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Thoughts on the Day (3/16)
Mar. 17th, 2007 10:37 amToday is:
Rubber Band Invented
What did people do without rubber bands? They are up there with paper clips and post it notes for things that keep an office running.
Save The Florida Panther Day
I now feel the need to find out how many panthers there are in Florida and if the retirement and resort communities would welcome them roaming their parks and boulevards. Of course, the everglades are a big place and I think the panthers would prefer alligators to people. Some days I know I do.
St. Patrick's Day
Happy Irish everyone! Have fun and be safe.
International Day of the Seal
My favorite seal, I think, is the seal of approval. Although, in honor of my father, I'd also rank the seal of the US Marine Corps right up there. If we are going for fiction, the seal for the UNCLE agency is also one of my favorites. And we can't forget everyone's favorite, the unbroken seal, without which we would all go hungry.
Submarine Day
I have a friend (Hi![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kitap! whose father claims that the tourist subs in Haiwaii actually torpedo cruise ships instead of take you fish-watching, While I would consider this even more reason to go on a sub tour, he disagrees. Unfortunately, the only body of water around her cool enough to use a sub to explore is Lake Superior and I don't want to take my chances in the Great Gitchi Gummi.
National Quilting Day
I quilt, but not in the way that most people consider it. I quilt in the pragmatic, German way that my Grandmother and her mother quilted. This is where old cloth and clothes were cut into squares of varying size and then sown together in strips with little to no regard for pattern. If you wanted to be very extravagant you purchased a bolt of patterned fabric with which to cover on side of the quilt, so to provide a dressier, more formal look when that side is displayed. Since we live in northern Wisconsin and the old farm houses were old and drafty, these quilts were padded with very think layers of real wool (from sheep on the farm). These quilts are thick and heavy and are not sewn together using a fancy pattern and colored thread, rather they are tied together using old bits of yarn. When using these quilts (and I still do, today) you judge the warmness by how heavy the quilt is. On the very cold nights, when two such quilts are called for, the weight pins you down. It is the most glorious feeling in the world, really.
Maple Syrup Day
It's perfect weather out right now for making Maple Syrup. It's cold at night and above freezing during the day, which makes the sap run. When I was very young (as in I only have vague memories of it) we would help my grandfather and his brothers make maple syrup for themselves and for sale. These people were first generation Americans who still spoke German as much as English. They were tougher than nails and hard working to the point of obsessiveness. They were narrow minded and opinionated the way only people who have to leave school before the fifth grade to work in the fields and farm can be. They were old fashioned and could have been considered rednecks or hillbillies except for the fact that we live in northern Wisconsin and neither description is considered accurate to the geography. Despite all that, they were damn fine people.
In any case, they had this shed -- more of a frame of a shed with three sides and a roof -- that was used to make syrup. For those who don't know how Maple syrup is made, here is a good explanation. It's also very close to how I remember it being done, except we drilled the holes with a old fashioned hand-turned drill and used pails to catch the sap. Maple sap is very thin and almost clear with a very mild sweet flavor. A tree will give about a half gallon of sap a day with a season that lasts about 4 weeks in a good year. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup. And the whole "heating it up to evaporate off the water" part of the deal is as much work as is the drilling of the holes and carrying of the sap. Especially since we also had to cut the wood we used to make the fire to heat the sap.
The problem with all of this is, of course, that I know what truly good maple syrup tastes like. That stuff that they have in bottles called "maple-flavored syrup" is as much maple syrup as is catchup. And I think catchup would taste better on pancakes.
My grandfather loved Maple syrup and would eat it on most everything, including meat. Which just confuses the catchup analogy I used a sentence above, but needs to be said, anyhow. In his defense, Maple syrup is great on sausage, as any child who has ever eaten pancakes and lil' smokies will happily tell you. My favorite, non-traditional use of Maple syrup is to mix it with peanut butter. My dad (who learned it from his father) calls the result "gobbledegook". I'm not really fond of peanut butter, but I adore 'gobbledegook". And, as my dad says, the calories in the syrup and the peanut butter cancel each other out. *grin*
Rubber Band Invented
What did people do without rubber bands? They are up there with paper clips and post it notes for things that keep an office running.
Save The Florida Panther Day
I now feel the need to find out how many panthers there are in Florida and if the retirement and resort communities would welcome them roaming their parks and boulevards. Of course, the everglades are a big place and I think the panthers would prefer alligators to people. Some days I know I do.
St. Patrick's Day
Happy Irish everyone! Have fun and be safe.
International Day of the Seal
My favorite seal, I think, is the seal of approval. Although, in honor of my father, I'd also rank the seal of the US Marine Corps right up there. If we are going for fiction, the seal for the UNCLE agency is also one of my favorites. And we can't forget everyone's favorite, the unbroken seal, without which we would all go hungry.
Submarine Day
I have a friend (Hi
kitap! whose father claims that the tourist subs in Haiwaii actually torpedo cruise ships instead of take you fish-watching, While I would consider this even more reason to go on a sub tour, he disagrees. Unfortunately, the only body of water around her cool enough to use a sub to explore is Lake Superior and I don't want to take my chances in the Great Gitchi Gummi.National Quilting Day
I quilt, but not in the way that most people consider it. I quilt in the pragmatic, German way that my Grandmother and her mother quilted. This is where old cloth and clothes were cut into squares of varying size and then sown together in strips with little to no regard for pattern. If you wanted to be very extravagant you purchased a bolt of patterned fabric with which to cover on side of the quilt, so to provide a dressier, more formal look when that side is displayed. Since we live in northern Wisconsin and the old farm houses were old and drafty, these quilts were padded with very think layers of real wool (from sheep on the farm). These quilts are thick and heavy and are not sewn together using a fancy pattern and colored thread, rather they are tied together using old bits of yarn. When using these quilts (and I still do, today) you judge the warmness by how heavy the quilt is. On the very cold nights, when two such quilts are called for, the weight pins you down. It is the most glorious feeling in the world, really.
Maple Syrup Day
It's perfect weather out right now for making Maple Syrup. It's cold at night and above freezing during the day, which makes the sap run. When I was very young (as in I only have vague memories of it) we would help my grandfather and his brothers make maple syrup for themselves and for sale. These people were first generation Americans who still spoke German as much as English. They were tougher than nails and hard working to the point of obsessiveness. They were narrow minded and opinionated the way only people who have to leave school before the fifth grade to work in the fields and farm can be. They were old fashioned and could have been considered rednecks or hillbillies except for the fact that we live in northern Wisconsin and neither description is considered accurate to the geography. Despite all that, they were damn fine people.
In any case, they had this shed -- more of a frame of a shed with three sides and a roof -- that was used to make syrup. For those who don't know how Maple syrup is made, here is a good explanation. It's also very close to how I remember it being done, except we drilled the holes with a old fashioned hand-turned drill and used pails to catch the sap. Maple sap is very thin and almost clear with a very mild sweet flavor. A tree will give about a half gallon of sap a day with a season that lasts about 4 weeks in a good year. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup. And the whole "heating it up to evaporate off the water" part of the deal is as much work as is the drilling of the holes and carrying of the sap. Especially since we also had to cut the wood we used to make the fire to heat the sap.
The problem with all of this is, of course, that I know what truly good maple syrup tastes like. That stuff that they have in bottles called "maple-flavored syrup" is as much maple syrup as is catchup. And I think catchup would taste better on pancakes.
My grandfather loved Maple syrup and would eat it on most everything, including meat. Which just confuses the catchup analogy I used a sentence above, but needs to be said, anyhow. In his defense, Maple syrup is great on sausage, as any child who has ever eaten pancakes and lil' smokies will happily tell you. My favorite, non-traditional use of Maple syrup is to mix it with peanut butter. My dad (who learned it from his father) calls the result "gobbledegook". I'm not really fond of peanut butter, but I adore 'gobbledegook". And, as my dad says, the calories in the syrup and the peanut butter cancel each other out. *grin*
