ZED

Hi ES Dawgs houw is ya?

do ray me fa so la ti do……

Oh, man, bb. I tried for that zed. Congratulations!

Hey, ES!

Evening bigbrother. Loving Freakwater.. how are you?

Hi LooHoo..)

Freakwater reminds me of watching Cold Mountain. We don’t talk a lot about movies here, but I loved this film because of the music.

Lay you down in the English Countryside. Nice, ES!

I liked that too, hi Chris, ES, everyone.

Hi Margot, Everyone! We are watching “Ride with the Devil” — another film with banjo music, about the War between the States, with Toby Maguire. This film was only released to video in 2000 or so. It is really wonderful, and horrific.

Reminds me of so many places and times… would just about have to put it in the soundtrack of my life. A huge 20 volume platinum set… yet to be released..)

Evening Margot..)

Hey, Margot and CE.

Lovely! In a boxed version as well.

ES Freakwater is good could use a few more musicians.
Feeling good moved my redwood deck today and a clothes dryer. Started spring cleaning. Started on every day hot yoga schedule instead of every other day. (That was a challenge.) Just woke up from a very nice nap the kind that kicks in the growth hormones. Nice.
Hi Loo Hoo sorry that is frustrating I know I have been like greased lightening lately G). Maybe need to change my handle to “Quick Draw”. Glad you are here. How was your days?
Never ending war! Sucks. What happened to bend those guns into plowshares?

Loo Hoo! Such a winter’s night.

Hi Loo Hoo!

Gun metal isn’t as easy to work as sword steel….takes a bit longer. Hang in there, there are plenty of folks working on it.

Absolutely.

There are wonderful things that remind us of years past. For many, it is music, others, smell. I can still see fields of winter that were Andrew Wyeth’s art (we were neighbors) and smell the fires of leaves that everyone burned each fall. Music for me then, was my Dad, and jazz. He is a drummer.

So many kinds of yoga these days… i expect twenty four hour yoga, vegan buffet and oil change joints to open up across the land anytime now…)

Hot yoga, Is that the real fast paced kind?

Heard on the radio today that 200,000 Haitians died in that earthquake. The spirit of the dead stays under water a year then goes in a tree waiting for the next life. We gonna meet some spooky pissed people when we die no man? (source NPR)

I bring apple pie. This looks just like the pie my daughter made last week. Does anyone have whipped cream?

OMG could you just send that over to me? I have creme fraiche!

The spirit of the dead stays under water a year then goes in a tree waiting for the next life.

What?

Snow…a cobblestone lane with a stone fence on the left and an old, brick building on the right. An alley way really. And an ancient, well ancient to me anyway, holly hanging over that fence. Berrys bright red, leaves so impossibly dark green and virgin white snow everywhere.

Oh, and the town bakery which couldn’t have been far away. I can still smell the fragrance of fresh bread on such a cold morning. Yeah. It was a part of England that time forgot, and I was very young. But I don’t doubt that some child in the fifties didn’t have similar memories in Boston, or Denver, or San Francisco.

Oh to have the world so young again, and everything new and unsullied…..

Here is the best short description http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bikram_Yoga

Hi Fenestrate haven’t been on when you were here before how are you?

Fenestrate,
How beautiful. I think that your memory is why we travel. We seek the places that bring back some of our best memories, and when we find them abroad, just love them. Hmmm, bread smells. For me, also coal smells! In Ireland, bread, cold, rain, beer. Cheers!

Looks wonderful, CE. News to me, but I’ll try it!

Loo Hoo that is what I heard in the discussion which was quite detailed speaking to the impacts. Proper burials were not possible further impacting the tradgedy.

Almost like sour cream, but without the sour.

Oh, I see, bb. That’s what the Haitians believe. I guess I didn’t read carefully, and thought that’s what you believed!

That was interesting the bacteria in the buttermilk make the creme. Very nice wonder if yogurt bacillus would work. Sound awesome on salmon.

I’m doing well. Mind you, I met a man in a bar in Palo Alto who taught me something.

He said, when folks ask you how it’s going….don’t dump on them. Tell them what’s going well for you. It’ll make them feel better. But what is more important, given time and repetition, it’ll make *you* feel better. Even if the world is ending, and all is utter drek. It *will* make you feel better. And if things feel better, then there is a chance you can make them better.

I thought he was full of it. But in all the time I knew him, he staid true to that. Crazy Greek fellow. He passed of cancer, and wasn’t all that old. At least not that older than me.

So, I gave his advice a try. When folks asked “how’s it going” I replied “Great!” or “OK!” or at least, “Could be worse.” And you know what? After a while, things were going better. Oh not fantastic, not even great. But better.

The old bugger was right. Giving a good twist on things did improve things.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Some things in life are terrible and no happy face will make them better. For me it’s the deplorable state of our record on human rights. But for the personal things. The small things. The aches and pains. It can help.

Besides, them asking are usually our friends. They don’t need nor deserve our small pains. Something major, then yeah, share. That’s what friends are for. But a flat tire this morning, not so much.

Wow….I hope I didn’t overstep some bounds…not sure where this post came from….maybe I do need an analyst.

I better hit it, friends. Thanks.

I think your Greek friend was right!

Wonder where I might buy 1 tbsp of buttermilk at a time? /s

I did however, just start buying fresh milk from a neighbor over a couple of ridges from me. best milk I’ve had in 30 yrs.. and less than half the price I normally pay at the grocery store.

pie!

I agree with what I think is your premise,[my interpretation], offer your appreciation of your interpersonal time together by choosing to smile and enjoy the moment. There’s laughter and companionship in sorrow. In joy. in everyday life as a human.
Every thing but whining and self-pity. That crap we’re better off expressing alone. I’m working on that one !!!

I’m thinking it might be whole milk too. That’s the best there is.

And just because I’m in a nostalgic mode tonight. Does anyone remember getting milk from the milk man? Do you remember milk that came in a glass bottle? And remember the foil cap on the bottle? If you didn’t get the milk in right away the birds would peck a hole in the foil and drink the cream.

I never wanted to get old….*sigh*…I miss the milkman.

You don’t actually need buttermilk. Just add vinegar to milk and you have the same basic thing. ! TBL. to 1 cup milk. Even skim.

Wonderful on so many levels. Glass bottles?

It’s not hard, but it does take a conscious effort. I think of it this way…when my doctor, or my lawyer (I don’t have one but if I did…) or whoever that is working with me for a defined goal…then yeah, give it to them straight. But when a friend asks, unless there’s a need, don’t dump on them. I’m betting they’ve got problems of there own. In fact, by being cheerful about things, you might even give them hope.

I mean, what goes around…etc. I love my friends. *That’s* what they need to know. Everything else is just….well….life *shrug*

We had milk boxes, metal ones. And cardboard tabs below the foil caps. The milk truck was noisy, often awoke to the sound.

Had no idea birds could peck through – love the story.

I had no idea, openhope… that’s a great tip!

Yes, it’s as good as the old milkman. Except once a week i take my gallon glass jar with big lid (not the old thin paper/cardboard lids on milkmen bottles… drive a couple miles through the hills and exchange it for a full jar.

I think meeting your own milk cow and knowing her name, saying thank you, is nice too. My cows name is Jan.

Jan. A nice treat for Jan might be some grain, oats, apples will make the visit more enjoyable for you both. S)

Knowing names. Wow. I need more of that.

It was a long time ago, so I couldn’t tell you there names now. But…I remember mom sending us down to the baker to get the day old bread. Not that we were poor or anything, but a penny’s a penny (and if you’ve never seen an old English penny, called a cartwheel, then you don’t know what a real penny is). Of course, she always made sure we had sixpence extra to buy some tarts. I think they’re called dime tarts these days. little things, about the size of a quarter.

Darn….now I’m thinking of the sweetshop. Imagine a shop that had nothing to sell but candy. Now, imagine candy that only costs a penny…nay, a half-penny (farthings went out of circulation before I was old enough to shop on my own…look it up, farthing).

It’s cold here tonight. Going to be cold tomorrow too I’m told. Think I try to do a peach cobbler (canned peaches). I knit better than I cook, but I’m a gonna try anyway. :D

Cows also like music. Take a portable tape of Freakwater…you may get more cream.

LOL. Play them some Leon Redborne, you might get yogurt :D

LOL I think Mrs Wolfenbager (Spell?) is one of the most wonderful and astonishingly beautiful 80plus-ish year old ladies I may have ever met… anyway I know she takes real good care of Jan.

We taught her how to make Keifer… she loves it now… makes it all the time.

The opportunity to say thank you – what a joy. Does Jan provide cream or is it all in the neck of your bottle?

I often have bottled milk from the farmers’ market. It’s a joy. Really miss the bottles with the bubble neck that held cream. If you found one, could Jen use it?

I love a quick peach cobbler (with canned peaches – when frozen ones run out round about this time of year)… Can make it in a jiffy too.

It’s a wide mouth jar.. like old gallon mayo jar… so cream settles on top… about 3.5 to 4 inches of cream on top?

Sometimes I leave it… sometimes I separate as soon as it’s chilled through the first time.. and use the cream for coffee and such. This is the third round for me, so I am figuring all natural out again.

Except for the close friends. They need to know the bad shit so their life starts looking up !! THAT”S what friends are for. *g*

What do you mean, does jan provide cream? Do some cows do things differently?

Very cool. How is Kifer made? I like it that helps us be vegetarians. We have a new goat cheese vendor at our Farmer’s market. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kefir I would so love to see America go small community serices instead of corporate vendors who’s main goal is to make money for their stockholders.
Homemade music, pie, knitted caps, organic veggies, the neighborhood cow, the old fishing hole the list of niceness is long and wonderful.

Kiefer is new to me. How do you use it?

I’m gobsmacked an old lady and her milk cow can still operate in any state. Hurrah for Mrs Woldenbarger and Jan!

I’m just a city girl…. what do I know :-)

heehe. You had me going..)

My farming life consisted entirely of soy, wheat, cotton, rice, millet, green beans… on the big scale. We farmed no critters.

It’s very simple really. Just need to buy the grains at a natural foods store. Makes overnight. I blend blueberries (frozen from last year) and a little honey and vanilla in mine.

When I was young….well younger anyway….no, come to think of it, quite young…I used to hang out in Yellow Springs Ohio. You know, Antioch. Well, back then it was homemade music, pie and knitted caps. It’s been decades since I’ve been there, so I don’t know if it’s still like that there.

Like wise, I once was in a place called Beloit, Wisconsin (apologies if I spelled that wrong). It seemed very much the same. And then there was the time I was in Missoula, Montana (again, sorry for any spelling errors).

You know, I bet there a whole bunch of places still in this United States of America that are still small town USA, and still dedicated to the old time…what is the word…you know, beliefs, ideals…darnit. Still the old time values that we grew up on.

I bet there are still a lot of those places. Places that aren’t scared, and not scared to be old time Americans. Places that don’t give a hoot what your politics or beliefs are…just that you are a part of their community. That you are someone who will lend a hand when needed and that they are willing to help out when you need a hand.

Dang it. That was the America we were raised to believe in. It wasn’t a lie. Maybe it was a fiction to the folks selling the story, but we bought it, and that makes it real.

And that is not the Palin, Bachman, Beck, or Rush America of hate and fear. That is, or *sob* was, the America of hope we were raised to believe in.

Or am I just a fossile?

Nice link Sunny have to try it check out the link I put up at 57. Kefir is made from grains then those grains were used in the milk. I like the idea of boiling to kill other strains and guess you end up without cow protein so no allergic effects like dairy products. Allegy season coming up this Spring so I like to go vegan and have has good success with no syptoms.

Millet? Really? I love millet. A grain, right? Or am I thinking of something else. The grain that makes the really rich, meaty bread (or is meaty stretching things). Millet? The old world grain…..maybe I should just shut up now.

I like millet.

I got into making butter in small quantities when I lived next to a small dairy farm in my hippie days. It’s so simple to put the top cream in a jar that fits your hand and just shake it. Then when it solidifies you pour off the thin milk water and reserve it for cooking. After the butter forms, you beat it with a wooden spoon to smooth it out and wrap it in parchment paper. The best butter ever.
That’ll build the arm that needs strengthening!!

Lol…the first time (when I was very, very young) that I tried to make whipped cream, I ended up with some not so bad butter.

Yes, a wonderful grain… most folks only ever see it in bird seed.

Well firedogs.. time for me to turn in.

Good night.

And welcome Fenestrate!

OK, I confess.. What I was so inartfully wondering was if Mrs W sold any of Jan’s cream separately or if it all was incorporated in the whole milk.

Now, if I’d thought it through…… lots of activity for a one-cow operation.

Any chance we could hope for a picture of Jan?

Nite es. Sweet dreams.

Core values versus global corporate values. People wanted to be good folks. Then much of America was urbanized or suburbanized and people became faces in the crowd poll numbers or lost in the crowd. Maybe the Internet will help. Transition Towns is a new movement to make communities and become sustainable. You explain yourself verey well by the way.

Such a shame…..correct me if I’m wrong…but wasn’t millet a staple of the Romans? Maybe I’ve read to many historic fictions, that were…well…fictions, but I seem to remember that.

Anyway, it’s from those books, and sorry I am I can’t say which ones (though I suspect Zelazany was one of the authors)…but it was from them guys that I first got into millet. Darn…something tells me that Kurt Vonnegat said something good to say about that grain too…but I could be mistaken.

Anyway, while all my hippy friends were raving about sprouted mung beans, I was waxing eloquent about millet.

(don’t even ask me about radish sprouts….but you really need to try them. The next time you thin out your radish patch would be just fine)

argh…….you guys have me talking like a DFH….darn it. As a young’en I was a Bakunan-ite….I’ve since moved to the right to be just a little left of Nader. I hate torture. I despair that our country will ever be right again. And here I am yakking about grains, and food, and memories…..

ARRRRGGGGHHHH

Thanks ES. Your welcome means a lot to me. I always ….not sure enjoy is the right word….respect, that’s the word. I always respect your views. Keep your sunny side up :)

I kind of forgot the key part of making handmade butter. You save the top cream for at least a week or more, it’s an enzyme thing. Same with whipped cream. Same with fresh eggs being impossible to hard boil.

Yes, millet was a staple for eons. And should be brought back in an organic, nonbiofucked form. It’s a good grain.

These are the Yakkings that allow us to take a breathe and remember grains are important. Grains feed humanity.
Grains keep us regular in a world of shit. Also.

Wow BB. (and yes, I know I’m posting too much) But…well…yes. The going rural to urban to suburban. Yeah, that shift in world views is very right (aprops…or does that word mean what I think it does). Maybe the internets will bring about a sort-of re-rualization of at least America. Maybe of Europe too? Do they need it?

Do you remember the old (well, not old to me, but old to others) saying “we are all heroes of our own movie.”? (darn, I can never get punctuation right when quotes are involved). The thing is, as we are all heroes, we are all good people. Americans have an idea, a history if you will, of what that good is. We haven’t always lived up to it. But we all have it. And as heroes of our own movies, we tend to stand up for, fight for, believe in that good.

Even though we, Americans, have a so-so track record on such things….good inre WWII, bad inre American Indian treaties….I think, I believe that the average American will stand up for what is right, i.e. what passes for progressive ideals.

I really believe that. Once we, the people, get beyond the fear mongering, we will amaze you, and the world, by just how savy we are.

Single payer, no problem. No to torture, of course. No to elitism, you better believe it. American excipitionalism, no way…we’re good, but so can you be. We can do, so can you.

I feed birds with millet they love it and leave the bread. I cooked up a batch of Quinoa, high protein Peruvian grain. All these wonderful grains can be added to soups for more nourishing combinations. I like to add some Bragg Amino acids, fresh grated horesradish and ginger root too. Thai seasoning safflower and olive oils can be added too. The food combination is the art of nourishment, Exercise increases the demand so the digestive system becomes more efficient. I believe we can live much longer and healthier by changing our lifestyles. We need to learn to listen to our bodies and be responsive.

Your link and ES’s are far superior (the site I linked seems commercial and iffy). I’m going to give it a whirl with farmer’s market milk.

Dang it guys, I’m sorry for the rant……to heck with politics. I’m making a peach cobbler tomorrow/today….and then I’m going to find some millet and make some real bread (I have a copy somewhere here of the Tassahara [help me with the spelling of that] bread book). Then I’ll dig into the Foxfire (again, I have the book but it’s in the attic so I might have the name wrong) book and will look up just what a thumper box is, and why I should care.

But really, I’m better with knitting, I cable, and yes, I can do bobbin lace. But I’m better with leather. I even do boiled leather. My brother’s in that creative anachro-thingy, but I’m better at it. Kinda.

Man, I talk too much. Please tell me to shut the heck up.

You are a breath of fresh air. Talk on…….

The American genre writer like Twain, Vonnegut, Steinbeck and tons of short story writers all speak to interrelationships Americans have with each other. Most are social critics but there is a lot of folklore, myth nursery rhymes, childrens stories and folk songs.
Then there are many European like Guy de Maupassant, Camus, Shakespeare and on and on. Our literary world is rich in lessons. But in Western culture Americana is unique and rich in hope diversity and ideas not so constrained by class and tradition.
You are quite right in summing up what core values need to be Tabu to mess with. As we don’t torture, we trade not take and we negotiate not war.

Didn’t know that about fresh eggs. I buy them but they sit forever in the fridge.

Holy mother of whatever. Dang.

I have an old cook book that says for baking you only use eggs that are at least three days old. Older is better.

Living in America now, and shopping at your standard grocery store, I’ve had real problems getting a properly boiled egg. You know, never for a second did I connect the two. You don’t bake with fresh eggs, and you don’t boil fresh eggs.

Thank you. I never put that together. I maybe should have, but I didn’t. Seriously, thank you.

I know it seems simple, but let me quote you “we trade not take and we negotiate not war.”

Nothing I have read in many a year says it more simply, more eloquently, more…to the point…than that.

Thank you for that.

Thanks hope it catches on. Goodnight it has been informative so much to learn such a small brain even with internet add on.

I have no idea what the small brain comment is about.

I’ve read your previous posts. You’re ideas have merit….dang, I have such a hard time expressing myself.

Let’s try it this way, BB you’re good people. I listen to you. I consider what you have to say. I often agree with you. When I don’t….well, I’ve been remiss. Next time you say something I don’t agree with, I’ll holler.

Bottom line, you are one of the voices here I listen to. Good night bro, sleep tight and wake up feeling good about life. There are many days ahead. We can spend some of them talking.

Better, we can make a difference. I know you can, I hope I can.