#i also got some sheep’s yogurt so eating that a lot too

[tomatoluvr69]

I’m making myself so miserable with this ribcage injury and not being able to exercise so I’m making myself a bunch of yummy treats. Today: mango honey kombucha, chocolate covered strawberries & figs, chocolate covered banana freezer pops, spicy cucumber & carrot rice vinegar fridge pickles, black bean breakfast bowl meal preps for the freezer, chocolate chip cookie dough flavored overnight oats. Tomorrow I’ll do Caesar salad dressing with the anchovy and raw egg and everything, ciabatta garlic croutons, homemade salsa, pickled beets, carrot cake baked oats, and maybe a cold peanut noodle salad with assorted veggies for work lunches next week. I forgot how much I loved the challenge of taking a big ol batch of dumpster produce on the brink of rot and getting it all put away to sustain me for a long time. I don’t even like need to do this but I eat so many more fruits and veggies this way plus I just enjoy a challenge and saving stuff that was headed to the landfill anyway it’s just so fun and makes you get really creative. Some of the stuff can sit a bit longer so I’ll do beet/carrot/cabbage kraut, and some basil and carrot top pesto maybe this weekend. And I already made baba ghanoush so I’ve been eating that a lot

[jeannereames]

Dr. Reames,

Hello! I hope you are having a great day.

I have a bit of a specific question based on a topic I know you have discussed previously. I apologize if you have already answered this question. I know that it is widely accepted that Hephaistion was taller than Alexander, and that he may have been taller than average, as you have discussed. Are we able to estimate roughly how many feet and inches tall they each would have been, based on statistics, such as the average height for an Ancient Greek or Macedonian? Would the height difference have anything to do with Hephaistion and his family possibly hailing from a different region than Alexander, as you have also discussed previously? Thank you so much! I love reading your blog and posts; I find them very interesting and I love to learn about this history.

Food/Nutrition and Height in the Ancient World

A fair bit of ink has been split on the heights of ancient people, at different points in history, and different places. Nutrition is the obvious chief factor, especially the presence or absence of milk and meat in the diet on a regular basis—even more so than genetics. The differences in height between immigrant parents from one region of the world and their offspring raised in another region with differing diets (higher in milk and meat) shows just how much it matters.

I could go straight to approximate heights from archaeological skeletal evidence, but I want deal first with ancient Greek diets. That will give us a way to make some generalizations from skeletal evidence.

Milk: Greeks generally drank no milk after they were weaned, although they did stay at the breast longer than most modern children. This was good not just for nutrition, but also health/antibodies.

Yogurt: While very popular in modern Greece, it was hard to keep in ancient Greece. That said, they did have some (mostly from goat or sheep’s milk), and the ever-popular tzatziki appears to have been popular then, too.

Cheese: Greeks did eat a lot of cheese. A LOT of cheese. But much of it was hard cheese, which preserves better. And while yogurt and soft cheese are associated with greater height, hard cheeses aren’t as much. They’re better than no dairy, but aren’t going to make a huge difference. (Pretty cheese board, but obviously modern; tomatoes are native to the Americas.)

Eggs: Greeks liked eggs if they could get them, including pheasant, duck, and goose. Chickens were a late import to mainland Greece (700 and after?), kept for eggs, not their meat—and for entertainment. Cock-fighting was extremely popular, imported (along with roosters) from Persia. Eggs were a relatively cheap form of protein, and better than hard cheeses for height-gain in children…if children got to eat them (duck eggs below).

Fish: Greeks loved fish, and ate it regularly, especially if on the coast. In fact, the word “opson,” which just means a relish or dip (usually for bread), came to be associated specifically with fish. The opsóphagos, who we’d call a foodie, means “one who relishes the relish” (totally James Davidson’s pun there)—infamous as fish-snobs.😊 Fish, which included shellfish/mollusks, could be super expensive, but also dirt-cheap and more available than meat, especially dried and salted. Fresh-water fish was popular inland. A funny note: in Homer, fish was clearly “poor people’s food” while eating meat was a sign of wealth. Given the difficulty of meat acquisition, that’s not crazy. See below.

Meat: not eaten daily, and sometimes barely weekly. When it was, it was often hunted meat. The most common meat for the stewpot was hare (not rabbit) or pheasant. Things that could be caught in nets or quickly with dogs. Big game was much rarer on the table, and domestic animals weren’t killed unless for special occasions (the “fatted calf” or “fatted kid”). Ergo, the only non-game meat the average farm family might have would be sacrificial meat offered maybe once a month, for whatever festival. It was a TREAT. Thus to eat meat regularly was a sign of wealth.* It was also typically reserved for the men. If you’ve seen a hare, it’s not big. A deuce of hares for the stewpot, where the men eat first, then women and children, meant the men/youths got most of the meat, whereas the women and younger children got little + broth. And mothers probably gave theirs to their kids. (Women in ancient Greece were routinely underfed, which is why 1) miscarriage was a serious issue, and 2) pudgy women were considered attractive, as it was a sign of having enough food to spare for the women to eat their fill.)

*edited to add: or an athlete. The Greeks fully understood that eating meat built muscle, and ancient athletes DID regularly eat meat. In fact, the bulk of funding for athletes went to their 1) food, and 2) sports medicine. The Greek nickname for a "jock," was a "meat-eater."

So, given the strong link between nutrition and height, and given the above brief summary of what the average ancient Greek ate, it should come as no surprise that ancient Greeks weren’t the tallest people.

But again, there would have been some difference between wealthy populations, average, and poor. Wealth wouldn’t have affected the dairy consumption, as that was cultural (milk just wasn’t consumed). But it definitely affected meat, and eggs and yogurt as well.

Why all of this matters? The evidence from burials. If we do, in fact, find burials of the “average joe” (or jane), wealthier families could afford better burials, which translates to better chances of preservation. Pauper’s graves aren’t what we find, for the most part. Ergo, I tend to regard the “average heights” of skeletal remains as the “average heights of the wealthier class.”

Another issue: shrinkage from cremation. Greeks did not uniformly practice cremation, even in the same city-state and same time period. This allows for non-cremated comparative data. But cremation does warp the bones.

So…how tall was the average ancient Greek man? About 5’6” (170 cm), ±2 inches.

In Macedonia, we might have cause to think they ran an inch or two above the southern average, certainly the elite classes, as hunted meat was more plentiful, thanks in part to greater forest cover. And the elite classes were more likely to eat sacrificial meat—especially the royals.

In Dancing with the Lion: Becoming, I mention that the king made a daily sacrifice for the health of the Macedonian people, and that meat was served at his evening supper party. The rules of hospitality would have required that the king, certainly when in residence at the palace (probably less so on the march/on campaign) entertained guests nightly. No doubt the elaborateness of the meal varied, but these nightly symposia (supper-parties) were clearly A Thing. They would have included Hetairoi (Companions) in temporary residence, any foreign dignitaries, courtiers, etc.

That wasn’t normal. That was royal. But it does mean the Argead men (and possibly the women) ate meat on a far more regular basis than anybody else. The wealthy Hetairoi (elite class or aristocrats) also likely ate meat more regularly, as hunting was also A Thing for the elite class. In addition, they had money for better food/nutrition.

So, the Macedonians, especially the elite, were probably a little bigger than southern Greeks.

The skeleton from Tomb II at Vergina, who some consider Philip II, but many think Philip III Arrhidaios (Alexander’s half-brother), was about 5’7”.

The male skeleton from Tomb I at Vergina, who some consider Philip II, but could also have been a Gaulic grave-robber (or someone else entirely) was about 6’.

I will admit that I'm pretty convinced Tomb II belongs to Arrhidaios and Hadea Eurydike. I am not convinced the male skeleton in Tomb I is Philip. For one thing, it’s an insecure site. There are bits of 7 skeletons in there, thanks to the crazy tomb robbery of the Gauls during the reign of Antigonos Gonatos. The most complete are a woman, a neonate, and an adult male, but we have parts of other neonates and an adolescent in there too. It sounds to me like a lot of bones got thrown everywhere. The woman and full neonate are probably the original occupants. But even if the male skeleton is a full skeleton, it was found at the hole knocked in the side of the cyst tomb. Was he originally in there? Or did somebody put a sword through one of the tomb robbers to limit the pool when dividing the goods? A Spanish team has argued it’s Philip, based on a knee wound…but Philip had a THIGH wound, not a knee wound.

Anyway, I’m willing to give you Arrhidaios as about 5’7”. But the 6’ dude may or may not be Philip—or a Macedonian at all. I DID make Philip very tall in Dancing with the Lion. But the academic in me is not convinced that skeleton in Tomb I is his, despite the heroon (hero shrine) above the tomb.

So, in short, no, Hephaistion being taller is not evidence of his not being Macedonian. If anything, it might be the reverse. BUT, if he were raised in Macedonia, his nutrition was probably more akin to other elite families there, which might give him a more Macedonian height.

Finally, there are always outliers from the norm. We’re told of a young woman named Phye, used by the tyrant Peisistratos on his second return to Athens. He’d been in exile in Thrace, took a boat back to Attika, landed at Marathon, was met by his cronies with a chariot. Then he went out into the fields, where he spotted Phye…who was about 6’ tall. He dressed her up in armor, put her in the chariot, and had her drive him into Athens as “Athena.”

He should have recruited her to play basketball.

But it shows even if Hephaistion were born in Athens (as Sabine Müller thinks), he could still have been taller than Alexander…who apparently was short. But shorter than average might still be 5’4”. So even if Hephaistion HAD been average (5’6”), he’d have been taller.

[poupeesdecirque]

Travel Blog - Büsum (North Sea) - 20/21/22 September 24

Took me the whole week to finally have time to write the travel blog for my trip to the north sea. I can tell it was an amazing weekend and a lot of things settled for me, Mom & I had time to talk and we didn't have each other much this year bc it was either me or her traveling or working.

I didn't expect work to mess with me so hard that I wasn't even able to think of putting the photos onto the laptop... I am currently trying to work through a huge backlog. But more important if you are interested read further, a post with some HQ impressions of the trip is queued up and will be posted later on :)

Friday

It was not the first time for us to travel to Büsum, i like the small town it's very relaxed and I love the wattenmeer, i love just walking there and therefore I was looking forward a lot to this trip.

Did you know the area there is known for cabbage? So yes that field is a lot of ... cabbage.

Arrived we were able to check into the Hotel and visited a restaurant that had opened last year in the place a very good pancake place was once before. They had closed in spring though as there was a fire ... I am glad they were able to reopen.

After eating a Kaiserschmarrn we walked around the town. We had planned to take photos later on so we decided it would be best to check restaurants for dinner while taking a stroll. The weather was beautiful and reserving a table was the smarter choice here.

There were truly quite a few interesting things to see... like those french bulldogs (if you take a photo you were asked to donor something for animals which we gladly did).

Then we went out for photos. I took overall 5 dolls with me, can you spot which one got photos here :D?

The day ended with us having dinner at a rather traditional place. This is only the second time I had fish without batter... I am proud I have progressed so far from being a picky eater. It was quite late already, we fell into bed.

Saturday

As you might know I am an early bird... I took the time and went out for a small walk to enjoy the sunrise a bit before we attended the hotel buffet.

The hotel we stayed in is over 100 years old and the walls are decorated with 100.000 shells from all over the world, it was impressive.

My only complain here is that the serving sizes were itty bitty small... like 1 serving of yogurt was 1 teaspoon.. for someone who loves their yogurt it felt weird to get more than two servings (which was still only two teaspoons) :') the buns were like 1/4 of a normal sized one.

Anyways after breakfast we had planned to hike. Morning the Watt would be ours as there was supposed to be ebb and in the afternoon we decided to walk in the other direction this time as Mom never went to Deichhausen.

Inbetween we went to a Cabbage festival, met Mom's cousin and got some snacks. We had to hike over the Deich and there were several herds of sheep munching through the grass.

In Deichhausen we just relaxed for a while before we went back over the Deich and were greeted by a lots of sheep again.

There was also the Manga Day and we went to a Bookshop (I actually restricted myself oh boy so many good books) and I got those three previews for free, it's the first few chapters each. I haven't had the time to read them yet.

Here is my snack from inbetween and what I got for dinner. The Burger is with a potato-vegetable patty, topped with halloumi and roasted veggies. Side was Coleslaw and sweet Potato Fries. If you know me... you know I need to end my day with something sweet.

Then we watched the sunset once more (top photo). I was incredibly beat as I managed to walk almost 35k steps that day and even watching TV in the evening was too loud for me.

Sunday

The last day came way too soon as we only had the half day to hike once more, then we wanted to check out an old car/US car meet up, and ofc the drive home.

Once more itty servings at the breakfast. Can we talk about the croissants? The cereals next to them are NORMAL sized... so tiny.

We took a long stroll in the Watt before we headed to the meet up.

It was really interesting but I have to say the noise, the people and the sunlight lead to a sensory overload for me, I dodged two panic attacks and just wanted to flee :') so we did.

Before we went home we OF COURSE had to buy some cabbage. ... there is a lot of cabbage on my menu this week.

Traveling back took forever because of traffic and blocked roads (4 hours for a 2,5 hour distance). I'm just glad the next time I travel to Hamburg will be by train.

[amazing-spiderling]

top 5 asks: fics you've read recently, songs you've played on repeat lately, things you bought yourself on a whim, snacks , things that made you happy in the past few weeks, hopes for the new DD series, fic tropes

SO MANY ASKS AhhHHhh I'll do my best!

Top 5 Fics You've Read Recently:

I have to be honest, I do reread a lot of fic!

The Blinker System - MissMoochy (WIP) : Robot Matt! Robot Matt! Robot MAAAATTTTT!!!

Show Me Your Scars - pogopop : I've read this one a few times. It's got that delightful payoff from the emotional hurt that eventually shifts into acceptance and healing

You're On The List of Things I'll Never Leave Behind - yourbestkeptsecret: Ughhhh, yeah the blip would suck for those left behind but I don't hear a lot of people talking about the pain that comes from adjusting when people's loved ones return to a world they don't recognize. Top shelf feels

A Murder of Crows (A Seduction of Foes) - inkforhumanhands: okay maybe I'm biased bc this was a gift FOR MEEEE but it's also an absolutely baller fic and it has all of my favorite things including Murderdock and Foggy in college and CHRISTMAS and it's just GOOD ok

Bad Moon Rising - 94bottlesofsnapple : A werewolf story that jumps right into things and those things are very, very good. Love Matt's characteristic freak-out and Foggy's no-nonsense way of handling things. Probably going to read this again for spooky season.

Top Five Songs You've Played on Repeat Lately

(I don't know that I do endless loops of songs too often, but songs that have cropped up a lot in the last few weeks include)

Cameo Lover - Kimbra, Dream of You - Jazz Emu, Underneath it All - No Doubt, Skullcrusher Mountain - John Coltrane, Black Sheep - Metric

Top Five Things You Bought Yourself ON a Whim

I'm just gonna speak recently because I cannot remember a whole life's worth of impulse purchases. IDK if it's a pure whim, but a dress I wanted that had been sold out showed up on a used site so I snatched it up. One of my favorite musicians released an LP and I was half asleep in bed scrolling on my phone when I saw the announcement but I jumped out of bed to purchase it lol. Some spice packet to make Thai coconut curry soup. Some used copies of various Rock Band games for the X-Box 360. I've missed being able to go to karaoke and this gives me that little bit of fun back. A "Hero Lawyer" figure? Doll? Idk. 12 fancy offbrand marvel man.

Top Five Snacks

I eat a lot of nuts and seeds. Pumpkin seeds/Sunflower seeds and the like. Sometimes I make them into hummus but usually it's just a handful. I like those Snap Pea crisps in the light salt. I'm a little bit addicted to the garlic Bombay mix I pick up at the local Indian supermarket. Greek yogurt with granola or grapenuts cereal. My favorite movie snack is those terrible nachos. XD

Top Five Things that Made You Happy In The Past Few Weeks

Taking my dogs out to the park now that the weather is cool enough to do so. Being giddy with fandom friends over She-Hulk and Werewolf By Night. Getting to use my Halloween sprinkles to make festive baked goods and take them to a small outdoor tea party. Eating half a baguette with nice butter at a cafe. Beating Rock Band 3 on my own and watching all the avatars I made of my blorbos achieve rock and roll stardom in the FMVs.

Top Five Fic Tropes

Hurt/Comfort, Long distance start (penpals, voice or text only etc), Monsters (vampires, werewolves whatever), Mutual Pining, Character Insecurity

Top Five Hopes For the New DD Season

Kirsten McDuffie! Let's bring in more characters from the comics! Some more wtf villains like (but not limited to) Stilt-Man. I mean, Jessica Jones gave us a version of the Whizzer, I feel like there's room for exploration. More of Matt and Foggy's actual friendship so that if/when things get rough for them, it hurts more. >:) A reference to the events of NWH so we have a little understanding of just what Matt remembers from his involvement so we can throw the fanfic authors a bone. SAMMMMMMYYYY!!!!!

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #445

“you’ve got a lot of nerve, but not a lot of spine”

Have you ever created a fake internet persona for yourself? No. Do you enjoy going to weddings or showers? What is it that you like or dislike about them? Not... really. They're triggering for me. And I don't use "trigger" lightly. They legitimately, deeply affect me. It's part of the reason I've lost a lot of interest in being a wedding photographer. Is there a person in your life whom you support by showing up for the sports games, concerts, or other performances? This question, uh... sucks. Because I'm that awful aunt that doesn't go to her nephew's t-ball games while everyone else does. It's the heat that does it, but still... it shouldn't. How many video games do you have? A lot. We have a big case of them. Why did you take the last pill you took? My heartburn is especially awful today. Has a girl ever stayed up with you all night? A guy? A girl, uhhh... maybe? Idk. A guy, yeah. Do you think guys look good with makeup? Hell yeah. How long would you wait to become sexually active with someone you’re dating? That would just depend on how quickly we deeply bond in a relationship. I wouldn't go that far before I knew I was in love with them, though, so it definitely wouldn't be quick. Do you enjoy a good debate or prefer keeping the peace? klasd;jkla;jfklwdj I HATE confrontation, so I strongly prefer to keep that peace. Debates rarely ever stay civil, anyway. Can you ever see yourself and your ex back together? One, easily. The other... I wish. But it won't ever happen because I fucked that relationship up way too much. Are you thinking about anything that’s upsetting right now? Yeah. My PTSD is being really bothersome. Would you ever want to ride in a canoe? Yeah, sounds fun and peaceful. So long as I'm not rowing, ha ha. When did you last see an attractive member of your preferred sex? Did you speak to them? Do you think you’ll see them again? Two days ago. Yeah, 'cuz he was my personal trainer. I don't plan on quitting the gym, so I'll probably see him around there now and again. Have you ever tasted baby food? How about pet food? Save for when I was a baby, obviously, no. I once tried a guinea pig yogurt treat, ha ha. How many times have you had your heart broken? Once romantically, twice overall. Actually, no, four. Quite a jump, I know, but Teddy and Jason's mom both dying was nothing short of heartbreaking. Think of the person you fell hardest for. How many people has he/she been in love with, besides you? One, before me. I don't know about since. Find 5 people on your Facebook friends list, whose names begin with K. Who are these people, and how did you meet them? Katherine: an online friend. We met on YouTube. Kim: she's my stepmom. I met her through my dad, obviously. Kelly: a high school friend. We met in art class. Katelynn: was Jason's old friend's former girlfriend. We met through said friend when we all hung out together. Kieley: she's the wife of who I call my "big bro," a close gaming friend. We met through Sam, the aforementioned friend. Sometimes do you wish you lived in a fantasy world? Yeah, who doesn't? What would you say if the ex who hurt you the most told you they hated you? "I don't blame you" or something to that effect. Have any of your friends dated an ex/previous crush of yours? I don't think it's accurate to call her my "friend," but Jason's first girlfriend and I are friends on Facebook. I'd love to get to know her better and actually be *real* friends. One word to describe the last person you kissed? Strong. Has anyone ever cheated on their boyfriend/girlfriend with you? You could say that. Does your hair have layers? No, not anymore. Who was the last person you cried in front of? My mom. Have you done something recently that helped someone else, in any way? I don't know. Which Disney princess do you think is the most beautiful? Why? Probably Jasmine. I just think she's really pretty. If you’ve had a bad experience in a past relationship, did you find that you were scared to get into another relationship, in case the same thing happened again? I'm terrified to this day to start new romantic relationships. I had so many panic attacks about losing Sara when we first started dating. If you were going to buy a present for the person you love/like, what would you generally choose? Absolutely something Frieza-related. If you met the celebrity that you most admire, what would be the first thing you’d say to him/her? Probably just "oh my god, thank you" and start crying lmao. Is there something you generally always ask for help with? I'm sure there's something, yeah. When was the last time you cried? Today. Do you like sausage? Yep. Ever held a newborn animal? Kittens, yes. Do you know anyone with a dual citizenship? Uhhhh maybe? Have you been called a bad influence? Yeah. Like she had ANY room to talk. Do you get stage fright? Yes. Would you be excited or annoyed if your favorite book was being made into a movie? Both of my favorite books are also movies, and they're wonderful. Do you need structure in your life or do you prefer to just go with the flow? I require structure, for sure. Without it, my anxiety goes rampant. Change is something I do not cope with well. Post a picture of you from one year ago. No. Have you ever written a fan letter? If so, who was it to and did you receive a response? No. What trait(s) would you not want your children to inherit from you? My mental illnesses, primarily depression. I have A LOT of reasons for not wanting kids, and my poor genetic makeup is even one of them. I don't want to pass on all the shit I deal with. What is the worst place you’ve woken up? Waking up in a shitty bed at the ER while waiting to be transferred was never one of my favorite things... Are you the type of person who has to study to make good grades or does it just come naturally to you? Aha... I was lucky in that once I heard something in school, it had a tendency to stick. I didn't need to study very much at all - usually. When on YouTube, what types of videos do you mainly watch? Mostly let's plays. What was the last conversation you had with someone about? Sara and I were kinda fangirling over how cute Maieykio and Rumours are, ha ha. Do you have any currency that’s not your native country’s? No. Can you describe your father in one word? Complex. Do you still watch movies intended for children? Yeah. Hell, I probably tend to prefer them. Who is your favorite stand-up comedian? That's living, probably Gabriel Iglesias. What is your strangest phobia? Probably whale sharks. Which part of your state/province do you live in [upper,lower,middle]? I live on the eastern side. Who in your life can you count on the most? My mama. Would you rather eat your pizza cold or hot? It depends on what I'm up for. Is it cute when a boy/girl calls you baby? No, I'm not a fan. Last thing you drank? Pink lemonade. Have you ever thought you were going to marry someone? Sure did. The belief was clearly mutual. But I ruined that. Who are your favorite people to talk to when you’re down? Sara or my mom. Have you ever thought you liked someone, and then found out that you really didn’t? See: Girt. Describe the last dream you had that you can remember. It was actually... really fucked up, so the squeamish beware. I don't remember the details, just the shocking part: a little bird flew into me, and I thought it was a bug, so I crushed it in my hand. Heard and felt the bones break and it was just... ugh. It's nauseating to recall. I'm sick and tired of dreaming of only awful things. Any current family issues? Not any big ones that include everyone. The only "issue" that really exists in my family is how my mom feels like Ashley (my older sister) avoids her, and therefore Mom doesn't see the kids nearly as much as she wants. She feels very overlooked. Whose room of the opposite sex were you in last? When? Uhhh, probably my nephew's? Sometime when I visited my sister's house, idk. The last movie you watched with a friend? Elf, I think. Have you ever played with fire? Uh no, because I'm not keen on being burned. What industry do you want to be a part of when you’re older? Art, in some form. Who do you usually text the most? Since Sara and I started chatting mainly on Discord, definitely my mom. Have you ever been surprised with breakfast in bed? No. Llamas or sheep? Sheep. Have you ever seen anyone famous in the street? No. When do you plan on moving out? Whenever I'm in a long-term, stable, happy, and healthy relationship. I really don't at all think it would be healthy for me to live on my own. What’re you going to be for Halloween? I'd actually love to dress up this year seeing as I've really been feeling the holidays, but the money to like... make a recognizable costume isn't really with us. So I'll ust answer as if I had it, in which case it would be a handmaid from The Handmaid's Tale, but with fake blood splattered over my stomach region. Will you buy a cake for your next birthday? We always do for b-days. Do you like brownies? BITCH I love brownies. Have you ever dressed up as a witch on Halloween? Yeah, as a kiddo. Have you ever been to a masquerade? No. Do any girls like the last guy you kissed? Maybe, I don't know. Do you have a second mom? I have a stepmom, if that's what you mean. When a bee is coming close to you, do you stand still or run away? Ngl, I gtfo. Do you ever hang out with someone of the opposite sex? I haven't hung out with Girt in around a year. Really need to change that. When you go out to eat, what sides do your order with your food? Fries. What is your winter coat like? ... I actually don't know if I have one? Did you do well at fitness testing in grade school? I did fine. Are art museums interesting or boring to you? Interesting. Inspiring, even. Do you know how to use an ATM? ... No. :x How about write a check? uhhhhhhhhhhh... Are you Italian? Not to my knowledge, no. We don't know my dad's heritage. When was the last time you talked to one of your siblings? I commented on one of my sister's Facebook posts earlier. Are you interested in photography at all? Very much so. Do you own an acoustic guitar? I don't believe so? Ashley had one when she was waaaay younger, but I haven't seen it in forever. I think Dad might have it. Can you talk to your parents about anything without them judging or bickering at you? Because you said "bickering," no. Mom knows how to pick fights on a lot of things... Who was the last person you took pictures with? My sister when she came to visit a few months ago. What is the wallpaper on your best friend's cell phone? I'd be willing to bet it's either her and Jem or Frieza. Do you melt butter to put on your popcorn? No. We get the movie theater butter kind. Do you consider flirting cheating? Sure do. Have you ever been on probation? No. What is normally on your Christmas list (if you celebrate it)? A tattoo and meerkat stuff. Do you like KoRn? They're one of my favorites! When you were little, did you pick up worms? Do you pick worms up now? Ha, I did. I would sometimes dig just to look for them, especially if I knew Dad was going to take me fishing later that day. I don't like touching worms nowadays. Would you ever go see a stand-up comedian? Yeah, I think it would be fun. Do you have any best friends that you only know online? BEST friends, not current ones, anyway. I've met my current best friend. Have you ever gotten into a physical fight? Nope. Do you have a problem with swearing? No. What do you do when you see a spider? My reactions vary. If it's a tiny little thing, I tend to ignore it. In most cases, admittedly, I get my mom to come kill it. :x I really, really want to get on a level where I can just cup the spider and take it outside. I want a few types of spiders one day (tarantulas, jumping, and velvet), after all, so I really should get used to interacting with them. I know in my gut they're nowhere near as dangerous and scary as your head makes them seem, but it's so instilled in you (most "you"s, anyway) from a young age to stay away from spiders, so it's fighting almost like instinct. Do you have big dreams? Meh... When is your father’s birthday? Sometime in April. The 16th, I think? Maybe. Are you interested in anime? Yeah. They can have some great stories. Do you eat three meals a day? Most days. Are you part German? German and Irish make up most of my heritage, yes. Do you dream of being a porn star? Uh, I can confidently say no. Have you ever been on a farm? I have. What is your favorite type of muffin? Blueberry, I think. I like the moisture it adds to the muffin. What is the last type of salad that you ate? Just your normal one with iceberg lettuce and ranch. What do you usually put on your waffles? A layer of peanut butter and then some syrup. You NEED to try it. Would you rather have a cottage on the beach or in a forest? A forest! Name all the people that you talked to today. Online, through texts and in person. Mom and Misty are all, I think. Do you know a schizophrenic person? My half-sister. Did you ever watch Sailor Moon? If so, who is your favorite? I did. I don't think I had a favorite character. Name the last 3 people you kissed and list one nice thing about each one. Sara: she's very loyal. Girt: he's funny as hell. Tyler: he, uh, cares a lot, I guess? When was the last time you felt EXTREMELY depressed? Why is that? Yesterday, actually. I was passively suicidal just over... a lot of things. Would you ever dye your hair pink? I want pastel pink hair anyway.

[ironmandeficiency]

day five: ba & jort

ohmygod these boys are two of my faves, can’t have one without the other which makes the longest of all the posts abt my clone boys. i guess you can say i have favorites even tho i will vehemently deny it

playlists: jacob & ba - jort/belladonna

fics: who’s my commander & 13x7=28

a/n: jacob & bella belong to @capricornrabies & the art was made by @persaloodles

warnings: mentions of smut

is a soft and precious boy who tries his best

is a soft and precious boy who tries his best

got his name from this one time when his squad had to take shelter in a barn & the sheep wouldn’t let him sleep with his brothers in the loft area, instead keeping him by them the whole night and threatening to bite jort when he tried to free his batchmate

also has v v floofy hair which also works with the name

he and jort have joint ownership of best older brother ™️ title to naturally, a soft and pure medic-in-training (refer to 13x7=28 for details)

absolute mother hen to anyone and everyone. doesn’t matter if he met you an hour ago, you’re going to get mothered by this soft sniper

“you could pour soup in my lap and i’d apologize to you”

was selectively mute for several months after leaving kamino, jort helped him come out of his shell again and it’s fabulous

jacob sutton (younger sister to jamie) is an admiral for the 91st and their star cruiser crashed, and the 25th was the closest to send aid

ba sees jacob for the first time and tried to flirt but instead inserted his foot into his mouth with his awkwardness

but it gets better between them as time goes on. these two are my personal goal for the future

they have a precious massif named yogurt

jacob found him as a puppy by a dumpster on coruscant eating from a yogurt cup and was like “yes this is my boy”

ba would sometimes get to take him on campaigns. would have to fight who half the time just to see his girlfriend’s dog. when yogurt is a puppy the 25th will carry him around in one of those pet/baby backpacks

in a world where the war ends without order 66 and clones kinda get rights (but jacob doesn’t really get them bc of her status as a not-quite-person), they get a rude awakening when they realize that they wouldn’t legally get the post-war life that they deserve bc the republic isn’t letting her go

other clones help ba smuggle jacob (yogurt was listed as an emotional support animal) off-planet and they settle down in a house they build together. there’s a wraparound porch, a porch swing, fence for yogurt, etc.

since the republic doesn’t know what to do with the baby clones, kamino is commandeered and turned into a clone adoption agency. jacob and ba end up adopting four little boys who are their absolute world. they’re batchmates and were toddlers when adopted (so like 2-3 standard years, 1-1.5 clone years)

cabuor - his name is mando’a for “protect”; the oldest of the four, as he’s older he is the most protective of his bros. is basically jamie 2.0 and even tho he loves saviin they butt heads A LOT.

saviin - name is “violet” in honor of the 25th’s paint colors. jort 2.0. absolutely chaotic but highly lovable. there’s a problem? 99% chance sav caused it. first to start trusting ba and jacob. is the kind of child you would want to put on a leash

ciryc - his name means “cold” simply bc he runs colder than the rest of them. from the time they knew how, they would all dogpile w ciryc on the bottom to keep him warm. gets free pass to snuggle closest to jacob to get warmer faster. will steal jacob’s shirts (that once belonged to ba). sunshine baby!!!

meer - personification of 🥺. got his name from jacob who affectionately calls him a meerkat (he’s smaller and skinnier than the rest). jacob has a second shadow and his name is meer. has mute spells similar to when ba was young but eventually they only happened when he was startled/in new environment

so the boys were hesitant abt their new parents at first. it was only marginally easier for them to warm up to ba bc he was a clone but it took them nearly a year of living together for them to look at jacob and think “this woman is mom-shaped”

but once they get comfortable with her, these boys are all 100% mama’s boys

jacob has a metal spine (incident during her training) that clicks when she walks/moves/does anything. ba and jacob hear it and think of the trauma that led to it, but the boys hear it and their young minds correlate it to “mom, safe, comfort”

it leads to them being able to know when jacob is close to finding them during games of hide-and-seek

ba and jacob both get tattoos that represent their sons (and yes, yogurt too)

jacob has tattoos of handprints of ba, the boys, & yogurt’s paw on her back

ba would get tiny ones for the boys: a meerkat silhouette, a splash of purple “paint”, a shield, and a snow cloud

then he gets a massive one for jacob — a copy of her metal spine tattooed over his

jort:

he’s a bastard child and is proud to be one

scout & chaos bisexual

is a whore at first but when he’s w someone, has eyes for only them

got his name when he turned his blacks into a crop top and short shorts while on felucia during a heatwave

he ended up getting a handprint tattoo on his thigh/ass bc of how often he was smacked when he wore the short shorts

he and ba have joint ownership of best older brother ™️ title to naturally, a soft and pure medic-in-training (refer to 13x7=28 for details)

prankster af

look into his eyes, there is nothing behind his eyes except for elevator music. the only time he’s allowed more than one coherent thought is when the dvd icon hits the exact corner of the screen

will play up his dumbassery around ppl he’s uncomfortable with

will bully/blackmail his bros into going to the medbay — “don’t make nat’ika sad by hiding things, he only wants to help you” bc jort isn’t gonna get caught slippin. you won’t know he’s soft on you until he’s mother-henning you the way ba and naturally do for literally everybody

can bullshit his way out of any situation

isn't the best w crying ppl and will just try to make them laugh and hope that someone that can talk abt said emotions arrives soon usually this person is ba

“and i also don’t want me to be doing what i’m doing”

ends up dating the daughter of a very prominent mob boss who runs a fashion company in the form of seven feet and eight inches tall belladonna tomb, bella for short

has no idea whatsoever that he’s dating the daughter of a very prominent mob boss

bella thinks it’s an unspoken agreement to not bring it up but jort just. doesn’t know.

since bella is seven foot eight, jort can fit into her tops and is unashamed to wear “women’s clothes��. bella will design him clothes (and LOVES to be a model for bella’s clothes). his civvie fashion is comparable to harry styles

bella’s species is half soleon/half skeleton-monster-thing (soleons are an original lion-like species & the skeleton details are all made by cap, mentioned above) (also bella’s partly translucent and you can see some organs thru her torso) and she has talons and very pointy teeth and eyes that slightly glow jort ends up getting a tattoo of her teeth marks in his ass opposite to the handprint but that’s another story

when him and bella start becoming intimate, there are lots. of. marks. teeth, talons, you name it. the medics (esp no, poor man) are frightened that jort is bragging about these marks

then jort has the brilliant idea of sneaking his giant mob boss girlfriend into the barracks while on leave. somehow, maker only knows how, but NO ONE NOTICES until

late that night when everyone’s sleeping, her and jort are sharing his bunk (it’s a tight fit but they make it work). no is doing bed checks to make sure his bros are doing okay, as a concerned medic does. since bella is dark grey in color, she blends in to the dark barracks.

jort starts to fall from the bunk in his sleep and no sees that he’s abt to fall (but does not see bella) and just as no walks to jort’s bunk to fix him, a finely manicured and taloned hand snatches him back into the bunk and gives no a death glare and she deadass GROWLS

poor medic thinks his bro is abt to get eaten by a monster but doesn’t actually do anything to protect his bro from the “monster”

no immediately runs to find who and wakes up nearly everybody in the process. by the time no returns to the barracks with who in tow, jort is awake and is like “hey guys what’s up”

“WHAT IS UP?! THERE’S A KRIFFIN MONSTER WITH CLAWS IN YOUR BUNK!!” “oh no this is bella. bella, meet the boys. the boys, meet bella.” “hi”

ba wakes up during no’s windows shutdown, looks around and sees everyone wide ass awake and then sees bella and jort, “oh hey bella” and then goes back to sleep bc he knew bella

jort did hold ba’s hand while his bro got the spine tattoo for jacob

[littlemisssquiggles]

A small warmup side project.

Slumber Rose is ready for that Garden of Rose’s pajama party sleepover!

I was originally going to just do my Rose’s PJs at first but then I saw Miki-chan’s page with some outfit designs for her Ianthe and figured I’d try the same. This is only the first three but I have a full page with a couple of looks for my Rose including her Time Skip/ V4 look for Chels’ AU. The rest will be finished and shared accordingly.

In the meantime, I hope you guys like it. I’ve also made this post to share some more info on my Rose. Provide more Rosey Tips on what she’s like and such so keep reading if you’d like to learn more about Rosaline Fox.

SLUMBER ROSE

As previously mentioned; in spite of her Faunus status, Rose’s favourite animal are sheep. She owns a large collection of stuffed sheep plushies that decorated her bed and bedroom including one giant sheep-shaped pillow pet that Rose had owned since she was a little girl.

The name of Rose's sheep pillow pet is Lambchop. 

Rose doesn't sleep without Lambchop; preferring it over a regular pillow since, according to Rose, Lambchop's fluffy fleece is softer than a thousand pillows.

Despite owning it since she was a kit, Rose has taken great care of Lambchop over the years. Lambchop was the first present Rose's beloved father: Robyn Fox gave to her and she's cherished it ever since so the pillow pet has sentimental value. Lambchop is big enough for at least 8 heads to rest on its fluffy fleece; however Rose doesn't just let anyone share Lambchop. Only those she genuinely likes or trusts. 

Lambchop has a secret pouch underneath the fur by its neck that's usually covered by a rose collar. In her younger years back in Mistral, Rose and Oscar would stash snacks inside Lambchop during sleepovers. They did it so that Mama Dorothy and Marion wouldn't be suspicious of their kids eating sweets after bedtime.

Eventually the two friends had to drop this charade after all the left over snacks ultimately attracted ants that got caught in the pillow pet’s fleece. Not only did the Rose and Oscar get in big trouble with their mothers for breaking the rules but till this day, Rose can still remember the intense itching left on her skin after sleeping on a pillow pet full of them. Fortunately Oscar was spared of this itchy torture but as for Rose; she never did this again. This also explain why Rose doesn't allow anyone eating or drinking near Lambchop. She definitely learnt her lesson as a kid.

Other than Lambchop, Rose also has a habit of sleeping with socks. She likes her toes to be nice and warm when resting and thus hates sleeping barefoot.

Rose's favourite childhood bedtime story and fairy tale is titled ‘The Farmer and the Moon’. It was basically an ole Mistralian folklore that told the love story of a heavenly warrior goddess with silver eyes as striking as the moon who fell in love with a mortal farmer after she fell from the sky during a tremendous battle that shook the heavens. The farmer found the Warrior near death near a river on the outskirts of his farmland and quickly rushed her back to his home. When the Warrior finally regained consciousness, the farmer, in relief, asked for her name. However the Warrior said she had no name so the farmer decided to name her ‘Moon’ after her beautiful eyes. The Farmer and the Moon is a favourite tale that Rose shares in common with Oscar.

SUMMER ROSE

During the summer, Rose wears her hair short. Since it's a normal characteristic of foxes to grow out their fur coats in preparation for the winter climate only to shed out all that fur by summer season, this is a similar trait that Rose shares with her animal counterpart as part of her Faunus quirks.

Rose is one of those girls who has no problem growing their hair out. As a matter of fact, Rose's hair generally tends to grow as long as she is tall (and fluffy too)  and as a kid, her hair would practically be trailing on the ground by winter time so her mother: Marion Fox, would often style and braid her hair for that seasonal occasion.

Although Rose generally takes care of her own hair, she often goes to her mother to style her hair for special occasions. It is one of the activities the two bonded over as Rose grew up and it's a mother-daughter tradition they’ve maintained.

So generally by Spring time, Rose cuts her hair shorter as a means of coping with the incoming warmer weather and the fact that most of her ‘winter roots’ tends to 'shed' out by the summer. After Summer, she lets it grow back out so its at its full gorgeous length by winter.

Of all the seasons, Summer is Rose’s favourite despite being a Winter baby.

Rose loves warm weather and it’s one of the things she misses most about Mistral after moving to Solitas.

In the summer heat, while some folks love watermelon, Rose prefers coconuts. Good authentic coconut water straight from the husk is Rose's favourite thing to drink during the summer as well as eating the delicious coconut jelly.

Although not much of a glutton for sweets, Rose does enjoy a good snow cone.

Rose’s birthmark is on her inner left thigh. 

 WINTER ROSE

Rose is a Sagittarius-born and her birthday is December 21st; the day of the winter solstice.

Despite being a Winter-baby, admittedly winter is Rose’s least favourite season purely because Rose isn’t a fan of cold weather. It’s one of the things she dislikes about living in Solitas despite being a citizen for eight years. Thankfully the weather up in Atlas Kingdom isn’t as bad as it was for Rose living down in the Barracks of Mantle for the first few years. She doesn’t mind the cold if it’s good enough to go out and play in the snow. But when it drops to the point of unbearably cold, Rose can’t stand it.

There are only two things that Rose genuinely likes about the Winter season. One is her birthday which falls just four days before Christmas which meant Rose got double the presents each year. Secondly, the cute outfits Rose gets to rock for the Christmas season. Just cause she’s turning into a popsicle doesn’t mean she can’t look cute while doing it, right?

Rose’s favourite designer is Poppy Merlin---a renowned Atlesian designer specialized in producing dust-infused clothing lines inclusive of huntsmen gear catered to the huntsmen that is adaptable to changes in weather.

Rose isn’t much of  a fan of sweets. When she was a kid, she loved sweets but eventually grew out of it; by the time she was a teenager especially after ‘the incident’ with Lambchop. She prefers snacking on salty snacks such as potato chips, vegetable crackers, popcorn, etc.

There is one kind of sweet that Rose will eat and that’s anything made of gelatine. Gummy bears, pudding pops, jello---Rose has a belly for jelly. When she was a kid she would eat jelly snacks a lot and it’s the one sweet she hasn’t outgrown even with the incident.

Rose’s favourite kind of cake is carrot (and she always insists that that’s her birthday cake every year).

Rose prefers frozen yogurt over ice-cream.

Rose is allergic to strawberries.

In case you’re wondering:

Poppy Merlin is a little nod back to an old Pinehead headcanon of mine where Oscar had a fairy godmother kind of character who was an Atlesian fashion designer specialized in dust-infused fabrics. Despite that being a thing one that can do with dust, we haven’t seen anyone else utilize this with dust since Cinder in V2. I know that World of Remnant mentioned that it’s an ancient practice. Nonetheless, if dust is capable of being woven into fabrics then why haven’t the huntsmen made more use of this as part of the world-building of RWBY  How come there aren’t more huntsmen walking around with gear infused with dust that can change to adapt to the weather---like for example, fire dust for colder climates so that the huntsmen wouldn’t need to use their aura to survive the cold since their gear strengthened by dust aids with that. It sucks we don’t have more of this in RWBY. But, that’s why AUs with fanfics and fanart exist, am I right?

@lookyeekiti, @che1sea-xiao-long, @miki-13, @nykamito-x, @cloudburst-paint-water, @beaver-sen What do you guys think? 

Also what are some of your Roses’ quirks? And what would your Roses wear to the beach or during the winter?

 ~LittleMissSquiggles (2019) 

[mitmama]

Travel Tips for Iceland

Overview | Blue Lagoon & Golden Circle | waterfalls & Vik | Glacier Lagoons | Travel tips

Food

Iceland has kind of a bad rep on food being expensive and not good.  Actually only the first part is true and you can work around it.  

Yes, there're $50 plate of lamb and $25 burgers, but also relatively affordable options like unlimited soup & bread for $20 or hotdogs for $5 or amazing pastries for about $5.  The food trucks are also good options, with $20 langostine rolls or fish and chips at e.g. the Jokulsarlon Lagoon.  We saw trucks at other tourist spots as well.

Top choices for eating out?  Icelandic lamb and local arctic char.  They are both tender and tasty. We had them at Restaurant Sudur Vik in Vik, and went back 2x more.  My kids are still talking about that meal. ;-)

The trick is getting an AirBnB and buy/make some food.  We ate out for lunch only, and that comes out to on average $200-250 for 10 people including 4 kids. Also, look for kids menu, where we were able to get $9 arctic char!

Also, stop by groceries stores, the big ones are Bonus and Kronan.  The prices are pretty reasonable,  8 apples for $5, etc.  We'd especially recommend

Skyr - local yogurt

Icelandic lamb - just cook yourself, 3 minutes or so either side. they are amazing.  Plus you see sheep roaming everywhere in Iceland, so you know they lived a great life.

Eggs - they just taste better here

Icelandic chocolate - made with liquorice.  I really regret not buying more. :(

Hakarl - and just for fun, the local specialty: fermented shark. Get the smallest size you can find, and dare your friends back home to try it.  I was the only one who ate more than one piece. ;-)  It's a bit like dry cod but fishier and spongier, with a faint ammonia smell.

The cashier lady at the grocery store told us that she only know 5-6 people who like it, and they eat it with a stiff drink. ;-)

We brought a lot of food that we ended up not finishing, Why fill up when there's delicious local options! ;-)

Definitely try out the bakeries, e.g. SandHolt in Reykiyavik. Everything we tried was super tasty, both pastries and sandwiches like smoked salmon and pulled pork.

We also stopped by Icelandic Brewery like Smiðjan Brugghús in Vik that has delicious offering including a unique Icelandic Ale that’s really refreshing.

Lodging

Where to stay, because we need to see the key sites in 5 days, we opted to stay for 2 nights near the Golden Circle and3 nights further East at Kirkjub., the latter so we only need to drive at most 3h 40mins a day.  My brother-in-lawneeded to get back in 5 days while we stayed on for an extra day and did some site seeing around where we stayed.

We stayed at two different AirBnBs, one near the Golden Circle.The other about 1.5 hous away from the Glacier Lake.

Blueberry Hill near Golden Circle

Kirkjubæjarklaustur - between Vik and Jokulsarlon

Driving

Yes, you’ll be driving, a lot.  Plus there are unpaved gravel roads (not on the Ring Road but e.g. near by the Golden Circe.  Be sure to get a comfortable car!  

Car rental  

We rented a 7 seater off-road SUV, that turned out to be a complete overkill, not too mention costs 50% more and a gas guzzler.  We ended up with a very stripped-down LandRover Defender that's stick shift, in which we feel very bump.  While my brother-in-law drove it a bit and thought it's fun to drive, my husband who had to drive it for 3-4 hours a day didn't find it very fun at all. :)

You're not supposed to go off-road with a rental car anyway, so in the summer, don’t get an off-road SUV unless you are into that kind of things. ;-)

Driving  

We drove 2.5h - 3.5h everyday.  It wasn't too bad as there are always nice sites to stop by to see, and the drive is beautiful with changing scenes of lava field, mountains, waterfalls, snowy peaks, and lovely streams.  

And lots of sheeps throughout.  We didn't allow screentime during the drive, and the kids did just fine.

And yes, at least one cow herd crossing the road. ;-)

Weather & Packing

Weather in Iceland can be unpredictable.  And even in late August or their end of summer/early fall,it only gets to at most 55 degrees high / 45 degrees low.   We brought plenty of layers, and either thicker waterproof jackets or the outer shell of our ski jackets, and waterproof /quick dry pants, and relatively waterproof sneakers for walking.

We've heard from friends that saw rain everyday on their trips. We did have one day of bad rain and wind, and it wasn’t pleasant.  When it got less strong, we went to see the sites.  We lucked out with mostly days with suns and clouds, and for a bit, it was warm enough to wear just a T shirt. :)  

Overview | Blue Lagoon & Golden Circle | waterfalls & Vik | Glacier Lagoons | Travel tips

[peacefulheartfarm]

Fun Facts About Milk

Fun facts about milk. Anybody up for some trivia. “Fun facts about milk” is my topic for today. We have fresh milk again and it is always a treat. There isn’t much milk at this point because Rosie is quite a small cow and it’s her first calf. I’ll talk more about that fun fact in a bit.

I want to take a minute and say welcome to all the new listeners and welcome back to the veteran homestead-loving regulars who stop by the FarmCast for every episode. I appreciate you all so much. I’m so excited to share with you what’s going on at the farm this week.

Our Virginia Homestead Life Updates

I don’t know what it’s like where you are, but spring is starting up here. We can still expect some colder days and our last frost date according to the USDA is April 15th. That’s more than a month away. Still, it is in the upper 60’s today and sunny. In short, it’s a beautiful spring day.

Reblochon Cheese

Before I get into the animal updates, I want to let you know that I just made a brand new cheese that I have never made before. It is still in progress. When I finish this podcast, it will be just about time to put it in the brine solution. Brining is a common method for adding salt to cheese. I’m so excited about this cheese. It is a semi-soft, washed rind cheese. Making it to the point of getting the curds in the molds was very quick and easy. Now the hard part begins. I have never made a rind with this much complexity.

If I am successful, I will have created a creamy, buttery cheese that will ooze and melt at room temperature similar to the way that a brie or camembert will ooze out of the skin. The difference is that there isn’t that skin – and that bloomy rind, mushroomy scent and flavor. This cheese will have a much firmer rind. We shall see how it goes. It’s a new adventure.

Sheep

The sheep are out there milling about looking for every new blade of grass. And there is some out there. Sheep will eat hay, but they prefer fresh grass. It’s not readily available in the winter and they persevere with the hay. But any day you will find them out there seeking at least one blade of fresh grass. Well today they are finding a bit. Granted the blades of grass are few and far between, but there is a bit here and there.

As far as lambs, these beautiful ewes have less than three weeks left before they start giving birth. We anticipate this event every single year. You just can’t not love those little lambs bouncing around, jumping straight up and down in the early evening. Praying for this year to be as good as the last. We are looking for about 6 to 8 healthy lambs.

Cows

A couple of our cow girls are nearing the end of their gestation as well. We could see the next calf as early as two and a half weeks from now. In the coming days, we will begin to start walking the girls up to the milking shed every day. That reminds them of the path and what they need to do to cooperate with the process. Well, they also get a little treat while they are standing there, so that is probably their incentive as they have no care for the process. Walking them up every day also gives us the opportunity to more closely monitor their progress and general health. Any issues are easily spotted and we can respond quickly.

I don’t remember if I talked about this the last time, but we are looking at adding a couple of bred heifers or young cows that are bred and ready to deliver in April or May. That would help us out so much. We are trying to build a specific genetic makeup in all of our cows. We need the A2A2 genetics for our fresh milk herd share members. If you are not familiar with A2A2 milk, I did a podcast on the topic called “What is A2A2 Milk? You’ll find it on our website.

We also need the genetic trait for BB Kappa casein for making cheese. We have lots of A2A2 cows but we are missing the BB kappa casein trait. I believe the only one who has that genetic trait is also not A2A2. As we move forward, there will be significant changes in our herd. It will take the next five years or so for us to reach our goal of 100% A2A2 and 100% BB kappa casein.

Quail

I’m saving eggs to put in the incubator. I think I mentioned that we are giving the quail one more year to pay for themselves. So far so good. I actually have new customers that are buying the quail meat. That helps a lot. The eggs sell fairly well, but there is little profit in eggs. Just sayin . . .

Today I got the incubator down out of the storage area above the creamery. Tomorrow or the next day I will crank it up and the process of hatching those cute little quail babies will begin again.

Garden

Preparing the garden for spring is now on the agenda. There is quite a bit to do out there and these wonderful spring days are just the time to do it. I think beginning the tasks will be delayed a few days due to another project I will talk about in a moment.

Did I mention that I have 500 bare root strawberry plants coming soon? That’s right 500 strawberry plants. Scott loves jam in his yogurt and I’ve been out of strawberry jam for over a year. This year I plan to remedy that problem. And I’ll have some yummy jam for you guys as well.

I have lots of tomato plant starts already sprouting. Also, the basil and thyme are sprouting. It’s so good to be growing stuff again. I have five different herbs, two tomato varieties and eight varieties of pepper plants that I’ve got seeded. Again, only the tomatoes and a couple of herbs have sprouted so far. But I’m actually amazed that those seeds sprouted so quickly. I’ve never seen any of my seeds sprout before 6 or 7 days. These came up in 3 days. Something is going on right now in my growing area this year.

I have an amaryllis – actually there are three in that pot. They are all over 13 years old. They have moved with me a couple of times and have nearly died a couple of times. For the first time in 13 years, one of them bloomed. And she bloomed big. There were three primary blossoms and one that was a little late in coming out. That one is the only one left of the four.

I watched that stalk grow for days and days and days. Then as it started to open, I realized that it had been so long that I had no idea what color the bloom would be. I thought for sure it would be a deep red. Nope. It was white. At this point I’m thinking that the bulbs might be even more than 13 years old as I’m pretty sure that the last one I bought was red. Well, we shall see if any of the others bloom in the future.

Bees

A short note on the bees. I don’t talk about them much. We don’t give them a lot of attention. We have never robbed the honey. For quite a few years they have simply gone on with their business of keeping up their hive all on their own. However, it’s not looking good this time. We don’t know for sure yet, but we may have lost the hive this winter. It was a particularly long and cold winter and they may have not survived. We shall see. It was plenty warm enough today for them to be out and about. There are always a few guarding the door. There was nothing when I went out a little while ago. But maybe it is still too cold inside there. I’ll be very sad if we lose our bees. They pollinate our orchard trees and vegetable garden.

Creamery

On a much happier note, the stairs to the storage area above the kitchen and creamery are currently under construction. What a blessing that will be when it is complete. It was quite the ordeal getting stuff up there. Scott attached a palette to the front forks on the tractor. We loaded it up with stuff and lifted the palette up to the door. A really, really, tall ladder was placed at the other door over the barn. Scott went in that door and came through the storage area to the door over the kitchen and creamery and started unloading the stuff off of the palette. It was a little disturbing seeing him stand on that palette while it was suspended in the air. But it held up just fine.

Getting stuff back down got a little easier a few days ago as Scott set up the scaffolding just under the door. A ladder to the scaffold and another ladder to the door made getting stuff down easier than getting it up there. However, the stairs will make it perfect.

Fun Facts About Milk

Let’s talk about milk. Let’s talk about fun facts about milk. The first thing is following up on what I said a little bit ago about Rosie being small and this being her first calf. Even had she been two years old which is the youngest target age of any cow to have her first calf, she still would not have reached her full size.

Amount of Milk

All cows generally have a bit of growing to do even after having their first calf. They produce significantly less milk with that first calf because their udder is still smaller than it will be when they reach their full height and size. So, when you are planning your milk needs, keep that in mind. The first year, she will produce perhaps 25% less milk than in her second and subsequent years. The amount of milk produced by her with her second calf is much more of an indication of how much milk she will produce on a regular basis.

A huge factor for us regarding how much milk we can expect to be able to use is that the calves need to get their share. Any milk cow will produce far more milk than a calf needs, but that doesn’t stop the calf from trying to drink absolutely as much as they can when given the chance. Every homestead and small dairy will have to manage how much milk the calves get.

Think about beef cattle. They nurse their calves as well but they don’t produce near as much milk. I think I read that beef cows produce about 1½ gallons of milk per day. A dairy cow is going to produce three to six gallons per day. Unless they are Holsteins and those cows are pushed to the limit producing 10 to 20 gallons per day. Anyway, we feed our calves 1 gallon of milk per day to start and then bump that up to 2 gallons per day as they get a little bigger.

Planning Milk Distribution

We do separate our calves from the moms and then bottle feed them. It is a rough three days but then everyone adjusts and all are happy and content once again. Another method that we may try at some point is separating the calves from their moms overnight. We milk in the morning and then the calves get everything else after that. I’m hesitant to try that method as it is important for the cows to be milked out completely twice a day for the proper balance in the milk for cheesemaking. I won’t go into the scientific details, but making cheese is best done with a real consistency in the milk. These are all choices you make when you choose the homestead or small dairy lifestyle.

I hope to help educate also that anthropomorphizing cows is not useful. They do not have anything remotely like human thoughts and emotions. In know we tend to feel for them as if they were human but they are not. The separating of the calf from the cow does not cause any lasting damage to the psyche of either the cow or the calf. It just doesn’t. Man was created to have dominion over the animals and plants and the land. We must care for our plants, animals and their living environment. We must be kind to them. We must nurture them. But in the end, plants, animals and the environment are not human and human emotions are not applicable.

That is a little bit of a deviation from the topic, but it is an important point to make. Often, I let my emotions get in the way and I feel bad for the animals on their behalf. In the end, it’s a useless pursuit. My method for dealing with this tendency is to allow myself to acknowledge it, feel it and then grasp the reality of it. Removing a calf from its mother does not leave the same kind of deep and perpetual emotional scar for the cow and calf that losing a human child produces in us human beings. It just doesn’t. Okay, moving on from that topic.

Amount of milk – the curve

When a cow comes into milk, there is a production curve that is pretty consistent. There are four phases in a milking cow’s cycle. There is an early, mid and late lactation period and then there is the dry period. In the early part of the cycle, her milk production will increase, reaching its peak in 60 days or so. Then the milk production begins to drop off ending up just about where it started. Then we “dry” them up. Basically.  we systematically stop milking the cow and she produces less and less milk. We don’t use this milk for making cheese. It can cause some really strange things to occur in an otherwise stable cheesemaking plan.

Amount of Cream

The amount of cream will change during the lactation cycle. I tried to get some reliable information on the cycle of cream and could not find any. I surmise the reason is the same reason that standardization was instituted and now no one even thinks about it. Milk was standardized to have a specific amount of cream content.

Standardized whole milk in the grocery is 3.5% milk fat. The milk is homogenized and that process keeps the cream suspended in the milk. In fresh milk from your cow, the cream will rise to the top and separate from the milk. You can see the exact place in the jar where the cream stops and the milk begins. This is known as the “cream line”. It goes up and down during the lactation cycle. Mom can control cream somewhat and even hold some back for her calf. Nutrition will affect the amount of cream but the biggest factor in determining how much cream your fresh milk has is the breed of animal you are milking.

Before standardization, customers were getting varying cream lines in their delivered to their door. I’m actually old enough to remember the milk truck coming at 4:30 or so in the morning and delivering fresh milk to the door. We lived in Michigan and, in the winter, if you didn’t get up and get the milk, it would freeze and break the glass jars. This happened at least once in my childhood. Anyway, to promote customer satisfaction, standards were introduced to ensure that everyone got their fair share of cream. Homogenization removed the cream line from memory and it has become a distant memory.

Normande and Jersey Cow Cream

Jersey cows are a favorite in lots of small dairies and homestead settings. They have a very deep cream line, far exceeding that 3.5% fat content on your store-bought, pasteurized, homogenized milk. I’ve seen our Normande cows produce a cream line that was about 2 cups out of an 8-cup half-gallon mason jar. Even for the jersey and our Normandes, sometimes there is more cream and sometimes less. But there will always be more cream in the jar of milk from our Normande and Jersey cows than any Holstein cow. Holsteins are the black and white cows we associate with milk these days. It seems that every picture of a milk cow is one of the black and white Holstein variety.

Perhaps some of you are as old as me and remember Elsie the cow. She was the cartoon brand image for Borden from the 1930s all the way up to the 1990s when Borden was bought by JM Smucker Company and the milk was rebranded, Eagle Brand. Elsie was a brown cow. When they decided to have a live “Elsie” appear at the world’s fair in 1939, the cow chosen was from a Jersey herd. She even had horns just like the picture. You don’t see many modern pictures of milk cows with horns. They do still exist all over the place – Holsteins, Jerseys and our Normandes all can have horns. It’s all about branding. Holstein cows produce the majority of milk in the United States and the pictures of milk cows reflect that change. But I still love Elsie.

Flavors in Milk Throughout the Lactation Cycle

The last fun fact about milk that I want to bring up is the unique tastes that pastured dairy cows bring to their milk. I can always taste the grass in fresh milk from our cows. Well, not so much right now as they are eating hay. But when the grass comes in, there can be a definite “grassy” taste to the milk. It is very refreshing in the spring when we are starved for green things. I really, really crave salad this time of year. It’s the only time of year that I crave salad. I’m not a big salad eater. But late winter brings out that craving in my body for fresh green things.

Another fun thing that grows in the spring that cows love to eat is wild onions. We actually have some growing out there right now. Our property does not have a lot of wild onions and I am thankful for that. Unlike the grassy taste, the onion taste simply does not go well with milk in my opinion. However, it does make an interesting cheese. So, there is that.

The grasses that cows eat change throughout the year. There are spring grasses, summer grasses and fall grasses. Then there is dried grass or hay in the winter. Each of these types of grass affect the taste of our fresh milk and our handmade cheeses. The milk you get in the grocery store doesn’t have that wonderful bouquet of aromas and flavors as those cows are fed a very regulated grain diet. They don’t get to eat grass. Nope. They eat various grains and what is called silage. All of this produces a specific milk flavor that is consistent. There are no seasonal changes in the taste of the milk. And then there is that distinct cooked flavor of pasteurized milk. If that is all you drink, you will never notice it. However, if you drink fresh milk for a period of time and then take a sip of store-bought pasteurized milk, you will definitely notice the difference.

Final Thoughts

Well, that is it for today’s podcast. We are eagerly anticipating the spring birthing of plants and animals. It is a wonderful time of year. My favorite time of year is spring. I know, I know. We are still 10 days away from spring. But I’m there. I’m so ready.

Let me know if you enjoyed the milk trivia. And drop me a line if you have questions or if I can answer any other questions for you about milk, cheese or any other dairy product.

If you enjoyed this podcast, please hop over to Apple Podcasts or whatever podcasting service you use, SUBSCRIBE and give me a 5-star rating and review. If you like this content and want to help out the show, the absolute best way you can do that is to share it with any friends or family who might be interested in this type of content. Let them know about the Peaceful Heart Farmcast.

Thank you so much for stopping by the homestead and until next time, may God fill your life with grace and peace.

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[bike42]

Colorado. Sept 28 - Oct 3, 2018

Glorious mini-vacation to Colorado. While we’d both been here many times before, it’s been 15+ years since we spent much time in the mountain, and the Colorado Rockies are a particular place where my soul feels at home.

We arrived in Denver early Friday afternoon. It was cloudy and cool and we added layers as we stood outside waiting for our rental car at Enterprise where it seemed they were just randomly assigning whichever car came in, regardless of what you’d reserved! We ended up with a new Subaru Outback, which worked perfectly for our adventure.

We navigated around Denver and headed west on I-70. Much more development over the years, with a Starbucks at every exit ... but other than that, the road hadn’t changed since the days when I’d drive my Saab with the studded snow tires up to the mountains to ski.

After the tunnel, we headed north on Hwy 9 to Hwy 40 - new territory for me and amazing scenery. Near Kremling, there were signs about “fire traffic,” and eventually we passed a camp set up for fire workers... and further down the road we saw the fire in the distance and smelled smoke (learned the next day that ranches had been evacuated and locals were praying for snow to put an end to the smoldering and uncertainty). We passed the “Headwaters of the Colorado River,” where it looked so different than the raging cold river we experienced at the bottom of the Grand Canyon last October! We passed through Steamboat Springs, stopping for Frappes and snacks, then onto Craig. At that point we were pushing daylight, and seeing lots of antelope and deer along the road so we passed through Craig so we’d arrive at our VRBO cabin before dark. We took a few minutes to get settled, then headed slowly back to the Walmart in Craig to load up on groceries for our stay ... careful to avoid the deer on highway!

Jeff’s sister Barb and husband Allan were supposed to join us at the cabin, but a family illness made them cancel their trip.

We got back to the cabin and were baking a pizza when our VRBO owner, Sandra, popped in to ensure all was ok. It was really a fabulous setting. No cell signal or WiFi, which always takes awhile to get used to, but is so relaxing!

SATURDAY

We awoke to a glorious am. At first light, there were mule deer out in front - fun to watch close up, and they knew we were in there! We had breakfast and went out to explore the property with an adventurous hike.

The purpose for this trip was the wedding of grand-nephew Tanner Issacs and Karissa, at the “Y Lazy S Ranch” just north of Craig CO. We arrived early to increase the opportunity to socialize with Jeff’s other sister, Jan and her family ... other than the WIND, it was a perfect day in an ideal setting. Besides the extended family, it was really fun to socialize with Tanners group of friends from a Dude Ranch where he’d worked during college, and others. Karissa is from a ranch in the Craig area, and we learned that many Greek have settled here, and they specialized in raising sheep. The wedding had a cowboy / Greek theme, with gyros for wedding dinner! It was a really fun experience!

SUNDAY

Jan and husband Dave planned on getting an early start for their drive back to MN, so we made a plan on our own (we’ll see them at another wedding in two weeks). We’d asked VRBO owner Sandra about hiking options and she suggested Trappers Lake - her information packet said 1-2 hours drive, Google maps said 2 hours, but a different route than what she’d suggested.

So we set out following her directions, a little scary without any cell service! After about 5 miles, the road turned to gravel (and remained gravel the whole time). But the scenery was out of this world as we followed the Willams Fork river, past beautiful ranches and rolling aspen covered hills.

We entered the Flat Top Wilderness Area (third largest in Colorado, least visited) and crested Ripple Creek Pass at 12,000ft. Trappers Lake is 300 acres, sitting at 9600 ft. In the summer of 2002, over 23,000 acres of the White River and Routt National Forests were burned by the “Big Fish” and “Lost Lake” fires, which we didn’t know - so it really altered the kind of hike we thought we’d be doing, but it was amazing. We saw just two other couples - so having a place like that to ourselves was a little eerie. We hiked about 5.5 miles around the lake, with a good measure of up and down. The affects of the altitude weren’t too bad - just made for a slower pace.

We returned to the cabin via the “google maps” route, further, but still two hours, and only about 15 minutes of gravel road. Since we’d taken the option for the Sirius XM on the car, we were able to listen to the Ryder Cup finish on the drive back to the cabin ... and we arrived safely before dark.

MONDAY

We were up a little earlier, packed up and headed East. We found a cafe in Steamboat, where we had a second breakfast and then did some shopping at Lights (it’s like their own Wall Drug). We both bought new cowboy boots, along with some fancy contraptions to help get them on and off! I really enjoyed Steamboat and could spend more time there!

We hit the road, stopping for a photo at Rabbit Ears pass. On our way over on Friday, Jeff recalled a family road trip from MN to CA, well, he was 3 so it’s more that he recalls the stories of that road trip, and a photo of them at Rabbit Ears Pass with snow on the ground.

Down to Kremling past the fire zone again, then headed to Granby and the western gate of Rocky Mountain National Park (first visit for us both). We stopped at the visitors center and got intel on hiking for tomorrow, then started the drive to Trail Ridge Road - up and up and up and up. We had the radio tuned to the Brewer-Cub play off game - marveled by the technology that allows us to listen to that in such a remote location! Along the way we saw a coyote jogging along the road, and came upon cars parked along the road and people jumping out with cameras (same scene you’ll see at Yellowstone and Glacier), but this one was an “Elk Jam,” and he was a beauty with a large rack!

We stopped at an Alpine visitors center and took a walk to the lookout (after digging out our puffy jackets, hats and gloves). The temperature went from 80 at the gate to 45 on the top! At 12,000 feet, the climb to the lookout was tough, and the clouds were coming in fast, which means it wasn’t much of a view, but it was awesome just the same.

Back in the car just as the rain started, and we continued a harrowing drive along the ridge line ... sure seemed to me that the CCC could have installed some of those great rock guardrails! Was glad to have Jeff driving and I could just work on breathing. When we got down to the meadow area we saw a few elk. We drove on a stretch of the road where it’s closed from 5p to 7a due to the number of Elk present!

Out of the park and into Estes Park to search out accommodations for the next two nights. We settled for a hotel based on location - could walk to town, and also view and hear the Elk on the adjacent golf course! Let me just say that “bugleing” sounds like a squeaky gate ... not what I’d expected! We got settled and wandered into town. I’d forgotten to pack rain gear and I know how fast the weather changes in the mountains as we saw today!

I found a new rain jacket, and we checked out some other stores and restaurants, settling to eat at Claire’s, which was a really great meal. Stopped at the Safeway for bananas and yogurt so we could get an early start tomorrow.

TUESDAY

We did get up and going early - With a quick stop at Starbucks we were back in the park before my latte cooled. Destination Bear Lake Trailhead (9449 ft); traffic was light, deer were plentiful and the drive was beautiful. From this trailhead, there are multiple choices of hikes for varying abilities. We set off for a tougher one to ditch the crowd that was already forming - mission accomplished and we saw less than 20 people until we got back closer to the trailhead where we intersected with an easier trail.

We did an 8.5 mile loop: Alberta Falls, Mills Lake, Lake Haiyaha, Dream Lake (moose sighting), Emerald Lake and back down to Bear Lake. Total elevation gain of 1628 ft. Beautiful day, great temperature and we had all the right gear with the changing conditions. We had just a little rain, nothing like the day before but I was still glad for my new jacket!

Returned to our hotel about 3pm, and there were many people adjacent to our hotel (I mean in the parking lot outside our window) watching the Elk ... apparently it’s normal for them to take over the golf course at this time of year. There were about 100, and they were in various groups. And the males were strutting about, hollering and chasing off smaller males, and collecting their females into little groups. The greens and tees were all fenced off, as was most of the landscaping. But in front of our room, the fence had been pushed in and a guy was herding his girls onto the practice putting green. It was hysterical.

We showered and headed back to town to celebrate our hike with margaritas and Mexican fare. Then back to watch a little more Elk shenanigans!

WEDNESDAY

All night long we listened to Elk shenanigans ... but by the time we packed up and got ready this am, our little herd has disbanded and moved on to a different part of the golf course.

We drove to Longmont and stopped at our favorites kind of local cafe for breakfast. Then early to the airport to start cleaning out the 400 or so emails we’d each accumulated before flying home.

Awesome adventure!

[juniorformulamotorsport]

Saturday, February 17th, 2018 – The Blue Bay Restaurant, Monaco

We’d been looking for somewhere good to eat that wasn’t going to be stupidly expensive (which ruled out almost everywhere up by Casino Square) and I’d settled instead on the Blue Bay, just along the coast road towards Menton, at the point almost of the border back to France. We decided a taxi would be a good idea and the hotel sorted one for us. We were soon at the entrance to the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort (and 20 Euro lighter for the taxi fare – for 2 kilometres; it it had been better weather we’d likely have walked) and eventually found our way to the restaurant, tucked away at one end of the building, overlooking the bay.

The space is large, with an open kitchen at one end, and we appeared to be the first diners in. The staff were very attentive and soon established that while speaking French to me would be fine, it wasn’t going to help Lynne. From then on it was English all the way. We chose to start with a glass of Champagne while we navigated the menus, which were on iPads, which was again fine for me but not Lynne who is not just technologically averse, she seems to somehow make things stop working once they get in proximity to her. Anyway, we decided that we would opt for the six course Menu Escapades.

The chef, Marcel Ravin, is from Martinique originally, and is blending flavours from his home land with those of France, to great effect. Certainly Michelin think so (he has a Michelin star to prove it and they say “The modern and elegant setting of the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort also boasts a terrace with superb views over the sea. A superb and fitting backdrop for the food prepared by chef Marcel Ravin, whose intricate and flavourful dishes show signs of his Martinican heritage. An ode to culinary fusion!”) as do GaultMillau (14 points and “Located in one of the most prestigious hotels in the Principality, Marcel Ravin’s table combines the essentials of an experience that matches the surroundings and the clientele. Accompanied by a splendid view of the bay, the menu at €92 perfectly fulfills its mission, focussing as much on the produce, as on the invention and the technique: profiterole of foie gras and beetroot, souskaï de saint-jacques and giromonade (a Martinican pumpkin), mandarin wolf, vegetable arancini, supreme of guinea fowl, licorice coffee sauce, iodized celery, chestnut and mushrooms, shizo meringue, lemongrass/ginger. Very professional service.”).

Anyway, we sipped our Champagne and waited to see for ourselves. An intriguing amuses bouche soon arrived, looking like chocolates, but containing savoury ingredients. There was a celeriac mousse, a mushroom and truffle “chocolate”, and a Jerusalem artichoke mousse which proved yet again that in very capable hands there actually is a point to Jerusalem artichokes apart from for use as compost (or as a means of creating flatulence in humans)!

Next up was a lovely bread roll, all spiky, salted brioche, looking either very architectural or like a cute, golden brown hedgehog, as you prefer. You can think of it in any way you like. It was lovely, with that proper crisp brioche crust and a lovely, spongy interior. It came with a small portion of olive oil that was streets away from the stuff you often get in the UK, where there’s a nasty, bitter aftertaste that stays with you all night and overrides whatever else you eat.

We also encountered the “sensorial experience” which was pretty impressive. It was based on potato with a potato yogurt, a foam and a potato puff crisp on top. It was intriguing while not being overpowering, and the yogurt was thick and rich and dense and not at all what you might expect from a potato yogurt.

From then we were off and running into the main listed dishes, starting with the duck foie gras royale, laquered with sugar cane syrup. This was in some ways a less than complete description and the dish that landed in front of us was rich, sticky, unctuous and you felt the duck had met its end in a good cause. I know there are issues around the production of foie gras, but I also know that in France there are farmers who would not be able to make living without its production, so the jury in some ways is out. Regardless, it was delicious.

The next dish was clever in the extreme. It appears to be something of a signature dish and is green papaya spaghetti, flavoured with black truffle and a carbonara sauce. It was unexpectedly creamy, with a dense texture more like a noodle than most pastas, and with lots of rich flavours going on. The bacon/creamy/Parmesan of the carbonara was a thing of wonder.

From here we moved on to the two meat options. We’d gone for one each in our usual way so we could share and thus get to taste more than one spectacular dish. I ordered the saddle of lamb with a spicy lamb sausage (seemingly the chef’s take on a merguez and very goof indeed) and green vegetables.

It was accompanied by a lovely soft concoction of polenta made very soft and creamy by the addition of huge amounts of sheep’s cheese and a lovely gravy filled with chunks of lamb that would have stood up on its own without the main dish. In fact on a cold Winter day I would have happily scarfed a bowlful of that.

Lynne had gone for the duckling in a sweet and sour sauce shot through with honey for more sweetness and a lively dash of Timut pepper, all served with sweet potatoes, mangoes and charred leeks. Both dishes were lovely, the meat cooked to perfection, and with some lovely warm notes that would not normally be found in straightforward French cooking. I’m assuming these were some of the Martinican flavours working their way in and lifting the food to a higher level.

We did the same with the desserts, ordering one each so we could share. First, however, there was the pre-dessert of coconut and lemongrass, which was flavoured with oxalis flowers. It was light and refreshing and just what we needed by then as we were starting to feel rather full. There was crunch and citrus and you could feel your palate clear as the various elements slid down your throat.

And then the desserts. The descriptions were simple, but the execution was not, having layers of complication that mingled to give the perfect dining experience. The “marvellous citrus and ginger” had lovely hits of warmth from the ginger, but was prevented from being cloying by the citrus that offset the warmer flavours. It was lovely and fresh and pretty without being too much.

The real piece de resistance was the souffle though. A gingerbread souffle was as near to perfect as I can imagine, coming away from the sides of the mould as cleanly as you could want. The Caribbean rum ice cream with it packed a powerful punch and the whole was a brilliant end to a very good meal.

We were now at the coffee and tisanes stage of the evening, and so we eventually paid up, staggered out to the entrance, and got the staff there to find us a taxi (which oddly cost 5 less to go back at almost midnight). We left with a little box each containing an small orange sponge cake that kept very well and still tasted remarkably good three days later, despite having gone a little biscuity by then.

Food 2018 – Blue Bay Restaurant, Monaco Saturday, February 17th, 2018 - The Blue Bay Restaurant, Monaco We'd been looking for somewhere good to eat that wasn't going to be stupidly expensive (which ruled out almost everywhere up by Casino Square) and I'd settled instead on the…

[cosmosogler]

oops, lost track of time. starting pretty late tonight. i will try to write fast.

today i got up... on time, actually. i went to bed on time, fell asleep after a reasonable wait, only got woken up by the eve throwing a fit at wiley looking at her funny once, then woke up with my alarm at 9. i had dreams that i was going to a convention but i had to drive my car backwards. i was sweatin bullets the whole time.

then since i was super late to the convention due to traffic and also driving backwards i was trying to buy stuff and it kind of got everywhere. i couldn’t keep track of it at all. then i ended up at “the amusement park” (it’s two different kinds of parks, connected, usually, sometimes) and i was in a part i don’t visit often. it’s usually closed. but the sun was up so i could go back by the petting zoo. and by petting zoo i mean the african savanna exhibit found at many zoos with a bunch of sonoran desert animals thrown in, and a bunch of dusty old sheds. 

i was trying to get to the tiny restaurant to meet with my friends, but i was stuck in that fenced-in area until the sun went down and they kicked everyone out. so i just kind of watched, i guess they must have been wildebeest, wander around against a beautiful sunset. then i was super late getting to the restaurant, and it was closed and dark, and my friends were gone. the end!!!

in the morning i goofed off for a while and then did some chores downstairs. like take care of the dogs, and force myself to eat lunch, and dust the rest of the window blinds, and also dust my late great-grandmother’s creepy sheep angel porcelain dolls. 

then i went to therapy. i was the only one there! so lisa said we were only going to meet for 90 minutes. and about 15 of them she spent not in the room, so i forgot to bring up that i had some Thoughts i had written in my journal earlier. instead i talked about my god dang characters, and whenever i spent too long describing one of them she would tilt her head and ask “do you think that character stands for yourself?” 

i guess... it’s a reasonable question, technically. i’ve gotten it more than once. and part of what makes characters interesting is putting pieces of yourself in them and expanding on that until they become their own person. no, i am not literally jumbi. no, i am not literally lex, or charon, or kyral, or uesha, or evora. i am not evan or tracy or phoebe any of the other characters i haven’t finished designing yet. i am of the opinion that you can write a character with a strong, definite personality without making it a relevant metaphor for yourself. 

i spent some time explaining the difference between my and jumbi’s worldviews but i am afraid i may not have convinced her, which is uncomfortable. we also talked about how my mom talks over me and everyone around me just lets her and why i clam up. and we talked about what i even want. not just from therapy, but also, to resolve my awful home life. i said move away.

she gave me a bunch of work sheets on figuring out if your emotional needs are being met, and if they are not, what steps to take to achieve them. there was a list of, i think, 23? 3 of which are filled in by the person doing the worksheet. i am missing 22 of them. the one i am not missing is “i feel loved by god.” because i don’t care about god. giving thought to the idea that there is some sort of entity watching and judging every single action i take and thought that pops into my mind leads to... Bad Places.

a couple of them i only half-checked, because the needs are technically sort of being attended to, but should really be a lot stronger.

when i got home i played with the dogs for a while. i finally got pearl to let me wipe the mud off her feet before she goes inside. i have a bug bite on my toe. when i let the dogs back inside pearl stepped on the bite. i said “ow.” then wiley stepped on the bite. i went “ ;_; “. then eve stepped over my foot. then diogi stepped on the bite and i said “THANKS!!!”

i wasted a lot of time watching some videos about how voting works and different systems that democracies or republics can use to ensure fairer representations and stuff like that. it’s kind of nice to know there are alternatives, if we can just make the jump. maybe someday we will get there.

i also did convince mom and dad (dad has the week off) to go out and get frozen yogurt! i saw that the soft serve machine had cake batter flavor. and also had root beer float flavor. and also the two were next to each other so you could mix them. i couldn’t make up my mind so i had the mix. that was perhaps a mistake. but it was the last day for root beer float flavor yogurt.

i also made some stupid comments on my friends’ facebook statuses and sent a lot of capital letters to asher. maybe i had too much sugar.

oh, and blizzard came over today to play for a while. i love that dog. he is such a gentleman, even though my mom looks down on him because he is a pit bull mix. he is a dog of few words. his roommate jack does enough talking for both of them.

and i took wiley to the mailbox. he was super disappointed that we went back inside so quickly again, but it was still over 100. it was even uncomfortably hot when mom and dad and i were in the parking lot by the grocery store at like 8:40. 

ok tomorrow for SURE i will color the owls. i would also like to tidy up the bathroom a little bit. and i’ve got individual therapy at 10:30. i don’t know what i want to talk about with kelley yet. 

while talking about my characters i realize every time that i still love them and want to spend time with them and think other people might also want to spend time with them. and when i think about them i get ideas for stuff i should definitely change, or explore further, or add a little more complexity to the situation. but when i go to write... i don’t want to say anything. and i guess that makes me feel like i don’t like my characters any more. and then i get talking about them, and i realize that i like them...

so it’s not a matter of FEELING more interested in my work, but actually acting on the work. that might just be something i gotta do myself by getting back in the habit of doing activities that are designed to take 20 minutes unless i wish to continue after 20 minutes is up. and maybe putting on my flying pig boxers would help. those are my writing boxers.

it all comes back to that “challenging negative thoughts” thing. which i am admittedly really, really bad at doing. because i feel that they are correct. 

maybe i gotta look at that a different way. maybe it should be more like, “there is truth somewhere in that thought that should be paid attention to, but just because it says one thing doesn’t mean that only that thing is true.” maybe i should start there.

getting (more or less) enough sleep for once does wonders! wow!!! tomorrow i will scan in that picture of my emotions because it is continuously relevant!!!!!

[junker-town]

Which NFL player would you name a food after?

It’s the offseason and we’re hungry.

Sports and food are two of the best things in the world. When you combine the names of NFL players with meals, you have a delicious and well-named masterpiece.

SugarFire Smokehouse in St. Louis recently unveiled a burger called the “Reuben Foster.” It is a house burger, with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut hash, pastrami, caramelized onion, and a special sauce. Sounds good, right?

The burger inspired us to make our own creations, naming them after various NFL players, coaches, and even mascots. We apologize in advance for the appetite you’re about to have after reading this post.

Aaron Rodgers: Dairy-free “Kale Mary” smoothie

A year ago, Rodgers fessed up to the biggest cardinal sin any Wisconsinite can commit: He cut dairy from his diet. At the time, he said he did for his health reasons, and his new diet — "more of a vegan diet with some red meat at times and some chicken" — sounded obnoxiously Tom Brady-esque.

Recently, Rodgers clarified that “irritable bowels” is why he really went dairy-free. And man, that stinks for him, but is also a valid reason. No one wants the constant tummy rumbles or runs to the bathroom (or scatological jokes at your expense).

Rodgers’ commitment to watching what he eats as he enters his mid-30s is admirable, though. So let him have his kale and eat it too: add some almond milk, a couple of fruits and vegetables, NFL-regulated protein powder, and voila, the Hail Mary king has his own belly-friendly smoothie.

Matt Ryan: Matty Ice light beer

It’s safe to assume the Falcons quarterback could use a beer after what was a rough Super Bowl LI loss. So what better than a Matty Ice? It’s cool, crisp, and aged a long and painful 25 weeks to perfection.

Tyrann Mathieu: Honey Badger honey cake

Mathieu got his Honey Badger nickname from the animal. Honey badgers are mean as hell and they’ll eat anything. They’re true omnivores. Its formal name, mellivora capensis, means “honey eater of the Cape,” meaning the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. We also think that Mathieu wouldn’t mind being the eater of the cake that we’re naming after him.

J.J. Watt: 99-Watt energy drink

Watts are a unit of power, and Watt is an explosive and energetic player out on the football field, whether you find it to be genuine or not.

Watt’s drink would be made out of the most ridiculous and stereotypical ingredients that any meathead would have in his smoothie/drink/shake. Raw eggs (with the shells), any mixture of fruit and vegetables, all while being chugged straight out of the blender.

Ezekiel Elliott: Cinnamon Toast Crunch “Feed me” fried ice cream

We know Zeke loves cereal:

Like, probably more than you love your kids:

And we know Cinnamon Toast Crunch has been one of his favorites for years:

Should I eat frosted flakes , fruit loops, or cinnamon toast crunch???

— Ezekiel Elliott (@EzekielElliott) February 5, 2014

No one is ever too old to enjoy a lil CT Crunch, but at a certain age, it becomes less acceptable to chow down on it in public. There’s an easy fix for that, and it’s very Texas: fry it, add some ice cream, and sell it at a food truck.

Myles Garrett: “Myles to go before I sheep” taco

Hopefully Garrett gets the opportunity to open his own Fuego Tortilla Grill franchise in Cleveland. Not only would it be the first location in the Midwest, it’d be Fuego’s first location outside of Texas. And such a milestone deserves its own signature dish. The fresh home-made flour tortilla, chipotle cream corn, and pico de gallo can stay, but Garrett earns the right to be the namesake for Fuego’s lamb taco debut.

Alex Mack: Mackaroni and cheese

Much like the Falcons’ center is the best player along Atlanta’s offensive line, macaroni and cheese is a dependable comfort food. Enjoy it with a nice, cold Matty Ice.

Drew Brees: Dink and Dunkin’ Donut

The Saints’ quarterback is a budding restauranteur, and he’s part of an effort to bring 69 Dunkin’ Donuts stores to Louisiana, which is nice. It’s only fitting that one of the donuts they offer would be named after the guy who brought home the Lombardi Trophy after the 2009 season.

Tom Brady: Super Bowl MVPizza

The closest thing Brady has had to an arch-rival in his unparalleled NFL career is Peyton Manning, a man who brought 30 Papa John’s shops to Denver when he left Indianapolis. Based on their final Super Bowl ring counts, Brady is destined to open 75 of his own gross, artisanal, vegan, gluten-free pizza chains throughout New England.

We already know the four-time Super Bowl MVP marks out for avocado ice cream and has never tasted a strawberry in his life. Brady’s pizza would have the kind of health benefits that allows 39-year-old men to post MVP-caliber seasons. It would also taste like lawn clippings sprinkled over Saltines.

Rob Gronkowski: Gronk’s MonsterClear Brotein shake

Bro. Bro

The perfect way to cool down after a workout and pre-game at the same time is a protein shake mixed with Monster and Everclear.

Glen Coffee: Coffee Americano

His item can’t just be some coffee. And it needs to be stronger than a Caffe Americano. Sure, both will energize you and give you a jumpstart to your day, but Glen’s Coffee Americano would give you more than that, with an extra shot of espresso ... and patriotism.

Coffee retired from the NFL to join the U.S. Army to become a paratrooper. His extra espresso drink will give you the same motivation to do something of greater meaning, as well as the energy to kick some butt while doing it.

Now, he’s making a comeback. Time for some shots!

Andrew Luck: Luck of the Irish oatmeal

It should be no surprise that Andrew Luck is a big fan of oatmeal. Sure, it sounds like it’s the breakfast equivalent of going to the dentist, but that’s only to those too unrefined to realize just how versatile and flavorful oatmeal can be.

But Luck knows. From a 2013 interview with The Indianapolis Star:

Q: You're a sponsor of Quaker Oats. Do you have a favorite oatmeal recipe?

A: "I eat a lot of oatmeal anyway. But every morning, I get an omelet and I get fruit, oatmeal and I put yogurt on my oatmeal, which is sort of weird. But there is this recipe I like with honey roasted maple pecans, bananas (on oatmeal) and that's pretty good. But I don't do that every day. It's too much to do on a daily (basis)."

Now that’s a savory — and healthy — start to the day. Oatmeal will never be the sexiest meal, but whether you use quick, rolled, or steel-cut (aka Irish) oats, it’s always one of the most reliable.

Ben Roethlisberger: Big Bean soup

What, you were thinking a burger? Cliche. Soup isn’t just great, but it also helps you feel better when you’re dealing with the aches and pains of a bad cold. Roethlisberger knows a little bit about aches; he’s missed five starts the past two seasons while playing through injury in the back halves of each year.

Bill O’Brien: Potatoes O’Brien breakfast taco

Breakfast tacos don’t have to be complicated, but the best ones usually offer more than just eggs, cheese, and a tortilla. Bacon, chorizo, brisket, beans if you’re vegetarian, or all of the above if you’re really not; avocado if you don’t want to buy a house one day; and, of course, potatoes.

Throw in some diced peppers and onions, and those potatoes suddenly become Potatoes O’Brien. If that all sounds messy, then it’s perfect for Bill O’Brien. Just look at the quarterback situations he’s had to deal with since becoming the Texans’ head coach.

Vince Wilfork: Wilforkin’ Good Ribs

We’ll let Wilfork explain this one:

Bust a move, barbecue style. You better join me + @Kingsford and #StandWithRibs #Sponsored http://pic.twitter.com/8sn0EdLgFR

— Vince Wilfork (@wilfork75) May 17, 2017

Kirk Cousins: “You Like That?” Early Bird Special

Kirk Cousins used to drive his grandma’s conversion van to his job with the Washington football team and park it among the BMWs and Bentleys. He also thinks staying up until 10:30 is “late.”

It only seems fitting that he’d have an early bird special named after him. Cousins would most certainly like that.

Blue, the Colts mascot: Blue’s berry pie

There’s nothing quite like a wholesome blueberry pie. Blue is arguably the best mascot in the NFL, and might be inclined to throw that pie in your face.

It’s better than him humping it, though.