffic to independent blog sites from about nine months beforehand. And over the months I watched the traffic statistics dwindle. If you cast your net around the interweb, you may notice that people were losing their minds about this situation – which is known in the trade as shadow banning. Many folks retreated to other services such as maybe substacks. I stuck it out and kind of did my own thing. The day after the election, the traffic returned again. The really weird thing about utub is that they want $10k per year to promote. The various readit sources suggest that income will be about $10k per year. It’s a fascinating business model, but again I’ll go my own way there. If there were another way in this big bad world, I’d have taken it.

   Well, the top spot has been worked for, put it that way. In order to play the system, you have to know the systems rules and strategies, and so about this time last year I did a deep dive on the subject. Hmm. I’ve got a good rule of thumb in these matters, which down under is described as the ‘pub test’, but I interpret it as: Are they your mates?

   Ugo was an old school peak oil pundit from way back in the old oil drum days, but he sometimes comments on my friend’s Simon’s blog. It’s a small world.

   That’s true, who’s to say what is spam, and what is not spam. For your info, I run my own email servers and see the lot warts and all. I’d be disinclined to allow a large biz tell me what’s spam, and what isn’t. But people love the free services. Mr Greer once mentioned to me that there is no such thing as a free lunch.

   Thanks for the referrals and I’ve heard of David Graeber, but not Charles Hall. Might have to look into this matter.

   And that’s exactly my point. A dollar no longer purchases what it once did. There’s a school of thought which suggests that human labour is a good basis upon which to calculate remuneration.

   The debt story is really fools gold. If you deduct the ever increasing debt load from the gross domestic product numbers, it doesn’t look good. On the other hand, walking away from the neo-liberal agenda when it’s not working, is a good idea. There’ll be a lot of pain from that shift, but it was always going to happen sooner or later.

   I recall the days when your country (and down here) used to manufacture cars. Having worked in manufacturing, it’s not an easy thing to do.

   Yup, strange times. But that’s the thing, there’s plenty of opportunities to do better.

   Cheers

   Chris

8. Hi Lewis,

   The group is very much into Q+A throughout the entire talk, which does tend to keep a presenter on their tippy toes. It’s kind of like sharpening a tool in that such abrasive actions keep the blade well honed. Would the folks appreciate being recorded? Dunno about that.

   Good point, and yeah, maybe participants need to sign legal disclaimers. The funny thing about doing that throwing of chocolate activity in a work place – nobody ever complained. I still recall the sad day in that big corporate workplace kitchen when the powers that be no longer supplied the cream (a mock cream) filled biscuits. You knew right then that cost cutting measures were about to stomp the daylights out the business.

   Take it from me, that as someone who inhabits the world of small business, the red tape is extraordinary. And there’s even duplication when you have to supply the same information to two different groups, both of which appear to suffer from delusions of expansion. All that stuff ain’t cheap, so good riddance to it all as far as I’m concerned. Will there be problems resulting from cuts – absolutely.

   Good to hear that despite being tossed out of that mall, you had backup plans – no less than what I would do if faced with the same situation. Last year I shrugged my shoulders, was annoyed for a while, then moved on with my life. No point crying over spilt milk, as they used to say. Anyway, respect, a dude has to have a backup plan, just in case.

   I doubt food prices will come down. The costs of farming have only gone up, like say fertilisers. Those minerals are expensive, as you’d know. Not to mention the gorilla in the room: Diesel fuel costs. Diesel makes the world go around, well at least that’s my take on the situation.

   Man, speaking of fertiliser, I just scared off a rather large deer in the orchard. The dogs informed me that the big herbivore was there.

   It was pretty cloudy and cool today. Did a mixed day of paid work, and work around the farm. Poured another step, and we believe that there are now only three further steps to make. Headed down below to the quarry site aka rock shelf, and broke apart enough boulders to produce fourteen large rocks for various projects. Not a wasted minute during the daylight hours, except for maybe a few minutes.

   Tomorrow looks set to begin a three day heatwave. Yuk. Oh well, get through it…

   Your work experience story matches my own. I’ve never been out of work, or dependent upon welfare. I mentioned to you my theory on this subject a long time ago: Blessed are the competent, for they are busy! Although, long ago late last century we took six months off work and travelled around the country – paid for from savings. Travelling was very quiet in those days, and we just chucked the tent and camping gear in a cheap hatchback.

   Thanks for saying that about the utub vid. It’s already performed better than the previous weeks vid. Thought you’d enjoy the blue colour of the new hat! 🙂 It’s pretty cool and works well in the heat. Plus the wider brim shades my ears and neck, unlike caps which barely shade anything (comparatively speaking).

   That’s an interesting perspective, and I do wonder about such matters myself. But then sometimes I wonder if people aren’t enjoying the work vicariously without having to do the hard yards themselves? Dunno. We’ll find out though as the weeks go on. The stats on the utub thing aren’t nearly as important as proving to gargle that I’m a real person and not a bot.

   The tree fern gets watered every day, however, the old fronds die back and then hang around the trunk. The plants are clever because the dead fronds end up shading the trunk, and they also keep the plant slightly warmer in the winter months. A lot of people tend to remove the dead fronds, but I dunno, we’ll see. The Editor may put her foot down about this matter, so time will tell.

   The deer have probably impacted upon the potato harvest by consuming the leaves. Mind you, they’d have paid a high price for consuming those toxic nasties. Unfortunately when the leaves naturally die back closer to winter, the goodies stored in them get transferred back into the tubers. So I reckon the goodness of the potatoes wouldn’t be as good as if the deer had left the leaves alone. I’ve never seen anything which can eat those leaves.

   Yum! Hope your meal was tasty, and zinged up by the dried tomatoes. The first large bottle of dried tomatoes in olive oil was filled today.

   It’s interesting that with pollinators isn’t it? I read somewhere that competition with native pollinators will force the European honeybees to work harder. The blue banded bees are all over the lemon balm at the moment.

   Far out man! I totally knew it. Typical that such historical information has been repressed by the haters. Knew it all along that Lady Godiva was a ginger. 😉 We should write a completely fictitious and amusing history of Britain – our fortunes would be made then for sure! Although historical reality was pretty weird and absurd. Could we trounce that? Probably not. Drats, foiled again.

   Skinks are very cool creatures, and on warm days you see them all sunning themselves on the many rocks. Presumably the little critters do sterling work in the garden eating insects? And they’d have enjoyed a good rock pile.

   Lucky you with no poisonous snakes in the area. Makes for a nervous existence at times, but trust me, when outdoors I’m keeping one ear listening to what the birds are calling. Whenever there is an alert call for danger, that’s a problem. The other night I spotted a Kookaburra sitting on top of the bee hive. Presumably the bird had been snacking on the pollen and nectar ladened returning individuals.

   Frosty weather is good for breaking insect cycles, yup. There’s a few flies around at the moment, some of which are bitey (horse flies) and it is wise to keep one’s mouth closed and breathe through the nose. It’s a horrid experience to suck back a fly. Make you gag. Hey, the trees need the cold weather too for fruit set.

   Sardinia, isn’t that where all the tremors are going on right now? Sounds volcanic to me. And there’s no way I’m touching that maggoty cheese either. It may be a delicacy, but yeah, nah. As you note, there are better cheeses. Actually the photos of Sardinia looked lovely, and fertile.

   Never tried organic vinegar. Are we talking about a white vinegar here? There’s lots of different varieties. The Editor recently has swapped apple cider vinegar for Kombucha (which we can make more easily).

   Hehe! Just asking the question about ‘real butter’, and you did not disappoint. There’s no substitute for the real stuff in my books. 🙂 It’s just that every now and then you mention butter like product, and presumably you’re talking about margarine? Which I should add I grew up eating that stuff, and now won’t touch it. Butter is better.

   Yeah, it’s winter and the protein levels in all your foods are very low, so people get sick. It happens. The flu can be deadly, and to be honest I don’t believe that people treat it seriously nowadays. Basic first aid and care is a lost art – look at how many people don’t clean wounds. She’ll be right mate, maybe – is how that story can turn out.

   What’s Super Bowl Sunday? Is that some sort of big fish tank? Why would people celebrate that? 😉

   Cheers

   Chris

9. Yo, Chris – Oh, I was thinking more jotting down the more interesting Q & A questions. Not making a recording. Might make for some changes to your final product.

   Re: Cream filled biscuits. You read the signs and portents. Tastier than bird entrails. 🙂

   Oh, I’m quit familiar with the red tape involved in small businesses. And, the instructions they send you, with the paperwork, are never quit clear. Just as an aside, I looked at my yearly housing recertification paperwork, just now. We have to report income. But it doesn’t state if they want a monthly or yearly figure. Never has.

   I agree, I don’t think food prices are going to go down. Just got an e-mail from my Idaho friends, and they’re still recovering from their last grocery expedition. I can’t say I go to great lengths, to shop for bargains, but, if I see something that passes for a bargain, and it’s something I use, I stock up. Although “great lengths” might apply to my buying in bulk.

   By the way, the cranberries should have been here, on Saturday, but were a no show. The tracking kept saying they should have arrived, but, I’m pretty sure they were sitting in a truck, up in Dupont. (Halfway between here and Tacoma.) But, I see they’re “out for delivery” which sounds a lot more promising.

   We’re at opposite ends of the weather scale. We have three days of frigid night temperatures, coming up. Our high yesterday was 41F (5C). Our overnight low was 27F (-2.77C). Forecast high for today is 41F. The forecast for our next three nights is 10 degrees F, less, than last night.

   I’d hoped that the tree ferns brown leaves, were part of its natural cycle. That’s what builds the trunks.

   Vicarious living. That’s why whole channels on TV are devoted to food or house renovations. I don’t know if this will make it through your filters, but it gives you the idea.

   https://w.wiki/D2QT

   Sometimes, it seems like half the libraries “new, on order, nonfiction” books are about some aspect of food. Most I don’t find very interesting.

   “…completely fictitious and amusing history of Britain.” There are a lot of them out there. But there always seems to be a ready market. 🙂
   Occasionally, I fall for those click bait articles, on how tourists or transplants from other countries, view the US. Or, the things that US tourists or transplants find odd or interesting about visiting other countries. If anyone asks me about my views on Australia, I’ll be sure and mention your lack of apple butter or apple sauce. 🙂 I am just gobsmacked! Someone at the Club, the other night, stated that they wanted to go to Australia, as there are eight women for every man. Where they come up with this stuff, I don’t know. Colonial days? Anyway, I shattered their dreams of their own personal harem.

   Sardinia is rather geologically unstable, but, recently, it’s Santorini (aka Thera), that’s been in the news. Thera, which is probably the origin of the Atlantis story.

   I apple cider vinegar I use is “Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar (since 1912 … unpasteurized.)

   I suppose that butter “product” is some kind of margarine. We usually get a pound of it, in one of our food boxes. I used to put it on the Institution’s swap table (their look out), but trialed it for the Club pantry, and someone uses it (also, their look out.) I’m suspicious of anything like that, that doesn’t need to be refrigerated.

   Julia Child was very careful not to appear to sponsor one kind of ingredient, over another. In fact, often on her cooking shows, she covered company logos with bits of cardboard. But she once did let it slip, that the only butter she used, was “Land O’Lakes” butter. So, that’s what I look for. Not always successfully. Lew

10. stoicism- good call that. Not an approach that can be turned on like a light switch however. Especially when there have not been a string of hardships to toughen one up. Hardships? You call that hardship? Pshhh. Folks have no idea.

    Yes, the trends and patterns entering a period of quicker transition do seem to be reaching a culmination or inflection point of sorts. An electric unease felt in the air, and I’m not even at risk of the chopping block.

    Am reading a book from 20 years ago, “The coming generational storm” , warning of the impending financial crunch as people live longer and have fewer kids, so the younger generations will not get the same services we’ve grown accustomed to.

    Funny thing is, here we are, 20 years later, and the crunch still hasn’t happened. Didn’t go away, ($36 trillion debt and counting right now) but the system just keeps on going. Hard to figure.

    Once again, none of the current tribal labels seem to fit me. I see a need to get serious about gov’t belt tightening, but not like the recent headlines! Maybe there is a crafty strategy to the chaos, knowing a more deliberate way would get bogged down by all the selfish interests and reluctance to do what needs to be done?

    Now that I have a greenhouse, I hope to set up a large vermiculture bed, to send more of our compost there, and grow worms for chicken protein. But now I have a scoby rabbit hole to check out.

    The new layers we got last year are laying like crazy right though winter, so we are feeling pretty rich when we see what eggs are going for at the store lately. Has Australia got any of the bird flu? It’s wiping out the big industrial egg factories, so people are in a tizzy.

    Those Sambar deer are a scourge. The only thing that eats our potato leaves are potato bugs- because they are potato bugs! I still say there must be a sly way………..lots of protein on the hoof there, just sayin.

11. Chris,

    Those Myers Briggs tests and results are, umm, interesting. Although INTJ, I share that self-improvement trend of the INFJ fairly strongly. I’ve never been known to be normal even within my abnormalities. 😉 Plus the Princess would tell you that I think everything through and can be so logical that it can be irritating. Oh well.

    It got down to -16C Monday morning. It was somewhat warmer when I went outdoors to drink my coffee. The sun was bright. There was just enough breeze all day to put an edge to things. Dame Avalanche was lounging around in the snow, looking cute and picturesque. I had to take a photo. Later in the afternoon, I noticed that she had somehow gotten onto the computer. Who knows what mischief ensued. Monday night/Tuesday morning might achieve -19C. Yes, live vicariously through my cold and snow. Some things are best experienced that way.

    Okay, an economics talk. Okay. Perhaps you could say “It’s the economy, Stupid! Which one of you am I addressing as Stupid?” But that might get you tossed out on your ear.

    A couple weeks ago, I spent $7.99 for a dozen eggs at Safeway. The next day I bought 18 eggs at Malwart for $8.02. The Safeway price hadn’t changed. Some of these economic things I do not understand.

    “It was a job which paid the bills.” Once upon a year, our Navy had commercials on the telly that said about the Navy, “It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure.” Somewhere during that time, I got a new job. A few weeks into the job, I was asked how I liked it. I replied, “It’s not an adventure. It’s just a job.” I always preferred my adventures to be what I wanted to adventure upon, when and where I wanted to adventure.

    The deer ate the potato leaves? Seriously? Have you noticed any strange, new aromas around Fernglade since then, like maybe something is rotting? I’ve only ever seen earwigs and potato bugs eat potato leaves.

    Thanks for that photo of the gabion join. Sewing that must take as long as piling rocks in the gabion? But it looks good and solid.

    Nice hat. I’ve worn similar. Very useful hat, that. Dad wore a thin cloth version. He called it his pork pie hat. It doesn’t look anything like the pork pie hats I see when I gaggle that term, but your hat sure is useful. And blue. Can’t go wrong with that.

    I showed the Princess the picture of you in the hat. “Whoa! Mighty Fine!” That was her response, followed by, “Love his stairs.” High praise from her.

    Roses and globe artichokes. Those colors are wonderful. The Princess wants me to grow the artichokes for the purple flowers, but she won’t eat artichokes. I’ve heard that they’re hard to grow here.

    DJSpo

12. Hi Steve,

    Isn’t that the nub of the entire issue? One must be conditioned and trained to adversity and how to respond to it, lest the entire episode become a sink or swim survival against all odds. On the other hand, chucking people in the deep end to see if they make it, as a strategy that kind of works too with a high body count – and here we must cite the example of the baker on the Titanic who survived two hours in -2’C water through sheer wits alone. Maybe, a third possibility is that it doesn’t matter and what will be, will be.

    It’s not just you, I too am sensing the change in the prevailing winds. What has been locked in place since at least 1997, and maybe earlier, is loosening up. How it will turn out? Beats me, man. But like you I’ve long known this day was coming, and here we are. Remember good grace.

    It is hard to figure why such choices were made? I’d have always pushed for a more controlled backwards momentum, but the thing with being in the minority of viewpoints, is that just like you, does anyone really listen? I don’t think so, and we’ll get to discover how it will all play out in real time.

    And that’s an interesting point – who takes the cuts? In a declining civilisation, it has been remarked upon elsewhere that one’s gain, is another’s loss – and that is what you’re seeing. Best not to depend upon such flows in the first place given the general level of uncertainty.

    If I may dare suggest a path – the SCOBY hotel is far more productive than a worm farm in terms of edible chicken protein, if bird feed is your outcome. We’ve got both systems, and the SCOBY’s are feral. And another local has gotten on board with the idea.

    Hehe! Yeah, young layers will do that. Just out of curiosity, are they what you call Hy-Line varieties? Down here they look like what we call Isa Brown varieties, and like a candle, they burn bright. I’ve had some interesting experiences with them and they’ve become cannibals in their quest for a bit extra protein. It was a sad day when my favourite black Silkie chicken was found being eaten alive by those birds. Hmm.

    A local who I haven’t seen for years used to raised that breed, and then bop them all after a year and a half. Do they supply lots of eggs, well yeah, are there downsides, well, maybe.

    I’m cynical about the bird flu story. Chickens and birds in general get the flu every year. Some will die, for sure. But err, well commercial layer birds kind of need to be culled frequently regardless, and if there’s a hand out to cover shrinking margins, well why not? Dude, as far as I believe the situation, they wipe out their stocks regularly anyway, flu or not. It’s a business I try not to think about.

    No sly way here with the deer – there is no season for them at all, and I can do whatever needs being done on this property as long as the correct guidance is followed – like proper calibre. Hmm.

    Cheers

    Chris

13. Hi DJ,

    The Editor has the same personality type as yourself on that scale, so it has occurred to me that I kind of gravitate to people who share such traits. Is such personality types a wave, or are they a proton – and does the distinction even matter? I think not. And your lady is wise to reign you in from time to time. Hmm. Logic and reason are most excellent tools, but not universally applicable. 🙂

    And anyway, I’m pretty certain I can annoy other people in this world easy enough and without trying. It happens.

    Oh my, your weather is so cold. Brr! And thanks for the photo of Dame Avalanche enjoying the sunny snow. Only a husky… Actually Sir Poopy used to love romping around in the snow too, the summers here were brutal for him. It’s that double thick coat, and the Dame is certainly in her element right now. The Fluffs send cordial tail wags and are currently all sound asleep.

    It’s day one of a three day heatwave. Yay for us! Fortunately the night air feels cooler now, and I hope to capture some of that coolth. Looks like it won’t heat up again until 9am tomorrow. Outside the house I can hear a boobook owl calling. The bird is probably pretty close.

    Your opening address for a talk is novel, but it’s probably not what I’d do. A dudes gotta know when he’s outnumbered before committing such acts of cheekiness. 😉 Unless you are Jackie Chan.

    Eggs are an interesting product which is treated as if it were of an homogeneous quality. I can assure you that this is not the case. As a fun fact, you can tell if eggs are high in protein if the yolks are large and orangey-yellow coloured whilst the albumen holds together when cracked into a skillet. The yolk colour can be fudged, but there is no way the albumen can be mucked around with to replicate a high protein indicator.

    Ah, you’ve been wiser than I there – by a considerable margin. 🙂 One of my big life errors was indicating in a job interview that I was seeking a challenge. Man, did the job live up to the request or what? Almost sent me nuts that job, and they sure saw me coming. Far out I worked hard for them, and they just kicked me hard for my best efforts, which were outstanding. All they could do was kick. A strange mob and confluence of events. Never again. Nowadays the difficult I can do, the challenging, well they can err, insert a few very family unfriendly words which equates to going away somewhere and never coming back. I’m sure you’ve heard such language used elsewhere? 😉

    It’s not right that the potato leaves were eaten – and tomato leaves too for that matter. I’m on the cusp of delivering a very strong message.

    Sewing up the steel rock gabion cages is not a quick job, but then it’s not a job to be rushed. The wire gets doubled over, so there is some redundancy if one wire breaks. Although I’ve not yet had a failure with one of the cages. One day it will happen.

    In hot weather, it’s good to have a hat which can soak up excess brow sweat on hot days. The early mornings at this time of year when it is so light early on, they simply don’t suit my natural inclinations. But if you work mid to late afternoon, that’s some unpleasantly hot conditions. Early mornings it is…

    Ooo, a pork pie hat. Hmm. I prefer the similar but different Fedora hat. Hats will make a come back.

    Thanks for the praise, and please extend my appreciation to your lady for the comment. And you were correct. It’ll be 24 steps. 21 have been poured so far.

    Globe Artichokes might be hard to grow in your area, unless you treat them like an annual. The winter weather you’re getting now would finish them off. Not good. I’m impressed that any plants can survive such freezing ground. It is asking a lot of them to be outdoors in such conditions.

    Cheers

    Chris

14. Hi Lewis,

    I’m sure that all the questions there will be interesting, and hopefully I can answer them to the best of my abilities. The audience is sharp. On the other hand, it is nice to be able to have time to cogitate upon answers, but then there is a certain spontaneity to being put on the spot as well. You’ve reminded me, I do need to seek out some small farm podcasts to get invited on to. It’s time to become a little bit more visible in the world. As an incorrigible introvert, this is not my natural habitat. Oh well, a person can grow, maybe. 🙂

    Hehe! The funny thing about the cream filled biscuits, I joked a little while beforehand that you’d know things had turned for the worse when they were replaced with cheaper, less appealing biscuits. Wasn’t as funny when it happened. Actually, a long time ago I made a similar joke about ‘they forgot to sack me’. Well that didn’t work out so great either. It’s possibly my warped sense of humour, or sixth sense that change is imminent.

    Oh, I’d forgotten that rotten form you have to complete every year. Hmm. It’s a bit of a worry that there are no clear instructions provided. Presumably you’ve asked around, so maybe nobody really knows. Makes you wonder if the completion of the form itself is the end point, and not the review of the contents? Stranger things have been known to happen. And I still feel a bit traumatised by the hand written hours long to complete form which the bureaucrat threw out because I’d missed one box. Wouldn’t return it, or add the number one in the box as I requested him to do. I’m sure I could hear a smirk over the phone. Some events you can’t move past. I should send them a bill for the therapy required to get over the injustice and waste.

    Ook! Well Idaho is a bit more remote than where you are, and diesel for trucking fuel is not going to get cheaper – unless there is an economic crash reducing demand. I follow your strategy as well. It’s the pareto principle in action. Do the 20% stuff which saves you 80% of the costs, and buying staples in bulk is a very smart move.

    Did the cranberries arrive today? And does H approve of them?

    Far out that’s cold, and about to get colder. How are you and H coping with the walks? Watch out for the ice. Right now near to 11pm it’s 24’C / 75’F inside the house, and 19’C / 66’F outside. Tomorrow night will be hotter again. Oh well. Day one of the three day heatwave, done.

    Exactly, that’s what tree ferns do. It is possible that some gardeners would hope the ferns stay the same way forever, but they don’t. The brown fronds are just what they do.

    Hehe! The article on food was fascinating. And do they really fix up the photos to make them more appealing? The cheeky scamps. You mentioned a while ago that some recipes on the interweb are deliberately misleading in small ways that make the outcome less certain. And I’m coming around to that idea because we spotted one or two unusual suggestions in recipes. Hmm.

    Sounds like an interesting idea.

    But it’s true about apple butter and apple sauce. You can at least find apple sauce, but it’s not generally available, and certainly not provided as a condiment. And condiments are now very rarely supplied these days other than salt, pepper and sugar – and even then it’s unlikely to be provided.

    Man, I totally fell for some click bait on that very topic a few days ago: A Tourism Video For Australia (Made By A New Zealander). It’s pretty funny, and there’s some truth to it all.

    Dude, I’m not mucking around here, I once read about a sort of commune (we call them multiple occupancy) which had that exact gender ratio problem.

    Ah Santorini. Thanks for the correction. Yeah, the news has gone quiet about there, but lots of continual rumblings tends to indicate seismic activity. Candidly, living in the big smoke I never really thought about earthquakes, but things have been different since moving here and experiencing that whopper one, and it’s friends too over the years.

    The digs at Thera are interesting indeed, and the land there is pretty rough, although have been more habitable back in the day.

    Right, that makes sense about the apple cider vinegar and pasteurisation would perhaps undo some of it’s good works I’m guessing. Down here if you know where to go, you can purchase the stuff straight from the fermenting tank.

    What? I’d always presumed that margarine required refrigeration. Yikes! It’d melt down here in this weather.

    Respect. I’d stump the mad cash for the good stuff too. What did the gambler song sing: You gotta know when to hold ’em etc… Why not actively choose where you save your cash?

    Cheers

    Chris

15. chickens- yes, the life of a commercial laying hen is short and brutal. I guess pet food has to come from somewhere………
    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/egg-laying-hens_n_59c3c93fe4b0c90504fc04a1

    I said we had new laying hens earlier, but that’s not quite right. The high production laying breeds are rather high strung and scrawny. Wouldn’t do well in our unheated coop in the winter. We actually get what they call dual-purpose chickens. Black Australorps in fact.

    They are a heritage breed (from Australia of course!) and a savvy forager, lay almost as much as a special bred layer. We choose not to cull them when the egg laying slows down. We are fortunate that we can afford to do that. If things change, well……..

    The bird flu is a real thing, eggs from the store have gone from ~$2.50/dozen to as much as $7 / dozen recently.

    The economy- Giving a talk, huh? Who asked for the talk, and do they they know what they are in for? 🙂
    Actually, since I’ve gotten involved in local government ( county board) I’ve been torn about whether to say what I really think on matters of planning for the future. Being labeled a nutter does no good, and we know that most folks just can’t assimilate, so why bother. I’ll just try to nudge things as the right opportunities come along.

    Yeh, the debt/GDP ratio is nuts, and if the BRICS currency really happens, yikes!

    So it goes.

16. Yo, Chris – Stoicism, or pragmatism? As they used to say on the old tests, “compare and contrast.” 🙂

    Chris … soon to be a major podcast star. Can a book deal be far behind?

    Self fulfilling prophecy? One must be careful how one nudges the universe.

    I remember that bureaucrat. “Karma never forgets an address.” Hold that thought. It might even be true.

    The cranberries arrived safely. Haven’t cracked open the box yet. Still have the last gallon bag, to finish off. I’ll split it into gallon bags, and run it through the freezer for a few days. Just in case there are critters, in there.

    Our high yesterday was 39F (3.88C). The overnight low was 21F (-6.11C). The forecast high for today is 39F. Oddly, my Idaho friends reported the same overnight low. I pop H into her coat, before I take her out. The cold doesn’t seem to bother her. No shivering. No worries about slick pavement. It’s a very dry cold.

    Yes, photo shop can do wonders, for food, even in amateur hands. Although there are actually “food stylists” out there. When your fortune is made, you’ll have to take one on, for your more comestible podcasts.

    Here, applesauce is not a condiment. It doesn’t go on, anything. It’s a side. As in, a side serving of fruit. I’m down to my last two banana muffins. What next? Maybe .. orange biscuits?

    That was a very funny video. I see your salties, and raise you … bears.

    https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/10/us/altadena-bear-home-eaton-fire

    And you thought rats in your crawlspace, were a problem. 🙂

    I see the author Tom Robbins, died. “Another Roadside Attraction,” “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues,” etc.. He had a good run. Made it to 90+. Boy, does that make me feel old. He was a hot author, in my misspent youth. Lived most of his life, up north of Seattle.

    Thera is a fascinating dig site. I’ve read a lot about it. Judging from the surviving wall frescoes, the island was quit lush. It was probably a Minoan / Cretan outpost. Lew

17. Hi, Chris!

    Writing is funny like that isn’t it? The one thing you can’t get around is just plain sitting down and doing it. No matter how many great thoughts you have, it’ll do you no good if you don’t write them down.

    So who pulled a fast one on you to get you to give a talk about the economy? I would say, don’t toss the chocolate bars right at first. Have a large, conspicuous box on your podium marked “Chocolate Bars” and maybe the audience will sit still long enough for you to finish. And remember: No more than 500 words. Or did Mr. Stoker use more than that?

    Scoby is for kombucha. Yum!

    You know, unemployment is always higher than they say.

    That Myrtle Beech sounds familiar. Wait! Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

    I’m sorry about your potato vines – been through that myself – but I don’t think deer even get sick from such things. They eat about 98% of everything around here, including tomato vines, English ivy, and holly. The chestnut looks fantastic; I had some doubts about it myself. I wonder how many gabion cages you have? Thanks for showing us the join; I had wondered about that, too.

    I remember that Sir Poopy escapade. How is his Paw Paw tree doing?

    Was the round orange squash a Kuri? I bought some of those seeds to try this year. You seem to have more produce this year than you’ve ever had, and more variety. Well done! Speaking of figs – there are many small fig trees in the basement and their only source of heat is the woodstove down there. It’s a lot of up and down the stairs all day keeping that thing going. I counted your stairs in the video. I think there are 18.

    Oh! What perfect roses; I think I smell them. I can’t help it, the roses were my favorite part of the video. I had not seen a good picture of a globe artichoke flower before; somewhat like a thistle. Bees and pumpkin flowers – so charming. Thanks for all the flowers!

    Pam

18. Chris,

    Yes, logic indeed has limits. It has been fun learning that. And rewarding.

    Oh, the Editor and I share the personality type that is a particle that waves. 😉

    Annoy people? Jings, there are times that I’ve annoyed people by the simple fact that I was there and breathing. Can’t do much with people who are annoyed by my mere existence.

    -19.5C Monday night. Brrrr! Dame Avalanche enjoyed a lot of alone time outdoors in the morning. Tuesday night will be warmer, perhaps, maybe as warm as -18C. Heat wave. 😉 Our afternoon walks haven’t been too cold, as the sun is shining. But there is a breeze. When it is only -7C the wind is, erm, chilly. Actually, I rather enjoy this weather. Always have.

    I’ve had eggs that friends had from their own hens. There is a huge difference between the eggs of properly raised hens and the commercial eggs. Not only the size and deeper cooler of the yolks, but the flavor is noticeably better than commercial eggs, too.

    Ah yes, THAT language. I’ve been known to speak it myself on occasion. I prefer some of the Welsh phrases I’ve learned. People think I’m speaking gibberish, but I know better. 😉

    The redundancy with your gabions is a good idea. I can only imagine the potential disaster if one of those broke open. Having something damaged by falling rocks in the era of peak rocks would be somewhat ironic, though.

    DJSpo

19. Chris,
    The leaf nibbling was inconsequential and had zero effect. Also your potatoes look like they are starting to die back, so I imagine it did not hurt them much. Finally, to respond to a much earlier post of yours, I have noticed that you can really go crazy with the mounding, as long as you do not bury the green leaves. Note however, that early potatoes do not need much mounding. That just buries your potatoes deeper. I usually plant early, mid season, late, and fingerling potatoes.
    Gerry

20. Hi Gerry,

    That’s a good point, and puts a different spin on the leaf nibbling. And that’s also what I’m observing with all the plants. The UV radiation levels of the sun are reducing as we move closer to the autumn equinox, so the potato vines were probably doing just as you described – transferring the goodies from the leaves to the tubers. The deer hopefully didn’t get too much of the good stuff, maybe, and probably why they survived to eat all the leaves. The facts very much suggest that your view is what took place. Nice deduction work. 🙂

    Over the next few weeks, I’ll dig up the potatoes and see what the harvest looks like. And agreed, planting a number of different varieties is the right way to go.

    Thinking about crop rotation, the soil where the potatoes grew is still pretty good, so we’ll plant the pumpkins there next season, and move the potatoes to where the pumpkins are today. Regardless, I’ll still bulk up all the soil with the compost + mineral mixture.

    The coffee grounds don’t stop arriving! 🙂 How do you go about feeding your soil?

    Cheers

    Chris

21. Hi Steve,

    Whoa! Thanks for the link to the chicken article. Well, I can tell a lot by looking at that bird in the lead photo. Did you notice the feet appear to be deformed? And that variety has shorter legs than the Isa Brown variety I’m used to seeing, but basically they’re the same breed. Yup, burn bright, then burn out. It’s a revolting industry which I want nothing to do with.

    But yeah, then I’m a hypocrite because we purchase some manufactured kibbles apparently with chicken and/or beef to bulk up the dog food we do make ourselves. What do you? Life imposes conundrums and all we can do is weave a least worst course through the various dilemmas. 🙂

    Black Australorps are lovely chickens, and they’re hardy-as from my experience. A good choice of bird if I may say so. I’m rather fond of the Light Sussex and Araucana varieties as well. But those three we kind of stick to as they’re tried and tested. Mind you, the Silkie chicken is fifteen years old. The Editor has been put on notice about Silkie chickens – no more.

    I don’t doubt you that bird flu is a real thing and causing all manner of problems. A dozen eggs can cost upwards of $10 down here. If I may suggest, the sort of birds being raised to produce those eggs are like the two pound weaklings of the bird world – we were always going to reach this point sooner or later with avian disease based on the err, perhaps questionable industrial practices. What did everyone expect?

    Hehe! Steve, picture the baby harp seals looking all innocent and stuff whilst being clubbed to death on the beach. That’s probably how things will go with the talk. Plus chocolate.

    Respect for getting involved. And I so get where you are at. We all have to walk in two worlds all at once. It’s not an ideal situation is it?

    They don’t need a BRICs currency, trading in their home currencies has the same effect. 😉

    Cheers

    Chris

22. Hi Pam,

    🙂 Couldn’t have put it better. Such lovely words to read, thanks. And a cheeky scamp once suggested that writing is as you put it: one part inspiration, and nine parts perspiration! 🙂 Well, you know, over the past almost eleven years, sometimes inspiration does not strike. Rare, but it happens.

    I tell ya what though, as a very young bloke, a boss hauled me over the metaphorical coals in relation to the art of writing. In less polite words, he advised me that writing is the gentle art of communicating concepts, requests and ideas to other people, so why hadn’t I done that? Hard to explain really. 🙂 Of course the grumpy old boss was right. Phooey to that, but yeah, probably needed to hear such sage advice.

    Like how your brain works with the chocolate suggestion – and will do just that. It’s like a talk tease tool to keep peoples attention from wandering.

    Yum! The initial SCOBY was actually a gift from a local lady whom Sandra knows, and the thing is active.

    Possibly so, and the author and all round general clever person, Mark Twain (not his real name), made some pointed comments about statistics. I’m of the belief that there are a lot of people under-employed. Myself falling into that category, and also not being counted up in the general statistics. They probably don’t know what to do with me, and this is a good thing from my perspective.

    Thanks for the laughs, and yeah, well, the two aren’t quite the same are they?

    Hmm. In the comments, Gerry had an interesting observation as to why the deer may not get sick from consuming the otherwise toxic leaves. But given the deer ate all of the leaves, clearly they weren’t getting ill.

    The Poopy-quat is doing very well thanks for asking. 🙂 I should continue to track down one of those North American paw paws, but honestly, I’ve been duped once already and now have North American chestnuts – not the same thing at all. Might have to find a more reputable supplier.

    Nope. I’ve not seen that variety of orange squash for sale down under, although it may be called something different. Ah, it looks a bit different to the Kuri variety. Hmm. Try this link: Time to grow squash. That’s the variety, although annoyingly no specific varietal name was provided…

    Go the figs! And yup, some times of the year require a lot more effort than others.

    Hehe! Correct. 🙂 There’s now 21 steps, and ultimately there’ll be 24 steps – which depending on weather, we’ll get done either this week or next. It’s a heatwave here right now at about 10pm. One more day to go of this, and then a promised thunderstorm – should be exciting.

    🙂 Thanks! And the videos show more than the photos can. Globe Artichokes are indeed thistles, but they require lots of soil fertility to produce their tasty chokes.

    Cheers

    Chris

23. Hi DJ,

    Logic and reason are a useful tool, but they’re not universally applicable are they? 😉 I went through that learning experience too with that err, challenging job. A quarter of a century ago too, and you know I came out of the experience and decided that perhaps a different thrust of enquiry was examining the human spirit and motivations. Hmm. Been a useful tool all that learning, and you never stop, although are hopefully less surprised by events as time goes on. Proving that the universe sometimes pays dividends, one day over the past year I heard on the youth news radio that the company in question was fined many, many millions of mad cash. Must say that rather pleased my sense of justice.

    Far out, is that the same thing as being particularly wavy? That’s the best response I could come up with, it’s not very good is it? 🙂 It’s been a hot day down here today, as will tomorrow.

    By Jingo, I believe you’re correct. Hehe! The language is a lot of fun. But yeah, sometimes people just annoy me too. You can’t get along well with everyone, although I was lied to as a kid when adults demanded that result – it was notable they could not deliver upon such demands themselves.

    That’s some cold-as weather. What the heck? Would you trade for this though: 26’C inside and 21’C outside right now at 10:30pm. It’s going to be a problematic nights sleep. Hope I make sense tomorrow…

    Eggs are really funny like that. Whatever the chickens are eating, will impact upon the flavour of the eggs laid. There was that time I fed the chickens a lot of blitzed pineapple… The birds loved the feed. Commercial eggs have very little flavour to my palate, but that’s what people want. And it’s hard to raise egg laying chickens on an industrial scale – there’s a lot to go wrong.

    🙂 It’s interesting to note that the Welsh language was brought back from the brink. It’s been remarked upon elsewhere that the language can often reflect the physical environment it originated in.

    One day a gabion cage will come unstuck, maybe. Possibly the underside may rust out, but then the steel worm never sleeps does it? I’m thinking that the rocks will eventually settle into place, and the cage won’t all fail at once. Might even produce a nice buttressing effect over a long enough time period?

    Cheers

    Chris

24. Hi Lewis,

    Boom! My mind was just blown. That never occurred to me that pragmatism and stoicism were of two different schools of philosophy. You learn something new every day, and thanks for highlighting this matter. You know, the two schools of thought provide useful guides to better living, so why not pick and choose from them both? Although by doing that, the stoics may then complain that my suggestion was too pragmatic. You see what we’re dealing with here. But just between you and me, I’ll pick from them all if they work! 🙂

    Oh man, far out it was hot here today, and is still warm tonight just past 10:30pm. The stoics may suggest that I mustn’t grumble, and they’d be right, but a little grumbling doesn’t hurt, does it? Did a mixed day of paid work and a lot of life’s little admin jobs which needed doing. We headed down to the nearby big town closer to the big smoke this morning. Worked until late tonight too, as is often the case on Wednesdays.

    Once the sun was near setting, we took the dogs outside and watered a lot of the plants. Wetting the area down has the effect of cooling the air around the house, and it’s a good occasional use of the stored water. They’re forecasting another stonking hot day tomorrow with a late thunderstorm which should bring a cool change. Yay!

    The weather was hot here, but way hotter near to where one of the semi-regular commenters here ‘Gus’ lives. Whoa! South Australia’s hottest February day on record. Hope him, his family and garden are doing OK?

    Hehe! Let’s not project things that far – do people really want to hear from me in a round about way that there are hard limits on things?

    Yeah, it was exactly that with the loss of the cream filled biscuits. Down here we call such loose talk: the kiss of death. Has an ominous ring to it don’t you reckon? Speaking of such matters, I noted that the ‘b’ for ‘bankrupt’ word was used in your highest political circles. Yikes!

    Thanks for the saying in relation to karma, and strangely the words are comforting. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe had a funny line about a certain annoying group of pen pushers being: The first up against the wall come the revolution! It was a fun way to put the same concept.

    Good thinking with the freezing of the critters. Years ago I bought a mixed grain bag which was infested with pantry moth. The clear plastic unopened bag was like one of those little ant farms they used to sell when I was a kid.

    Far out that is some seriously cold overnight weather. Would you swap for the heatwave conditions here? 21’F and I’d be sooking – hardly stoic is it? 🙂

    Ah, do you get wet ice as well? Haven’t encountered ice at such varieties.

    Guess people in the spotlight have to employ such folks. To be honest, I do wonder why wealthy people don’t get someone sensible (as distinct from themselves) to manage their social media. Avoiding posting comments during periods of inebriation or whilst under the influence of illicit substances wouldn’t hurt either.

    What do you mean apple sauce is a side? More new news to me. The orange biscuits sound good. Would you use orange zest, juice or extract to impart the flavour? With lemon cakes, biscuits, I tend to use the zest. The juice can do strange things to the final baking, although if done right, the dessert can be elevated beyond it’s ingredients. Do you reckon orange juice would be as acidic as lemon juice? Presuming it is the acidity which causes the cooking weirdness.

    🙂 It was pretty funny. Oh holy carp! I hope never to encounter that particular bear situation. 24 hours of gentle coaxing and a rotisserie chicken did the job though. The bear was probably stressed out. Candidly, rats are easier to deal with.

    I’ve not been introduced to Tom Robbins, and sorry to hear of the loss of an influence. He did pretty well getting to 92, and it’s an achievement I hold some serious concerns that I may not be able to equal. My lot have that goodness going for them. I must say, the author is very quotable and made some astounding observations upon this here thing we call life. Got a favourite book of his that you’d recommend?

    The ruins at Thera are amazing. A bit like Pompeii in that they’re a snapshot in time. Probably not a good thing to be part of that picture though don’t you reckon?

    Cheers

    Chris

25. Yo, Chris – Kind of like a philosophical buffet. 🙂 Or a restaurant menu where you pick so many items from column “A” and so many from column “B.” Some people treat religion, or spirituality the same way. We have a saying around AA, “Take what you need and leave the rest.”

    From our “You have them too,” department. I see a Brian Adams concert was canceled, due to … a fatberg.

    That was an interesting article, about the heatwave. I did the conversion. Wow! Pushing 120F. Our high, yesterday, was 37F (2.77C.) Our overnight low was 18F (-7.77C). Forecast high for today is 43F. It’s supposed to get warmer, later in the week. And the possibility of snow is back in the forecast, for the weekend. We’ll see. Prof. Mass has a post on cold, dry air.

    Back when I had my little 365 square foot house, it faced south and often got quit warm. I’d often wet down the roof, in warm weather. I also grew a long line of mammoth sunflowers, across the front. To provide a bit of shade. It all helped.

    I hadn’t heard that the “B” word, was being kicked around in the Halls of Power. Happens, from time to time.

    I see that the state of Idaho, is bringing back the firing squad, for executions.

    Oh, from what I hear, a lot of celebrities have “people” who manage their social media accounts. The nuts and bolts, if nothing else.

    OK. Maybe this will clear up the confusion about “side dishes.”

    https://w.wiki/D3my

    Though a pure accident of alphabetization, notice what’s at the head of the list. 🙂

    I didn’t get around to making the orange biscuits, last night. Maybe, tonight. I went through at least half a dozen cookbooks (some dedicated to biscuits) and couldn’t find a good orange cookie (oops! slipped up), recipe. I finally found one, on-line, and carefully transferred it to a 3×5 card, to put in my recipe box. It calls for both orange juice, and zest. I’ll probably also put in some orange extract, as I never find “orange” baked goods to taste orange enough.

    Lemons are more acidic, than oranges.

    I don’t think I would recommend a Tom Robbis book, to you. Knowing your … feelings on the hippy-dippy. They were a product of the late 1960s and early 1970s. At this late date, I don’t even think they’d appeal much to me. However, I think that style of fiction writing was a foundation for authors such as Christopher Moore, Palahniuk, and Spanbauer.

    There were signs on Thera, that the population evacuated. Not much moveable valuable stuff, left laying around. I do hope those folks weren’t on the open sea, when the volcano blew. The resulting tsunami caused devastation, all around the Mediterranean Sea. Might have been the cause of the downfall of the Minoan civilization.

    It was a popcorn night, last night. I watched Simon Pegg’s “The World’s End.” Very entertaining and there were a lot of bits I had forgotten. Besides just the comedic aspect, there were some other themes, woven in. Gentrification, people who won’t grow up and become responsible. An alien invasion. I’ll probably pick up “Hot Fuzz,” from the library, this afternoon. I’ll probably save it, til next week. Can’t be having popcorn, every night. :-). Lew

26. @Pam (from last week)

    Doug considers squirrels to be rodents especially since a few like to gnaw on the drywall in our garage. He just pulled the baby squirrels out and tossed them on the ground. Salve got a couple. Then he pulled out all the nest materials. I’ll be he’ll be checking under the hood more often once the truck is outside more.

    Yes it’s been never ending with Marty but some good news finally. I took Marty to his evaluation at the assisted living facility yesterday. This is one of the final steps before moving in. He did quite well on the mental acuity test. We found out a unit will be available in as little as a week but by the end of the month. When I get a call I have 3 days to take possession. He can pay a small amount for each day before he moves in but we all want that to be quick. I confirmed a mover who is flexible today. His apartment is pretty well packed and the Got Junk company hauled out all the furniture and stuff he has trashed on Monday. Of course that little jaunt yesterday was 130 miles and 3 hours of driving to get him back and forth to the nursing home and back and forth from the facility and three loadings and unloadings of his fold up wheel chair. My back is none too happy. Then I found out he needs a physical asap so one is scheduled for tomorrow between snow storms. However there is light at the end of the tunnel so I’m pretty happy with that. Looks like next week is very cold again but at least no snow. I know you have experience with a similar situation with your mother.

    Margaret

27. Hi Chris,
    Well that’s quite odd – the deer eating potato leaves. I hope that doesn’t impact the harvest too much.

    I gave a detailed description of what’s going on with Marty in a reply to Pam.

    First real snowstorm of the winter today and another one late Friday into Saturday. It’s not all that bad but the most we’ve had this winter. It will make the move more messy as I don’t see it melting in the near future. There’s going to be some nights below 0F at night and single digits during the day but at least no more snow. We need more but I’d like to get this move behind me.

    Margaret

28. Chris:

    “He advised me that writing is the gentle art of communicating concepts, requests and ideas to other people, so why hadn’t I done that?”: I think you mentioned that before because I remind myself of it quite often. “Are you just saying what you feel like, or are you speaking (or writing) so that someone can understand what you are trying to get across?” I ask myself.

    Ook! Now I am feeling that I should be bearing some of the chocolate cost after encouraging you. I hope it’s a small crowd. Or is that going to be an empty box up there with you?

    Oh, yeah – it was a kumquat. At least you have persimmons, one of the world’s best fruits.

    I doubt if anyone knows what to do with you . . . Mark Twain was so wise. Here are a couple more of my favorite quotes of his:

    “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”

    “When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.”

    Yes, that is a different squash. That is a bit of a climb, those 24 steps, but better than the mountain climbing it has replaced.

    Pam

29. @ Margaret:

    Squirrels are rodents. If you’ve ever seen one that has lost all the hair on its tail, they look exactly like rats. We call them tree rats.

    We didn’t have much trouble finding my mother a room in a nice assisted living nearby; just lucky, I guess. I remember the evaluation and the physical. I didn’t realize Marty is in a wheelchair. Is that just temporary?

    Pam

30. Hi Margaret,

    It’s hard to tell how much of an impact the deer have had on the potato harvest. On the other hand, I’m now ready to deal a strong message to those herbivores. And the fencing around the enclosure will be increased in height as well. I suspect that our ancestors enjoyed better harvests because the soils were more fertile way back in the day, but also because they personally ate a lot of the competition for the harvest.

    Hope Marty gets his apartment in the facility. Stress is perhaps also as bad for your back as the actual physical act of assisting with moving Marty’s stuff. There is tension in the not-knowing of the outcome, whilst trying to balance all of the many things required of us. Fingers crossed everything works out.

    The heatwave has broken an hour or two ago, although the rain skipped to the south and north of the mountain range. The now cooler air is nice. Did you get much snow with the super cold weather?

    Cheers

    Chris

31. Hi Pam,

    Thanks for the lovely saying, and it’s true too. 🙂 You know, that observation gets to the core reason of why would a person take the time out of their lives to write. It’s a good question to ask, and you would have noticed, but it also asks for a person’s ego to be pushed to the rear. Yes, yes, it does.

    The audience will gets what they gets, and that’s what they’ll gets me hearties. Oooo, the pirate took over for a second there when you mentioned the chocolate. Have to watch out for such hostile take-overs. Always a risk with the best of us.

    Here Sandra would agree with you in relation to the bletted non-astringent persimmons, but taste is very much an individual perception. The birds so far seem to leave those fruit alone which is a good thing. You’d be saddened to hear that the tree has dropped some of it’s fruit due to water stress. Oh well.

    The cool change has slowly swept over the land beginning a few hours ago. Yay! It rained here a little tiny bit, but to the south of the mountain range the falls were heavier. It’s a lovely orangey sunset here tonight. Quite pretty after all of the recent hot weather.

    Pam, sometimes I don’t know what to do with myself either. 😉 A problem we all have to face, I guess. Thanks for the lovely quotes from the extraordinarily sharp mind. The author and general wit had some lovely things to say about cats and dogs too.

    Plenty of variety in the pumpkin, squash and melon family of plants. It’s nice to see that they all get along together just fine.

    Hopefully the weather will encourage the completion of the final three steps. Time will tell. Just in case my brain was not squooshed enough, the maximum forecast temperature on Sunday here will be 15’C / 59’F. Bizarrely, I may consider having to run a fire. Crazy days…

    Cheers

    Chris

32. Hi Lewis,

    Yeah, that’s exactly it – a philosophical buffet. 🙂 Thanks for the workable mental image. It’s a good strategy about taking what you need and leaving the rest. In many ways, the strategy suggests that once the immediate concern is resolved (or at least addressed), then a person can dive in further, but there may be diminishing returns in deeper waters. And if you were swimming in deep waters in Australia, well sharks are always something of a problem. It seems that every other week, a shark has snacked upon a surfer. Mind you, there are a lot of surfers out in the water. Maybe the reminder that nature is truly the boss makes for good headlines?

    I’d heard about the cancelled Bryan Adams concert due to the fatberg. Strange and mysterious things they are. Here’s a link to an article about the err, unfolding situation: How a fatberg forced Water Corporation to cancel Bryan Adams’ Perth show. I’m surprised that the crew didn’t improvise and set up the gig on the street. How cool would that have been? You’d hope that the affected people stopped chucking things down into the sewer that they shouldn’t – like say baby wipes and food cooking fats. Oh well, it’s a wasteful society which does such things. When I was a kid, the dripping from cooking was saved in a mug kept in the refrigerator and it cooked some very tasty food, and nobody had baby wipes.

    Oh my, your winter minimum temperatures are now very much in the citrus killing phase of the season. 🙂 That’s cold, and I hope that H is rugged up and staying warm? The cool change arrived here a few hours ago. Yay! Not much rain, a smattering, but south of the mountain range quite a bit fell. Just for some general climate weirdness, Sunday looks set to max out at 15’C / 59’F. I don’t believe that we’ll run the wood heater that day on principle alone, but that’s easy for me to say from the warm-ish night time temperatures of tonight. I see that the actor Liam Neeson is in the area and shooting another film. The freeway north of here will be closed off for a day of filming a car chase. It’s quite scenic up that way.

    Wetting down the roof is a great idea in hot weather. The evaporation does wonders for heat transferral.

    Man, it was hot overnight last night. Had today off work and headed north to visit the cold store for supplies. Plus we had a nice walk in an old botanical garden with lovely old well established exotic trees. It wasn’t too bad out of the sun today, just hot – the UV radiation from the sun is reducing. I’d noticed in a few local areas, the power had been lost at various points of the day.

    Looking forward to a cooler day tomorrow.

    Technically, if everyone believes that the debt is serviceable, then the goobers of the mint aren’t b’d… Always wise to keep up the pretense. Everyone has been in my ear about the official interest rates dropping next week down under. I dunno, but there is a federal election coming up in a few months, so it’ll probably happen.

    Interesting. Perhaps bullets are cheaper than supporting big farma for the injections? Looks like the option for the firing squad never went away. Not everyone could do that task.

    Imagine if a person employed to do all that social media work went rogue? It make for an interesting storyline, especially if the celebrity was clueless as to how to stop them.

    Man, side dishes aren’t usually on offer down here, although some places will charge extra for a side serving of chips. It’s an intriguing collection of dishes in the list. 🙂 Yeah, it was uncanny that the side dish Du jour was at the very top of the list. Perhaps revealing a reporting bias? Probably written by a person who has issues with Tater Tots (which were at the bottom of the list), whatever they are (although I’ve read references to them).

    I’m with you there in the use of the orange extract just to give the final dessert a bit of orange oomph. The zest isn’t as strong tasting as lemon skin. So did you get around to making your orange masterpiece? I’m salivating thinking about the fooding possibilities. Yum! Did the recipe work out to be a keeper?

    Thanks for the honesty. Somehow the hippies (as distinct from the hippy ideal) just rubbed me the wrong way. Dunno. There was that hippy museum incident all those long years ago, but we don’t talk about that. The course Tom Spanbauer took (not far from you) on dangerous writing, sounds intriguing.

    Maybe those folks would have been safer on the open ocean when the tsunami hit – as long as there were no rogue waves (not good). It’s the shoreline where things get bad with tsunamis. Boats can apparently travel over them just fine.

    You just can’t trust those blanks, can you? Ooo, I have not seen Hot Fuzz, and will have to remedy this lack of culture. Sadly, here again we can blame the dysfunctional educational system. What’s a dude to do?

    Cheers

    Chris

33. @Pam
    Marty will be living only 15 minutes from vs the 45 minutes it is now. The wait for a spot has been about 7 months. It does seem very nice and was recommended by our friends who owned the retirement home.

    He’s been mostly wheelchair bound since he broke his hip in November though he was quite a fall risk before that. The nursing home keeps almost everyone in wheelchairs probably for liability reasons. They’ll walk behind him in a walker but that doesn’t happen too often as staff is already stretched. I’m hoping he’ll take advantage of the physical therapy available when he moves. He seems motivated to get enough mobility that he can just use a walker but I have my doubts. We purchased a fold up walker if he needs to be taken anywhere as I can lift it in and out of the car. We had about 5 inches of snow and today’s fairly windy so I’m sure there will be blowing snow. He has to be especially careful in these slippery conditions. Luckily I can drive up to the doors at both the nursing home and the doctor, get him in and out of the car and then go park it. It’ll be a pretty exhausting day. I’m older than him.

    Yes, squirrels are rodents but I admire their tenacity and find them pretty entertaining to watch.

    Margaret

34. Hi Chris,

    Yes it’s been quite stressful but hopefully I’ll get a break from that soon.

    The snow fell yesterday and last night. Today starts the cold for about the next 8 days. No melting for awhile.

    Glad it’s cooling down. I’m impressed with all you get done in the heat.

    Margaret

35. Yo, Chris – We hear about your shark attacks. Or, for that matter, shark attacks anywhere in the world. Two young women, in the Bahamas, just the other day. I suppose, with a 24/7 news cycle, you have to fill up the air (or internet space) with something. One of the “educational” stations here, has a “shark week” from time to time.

    Sounds like there was really poor communication, involved in canceling that concert. They’re lucky they didn’t have a riot on their hands. Why take 30 days, to refund the money? That’s some serious foot dragging. Oh, well. At least all the people turned away from the concert, might give a thought before flushing stuff down the loo.

    Our high yesterday was 45/f (7.22C). Our overnight low was 21F (-6.11C). Forecast for today is 36F. But no worries. It will be a torrid -0-C, tonight. 🙂 Big change coming, starting today. Prof. Mass talks about it. I can see it moving in from the SW, on the weather radar.

    Oh, yes. H is rugged up in her smart blue and black plaid jacket, when we go out. Seems to keep her toasty enough. Me, I wear my jacket that I call my sleeping bag.

    Yes, the orange biscuit recipe is a keeper. I made about 3 dozen, last night. The only change I made to the recipe was the addition of some orange extract. The orange frosting also turned out well. I’ll gift some to my friend and her chef boyfriend. See what they think. Still haven’t heard back on the banana muffins.

    I picked up “Hot Fuzz” at the library, yesterday. I’ll watch it in a few days. Stick with me, kid, and we’ll get your cultural literacy up to par. 🙂 The director, Edgar Wright, also made a ghost / horror movie called “Last Night in Soho.” My local library had a copy sitting on the shelf. I added it to my pile. But right now I’m engrossed in season five of “Miss Scarlet.” Formerly known as, “Miss Scarlet and the Duke.” And, a couple of books.

    I made a run to the big inexpensive grocer, last night. I was back in the veg section and noticed some small, potted mint plants. Spearmint, I think. I picked one up, and will see if I can grow it, inside. I won’t try and grow it, outside. It would probably go feral. And we have enough problem with the lemon balm running amok. Anytime I make Tabouli, I always have a problem sourcing the mint. Though you can use parsley. I’m thinking maybe I can rig up a grow light, drop light, for over the counter pass through, between the kitchen and dinning (now, sleeping) area. I’ll check for what I need, next time I’m down to the bank. Which is practically in the parking lot of the big box hardware store.

    Well, tomorrow, Friday, the Club is having big Valentines Day doings. My second least favorite holiday. 🙁 . But, the kick off is hamburgers at 5. So, I’ll hit that and then retreat before things get crowded. No, there will not be beet root, on offer. Unless I take my own. But, you just can’t find good pickled beet root, here. It’s way too sweet, instead of sour. Made for American tastes. Let’s throw sugar in it. Then it will sell. Blech! 🙂 Lew

36. Chris,

    It has been a busy couple of days. It is our income tax season. So I had to get that together. Our stuff is just complicated enough that I take it to a tax guy. Ours retired, but he recommended somebody. The new guy is great, and all is done.

    Meanwhile the Princess had to make a trip to the Omak area for a family situation. She was gone for one night, 2 days and returned exhausted. However, the goods we provided to family, combined with her being there, were a big help. Unfortunately, as this involves a very old and very ill relative, well, we know how it ends, just not when.

    I dunno about wavy. I’ve never been good at that wave thing. The Princess, on the other hand, knows how to do that “Princess wave” very well. Me? I’m more into wavelets, perhaps.

    Well, unless we’re at the ocean. The one time I took her to the ocean, I was a hundred meters offshore, wading waist deep, the waves occasionally hitting my neck. A little boy grabbed and tugged my arm and said, “Mister, that lady is crying and needs you.” I went back to shore. Turns out the Princess, who had been wading in ankle deep water, had stepped into one of those holes that happens at the beach. Each wave was over her head. The little boy told her, “Lady, step back.” Then she was fine. So I did just fine with those waves, whereas she was, em, over her head. That was nearly 33 years ago. To this day she says, “Is that the beach where you tried to drown me?”

    Well humbdy dumb. The night after that -19.5C temperature, the night that was supposed to be slightly less frigid? It hit -20C. When I let Dame Avalanche out Wednesday morning, the boogers froze in my nose. Thursday was a balmy -16.5C when I awoke, but the cold snap ended. The high was -2C. It clouded over. We are supposed to get some snow tonight and Friday.

    Okay, yes, a language can often reflect the physical environment it originated in. Agreed. Welsh was brought back from the brink. Very true. But does that mean that Wales exists at/on the brink itself? 😉

    I must admit, I’m enjoying learning that language. I’ve finished the online lesson plan, but am continuing to do the “daily reviews” and also go back and review many of the lessons. I figure after another year or two I might know a bit. I bought a Welsh textbook once and I can now read most of the lessons well. The goal and true challenge is sitting on a bookshelf near my elbow. My cousin who learned Welsh and got her PhD in some obscure part of Welsh history, she gave me her Welsh language copy of the Mabinogion. The dream is to be able to read that book.

    There are many stone walls and rock walls in parts of England and Scotland. These were never held together by steel gabions. It seems that proper construction and then the stones settling a bit do enhance the longevity of the walls. I would guess that the gabions assist with the proper construction bit. The settling will happen. And if/when a gabion breaks, there will be some movement of stones, but not to the dreaded rockslide level. As you said, it’s unlikely that the entire gabion would give out all at once, also, so those rock walls have a good chance of lasting for a good long time.

    DJSpo

37. Hi Margaret,

    Fingers crossed, and it’s great Marty moved up the list so rapidly and will soon have a more settled life. It’d be hard on him moving around too. Hard on everyone, really. Few people look forward to change.

    Whoa! Some of the people I watch on utub who live on the eastern half of your continent are battening down the proverbial hatches to sit out the cold snap. Hope you, Doug and Salve stay toasty warm.

    The heatwave broke yesterday, and today was very pleasant and cool. Bizarrely, over the weekend, the weather will get cooler. Anyway a tropical downpour delivered about a tenth of an inch of rain this afternoon, which was much appreciated.

    Thanks and we’re fast adapting to working on hot days, and trying to sleep well on hot nights. It’s been interesting, but the show must go on. Poured another step today.

    Cheers

    Chris

38. Hi DJ,

    Ah, you’ve managed to enter my wheelhouse, although I have no idea what goes on in your country on that front. Ahoy there me matey’s and ignore those large waves on the horizon! For your interest, all of our new work arrives via referrals, and it’s been my experience that the most common reason people will switch from one provider to another, is that the former does not return any communications, like a simple phone call. They make my marketing easy… Glad you’re happy with the new guy.

    Your lady is a gem for providing such assistance at just the right time. Yeah, I know, it’s the common fate for all isn’t it?

    It’s my considered opinion that a wavelet is a more easily endured experience than a wave. Scale of course being the difference between one to the other. However, occasionally my experience has dumped large waves upon the old head, and that’s when skills and wits come to the fore. Once competed in a triathlon when the ocean waves were huge, and it was hard to comprehend why we were sent out into the ocean in the first place. One minute swimming was a viable option, and the next the belly hit the sand. After a few of those dumps, I walked the swim and upon gaining the beach, glared at the organisers. Trust me, you never want to encounter a class five stare of significance. 😉

    Hmm. Your lady was lucky to have made it out of the rocky hollow beneath the waves. Swimming is a serious skill which was taught to all school children when I was a child, but the authoritas are discovering that with mass immigration, many people arrive from distant countries where swimming was not taught – and a lot of people are drowning as a result. Even as a strong swimmer, a person can get caught in a rip and swept out. Knowing what to do in such a spot of bother can be a life or death moment. Sandra was once swept away in a strong rip at a Melbourne bayside beach, but at least knew what to do. The famous words from Douglas Adams are highly appropriate here: Don’t Panic!

    Surely this is some sort of competitive cold temperature shenanigans? 😉 Candidly, it felt cold here today at 20’C, but I must say you win the prize for -20’C. And you casually brush it off like it ain’t nothing special: The boogers froze in my nose! Far out, if I experienced that completely nuts temperature, you’d hear my whingeing from where you are. It’d be that loud. Respect, and hope that the worst of the cold is now in the metaphorical seasonal rear view mirror. Now -2’C is more comprehensible to someone as summer soft as I.

    Well of course the country exists upon the brink – isn’t that land one of the wettest parts of Europe? The sheer loss of soil minerals via the process of leaching due to crazy amounts of rainfall, well let’s just say that it’d be a precipitous circumstance. Thus proving that things are indeed upon the edge!

    A noble goal. I’ve read Evangeline Walton’s version of the Mabinogion and am satisfied with the story telling and contents. Of course, going back to the source can only but illuminate aspects which the translations kept dark. Have you read that English translation?

    Yeah, it happens, and no infrastructure lasts forever, despite our best intentions. In the series Clarkson’s Farm, an old local, who appears to be deliberately made incomprehensible, is often at work repairing the many stone walls of the farm. Such a great show.

    Cheers

    Chris

39. Hi Lewis,

    Those two young ladies were lucky. Down Under, things can be far worse when encountering toothy sharks. Sometimes the bodies are not found again, and occasionally the injuries can be fatal. Nature can be risky and quite unpredictable. The fires sometimes worry me a bit, and that’s part of the reason the place is super neat, but even so the land around here could be managed better. Then there’s snakes, scorpion, spiders, bats with rabies. You name it, there’s a lot of scope to go horribly wrong. But then the same is true in the big smoke, it’s just different kind of wrong.

    Ah yes, shark week – blessed are the sharks for they remind us humans of the concept of humility.

    The short clip of the black water (i.e. the chunks from the sewers) allegedly rising up in the forecourt at that venue is not something you’d want to experience. The interesting thing about sewers is that whilst there are pumping stations involved, it’s a system which was not designed and built to be easily switched off. I’ve heard stories of people using the toilets when plumbers are working on repairing the sewer pipes, even when they are told not to do so. That’s not right. You’d hope that the people involved learned a valuable lesson, but it’s hard not to notice that many people act as if ‘it all doesn’t matter’ and do what they were going to do anyway. Someone once tried to leave a plastic soiled nappy here. We don’t have systems for such waste streams. Years and years ago I once paid for a friends cloth nappy service, just because it seemed like a good idea.

    I’d missed the 30 day refund aspect of the story. My experience with cancelled tickets is that the refunds are much faster than that. Nowadays the ticket providers don’t generally provide paper tickets. Too bad if a person doesn’t have a smart phone. Oh well.

    It’s turned cold here tonight. How crazy is that? 52’F outside tonight – the heatwave has clearly broken. There was even some heavy tropical rain late this afternoon. Should sleep better in the cooler air. Your overnight low makes me quail in fright… Summer soft… 🙂

    Ah, the words ‘lowland snow’ were mentioned by Professor Mass. It’ll be nice to receive a dusting, although shame about any remaining unprotected citrus trees…

    H’s coat is blue! 🙂 She’d look quite spiffy. Yes, people do so enjoy their puffer jackets, although I’ve never owned one. On cold days, nothing is as fine as dead sheep material, like a sheepskin jacket over a woollen jumper. Sure, it’d probably not work all that great in -38’F (mentioned by Professor Mass), but really, what kind of clothes would?

    Perhaps culturally, people in western cultures are not accustomed to providing feedback on food, or maybe they just don’t get that social aspect of the gift? Beats me, but over the years I give less and less food as a gift, mainly because nobody ever says anything about it. Dunno what to make of that, but I do make a point of saying: ‘that was a great coffee’, or ‘that muffin was awesome’. Cheers people up no end – you can see it in their faces. Perhaps my friend, as a society, we’re not nearly hungry enough?

    Thanks for your ongoing cultural literacy efforts! 🙂 And really, I must take the time to watch this film. Time is often sadly in short supply! Poured another step today (two to go!) and then hauled many of the rocks back up the hill. Made a video too. Then as the cheeky wag suggested: Some other stuff happened. Actually thanks to the rain, it’s damp and calm outside, so we burnt off all of the collected forest refuse (i.e. fallen branches) tonight. A nice way to keep oneself warm on an otherwise cold late summer evening.

    Ooo, I’ll mention the series to the Editor. Sounds very much her taste.

    Mint is super hardy, and I reckon it will grow well. The leaves are very useful too for settling the guts – if that needs doing. The dogs sometimes graze upon the various mints growing here. Yup, lemon balm is also feral here. Prior to winter, I use a hedge trimmer to cut all the lemon balm near to ground level. Bounces back the following season.

    Never used a grow light, but could do so in the greenhouse. I’ll be very interested to hear your experience with the device.

    Hehe! Valentines Day is no holiday down here. 🙂 Shame about the lack of beetroot, and that is not right adding sugar. Blech indeed! You can simply buy the roots and then roast them. Sliced the tubers tastes pretty good. They’re a bit out of season right now, but we bought one which was a dollar each. How was the burger? Any food innovations in the preparation?

    Cheers

    Chris

40. Yo, Chris – Reading over your shoulder … That’s why my friends daughter, over in Idaho, is so successful at selling real estate. Unlike the other two local realtors (or, estate agents?), no matter if it’s a phone call, or other communication, she gets right back to the client. With dispatch. My gosh, if you’re going to be in business, BE in business!

    “It all doesn’t matter” people. We have a few around here. When it comes to tradies, or other service folks, I always think, “How can I make their jobs easier?” Maybe having been on the other end of that stick. I just finished a book, “Building Material: The Memoir of a Park Avenue Doorman.” (Bruno, 2024). Park Avenue is a very upscale neighborhood in New York City. Well, apartment buildings have doormen. There are some tenants who are very nice. And then there are the others, who are absolute s–ts.

    I hadn’t thought that these days, you need a smart phone to go to a concert. I guess I’ll have to cross that off my bucket list. Not that going to concerts was on my bucket list in the first place. 🙂

    Well, our high yesterday was 34F (1.11C). For about an hour. Oddly, all day and all last night, it was a steady 32F. (-0-C). Today’s high will be 44F (6.66C.)

    Well. We finally got a good dusting of snow. I went down to the Club about 10:30 yesterday morning. And, just as I got there, it started snowing. I hung out, for awhile. Doesn’t stick to the streets right away, right? Wrong! About 1/2 inch, on everything. But, I didn’t have a problem getting home. It kept snowing until around 7. I took H out for a walk, and it was about 2″. When we went for a walk about 1am, there still hadn’t been any more snow. And, get this. It was a perfect balance between not cold enough to freeze, but not warm enough to melt. When I went to bed, around 2am, it was coming down, again. I’d say we got a total of 3″.

    But, when we went out this morning, I noticed it’s on the drip. It will probably be mostly gone, by this afternoon. And that may be the last of our cold weather. The forecast for the next week is rain, yes. But temperatures well above freezing. So, I’ll be able to get down to the Club, for burgers. I doubt there will be any startling innovations. 🙂 DeeDee is the kind of chef, that’s onto the dependable and predictable.

    H is about due for a new coat. Once again, the velcro is wearing out. There are a few things I can do to “freshen” it up, but it never lasts long. I’ll probably just get her another blue and black plaid one. LOL. I don’t want to startle her.

    I saw my friends who I gave the muffins to, yesterday. She really liked them, but he doesn’t particularly like nutmeg. What’s wrong with the boy? I think maybe she should reassess the entire relationship. 🙂 I gave them some of the orange biscuits, and we’ll see how those go over. He’s thinking about leaving chef land. He’s onto a job with the county road crews. It would pay a lot more, and has better benefits.

    Your winter will be here, before you know it. Then you might have more time to read and watch things. Maybe.

    “Miss Scarlet and the Duke,” is now just “Miss Scarlet.” As at the end of season four, the Duke has run off to America. Because Miss Scarlet wouldn’t pull the trigger and commit. Give up her independence? No way. And, besides, the Duke couldn’t get a leg up, at Scotland Yard, being a.) Catholic and b.) “not the right background.” So, a new inspector has come in to be bedeviled by Miss Scarlet. He’s ok. But doesn’t quit have the BDE of the Duke. Will there be a season six? To be announced.

    As with Halloween, Valentine’s Day isn’t an official holiday here. But, no worries. We’re having an official holiday on Monday. President’s Day. A smash up between Washington and Lincoln. Lew

41. @ Margaret:

    It seems to be an unfortunate practice of assisted living places to try to keep – or nudge – people into becoming wheelchair bound. It may be because so many of these people are constantly falling and they are trying to protect them from themselves, but I’ve seen people move in who were walking quite well with their walkers and since they were constantly agitating and would not settle down (and, sometimes, tried to escape), they got moved into wheelchairs – though always with their family’s approval. My mother was so afraid that she would lose her “independence” – that is, being mobile – that she would walk up and down and all around inside the building half the day because I told her that would make her legs stronger. They nicknamed her “The Runaway Bride”. She had always hated exercise, but she finally had found enough incentive, even with dementia. Even when she fell, which did happen every now and then, she never again broke anything, until that last fall, when weak and sick already, and only had a slight break in her arm, no legs or hips, and she had broken those several times. Of course, I was there every day helping her. You can’t do that for Marty; he is too far away. I was 12 minutes away.

    Something else to consider is physical therapy, and I think you mentioned that already. Medicare always paid for my mother’s whenever she did have a fall and I insisted on it if no-one offered it. The therapists, in the two places she had been, were always the loveliest people and very encouraging.

    Sorry to run on. That is partly to remind myself: “There really are things that you can do, right now!” and maybe to encourage someone else.

    Pam

42. Chris,

    I saw that your heat wave has broken. 11C or so in the evening? I bet that feels good. If we hit 11C this weekend, I would likely be running around outdoors in short sleeves and short pants. I’m acclimated to the cold for now. 😉

    We had another 2.5cm of fluffy snow today. I went for a walk with Dame Avalanche during the peak of the storm. She was in primal mode, what with the cool and the fresh snow and the wind blowing snow into our faces. It was fun. Oh, and almost warm at -3C. 🙂 More snow forecast for Saturday night. Did I mention that I’m acclimated to this now?

    Yes, the Princess is a gem. We do a lot of that type of assistance. People are so impoverished on the Rez. We help out when we can. And the morale enhancement the Princess provides is always welcome and is unique. It’s just sort of what the Princess and I do nowadays.

    When I was working, the official policy was to return any phone calls within 3 working days. That seemed to be far too much time to me, especially since we were local government and these were the people who paid much of our salaries. I gave myself the goal of same day return call unless I was in the field all day, then ASAP on the next day. If the job requires working with the public or with customers, then one had better work with the customers, not ignore them!

    I’ve encountered the class five glare of significance. Not good to be on the receiving end. I’ve also given the glare a few times. Your swimming mishap, though, required that glare.

    Yes, true. You have me convinced that Wales is on the brink. Hmmm.

    No, I’ve never read Walton’s version of the Mabinogion. I’ve got most of it in a book entitled “Myths and Legends of the British Isles.” The editor organized things rather differently, so the Mabinogion is spread throughout 3 different sections of that book, missing maybe a story or two. But the majority is there. But you piqued my curiosity, so I reserved a copy of Walton’s version from the local library.

    DJSpo

43. Hi DJ,

    Now that you mention it, 11’C in the evening does feel good. 🙂 Today was bizarrely colder at a top of 12’C, with most of the day hovering around 10’C. Oh, and the rain swept in from the south intermittently. That cold frozen continent to south of Australia has been flexing it’s muscles – and they sure feel cold. Hard to imagine that only a few days ago the temperature maxed out at 37’C. Little wonder my brain hurts, and for a glimpse into extreme climate variability, we’re Exhibit A. No plants grew anything today, just saying. And next weekend, there’ll be another brief heatwave. Yay for us!

    But I absolutely agree with you, acclimating to temperatures where Dame Avalanche enjoys nestling in the snow and Arctic cold, an 11’C day would feel like the Bahamas, minus the toothy sharks. 🙂 I’d just gotten used to the hot weather, and I’ll whisper this: Chucked two loads of firewood into the wood heater tonight. Shh, don’t tell anyone. 😉

    -3’C is almost a civilised winters day. You know, the kind of weather where you can enjoy the outdoors without feeling like the skin on your face is not freezing and you’re looking at the husky as a source of potential life saving warmth. Channelling Jack London’s to light a fire story there. The husky in the story wisely left it’s foolhardy master that day. It’s not like he wasn’t told of the risks.

    Spent a few hours today on machine servicing and repairs. A good way to avoid the freezing rain. Sometimes whilst doing that work I wonder about our civilisations longevity. So a 2.1mm woven steel clutch cable had broken on one of the power wheelbarrows. It was the oldest of the three machines, so the break in the cable didn’t surprise me. But then you open up the guts of the machine and discover that when it was assembled, the attachment which supports the cable sheath was installed at the wrong angle. Every time the clutch cable was used, the woven cable ended up rubbing against a chunk of hardened steel – which is the cause of the breakage. Sure it worked for years, that is until the cable frayed and broke, but a tiny bit more care and attention during the original assembly would have avoided the entire problem. Oh well, fixed now.

    It makes me wonder though. If I’d sent the machine off to someone else for repairs, would they have corrected the core issue of the problem? And you know, I don’t know the answer.

    There’s only one machine I still send out to get repaired, and let’s just say that I’m dubious of the work done. Of course there is a plan, and like the Dhobi Wallah’s of India, certain of the parts will get secretly marked, and after the work is done, I’ll know if they did the job properly. I’m not entirely sure of the wisdom of out sourcing that servicing, but you can’t do everything. And the service book worried me about getting dirt into the transmission of 10 microns – those being enough to permanently damage the hydrostatic transmission. Dunno. 10 microns seems a small margin of error.

    It’s a lovely use of both of your time, resources and energy. No good, and probably the intended outcome there. Dude, you move as far away as you can, and discover that the reach is very long indeed. Keeps us all in our places. It is an issue which is on my mind, a lot. My best guess is that things will become easier in the near future, but that’s only a guess. You may have noticed that the great unravelling has begun? The folks on the Rez would do well to consider their health from a vertical perspective (as in from the beginning to the end), but what do I know, I’m just some dude living out in the forest. You don’t see me skimping on soil minerals.

    Exactly. Your response gets to the core of the issue: Who’s interests are we paid to concern ourselves with? Some folks just now are finding they got that wrong, but longer term we are all witnessing a large beast which wants to survive. It might, but things won’t be the same as only recently.

    Sandra was very lucky in her encounter with the strong rip. A few weeks beforehand she’d heard a youth news radio program on the subject of what to do. Like all strong tides, big and/or small, one must not fight the energy, when stepping to the side is the wiser course of action. You can swim across a rip, and take yourself out of the elemental force, but most people waste their energies resisting the pull. Interestingly, the martial arts training showed that strategy as well. Why waste your energy resisting something you can blithely sweep to the side? Then respond.

    Hope you enjoy the book. Hmm. Is the book you’re talking about authored by Richard W. Barber?

    Cheers

    Chris

44. Hi Lewis,

    Exactly. It’s not hard to do, and it’s not always convenient, but it requires a person to put their ego to the side, and recall why they are being paid, as in, who’s interests are they concerned with? But you’d be amazed that the common story we hear with new clients, is that they were unable to contact their former accountant. Your Idaho friend’s daughter is onto something there with that strategy. Yup. 🙂 Respect. And may I suggest that any idiot can sell in a bull market, but a declining market sorts the wheat from the chaff.

    Every time your health care industrial system gets mentioned, I do wonder about the wisdom of the strategy of treating patients, but then charging so much, that the patients themselves are financially put out of business. It’s a strategy which eventually runs out of customers. To my mind the larger societal story looks more like a huge network of links from one to another, but that’s not how it works nowadays. The ancient feudal system works that way, and my gut feeling suggests that people are more or less mostly good with that system despite all of the associated problems. The facts on the ground suggests that our species does not demand equality.

    Hehe! Being the help, you get to experience the darker side of humanity – and it’s occasionally not pretty. And like your good example, that’s what I do too. The other day at the big box store, I rotated all the heavy bags of mineral fertilisers so that the check-out chick could scan the bar codes easily. She thanked me for doing so and we had a lovely chat. Sounds like a most excellent book, and it’s always insightful to experience the world from the underside, which is the place where people work who get stuff done.

    Hehe! Well, that’s one less thing to worry about. 🙂 I don’t much go to concerts either, probably too much stimulation for my brain.

    Another cold day for you, but it does seem to be getting warmer with a top of 44’F. Today here was crazy cold. The winds blew up from that frozen continent way off to the south. Brr! At one point the thermometer suggested that outside was 54’F, but for most of the day it hovered around 50’F. I’m sure last week had a 100’F day, but oh well, we chucked a few loads of firewood into the wood heater this evening. Crazy stuff.

    Oh! And the very first small bottle of LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas) connected to the house ran out this evening. It was an 8.5kg / 19 pound bottle which took two months to use. Not a bad result at all. We’re scaling back on that energy source, and have done pretty well so far. You’ll recall that the quarterly rental charges (not including any usage) for the much larger 45kg / 99 pound bottles previously used, were costing around $300/per year – and only ever going up in price. Best to get in early with these sorts of adaptions.

    The snow sounds really nice. 3″ is a pretty decent fall. Enough to be enjoyable, but not so much that it is a pain. The perfect balance is not always achieved is it? I’m observing video footage of people in your country walking around on remarkably crunchy frozen ground. Did H frolic around in her natural snowy environment?

    Man, just took the dogs outside to do their ablutions, and it’s now 46’F Brr… What’s going on????

    Did your prediction about the snow melt taking place eventuate?

    Commercial kitchens do require a certain level of reproducibility with their products, so I’m unsurprised by your observation as to innovative cuisine. Personally, I’m inclined to believe that with cooking, novelty doesn’t always work out. Hmm. And how many new ideas can a person really have in their life? Diminishing returns is a factor there. Hope the burgers are tasty.

    Yeah, I know what you mean there – dogs can be quite sensitive to changes. Can you imagine if there were no blue plaid coats, and H had the wrong coloured tartan? She could be misidentified as one of those pesky border clan folks. 😉 Dame plum may be off to dog obedience school soon. The Editor wants to level up, and Ruby is something of an idiot and may have peaked in terms of her canine skills and pliability. H would definitely be a class five dog, Ruby, not so much.

    The relationship could be somewhat problematic with that dislike of nutmeg, yeah. Are fussy eaters, good cooks? So many questions now, so few answers. The hours and stress on a road crew are probably better than a commercial kitchen too.

    We’ll see, but then you could be onto something there about having more time. I could have begun the evening early, but the machinery repairs and servicing jobs hadn’t been finished yet, and the middle of the day was rudely interrupted by a gourmet pie outing. The hardships… So upon returning home, I went back down to the shed and finished the work. It was cold, and work finished late.

    Doing that work, man, the things I see. Makes me shake my head in wonder that anything actually works. Today I fixed a broken clutch cable on a power wheelbarrow, and noted that if the folks who assembled the thing had taken just a bit more care with the assembly, the problem would never have happened. But they didn’t, and so I worked instead – and fixed the core issue. Did plenty of other work, and cleaned the to-do slate. Yay!

    There were plans to pour another step today, but cold winds and icy rain are no fun at all, and would have made a total mess of the cement.

    Thanks for the laughs re BDE! Some folks have such mojo. Miss Scarlet perhaps unfortunately may have to go back to the drawing board with the newcomer. Back in the day, being Catholic was a problem. Nowadays we have new problems, but the same old story. Although, like most social situations, chuck enough people in and sure enough, there’ll be complete idiots on that front.

    Happy long weekend!

    Cheers

    Chris

45. Yo, Chris – And, in News of the World, I suppose you heard about the young bloke down in Chili, who, along with his kayak, was swallowed by a humpback whale. Must not have been tasty. The whale spit him right out. Has happened before. See: Bible – Jonah. Or, for that matter, Pinocchio. At least the Dizzy version.

    And, in some Irish caves, a fungus has been found that turns spiders into zombies. Sort of the same premise as that new-ish series, “The Last of Us.”

    I do the same thing, when I go to the store. If it’s a big bag of rolled oats, or dry dog food, I always make sure the bar codes are easily scanned. These days, folks on the front lines (or, in the trenches?) need a leg up. Also, if a clerk is fumbling around breaking a coin roll or changing a register tape, I always comment that I’m in no hurry, and they can take their time.

    Prof. Mass has called it. Break out the shorts and flip-flops! No more freezing temperatures, or snow. Rain? Sure. Our high yesterday was 39F (3.33C). Our overnight low was 34F (1.11C). Our forecast for today is a high of 44F. Most of the snow is gone, except for wherever it was piled, here and there. We got crunchy grass, during the freezes. It does make an interesting sound. H doesn’t frolic in the snow. She just takes it in her stride, and seems unconcerned.

    Here’s some interesting footage and article from the LA mud and debris flows.

    https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/14/weather/southern-california-storm-mudslides-rain-hnk

    Nothing out of the ordinary, but Mt. Etna in Sicily is erupting. We also have a volcano up in Alaska, that may blow its top. Between the two, might make for “interesting” weather in the northern hemisphere.

    Good going with the LPG. Didn’t someone once say, “Collapse early and avid the rush?” 🙂

    The burgers at the Club were quit tasty. I had two. They used to be $5 per, and are now $6. I whinged and complained loudly and bitterly, that for the extra buck, they could at least be on heart shaped buns, with heart shaped patties. 🙂 Good ground beef, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, grilled onions and some kind of white sauce. I ran into someone I hadn’t seen in quit awhile. He’s in and out of the program. Sigh. We had a good long chat. The chef’s family are the one’s that own the Big Yellow House, where the Club wants to move. According to her, it’s not quit the “done deal,” that has been bandied about.

    I don’t know. Sometimes, H can be quit the idiot. We go for a walk, three times a day. So, I tell her we’re going for a walk, I’m getting on my shoes and pants, I head for the door, and she zips into what was the bedroom. Why? I have to herd her down the hall, and get her moving in the right direction. Just one of her many quirks, that make no sense at all.

    Good going with the clutch assembly. Yes. Poor engineering. Or, planned obsolescence? Does anyone road test anything, anymore?

    I watched a pretty good movie, last night. “Last Night in Soho.” From director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, etc.). It’s a ghost / horror story. A young girl goes to London, to study fashion design. She’s enamored with the styles of the 1960s. She starts seeing / time traveling to the 1960s, and a young hopeful singer who may have been murdered, in her very bed sit. There are some more than cameo rolls, by 60’s icons. Much long in tooth, now. Diana Rigg, Rita Tushingham, and Terence Stamp. I should have made popcorn. Here’s the trailer …

    https://youtu.be/AcVnFrxjPjI?si=3ooO1COQIlQUkyvC

    Back in the day, when I was a wee small lad, we celebrated Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays, on separate days. Both were official national holidays. For Washington’s birthday, the classrooms were decorated with cherries and axes, cut out of colored construction paper. Due to some bogus Victorian construct about little George, cutting down a cherry tree. Cherry pies will be very evident, in the stores. For Lincoln, there were stove pipe hats (talk about a chapeau, that made a statement!) and, more axes. Due to a probably true tale of him splitting many fence rails.

    Well, something is afoot in our building. A notice appeared, near the mail boxes yesterday, that if you have symptoms of illness, to stay home. Or, at least wear a mask, if out in the common areas. As to what is afoot, or how many are down, not a clue. Typical lack of transparency. Lew

46. Chris:

    We have a visitor coming today to stay for a week, so I may be scarce.

    Pam

47. Hi Pam,

    🙂 Best wishes for the visit.

    Cheers

    Chris

48. Hi Lewis,

    A good thing the backpacker presumably hadn’t washed for a few days! 🙂 I saw the footage, and fortunately the humpback whale didn’t go on a deep dive. You’d have to suggest the young bloke had used up more than a few of his nine lives in that encounter. The more literally minded folks will be celebrating that win, as in there may be more reality to the parable than previously thought. I always thought that being swallowed by a whale would be a fatal occurrence, but apparently not.

    a) I thought you were kidding about the insect zombie fungus. b) further research – what could possibly go wrong?

    Working retail back in the day was fun, but somehow humans, being humans, have made that work stressful. So yeah, that’s a great way to put it – a bit of a leg up. Requires a bit of empathy, which can be lacking in some quarters of society. That’s quite thoughtful of you, and I similarly try to convey the vibe that there’s no hurry, it takes what it takes – especially if people are having to learn a complicated till. Back in the day all those things did was record in-flows of cash. Nowadays management push downwards the responsibilities for inventory management – not an easy task for any business.

    I see your winter temperatures (and awoke to 5’C / 41’F) this morning and raise you: Coldest February night on record in parts of Victoria with summer snow in the Alps. No wonder we had to run the wood heater last night. Brr! No snow here, but it sure was cold. Yeah, the dogs here likewise seem unconcerned with frost – Sir Poopy on the other hand loved the snow.

    That’s the thing with big fires, like the LA incident. Lot’s of particles go up into the atmosphere and attract clouds / obscure the suns energy. The coldest and wettest years down here usually follow on from seriously big fires, and it takes years for the climate to settle back into something resembling normality. That’s one of the reasons I’d wish (yeah, right, won’t happen) that forest fuel reduction management was done on a more local and regular basis.

    But controlling the flow of water during those epic sudden storms is the stuff of nightmares. We’ve done a lot of work over the years to ensure that water flows slowly over the land in the worst conditions – and it’s not unusual for 4 inches of rain to fall in an hour here some summers. Hmm. That landslide all those years ago was a real wake up call. It’s possible that parts of LA will never be rebuilt.

    Oh my gawds, the images of people skiing whilst the nearby Mt Etna is erupting just makes no sense to my brain. It’s all OK until you fall into the lava…

    Thanks! We’re really weaning ourselves off that gas energy source, and it feels good man. The costs were sky-rocketing and the state apparently now has demand which exceeds supply – and you know what happens to prices under those conditions.

    You did not complain about the extra buck charged, but I like your style and you talk a big game there my friend. 🙂 Yeah, sigh, we can only ever provide assistance just so far, but the catch up sounded good. Always nice to chew the fat with people we’ve known for years.

    Hehe! Dude, it’s a transaction that yellow house, so why would anyone give their hand away? When the dust settles, we’ll all know how things rolled. Fingers crossed the Club gets a good deal.

    It ain’t just H being an idiot there. The Editor has decided to take (my Kelpie) Dame Plum, to dog training school because Ruby has apparently peaked and can go no further. The Editors friends in that club are about to progress to the next grade (leaving the hapless Kelpie and human behind), a heady air which Ruby may not breathe. Oh well, what will be will be. In the background I’m doing a crash course with Dame Plum…

    Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Possibly manufacturing margins are such these days that the question: Did you guys test this before boxing it up? may be a step too far.

    Speaking of steps, we poured the penultimate stair step earlier today. And I won’t mention it on the blog, but we’re trialling a new concrete barrier entry system to stop those pesky rodents from getting under the house again for this coming winter. With the cold temperatures last night, the rats have been active upon the barriers. Something different had to happen – we had a bit of a discussion here about the problem this morning.

    Thanks for the trailer, and it’s not often I feel goosebumps, but that was one, let’s call it engaging, tale.

    My understanding is that cherry trees don’t live all that long, so perhaps Mr Washington was err, sorting out the garden by removing the cherry tree? You’d imagine that the folks running cherry orchards would have something to say about the matter. Making fence rails, is a more realistic story.

    My gut feeling is that people are nervous about their jobs.

    Cheers

    Chris

49. Yo, Chris – Nothing happened yesterday. There is no News of the World. 🙂

    Although the word zombie, is never mentioned in the series “The Last of Us,” the reasonable facsimile goes through developmental stages. Here’s a handy score card.

    https://screenrant.com/last-of-us-zombie-types-explained/

    I often comment that the new tills are like surplus off the Star Ship Enterprise. 🙂 Always gets a chuckle.

    Our yesterday’s high was 41F (5C). Oddly, our overnight “low” was warmer. 43F (6.11C). Our high today will be 48F. No one seemed to have considered nuclear winter, due to particles, until well after the bomb was developed. Oh, and by the way, an asteroid is heading our way, and might hit the earth in 2032. Well, so far there’s a 2% chance. They’re keeping an eye on it. Oh, well, maybe it will inspire someone to crank out a good end-of-the-world film. Haven’t seen one of those, in awhile. I don’t count “Don’t Look Up,” as, it isn’t being released on DVD. If it’s not on DVD, it doesn’t exist. 🙂

    That was quit an article about your cold snap. That was an interesting photo of the snow on a guy’s swag. My, how pup tents have evolved.

    Skiers on Etna. In the book “Everything Must Go,” they have photos before each section. There was one, and I wondered if it was real, or photo shopped. It’s real.

    https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20170908-the-golfers-who-putted-while-a-forest-burned

    Remember the good old days, of Beta testing…

    So, is this Rat War II, or Rat War: A New Front?

    I have always thought this was the most bizarre painting, as far as the George Washington myth goes. Take a look a boy George’s face…

    https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/spurious-quotations

    I saw our night manager, yesterday. We have 5 cases (at least, the reported one’s) in our building of Flu-A.

    In a further effort to round out my cultural literacy (and perhaps win pub quizzes), I watched “The Dead Poet’s Society”, last night. I had picked it up, a couple of years ago, on the cheap. I see it was directed by your very own Peter Weir. Set in a New England Prep School, in the 1950s. I didn’t find it all that … interesting? So, it’s supposed to be about conformity and rebellion. I think it’s been done better, other places. “History Boys?” “Goodbye Mr. Chips?” (non musical version.) And the boys were all so jolly and supportive of each other. Didn’t ring true. From what I understand, those places are more like “Lord of the Flies.” Oh, well. I can hold my head up and say I’ve seen it.

    I think I’m going to make Velveeta Fudge, tonight. I’ve still got half a brick of that stuff, left, and so should use it. I’ve had a craving, for awhile, and satisfied it, last night. I wanted some hash brown potatoes, with lots of ketchup. 🙂 Although I had made them, in bulk, working in restaurants, I’d never just made a single batch, at home. So, I saved a potato out of our commodity box. Some recipes call for boiling the potatoes, first. I just shredded a potato (you toss the shreds in cold water, as you go along. Removes a lot of the starch, and keeps them from discoloring.) Then, you squeeze out as much water, as possible. Toss with a bit of diced onion, salt and pepper. Fry in oil, with a bit of butter. I thought it turned out well. Nice and crispy. Lew

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