Well, that post just went west. To make a long story short, 5C temp this morning (23F, that is) . Bt this time next week I can do al the pruning that needs to be done in the apes and kiwis. Has anyone heard from Pako? I just spent almost an hour here on the site and the post is gone, as far as I can tell. I made cornbread this morning and the oil I used had been around too long so now I have to let the Chooks have it and start over, so I guess I'll see y'all later. Songbird; keep your feet warm and the cold won't seem as bad on the rest of your body. I lived in the Catskills for over ten years and know about COLD days and COLDER nights. The cold, blustery, frozen mornings where your breath freezes into a block in your scarf (muffler) and has to be thawed out before having a polite conversation with anyone and the Ice that hasn't frozen quite thick enough to support your weight cracking after you've gone to far accross to turn back. Ive had some close calls in those frozen mountains as well as some of the best times of my life up there. You never forget the pleasing aroma of someone accidently burning up their maple syrup batch a few miles away from you. Of course, if it happens to be YOUR batch, it's a whole 'nuther story. I Really have to go now. My Gamecocks are playing against the Florida Gators. Benjy PS I just saw that the last post showed up
Hi Benjy, sorry to hear you are still having issues with posting/writing. i do not stay logged in all the time so i may not see what you are seeing. what browser do you use to read this site? i'm glad to hear your scan came up ok. : ) i have not heard a peep from Pak in ages. i have no contact info for him other than what he has provided in his profile. i do hope he is well as can be. i lived much further north (look up Houghton-Hancock, MI, USA) for 15 years. the winters we have down here are much easier in comparison: we keep our house fairly cool and i do wear extra layers of clothes, hat, etc. at times to keep warmer and there are blankets/comforters. this past early fall and late summer i spent several weeks sealing up and caulking around the exterior and i redid the weather stripping on the front door (which faces into the prevailing wind) to help keep the wind from pushing cold air into the house so easily. i think it has made some difference, but we haven't reached the really cold season yet.
Congrats on the 1 year smoke free anniversary. I was trying not to cook yesterday - take a look at the maximum temp for Nambour. Looks like it's going to be much the same today. At 9 am the thermometer on my desk is already reading 32 degrees C.
If I told you in a PM Paks first name would that help? Sadly that's all I have. Yesterday at Canungra it was 43deg C in the house. Bloody hot. Lucky we had the emergency supply of beer so we didn't dehydrate.. Yeah big drinkers 3 stubbies each lol. Uncle well done on the smokes. My dad gave them up 30 odd years before he died but he did all the damage when he did smoke. Mind you he did live till his late 70's I think. I have never really smoked except for a few puffs as a kid. Tasted like shit so didn't peruse it. I liked a beer when I was younger but then my mates were dying around me from alcohol related car crashes so it went by the wayside too except for a couple light beers now and then. I have had to pack up 3 mates belongings to be handed to their families back in the army. I had to pull my woodies ad on Reptiles Down Under tonight. I am now buying in woodies from my mate to meet the demand. 4 kg out the door today and another order for 3 kg for one person then about another 1 kg for a couple of more orders. It is just insane lol. Worms are just holding up with the demand to. Ok got to go to bed. Take care my friends
Sorry Brian. First name would probably not help unless I lived nearby. His last post, I believe, was about the chemical damage going on in Hawaii by corn growers (Japanese?). and that was on the 28th of Sept., 2014. Here we are freezing our tails off and you're about to roast. You can, at least, save on fuel by putting a dark skillet out in the sun to cook eggs or whatever. I'll probably lose some stuff in the greenhouse.
A few years ago all I needed was the kitchen bench top to cook an egg. We have since had a new roof and insulation. I haven't raised a sweat in the house since then. Overcast and a shower of rain this morning. Humidity is high which makes the heat feel worse. Got photos of a 1 kg tub of woodies delivered this morning. The container had been crushed. Another foul sticking mess. No doubt there are hundreds of woodies on the loose in the post office and delivery van. Same customer as last time. The others posted at the same time are all good so far. on my phone and this is playing up.
Eco l heard this morning Hazel got a promotion. A Line Director now l think it is. Her increase in pay is more than her husband earns in a year. Good on her after being sacked from Beaudesert.
That's great new for Hazel! Well deserved. Looks like some good has come out of it all. I have emailed Pak. No response as yet.
Twenty-six degrees Icicles in the trees I'm befuddled. Chooks are huddled Frost up to their knees That's minus 3C on your scale and it won't get much over freezing for a high today. Willie's in bed with the foot-warmer on. It's not cold in the house, but just the thought of the cold outside makes you want to snuggle down deep into something soft and toasty. We don't usually get this weather until late Dec., Jan. and Feb. Our winters used to be fairly mild and it's still Fall. I'm not sure how much more of this global warming we can take. What I'm worried about is a warm spell in March followed by a blast like this. It could destroy the unprotected crops in the fields overnight. I have a few things I'd like to get done today so I'll post this and get off for now. If you are reading this, Packo, give us a sign. We miss you. Love is the answer Uncle Ben and Auntie Willie
yeah Benjy, this early cold makes for a long winter for us, we've been in the mid teens overnight a few times now. today the wind is blowing some snow around, but the sun is out so i'm glad to see that shining orb as we've not seen much of it at all the past few weeks. not too much snow on the ground yet. just a smattering to use a technical term. : ) Brian, i would call that justice in that they got what the deserved when they mishandled the package. i sure hope they don't ban your shipments. would they live if in an airtight container for a few days? much harder to crush. may be worth an experiment.
It's almost noon here and it's 4 degrees C and starting to drop again. I'm making some chicken soup and fresh bread (not our Chooks) for an early evening or late noon meal. The bread's on it's first rise and I have a little time so I just thought........well........At least Songbird is on the party line. We never know about the weather anymore. Is it my imagination or were the seasons more dependable when I as a kid? I just seem to rememer we had enough firewood cut, split and stacked to last the winter. After the first year in the mountains I can't remember getting out in the snow and ice to cut more fuel. We had enough to heat the cabin and prepare our food, but not much left over in late spring when we started selectng unhealthy trees for next Winter's stockpile. We even had enugh to fire the homemade maple sap evaporator Dad made to handle the gallons an gallons of sap we turned into syrup. (40 gallons made one gallon of syrup) The time frame was critical. It had to freeze at night and thaw during the day before the buds came on the trees. After that you got "buddy sap' which couldn't be used, so we removed the "spiles" and plugged the holes for the long wait 'til this time next year. If you missed the start time, just forget it til next year. So much for memories. Got some more stuff to do, Happy heating, Songbird. Love is the answer Uncle Ben and Auntie Willie
homemade bread is always wonderful to have. must be chicken soup season as Ma made two large pots of it yesterday and she also made pork and saurkraut so we're set for food for a week. we'll take some to the rest of the family when we visit. heating? we're doing ok, propane will hold out for another few weeks before we need a refill. i suspect we will need yet another one about mid-to-late February and that will be it for the heating season if things don't get too cold. last winter was a bear, we used an extra 200 gallons above what we would normally use. the weather this past growing season was cooler and wetter for much of the late summer and that was a little unusual. we ran the AC a few times here or there yet most of that was to get the humidity down. it makes sense to me about the maple tree sap changing Benjy. the roots will stop sending sugars up when the leaves start making their own. i love maple sugar candy and my favorite fudge is maple walnut. when i was making chocolates i liked a white chocolate center with maple syrup and chopped walnuts and then surrounded that by white chocolate. some folks will argue that white chocolate really isn't chocolate, but it was a perfect light coating that did not overpower the maple and walnut flavors from inside. i never liked to use that cheap imitation chocolate coating stuff they sell even if it is easier to work with... i gotta stop talking as i'm making myself hungry again. : )
On the bread, Songbird. Wllie hurt my feelings when she asked "Are you sure you didn't buy that at the store?" And then, to my relief, she said it was the appearance of the loaf, not the flavour, she ws referring to. I normally make more than one loaf at a time, but, being that I'm trying to get my waistlne in check, I've started making just one loaf. It's not that much of a waste of heat in the oven, being that the temperature is so far down on the scale (21F (-5C) last night and this morning. I've had to set a 3 qt. pan to boil these cold mornings to pour over the ice in their outside waterng pan for them to drink, as all natural water is to "hard" to swallow these last few mornings. Back to the bread, there's no toast anywhere any better than that made from home-baked bread, and I need o get to the kitchen now to fix breakfast: Onion, garlic, parsley, diced potatoes, fresh creamery butter all in a hot skillet, brought to an almost-sweet browness, enclosed within two eggs and a tablespoon of milk stirred together and cooked in a separate skillet with a layer of grated cheddar cheese on top (not too much, now) and served with half a tomato from the greenhouse cut into wedges around the edges. Coffee and buttered toast. All on a tray with a small jar of home-made watermellon rind marmalade. Get to it Ben. She's startin' to stir. Love is the answer Uncle Ben
Just checking out the keyboard. I just took he butternut squash-punkin pie out of the oven. If it comes out as I'm hoping I'll text the recipie. Most of the time the food writes it's own table of contents, but I measured everything that went into it with a few correctional additions and it tasted fine before baking, however, as it turned out a little heaped up due to more filling than usual for that size pie-pan, It may have been baked a shorter time than it should have been. We'll see. Gotta go. Willie needs me.
1.9 to 2 lb. Butternut squash, peeled with potato peeler, seeds removed and cubed in pieces. 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup milk 2/3 cup agave 1/4 cup butter (unsalted) 1 Tbsp vanilla 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice with an extra 1/4 tsp cinnamon and a dash more ginger 1/2 tsp sea salt about 2 tsp lemon rind, grated off a fresh lemon We will add 3 eggs later. Set them aside for now. Dump all this good stuff in a 3 Quart pot with a lid. Cook over medium heat for about 20 to 25 minutes or until it can be mashed like mashed potatoes. There will still be liquid in the pot but as you beat it, it will all become about like mashed potatoes, but a little thinner. If you are having a cold season, put it outside to cool. If not, you can get to work on the pie crust at this time, as the mixture has to cool down before adding the eggs. When you have pierced your pie-dough several places in the bottom of the 9 inch pie-plate to let the expanding air escape, place the pie-pan in your 365 oven for between 12 and 15 minutes. (Actually, you can do this earlier and take a nap while you're waiting...or whatever. When the mixture has cooled enough to not thicken the eggs prematurely, beat them into the mixtue until they are absorbed uniformly, fill the waiting pie plate and pop it in the oven. In about 25 minutes, check it for doneness by sticking a case knife into it an inch or so from the edge. When you pull it out it should be fairly clean wth very little of the pie adhering to it. If a lot sticks to it, let it bake for another 5 minutes and try again. Let the pie cool before cutting it. It will firm up as it cools. I beat up an eggwhite, honey and vanilla fluff topping and browned the peaks in the oven. Yummy. We enjoyed it this evenig after dinner. Love is the answer Uncle Ben and Aunte Willie
I have decided to put them in a calico bag. That way if the containers is damaged they cant escape. The package I mentioned turned out to be one of two. Both must have been crushed at the same time and one was delayed. I will replace them Monday. I see the weather in the US is getting really cold. Hope you can all stay warm and only go out if you have too. Got to run late for bed. Been really busy again Take care
Brian, I'm more angry than saddened at that turn of events. Can't those blokes working for the post over there read or do they have people working who get gratification from smashing and blowing things up that they, themselves, are incapable of either appeciatng or designing? This cold snap is only another reminder of the FACT that "Global Warming is" not only not man-made but NOT happening. Meanwhile, our government is spending billions of dollars a year and costing trillians in the economy while Al Gore, who stated that our oceans would swell and warm up and Florida would be covered with water in seven years (seven years ago) has turned a couple million dollars into over a hundred million with his government-assisted investments. We know that if we make prediction based on a theory and they all come true, there's a good chance that that theory is correct. Despite stories circulated by those who stand to gain from them, according to maps from NASA's own files, the Northern arctic Ice cap has grown, rather than shrunk during the last seven years, the oceans have not warmed and Florida is still above water. Meanwhile, several scientists have come out of the closset, so to speak, and presented their unpopular science for publcation. Here, you must uderstand that any government-funded program agreeing with the "No Global Warming" findings will lose their politically motivated funding. Money is the grease that keeps the machine running (the squeaking wheel syndrome), and our government believes our money is theirs (You didn't build that" and only through the goodness of their hearts, you are allowed to keep a little of it. But always remember that they are allowed to tell you how you can spend it (Obamacare) or blow it. FACT..Our climate is controlled by cycles in the SUN though it can be mitigated by catastrofic events like Krakatoa in 1883. FACT..The Earth has been slowly cooling snce 1999. MY OPINION: Global warming has been the biggest "cash cow" for our "Servants" since Social Security. "The surest way to control the masses.....Keep them ignorant and dependant" We have had heat waves long before the industrial age and I believe the climate of this earth will vary long after we've poisoned ourselves out of existance with the help of "Big Chemical" Now how did they get past our "watchdogs"? That's right. The oil knows no master. But...Love is the answer Uncle Ben and Auntie Willie.
Uncle on the news a few weeks back a video showed DHL workers throwing parcels into the back of a truck. No care at all. Both parcels were posted together and going to the same area
Benjy, you're wrong about the ice as many other things. i'm not bothering to reply any more but don't take my silence as agreement.
TIME magazine: NASA pictues show 60% INCREASE per year. Just Google Arctic ice cap 60% Love is the answer Uncle Ben and Auntie Willie
