#unfortunately i also took a liking to big dill

[petrow1tch]

realized that I don't have to make a preset for every Fortnite skin I own. In other news, I'm sorry women

[jazzeria]

Here are some of the early sourdough discard breads (with instant/rapid yeast) and sourdough sandwich breads I made. They didn't turn out great, but I sure learned along the way!

25 Aug: Sourdough Discard [recipe] with dill seeds

Overproofed, oops! The loaf is both crackly-crispy, but also very soft and bouncy. Cutting into it was difficult because the crust was hard, but then would suddenly shatter and since the inside was so soft, the loaf would kinda crumple? Pleasantly chewy!

7 Sep: Sourdough Discard Bread [recipe]

I accidentally left the oven on 170F when proofing this, so it ended up getting a bit pre-cooked. But it also ended up being undercooked overall, so it turned out dense and moist.

Crust is thin but "crusty" in a good way. Crumb is moist, pleasantly dense. Salty! I'm glad I increased the salt! Satisfyingly chewy!!!! And it smells really good too!!!!

10 Sep: Sourdough Sandwich Bread [recipe]

I put the dough in the fridge for a day or so. The bulk ferment (BF) might've been a bit short; and the proof might've been long.

To bake, I put the loaf tin inside a dutch oven with a bit of water inside; the dutch oven lid had been pre-heated. In retrospect, I should've either pre-heated the entire dutch oven, or adjusted my bake times to account for this.

I took the lid off so I could at least see what was going on; and switched to using a spray bottle on "stream" (water gun setting, instead of "spray" setting). And I may have gone overboard with the watergunning: the crust is extremely shiny (gelatinised starch!)

Unfortunately the top tore open, and one corner started browning like crazy (I found out later there was a big fart pocket in that corner). You can also see in the loaf tin picture, the left side looks weird: you can see one of the layers from my shaping. I guess my shaping technique needs work!

I left it to cool overnight with a thin towel draped over.

The crumb is a bit dense, and quite moist. I think it was under-cooked. It smells frigging amazing though: the smells of gelatinised starch and sourdough! Every time I bake a sourdough, it's like I discover new ways that bread smells great!

I'm not super impressed with loaf, but it's "ok" I guess. None of its problems are, like, show-stoppers. But I'm a little underwhemled after days of anticipation.

12 Sep (same dough batch as prev):

The BF was 6 hours long, but when I touched the bowl, it was still cool to the touch from refrigeration. So this loaf came out a bit denser than I wanted.

Since the previous loaf tore, I decided to slash this one after a few minutes of baking.

The loaf was slightly undercooked, but still good. Somewhat dense and moist; chewy. Good flavour though.

[balkanradfem]

Last year I focused a lot more on learning how to grow food, than actually producing it, and I made lots of mistakes on purpose, just to see what happens. I listened to no advice, I let plants go bad, I left most of my cabbage to frost even tho everyone told me to harvest it; I needed to see exactly when and how it would go bad, if it would all go bad, when was my last great chance to harvest it?And I learned a lot. By letting plants go unharvested I realized my ideal time frame for harvesting, and the consequences of not doing so.

Some mistakes I’m repeating this year because, it might work out differently this time.I made a lot of mistakes with tomatoes, like not fertilizing them at all, and do you know what happens to it? Stems and leaves turn purple and black. It took me a while to find a good fertilizer that I can always have on hand and I don’t have to buy; I will not reveal what it is because all of you would be grossed out. But, it works like a charm. As soon as you do fertilize those black and purple tomatoes they turn green and start growing fast and it’s awesome. This year no tomatoes of mine went wrong color.

Another “mistake” was planting way too many tomatoes; plant lady offered me extra transplants she couldn’t use and they were all tiny and weak and I thought, well lets give them a chance! They probably wont survive anyway. They all survived, even those I gave no care whatsoever. Tomatoes are just feral and insane. I had more than 25 tomato plants and I was drowning. I was bringing home kilos and kilos of tomatoes daily. Some of these were climbing-triple-crop variety and they produce humongous monster tomatoes. Unfortunately, I am generally spending summers being mentally ill so some of that went to waste. I did make 20 jars of salsa and that absolutely saved me this winter, but some of these were just rotting on my counter (my counter was absolutely full of tomatoes, there was no space to put a glass of water) as I was too exhausted and depressed to cut them up and preserve them, and too inexperienced to know I could freeze them.

Some people were like “it’s a bad season for tomatoes” and I had no idea what they were talking about. I was up to my neck in tomatoes. I ate myself sick.

So this year, to prevent this kind of crazy overload.. I again planted 25 tomato plants. But, I made sure to create a difference in when they would produce. I started 3 plants early, in February, 10 of them in March, and 10 more late, in April and May. They’re all different sizes and in different stages of growth. I still took some extra plants from other people because they offered me varieties I didn’t have before and I am not passing up chances to hoard tomato varieties. So we’ll see how that goes.

One other mistake I did was plant peppers with tomatoes, I had absolutely no clue tomatoes were huge monster plants and would completely overshadow peppers. So it wasn’t until tomato season was over, and I had to tear my tomatoes out, that my peppers started growing and producing properly. This year, my peppers got a several special spots of their own; some people told me they like to be planted near each other and hold hands, so I planted some of them in pairs, and some on their own, to see which ones are the happiest.

At this point I understand which plants are likely to grow tall and throw shade at the thing next to it, and to plan my garden around the shaded spots. But I also know that if summer is crazy hot, this shade will protect my plants from the heat. I planted a row of sunflowers next to the walkway with the idea of protecting garden from heat, and if summer turns out to be mild, I can cut them and bring them home and bright up the kitchen.

I know that short growing green beans produce fast but also get sick and die fast, tall growing green beans will produce until it gets cold. I also understand the importance of flowers; always having bees around is crucial. However, strong smelling herbs to protect garden from pests? Myth. Pests are eating my basil, dill, mint, lemon balm, hell they’re even eating nettle. Herbs do not protect, they’re not even good trap plants because pests will eat and ignore them very fast. I’m still learning about the trap plants; they’re plants you put in your garden for pests to attack and eat so they would leave your vegetables alone. I actually accidentally let a few weed plants grow because I thought they might be flowers and then realized they were full of bugs, which is great for all my other plants that are not full of bugs. Big supporter of bugs eating stuff I didn’t plant.

I’m sure I made lots of mistakes in this year’s garden and I don’t care! Some stuff will do badly and I will figure out why and give myself gardening experience points and do it in a better way for the rest of my life. Looking forward to finding out all ways of planting food that don’t work.

[grumpygreenwitch]

Summer Gardening.

So it’s been a while, and for that I apologize to the... 200+ people who follow me. I’m sure y’all are here for the cat pics and the nekked men, but TOO BAD. Today you get to suffer through pics of my green children. Also, I do share seed. My seed list link will be up later in the year. To begin with, the summer flowers are out en force:

Echinacea Purpurea, the original echinacea. I do save yearly seed from these guys, although it’s an incredibly pointy, stabby and bleed-y job. 

Mountain Phlox. Unfortunately, all of it around the house is afflicted with powdery mildew, so I will not share seed. But it’s still pretty to look at, and the clearwings (hummingbird moths) love it. Not pictured is the white variant, who grows on the other side of the house. Look, it was hot and I was already melting.

Peppermint Balsam. This thing is basically indestructible, for an annual. It will reseed freely (to truly Lovecraftian levels) and blooms continuously from late spring until mid-fall, when the seed-pods set. There is a dormant genetic in it for double flowers, but when it pops up it’s always been sterile. It just pops up occasionally from the peppermint seed.

I may give the roommate hell over the hostas (I hate them. They’re so useful to protect toads and control weeds, but I hate them), but they do put out pretty flowers. There are several variants around the house - white-edged, blue and green, but hostas in general are very, very hard to start from seed. I will save it on request, only. We were also incredibly lucky to have a Moth Mullein sprout in our porch bed, along with some Variegated Solomon’s Seal.The SS doesn’t put out seeds, and I don’t have enough to share bulbs (yet), but the mullein has been exceptionally generous with seed pods, and it repels bugs. It repels ROACHES. It’s going everywhere. And I may be convinced to part with some seed.

Onward!

A view from a hill. Can you see the garden? That’s OK, I can’t either. Those are peach trees, on the side of the orchard closest to the house. Unfortunately a freak storm during early spring killed all the blossoms. Also, don’t mistake ‘orchard’ for ‘organized’. There’s a pear, some apples, a plum, some nectarines? And front and center are two walnuts. I’ll probably be plunking my laurel there to see if it survives winter. And someday when I have a job and money again, I would like to drop a few Chicago Hardy figs, and maybe a kiwi trellis.

This is the big garden (and fortunately not my responsibility, or I would cry). The guys are ‘handling’ it. The weeds say otherwise.

The jasmine tree and the roommate’s garden. Because of a bad back injury that refuses to heal, I’ve been helping them on and off with it. And if you thought jasmine was supposed to stay a delightful little bush, AHAHAHAHAH. Yes, that’s a light-post next to it. For size comparison.

MY CHILDREN. Please ignore the dead soccer ball. That’d be a dog toy.

Lemon balm, amaranth, and a new bed that I’ll be finishing off during fall, for use next year. The lemon balm is a permanent row - it will overwinter just fine, and it will even keep growing through the mildest part of December. Mine didn’t die back until a few solid days of sleet in January. Unfortunately the weed fabric under the amaranth turned out to be an old roll, and fell apart on me (no big, the whole point is for it to fall apart eventually), so the weeds have kinda eaten it alive.

Unfortunately, both cucumber beetles and blister beetles love the amaranth. Fortunately, it does not seem to give a damn. It’s an incredibly resilient plant, not minding weeds, bugs, flood or drought. We’ll see what the grain actually tastes like, but so far it’s looking like a good candidate for continuous growing.

The lemon balm is lemon-balming. Planted on a lark, it’s proven to be a fantastic wind-breaker - because it grows so early and so quick, it keeps the colder winds that come down through the hollow from my more fragile seedlings, like the lettuce, dill and cilantro. You can see here where the spent flower-heads are dying but there’s new growth underneath; I really have to get in there and behead it. It makes nice hot tea, meh cold tea, and hanging fresh bunches of it around the balcony keeps the skeeters off. It also seems to be a decoy for cabbage moths.

Canary Zinnia. The seed was sent to me as a gift with one of my seed orders, and this is my first year growing it. -If- I can save some, I’ll definitely be sharing and growing again. It’s a lovely plant, very sturdy, and the bees love it.

Dwarf Castor Oil. I don’t think there’s anything dwarf about it, but then I’m a short green witch myself, so maybe it’s all about perspective. Don’t let the pods lie to you, until they dry the spikes are relatively soft. However, it being castor oil, I don’t recommend it to anyone with ducks, chickens, goats, or anything that might accidentally try talking a nibble or pecking at the beans. I do, however, recommend them from jewelry if you know how to pierce things and so on. They are a gorgeous tiger-stripe pattern.

Say hello to the chard! Say goodbye to the chard! Nothing else, absolutely nothing else since the limas, has given me so much trouble. The deer love getting into my chard bed and destroying it (ergo all the forks). And once I managed to chase those off, the blister beetles showed up in force. This will be the last year I grow it - we just don’t eat enough of it to make it worth my while, and it only occasionally sold at the Farmers’ Market.

Red lettuce - Merlot and Lollo Vino, a combination of bought and saved seed. I planted a red romaine of some sort, too, but unsurprisingly it bolted in the heat. The darker reds of my favorites, though, keep bugs off them, keep deer from noticing them, and keep them from bolting. It’s just now threatening to, and at this point its kind of allowed. I need more seed for next year. Seed for this will likely be shared by the teaspoon-ful.

Calendula! I searched for a long time to find the plain ol’ calendula officinalis ancestor, rather than a cultivar where I would have no way of knowing if the medicinal principles would have been sacrificed for looks. It’s supposed to work well as poor man’s saffron (color, no taste), and I’m going to be soaking the heck outta my feet on it during winter. The plant is... not pretty. It gets leggy and the leaves get grotty very quickly. But it’s very sturdy and as long as you cut the flowerheads off as fast as you can, it’ll keep blooming until well into winter. I usually leave it to go to seed around late September.

Green cilantro seeds. You pick ‘em when they’re brown, but before they drop off the plant. Or you pick ‘em when they’re brown-ing, and put them in a paper bag so they’ll finish ripening there and you don’t end up with fifty wild cilantro plants in your garden >_> Most of the row is already gone, and I’ll be putting in a late dill crop in its place. No such thing as too  much dill!

Don’t let lemongrass lie to you. Unless you tie it up, it will not grow up neat and tidy, as most grass does. Instead it will sprawl like a dramatic wilting Elizabethan lady and do its best to end up under your feet so you’ll feel bad about it. I just tie it up with a half-blade of grass; it dries up and withers away before it can hurt the plant.

I ordered pennyroyal seed because... Well, because it’s something one should have on hand, considering the way the world is going. What I got was Creeping Pennyroyal, which doesn’t care if you step on it (mint family), smells absolutely delightful, and has the most adorable, tiny purple flowers. I plan on harvesting, drying and sprinkling it everywhere in the crawlspace under the house. Making war on cave crickets, wood roaches, and other such sundries, me.

The thyme and Spicy Oregano took a beating in the heat, but they’re slowly bouncing back. The bed behind them is more pennyroyal, desperately in need of weeding, but there’s only one of me, y’know.

SIGH. Just. You absolute, ill-mannered monster of a creature. That would be horseradish, gloriously happy to be alive, as horseradish should be. Also, NOT IN ITS BASKET. Because never mind the rules, I guess.

I don’t even know how I’m gonna dig that up come winter. With some construction equipment, I GUESS. 

Decorative gourd! It’s the only one producing so far, but being the seed was 10+ years old, I’m very pleased.

And an apple gourd (I think?), from a mixture of drying gourds that was only slightly less ancient. Snake, apple and birdhouse gourds. There’s a bunch of them competing in the basket at this point, we’ll see what we will see.

And this, I think, is a great use of a dead canopy frame (the dogs ate the canopy. No, I’m not making it up.) I hope to coax the gourds to grow me a lil’ roof so I can sit in shade, surrounded by pennyroyal anti-skeeter barriers, eating my maters.

My Peter Peppers (nrehehehehe) aren’t producing yet - it takes them a while. But my Chinese 5-Color are getting started. It’s a lovely pepper, both edible and ornamental, with (so I’m told) about four times the heat of a Jalapeno. They’re tiny, with deep purple undertones to the plant. They’ll go purple-white-yellow-orange-red.

The bullhorns, on the other hand, are fairly sizable SWEET peppers on very tiny plants, and I honestly suggest staking them while they’re young so they grow a sturdy trunk, else you might end up with all of them growing at a slant.They’re just now beginning to turn colors. Keeping in mind I’m virulently allergic to peppers (less so sweet than hot, but allergic to all of them), the roommate loves ‘em.

It’s a small pepper bed - mainly to refresh my seed on the hots, and to grow sweets for the roommate. Pardon the nekked bed, the autumn lettuce hasn’t sprouted yet. And yes, that’s a mixed basil/dill bed next to it. My basil grew in patchy holes (NEVER buying from those seed people again), so I filled the holes with dill. Unfortunately, dill seed heads are so fine that they’re hard to photograph well.

The tomato row. After arguing with them for this long, I went the extra mile. Every plant has a metal stake. There’s also a double line growing at the top supporting the stakes so they don’t fall over. And they still fell over. Because why not, you unruly children, why not.

Green, white, pink and brown cherry tomatoes. Delicious!

Two kinds of cucumbers, some of the only decent shots of the dill seed-heads, and a special guest hiding in the shade. I usually plant dill as soon as the cucumber sprouts, to keep cucumber beetles off it. Otherwise I’d have no cucumbers and a lot of fat beetles.

The Muncher is a small cucumber, somewhat delicate. It’s very sensitive to temperature changes, and it’s candy to cucumber beetles - basically, it’s impossible to grow it without a heavy curtain of dill, or a heavy duty decoy. This year I got lucky enough to have both. It’s also delicious pickled, keeping its crunch and getting a good ooomph in flavor.

The Japanese Long is, as the name implies, long. It’s also incredibly bitey, and absolutely scrumptious. It’s sweet! And unlike the average cucumber, it does not go metallic when salted.

And now for the SPECIAL CHILD OF MY HEART. Seriously. I have been lusting after Blue Tea Peas since I first saw them offered, and every single time they’d be sold out pretty much the day of. This year I finally got some and... remember me mentioning that freak freeze that killed the peach blossoms? Yeah. Guess what it also killed. But two plants soldiered on. I have them heavily shielded by the cucumbers, dill and chamomile, and really I have no words for the blue. Pics don’t do it justice. I won’t have the tea this year, I’m saving as much seed as I can, but I am so pleased to have it at all!

 Last, but not least, and it’s a poor shot of it, the chamomile. I cannot drink chamomile to sleep - it does put me to sleep, but it also gives me bad dreams. I plan on using it as a skin wash for all the bug bites, along with the calendula, and to give me some respite from dry skin during winter.

Stay green! See you in fall! Now back to our normal schedule of frogs, cats and nekked men!

[newagesispage]

                                                                            JUNE    2020

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FX and Ryan Murphy will bring us season 10 of American Horror Story next year. The cast includes Mac Culkin, Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, Evan peters, Billie Lourd, Lily Rabe and Finn Wittrock. There will also be a spinoff called, wait for it, American Horror Stories. Woo Hoo!!

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Reno 911 is back

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I happen to have a clementine in my butt. –Jimmy Kimmel

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NASA got their dragon launch. It is unfortunate that they had to compete with the current cycle.

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Sam Springsteen (son of Patti and Bruce) has been sworn in as a Jersey City firefighter.

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Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood is great. I don’t know how to feel about the fast and the loose and the nice made up endings like Once upon a time in Hollywood.  Will this be a trend??** Another great one on Netflix is, Have a good trip.

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Are there biopics in the works for Michael and Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, the Bee Gees and Bowie?? That is the word.

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Days alert: Look for Lani to become pregnant. Eli and Justin are both thinking marriage. Claire is back which will bring Shawn and Belle back. Gabi may be kidnapped. Word is that July will have a wedding every week that will lead to a funeral.  Allie Horton is all grown up and heading back with a secret. Will she be like Mom, Sami?? Brady thinks that ruining Titan will get back at Victor. Sonny and Will may get a chance at another child. Eve may be back later in the summer. And, C’mon Xander, do something wonderful to get your woman back. Lucas may be on the way back and Orpheus is leaving. ** Judi Evans (Adrienne) had a serious horseback riding accident on May 16. She had broken ribs, a collapsed lung and 2 chipped vertebrae. The good news was in the hospital they discovered a blood clot so the whole thing saved her life.

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Morton Buildings is being sued by 2 women for harassment and discrimination. One incident claims an employee said, “God created women by lining up all the men and castrating the stupid ones.” Another lawsuit was filed in 2009.**Thanks for the tip, Di.

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If you expect elementary school children to endure the trauma of active shooter drills for your freedoms, you can wear a mask to Costco. –Sara Elizabeth Dill

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House republicans have sued Pelosi to block proxy voting.

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Seth Rogan, Steve Carell and Ben Schwartz are donating funds to bailout Minneapolis protestors after the death of George Floyd.** The country has been turned upside down as another cop kills another black man. No need to rehash, we have all seen it. I wonder if those four horrible cops are proud of what they have done to their city. Could we finally have a tipping point in this time when racism is spotlighted with our racist President? After many incidents in just the past couple of weeks and everyone on edge with coronavirus, it has boiled over. Scary Clown threatens to start shooting as Minneapolis burns down. Burn down a police station, get a cop arrested (finally)? Seems worth it to me. The way the killer looked into the camera as if he was just so proud is gonna stick with us as it should.  ** A CNN crew were arrested live on the air but released later after Jeff Zucker spoke to Gov. Walz.**  Liberate Minnesota was the Trump tweet, well, they are working on it.** I am hearing people saying in all sincerity lately that it is time for the humans to go, we are ruining each other and the planet.

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If you have not seen the Killer Mike speech from Atlanta, you need to check it out.** Netflix, Hulu and Paramount are taking a stand and showing support for the Black lives matter movement.

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John Cusack put out video of police coming at him with batons and pepper sprayed him as he protested in Chicago. More than 1000 were arrested and it continues.** In Flint, Sheriff Chris Swanson and other police put down helmets and joined the protestors. Police in Schenectady took a knee and joined the march. The behavior is spreading and look what a difference it makes, could they be starting to get it?

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Never thought I’d say this but in light of everything that is happening, the DNC made a big mistake in not backing Berne Sanders. –Pete Buttigieg ** Ok, first, of course he is right but you helped set this all in motion. It is a bit late for that …or is it? Biden is not the OFFICIAL nom, the deal is not done yet. Will Bernie jump back in the race?? Perhaps we will soon see BERNE FOR PRESIDENT again.

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American carnage was a self -fulfilling prophecy, alas. –Susan Glasser

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Scary Clown 45 has designated Antifa a terrorist organization. ** There is no legal authority for designating a domestic group, any such designation would raise significant concerns. –ACLU

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In any season, police violence is an injustice, but its harm is elevated amidst the remarkable stress people are facing amidst covid-19. Even now, there is evidence of excessive police initiated force and unwarranted shootings of civilians, some of which have been fatal. –American Medical Association.

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Washington Week had a great discussion about how all the ills in US history have played out in 2020. Impeachment, pandemic, depression and civil unrest are all here at once.

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Word is that Trevor Noah has been proven much more popular than the other late night hosts since they have been at home.

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I predict the picture of the upside down flag with the backdrop of the burning liquor store will be the lasting image of the Trump Presidency.

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This is the Presidency George Wallace never had. –Max Boot

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Spanish flu, Polio, Aids, Covid-19: Why don’t people get any smarter? The masses (and sometimes those in charge) can get it wrong over and over again. From Dr.? Phil and Dr Oz and their cavalier attitude toward death to Rosie wanting her son to take a leave of absence from the grocery store, we just do not learn. Even before that, I can’t forget the woman who wanted to change her vote after she found out Buttigieg was married to a man. Is she even a dem? Do your research people! Respect others, people!! Have compassion, stop being so selfish and use your brains!!** Puerto Rico was a pre curser to the pandemic response.

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Amy Cooper Chris Cooper? WTF? Another liberal who is not really liberal.

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Crime in general is down and police shootings are up. And yes, now the opportunists are out of control and anger is boiling over but protests against police brutality causing police brutality is WRONG!

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Check out the book, What makes a marriage last, from Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue.

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Ben Taub, Barry Blitt and Colson Whitehead have won the Pulitzer Prize.

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Word is that Nick Cage will play Joe Exotic of Tiger King fame. Of course he will.

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I refuse to wear a mask because God did not have us born with one.- Nino Vitali** How many people have you heard say, “The President isn’t wearing a mask, so I don’t have to.”

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It looks like Apple will partner with Paramount for Scorsese’s adaptation of Killers of the Flower Moon.

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Oh my: Scary Clown is having a twitter feud with twitter!  He has to, of course, lash out and now signs an executive order targeting social media. He is going on about section 230 which gives immunity to social media companies against being sued over content.  It could curb liability protection. Experts say it will only encourage lawsuits because he does not want to be edited.

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If Native American tribes were counted as states, the five most infected states in the US would all be native tribes. –Nicholas Kristof

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Did ya see that Jeff Epstein doc from James Patterson. It is lays blame in all directions. Why does it seem like all these old guys on there with all that money have such yellow teeth?

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Lindsey Graham is urging Federal judges in their mid to late 60’s to step down so they can fill the spots with republicans.

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Richard McGuire tried to live at Disney World in a zoological park that was closed down.

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Caterpillar, Levi, Black and Decker and others have cut jobs but gave millions to shareholders.

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Axl Rose and Steve Mnuchin had a twitter feud.

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China announced plans to introduce a National Security law in Hong Kong. The law enables mainland Chinese National security agencies to operate in the city for the first time. Using a rarely used constitutional method, they bypassed Hong Kong legislature. Since the former British colony became a semi-autonomous region of China more than 20 years ago, they have manages its own affairs. The law will affect media, education, politics and international business. Many acts will now be criminalized. Hong Kong is party to international treaties guaranteeing civil liberties that China is not. The U.S. is urging Bejing to reconsider. Pro- democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong were tear gassed as they yelled, “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times.”

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The Michael Flynn charges were dropped.

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Holyoke soldier’s home in Massachusetts lost 70 souls to Coronavirus. AP photographer David Goldman got a projector and cast big pictures the vets onto the homes of loved ones. Each one had a story including one vet who was sent to Nuremberg to guard Nazis. He claimed to have filled Hermann Goring’s glass with toilet water.

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The swimming Dinosaur, Spinosaurus has been getting a lot of attention.  The Sahara desert which was once massive rivers kept the first intact aquatic dinosaur.  With a snout, teeth and jaw like a croc, it is so far the only known kind of dinosaur that lived in the water.  The 50 foot long bizarre fin-like tail is like a giant paddle.  Paleontologists encourage others to have a look at other fossils to see if there are more.

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Octavia Spencer is said to have been telling everyone she is a year younger than she is. She is turning 50.

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The $69 million ventilator scam. Really? The White House heard from a guy who told them he could supply the product so the WH told NY to order them and stood behind the guy but it was a scam. Scary Clown sure loves his shady people, intentional or not.** A Florida woman, Rebecca Jones claims that she was asked to fudge the numbers to make reopening look better. ** Georgia moved their dates around on a graph to make their cases seem flattened. ** For 17 months, Florida investigated voter fraud for Trump and Gov. Scott. They found NOTHING!!

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Amazon stock price is up 25% yet they have become notorious for the terrible way they treat their workers. Bezos is set to become a trillionaire.

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We have to remember that order comes from chaos. True enhancements can come from large scale crisis. What will we learn from this one? This is a warning!!** Universal health care? No more buffets? ** Prices will probably go up everywhere what with the closings and all the extra cleaning. I hope this means that hotel bedspreads will be cleaned after every stay.  It looks like there may be no cocktails or food on planes.

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Take a virtual tour of the statue of liberty. All the fun without all the swaying.

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Local PBS stations are making it easier to learn. Students will be able to put on a channel for lessons that does not need cable or internet. Woo Hoo!!

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Insiders say that Trump threatened to sue his campaign manager because he did not agree with his assessment and the poll numbers in a 2 day rant.** Just one more example of Scary Clown double talk. Then: Less testing, less positives. Now: So much testing is a badge of honor.**Doctors without Borders are now here, not the third world countries that they usually help, it is US.

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Haven’t we had enough of powerful men being accused? A female Dem candidate would have been nice and Bernie did not seem to have any baggage that way either.

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Will the Senate see fit to ok some more stimulus $? 4 trillion to prop up Wall Street seems per the usual. Enough for them, let’s take care of those small businesses and those really in need.

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Thao and the get down stay down is one of the best in this internet entertainment era.

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Check out Stars in the House with Tony Shalhoub and others.

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The Detectorists on Acorn TV is a great little show!!

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Happy Day! There is a new season of At Home with Amy Sedaris!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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It looks like Pier 1 will permanently close as well as JC Penney, J Crew, Sears and Neiman Marcus.

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Check out the wonderful, This is about Humanity!!

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Have U seen the trailer for The King of Staten Island?? OMG Pete Davidson, Steve Buschemi and Marisa Tomei , just to name a few!! I can’t fucking wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Bill Maher looked really high on his 5-22-20 show. This working from home makes him much more mellow!!

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3 Russian doctors treating coronavirus have fallen out of windows in about a weeks time.** Russia boasts that it has more ventilators per capita than the U.S. After they made fun of us, on May 22, the first shipment of U.S. ventilators headed to Russia. They are a gift from Trump and the U.S. taxpayers. –Julia Davis

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State Department Inspector General Steve Linick is out.  Was he investigating Pompeo?  Trump never knows anything about any of it. Why are all the protectors of the rule of law thrown out?  ** Was Pompeo throwing lavish foreign policy dinners with Reba, Dale Jr. and the owners of that horrid chicken sandwich place? ** The clean water rule has been suspended which cuts protections for most of the country’s wetlands.

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The market facilitation program has been helping small farmers over the last few years in a $28 billion bailout. Trump’s sanctions brought this on and the corona virus has made it worse.  Mostly the money has helped bankers and bigger farms. Much like the stimulus $ that was earmarked for small business, there are loopholes that screw up the ‘rules.’ The cap is not being followed like they may say because the $ is going to “investors” in the farm and often not the actual farmer who works on a smaller scale. A small farm run by family members may not get the bailout. It seems to be more important to get a good lawyer who can manipulate the paperwork.  Sad that taxpayer $ is used this way.

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Just in time, the Space Force flag and plans for the super duper missile have been unveiled. WTF??

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Paula Poundstone is a woman I knew I liked. She was recently talking about not liking couches. I thought I was the only one, People are always telling me how much they love their couches and I don’t get it.

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Jeff Gibbs and Michael Moore are upset after Youtube pulled their doc, Planet of the Humans. After 8.3 million views, there was a copyright claim by Toby Smith of about 4 seconds of footage.  Now , this is not the first time that Moore has had problems with content in one of his movies.  Many have claimed there is a lot of fiction in this latest venture. I think I would just remove the possible copyright infringement and move on. It can now be seen on Vimeo.

A Florida law that restricts felon voting is found unconstitutional by a federal judge.** The RNC filed a lawsuit against California to stop mailing ballots to registered voters.

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R.I.P. Little Richard, Roy Horn, Jerry Stiller, Sam Lloyd, Ann Sullivan, Mike Cogswell, Michael Keenan, Shirley Knight, Irrfan Khan, Hana Kimura, Forrest Compton, Jimmy Cobb, George Floyd, Ken Osmomd, all the corona victims, Lynn Shelton, Richard Herd, Larry Kramer, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Anthony James, Fred Willard and Carolyn Busch.

[gp11]

Leap Castle

Situated near the town of Coolderry in county Offaly in Ireland, Leap Castle has earned its reputation as one of the most haunted places in Europe. Reputedly built somewhere between the 12th and 15th century, on an ancient Druidic site, the castle boasts a violent and bloody history. Beginnings The legend of the area has it, that two brothers of the O’ Bannon clan, had agreed to a contest to determine who would take ownership of the castle. The contest involved a perilous jump from a crag (a jump that would claim the life of one of the brothers and would forever associate the word “Leap” with the title.) The story has it that the O’ Bannons didn’t reign over their lands from the castle for very long. Nearby, a more powerful and violent neighbour, had their eyes on the fortification. In less than a hundred years, the O’ Carrolls had taken over Leap Castle. With a ferocious appetite for power and violence, the O’Carrolls held an iron grip of terror on the surrounding areas.  When Mulrooney O’Carroll, the patriarch of the clan passed away in 1532, his passing opened up a bloody period of distrust and contempt between his two sons, Thaddeus and Teighe. Thaddeus was a man of the cloth and whilst conducting a service in the castle chapel one evening, Teighe, pushed his way in and after a heated quarrel, stabbed Thaddeus through the heart. There have been reports of the apparition of Thaddeus wandering around the now-named  “Bloody Chapel”. Some of the shenanigans pulled off by the O’Carroll clan, make for interesting reading... Reports of the time have it, that one family that felt the full O’Carroll wrath, was the O’Neill family. Apparently the O’Neills, had allied with the O’Carroll’s, to help them to victory in one of their many battles. Unfortunately however, once victory was secured, 39 of the O’Neils had ended up with their throats slit. It has long been presumed that there was financial reasoning behind this gruesome act, but with the wanton, murderous pedigree of the O’Carrolls, who knows? Another grisly fate befell the McMahon family. Their services were called upon to help the O’Carroll’s in a battle with the forces of the Earl of Tyrone.  Not long after, (In a plot-twist that could almost be straight out of Game of Thrones), Charles O’Carroll, the chieftain of the clan, reportedly had them disposed of, by having their drink poisoned. Their bodies are reputed to have been tossed into the dungeon. Many apparitions of what is suspected to be, the doomed McMahons, have been reported in and around the property. Change of Ownership The long reign of the O'Carrolls came to an end when the daughter of the then chieftain became smitten with a dashing young English prisoner contained in the dungeon below. His name was Captain Darby. She helped keep him in relative good health by regularly sneaking food down to him. Love quickly blossomed between them and they carefully planned their escape. Their clean getaway was foiled by the appearance of the girls brother. A swordfight ensued and Darby fought for his life and won. The death of the brother eventually placed the girl as the heiress of the castle and after marrying her captain, thus began the reign of the Darby's. The Other Apparitions The Red Lady The “Red Lady” is a name attributed to another spectral resident of the castle. Sadly, she was rumoured to be another victim of the O’Carrol bloodlust. The story has it that she was captured, imprisoned, and repeatedly raped by one, or many of the clan over a prolonged period. Becoming pregnant after one of the assaults, the baby was later taken from her and murdered by members of the clan. Understandably distraught and broken after a long period of abuse, the lady decided to take her own life. It is believed that she used the same blade that took the life of her child. Witnesses describe her as a tall lady in a scarlet-red dress who approaches in a threatening manner with a raised dagger in her hand. The Oubliette Situated in the North-Eastern corner of the Bloody Chapel is a small room called the “Oubliette”. The Oxford English Dictionary describes an oubliette as a small dungeon with access only through a trapdoor in its ceiling. The name derives from the French word “oublié” which translates to “forget it”. This was an all too common practice in castles of the time; people would be thrown into oubliettes and quite simply... forgotten. Much later, in the 1930’s during cleaning and renovation work, three cartloads of human skeletons were discovered and removed from the oubliette in the Bloody Chapel at Leap Castle. Emily and Charlotte Reports of two ghostly young girls running about and playing have also been added to the inventory of apparitions. It is believed that these girls were resident at the castle sometime in the 17th century. Emily is reported to have fallen from the battlements high on the South-East edge of the castle and quite a few visitors outside on the grounds have reported seeing the figure of a girl falling. Reports of Charlotte describe a girl with a deformed leg that drags behind her as she moves. The Unknown Screaming Woman Believed to be another O’Carroll murder victim, she has been described as having very few clothes on, and with a red cloth over her face, she screams twice very loudly before disappearing. The Governess  Often seen in or about the main hall, the governess appears both as an individual apparition and on occasion also accompanied by the two girls Emily and Charlotte. She often touches people or brushes very, very close to them. Sean Ryan,  the current owner of Leap Castle has stated that she seems to have a particular interest in fair-haired people. The Old Man The owner, Sean Ryan, has made reference to an old man who occasionally moves things about. Others have related stories of him trying to stop people from entering. The Elemental More sinister than all the other presences at the castle, the one called the “elemental” is apparently, by far, the scariest. Described more as an entity than just an ordinary ghost, the elemental has been known to announce its presence with the smell of a rotten, decomposing carcass. Mildred Henrietta Gordon Dill married Jonathan Charles Darby on 6th of November 1889. Jonathan Charles Darby was the heir to leap Castle and the surrounding Darby estates in Co. Offaly. Mildred was educated at Oxford and had long set her heart on a literary career. She published some of her short stories in the monthly magazines, the Idler, the Harmsworth and the Belgravia under the pen-name Andrew Merry. She also published a number of stories in the Weekly Irish Times. Under the name of Andrew Merry, she first published Kilman Castle "A House of Horrors" in 1898. This publication contained accounts of encounters with the "elemental" at the castle. it was well know that Kilman Castle was actually Leap. The following accounts are from The Occult Review circa 1908 and some responses following the publication. in The Occult Review article – Kilman Castle, The House of Horror. Suddenly, two hands were laid on my shoulders. I turned round sharply and saw, as clearly as Isee you now-a grey ‘Thing’, standing a couple of feet from me, with it’s bent arms raised as if it were cursing me. I cannot describe in words how utterly aweful the ‘Thing’ was, it’s very undefinableness rendering the horrible shadow more gruesome. Human in shape, a little shorter than I am, I could just make out the shape of big black holes like great eyes and sharp features, but the whole figure-head, face, hands and all-was grey-unclean, blueish grey, something of the colour and appearance of common cotton wool. But, oh! so sinister, repulsive and devilish. My friends who are clever about occult things say it is what they call an “Elemental”. The thing was about the size of a sheep, thin, gaunt and shadowy in parts. It’s face was human, or to be more accurate, inhuman, in it’s vileness, with large holes of blackness for eyes, loose slobbery lips, and a thick saliva-dripping jaw, sloping back suddenly into its neck! Nose it had none, only spreading, cancerous cavities, the whole face being a uniform tint of grey. This too, was the colour of the dark coarse hair covering its head, neck and body. It’s forearms were thickly coated with the same hair, so were its paws, large, loose and hand-shaped; and it sat on it’s hind legs, one hand or paw was raised, and a claw-like finger was extended ready to scratch the paint.  It’s lustreless eyes, which seemed half decomposed, and looked incredibly foul, stared into mine, and the horrible smell which had before offended my nostrils, only a hundred times intensified, came up to my face, filling me with a deadly nausea. I noticed the lower half of the creature was indefinite and seemed semi-transparent-at least, I could see the framework of the door that led into the gallery through its body. A letter in response to ‘Kilman Castle’ article also relates a personal encounter whilst staying at the castle.  I saw your eyes fixed upon something above our heads, and the next minute my own eyes were filled by the sight of a Thing in the gallery looking down at us.  There was plenty of light from the lamps in the hall and the one above on the wall at the corner of the gallery, for every one of us to see quite plainly the grey-coloured figure about the height of a small grown-up person looking down at us.  I wish I thought I could ever forget the sight of that grey figure with dark spots like holes in its head instead of eyes, standing with grey arms folded on the gallery railing looking down at us……………………Then just as he put foot on the gallery, the Thing that he saw there, that we were watching, suddenly faded out of sight.  The Thing did not move, only became less and less visible until it vanished.    The above account is a good cross reference to the letter Mildred Darby sent to Sydney Carroll. The last appearance of the Elemental were on Nov 25th 1915 and I deduct again last November from the gait of my husband really wild with rage? fright? coming into my room at Midnight to let fly at me for “again dressing up things to try and frighten me.”  On the 25th Nov 1915 two of our servants knowing the “master” would be late and that I was driving that afternoon had invited “friends” two soldiers from the Barracks at Birr distant the other side 6 miles.  They came rather late and my husband came home early so the visitors had to be kept out of his sight in the lower regions of one of the wings (the Priests House) and were unable to be shown the centre tower – the very lofty hall.  At 7.15 my husband and I went up to dress for dinner, my room in extremity of house from kitchens, his dressing room next door to me.  Whilst dressing I was startled by a loud yell of terror stricken male and female voices coming apparently from the hall – and ran out to see the cause.  My husband was out ahead of me at his heels I passed through corridor of wing and onto the gallery wing rounds two sides of hall. Two lamps on gallery two more in hall below.  On the gallery leaning with “hands” resting on its rail I saw the Thing – the Elemental and smelt it only too well.  At the same moment my husband pulled up sharply about 10 feet from the Thing, and half turning let fly a volley of abuse at me ending up “Dressing up a thing like that to try and make a fool of me.  And now you’ll say I’ve seen something and I have not seen anything and there is nothing to see, or ever was.  This last speech without a pause, begun waving one hand at the Thing end up by stalking back to his dressing room still abusing me for trying to give him a fright.  As he was speaking the Elemental grew fainter and fainter in its outlines until it disappeared.  By the sounds from my husband’s room I judged he was employed as I was myself in preparing an empty spot for our coming dinner.  He never made any enquiry as to the yell that called us both out, and from that day to this has not mentioned the incident to me.  I heard from our servants that when we went to dress for dinner they had brought their friends just to show them the hall, when all four has suddenly seen and smelt the Elemental looking down at them from the gallery.  We all got such a turn, we couldn’t help letting out a bawl then fled to servants quarters where all 4 were very sick.  The two maids had letters necessity their going home next day – and they did not return. The account below describes an encounter with the Elemental.  The individual has the unfortunate experience to have been attacked during their investigation. 18th June 2002 I travelled to Leap Castle in order to make a show for a local TV network and this was my first time in the notorious castle I had heard so much about.  So the show went well but I wanted to try the UV on the camcorder whilst still shooting.  I had sensed something down the old access to the battlements earlier and never went down.  I climbed the stairs with the camcorder in front, the light from the UV allowed me to see about 6 ft ahead and no more so I climbed slowly.  I opened the gothic style door and made my way slowly down the narrow passage, about 10ft in I thought I saw something move and I lifted my head, I could feel something was wrong but I had no idea what. This time with the camera dropped I thought I saw a glow come from around the corner and then it went back in.  I stood and studied this for a while and thought it may be a side effect of the UV which can be common, a few steps more and my body was weakening fast, it was a strange sensation.  Suddenly this mass of white like mist raced around the corner like a bull, even the rubbish on the floor scattered as it approached at speed.  The passage was tight and I turned to my left to try and get out but it was too late, I felt the pain as if something had just pierced under my right rib cage and went all the way through to the back.  This startled me a little and we proceeded to arrange shooting in the cellars.  The audio refused to tape again in the cellars and I felt really odd, I was sweating heavily and was becoming very weak and drowned in dread.  Right after the incident in the tunnel it felt as if a hole in my chest had been punctured on a spiritual level and my life was seeping into the stones.  In order to describe it and let the reader understand they would have had to experience a large blood loss sometime in their lives.  As they felt the blood drain this weakness would become prominent, other words they were experiencing the onset of death……I was dying.  Another  first person account of an encounter with the Elemental: Burnt out during the 1920s, Leap’s looks lived up to its reputation.  Narrow Gothic windows, ivy covered towers, bats and a barn owl; it was like a set from a Vincent Price movie.  We crept in through the gaping doorway.  Our flashlights revealed a huge hole in the stone floored front hall and we gingerly made our way around the edge, heading for the spiral staircase. No ghost would make us nervous – we were the Dublin Ghost Busters! Despite our confidence, we found ourselves talking in whispers.  A slight sound behind me and I spun like a ballerina to see the cause.  But as I spun around, I slipped and then dropped through the hole in the floor.  The flashlight hit a rock and went out. Just above me, just out of reach, I could see the jagged outline of the floor. I could hear friends coming to help me. And then, in the darkness, I could hear a sniffling snorkly sort of noise. There was a smell, too.  A horrid, rotten smell.  I am not athletic, but that night, terror put rockets into my heels. I shot upwards. Scrabbling madly I made the doorway and did not stop running till I was safely in the car.  Personal encounter with the Elemental  18th June 2006 I looked into the darkness of a corridor that exited the spiral stairway.  I became aware of the smell of sulphur.  It was as if boxes and boxes of matches had suddenly been lit at once.  I looked at my friend who had taken me to visit Leap Castle.  He could also smell the sulphur.  I stared into the darkness of the corridor and had the impression that a beast like a bear or lion was staring back at me .  The tension was rising like a ticking timebomb.  My friend then closed the door and said “To let sleeping dogs lie.”  Meaning sometimes you just have to leave things alone.  He was a friend of Sean Ryan and I certainly did not want to disrespect either of them by stirring up the Elemental. The Elemental has the potential to cause great harm to anyone receiving the brunt of an attack.  One belief is that that the Elemental has the ability to alter the atmospheric pressure, generally lowering it.  The polarity of atmospheric ions fluctuates and triggers a condition known as serotonin hyperfunction syndrome.  This can cause symptoms such as heart palpitations, nausea, vomiting, sweating/chills, tremor, dizziness and fatigue.  It has also been seen that skin and hair will have an electrical charge.  This theory has been generated over the last 10 years and it is interesting to note similarities between these symptoms to those described by Mildred Darby in the early 1900’s. I felt every hair on my head separate and move. For my flesh all over my body and scalp crept, and every hair on my head stood straight on end. ..the absolute weakness that came over me, the seeming cessation of the pulses of life, the grip in heart and brain, the deadly numbness which rendered me incapable of thought, word or action, when I first saw that awful beast.  Read the full article

[jeninthegarden]

Wet & Wild

Reflections of the Gardening Projects of 2019

This is my 12th year of garden logging.  What did I just say last year in my decadal review?  That’s right: “the deer remain the big issue”. Well, this past summer, they jumped the temporary netted fence around the corn and tomato patch, and ate all my tomato plants.  And I had a lot of tomato plants!  The deer did not even wait until the fruit had set!  Meanwhile, the ground hog got in and dug up all my corn the same day I planted it (twice!).  Then I planted sunflowers for my beans and squash to trellis on in place of the corn, and the deer hopped in and ate all the sunflowers and squash, and pumpkins and beans.  So, the field crops, although perfectly mulched with cardboard and woodchips a la Back to Eden gardening method, for water conversation and weed barrier, were a complete loss.  It was particularly sad because I started all my squash and melons from seed this past year, with great variety.  The plants were vigorous and blooming before I transplanted them. I hardened them off on the patio before lovingly transplanting them.  Years past when I have tried to direct sow squash, the squirrels have always dug up the seeds and newly germinated seedlings.  

As noted last year, the past few years have been wet and wild - too much rain and too many snap heat waves that have been the most disruptive events.  Still considering rain barrels, but still haven’t done it because there is no shortage of rain in this region. The spring was very wet.  The summer was fairly cool.  The fall was quick and dry.  If anything, we just didn’t get enough sun and heat for the fruiting crops or the long growth crops.  For instance, peppers were drowning in the garden until I rescued them, re-potted them and put them on the warm stone patio. Potato crop was measly though not reduced by disease, insects or rodents. The beets also did not grow, though hilled up in the same conditions under which carrots flourished. They germinated nicely and then stopped growing when they were only 3 inches high.

By contrast, we had a huge crop of peas in the spring and well into June. Unfortunately that meant I had nowhere to plant the cucumbers because I had planned to put them on the pea fences. I won’t make than mistake again.  Fresh raw peas were abundant in the first 3 months. But when I sacrificed all the saved peas and tried a fall crop, even though it was warm enough, it was too dry and the shoots didn’t grow more than 3 inches before it frosted and I had to eat them.  Even the fall greens did not germinate well.  Carrots, we had a bumper crop of and harvested plenty fresh for Thanksgiving dinner, and we had several rows still standing in the garden, in January. Turnips did fine; I pickled them. 

The broccoli and kale did well this year but the cauliflower and cabbage faltered, very disappointing because theses too were started indoors from seed to give them a good head start. And they were hilled up to keep them from getting too wet, but there was not enough sun or heat and their growth was severely stunted.   There was never a chance for the Brussel sprouts – they need nearly as much heat and a long growing season as pumpkins.  Collards just did not germinate. I was using old seed and it failed.

Spinach, a very fickle crop in recent years germinated and grew well last year, particularly where I was extremely brutal about thinning it.  And like the peas, we had a bumper crop of bush string beans, the purple variety, which enjoyed an extended season of about two months.  Did not get a chance to make pickled dilly beans because the dill did not germinate; the seeds were too old. 

Shocker of the season, I grew and harvested radishes! Have not harvested radishes in 10 years.  This variety was the Spanish black, sometimes used to pad out prepared horse-radish, very white and picante.  These were the large breed that should have been the size of an orange, but mine were only the size of golf balls. Meanwhile I ate a vast quantity of watermelon daikon radish bought from the farmer’s market. I made radish and feta salad, shredded radish and cabbage slaw, thin sliced radish with burrata and honey. So aggravating that I could not grow my own!        

Salad greens did very well, particularly in the spring and lasted well into summer because it was so cool. Again, ruthless thinning produced excellent results. The claytonia and the purple orach are still my favorite spring greens. Nasturtiums really took over the garden and they lasted well into fall, they crept and trailed all over the garden.  I love the leaves in salad and the blossoms in scrambled eggs.  I really like squash blooms in my eggs too, but Bambi ate all the squash.

Onions were tricky this year.  The Egyptian walking onions, which are self-seeding and in my herb garden seem to be petering out. Not sure if the last crop tried to seed in the lawn and got mowed or were subsumed by the rampant wild violets I keep tossing in the herb bed.  The leeks, I am sorry to say, did not get enough sun or heat.  Result – NO LEEKY DANCE; very unsettling to the delicate balance of the universe, although the kids are teenagers now and would have been horrified if I had tried to make them dance.  I bought some leeks in the fall because I am very fond of baked leeks au gratin, with some millet or brown rice.

The chives, as always were abundant. And they are perennial so I had to divide them this year.  Love the blossoms scattered in salad like minced red onion.  And, speaking of red onions, I planted about fifty red Cipollini onions, and harvested about fifty.  They were neatly hilled up so they did not drown. Maybe they were smaller than they should have been, egg sized, but they dried and stored well; we are still enjoying them.

I had numerous gardening projects going this past summer and I am surprised at my own progress: 

 The community garden.  I have joined quite a few gardening groups, both online and locally this year. One of them is the InterGenerate community gardens of my county, and specifically the communal garden in my village.  The community plot I cultivated this past year was an experiment in high yield food production in a 16 square foot raised bed.  The violetto string beans were part of that and a smashing success. This year there has been a lot of discussion about subsistence farming and the pretentiousness of growing the perfect tomatoes. The aim of the group is to teach people how to grow their own food and in that vein we donate both seeds and the harvest back to the community.  So this year the focus will be on real subsistence crops: potatoes, beans and squash.  I am enthusiastic and have gone completely overboard ordering potato seed, beans and squash which will proliferate my own garden this year as well.

 The Pollinator Pathway. This is a national movement subdivided down to extremely local chapters working to connect greenways, nature preserves and public lands with private properties where no pesticides are used to create green corridors that are pesticide free.  Very enthusiastic participation on our cul-de-sac; we all registered our properties with the Pathway and promised not to use pesticides. This is very impactful because our cul-de-sac abuts a 200 acre Audubon nature preserve so we are an important bridge piece in the corridor.  I am also very self-interested in joining this movement because this was my first year of bee-keeping and I harvested some superb honey. And I want to add a second hive this year

.  Provence in New York. While puttering around Cape Cod this past spring we discovered a family garden farm selling huge lavender plants at irresistible prices. And while I would very happily have purchased one or two for my herb bed at home, my dear husband had a vision of the fields of lavender in Provence. And since the price was right, and we were driving my Toyota highlander from which I had not yet removed the winter weather mats, he bought 24 huge lavender plants and we brought them home. We planted them in place of the wildflower bed that had petered out and started to go back to grass.  Applying my knowledge of lavender plants that have not survived the winter well in my herb garden, we planted each plant in a hill with gravel and sand under it for drainage.  If the lavender field (conveniently located in the flight path of my bee hive) survives the winter, we will expand it by another 10 plants this year

 The Wildflowers. All three of the windflower beds disappointed us and have petered out. We replaced the one in the back yard with a lavender field.  The one behind that against the back property line is getting the Back-to-Eden treatment this spring so we can plant fruit trees there in the fall. Plums – I’m feeling a plum tree obsession building. Santa Rosa weeping plum trees...  The wildflower patch in the front lawn has already received the Back-to-Eden cardboard and woodchip treatment, and we hugeled the old, rotten woodpile into it. This fall I planted the front of that bed with bluebells and the back of the bed with blueberry bushes. And I threw in a bunch of foxglove seeds in the western wall bed that have set six hardy rosettes I expect to bloom this summer (it’s a biannual).  I may move those to the front wild-flower bed, behind the blueberry bushes.

 The Western Wall – I moved the rhubarb, asparagus and horseradish to the new flowerbed by the western wall of the house.  I also planted a couple of kiwi berry vines that now need a trellis. The asparagus had already been thinning in the vegetable garden and did not appreciate being moved, so I ordered 25 new roots. The rhubarb seemed to like the new location and actually needed dividing so I have high hopes for this spring. Horseradish is a weed so it will be happy anywhere, and oddly enough, I read somewhere that rhubarb-asparagus-horseradish is a good companion planting formula. But I’m a little confused about digging horseradish out of a bed without disturbing the asparagus and rhubarb roots. I couldn’t quite work that out so I planted a patch of each, in the same bed but not mingled.

 Hugelkultur. (You have to say that word with guttural gusto!) What??  It is the method of building a raised bed over buried logs.  We made a really good start in the spring and got the old woodpile in the front yard entirely buried and covered over with cardboard and woodchips, and planted with blueberry bushes and bluebells. The backyard wall of wood is much bigger (leftover from the nine pine trees we lost in hurricane Sandy) and quite a challenge because it is always a jungle of weeds and poison ivy. But we persevered and got half of it hugeled and covered over with woodchips. And we even got some hyssop and salvia, dogwood and a couple rhododendrons planted.  This summer we’ll get the rest buried and then I want to plant an Echinacea patch and add a couple dwarf pear trees, and put bluebells in the front.     

    Back to Eden. Scored 20 cubic yards of wood chips, for free this past summer from getchipdrop.com. The woodchip and cardboard weed barrier method of gardening worked really well in the corn/squash patch. Such a shame the deer got in and ate everything. The children’s garden, mulched two years ago, was still so weed free that I planted a weeping persimmon there.  It is a chronically wet area and persimmons don’t mind wet feet.  I am thinking of adding a swath of river rock and making a permanent rain garden.  Need to add some button bushes and Siberian iris, and cardinal flowers. I still have 10 cubic yards of wood chips and I am busy hording up more cardboard boxes for spring. 

 The Herb Garden. I had a little problem with the herb bed this year.  I had 3, robust, Scottish thistle rosettes in the herb bed in the spring, and I decided to let them grow.  And they grew. They grew about 9 feet tall and 5 feet around.  Now, there is nothing prettier than a bright yellow gold finch flock hanging all over a giant thistle plant covered with vivid purple blooms.  But, thistles are really really sharp and I couldn’t weed under them. And when they finished blooming, I still couldn’t cut them down because the birds needed the seeds.  So the herb garden was a thistle and weed garden this past summer.  I really was impressed with the thistles but think for their size they would look better from afar. So, I dug up a fine, large rosette (they are a bi-annual) in the fall and moved it to the back of the big hugel, in a patch that has already been mulched with cardboard and woodchips.  And I see plenty of little thistle seedlings in the herb bed that will have to be weeded out in spring, but I might save a couple and put them in the hugel too for next year. 

 House plants. They were sadly neglected this past summer.  First year in a long time that I did not put them outside.  They suffered for being kept inside – the air-conditioning is not good for them.  I won’t make that mistake again.  My wax plant vine “Hobi” (Hoya Obovata) finally died, after 25 years!  So sad because I took cuttings of a plant that I had grown up with. I am going to order a new one. My “Brutus II” (a kidnapped Philodendron Hope Selloum cutting from an apartment sublet 20 years ago) is down to a single green leaf.  My Dracaena Warneckii (given to me by my mother-in-law as an engagement gift) is still alive after 23 years and thriving. The other Dracaena varieties which I adopted after a friend took a summer-long, cross country motorcycle ride and never reclaimed them, are still alive after 25 years.  I gave my giant poinsettias away after the holidays – they are always dead by March no matter what I do. So I am only left with one, sad little Christmas cactus I don’t know how to care for.  The Areogrow planter is up and running and the basil, parsley and dill have sprouted.  It is an excellent little hydroponic system. The art glass terrarium was beautifully replanted in the summer and lasted a couple months before dying out.  So it needs to be re-planted again, this time with plants that want less light.

   The seed list this year is a fresh start and I’m scaling back, except when I’m not.

  Seed List:  will follow as soon as I stop buying seed packets.

[travelteatv]

Brussels isn’t somewhere I had ever hugely considered, I didn’t know that much about it and to this day, I’m not quite sure how we ended up deciding to go there. Nonetheless, I’m glad that we did. It’s not a huge city centre – small but perfectly formed, with a lot of history, great biscuits and even better beers. Just right for a quick weekend away.

For us, 48 hours was the perfect amount of time there. You can definitely spend longer of course but we felt like we managed to explore everything we wanted to see within that time, without feeling rushed.

We got the Eurostar from Kings Cross first thing in the morning, which worked out really well – it only takes 2 hours (shorter than a lot of journeys around the UK!) and so we were in Brussels by mid morning. Our hotel (the Sandton Hotel Centre) was a 30 minute walk from the Eurostar station and very central, which made everything so easy.

I love getting the Eurostar, in fact, I would choose to get it over flying any day. Of course, living in London does help with that but in general, I find the ease of going through security for the train (with as large a liquid as you want – they even let us put an entire cup of tea through there in a little holder) and the speed of everything so much simpler than an airport. No running to far away terminals or fighting to get your bag in the overhead lockers. Plus, there are lovely views most of the way and if you book in advance, you can generally get a good deal price wise.

We got the train there and back – leaving on Saturday morning and coming back Monday morning. In fact, I was actually early for work because of train times, which is pretty amazing considering I came from a completely different country.

Below is what we did across 2 days, of course you are welcome to do them in any order you like – nothing on this list is too far from each other, in fact we pretty much walked everywhere, this is just how we happened to do it. There was no particular rhyme or reason for the way we went about these things; we are big fans of ‘starring’ places on Google Maps and then using that to plan our trip based on where we are and what we’re feeling. None of the below needed to be booked, so we just picked things to do based on where we were and what we were feeling.

  Day 1 (Example Itinerary)

Place Royale

A public square which contains some beautiful buildings, including a few museums. We chose to go to the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium, which was a lovely place to wander round for a few hours. It’s also, massive. We didn’t really realise this when we first got there – I think there must have been some building work going on because to get anywhere, we had to walk the most long winded ways. Somehow we ended up in the basement which housed some pieces that I genuinely still don’t know if they were meant to be art pieces or not, including a man doing some kind of science experiment similar to what looked like the process of making beer. Whether or not it was part of the exhibit, we watched for at least 20 minutes, fascinated by what the hell he was going to do next.

On top of that, we also got in a lift that had SEATS. Actual seats. The dream (for the 10 seconds we were actually in the lift). (Yes I was so blown away by this I took photos).

Of course, this probably isn’t what most people take away from this gallery – it contains over 20,000 art pieces, including Rubens and Jordaens.

TOP TIP: You can get a discounted ticket if you do travel by Eurostar. We didn’t know this when we went in but the woman at the front desk recognised our English accents and happened to ask how we got there. When we told her it was by Eurostar, she offered us the discounted tickets, which was super nice of her considering we didn’t even know the discount was a thing.

  Musee Des Instruments De Musique

A beautiful building, also known as ‘The Old England Building’. Once a department store, it is now a musical instrument museum with an incredible facade. We didn’t actually go inside the building, instead we chose to be two of the many tourists gawping at the architecture and taking pictures. From what I’ve heard though, the museum is well worth a visit.

  Parc de Bruxelles / Royal Palace of Brussels

Sadly we visited on a bit of a rainy, dreary weekend so the park and palace weren’t as grand as we had hoped but from other pictures I have seen of both places, on a good day they’re a good place to spend some time. Unfortunately I’ll admit we only spent around 15 minutes there, as it isn’t that fun to sit in a rainy park.

For all intents and purposes, the picture below is how I imagined my visit would look:

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Some photos of #Brussels from my #morningrun in the city today- #parcdebruxelles #bruxelles #running #reflections

A post shared by Veronica Hidding (@thecloudsarelowerhere) on Nov 6, 2019 at 2:39am PST

  Dille and Kamille

Perhaps to anyone from The Netherlands/Belgium, this is a very odd thing to put on an itinerary but honestly, as a Scandi themed homeware obsessive, I had a blast here. It’s a homeware shop with a mix of Hema, Habitat and Zara Home vibes which is really well priced with a good atmosphere. If you can’t make it there, you can get stuff delivered around Europe/the World (at 10 euros a pop for the UK, I believe) but we decided to just pick a few bits up that we liked including a big vintage style milk bottle for about £3 and an enamel vase for about the same price, which would be about triple in London. Another one of the beauties of travelling by Eurostar, as we actually had the space!

  Plein Publiek (Mont Des Arts)

We stumbled across this place by accident and I’m so glad we did. With cool music, good beers and an incredible glass ceiling, the vibes of this bar are off the charts. If I lived in Brussels, I would definitely make it my local haunt. Nonetheless, I’m pleased to say I was able to have at least one drink there.

Bia Mara (Fish and Chips)

I’m slightly ashamed to say that we actually liked this place so much that we visited not just once, but twice during our trip. It’s not usually something I would do but it’s genuinely that good; a great fish and chip restaurant with a focus on the lesser known fish and sustainability. It’s slightly pricier than your average fish and chips but it’s well worth it.

In this way, you can imagine my surprise when I found out there’s another restaurant by the same owners in London (Camden – it’s called Hook). Funnily enough, I also went to that one when I got back and can confirm, it’s also brilliant.

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Crispy Lemon & Basil Infused Tempura with Seaweed Salted Chips and Garlic Truffle Sauce! Delicious 😋 #biamara #brussels #antwerp #fishandchips #foodpics #foodiegram #fresh #fish #fresh #chips #homemade #sauces #craftbeers 😍

A post shared by Bia Mara (@biamarabelgium) on Nov 23, 2017 at 2:18am PST

Delirium Cafe 

I’m not sure you can go to Brussels without visiting here – it’s a bit of a mad pub in the centre of Brussels, which famously brews it’s own beers. It’s one of those crazy places which is absolutely massive but still incredibly hard to get a table (especially on a Saturday night). I would definitely make time to stop by, if only for one drink, to experience the madness for yourself.

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Кто пьян? Я пьян! Попытаюсь улететь. / I'm drunk and trying to get to the airport.

A post shared by Nadezhda (@_brynza) on Sep 6, 2017 at 9:52am PDT

  Day 2 (Example Itinerary)

Train World

It’s been a running theme of ours recently, that if we go somewhere that has any kind of train themed experience, we have to stop by. It started out as a joke, as we have both always had a bit of a thing for trains and thought it would be a laugh to stop by the museums. Turns out, train museums are great and even if you don’t think you are that fussed about them, they’re good fun. Fred was always a much bigger fan of trains than me, but he won me round to how cool they are (very easily).

It’s slightly out of the way of the city centre (around an hour’s walk/20 minutes on the Metro), we walked there first thing on the Sunday morning and it was lovely to see different parts of the city; we walked past the botanical gardens and some amazing buildings. Plus, we saw a lot of locals getting up and enjoying their mornings; walking their dogs and grabbing pastries at their nearest bakery. I always like to imagine what my life would be like if I lived in a city I’m visiting and both of those things sound like the dream to me.

The train museum itself is massive, with anything from Eurostar to Steam Engines. Some of them you can only walk around and look at, but a lot you can get on board and sit on. There’s also a cafe and lots of things for kids to experience (not that we did those things but I was aware they existed as there were lots of kids there).

  Grand Place (Main Square)

This is a beautiful square, with incredible buildings – it’s nice to wander round for a bit although 100% a massive tourist trap. We didn’t spend a lot of time here but it’s very impressive and worth stopping by.

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Гранд Пляс в #Брюссель – объект всемирного наследия ЮНЕСКО! Считается одной из самых прекрасных площадей Европы..🇪🇺 На площади помимо Ратуши, расположены Дома гильдий, которые в средние века легко можно было различить по фасаду и лепнине: 1.Дом галантерейщика – дом "Лиса"; 2.Дом лодочника – "Рожок"; 3.Дом лучника – "Волчица"; 4.Дом плотника – "Мешок"; 5.Дом торговца маслом – "Тележка"; 6.Дом пекарей или "Король Испании", хотя король в этом доме не жил и никакого отношения к нему не имеет🏘 Мне нравится последний, а вам??… #brussels #belgium #Бельгия #путешествиепоевропе #veter_trip #veter_belgium

A post shared by Аня Ветрова (@annyvetrova) on Apr 16, 2017 at 2:55pm PDT

  Manneken Pis

I’m really not sure why this is so famous but it’s one of those things you can’t not to go while you’re there. It literally is just a statue of a pissing boy. Well, they also put costumes on him. Genuinely absolutely no clue why it’s such a big thing but the hoards of people surrounding the fountain alone is an incredibly fascinating sight to see.

A La Mort Subite

A friend of mine from University is from Brussels, so we met up for a beer with him and he suggested this place. It’s a really cool, old bar that literally feels like a step back in time when you walk in. He ordered a cheese board, as apparently that’s the thing to do. So we spent a nice couple of hours reminiscing, eating cheese and drinking beers. I highly recommend it.

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I hope not #alcooldanger #alamortsubite #stillalivefornow #brussels

A post shared by 居蒂丝 Judith Benhamou-Huet (@judithbenhamouhuet) on Aug 1, 2016 at 10:56am PDT

  Les Galeries Royales Saint Hubert

Not far from the bar, is an undercover shopping centre with some great coffee, biscuits and fancy shops for window shopping. It’s not like there are a million things to do in here but it’s pretty to look at, and a good way to stay out of the rain for a bit, if you’re as unlucky as we were with the weather.

  On top of all of the above, we also wandered round a few other shops, and enjoyed having long coffees and beers without feeling like we “had” to be somewhere at every second. For such a short trip, I don’t think you can ask for much more than that.

  Abi

X

@ travelteatv 

48 Hours in Brussels, Belgium Brussels isn't somewhere I had ever hugely considered, I didn't know that much about it and to this day, I'm not quite sure how we ended up deciding to go there.

[tomandharriet]

When three became four

Our second guest appearance of the trip belonged to Harriet’s Dad, Simon, who we met up with in Hanoi, forming a fantastic four, in what is quite frankly, a fantastic city!

During our first Vietnamese taxi ride, we soon realised that in Vietnam, the measure of how good you are at life is simple and boils down to a competition of how much stuff can you fit on your motorbike. Gold framed renaissance painting, 5 toilets, 150 footballs, another motorbike, a tree - each moped we saw seemed to up the ante of the previous. We’re sure you can appreciate that spotting these didn’t get old during our time in Vietnam!

It also didn’t take us long to notice the overt communist messages and imagery visible throughout Hanoi, where propaganda is alive and well. The love and praise of ‘their greatest leader’ Ho Chi Minh is quite overwhelming, but his story and commitment to the country is remarkable. So too, is the resilience of this nation, which has been under siege from China, France, Japan or America for pretty much it’s entire history, yet remains independent with its own truly unique identity.

Hanoi had, through no fault of its own, slipped under our radars in terms of expectations. This hadn’t changed after our journey to our hotel, as it felt cold, grey and dreary in the north Vietnamese winter rain. However, it didn’t take much time exploring the Old Town on foot to begin to change this perception and spark a feeling which only grew with more time spent there, that Hanoi is comfortably one of our favourite cities that we’ve visited on the trip.

With culture taking a back seat during our time in Thailand, (we did try, but fail, to find more!) having Simon with us served as a great excuse to get out and discover more about Vietnam at the earliest opportunity. We spent the next morning learning about Hanoi’s fascinating history, one of the main highlights was a visit to the Temple of Literature, the 1000 year old site of Vietnam’s first University, which also happens to be home to Vietnam’s largest drum. The other was the Hoa Lo Prison memorial, a Prisoner of War camp ironically nicknamed the ‘Hanoi Hilton’ by G.I.s held there during the war. Which is moving, yet rife with propaganda and the most one sided museum you’ll ever see - which added to the experience!

We spent the afternoon on a rather eventful walking tour, led by two students, who volunteer to show tourists around the city as a way to brush up on their English. The tour peaked when walking along one of the railway streets (where a train track replaces a road or footpath). Simon’s shoe fell victim to a railway sleeper, causing a trail of comical events which, by the time a walking shoe shop just happened to pass by, left us in hysterics and our guides speechless. It turns out this was their first tour and I doubt they’ll have another one quite like it.

The more we saw of Hanoi, the more we liked it. The contrast between beautiful French architecture and narrow, bustling lanes to more sparse, open, communist memorials and squares was made each area feel distinctly different. We continued to learn that Vietnamese culture has many interesting quirks. Needing to find a permanent replacement for Simon’s shoe, we took the advise we had heard, that every street was named after the product it sold and headed to clothing street and sure enough it was full of sportswear and shoe shops. Our hotel was on parcel wrapping street, adjacent to pots and pans road and continuing to lantern street. Each one selling exactly what they said on their street sign! The evenings were generally spent experiencing the cities vibrant bars and restaurants, where you sit out at small plastic tables and stools and the quality of the food was consistently excellent and always paired with a warm and energetic atmosphere - granted, this post’s food section is a biggie!

One of the ‘must do’ activities out of Hanoi is a visit to Halong Bay. We chose an overnight boat trip which involved a little bit of everything; stand-up comedy from our guide on the transfer shuttle (which turned out to be a regular accurance from all guides we found in Vietnam) kayaking, a random visit to an oyster pearl farm, spring roll making, boat diving and swimming, cave walks and some reasonably tasty meals. The undoubted highlight was an epic Karaoke session, which was bolstered the minute we befriended Courtney, a cast member from the Mumma Mia international tour. The other highlight was the 6am Tai Chi class which only one of us can vouch for. Luckily, Courtney was also present to provide photo evidence of the early Tai Chi bird in action. Lessons coming to a London studio near you!

Despite the four of us having a great time, whether we would recommend the Halong Bay trip as a must do is debatable. A lot of our enjoyment was down to the company we shared it with, not so much the massively overcrowded waters or conveyor belt nature of the trip. Ok, the weather was pretty poor during our visit, but even with winter rates, relative to general prices for in Vietnam, it was borderline extortionate. A sad case of an area of natural beauty being milked for all it can be by unregulated tour operators. We’ve since heard lots of good things about the nearby Cat Ba island and think that would be well worth looking into as an alternative.

Sadly, our journey back to Hanoi signalled the end of Rose’s time out with us. We had managed to pack so much into her 2 week trip, that we’re sure she returned home from her ‘holiday’ in desperate need of a holiday (copyright: Proud Couture). We wanted to give her a good send off, so started our final night together with a fittingly brilliant meal out at a restaurant called Essence. The night escalated when a local started giving us copious amounts of a rather disgusting Rice wine, which we were too polite to say no to. The night happened to be Vietnam’s first match in the Asia Cup, which they unfortunately threw away a lead to lose 3-2. They don’t play much sport in Vietnam, so watching their national team on TV had to count as our sporting event. The night ended in bizarre circumstances when we found two Australians, semi-naked and covered in blood. They had clearly been in a fight, but were refusing to be taken to hospital and were generally acting very shiftily, so were more than likely at fault. Luckily they were staying above the bar we were in, so Harriet and Rose wrapped towels around their heads and put them to bed, before we moved swiftly on! We absolutely loved having Rose out with us so it goes without saying that we were sad to wave goodbye to her at the airport. We were off to Hue and she was heading back to Chengdu (and eventually, London)!

Food

In our opinion the food in Vietnam was incredible. It really enhanced our whole experience of visiting this wonderful country. So much so, we still find ourselves scouting out local Vietnamese restaurants in cities we have visited since. Pretty much all the dishes we tried (apart from one questionable pho bo in Hue) had the perfect balance of flavour and freshness meaning everything we ate left us contently full without it ever feeling too unhealthy. For any foodies out there who haven’t been to Vietnam, go....you won’t regret it!

Kicking off on our first night in Vietnam (and Harriet’s dad, Simon’s, first night of the trip), we found a great local restaurant right in the heart of old town Hanoi. All the food was delicious but the absolute stand out dish had to be a speciality of Hanoi called cha ca Lang. Setting the tone of the meal ahead, we were given a full demonstration on how to build the perfect bowl to make sure no garnish, noodle or dip gets missed. The dish is made by marinating fish fillets in a combination of ingredients including tumeric, ginger and yogurt. The fish is then grilled and served on a plate with generous helping of dill and fried spring onions. This dish is accompanied with rice noodles, roasted peanuts, and a flavourful (but not overpowering) dipping sauce. The combination of everything is so original and so delicious.

Our 2nd night we ventured out to a similar local restaurant in Hanoi (they are in abundance here). However, this time we all chose to order another Hanoi speciality called bun cha. Receiving our 2nd dish building demonstration, which we were all pros at now, there was no hesitation for us to get stuck in building our heavenly noodle bowls. Bun cha is a dish consisting of grilled pork and tender pork meatballs all served together in a bowl with rice noodles, broth, crispy lettuce and herbs. Speaks for itself!

Another big thing in Vietnam that can’t go without a special mention were the unique Vietnamese coffees. On our 2nd morning after some sightseeing in Hanoi Simon, Harriet & Tom headed to a nearby coffee shop that was known for serving a Vietnamese speciality, egg coffee. On our first sip we were all sold by its sweet and thick creaminess, closer to a desert than a coffee. However, after our 2nd and 3rd sips, I think we were all a bit weary that we still each had a whole mug of this to go. To say it was rich would be quite an understatement. One for the experience tick list but I think we’ll stick to eggs going in our meals rather than drinks for now (unless one of us decides we want to become a body builder).

However, another popular way they served their coffee, that soon became one of Tom’s favourites, was their filter coffee with condensed milk at the bottom called ca phe sua. So long as the proportions were right, you would get a nice strong coffee with the right balance of sweetness. However, there were definitely a few occasions where the quantity of the condensed milk doubled that of the coffee leaving you in the realms of the egg coffee world.

Travel Jukebox - ‘Kingdoms In Colour’ by Maribou State

When Lucy (aka BAYNES) gave us a very specific moment and location to listen to this album, we thought, no problem, we’ll get it done. But given that we never made it to the island, Koh Tao (yes we know.. we’re gutted we didn’t manage to fit it in), let alone the specific place on that island, we failed spectacularly to meet her recommendation. There is however a pretty good tenuous link, which we can use to explain why the album features in this particular post’s jukebox. Baynes’ interesting fact about the album, is that it was the album her and Xanthe listened to in order to chill them out, having received a parking fine, whilst navigating a stressful house move. Now given Simon also received a parking fine whilst moving Harriet into her North London flat, I’m sure you’ll agree that the stars have clearly aligned and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to talk about the album for Simon’s arrival post!

You only have to listen to the opening track, ‘Beginner’s Luck’ to hear Eastern influences which feature throughout this album and appreciate why this has been such a great traveling album for us. If you’ve really been keeping up with this blog (Remi, we think you’re the last man standing!) then you’ll remember our review of Khruangbin back in our Kerala post. Much of what we said then, can apply to this album, with a sound which clearly draws on many different global influences. This is particularly prominent in ‘Feel Good’, a brilliant collaboration with Khruangbin, which combines their instantly recognisable Thai Funk, with Maribou State’s more engulfing, stereophonic style, to excellent effect.

‘Turnmills’ is an excellent instrumental track which holds your attention through it’s frequent pace changes. The standout track of the album has to go to ‘Nervous Tics’ which features the excellent vocals of Holly Walker, who is prominent in all of Maribou State’s most recognisable tracks. Having seen them live with Baynes, we can all vouch for her voice being just as stunning live as it is in the studio recordings.

So another really great album choice, which has brilliantly soundtracked our trip. And as Baynes said, very calming. If only Simon and Harriet had this album for that house move back in 2016!

TLDR; Hanoi provides a wealth of history, culture, food and a sprinkling of communist propaganda. Halong Bay provides us with an elaborate Karaoke setting.

[davidcarterr]

Elijah Berle Interview

Elijah Berle-Chinatown. Photo courtesy of Vans

Sometimes the stars align and sometimes they don’t. This Elijah Berle interview has been on the boil for a good few weeks now but a combination of bad phone connections, ridiculous amounts of travelling, (on Elijah’s part) and a number of logistics foul ups had us thinking that it would never happen. Just when we’d given up on the idea, I received a phone call from a random US number and on picking it up, was greeted by the extremely fatigued sounding voice of the man in question. Had I known beforehand that he’d been to New Zealand, China and Brazil in the last four weeks that I’d been chasing him, I’d probably have given Elijah a break but, as they say, ignorance is bliss. Big thanks to all at Vans for facilitating this one, and even bigger thanks to Elijah for taking time out of his stupidly busy schedule to chat Natas spins, Venice history, Dill’s teeth and invert technique with some random Brit less than 24 hours after landing home in the USA…

How many interviews have you done this month?

(Laughing) I’ve lost count man honestly, I’ve pretty much been doing them non stop for the last three weeks. It’s cool though – it’s all part of the job these days. Sorry for lagging on this one…

When you were asked about how you got into skating on The Bunt, you said that you were ‘born into it’ – is it true that both your mother and uncle were skaters before you picked one up yourself? Was this something that you saw as a kid?

Yeah that’s it. Around the time when I first picked up a skateboard and started getting into it, my uncle would take me to skateparks at the weekend. He was fully into it himself so I guess that made it less of a chore for him. My mom knew how to cruise around too. She was cool with us skating up and down the drive and would come out and join in sometimes. They were both coming at skateboarding from a positive perspective because of it, which was cool as a kid. It seems cooler now as an adult than it seemed back then though…

Growing up in Santa Monica, you’re pretty much in the heartland of some deep, deep skateboard history that shaped the future – was this something that you were aware of as a kid skating around there?

I did grow up in right in the centre of a pretty heavy place in terms of skate history but it wasn’t something that I was aware of when I was young. Obviously I knew that there was skateboarding going on everywhere around me, but I didn’t really connect the dots till later in terms of the historical side of Venice. I’d hear stories about how famous videos had been filmed around where I grew up, but as a kid it didn’t really mean that much to me because it was just how that area was – as a kid you only know what you’re exposed to and to me that was surfers and skateboarders. Skateboarding is a lot more ‘normal’ here than it probably is in the UK – it’s just like having a bike or something so everyone skates really.

Within a small area of Venice there are so many spots that have been massively important to skate history – from the curbs down at the beach, to what used to be The Pit with the ledges that everyone recognises, through to things like the fire hydrant that Natas did the ‘Natas spin’ on. Given that you grew up around these places, did they still seem as magical to you as they did to a kid like me, growing up 1000’s of miles away?

(Laughing), I definitely know what you mean but honestly, it’s hard for me to imagine it from your perspective because to me, the Venice curbs were just our local spot, you know? We’d never been anywhere else at that point either as we were just little kids, so to us it was really just our neighbourhood. We definitely spent a lot of time skating those curbs though – that was the hang out spot; go surf, watch the sunset, try to get somebody to go buy us some beers, (laughs)…

Yeah that’s one benefit of living in the UK – it’s definitely a lot easier to get beers underage…

Yeah so I hear man. It certainly looked like that on the times when I’ve been over. People drinking everywhere!

Elijah Berle Backside airs for Anthony Acosta in BCN, another spiritual home of liberal cerveza consumption

Which of the famous Santa Monica/Venice spots did you actually get a chance to skate? I’m guessing that the Pit ledges might already have been gone when you were pretty young, right?

Yeah, that was before my time unfortunately, they were already buried by the time I was old enough to start exploring. I heard that place was pretty sketchy towards the end though, so maybe it’s a good thing.

You must’ve done a pilgrimage to the Natas hydrant though, right? I’m pretty sure that’s mandatory for anyone in the Santa Monica area…

Oh yeah, once we were old enough to be clued into that, we definitely took a trip across Venice to pay our respects. I think I’d probably skated past it hundreds of times before I put two and two together and realised that it was the actual Natas one though. I actually did a Natas spin on it a while ago too, stuck it up on Instagram just to show some respect. It’s exactly as it was when he did it too, with the signpost next to it so you can get off the hydrant. This whole area is pretty much a skate museum once you get into it I guess…

You have mad tranny skills too, so does that mean that you were a skatepark rat too in the beginning?

Yeah kind of: I’d go to this skatepark in Santa Monica called ‘The Cove’ with my uncle quite a lot when I was younger. You had to wear a helmet though which sucked, but as a kid you’re only really thinking about skating. I’d run the helmet religiously from the age of about 10 till say 14 or so, at which point I started to be over the helmet which I guess pushed my friends and I to go skate street more. I definitely grew up skating parks though – I got a good upbringing on transition. There were a few years where I didn’t, once I’d started street skating more, but I guess the kid years in the helmet were imprinted in my brain because I could still skate tranny pretty well. There were also a lot of backyard mini ramps around too, that was another pretty normal thing for me growing up. I had one in my backyard, the skate shop had one…

What was the deal with your ramp? In that interview you did with Hamish you mentioned that some of the neighbours were cool about it and some weren’t. Is it still there?

Nah, that ramp is gone now. We did pretty well though – we had it for four years. The city made us take it down in the end because of permit bullshit because it was too big of a structure to have in the yard without the right permit, but it was sick whilst we had it. It was the first ramp that we’d ever built too, which kind of made it special. Took us about a week to build – 5 and a half feet high with a seven foot extension: that’s where I really learned how to skate transition properly I think. Most of my trick bag comes from that thing. You don’t tend to see backyard ramps so much these days, maybe because Venice is mad expensive now but back then, as a kid, everyone had a backyard mini ramp.

What about seeing famous skaters around Santa Monica/Venice? Were you aware of pros being in the area and/or people filming at these spots that were so local to you?

We’d see them out filming yeah, I didn’t know who any of them really were at that stage but I knew they were pros because they’d have people filming them and all that. It was pretty normal to see it, but I wasn’t really a kid who looked up to any skaters in particular. Skating was just something that I did with my friends. I was never really chasing after getting sponsored or anything…I know everyone says that, but that’s how it was for me. Things just kind of happened…

You’ve mentioned before about how the Venice park is this crazy showing off kind of place these days, with 100’s of kids flying around entertaining the passers-by and because of that, you don’t tend to go there much yourself, despite it being on your doorstep. Is that still the case?

I do go there a bit but yeah, it’s generally pretty crowded. I do like skating the bowl there when it’s quiet but it rarely is, especially in the summertime. It’s just one of those parks that attracts huge amounts of spectators, because of where it is I guess. When you have that many tourists hungry for entertainment, that’s when the full-pad fly out demo’s start: I can’t handle that vibe really.

Do you ever see Jesse Martinez down there? He was the unofficial caretaker of the place for a long time I believe?

Yeah, I see him from time to time, you never really know when he’s going to show up but he definitely still localises it. I’m sure he’s still skating when it’s empty you know – he’s Venice royalty.

Can you see yourself living anywhere else but Venice? Are you not tempted to move up to L.A?

I think I’ll probably stay here. I travel that much these days that I love having somewhere relatively mellow like Venice to come home to. I’m not sure I could handle the traffic and general chaos of L.A as an actual resident. Venice can be hectic too but it’s generally mellow and has that kind of ‘people hanging out on the streets and walking around’ vibe that places like L.A just don’t have because of the size of them.

Santa Monica and Venice used to have kind of a bad rep back in the day – can it still be sketchy around there sometimes? Like people who don’t know the area wandering off into the wrong neighbourhood etc?

Oh yeah, it can definitely still be sketchy. It’s nowhere near as bad as it used to be back in the day but if you get into it with the wrong people, shit can still get hectic pretty quickly. The whole Venice/Santa Monica area has definitely been gentrified over the last decade so you don’t see that side of it as much as you used to but the sketchiness is still here, away from the main strip.

You’ve been travelling a lot recently whilst we’ve been trying to get this done – were you just in New Zealand?

I was in New Zealand, but I’ve been to China and then to Brazil for a week each after getting back from NZ. That’s all happened in the space of like 4 weeks…

Shit! I feel bad for harassing you now…

(Laughing), it’s all good man. I got home from Brazil yesterday and honestly, I’m pretty happy to be home now. That’s a lot of miles in a month, even for somebody like me who lives on that kind of schedule. I’ve been going pretty hard. I’m excited to be back for the summer, spend some time with the lady and the family, chill out at the beach. Just back into Venice time…

Did you go anywhere that you hadn’t visited previously?

I’d never been to New Zealand before no, I loved that place, it’s beautiful – I’m definitely down to go back there again. Lord of the Rings shit – it’s crazy – like big cities and urban but also tropical too. I loved it there.

Any Lee Ralph sightings?

Unfortunately not, he was staying a long way from where we were in Auckland.

Was this for a Vans project?

Yeah, a filming trip for Vans: Full mission style – trying to squeeze every minute in, and hurt as much of my body as possible, (laughs).

You’ve got a good repertoire of inverts – what’s your favourite upside down move and why?

You know what? I haven’t done many inverts in a while. I don’t want to say that I’ve lost touch with them as they’re probably still in the trick bag somewhere, just that I’ve not had the opportunity recently. My favourite one to do would be the eggplant I think. It’s the scariest one too because that trick can go wrong so badly if you miss your hand placement, I’ve done that before. Straight down to the flat bottom on your chin, which is never good. In terms of the feeling of it though when it works, I love that one.

Ever got any constructive criticism from Grosso on your invert technique? It’s a topic he definitely likes to talk about and, with you both riding for Vans, I was wondering whether he’s shouted at you for incorrect technique…

(Laughing), no, surprisingly: I think mine slid under his radar…

Or maybe they were just legit enough to get a Grosso pass?

I very much doubt that. Maybe there were just plenty of other worse offenders out there in terms of technique so that I escaped without getting a tongue lashing, (laughing).

You joined Fucking Awesome relatively recently which is a brand with a huge profile and a team scattered around the country – who do you skate with the most?

I skate with AVE a lot. Aidan and Sean Pablo are around in L.A. too so I see them quite often. Nak and Kevin Bradley all live around Venice so we’re out together pretty often.

Is there like an official FA HQ where people meet up to go on missions together, or is it more of an ‘everyone’s on their own mission’ kind of vibe?

Just wherever we’re skating normally but we do have a warehouse kind of in the middle of where everyone lives. We’ll go there to collect boards and whatnot and go off on missions from there fairly often. It’s the warehouse that Dill posts footage of on the @faflatgroundentertainment Instagram sometimes. There nothing much there, but everyone loves nice flatland don’t they?

Everybody loves a Jason Dill story and you’re in a good position to have witnessed countless Dill antics – do you have a good anecdote about the boss for us?

(Laughing), yeah I’ve got a good one actually that happened recently. I watched him get carded for cigarettes a few weeks ago and he didn’t have any ID on him so was snapping pretty hard at this lady in the store. He ended up convincing her to sell him cigarettes by verifying his age via his teeth, (laughing). His teeth are allegedly ‘fixed’ but compared to your average human they’re still pretty fucked up. He basically made her look into his mouth whilst saying, “Look lady, look at the state of my fucking teeth – do you really think I’m under-21?” Kind of bamboozled her I guess as I’m assuming that’s not the average interaction in her store. Whilst she was still staring at him with this puzzled look on her face he just threw the money down, grabbed the cigs and goes, “Alright, have a nice day lady!” Not that unusual with Dill really, there are endless amounts of stories but that’s a funny one that happened recently.

Look lady, look at the state of my fucking teeth – do you really think I’m under-21?

So aside from the release of this Vans shoe, what else have you been up to of late?

Like I mentioned earlier with all the trips I’ve done in the last month – that’s all for a video part that Greg Hunt and I are working on. It should be out in the next couple of months, hopefully…

Is this a solo part?

Yeah, mainly me I think – at least in terms of having a ‘part’. There will be some footage of other people in there, whoever has clips, but yeah, it’s basically a solo part. Not that I’ve been travelling on my own with Greg, other people have come along too, but the focus for me at least, is working on this project.

You were pretty vocal about SOTY the year that Guy didn’t win – you’ve gotta be hyped on TJ wining this year though, right? Pretty much undeniable that choice?

Yeah, I mean I honestly can’t think of anybody else who has done what that kid’s done over the last year. He definitely deserved it. He’s a hard worker. He’s gotten so gnarly so quickly – definitely the Skater of the Year in my eyes.

Do you get to skate with him a lot? He must be incredible to watch in the flesh – the amount of pop he has is supernatural…

I haven’t really skated with him that much because him and Bill were on, not a secret thing as such, but like really low key and focused. They didn’t really want too many other people around whilst he was filming for Blessed. TJ is really driven, as is Bill, and they had a fairly defined idea of what they wanted to get and where they wanted to go, so they kept it low key to avoid getting kicked out of spots because of having too much of a crew tagging along.

Going back to filming – what’s your take on that part of your ‘job’? You’re from the generation where it’s normal to always be filming, whereas pros from earlier eras kind of looked at it sometimes as being a pain in the arse. What’s your position? Do you enjoy the filming process and everything that comes with it?

Honestly, I love it most of the time. When it’s going good, I genuinely enjoy it but then of course when it’s not going well, it can be the worst thing ever for all involved. It’s just the nature of it, you know. With that said – for somebody in my position, filming is what you’re supposed to be doing. Like you say, it’s ‘the job’ so it’s not really up to me anyhow. I need to do it, whether I feel like it or not. It’s definitely easier when I’m working with somebody like Greg Hunt too, who I have a lot of history and a friendship with. It is what is…

One major difference these days I guess is that the Internet is always hungry – you can’t really just chill when you’re in your position but I guess the good side is that nothing gets wasted anymore. There’s always an outlet for footage – whether it be Instagram, quickfire stuff, full parts, even slams – does that add more pressure or do you prefer it that way?

Yeah it’s good. More people get to see everything these days – kids love seeing stuff on Instagram too, maybe things that a few years ago wouldn’t make it into a video you know? It gives people another perspective on skating, rather than only seeing the finished product. As much as people like to talk shit on Instagram and the shortened attention span that it plays to, I think there are definite positives to it. Sometimes you’ll watch a full video and it’s harder to absorb what you’re seeing and remember specific things, whereas with Instagram, you can focus on particular aspects or tricks and it makes it more memorable. That’s how I look at it anyway. It gives people a platform to focus on one thing, rather than it getting lost in a longer production. Whether that’s good or bad in a more general sense isn’t for me to say but that’s one of the positives that I take from it.

As much as people like to talk shit on Instagram and the shortened attention span that it plays to, I think there are definite positives to it

How often do you get to go skate when there’s nobody pointing a camera or an iPhone at you? Or is that just not a reality any more?

Yeah that still happens. I’ll go skate with my friends and just have fun but even then, if somebody’s trying something worth filming, I’m not afraid to break the phone out and stick it on Instagram. The whole process of documenting skateboarding is just so much easier and less complicated these days – I don’t see that as a negative thing at all. I enjoy coming across cool shit on Insta myself so why wouldn’t other people who don’t get the opportunity to live the lifestyle that I do not enjoy it too?

You’ve always rocked Vans since I can remember seeing you in clips/mags so it must be a trip to have your first pro shoe coming out, right?

Oh yeah for sure. It didn’t really seem real until I saw other people, who I didn’t know, wearing my shoe. For a while I was the only person wearing them but now I’ll be out on the streets somewhere and I’ll see some random skater rocking my shoe – that’s when it kicks in and yeah, like you say, it’s a trip. It’s weird but in a good way – a really cool feeling.

The latest colour of the Berle Pro

I know you’ve been heavily involved in the R&D side of this one – tell us a bit about that process please? How did you go about testing the new ‘waffle control’ tech? Was it a case of just skating samples and then giving feedback to Vans? Or did it go deeper than that?

It works pretty much exactly as you’ve said. It took a lot longer than I initially expected though, just because the time involved in getting samples made is much more of a hassle as they have to make all new molds in the factory first. It was nerve-wracking at times too as the deadline was coming up and we were still tweaking details but it ended up coming together and it’s a really good shoe so I’m stoked.

What’s the major difference between this shoe and the Authentic colourway that you came out with a while back? They both definitely have that Vans legacy feel…

This new shoe definitely still has the board feel that you’d expect from a Vans, it just offers a lot more support for your foot and lasts a lot, lot longer. That was the main focus really, I wanted something really durable that would last for as long as possible whilst still giving you the classic Vans board feel. I mean, hopefully that’s a win-win for the people out there buying them. They might be a little bit more expensive to start with but you’ll be saving in the long run…

How did you go about getting Eric Dressen involved? I’m assuming you and he are friends right? He’s genuinely once of the nicest human beings that I’ve ever met – almost like he’s more stoked on people being stoked on meeting him than they are.

Yeah I know Eric pretty well. I knew the kind of thing I wanted in terms of the lettering for the shoe and knew that his style would be perfect for it. I just hit him up, asked him to write my name in his style and do the little logo. He was stoked, as he always is and honestly, the very first version he sent to me was the one that ended up being used on my shoe. I’m hyped to have him involved too, like you say, he’s a really nice dude.

360 Flip. Sunland, CA. Photo courtesy of Vans

Geoff Rowley always speaks highly of you – do you have any idea what this video piece that he’s working on is going to be like? Seems like he’s going all out for blood on this one…

I don’t know because he’s been out on his own mission. Just solo style, going on crazy adventures like you’d expect. As to what’s in there, I have no idea but I’m willing to bet he’s going to surprise everyone with it.

Have you been skating any pools recently?

No recently, but I’m on a hunt again at the moment.

Any Salba sessions?

Yeah I’ve skated with Salba a few times, not as many times as I’d like to. I need to go out into his zone and get on their mission. He knows where all the pools are at.

If you could only skate one type of terrain for the rest of your life, what would you pick and why?

Transition: more fun for less work and effort. Tranny is just more satisfying to me, plus I’ll be able to skate it for much longer than I’ll be able to skate street.

What about the best skatepark you’ve ever skated?

Hmm, probably Lincoln City in Oregon. That place is really gnarly so you have to be on top of your shit but if you’re on a good one, that’s the best skatepark in the US I think.

What’s your favourite US city to skate?

Maybe New York just because it’s so much fun to skate around the city – in a way that you can’t do in L.A. for example. You can go out with a big crew in New York and just skate around – no cars, no traffic jams – just hitting things as you come across them.

You were out in London for Street League last year and I saw a few clips pop up on Insta of you skating Mile End skatepark. Did you get a chance to go anywhere else in London?

Sadly not – just Mile End and the course at Street League. I had a good time though. I’ve been over once before for the Pretty Sweet premiere but it was pouring with rain and super cold so all I saw that time was the hotel and the pub. I’d definitely like to come back and see more of London.

What’s it like being in a contest like Street League from the perspective of somebody actually skating the course? Do you enjoy it?

Yeah definitely, it’s enjoyable. That was a bad year for me to do it kinda because I was trying to film a video part too and I missed the other Street League events because of that. The London one was good though, I liked the course and the general vibe was cool.

What do you feel about the way that Social Media has made everyone accessible to every kid in the world now? Is there a downside to that?

I don’t know how there would be a downside to it really. I mean, from my perspective – the more people that see your footage the better. You’re promoting your sponsors and yourself so everyone’s happy. Then the people watching on Social Media get to see clips and whatever for free, rather than having to spend their money. Like I said earlier – I think Social Media is a positive thing, at least from my own perspective.

I’m going to be interviewing Cephas and Donovan at The Bunt later this month – any suggestions of something to ask them to put them on the spot like they do to everyone else?

You know what, I don’t really know those guys that well. I just met them both that one time when we did the podcast. I think the best advice would be to be at least as drunk, if not more drunk than they are, then go from there. That approach seems to work well for them.

Ok Elijah – thanks so much for your time – I’ll end it on a quick one if that’s ok: do you have any advice for any kids who might be reading this who dream of following a similar life path to yours? What’s the secret to success?

There’s no secret. No matter what your dream is, whether it’s skateboarding or anything else, just never stop chasing it. I mean, what better stuff do you have to do than chase your dreams? Nothing right?

Interview by Ben Powell

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The post Elijah Berle Interview appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

Elijah Berle Interview published first on https://medium.com/@LaderaSkateboar

[takemeawaytocamelot]

A Wild Night in Vegas -- Part 9

Okay. Well. @outlandishchridhe and I said it would be a while before we’d post a new chapter. We might have fibbed a little. Cause well, here’s a new chapter. We used plotting as a reward for getting homework done, which we totally did. And we had far, FAR too much fun plotting and writing this chapter.

Catch up with all previous chapters HERE

Fraser Bairn Wach: Month 3

Jamie put the finishing touches on the quinoa salad as the door unlocked. Claire hung her keys up and dropped her bag on the floor.

“Why is it so bloody hot here?” she asked, heading to the refrigerator for a bottle of cold water.

While she took a long drink, he went to her bag and pulled out the plastic bag of wet washcloths to rinse and return to the freezer. Claire already had the extra out and pressed against her neck.

“Because it’s July in the desert, Sassenach,” he said with a laugh. “Did ye drink enough water?”

“I did, I promise. What did you make?”

Setting the bowl on the table, he stuck the serving spoon into it and took a deep breath.

“Weel, it’s a quinoa salad wi’ cucumbers and chickpeas, and a light yogurt dill dressing on the side, to use as ye like.”

“That sounds amazing. And it’s cool, oh I do love you Jamie.”

He gave her a soft kiss on her cheek and smiled as she picked up a slice of cucumber from the cutting board. It was true, what they said. Women had a particular glow about them when they were pregnant and his wife was no different.

Claire had gotten through the first couple months of her pregnancy pretty much unscathed as far as morning sickness was concerned. She had heard the horror stories of mornings filled with vomiting and not being able to eat and thought she had made it past the point that it would affect her. She thought that. But sadly, she was wrong.

It came on all of a sudden. Just one bite of the cucumber. One minute she was fine, the next, she was sprinting down the short hallway and into the bathroom to release the food she had just put into her mouth. Jamie, who had been startled from his dinner preparation by her sudden departure, heard the retching coming from behind the closed door and knocked tentatively.

“Sassenach? Are ye alright?”

He heard her gasp before she answered. 

“Yes, I’m fine. Don’t come in! I don’t want you to see this.”

The water came on and he listened while she brushed her teeth. A moment later, she came out, her face still a little flushed.

“Are ye sure you’re alright, Sassenach?”

“Yes, I’m just fine. I’m perfectly alright now. Though, I think I might not be able to make myself eat the cucumbers in the salad…”

“Dinna fash. I’ll pick them out for ye and eat them myself. I made them big chunks, aye?”

She filled a glass with water and began to drink it while he fixed her a bowl without cucumbers. The rest of the evening was uneventful. They snuggled in bed, though he was hesitant to let it go further than that.

In the morning, he set aside a portion of the leftovers from the previous night for Claire’s lunch, taking care to pick out the cucumbers. Then he started getting together a small breakfast for her, knowing she had a very full day between her classes and work. He’d just buttered some toast and set it on a plate when she came out of the bedroom.

“Morning,” she said, grinning at him.

“Morning, mo nighean donn. Are ye hungry?”

“Definitely.”

Steering her away from the plate of eggs he’d fixed, he sat her down at the table.

“We’ll no’ see each other all day and I’ll probably be late wi’ work tonight. Let me feed ye properly, at least.”

Rolling her eyes, she folded her arms and waited. Finished, he filled her plate with the eggs and toast. She took one big bite of the perfectly cooked eggs and her hand went to her mouth. Immediately, he knew she would bolt to the bathroom again by the look on her face. This time he followed her in.

While she gripped the sides of the toilet, he held her hair back and out of her face until she finished retching. The sound of it had him worrying that something was wrong with the bairn. Finally, it was over. She sat back and slumped against the wall, her face covered in sweat.

“Are ye alright?”

“I am now.”

“Do we need to call your doctor? I’m gettin’ worried.”

Shaking her head, she closed her eyes and leaned against the wall.

“Unfortunately, this is completely normal,” she sighed, wiping her mouth and taking his outstretched hand to stand up. “Completely normal. It’s just morning sickness.”

“That doesna really explain you being sick last night though.”

“Well, they call it morning sickness, but really it happens all the time. It can happen any time of day and all through the pregnancy, although I’m really hoping our little one here doesn’t keep making me sick or it’ll be a long 6 months to go.” She smiled as she said this, caressing her very, very small bump. She would throw up every day, and gladly, as long as the baby was safe.

Jamie rubbed her back gently, still worried.

“And you’ll be alright at school? And work?”

“Honestly, I feel perfectly alright now. I’ll take it as easy as I can, I promise. But I’ll be fine.”

She brushed her teeth again and followed him back out. Opting for a bowl of cereal instead of the eggs, she finished and grabbed her lunch bag.

“What’d you pack me today?”

“Leftovers from last night. Wi’out the cucumbers. Picked them all out myself.”

“Such a gentleman you are.”

With a deep bow, he gave her hand a kiss.

“Lord Midnight the Blue, at your service, my lady.”

“I’ll see you tonight, my lord. Try not to break yourself at work?”

“Ye ken I fight the dark forces of Merlin. Sometimes that involves taking a blow. But I’ve got a fine lady of medicine waiting for me at home who’ll tend to my wounds.”

Car keys in hand, she smirked from the doorway.

“Just make sure to sneak her out the back door before I see her.”

He let out a hearty laugh as she left.

Thankfully his show had gone well and he hadn’t left with new injuries. Claire would be pleased. As he pulled out of the employee parking lot, he thought about her struggles with the pregnancy sickness. With a stroke of inspiration, he drove to a grocery store and bought her three red roses.

At home, Claire was bustling around the kitchen.

“You’re home!”

“Aye, I am. Sorry I’m late.”

“It’s alright. You’re here now. Hungry?”

With the roses in one hand, he wrapped his arms around her, presenting the flowers with a flourish.

“Starved. But I’ve a wee gift for ye first.”

“Oh Jamie! What’s the occasion?”

“Weel, I figure you’re about three months gone now, aye? Three roses for three months. I canna do the work for ye or take this sickness for ye, but I can bring ye something to say thank you.”

Turning around in his arms, she put her own around his neck and blinked back the tears.

“I think that’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me. I didn’t think you’d kept such close track.”

“Of course I have, mo nighean donn,” he said, hand over the nearly invisible swell. “This is my child too. I want to keep track of how our bairn’s progress is doing. And to say I love ye more and more every day.”

“I love you too, Jamie.”

Claire set the table and served them both dinner. They ate happily while she regaled him with details from her day, both school and work. Admittedly, he didn’t understand most of the things she said about her classes, but she was happy. That was all he ever wanted.

Dishes in the sink, they cuddled on the couch for a little while. The three red roses sat in a vase on the end table where Claire had put them.

“Ye ken what day it is, Sassenach?”

“Monday?”

He tried to keep his smile down, but he couldn’t. Monday was easily his favorite day of the week for one very good reason.

“Ye ken how ye let me take a photograph of yer wee belly on Mondays?”

Heaving a sigh, she slowly stood and started to walk towards the wall he liked to take the picture against.

“Honestly Jamie, I’m not even showing yet. At most, it looks like I’ve a food baby that’s settled there. I don’t know why you want a picture of it. I just look bloated.”

“I want a picture,” he said, turning her slightly after she pulled her shirt up to reveal her belly to him. “Because I want to watch you and the bairn grow.” He kissed her softly then pulled away.

“I want a picture because my beautiful wife is pregnant and glowing with our wee babe inside her.”

“I’m glowing because my skin is so oily and it’s shining in this light,” she retorted, though she smiled at him when he pointed his phone in her direction, unable to keep her hand from touching her near-flat belly.

“Take yer hand off there, Sassenach. I want to see the belly.” He smirked at her over the top of his phone and took another few pictures. She rolled her eyes at him and stuck her tongue out, but let him do as he pleased. Whether she would admit it or not, she also wanted to see her body grow and change, the subtle swell of her belly get larger with their child.

“And ye are glowing. It’s not just yer face, yer whole body seems more alight. Ye look completely beautiful. It’s not just the look of ye either, ken? There’s something all around ye now. I canna explain it, but it’s there.”

He leaned down and took her lips against his, her face shocked but pleased at his assessment of her.

“I do love you something fierce, Jamie Fraser,” she whispered to him between kisses.

“I love you, too, mo nighean donn. Come on. Let’s go to bed.”

About a week later, Jamie was just getting things out to start on dinner when Claire suddenly pushed back from her desk. She’d been studying for an exam all afternoon on her day off and he’d been trying to give her space. He’d been taking careful note about what different foods set off her nausea and had avoided using them at all costs.

Pulling the refrigerator door open roughly, she began digging through the drawers, muttering to herself.

“How do we have no cucumbers in this whole bloody apartment?!”

Frowning, he opened a jar and set it on the counter.

“Cucumber? The last time ye had any, it left ye puking yer guts out! I havena bought any in a week.”

She stood up and closed the door. He glanced at her just in time to see the tears welling in her eyes. Her bottom lip began to tremble as a red flush started up her neck. When her mouth opened, he thought she might yell. What happened was much, much worse.

“I just… Wanted… B-bloody cucumber…”

Then the dam broke and she shook with intense sobs. For a moment, he stood there in complete shock. His mouth hung open while she wept in the middle of the kitchen. He rushed to her and pulled her close, trying to find a way to soothe her.

“Hush lass, dinna cry. If ye want a cucumber, I’ll go and fetch ye one. Dinna cry, mo nighean donn. I’ll fetch ye a whole bushel if ye wish.”

Slowly, her head came up from his chest, her blue eyes amazingly bright from her tears.

“W-would y-you?” she stammered between hiccups.

“Aye, lass. I’ll go right now.”

“Th-thank you, Jamie.”

Considering her emotional state, he bought as many cucumbers as he could fit in the produce bag at the grocery store.

She was on the couch when he got home, no longer crying, thank God. She looked a little sheepish but, as soon as she saw him, she hopped to her feet and began reaching for the bag.

“No, no, a nighean. Let me wash one for ye first.”

He rinsed and brushed a large cucumber off before turning to the cutting board. Claire stood directly behind him, eyes on the vegetable.

“Christ!” he yelped, moving back. “I didna even hear ye get off the couch!”

Her eyes darted from him to the cucumber and back. When she licked her lips, he nearly threw it at her for fear of losing his own fingers.

“Here! Take the damn thing!”

She held it, staring down at it for a moment. Quickly, she picked up the knife Jamie had been about to use and chopped one end off before taking a huge bite. It wasn’t until she’d swallowed the bite that she looked up and met his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Jamie. These hormones are… I don’t even know what to do with myself. I didn’t mean to start crying like that. I’m sorry I frightened you.”

“Dinna fash, lass. Ye didna frighten me. I worried I’d been an arse somehow and hurt ye. If I’d kent ye wanted them, I’d have bought them at the store today.”

“I know, and I didn’t know I wanted them until I got up from the desk. I promise, it wasn’t you at all. Thank you for getting some. It’s quite good.”

Cupping her face in one hand, he smiled fondly at her.

“All I want is for ye to be happy. If ye need me to get ye cucumbers in the middle of the night, I’ll find some way to make it happen.”

She looked up at him seriously for a moment.

“I want you to be happy too. I feel like sometimes… I feel quite selfish. You do all these things for me and…”

Jamie cut her off with a long, slow kiss. He rested his forehead against hers and waited until she met his gaze.

“Ye do plenty for me, Claire. You come home after long days and make us dinner, you always ken when I need ye, when I’m hurting after work and yer willing to rub my shoulders for me, when ye get up before me to make a coffee for me, ye’re doing sae well in classes and working and growing our bairn. Trust me, Sassenach, going to fetch ye a wee cucumber is but a blip on the radar.”

He saw her eyes get teary again and hugged her close.

“Ye are perfect, mo nighean donn. Yer everything I didna know I wanted until I met ye. Dinna think that yer not worth that.”

He heard her soft sniffle against his shirt and ran a soothing hand down the length of her back.

“I love you,” came a watery voice from below his chin.

“I love ye, too, mo nighean donn. Come on. Let’s having something to eat, aye? Aside from yon wee cucumber there.”

That earned him a small laugh and a thump to the chest, but her eyes shone up at him, filled with wonder at this man who could love her so much.

She helped him prepare the rest of their dinner and they ate cuddled up on the couch instead of at the table, needing to just be close to one another.

When they went to bed that night, right before he drifted off to sleep, arms snugly around her, he heard her whisper, “How did I ever get so lucky as to find you?”

He smiled and searched for her mouth with his, giving her a sleepy kiss before bringing her even closer and pulling her into sleep with him, safe and secure in each other’s arms.

[the-catalyst-of-midgard]

Delilah let a moment of sadness cross her face. Little did she realize but it was at these moments that she resembled her god Loki more than a little.

"You misunderstand me." She said, drastically gentling her voice from the matter of fact tone she'd previously donned.

"It matters not to your average Midgardian, what the facts of a-" She paused remembering his hurt tone. No one should ever hurt like that. "- relationship-based situation happened to be. I am only suggesting that it is possible that your average midgardian who has heard of the circumstances, might possibly believe that because you are a big muscley god who wields a Maul of extraordinary power, and who has a unfortunate relationship situation with a Nobel Peace prize-winning scientist... It could be they believe that "the brain and the jock" eventually realized that they weren't quite as compatible as they thought."

Delilah sighed a heavy sigh and pulled out a chair and patted it for Thor, indicating he should come sit down and eat.

"Midgard is all about how things look, not how they are. A lot of Midgardians in America think that "jocks" - people who are really into sports and working out, and like to work with their hands and tools, such as a hammer or your new maul- don't get along with "brains" -people who are into science and technology and who use computers and other instruments to discover things. Inventors are also considered "brains".

She concluded this as Tony walked in the room and took a seat at the head of the table.

"That's right." He said absent-mindedly as he began to make himself an egg, sausage and cheese breakfast sandwich. " Hey past me two slices of Dill havarti would you?"

Delilah passed him the container and then turned back to Thor.

"It's a shame the way most people only think about image and not about substance. perhaps if you wrote her letters to show there's no hard feelings you could win her back eventually. I've..." Delilah choked on her words, but tried to pretend she hadn't almost misspoke. "I can imagine that receiving a letter can be a very enjoyable thing. I'm sure after the all this time she wouldn't mind having you as a friend who can write to her."

"For anybody who hasn't met her, this is Delilah my new personal assistant, who, incidentally, does not secretly work for S.H.I.E.L.D. nor enjoy beating up my bodyguards on a whim." Stark looked pointedly at Natasha who had just taken a huge bite from a breakfast sandwich with chive cream cheese, egg bacon, and a flat hash brown all packed into it.

She tried to look as innocent as she could with a mouth full of food. The effect with comedic, and even Delilah smiled a little.

Why do people think that I am useless when it comes to technology :/

[meraenthusiast]

How To Tithe Correctly And Still Get Wealthy

How To Tithe Correctly And Still Get Wealthy

Whether you’re a Christian or not, the simple act of giving makes you an overall better person and it’s a topic that’s discussed rather frequently on other personal finance blogs such as:

The Physician On Fire: The Donor Advised Fund

My wife and I began teaching this principle to our kids when they were younger. Using one of Dave Ramsey’s recommendations, we taught them the three things to do with money:

Give

Spend

Save

Of the three, we stressed the “giving” part as I believe that everything given to us is on loan from the “Big Guy” upstairs.

Unfortunately, many times we forget about the “giving” part when setting up a financial plan. I’m all about achieving financial freedom, but it still can be accomplished while giving.

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

–Winston Churchill

Honestly, I can’t ever remember one instance where I felt bad after giving extra money to a worthy cause. Now, that doesn’t ring so true about the multiple times I’ve bought something but felt guilty even before I even got back home. Buyer’s remorse anyone?

Speaking of giving, tithes and offerings are forms of giving and seem to be something that people have questions about once they start earning an income.

Some of the questions asked are:

Is tithing based on gross income or net income?

Do you calculate your tithe based on only receiving social security?

Let’s take a deeper look at what exactly a tithe is…

What’s a tithe?

It seems that the word “tithe” and “give” are thought to mean the same thing, but they actually don’t.

In the dictionary, a tithe is defined as:

A tenth part of something paid as a voluntary contribution or as a tax especially for the support of a religious establishment.

In other words, it’s the first 10% of your income that should be given to your local church.

What Does The Bible Teach About Tithing?

Old Testament

The first instance of tithing in the Bible can be found in Genesis 14:20-24 whereby Abraham gave 10% of everything he had to the King of Salem, Melchizedek.

The tenth Abraham gave represented everything he had. In giving the tithe, Abraham simply acknowledged that everything he had belonged to serve God.

Paying tithes was an essential part of Jewish religious worship. The concept of tithing can be predominantly found in the books of:

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Mosaic law required that the Israelites give one-tenth of the produce of their land and livestock, the tithe, to support the Levitical priesthood as noted in Leviticus 27:30, “A tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit, is the Lord’s, and is holy.”

Actually, there were three tithes that Israel had to pay:

The first was to support the Levite priests and was the 10% portion of everything that they made. (Numbers 18:21, 24).

Secondly, in Deuteronomy 14:22-27, there were the tithes of the feasts each year. These particular tithes were in the best interests of the families who previously tithed. They could use these funds for whatever their hearts desired during the feasts of the Lord.

Finally, there was a tithe for the poor which was only given every three years (Duet 14:28-29).

These tithes were never commanded to nations other than Israel.

New Testament

There’s been much debate that tithing was taught only in the Old Testament and no longer applies to modern day times.

But there are references of it being taught in the New Testament when Jesus rebukes the Pharisees in Matthew 23:23:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.” (Matthew 23:23)

Now the early church was split on this topic as some wanted to remove themselves from the legalistic practices of Judaism while others wished to honor and continue the ancient traditions of the priesthood.

Most scholars agree that the practicing of tithing has changed since originally taught in the Bible but the concept of setting aside a tenth of one’s income or goods for use in the church has remained.

The Apostle Paul also points out an equivalence between the way priests in the Old Testament made a living and how gospel workers in the New Testament era made a living in 1 Corinthians 9:13-14:

“Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? Even so, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel”.

Should You Tithe While Paying Off Debt?

The quick (and maybe sarcastic) answer would be yes you should continue to tithe even while paying off debt because most people stay in debt the majority of their lives.

I once remember a lady that called into the Dave Ramsey show to get his thoughts on this subject. At the time, she was paying $2,000 a month towards her debt and was concerned that if she started tithing, it would significantly cut down on her debt repayment.

Dave’s answer:

He felt that God doesn’t need any money, yours or the lady asking the question either. If that’s the case, why does He teach us to give a tenth of our income?

Well for one, it’s good for us to learn how to be givers and people tend to want to be around generous rather than selfish people. (I’d agree with him there.)

Selfish people tend to be CHEAP (not frugal) people. There’s nothing worse then hanging around or going out to dinner with a cheap person. They don’t take others into consideration. It’s all about them.

There’s some people out there that practice performance-based Christianity. They think God’s going to give them money because they gave someone else money or helped them out of a tough situation. It doesn’t work like that.

God wants us to tithe so we can start learning how to be generous. Remember, generous people tend to have a better life. God wants us to have a great life and be generous at the same time. And whichever way that the caller chooses to handle her debt, the Holy Spirit is not going to be mad at her.

The scripture teaches us to give our tithe (tenth) straight off the top before we do anything else with our money and then start working our financial plan. Which in this case, involves paying off debt.

In her case, Dave recommended that she lower the amount going towards her debt so she could start tithing. He didn’t recommended doing it because he said to do it. He recommended it because that’s how God wants us to live.

How To Tithe Correctly

I don’t think there’s one way set in stone on how to tithe correctly. If you ask five people, you’ll likely get five different answers.

Remember that God doesn’t need our money, he can manage without it. Tithing was put into place for our benefit and not His.

It’s no different than how parents discipline their kids such as having them make their beds or wash their own clothes. We as parents can do these tasks ourselves but we’re teaching them for our kids’s benefits later in life!

Proverbs 19:18 “Discipline your son while there is hope, And do not desire his death.”

Whenever someone tithes, it should be done freely without expecting anything back in return.

It teaches us how to live an unselfish life by putting our faith in God and knowing that He will provide no matter what life throws us.

In Mark 12:41-44 Jesus discusses the widow’s offering which shows how a poor woman gave out of poverty (all she had) which showed she had total faith in God:

“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.”

“Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

My Personal Experience

2 Corinthians 9:7 states, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Many people tithe or give grudgingly or think it’s necessary even in their heart they really don’t want to.

Again, God doesn’t need our money, and he wants us to tithe and/or give because we WANT to and not because we have to.

For me, I didn’t realize just how selfish I was until I was engaged. I wasn’t focused much on giving and especially tithing.

My thoughts were, “My money was mine and I was the only one that was going to benefit from it.”

Reflecting back, getting married was the BEST thing that could happen to me both from a relationship standpoint but also to change my heart just like the Grinch had a change of heart in Who-ville. So for me, it was a heart issue.

Remember, people like being around generous people and back then, I wasn’t too generous.

My wife loves telling the story about how she would drive three hours a week (six hours round trip) to visit me in Biloxi, MS while in my first year of residency.

Whenever she got ready to leave to go back home, I would take her car to gas it up but NEVER paid for it. I know what you’re thinking and you’re right. What a selfish dude!

At that time, it never crossed my mind that I should give some of MY money to someone that I was getting ready to spend the rest of my life with. I was always so focused on myself that it was starting to show up in my relationships in a negative way.

It took me getting married and having kids to really change my heart and to LOVE to give and tithe. Honestly, doing these two things brings me more joy than anything else.

Take Home On Tithing

Remember that the act of tithing was put into place for our benefit and not God’s. He’s got all He needs and doesn’t want our money, because it’s already His. But the one thing that he does want is our hearts.

Tithing teaches us how to keep God first in our lives, live unselfishly, focus on helping others without expecting anything back in return.

The post How To Tithe Correctly And Still Get Wealthy appeared first on Debt Free Dr..

from Debt Free Dr. https://ift.tt/2wtB6Db via IFTTT

[cladeymoore]

How To Tithe Correctly And Still Get Wealthy

The following is a guest post from Debt Free Doctor.

Whether you're a Christian or not, the simple act of giving makes you an overall better person and it's a topic that's discussed rather frequently on other personal finance blogs.

My wife and I began teaching this principle to our kids when they were younger. Using one of Dave Ramsey's recommendations, we taught them the three things to do with money:

Give

Spend

Save 

Of the three, we stressed the "giving" part as I believe that everything given to us is on loan from the "Big Guy" upstairs.

Unfortunately, many times we forget about the "giving" part when setting up a financial plan. I'm all about achieving financial freedom, but it still can be accomplished while giving.

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." -Winston Churchill

Honestly, I can't ever remember one instance where I felt bad after giving. Now, that doesn't ring so true about the multiple times I've bought something but felt guilty even before I even got back home. Buyer's remorse anyone?

Speaking of giving, a tithe is a form of giving and seems to be something that people have questions about once they start earning an income.

Let's take a deeper look at what exactly a tithe is...

What's a tithe?

It seems that the word "tithe" and "give" are thought to mean the same thing, but they actually don't.

In the dictionary, a tithe is defined as:

A tenth part of something paid as a voluntary contribution or as a tax especially for the support of a religious establishment.

In other words, it's the first 10% of your income that should be given to your church.

What Does The Bible Teach About Tithing?

Old Testament

The first instance of tithing in the Bible can be found in Genesis 14:20-24 whereby Abraham gave 10% of everything he had to the King of Salem, Melchizedek.

The tenth Abraham gave represented everything he had. In giving the tithe, Abraham simply acknowledged that everything he had belonged to God.

Paying tithes was an essential part of Jewish religious worship. The concept of tithing can be predominantly found in the books of:

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Mosaic law required that the Israelites give one-tenth of the produce of their land and livestock, the tithe, to support the Levitical priesthood as noted in Leviticus 27:30, "A tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit, is the Lord’s, and is holy."

Actually, there were three tithes that Israel had to pay:

The first was to support the Levite priests and was the 10% portion of everything that they made. (Num 18:21, 24).

Secondly, in Deuteronomy 14:22-27, there were the tithes of the feasts each year. These particular tithes were in the best interests of the families who previously tithed. They could use these funds for whatever their hearts desired during the feasts of the Lord.

Finally, there was a tithe for the poor which was only given every three years (Duet 14:28-29).

These tithes were never commanded to nations other than Israel.

New Testament

There's been much debate that tithing was taught only in the Old Testament and no longer applies to modern day times.

But there are reference of it being taught in the New Testament when Jesus rebukes the Pharisees in Matthew 23:23:

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others." (Matthew 23:23)

Now the early church was split on this topic as some wanted to remove themselves from the legalistic practices of Judaism while others wished to honor and continue the ancient traditions of the priesthood.

Most scholars agree that the practicing of tithing has changed since originally taught in the Bible but the concept of setting aside a tenth of one’s income or goods for use in the church has remained. Paul also points out an equivalence between the way priests in the Old Testament made a living and how gospel workers in the New Testament era made a living in 1 Corinthians 9:13-14: “Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? Even so, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel”.

Should You Tithe While Paying Off Debt?

The quick (and maybe sarcastic) answer would be yes you should continue to tithe even while paying off debt because most people stay in debt the majority of their lives.

I once remember a lady that called into the Dave Ramsey show to get his thoughts on this subject. At the time, she was paying $2,000 a month towards her debt and was concerned that if she started tithing, it would significantly cut down on her debt repayment.

Dave's answer:

He felt that God doesn't need any money, yours or the lady asking the question either. If that's the case, why does He teach us to give a tenth of our income?

Well for one, it's good for us to learn how to be givers and people tend to want to be around generous rather than selfish people. (I'd agree with him there.)

Selfish people tend to be CHEAP (not frugal) people. There's nothing worse then hanging around or going out to dinner with a cheap person. They don't take others into consideration. It's all about them.

There's some people out there that practice performance-based Christianity. They think God's going to give them money because they gave someone else money or helped them out of a tough situation. It doesn't work like that.

God wants us to tithe so we can start learning how to be generous. Remember, generous people tend to have a better life. God wants us to have a great life and be generous at the same time. And whichever way that the caller chooses to handle her debt, God's not going to be mad at her.

The scripture teaches us to give our tithe (tenth) straight off the top before we do anything else with our money and then start working our financial plan. Which in this case, involves paying off debt.

In her case, Dave recommended that she lower the amount going towards her debt so she could start tithing. He didn't recommended doing it because he said to do it. He recommended it because that's how God wants us to live.

How To Tithe Correctly

I don't think there's one way set in stone on how to tithe correctly. If you ask five people, you'll likely get five different answers.

Remember that God doesn't need our money, he can manage without it. Tithing was put into place for our benefit and not His.

It's no different than how parents discipline their kids such as having them make their beds or wash their own clothes. We as parents can do these tasks ourselves but we're teaching them for our kids's benefits later in life.

Proverbs 19:18 "Discipline your son while there is hope, And do not desire his death."

Whenever someone tithes, it should be done freely without expecting anything back in return.

It teaches us how to live an unselfish life by putting our faith in God and knowing that He will provide no matter what life throws us.

In Mark 12:41-44 Jesus discusses the widow's offering which shows how a poor woman gave out of poverty (all she had) which showed she had total faith in God:

"Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents."

"Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Personal Experience

2 Corinthians 9:7 states, "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

Many people tithe or give grudgingly or think it's necessary even in their heart they really don't want to.

Again, God doesn't need our money, and he wants us to tithe and/or give because we WANT to and not because we have to.

For me, I didn't realize just how selfish I was until I was engaged. I wasn't focused much on giving and especially tithing.

My thoughts were, "My money was mine and I was the only one that was going to benefit from it." Reflecting back, getting married was the BEST thing that could happen to me both from a relationship standpoint but also to change my heart just like the Grinch had a change of heart in Who-ville.

Remember, people like being around generous people and back then, I wasn't too generous. My wife loves telling the story about how she would drive three hours a week (six hours round trip) to visit me while in my first year of residency.

Whenever she got ready to leave to go back home, I would take her car to gas it up but NEVER paid for it. I know what you're thinking and you're right. What a selfish dude!

At that time, it never crossed my mind that I should give some of MY money to someone that I was getting ready to spend the rest of my life with. I was always so focused on myself that it was starting to show up in my relationships in a negative way.

It took me getting married and having kids to really change my heart and to LOVE to give and tithe. Honestly, doing these two things brings me more joy than anything else.

Take Home On Tithing

Remember that the act of tithing was put into place for our benefit and not God's. He's got all He needs and doesn't want our money, because it's already His. But the one thing that he does want is our hearts.

Tithing teaches us how to keep God first in our lives, live unselfishly, focus on helping others without expecting anything back in return.

from Money 101 https://www.freemoneyfinance.com/2019/12/how-to-tithe-correctly-and-still-get-wealthy.html via http://www.rssmix.com/

[maxwellmmeyers]

How To Tithe Correctly And Still Get Wealthy

The following is a guest post from Debt Free Doctor.

Whether you're a Christian or not, the simple act of giving makes you an overall better person and it's a topic that's discussed rather frequently on other personal finance blogs.

My wife and I began teaching this principle to our kids when they were younger. Using one of Dave Ramsey's recommendations, we taught them the three things to do with money:

Give

Spend

Save 

Of the three, we stressed the "giving" part as I believe that everything given to us is on loan from the "Big Guy" upstairs.

Unfortunately, many times we forget about the "giving" part when setting up a financial plan. I'm all about achieving financial freedom, but it still can be accomplished while giving.

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." -Winston Churchill

Honestly, I can't ever remember one instance where I felt bad after giving. Now, that doesn't ring so true about the multiple times I've bought something but felt guilty even before I even got back home. Buyer's remorse anyone?

Speaking of giving, a tithe is a form of giving and seems to be something that people have questions about once they start earning an income.

Let's take a deeper look at what exactly a tithe is...

What's a tithe?

It seems that the word "tithe" and "give" are thought to mean the same thing, but they actually don't.

In the dictionary, a tithe is defined as:

A tenth part of something paid as a voluntary contribution or as a tax especially for the support of a religious establishment.

In other words, it's the first 10% of your income that should be given to your church.

What Does The Bible Teach About Tithing?

Old Testament

The first instance of tithing in the Bible can be found in Genesis 14:20-24 whereby Abraham gave 10% of everything he had to the King of Salem, Melchizedek.

The tenth Abraham gave represented everything he had. In giving the tithe, Abraham simply acknowledged that everything he had belonged to God.

Paying tithes was an essential part of Jewish religious worship. The concept of tithing can be predominantly found in the books of:

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Mosaic law required that the Israelites give one-tenth of the produce of their land and livestock, the tithe, to support the Levitical priesthood as noted in Leviticus 27:30, "A tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit, is the Lord’s, and is holy."

Actually, there were three tithes that Israel had to pay:

The first was to support the Levite priests and was the 10% portion of everything that they made. (Num 18:21, 24).

Secondly, in Deuteronomy 14:22-27, there were the tithes of the feasts each year. These particular tithes were in the best interests of the families who previously tithed. They could use these funds for whatever their hearts desired during the feasts of the Lord.

Finally, there was a tithe for the poor which was only given every three years (Duet 14:28-29).

These tithes were never commanded to nations other than Israel.

New Testament

There's been much debate that tithing was taught only in the Old Testament and no longer applies to modern day times.

But there are reference of it being taught in the New Testament when Jesus rebukes the Pharisees in Matthew 23:23:

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others." (Matthew 23:23)

Now the early church was split on this topic as some wanted to remove themselves from the legalistic practices of Judaism while others wished to honor and continue the ancient traditions of the priesthood.

Most scholars agree that the practicing of tithing has changed since originally taught in the Bible but the concept of setting aside a tenth of one’s income or goods for use in the church has remained. Paul also points out an equivalence between the way priests in the Old Testament made a living and how gospel workers in the New Testament era made a living in 1 Corinthians 9:13-14: “Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? Even so, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel”.

Should You Tithe While Paying Off Debt?

The quick (and maybe sarcastic) answer would be yes you should continue to tithe even while paying off debt because most people stay in debt the majority of their lives.

I once remember a lady that called into the Dave Ramsey show to get his thoughts on this subject. At the time, she was paying $2,000 a month towards her debt and was concerned that if she started tithing, it would significantly cut down on her debt repayment.

Dave's answer:

He felt that God doesn't need any money, yours or the lady asking the question either. If that's the case, why does He teach us to give a tenth of our income?

Well for one, it's good for us to learn how to be givers and people tend to want to be around generous rather than selfish people. (I'd agree with him there.)

Selfish people tend to be CHEAP (not frugal) people. There's nothing worse then hanging around or going out to dinner with a cheap person. They don't take others into consideration. It's all about them.

There's some people out there that practice performance-based Christianity. They think God's going to give them money because they gave someone else money or helped them out of a tough situation. It doesn't work like that.

God wants us to tithe so we can start learning how to be generous. Remember, generous people tend to have a better life. God wants us to have a great life and be generous at the same time. And whichever way that the caller chooses to handle her debt, God's not going to be mad at her.

The scripture teaches us to give our tithe (tenth) straight off the top before we do anything else with our money and then start working our financial plan. Which in this case, involves paying off debt.

In her case, Dave recommended that she lower the amount going towards her debt so she could start tithing. He didn't recommended doing it because he said to do it. He recommended it because that's how God wants us to live.

How To Tithe Correctly

I don't think there's one way set in stone on how to tithe correctly. If you ask five people, you'll likely get five different answers.

Remember that God doesn't need our money, he can manage without it. Tithing was put into place for our benefit and not His.

It's no different than how parents discipline their kids such as having them make their beds or wash their own clothes. We as parents can do these tasks ourselves but we're teaching them for our kids's benefits later in life.

Proverbs 19:18 "Discipline your son while there is hope, And do not desire his death."

Whenever someone tithes, it should be done freely without expecting anything back in return.

It teaches us how to live an unselfish life by putting our faith in God and knowing that He will provide no matter what life throws us.

In Mark 12:41-44 Jesus discusses the widow's offering which shows how a poor woman gave out of poverty (all she had) which showed she had total faith in God:

"Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents."

"Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Personal Experience

2 Corinthians 9:7 states, "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

Many people tithe or give grudgingly or think it's necessary even in their heart they really don't want to.

Again, God doesn't need our money, and he wants us to tithe and/or give because we WANT to and not because we have to.

For me, I didn't realize just how selfish I was until I was engaged. I wasn't focused much on giving and especially tithing.

My thoughts were, "My money was mine and I was the only one that was going to benefit from it." Reflecting back, getting married was the BEST thing that could happen to me both from a relationship standpoint but also to change my heart just like the Grinch had a change of heart in Who-ville.

Remember, people like being around generous people and back then, I wasn't too generous. My wife loves telling the story about how she would drive three hours a week (six hours round trip) to visit me while in my first year of residency.

Whenever she got ready to leave to go back home, I would take her car to gas it up but NEVER paid for it. I know what you're thinking and you're right. What a selfish dude!

At that time, it never crossed my mind that I should give some of MY money to someone that I was getting ready to spend the rest of my life with. I was always so focused on myself that it was starting to show up in my relationships in a negative way.

It took me getting married and having kids to really change my heart and to LOVE to give and tithe. Honestly, doing these two things brings me more joy than anything else.

Take Home On Tithing

Remember that the act of tithing was put into place for our benefit and not God's. He's got all He needs and doesn't want our money, because it's already His. But the one thing that he does want is our hearts.

Tithing teaches us how to keep God first in our lives, live unselfishly, focus on helping others without expecting anything back in return.

from Money 101 https://www.freemoneyfinance.com/2019/12/how-to-tithe-correctly-and-still-get-wealthy.html via http://www.rssmix.com/

[tortuga-aak]

Nike paid the NBA $1 billion to use its uniforms, and 2 of the NBA's biggest stars are hiding the swoosh

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Nike is the new supplier of uniforms for the NBA, and that includes the socks.

Nike will reportedly pay the NBA $1 billion over eight seasons for the right to plaster its logo all over NBA players.

Stephen Curry and James Harden are not Nike athletes and apparently don't want the swoosh near their shoes.

The NBA went through a major visual overhaul this season as Nike and the league struck what Darren Rovell of ESPN said was an eight-year, $1 billion deal for the athletic shoe and apparel giant to become the official supplier of NBA uniforms.

We are less than one month into that new deal, and Nike and the NBA are already running into problems. The most notable problem has been the prevalence of ripped jerseys, something Nike is said to be working on.

But another, potentially larger problem has gone largely unnoticed: Some of the NBA's biggest stars seem to be going out of their way to hide some of the Nike swooshes on the uniforms.

In addition to adding advertising patches to the jerseys of many teams, the NBA also allowed Nike to add its logo to the uniforms, something Adidas was not permitted to do under the previous uniform contract. Less noticeable has been the addition of the Nike swoosh to NBA socks, as the company also replaced the sockmaker Stance for the official sock of the NBA.

The problem with the swoosh on the socks is that it is awfully close to the shoes, a big source of endorsement revenue for NBA players. And Stephen Curry and James Harden, two of the NBA's biggest stars, apparently don't want the swoosh anywhere near their non-Nike sneakers.

Curry is the face of Under Armour in the NBA. Since Nike took over the uniform contract, Curry has been rolling his socks down, which hides the swoosh. Compare this with Kevin Durant's socks, as seen at the top of this post.

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

According to a source with the NBA, there is nothing in the NBA's operations manual that would prohibit a player from rolling down his socks.

Harden, who is the NBA face of Adidas, previously rolled his socks down in a similar manner to Curry. As first noted by Paul Lukas of Uni Watch, however, he appears to now be going to the extra length of just cutting the top of the socks off and removing the Nike logo altogether.

Brandon Dill/AP

And this wasn't a one-time occurrence. Harden appears to have cut the top off his socks in at least three other games this season.

George Bridges/AP; Chuck Burton/AP; Michael Wyke/AP

It is less clear whether physically removing the Nike logo violates NBA rules. It was suggested to Business Insider that Harden was just rolling his socks in a manner that made the socks appear to have been cut.

Harden was rolling his socks earlier in the season, as seen in this photo. It seems pretty clear in the photos above, however, that he is now cutting the logos off of the socks.

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Of course, this wouldn't mean much if Curry and Harden were also rolling or cutting their socks last season when players' socks came from Stance, a company that is not considered a major rival of Under Armour or Adidas.

A look through photo archives shows that both Curry (left in the below photo) and Harden (right) had their socks extended during the 2016-2017 season and did not appear to make any attempt to hide Stance's circular logo.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP; zra Shaw/Getty Images; Bob Levey/Getty Images; Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

So far, this bit of gamesmanship appears to be limited to Curry and Harden, among the NBA's biggest stars. A quick survey of other top players who endorse non-Nike shoes did not reveal other players who have taken steps to hide the swoosh logo on the socks.

[UPDATE] Harden appears to have switched back to rolling his socks since this post was first published.

Michael Wyke/AP

This bit of logo swashbuckling is not a new problem for companies partnering with major sports leagues.

Major League Baseball has had a similar issue for years. With their uniforms supplied by Majestic, many Nike athletes have opted to wear Nike undershirts with a prominent swoosh at the base of the neck. Without any Majestic logos, it gave the false impression that MLB uniforms were being made by Nike.

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Unfortunately for Majestic, the undershirts were not deemed to be part of the uniform, and players were free to wear what they wanted as long as the shirts adhered to the color guidelines of MLB. It will be interesting to see whether Under Armour has taken steps to avoid this trap when it takes over as the official uniform of MLB in 2019.

A better-known example in recent years was when Microsoft paid the NFL $400 million for its Surface to be the official tablet of the league. Unfortunately for Microsoft, network announcers spent the first few months of that deal calling the tablets "iPads."

In that case, both Microsoft and the NFL "coached" the announcers on using the proper name, and it eventually worked. Short of altering the operations manual and threatening the players with stiff fines, there might not be enough coaching for Harden and Curry to change their ways and Nike may be out of luck, especially if more players start following suit.

Nike did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

This post was first published on November 7, 2017 and has been updated.

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