There is a woman who attended our Lutheran Church for many years before she and her husband moved to Minnesota. Her lasting legacy , the thing she is remembered for, is her lefse recipe. Hers’ is the recipe we all consult when there are any doubts about how to make lefse. I think that is a pretty nice way to be remembered.
One of my Great Uncles is best remembered for being a very musically inclined bootlegger who was really good operating steam threshers. HIs children carried on his love of music by running a dance band for many years. Since Prohibition was over, they didn’t need to keep up his bootlegging when he died in the early 1930’s.
I hope that Husband and I are leaving a legacy of good psychology practice that others can learn from. I like having students and interns to teach and supervise. I only get to do a little of that, though. I guess I could consider my psychological evaluations as lasting legacies. It would be fine with me, though, if I am mainly remembered as a good cook and baker and as a kind person.
What lasting legacy would you like to leave? What skills or talents would you like to pass on to someone?
North Dakotans were rather shocked in September to hear on the news that a woman in Minot had been arrested for murdering her boyfriend with antifreeze in order to get money he was inheriting. It even made the New York Times. If you click on the headline, you can read the whole article.
What isn’t in the article is that after her arrest, it was discovered that the man was being scammed, and that the inheritance was fictitious. There never was any money. She sort of miscalculated. Oops! I hate it when that happens!
What have been some of your bigger miscalculations?
I love bakeries – you all know this. Luckily most of my close friends are also bakery fiends, so I never have to worry about any bakery withdrawal when I travel.
Long before I visited Pat in Nashville last month, she had emailed me a link from a bakery that she wanted to try with me. Most mornings we made breakfast at her house but one morning we did save for The Franklin Bakehouse.
Franklin is a small community about a half hour from Pat’s home in Nashville. I expect that the folks in Franklin would bristle at being labeled an outer-ring suburb, but as Nashville has grown, that’s exactly what it has become. It is the epitome of a small town – lots of little shops, wide sidewalks, picturesque streets. It didn’t hurt that it was a beautiful fall day in Tennessee, making the drive very pleasant. There were huge pots of chrysanthemums at every corner of the “downtown” – just gorgeous.
The aroma inside The Bakehouse was amazing and the array of pastries and sweets made it really hard to choose. I ended up getting a massive cinnamon roll and a beautiful blueberry tart, knowing I couldn’t possibly eat it all (I asked for the to-go container right away). Pat had the dutch apple pie/bread pudding. It’s in the picture above and was almost as big as her head. She also ended up taking some home. We also ordered coffee and sat at a window table and watched the world go by. It was a fabulous was to spend an hour that morning.
Henrietta didn’t really make a pig of herself; she actually bristles at the idea as she is a peccary, not a pig!
When was the last time you were able to really relax over a nice meal?
Husband loves to bake bread, particularly sourdough, and he also makes his own starter. He has what I would consider conflicted ideas about sourdough starter, such as should yeast be added at all, and if so, is he violating the code of the sourdough makers, and can he truly call himself a baker if that happens? Should the ingredients be weighed or measured by volume? What about covering the starter or exposing it to the air for a while? How long? The doubts and worries go on for days. I find it really exasperating to watch.
A few weeks ago he decided to make two kinds of sourdough rye; one was a Faroe Island rye recipe from Magnus Nilsson’s Nordic Baking, and the other a New York Rye recipe from the New York Times. He has successfully made plenty of starters with white flour, but there seemed to be some issue with the rye starter recipes. He fussed and fussed and hauled up one baking book after another until the dining room table was covered with them, consulted the internet endlessly, decided on one rye sourdough starter recipe and then changed his mind and chose another until he finally decided on one that he ended up making alterations to. He made enough for both recipes but ended up changing the New York Rye bread recipe so that he needed to use the entire amount for that recipe. It turned out well. It had a pinch of yeast added to the starter and more yeast added to the bread. The sourdough starter police didn’t come knocking on the door, either.
He has yet to make the Faroe Island bread but is mulling when he could do it. He also is trying to decide between making Finnish or Swedish Limpa. There are subtle but important differences, he says. I don’t know if I can stand any more fussing, but I think he has finally settled on his sourdough method. At least the bread is really good! Of course, I never get particular about the foods I prepare!!
What cooking or other skill are you trying to perfect? What are foods you are good at making, and what are challenges?
When we first moved to our house in 1988, people referred to our street, in December, as Santa Claus Lane because about four houses at the end of the street had elaborate, wooden, hand made, moving Christmas decorations in the front yard. One, the home of a piano teacher, had the swaying figure of an organist that looked like the teacher herself seated at a pipe organ, with choir boys standing along side in a row. The boys looked like the teacher’s three sons.
As the owners of the elaborate decorations aged and/or died, the decorations have been given to other residents on the street, but the decorations have aged, too, and no longer move. Most other residents opt for strings of lights on the trees and houses. All we have are four, year round LED lanterns stuck in the ground lining the edge of the front peony bed.
Our front yard isn’t conducive to light displays because of the awkward placement of the only electrical outlet on the front of the house being between the double garage doors. We would have to drive over electrical cords. I am fine with no lights. Something in me rebels about the falderal, and really, all that just takes up space in the basement 11 months of the year. Husband is even more ascetic than I am, but confessed last weekend while we were running errands to strange urges to get lights and hang the all over the front of the house. I don’t know what got into him, but I got him home as soon as I could and poured a glass of German brandy for him. that is something we usually only have around this time of year, since I need it for Stollen.
How do you decorate the outside of your house for the holidays? What is your favorite holiday beverage?
Hasn’t been a lot happening on the farm this past week. Since I finished all the tillage last week and it was cold, too cold to work in the shop, I had to go back to work work, or at least, pretend I was while I did other things.
I had a straw delivery, more HVAC work at the Rochester Repertory Theatre, a lot of work on the final essay for my English class (turned in by the time you read this) and a couple hours spent trying to teach my mom how to use her new talking watch. She’s had a talking watch and would use that before she got the Alexa. But she’s out of practice now. I tried to encourage her that the watch would give her something to occupy her time. We’ll see.
A group of theatre students from the drama club at the college came and helped haul out the demolition detritus from the HVAC project at the Rep. Some years you get a really good group of kids, and this is one of them. A couple students are new and some I’ve known from previous years, including the ringleader, and I say that with the best of intentions. She’s the cheerleader, she’s the one that inspires them, and influences them to be so friendly and so willing and to make them all feel so included. And that extends not only to other student members, but to me as well. And I’ve told her, she’s the reason this bunch has coalesced as they have. When I asked if the drama club would help with some demolition, she sent a chat message to the group, simply saying, from what I heard, “Ben needs help”. And nine students showed up. Or maybe it was the fact I promised them food. Some days we sure get lucky. To me, camaraderie has always been the best part. See the header photo of the group.
Still waiting to hear from Crop Insurance. The other day, on the back of an envelope, I spent some time on the computer finding the current balances due on various loans from this year. Machinery part loans through John Deere, crop loans for fertilizer and spraying, loans for seed, plus rent that I owe, estimate an amount for combining, an operating line of credit that I’ve made a lot of use of this year with the shop project, plus a credit card balance, all written on the back of the envelope. Then I would look at my checkbook balance. It was a larger gap than I would hope. Wild card being what to expect from Crop Insurance. I know it won’t be tens of thousands, it will probably be a few thousand dollars, and if we strictly focus on this year‘s crop loans , it will come out pretty even. Again, we are so lucky, and so fortunate: we own our home, we don’t have a mortgage on any of the land, Kelly continues to support me in the fashion to which I have become accustomed, and we have a warm home and warm clothes, and even with my shriveled-up eyeballs, we are healthy. I have nothing to complain about.
I saw a survey recently, asking if you would rather have a job you loved but that didn’t pay much, or a job you hated but it paid a lot. And most people said the job they hated because money gives you options. I have to agree, money does give you options, but I feel like I’d rather take the job I love. Maybe that’s because we are already in a comfortable spot, and we have a few options.
This weekend I think we really need to get snow fence up, it’s not gonna get much warmer. I have that old disc that needs to be cut up and loaded on the trailer for scrap iron, I would like to get that done this weekend. I bought some tarps that I intend to hang in the machine shed to create a bit of a fourth wall so I can try to contain some heat in the shop end and work in there a little more. There are a few things on my summer 2023 ‘to do’ list that I’m beginning to think I may have to move to my 2024 list. Again, if I finish the list, I didn’t have high enough goals.
A mental state achieved by concentrating on the present moment, while calmly accepting the feelings and thoughts that come to you,
Mindfulness is a therapeutic strategy all the rage in mental health treatment. I personally find it annoying and tiresome to pay attention to what is going on in my thoughts and my body for extended periods of time, It has been very helpful lately, however, as I have struggled with some pain.
I have had crappy posture all my life. I slouch, even when I am sitting. I probably have a weak upper body and don’t do enough exercise. A few years ago I was having a great deal of back pain and found that I have lumbar scoliosis. I had Physical Therapy, and that helped a lot. I didn’t change my posture, though. Last year I struggled with sciatica down both legs, and PT also helped with that. For the past couple of months, though the sciatica came back with a vengeance, and there have been times I thought I needed a cane as my left leg would give out on me with intense pain while I walked, and I was afraid I was going to fall. I have a lumbar support chair at work that that didn’t help at all.
I decided I needed to do something about this, and I realized that when I sit, walk, or stand (especially in the kitchen when I cook) I slump my lower back outward in such a way that I was pinching a nerve in my left leg. I have started to direct my attention to my lower back and its position, keeping it straight, and for two weeks now my leg pain has disappeared. My lower back has protested somewhat as I am making it go into a position it hasn’t had to be in for some time, but I think I am on the right track. I am mindful of my back position when I drive, when I sit at my desk, when I stand, and when I walk. I hope that it will become automatic for me one of these days, but I may have to resign myself to have to practice mindfulness for a long time.
What do you need to be mindful of? What are you prone to ignore that you should pay attention to?
One of the places that Henrietta and I visited in Nashville was the original Goo Goo Cluster store – it’s downtown just a block off of Broadway. For those of you not from the south, a Goo Goo Cluster is a candy bar, similar to a Nut Goodie. Instead of the maple center of a Nut Goodie, Goo Goo Clusters have a nougat/caramel center. Goo Goo Clusters are VERY Nashville and you can find them everywhere, even at the register of a pizza place where we ate one night. I knew about Goo Goos from programs that I’ve run in Nashville – it’s a fun welcome gift and I’ve purchased them for groups several times but had never actually tried one.
The storefront isn’t a large space – most Goo Goo Clusters are made in a huge factory these days – but they make premium Clusters at the storefront and have some historical photos and old equipment on display. And merchandise, of course. Like usual, I sent several photos of t-shirts to YA to see if she liked any of them. She thought about the long-sleeve cream version but eventually decided against it. Just as well, because I got one of that design and she probably wouldn’t have been excited about us wearing matching shirts!
I also purchased a couple of boxes of Clusters to take home. It wasn’t until I was home that I noticed that the Peanut box was mis-printed. That’s a pretty big fail in my book. Hopefully no one lost their job over it. I thought about saving it – maybe someday it will be valuable – but decided against it. I’ll have photos and a nice t-shirt to remember my visit. (They tasted just fine despite the misspelling.)
I learned a couple of things during the course of our bathroom project.
First… do everything in your power to get a good contractor. Hugo was highly recommended (by my next-door neighbor, who is the head of construction, maintenance project and capital planning for the Minneapolis schools. Hugo communicated well through-out, was easy going, delivered bad news gently and, of course, did a nice job at a good price.
Second… also do everything in your power to have a handy person living in your house with you – especially someone who is invested in the outcome of your project. I have YA for this. She is MUCH handier than I am, as she is more patient as she goes about whatever she is working on. She installed the toilet paper holder and the towel racks. She un-installed the new light sconces because she thought there was a “ridge” along the edge, spackled and sanded and then re-painted. She also installed two slider baskets on the bottom shelves of the vanity so it would be easy to get at our stuff. And she also took a teeny paintbrush from my studio to “straighten” a couple of the paint seams.
And she gets credit for most of the decisions in the bathroom. She picked the tile, the flooring, the wainscotting design, the medicine cabinet and the light sconces. I had final approval but most of the time, her choice was OK with me.
So between Hugo and YA, I don’t really get any credit for the bathroom, unless you count having to arrange all the financing!
Yesterday marked exactly eight weeks since our bathroom project started. It started as what I thought would be a quick (and inexpensive) fix of my weird shower system and very quickly went straight downhill. The hot water assembly was so old that when an interior piece of the handle broke, those words “not up to code” were uttered (for two different parts of the bathroom) and started that proverbial domino effect.
When the contractor was finalizing his proposal, I asked him for a guesstimate on how long it would take. He said four weeks. I assumed he was padding that and then padded it again myself so I wouldn’t be upset if the bathroom wasn’t up and running again in a month. Good thing.
The first issue was that the plumber put in the wrong tub for the project. It took several days to get this resolved; I ended up having the contractor replace the tub and I stopped payment on the plumbers until they refunded a chunk of change.
Second issue was the tile. We chose a tile that showed in stock at our local Home Depot. The day we went in to order it, the person who helped us said “Oh yeah, we took a pallet of this down yesterday – there’s plenty.” When contractor went to pick it up the next day, Home Depot said they didn’t have enough. This is when having a good contractor comes in handy – he beat them up enough that they ended up getting it at another store and delivering it right to the house.
Third issue was the vanity. Home Depot SAID that it would be delivered in 2-4 days. They must have meant hours on Mercury, because it certainly didn’t arrive within 4 days. Then when it did arrive, they informed me that they couldn’t deliver it up the steps onto the front porch because I hadn’t paid the additional “in house” delivery fee. Grrr…. Luckily my next-door neighbor was our in his yard and between him and me and YA, we got it onto the porch fairly easily. Of course, when the contractor arrived the next morning and opened it up, it was broken:
Since the return process didn’t go smoothly, I ordered the second one sent to the store. After another set of Mercury-long days, I got multiple messages via text and email saying different things about where the vanity actually was. Called Home Depot and got told the vanity was at the store. I called the store and talked somebody into checking that it was actually there. Called contractor (I spent a lot of time on the phone for this project) and told him he could pick up vanity in the morning. Then lo and behold, overnight I got an email saying vanity had arrived at the store broken. Apparently when the guy at the store told me it was there, it hadn’t been taken off the pallet yet so they didn’t realize it was broken. Sigh. I made kind of a large stink at that point. Not sure if it helped or not but the third vanity arrived undamaged. And even though the store said they had checked it, my contractor made them open it up so HE could check.
Did I mention that during the tear-down process, the toilet got cracked? The brand new toilet that we had put in just seven months ago? Contractor took full responsibility and ordered a new tank. In the meantime, I’m here to tell you that FlexSeal really works. Not sure you can really seal up a boat and drive around the Everglades like in their commercial, but it held the toilet together really well until the next tank arrived yesterday.
Now I realize that this isn’t too bad compared to a lot of the horror stories out there, including some we’ve heard here, but it was enough that the contractor’s 4 weeks and my 6 weeks weren’t padded enough. But overall I’m feeling relatively lucky; this is the second major project that hasn’t been nearly as bad as I expected. Before and after pictures tomorrow!
Trail Baboon 