What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from. ~~ TS Eliot
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Another giraffe. . . .
The little girl in this picture was born without a left hand. (The
picture is reversed for artistic purposes.) Her mother, Holly Spring,
took this picture and a series of others.
We have snow in the forecast at last! It's been raining since about 2:45pm, which will change over to snow tonight and snow all day tomorrow. But it's to come down lightly. A foot in the mountains but just a few inches here in the valley. I'm looking forward to it!
I think it was Truman that said, "If two Republicans are running, they'll always vote for the real one." Dems should take that to heart when they think they should run Repub Lite. They'll lose every time.
I want Howard to run again. Let's get that machine back in action. I'm really afraid that Hillary is Repub Lite. So hoping that the real Progressive will run. And Elizabeth Warren has NOT ruled it out now. But Howie would still be my fav.
Yesterday morning brought rains of biblical proportions! We even had a street flooded out about 4 blocks from my house. Luckily, I live high on the hill and not at the bottom!
I am sickened by what has happened. Why the Dems didn't stand by Obama, praise to the skies what he has achieved instead of distancing themselves and allowing the lies and insanity of the Republicans, I don't know.
I'm usually an optimist, but I just don't know. How Americans could turn out under 40% to vote, to dis ObamaCare when 13 million more Americans now have health insurance and won't just go without care or go to the emergency rooms where it costs thousands of dollars, and having averted a major depression, and countless corrections and improvements, well, what can I say.
I'm sick at heart at the ignorance, racism, and greed of the American people. I pray for Obama, may he outthink, out courage, and withstand these destructive fools.
I wasn't upset about this election because I was surprised; I was upset because I wasn't. Between Kos and Nate, it was looking pretty clear that the dems were gonna stay home. They always do. What I haven't seen is any speculation as to WHY? We stay home when it's our president in the White House, we stay home when it's theirs.
Maybe my theory about the reps being fraidy cats, and unlikely to buck power explains their side: THEY ARE GONNA DO WHAT DA MASSA SEZ. But us? Too flakey? Too Distracted? Too bored? I dunno. And that's discouraging to me, 'cause you can't fix something when you don't know what's causing it!
I don't understand why less than 40% of the citizenry voted. Are they unaware that government matters, that lives are dependent on what government does? And the Dems, asking for money constantly to try to equal or outspend the billionaires and distancing themselves from what has been accomplished??!! Stupid, Stupid, Stupid and yes, cowardly, self-serving. I'm still wroth.
But, have a good day today. It looks like winter next week for sure.
The constant begging for money clearly got me down. But thanks to Howard, I do my civic duty and vote. I truly think that getting money out of politics will be helpful.
Looking forward to a Saturday with no political events to go to. We're going to hit Costco (which will probably be full of Christmas shoppers) and the Root Beer Store. Seems we didn't have very much root beer on hand for our last Full Moon Poker group so we need to stock up.
Interesting reflecting back on the 30+ years of this (very politically active and definitely voting) group meeting every full moon and noting that their drinking habits went from beer to wine to root beer. A few still drink beer or wine, but most are quite content with root beer especially if we have some good vanilla ice cream and some tall glasses.
yum! when I was a kid we made our own root beer and it was delish! we saved our soda bottles, sterilized them and used a 'starter'. bought new bottle caps and even had a 'capper' which pressed them onto the top. then it would go in to a dark closet for a few weeks and voila! once in a while a bottle would pop it's cap because we filled the bottle too full and it would make a mess so we lined the closet and covered them with a plastic sheet. it was the best and we haa a lot of fun doing it!!
winter is here as well - cold and rainy here in the valley but the hills are getting lots of snow and the ski slopes are getting plenty of manmade snow too. it will warm up a little this week but then it drops back down for the next few weeks. the polar vortex won't affect us like it will west of us, I feel so sorry for the Midwest and even quite a bit of the south. they are going to be hammers with cold for quite a while. ugh!
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY! "If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains set lightly upon you; and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." -- Samuel Adams
The poetry workshop was stimulating and affirming. I'd love to see all the arts appreciated and exhibited because we need them instead of only validating them with commerce.
Poets were just as appalled as we are here with this past election.
A quote on my homepage from the New York Daily News. Our Howard concurs.
" Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Ed Rendell also said Sunday the Democrats did a “piss-poor job” of getting their message out before the election.
“It’s the message. We did a lousy job. We did a piss-poor job of giving voters a message,” he said on John Catsimatidis’ radio show.
“On almost every major issue, people agreed with us,” he said, but Democrats ran away from their positions instead of embracing them. “We also have … a courage gap. We’re not proud of the things that we do and the things that we stand for.”
Former Vermont Gov. and presidential candidate Howard Dean backed that view.
“The Republican message was, ‘We're not Obama.’ No substance whatsoever. ‘We're not Obama.’ What was the Democrats' message? ‘Oh, well, we're really not either.’ You cannot win if you are afraid,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Where the hell is the Democratic party? You've got to stand for something if you want to win.”
Don't know why, but got a knee acting up today. Makes me feel very very old and very very fragile. Just tried some fish oil. Will see. Maybe go look for the emu oil?
Such a busy weekend here! I worked yesterday, then we drove down to NH and back to attend a 30th anniversary party. Today we visited at VT*Grand's horse farm, all went out to eat for lunch along with Root*Center*Son. When we got back to the farm two of the horses got spooked by an annoying neighbour dog and broke out of their pastures. Never a dull moment! When we got home we had to attend a neighbourhood meeting. Glad to have a quiet evening before us.
Well, got the new batch of brownies to the batter stage, and have to say, the erythritol in NOT as sweet as sugar or Splenda. Added a few packets of Splenda and it's better. The erythritol does seem to work as a cocoa enhancer, so I might should drop the amount of cocoa in the next batch, it's almost overwhelming right now. The cooling effect is there, and noticeable, but not bothersome. But then I smoke menthols, lol!
I'm going to have to adjust either the heat, or the baking time. Maybe both. I raised the heat half way through (what used to have been done), and gave it another 25 minutes. Whew. Still haven't tasted the done deal, lol! Hold on. . . . .
Nope. At least this batch is not nearly as good a the Splenda brownies. I'll try again, with the next batch. But jeepers, I'm disappointed.
Yes, Howard was succinct and bold. As I tell people, I'm from the Howard Dean wing of the Democratic Party! Hope you find a good middle ground with the Brownies, Puddle. When you do find a good recipe, pass along for us to try.
Looks like things are mostly calm for the moment. I'm busy giving things go my community of Buy Nothing Northwest Seattle. Put a picture or two of an article with short description and those in need reply. If only one, I give to person that appears to have the greatest need or was first, if a lot of interest, I number everyone and do a random drawing from random.org. Most people pick up right away, but some space out and I have to bug them.
But it's an excellent way to give my excess to those that truly need it and not just dump it at the goodwill. Except for vases, have WAY too many of those and they are not really nice ones but ones that flower arrangements come in. Those go to Goodwill by the bag full.
Wish I had sumpin like that, Barb! Here, you gotta haul it an hour and a half to the nearest charity. Or kill, burn and bury.
Not finding much help on the net of the ways and means of cooking with erythritol. (BTW AKA Truvia. I don't do Truvia because Stevia has such a STRONG wet canvas taste for me.)
Brownies better this morning than last night, which is good. They remind me of 90% chocolate bars, which I also find difficult to eat--bitter.
Drifting calmer waters,waiting for a breeze languid morning reverie now ours to seize. Leaving oar alone, no storm causing a surge no need to row now, just release the urge. With tempest almost capsized, the roar still in our ears for now the blessed zephyr, erases all the fears. There is a time to paddle, there is a time to strive there is a time to let it go, the joy of now alive.
Well, I found it, lol! LOTS of talk on the health blogs/sites. This is where it stems from.
Here, we demonstrate that heating sucralose at high temperatures in stainless steel or other metal utensils in the presence of rust (Al2O3, Fe2O3, and CuO) produces polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs). PCDD/Fs were found in smoke generated during the heating of sucralose and in the residues after heating. CuO enhanced the PCDD/F yield in comparison with Al2O3 and Fe2O3.
Soooooooooooo--don't cook with rusty utensils and Splenda. And if you do--don't inhale. Putting it in your coffee is okay--even with a rusty pan it doesn't start to smoke until about 400º. . . . But just to be really safe, make sure your coffee mug isn't rusty.
How I stopped drinking sugar in my coffee. . . . My good neighbor was moving. Her hubby and chirren were already gone, and she was just waiting for the moving truck. We started a game of Scrabble after I put my two to bed at nine. About one in the morning, we realized she was out of sugar. I knew that I was also. (This was before the days of 24 hour grocery stores.) So, it was either learn to drink my coffee sugarless, or go home and go to bed. By morning, I was fine with no sugar coffee, and have never used it again.
This evening, Bill and I attended a presentation by Suncommon regarding the new solar array that has just been built on a friend of ours’ land nearby. What this means is NO up front costs, Suncommon works with GMP to alter our GMP bills, and we have a set fee per month for the next 20 years!! The cost is based on what % of the solar array you contract for. The minimum is 2%, though 3 or 4% is not uncommon. The example given is that if your electric bill is usually $100, it will probably be more like $90 under this contract. AND!! It would stay $90 for the next 20 years!!! You can change the % you use, if needed, for a small office fee. If you move and still use GMP, you can transfer the contract to your new address. If you move and no longer use GMP, so you need to opt out, you can do so with a charge of 3 month’s payment. (The reason for the charge is so that Suncommon has time to find someone else to fill your percentage of the array. Also, GMP only lets Suncommon make changes every 6 months, and they need to keep the array at 100% to keep the costs down. It’s all very reasonable.
We are very excited that we can “go Solar” now and not have to wait until we get a new roof in 3 years, and then pay to have panels put on it! All good!
Barb, Good for you clearing out and helping folks in need!!
I bought a jacket yesterday. I almost didn't, because the sleeves are 3" too long for me, but it was a never-been-worn jacket being sold for $20 by a young woman who is clearing out her closets to make some money. It's a real departure for me, as it's a black leather jacket! The only thing leather I ever buy is shoes, but as it's being re-homed I didn't feel as bad about it. It's thin and supple, and will make an excellent extra layer this winter. But! I dropped it off where I have my alterations done, and when I got home I found voicemail explaining that they don't alter leather. So! They're sending it out … to Canada! LOL! That's only an hour north of here, but I hope it isn't stopped at the border for fitting a renegade profile! ;-D
puddle, we'll be needing a recipe. I think I'm going to stay with Splenda and Maple Syrup. But if you find a cocoa recipe that comes out good, I'm all eyes! ;-)
On Friday morning, Pat, I read through all of your poetry book again, cover to cover. So here are a few more comments…
p. 32: This is the verse that CAUGHT me, and held me there:
"How does one learn to ignore the silence to stop talking into it to not feel your body wearing you?"
So, the body wears us like a garment, and wears us until it wears us out.
I am put in mind of Mark Doty's verses upon seeing the AIDS quilt. I'll post a quote from his really long poem The Wings below this post.
p. 48: The photo (Samoa) looks so much like Lake Champlain!
p. 52: Your lines:
"Cradle your sorrow. Then let it sleep."
remind me of James Finley's book The Contemplative Heart, as he tells of the pilgrim ascending the mountain who, hearing crying in the valley, descends to the valley and follows the sound of the crying, to a house in which is a child sobbing. The pilgrim simply goes and sits beside the child (who is the pilgrim at an earlier time), to offer companionship. That mature adult tenderness for the wounding of the self as a child brings about healing. This is so profound!
p. 65: Such perfection and in so few words!!
"I caught the moon last night.
"Now wherever I go I am reflecting light."
(Yes, I see that here. May you always, Pat.)
p. 71: Two of your four verses stay with me long past the reading of them:
"You are saying that what my grandparents thought is in my consciousness?"
and
"Nothing stays the same. We act as though it does."
Each of these would lead a whole thread of discussion here on this blog! And why not?
And lastly for this round: p. 79:
"I am calm safe, trusting my senses sharpened."
I hadn't really thought of it that way before, but, yes, I do believe that trust and keen awareness are interrelated. It might not be articulated trust yet, but it isn't blind. The third eye sees much, and gives us deep interior reason for calm.
I am so grateful and still receiving meaning from your gleanings. Namaste! ♥
BTW, puddle, one commentator on that article mentioned that they never have gut trouble with the Splenda packets, but do with the loose Splenda in the box. I find that to be the case too. That's what's kept me from baking with it. But maybe the issue goes away when you heat it. Hmmm.
Thanks for the info on Splenda, Puddle. Glad you've been putting it forward. I almost passed on the false article on it to my daughter that uses it.
Love Phil's poetry, and Listener, you put forth quite a lot of poetry for our reading pleasure.
Nothing new going on here. Especially the hands in our pocket looking for money. Can't believe it! One for United Farm Workers asking for $150. sure, I've got that laying around. Told him I'd go to the website and check it out. I'll probably pass on $25, but with Burt struggling with part time work that I can sometimes pass his way at one of our storage facilities while a manager goes on vacation, and really really trying to get our debt pd OFF before I retire, there's not much hope of anything more than that going to anyone politically involved. Sigh...
Anyway, need to get ready for work, much love and many hugs to all.
The temperature is 9 degrees, and it's still snowing, though we only have a few inches of accumulation. What a change from the sunny, warm, and gentle fall.
It feels like being in a cave or an igloo, safe, warm, looking out onto a white world.
Thank you so much, Listener, for your thoughts and attention. What a gift to know that something that came through me has resonance for you. I don't know where art, poetry, music, dance, sculpture, crafts come from, but it is pure joy that we are touched by them.
I like Mark Doty very much and will reread what you posted.
And yes, solar power. We get 3% of our electricity from solar through Poudre Valley REA, and it feels so good. To have solar panels and the batteries to keep them running sounds complicated. How wonderful that we can still have solar without all that maintenance.
We also have a solar powered hot water heater with two panels on our roof through Mile High Solar. He said that our hot water costs us 70 cents a day as opposed to ten times that amount.
I am optimistic that Obama will be successful. I'm delighted to hear that he has insisted on net neutrality.
Thank you again, Listener. It is kind and generous of you. And thanks, Puddle, for Phil's poetry. What is Neola?
Here in Vermont it hit 63F on the back porch today, and lots of sunshine. I washed all the downstairs windows outside and inside, and pruned a few bushes, before going to work. Tomorrow will be in the 50's with rain. But beginning tomorrow night our temps ill drop into the 20's by night and 30's by day.
Stay snug!!
Mark Doty was my college professor, and the First Reader for my Senior Project. Such a tender soul, so aware and encouraging!!
Studies indicate that individuals with the "strong tasters" PTC gene variant were less likely to be smokers. This may indicate that people who find PTC bitter are more likely than non-tasters to find the taste of cigarettes bitter and may be less likely to smoke.
The expected cold front has just arrived. Yesterday it was 63F and partly sunny here. Currently we have rain and 54F. This is the warmest temp we will see for awhile, as temps will fall to 32F today and not rise out of the 30's again for at least a week! Very little snow in sight, though.
puddle, I'm pretty sure I'm a taster. Not only does cigarette smoke bother me, but I can't stand the smell or taste of beer, and any wine has to be the sweet sort, such as Moscato or at least Zinfandel...though Madeira seems, even to me, terribly sweet.
The living room was 51 degrees this morning when I went downstairs.
Interesting about tasting. Listener, I can't stand the taste or smell of beer either, and both parents were smokers as I was until I was 40 years old. I loved having coffee and a cigarette with a good friend, but I realized that smoking was going to affect breathing so quit one Thanksgiving, sleeping for 12 hours, and not another inhale since.
White world out there. I've had enough of winter, am ready for spring.
A day of layering, scarves, and a nose warmer a neighbor crocheted for me.
HAH! I must be a taster, my throat seems to snap shut when I walk by someone that is smoking. AND I LOVE broccoli!
Take care in this weather. It's bitterly cold here (probably not what YOU'D consider bitter, but I'm used to milder weather) so it's scarf and gloves time for me.
Medicare advantage person is coming to night so we can pick a new plan for next year. the plan we were on sent us a letter telling us that we could no longer use our primary docs (20 years and you're yanking us off????) and had the temerity to say we could now go to this other doc. We said Thanks, but NO thanks!) So we shall see. Also, last year I was on an HMO and I'm going back to a PPO! May have to pay a bit more in premiums, but don't have the hassle of having to get permission every time I need to see a specialist.
Well. here in. GSO.we are just 24 hours behind the coming cold front. Blue skies and 63 degree high today. So, that decides my schedule..out walking and checking on our downtown neighborhood. Major water line repair happening in one spot across the street just in front of another building being renovated. Puddle,if you remember the many empty retail/ commercial buildings you might not recognize S. Elm St. This building was the first to be done. We were lucky to have a local banker with a conscience and a strong historic preservation group.
Shirlee, *smart* as well as heart! Greensboro is a lovely city, and Elm Street, even partially finished, was great fun. But then, I was happy, then. . . .
And ya, we gots snows coming down the shoosh! Not outlandishly early for here, but I coulda stood to wait a bit.
Thay, Thich Nhat Hanh, had a severe brain hemorrhage on Tuesday. He was in a coma, but is now awake and responsive, so there is hope that he may yet recover. Please keep him mindfully in your prayers. Chants are invited.
Woo--not gonna do *that* no mo'!!! That being wash my hair in cold water! I thought the bathroom being warm (of air) would counteract the coldness of the water. It didn't.
Thank you so much, Listener, for the news of Thay.
Here's a short poem.
A Prayer
Philae touches down on the comet. Here the temperature at minus eleven. Thay in his 80s, a severe brain hemorrhage, And what of us, where, how, when? Dearest Holy Monk who helps us awaken, Do not leave us now, not yet.
It's getting colder, the temperature now at 5 degrees F.
This is our Siberian Week. We just got back from Estes Park, decided not to eat at Ed's Cantina, nor go to the library, just too cold.
Am reading about Mongolia, two wonderful books: The Blue Sky and The Gray Earth by Galsan Tschinag. It is so authentic, the mores, the rituals, and the lives of herders. It makes me so grateful for warmth, food, transportation, the leisure to be able to do other things. Compared to Margaret Mead and other anthropologists, this is vivid, vital, and conveys from the inside a herding culture. Just wonderful.
Thanks, Puddle,for the article on Clinton. I've read some of it, will go back to it.
61 comments:
Howard B. Dean be first here. If only we would get back to that 50 state strategy FULL TIME!!!
love the pic puddle!
Beautiful! She looks so amazed!! :-)
We have snow in the forecast at last! It's been raining since about 2:45pm, which will change over to snow tonight and snow all day tomorrow. But it's to come down lightly. A foot in the mountains but just a few inches here in the valley. I'm looking forward to it!
Out of the 2.2 million registered voters in Oregon, 69.5 percent, or 1,519,804, returned ballots.
Wonderful picture, Puddle. Thank you.
I think it was Truman that said, "If two Republicans are running, they'll always vote for the real one." Dems should take that to heart when they think they should run Repub Lite. They'll lose every time.
I want Howard to run again. Let's get that machine back in action. I'm really afraid that Hillary is Repub Lite. So hoping that the real Progressive will run. And Elizabeth Warren has NOT ruled it out now. But Howie would still be my fav.
Yesterday morning brought rains of biblical proportions! We even had a street flooded out about 4 blocks from my house. Luckily, I live high on the hill and not at the bottom!
Hi folks,
Cute graphic, Puddle.
I am sickened by what has happened. Why the Dems didn't stand by Obama, praise to the skies what he has achieved instead of distancing themselves and allowing the lies and insanity of the Republicans, I don't know.
I'm usually an optimist, but I just don't know. How Americans could turn out under 40% to vote, to dis ObamaCare when 13 million more Americans now have health insurance and won't just go without care or go to the emergency rooms where it costs thousands of dollars, and having averted a major depression, and countless corrections and improvements, well, what can I say.
I'm sick at heart at the ignorance, racism, and greed of the American people. I pray for Obama, may he outthink, out courage, and withstand these destructive fools.
I'm sorry, but I just can't take this in.
I wasn't upset about this election because I was surprised; I was upset because I wasn't. Between Kos and Nate, it was looking pretty clear that the dems were gonna stay home. They always do. What I haven't seen is any speculation as to WHY? We stay home when it's our president in the White House, we stay home when it's theirs.
Maybe my theory about the reps being fraidy cats, and unlikely to buck power explains their side: THEY ARE GONNA DO WHAT DA MASSA SEZ. But us? Too flakey? Too Distracted? Too bored? I dunno. And that's discouraging to me, 'cause you can't fix something when you don't know what's causing it!
If we VOTE, we WIN!
Good Morning,
Poetry workshop today at Daz Bog coffee shop.
I don't understand why less than 40% of the citizenry voted. Are they unaware that government matters, that lives are dependent on what government does? And the Dems, asking for money constantly to try to equal or outspend the billionaires and distancing themselves from what has been accomplished??!! Stupid, Stupid, Stupid and yes, cowardly, self-serving. I'm still wroth.
But, have a good day today. It looks like winter next week for sure.
The constant begging for money clearly got me down. But thanks to Howard, I do my civic duty and vote. I truly think that getting money out of politics will be helpful.
Looking forward to a Saturday with no political events to go to. We're going to hit Costco (which will probably be full of Christmas shoppers) and the Root Beer Store. Seems we didn't have very much root beer on hand for our last Full Moon Poker group so we need to stock up.
Interesting reflecting back on the 30+ years of this (very politically active and definitely voting) group meeting every full moon and noting that their drinking habits went from beer to wine to root beer. A few still drink beer or wine, but most are quite content with root beer especially if we have some good vanilla ice cream and some tall glasses.
yum! when I was a kid we made our own root beer and it was delish! we saved our soda bottles, sterilized them and used a 'starter'. bought new bottle caps and even had a 'capper' which pressed them onto the top. then it would go in to a dark closet for a few weeks and voila! once in a while a bottle would pop it's cap because we filled the bottle too full and it would make a mess so we lined the closet and covered them with a plastic sheet. it was the best and we haa a lot of fun doing it!!
winter is here as well - cold and rainy here in the valley but the hills are getting lots of snow and the ski slopes are getting plenty of manmade snow too. it will warm up a little this week but then it drops back down for the next few weeks. the polar vortex won't affect us like it will west of us, I feel so sorry for the Midwest and even quite a bit of the south. they are going to be hammers with cold for quite a while. ugh!
Good Morning,
This quote sent by an old friend.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY!
"If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains set lightly upon you; and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." -- Samuel Adams
Good Morning to you.
The poetry workshop was stimulating and affirming. I'd love to see all the arts appreciated and exhibited because we need them instead of only validating them with commerce.
Poets were just as appalled as we are here with this past election.
Lovely day, tomorrow brings winter.
A quote on my homepage from the New York Daily News. Our Howard concurs.
" Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Ed Rendell also said Sunday the Democrats did a “piss-poor job” of getting their message out before the election.
“It’s the message. We did a lousy job. We did a piss-poor job of giving voters a message,” he said on John Catsimatidis’ radio show.
“On almost every major issue, people agreed with us,” he said, but Democrats ran away from their positions instead of embracing them. “We also have … a courage gap. We’re not proud of the things that we do and the things that we stand for.”
Former Vermont Gov. and presidential candidate Howard Dean backed that view.
“The Republican message was, ‘We're not Obama.’ No substance whatsoever. ‘We're not Obama.’ What was the Democrats' message? ‘Oh, well, we're really not either.’ You cannot win if you are afraid,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Where the hell is the Democratic party? You've got to stand for something if you want to win.”
Don't know why, but got a knee acting up today. Makes me feel very very old and very very fragile. Just tried some fish oil. Will see. Maybe go look for the emu oil?
Such a busy weekend here! I worked yesterday, then we drove down to NH and back to attend a 30th anniversary party. Today we visited at VT*Grand's horse farm, all went out to eat for lunch along with Root*Center*Son. When we got back to the farm two of the horses got spooked by an annoying neighbour dog and broke out of their pastures. Never a dull moment! When we got home we had to attend a neighbourhood meeting. Glad to have a quiet evening before us.
Well, the fish oil helped, so gonna take two more, lol! I just love being old!
Well, got the new batch of brownies to the batter stage, and have to say, the erythritol in NOT as sweet as sugar or Splenda. Added a few packets of Splenda and it's better. The erythritol does seem to work as a cocoa enhancer, so I might should drop the amount of cocoa in the next batch, it's almost overwhelming right now. The cooling effect is there, and noticeable, but not bothersome. But then I smoke menthols, lol!
I'm going to have to adjust either the heat, or the baking time. Maybe both. I raised the heat half way through (what used to have been done), and gave it another 25 minutes. Whew. Still haven't tasted the done deal, lol! Hold on. . . . .
Nope. At least this batch is not nearly as good a the Splenda brownies. I'll try again, with the next batch. But jeepers, I'm disappointed.
Yes, Howard was succinct and bold. As I tell people, I'm from the Howard Dean wing of the Democratic Party! Hope you find a good middle ground with the Brownies, Puddle. When you do find a good recipe, pass along for us to try.
Looks like things are mostly calm for the moment. I'm busy giving things go my community of Buy Nothing Northwest Seattle. Put a picture or two of an article with short description and those in need reply. If only one, I give to person that appears to have the greatest need or was first, if a lot of interest, I number everyone and do a random drawing from random.org. Most people pick up right away, but some space out and I have to bug them.
But it's an excellent way to give my excess to those that truly need it and not just dump it at the goodwill. Except for vases, have WAY too many of those and they are not really nice ones but ones that flower arrangements come in. Those go to Goodwill by the bag full.
Much love and many hugs to all my blog family.
Wish I had sumpin like that, Barb! Here, you gotta haul it an hour and a half to the nearest charity. Or kill, burn and bury.
Not finding much help on the net of the ways and means of cooking with erythritol. (BTW AKA Truvia. I don't do Truvia because Stevia has such a STRONG wet canvas taste for me.)
Brownies better this morning than last night, which is good. They remind me of 90% chocolate bars, which I also find difficult to eat--bitter.
Phil Specht
2 hrs ·
post election poem for Neola's best
The Wind Dies
Drifting calmer waters,waiting for a breeze
languid morning reverie now ours to seize.
Leaving oar alone, no storm causing a surge
no need to row now, just release the urge.
With tempest almost capsized, the roar still in our ears
for now the blessed zephyr, erases all the fears.
There is a time to paddle, there is a time to strive
there is a time to let it go, the joy of now alive.
Well, I found it, lol! LOTS of talk on the health blogs/sites. This is where it stems from.
Here, we demonstrate that heating sucralose at high temperatures in stainless steel or other metal utensils in the presence of rust (Al2O3, Fe2O3, and CuO) produces polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs). PCDD/Fs were found in smoke generated during the heating of sucralose and in the residues after heating. CuO enhanced the PCDD/F yield in comparison with Al2O3 and Fe2O3.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3796739/
Soooooooooooo--don't cook with rusty utensils and Splenda. And if you do--don't inhale. Putting it in your coffee is okay--even with a rusty pan it doesn't start to smoke until about 400º. . . . But just to be really safe, make sure your coffee mug isn't rusty.
How I stopped drinking sugar in my coffee. . . . My good neighbor was moving. Her hubby and chirren were already gone, and she was just waiting for the moving truck. We started a game of Scrabble after I put my two to bed at nine. About one in the morning, we realized she was out of sugar. I knew that I was also. (This was before the days of 24 hour grocery stores.) So, it was either learn to drink my coffee sugarless, or go home and go to bed. By morning, I was fine with no sugar coffee, and have never used it again.
*We are going Solar!!!*
This evening, Bill and I attended a presentation by Suncommon regarding the new solar array that has just been built on a friend of ours’ land nearby. What this means is NO up front costs, Suncommon works with GMP to alter our GMP bills, and we have a set fee per month for the next 20 years!! The cost is based on what % of the solar array you contract for. The minimum is 2%, though 3 or 4% is not uncommon. The example given is that if your electric bill is usually $100, it will probably be more like $90 under this contract. AND!! It would stay $90 for the next 20 years!!! You can change the % you use, if needed, for a small office fee. If you move and still use GMP, you can transfer the contract to your new address. If you move and no longer use GMP, so you need to opt out, you can do so with a charge of 3 month’s payment. (The reason for the charge is so that Suncommon has time to find someone else to fill your percentage of the array. Also, GMP only lets Suncommon make changes every 6 months, and they need to keep the array at 100% to keep the costs down. It’s all very reasonable.
We are very excited that we can “go Solar” now and not have to wait until we get a new roof in 3 years, and then pay to have panels put on it! All good!
PS: GMP = Green Mountain Power. :-)
Barb, Good for you clearing out and helping folks in need!!
I bought a jacket yesterday. I almost didn't, because the sleeves are 3" too long for me, but it was a never-been-worn jacket being sold for $20 by a young woman who is clearing out her closets to make some money. It's a real departure for me, as it's a black leather jacket! The only thing leather I ever buy is shoes, but as it's being re-homed I didn't feel as bad about it. It's thin and supple, and will make an excellent extra layer this winter. But! I dropped it off where I have my alterations done, and when I got home I found voicemail explaining that they don't alter leather. So! They're sending it out … to Canada! LOL! That's only an hour north of here, but I hope it isn't stopped at the border for fitting a renegade profile! ;-D
Pat, are you being nipped by Arctic air? Stay snug! ♥
puddle, we'll be needing a recipe. I think I'm going to stay with Splenda and Maple Syrup. But if you find a cocoa recipe that comes out good, I'm all eyes! ;-)
If you're staying with Splenda, the brownie recipe in the last thread is super!
Last bit of Splenda info, then I'm out: http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/sugar-and-sweeteners/splenda-misinformation/
Did have to laugh that it was the sugar lobby, again. . . .
On Friday morning, Pat, I read through all of your poetry book again, cover to cover. So here are a few more comments…
p. 32: This is the verse that CAUGHT me, and held me there:
"How does one learn to ignore
the silence
to stop talking into it
to not feel your body
wearing you?"
So, the body wears us like a garment, and
wears us until it wears us out.
I am put in mind of Mark Doty's verses upon seeing the AIDS quilt. I'll post a quote from his really long poem The Wings below this post.
p. 48: The photo (Samoa) looks so much like Lake Champlain!
p. 52: Your lines:
"Cradle your sorrow.
Then
let it sleep."
remind me of James Finley's book The Contemplative Heart, as he tells of the pilgrim ascending the mountain who, hearing crying in the valley, descends to the valley and follows the sound of the crying, to a house in which is a child sobbing. The pilgrim simply goes and sits beside the child (who is the pilgrim at an earlier time), to offer companionship. That mature adult tenderness for the wounding of the self as a child brings about healing. This is so profound!
p. 65: Such perfection and in so few words!!
"I caught
the moon
last night.
"Now wherever
I go
I am reflecting light."
(Yes, I see that here.
May you always, Pat.)
p. 71: Two of your four verses stay with me long past the reading of them:
"You are saying that
what my grandparents thought
is in my consciousness?"
and
"Nothing stays the same.
We act as though
it does."
Each of these would lead a whole thread of discussion here on this blog! And why not?
And lastly for this round:
p. 79:
"I am calm
safe,
trusting
my senses sharpened."
I hadn't really thought of it that way before, but, yes, I do believe that trust and keen awareness are interrelated. It might not be articulated trust yet, but it isn't blind. The third eye sees much, and gives us deep interior reason for calm.
I am so grateful and still receiving meaning from your gleanings. Namaste! ♥
Two excerpts from THE WINGS by Mark Doty
from his book of poetry *My Alexandria*
for which he became the first American to win
the TS Eliot prize
In the Exhibition Hall each unfurled
three-by-five field bears
in awkward or accomplished embroidery
a name, every banner stitched to another
and another. They’re reading
the unthinkable catalog of the names,
so many they blur, become
a single music pronounced with difficulty
over the microphone, become a pronoun,
become You. It’s the clothing I can’t get past,
the way a favorite pair of jeans,
a striped shirt’s sewn onto the cloth;
the fading, the pulls in the fabric
demonstrate how these relics formed around
one essential, missing body.
An empty pair of pants
is mortality’s severest evidence.
Embroidered mottoes blend
into something elegiac but removed;
a shirt can’t be remote.
One can’t look past
the sleeves where two arms
were, where a shoulder pushed
against a seam, and someone knew exactly
how the stitches pressed against skin
that can’t be generalized but was,
irretrievably, you, or yours.
…
If you're offered endlessness,
don't do anything differently. The rule
of earth is attachment:
here what can't be held
is. You die by dying
into what matters, which will kill you,
but first it'll be enough. Or more than that:
your story, which you have worn away
as you shaped it,
which has become itself
as it has disappeared.
Very helpful article, puddle!
THANKS!!
I'll have to try out your brownie recipe. :-)
BTW, puddle, one commentator on that article mentioned that they never have gut trouble with the Splenda packets, but do with the loose Splenda in the box. I find that to be the case too. That's what's kept me from baking with it. But maybe the issue goes away when you heat it. Hmmm.
Oh yes, and the Sugar Lobby! Good to know!! Ha!
You know, as close as you are to Canada, you might make a point of picking up some cyclamate and trying it. It was *splendid* stuff!
Thanks for the info on Splenda, Puddle. Glad you've been putting it forward. I almost passed on the false article on it to my daughter that uses it.
Love Phil's poetry, and Listener, you put forth quite a lot of poetry for our reading pleasure.
Nothing new going on here. Especially the hands in our pocket looking for money. Can't believe it! One for United Farm Workers asking for $150. sure, I've got that laying around. Told him I'd go to the website and check it out. I'll probably pass on $25, but with Burt struggling with part time work that I can sometimes pass his way at one of our storage facilities while a manager goes on vacation, and really really trying to get our debt pd OFF before I retire, there's not much hope of anything more than that going to anyone politically involved. Sigh...
Anyway, need to get ready for work, much love and many hugs to all.
Good Morning,
The temperature is 9 degrees, and it's still snowing, though we only have a few inches of accumulation. What a change from the sunny, warm, and gentle fall.
It feels like being in a cave or an igloo, safe, warm, looking out onto a white world.
Thank you so much, Listener, for your thoughts and attention. What a gift to know that something that came through me has resonance for you. I don't know where art, poetry, music, dance, sculpture, crafts come from, but it is pure joy that we are touched by them.
I like Mark Doty very much and will reread what you posted.
And yes, solar power. We get 3% of our electricity from solar through Poudre Valley REA, and it feels so good. To have solar panels and the batteries to keep them running sounds complicated. How wonderful that we can still have solar without all that maintenance.
We also have a solar powered hot water heater with two panels on our roof through Mile High Solar. He said that our hot water costs us 70 cents a day as opposed to ten times that amount.
I am optimistic that Obama will be successful. I'm delighted to hear that he has insisted on net neutrality.
Thank you again, Listener. It is kind and generous of you. And thanks, Puddle, for Phil's poetry. What is Neola?
Neola appears to be a town in Iowa.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neola,_Iowa
http://www.bucksnortneola.com/
It's not his home town--he's on the opposite side of the state.
Thanks, Puddle.
Tonight, three more inches of snow, -20 wind chill factor. We went from fall into the heart of winter.
BRRRRR!
Brrrr, indeed, Pat!
Here in Vermont it hit 63F on the back porch today, and lots of sunshine. I washed all the downstairs windows outside and inside, and pruned a few bushes, before going to work. Tomorrow will be in the 50's with rain. But beginning tomorrow night our temps ill drop into the 20's by night and 30's by day.
Stay snug!!
Mark Doty was my college professor, and the First Reader for my Senior Project. Such a tender soul, so aware and encouraging!!
temps ill drop = temps will drop
(Same idear! :-D )
This is interesting! I'm a non-taster (genetics class in college).
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/inheritance/ptc/
Studies indicate that individuals with the "strong tasters" PTC gene variant were less likely to be smokers. This may indicate that people who find PTC bitter are more likely than non-tasters to find the taste of cigarettes bitter and may be less likely to smoke.
However, we non-tasters like brassicas, lol!
The expected cold front has just arrived.
Yesterday it was 63F and partly sunny here. Currently we have rain and 54F. This is the warmest temp we will see for awhile, as temps will fall to 32F today and not rise out of the 30's again for at least a week! Very little snow in sight, though.
puddle, I'm pretty sure I'm a taster. Not only does cigarette smoke bother me, but I can't stand the smell or taste of beer, and any wine has to be the sweet sort, such as Moscato or at least Zinfandel...though Madeira seems, even to me, terribly sweet.
Wait, but how odd that it's genetic, as both my parents were heavy smokers.
Good Morning,
The living room was 51 degrees this morning when I went downstairs.
Interesting about tasting. Listener, I can't stand the taste or smell of beer either, and both parents were smokers as I was until I was 40 years old. I loved having coffee and a cigarette with a good friend, but I realized that smoking was going to affect breathing so quit one Thanksgiving, sleeping for 12 hours, and not another inhale since.
White world out there. I've had enough of winter, am ready for spring.
A day of layering, scarves, and a nose warmer a neighbor crocheted for me.
HAH! I must be a taster, my throat seems to snap shut when I walk by someone that is smoking. AND I LOVE broccoli!
Take care in this weather. It's bitterly cold here (probably not what YOU'D consider bitter, but I'm used to milder weather) so it's scarf and gloves time for me.
Medicare advantage person is coming to night so we can pick a new plan for next year. the plan we were on sent us a letter telling us that we could no longer use our primary docs (20 years and you're yanking us off????) and had the temerity to say we could now go to this other doc. We said Thanks, but NO thanks!) So we shall see. Also, last year I was on an HMO and I'm going back to a PPO! May have to pay a bit more in premiums, but don't have the hassle of having to get permission every time I need to see a specialist.
Have a safe day, my friends. much love to all.
Well. here in. GSO.we are just 24 hours behind the coming cold front. Blue skies and 63 degree high today.
So, that decides my schedule..out walking and checking on our downtown neighborhood. Major water line repair
happening in one spot across the street just in front of
another building being renovated. Puddle,if you remember
the many empty retail/ commercial buildings you might not
recognize S. Elm St. This building was the first to be
done. We were lucky to have a local banker with a conscience and a strong historic preservation group.
listener, this is how: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/inheritance/ptc/images/Pedigree.jpg
Shirlee, *smart* as well as heart! Greensboro is a lovely city, and Elm Street, even partially finished, was great fun. But then, I was happy, then. . . .
And ya, we gots snows coming down the shoosh! Not outlandishly early for here, but I coulda stood to wait a bit.
Well, they hiked the temps a bit and moved the moisture, now transformed to rain, back to Mundy.
Om mani padme hum….
Thay, Thich Nhat Hanh, had a severe brain hemorrhage on Tuesday. He was in a coma, but is now awake and responsive, so there is hope that he may yet recover. Please keep him mindfully in your prayers. Chants are invited.
http://plumvillage.org/news/our-beloved-teacher-in-hospital/
Woo--not gonna do *that* no mo'!!! That being wash my hair in cold water! I thought the bathroom being warm (of air) would counteract the coldness of the water. It didn't.
Brrrrrrrr, puddle!!
Thank you so much, Listener, for the news of Thay.
Here's a short poem.
A Prayer
Philae touches down on the comet.
Here the temperature at minus eleven.
Thay in his 80s, a severe brain hemorrhage,
And what of us, where, how, when?
Dearest Holy Monk who helps us awaken,
Do not leave us now, not yet.
Today would have been my parents 78th wedding anniversary.
And it's snowing! No sticking but snowing--outside of the predictions, lol!
Good Afternoon,
It's getting colder, the temperature now at 5 degrees F.
This is our Siberian Week. We just got back from Estes Park, decided not to eat at Ed's Cantina, nor go to the library, just too cold.
Am reading about Mongolia, two wonderful books: The Blue Sky and The Gray Earth by Galsan Tschinag. It is so authentic, the mores, the rituals, and the lives of herders. It makes me so grateful for warmth, food, transportation, the leisure to be able to do other things. Compared to Margaret Mead and other anthropologists, this is vivid, vital, and conveys from the inside a herding culture. Just wonderful.
Thanks, Puddle,for the article on Clinton. I've read some of it, will go back to it.
Stay warm!
Courtesy of listener, there's a new giraffeless thread!
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