Category Archives: 2023

2023, Food, Travel, Uncategorized

A Little Tipple

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If you don’t count the wine advent calendar, I probably have three or four alcoholic drinks a year.  It’s just not something I think about often.  Even when I’m out and about, I often abstain since I’m usually driving (although YA drinks less than I do and can be counted on to drive if necessary). 

So why I thought I wanted to go to the Old Smokey Moonshine Distillery when I was in Nashville.  A friend of a friend had gone there and mentioned it on social media; when I mentioned it to Pat, she said she’d never been and would like to see it as well.  When she told her son Chad that we were going, he volunteered to drive if he could join us.  Voila, a party of three.

Old Smokey is in a huge building: half large bar and half tasting bar and merchandise.  It was a gorgeous day and there was a lot of outside seating with music as well.  It had not occurred to me that we would be tasting moonshine, but apparently it’s “the thing to do”.  Four bartenders serve the tasting, one takes care of one quadrant of a big rectangle bar, serving 8-10 people at each tasting.  Each moonshine is served in a teeny little shot glass – can’t hold more than a couple of teaspoons – and there were five flavors of moonshine that day: apple pie, peanut butter, peppermint, butterscotch and eggnog.  Then there was also a piece of moonshine pickle and a piece of pina colada pineapple.   The bartenders have their schtick down pat – fairly enjoyable.  I didn’t eat the pineapple and I only had a small sip of the peppermint (it was 100 proof) but even considering that and the tiny size of the offerings, the alcohol went straight to my head.  I was really glad somebody else was driving.

It was a fun experience and the moonshine tasted better than I had expected but it didn’t convince me that I should buy a bottle of my own.  They make a huge variety of moonshine and they have the bottles all strategically stationed along the windows so that the sunshine lights them up.  Harriet enjoyed sitting among bright colors.  She’s underage, so while she could look at the week’s flavors, she wasn’t allowed to imbibe!

What did the bartender say after Charles Dickens ordered a martini?

2023, Business, Media, Uncategorized

Scam!

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Ok. I am sick of it. The constant assault of fraudulent emails, computer alerts, and text messages purporting to want to help me, but only wanting my money!

I have countless trainings at work regarding all sorts of cyber crime, yet two weeks. ago I was nearly snared at home by a scammers saying they were from Microsoft and our bank. If they can nearly con me, with all this training, how many vulnerable people are being hurt?

A friend of mine lost $15,000 recently from a scammer that had her husband convert the money into bitcoin. Husband had what is probably a fraudulent email from our bank regarding a fraud alert on his business credit card last night. Our bank warned us about these scamming emails. He will phone the bank directly today to check things out.

Ever been scammed?

2023, Gatherings, holidays, Kids, Uncategorized, Words

Reading Aloud

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Thank the Lord! We are done with all our Christmas church performances for the year! Being a church musician can really be exhausting in December. Yesterday we played bells for two morning services and then sang, played bells, and read various things in a Lessons and Carols service in the afternoon. We had a great time, but are so relieved it is over.

I love reading lessons and scripture verses in church. I know how to pronounce some of the more difficult names, and I understand what I am reading so I think I can communicate the meaning of what is being read to the listeners. The words from the King’s College Bidding prayer are almost poetical and I was so happy to read them. Last night, several Grade 5 and 6 students read some of the Lessons, too, and they did a really good job.

I have always secretly wanted to narrate things like the public narrations of Joyce’s Ulysses that you can hear on public radio. I know that reading in public is torture for some. I love having wonderful words crafted by someone else to let others know about. 

How do you feel about reading in public? What would you like to narrate and read to others?

2023, animals, Business, Family, Farming Update, home, Nature, Theatre, Uncategorized

Wrapping Up

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Today’s Farming Update comes from Ben.

Sunday we saw ‘Aladdin’ at the Orpheum. It was big and fun. Everything you would expect of a Disney musical. Bright costumes, lots and lots of colorful lights, and a lot of magic. I still haven’t figured out how the carpet flew. It must have been magic.

I had feed delivered to the farm Monday. I had cracked corn put in the bulk bin by the barn and I feed it to the chickens. It wasn’t empty yet, but I didn’t want the truck coming down when the road gets icy or snow covered. I was planning ahead. The bin holds maybe 6000 lbs. I usually order 100 bushels (remember, 56 lbs / bushel, so 5600 lbs) about every 8 months. Because the bin wasn’t empty, I was gonna order 50 bushels. But the elevator / coop, wanted at least 4000 lbs to deliver. As long as the weather forecast was decent, we postponed for two weeks, and the corn fit with a little room to spare. The corn is from the ‘grain bank’; Corn I have the elevator store specifically for use as feed. (It’s not MY specific corn, it’s just an amount of bushels, so when I need corn, I don’t have to purchase that. I pay for the hauling and the cracking. $30 to crack it, $100 to deliver it.

I wish I had taken a picture of the truck unloading. Nothing has gotten smaller in the last 30 years…The driver said they have 5 bin trucks, and 7 bin trucks. This was a 7.  

The chickens are doing well. So well they’re doubling up on box space.

Maybe this is where the double yolkers come from!

One of our summer chickens turned into a rooster. So far, he hangs out with the hens and keeps to himself and hasn’t caused any trouble.

I’m not sure the other roosters even pay him any attention yet. Funny to think ‘They don’t know he’s around’, but maybe.

I stepped out one morning and everyone came to see what I had for them. The usual table scraps.

Crop insurance payment came in. It was enough I bought myself a new ladder. And I went for the heavy-duty fiberglass. I often see aluminum extension ladders on auctions, but not fiberglass.

I got a call from Samantha, my agronomist talking about 2024 crops. Input costs are down a bit from 2023, thank goodness. I expect Nate, my seed dealer to call soon. Early orders get discounts. Can I please just not have debt for a few weeks before taking out next year’s loan?

College semester is over. I finished the class with 94%. Whew. Creative Writing begins January 8th, and that will be an in-person class with a teacher I know well. Need about 22 credits yet and I’ll have a degree!

I baked the first batch of Amish Friendship Bread on Wednesday night. I had a bottle of Grape pop, I had my headphones on and I was listening to the first album of Chicago, when they were “Chicago Transit Authority”. It turned out OK.

WHAT WAS YOUR MUSIC THIS WEEK?

2023, History, Uncategorized, work

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda

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Wednesday I took nine boxes of goodies to UPS to send to friends and relatives. The process was fairly painless except for the irritation I felt being referred to several times by the perky, young clerk as “Dear”. It was clearly a reference to my being noticeably older than she. My initial impulse was to say “I am not a Dear. I am Dr. Boomgaarden and that is how I would like to be addressed”. 

I didn’t say anything, of course. I typically don’t with clerks or people I don’t know well. I didn’t want to come across as rude. Now, if you are a client or someone close to me, I don’t hold back and I can be pretty blunt. Besides, I wanted the clerk to not get flustered while she was getting my packages labeled.

I sometimes replay situations in my head to reflect how I wish I would have responded or acted. I used to do it a lot more when I was younger. Sometimes doing that helped me rehearse what to do the next time similar situations arose. There are only so many times one can bite one’s tongue.

Any regrets? Are you blunt, diplomatic, or a tongue biter?

2023, Family, home, The Future, Uncategorized, work

Getting Old

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In the last week I have done something rather unheard of for me-I took two full days off of work because I was tired.

I am rarely sick. I normally have enough energy to get done all the things I want to accomplish in the evenings and on the weekends. I am not doing any more than I normally do. I am in good health. Work is no more stressful than it usually is. Why, then, am I in bed most nights by 8:30? Husband is having the same experience that I am and is tired all the time.

I realized to my great annoyance that we are tired because we are aging. I will only be 66 in February. That isn’t that old. Husband will be 70, so I can understand a little more why he is taking more naps. After all, he may be retired, but he is working 20 hours a week.

My two days off allowed me to get a lot of things done at home that I would never have accomplished after work. I have to accept that I need to take more time off. With only a year of full time work left before I retire, I doubt that the administration will be too upset about me taking the occasional day off. They are hopeful I will work part-time after I formally retire, so they will be nice to me.

What about getting older has surprised and/ or annoyed you? If you are retired, is it what you hoped it would be?

2023, Family, Gatherings, holidays, Kids, Uncategorized

The Choir Sees All

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One benefit of singing in our church choir is that we sit in the front of the church and get to watch the antics of the children in the pews during the service. Our congregation is pretty tolerant of noisy children in church. Parents of the most rambunctious children sit in the balcony so they don’t make too much of a ruckus.

The other Sunday our backyard neighbor was in the balcony with her two boys, ages 5 and 3. They are very active boys. Once, this summer we heard the mom in the backyard yell at the oldest one “Don’t you put that rope around your brother’s neck!” Neither boy would sit still in church, choosing to instead run around in the balcony and not listen to their mom. She tried her best to get them to sit quietly, but it was a losing battle, and she eventually left and went home before the sermon. 

What do you think about the Elf on the Shelf? Who were the naughtiest children in your neighborhood when you were growing up?

2023, Baboon Achievers, Food, Music, Songs, The Baboon Congress

End of an Era

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I teared up more than I expected listening to the re-broadcast of the last Morning Show at The Fitzgerald.  Since I was in the theatre, none of the re-broadcast should have been a surprise, but 15 years does dull the memory and I ended up crying just as much as I did that day.  At the end when Neal and Leandra did “End of the World”, I completely lost it.  (I simply could not explain this to YA who happened to come upstairs right at that point.)

When I went downstairs to make a little dinner, I decided I needed comfort food; Ralston Hot Wheat Cereal was on the docket.  Ralston isn’t making the hotel cereal any longer; I’ve known this for a couple of months, but I still had my container in the freezer.  When I measured it out, I had exactly enough for one serving.  Somehow it seemed fitting that the last of one of my favorite comfort foods was eaten after hearing the re-broadcast. 

I’ve done quite a bit of research and I THINK that Wheatena may be close.  I did purchase some last month but haven’t tried it yet.  Fingers crossed that it’s close.  The Ralston has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid, so we’re talking DECADES.  I’m trying to take it in stride, but it’s hard.

Concerning the LGMS and the final broadcast, I am definitely seeing the bright side, as I would not be part of this fabulous community without the Trail! The Morning Show probably wouldn’t still be on the air at this point anyway and we baboons keep going and going!

What’s a product you’ve had to learn to live without?

2023, Family, Food, History, holidays, Uncategorized

Ich Mache Engelsplatschen (nicht)

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I make a variety of cookies for Christmas that I send to friends and relatives. This year our son asked me to make some marzipan cookies called Engelsplatschen, or angel cookies. He provided the recipe. One of our daughter’s friends, a young woman originally from Stuttgart, also was interested in them, as she is having problems with gluten intolerance, and these only had two teaspoons of flour in them. The only other ingredients were marzipan, almonds, powdered sugar, and an egg.

I have never cooked with marzipan before. My Aunt Leona made marzipan fruits that she painted with food coloring. She learned how to make them from her mother, who was a professional cook in Hamburg. I expected the cookies to stay in the round balls I rolled them in, just like her fruits. Well, they spread out all over, ran into each other, and burned.

I did some research, found a better recipe, and ordered more marzipan. My new recipe has quite a bit of almond flour. They will still flatten out, but will have more substance. Live and learn.

What are your favorite Christmas cookies? What new things have you been learning about or learning to do?

2023, animals, Family, Farming Update, Health, home, pets, Uncategorized, work

Pause

33 Comments

Today’s Farm Update is from Ben.

Felt like a rather quiet week on the farm.

I did get snow fence installed, and driveway markers are in.

Hauled in the last of the scrap Iron I wanted to do for this year. I’ll be curious to see what my total was for scrap iron this year. Several thousand lbs. This last load was 3500 lbs and was an old disc, a bit of the old elevator frame, and some misc pieces. Price was still $100 / ton so it paid for the gas anyway.

I did an (almost) final cleaned up behind the shed one day just scraping all the brush into a pile; I wish I had done a before photo but there’s the after.

Just image it full of trees and junk and crap collected over 40 years. I’d love to put an overhang back here to shelter some machinery like the rear blade, the snow blower, the brush mower, etc. Got a pile of cement blocks to move yet.

Met our banker one day and made a plan. I’ve got most of the big bills paid. Signed the last of the papers for crop insurance, but don’t know what that’s going to pay yet.

Had two nights of Holiday Concerts at the college this past week. The choir sounds really very nice. The band is small but growing, and they’ll be really good in another year or two. The one photo is the designer, Paul, with Santa.

We’ve had a little issue with Luna and Bailey lately. They really got into a fight the day I was working on snow fence. Like a ‘to the death’ type fight. I had to separate them three times, finally putting Bailey in the gator.

We can tell Bailey seems jealous, yet she’s picking fights she doesn’t want to be in. They’re equal size and weight. It almost seems like Luna is trying to find her place in the order. Bailey is spayed, we don’t think Luna is yet. We’ve had Luna for 2 months now. She’s really settling in. Which might be what’s putting Bailey off. Any thoughts on 2 female dogs getting along would be appreciated.

Need to get the final paper submitted for class this coming week and the semester is over on the 15th.

The Rep Theater has the next phase of heating and AC going on so that will take some of my time. They have a lot of old photos out as part of the 40 year anniversary. This was me at about 20 years old at the Rep. PHOTO

I should get going on 2023 bookwork one of these days… I’ve been really lazy on that this year.

HAVE YOU GOT THINGS WRAPPED UP?