T

One of the MANY things I inherited from my mother was her love of kitchen gadgets. While she loved the newest, me? The old and the odd(often the same thing;>). My 2 favs are a Polish Bread and a "Tom&Jerry" frother(looks like something from an early season of Dr Who;>) wisk What prompted this post was a few from the last couple of months.....
These are all from Japan and are modern versions of traditional kitchen tools. 2 most folks who cook might like. The other? Unless you cook a lot of Japanese, Korean or Vegetarian foods....not so much.
The 1st is an adjustable droplid. These traditionally were made of wood in various sizes and were slightly smaller than the pot diameter. This way it sat on top of the food cooking keeping it submerged. No stirring needed. It's stainless steel and the one I had can expand to ALL the sizes of pots I have!
The 2nd is a scraps basket. They hook onto the sink or hang from the faucet and as you cut and cook the leavings go in it and so don't clog the sink and/or drain. The Japanese empty them into freezer bags to make stock from weekly. I'm lazy. I just bin them;>!
The last is my fav and for most folks the least useful. It's a Miso Muddler. Basically, it's a rod with 2 stiff wire spheres on the ends; one about a teaspoon and the other a tablespoon. The small one is perfect for a mug of Miso soup. You just insert it into a tub of Miso paste, twist and pull up a perfect amt. You then just stir it into the liquid. So much easier than the way you normally have to so you don't end up with salty lumps in the bottom.
You know, I haven't had a Tom&Jerry for over a decade since the folks Passed. Maybe I'll make some for Yule;>!
Cheers,
Pat

So, I coming back from a grocery and vaccine run today(multitasking;>) and I noticed this car tailgating me. Didn't think anything of it cause Tennessee;>. They then passed me, glaring. Since I was going 5 miles over the speed limit, I figured they thought me slow. Then, they pulled in front of me and began to slow down. I was a bit confused then I noted the back of their car. Covered basically in "Jesus Wallpaper". They must have seen my Heathen Fish and bumpersticker saying "Caution, 400 Year old Witch Driving" and decided to "exorcise" me. About 1/2 mile later I pulled onto our road and that was it.
Peoples.......
Cheers,
Pat

A couple of yrs ago I got complaints about my handwriting. It happened before in the 90's and I took up Calligraphy to help...I ended up basically using Celtic script permanently;>. So, around The Plague it happened again and yet again I took up Calligraphy, this time basically using a simplified Copperplate. It also got me into fountain pens.
Over the yrs I've collected about 10, of which 5 I actually use. And over those yrs folks have got me to try Chinese pens. Only one has been even worth the cheap price and it was from Penbbs. They are hobbyists who craft specialized nibs. My fine longknife(the Asian version of and Architect nib) is one of those 5. The rest are not OR in the case of today's reason for this post....tossed.
Against my own advice I ordered a retractable nib pen. Non Chinese run $200.00 and up. This was $40.00. It broke when filling it.
Japanese? DEFINITELY. My 2 ARE of my Fav 5. Indian? 1 hasn't been thrown out yet. Have had no problems with European makers. One American is kind of problematic. They're Vegan and use a botanical plastic. It STINKS and 2 yrs later it still did and got tossed. Wrote well. If only they'd be less "PC".
Cheers,
Pat(Might try another Lamy. Mine writes great I just don't like the style. The picture had it posted which hid the weird pointed end)

While the season isn't completely over, enough has passed to give the results of going full Astrological Gardening.
I'd mostly done 101 Moon Gardening; Plant from New to Full, Harvest Full to New(or before it got overripe;>) but I decided last Fall I'd try a yr of the more "accurate" one. My discoveries:
Witches Almanac easier to use than Old Farmers. Llewellyn knows it's customers won't have a deep understanding of Astrology and makes things more clear;>. It's not a bad as fertility tracking to get a baby but the same problems with Timing come up. Life and Weather don't give a shite that you only have a handful of days a month to plant particular plants(root,seed, fruit and leaf).
On to the results:
With the exception of Korean Melons and Tomatoes there was no difference in my usual Gardening method and that may be due to the particular cultivars.
Would I do it again? Naugh. I'll go back to my usual way. It's fun to try something new, even if the results end up a big "meh"......
Cheer,
Pat

Chris told me today they fired the cleaning lady. Janet and I got along well and I know last month she told me that the only reason she was still working here was me. Honestly, in my appt she did a well or better than the other folks they had come in since we moved in. And she did it Solo.
They're certainly not going to find anyone as cheap either.
She can honestly say the Witch was the nicer person;>!
Cheers,
Pat

As I was running around trying to save my garden it hit me. I'd been neglecting mine to "help" with Sandi's garden. She didn't ask me, just drove me crazy how thick the weeds were and how pretty much everything needed a trim. I have an odd relationship with my relations. Ever since we moved to Florida we'd ever so often get the "you're not respecting what we've given " lectures(90% were offered as Unconditional....until they WEREN'T). After a couple decades you're kind of programed to give them less reason to complain.
Funny thing, after Mom Passed, Dad stopped "keeping the Peace" for the sake of (Mosty Sandi) the family. Unfortunately, I live rent free in their basement so there's a limited amt of rebellion I can do BUT I'm going to start putting my garden 1st, even though the front yard becomes a neighborhood eyesore. They just sold one of their three rental houses plus Chris makes a great living. They can get a yard service and not depend on a Cripple wrecking himself in this heat to keep the other Upper Crust Neighbors happy.
PPPPTTTTTTTTHHHH!!!!!!:>
Cheers, Pat

Went and picked up Chuck's cremains today. I picked out a "sprinkling" model urn with Monarchs on it. He loved butterflies. I'd mentioned on a couple of platforms that not only had I not seen them the last couple of yrs but the 'Ice Ballet' White Swamp Milkweed that we planted our 1st yr here hadn't bloomed in that time period as well. It didn't "click" until a couple days ago that both stopped happening the Summer he went into Care.
Interesting.
Cheers,
Pat

The last Duffy cat had to be put to sleep yesterday after the seizure meds stopped working. She was over 16 yrs old. We don't know exactly because she was originally a stray. My Dad used to sit out in their little guest "hut" and watch all the recorded sports while Mom watched all her recorded Soaps in the house;>. One day, Molly wandered in and sat but Dad's chair After a couple times Dad started feeding her and after a couple of weeks sitting on his lap, they made her an indoor cat.
It was always funny how uninterested she was about open doors, as opposed to Mom's Ragdoll Bella who would immediately run for it. Molly knew a good deal;>.After the parents Passed, my brother took them since their cats were also declawed(ours weren't).
The house only has cat t-shirts, throws and knick-nacks now. For a while a neighborhood cat, Jack had been visiting during the day but I haven't seen him for over two weeks. Right now I get my "Feline Fix" by petting Fluff when I put the bowls out. Since Jack disappeared, Lilbit's been occasionally dropping by for breakfast and scritches. Plushies aren't a real replacement;>.....
Cheers,
Pat

My Mom grew up in a town that had no Electricity. Their house had no indoor plumbing, heated and cooked over a wood stove and actually used a horse and wagon to get around. In her life we got to the Moon, the Internet was created and she saw her Gay son be able to be Married...just like his 3 Het brothers always could.
In my life I saw the Moon Landing, Human Rights expanded in many countries as well as here......and then I've got to live long enough to have some of those Rights so far stripped in the USA and Afghanistan.
I just lived too long....
Troth,
Patrick

Now, this will sound crazy to the non Woofolk here(and to quite a few who are...). It all started with a bunch of us oldies in line at the grocery. We were all bitching about the weird weather since last Fall and one lady said,"What color do you remeber the Sun being when you were a kid?". Huh. Sun's Yellow. She said,"when you take your bags to your car, look up". So I did.
When did the Sun turn White?
So, I did what any modern person does, I went on the interwebs. Apparently, most people over 40 remember the Sun being Yellow when they were little but NO ONE can remember when it began to change color. Lots of theories. Probably the one that sounds the best to me is the color is due to increased solar activity. That, of course lead to reports of other changes that, until it was forced in front of me I hadn't noticed. Like the Northern Lights in the last 2 decades being seen in the lower 48, even down to Florida(which I DO remember the news telling everyone to look up for a couple nights on the Panhandle).
Another thing folks were talking about wa how some insects you hardly see anymore while others(like Ticks) are at unprecedented levels. Why couldn't it be Fireflies?!?
As some one who lives with a Qanon person I tend NOT to take Conspiracies seriously but something one person on Youtube said made me uncomfortable. How did these things happen and we just didn't notice? I mean, after the grocery conversation I remembered that off and on the last decade or so I'd noticed the sunlight "didn't look right" but I just blew it off figuring it was an unusual optical illusion. I definitely noticed the bugs since I Garden.
Oh and Magnetic North is moving faster than expected toward Siberia.
Interesting Times...
Troth,
Patrick T Duffy