Couple old photos...

Found these while looking for something else...

This one I believe was fall, 1988. It was before I took my first state fire class, because I'm wearing a cotton duck coat still -- I got Nomex when I needed better gear for the state class. It was on the curve on Route 6 just east of where I live now. I kept this clipping on my desk for years.


The second is a photograph I had forgotten about. That is Locutus meeting Oscar for the first time, so May of 1999:

Bohemian Star Wars

Nice Dinner!

Not that I eat that badly usually anymore...but if only all my meals were this healthy, diverse, and tasty! :) And the breading on the baked salmon is the only wheat I've had today. Broccoli and Spaghetti Squash to round it out:

Saturday Pizza

By far and away...my best pizza, ever!!!

Preheated the oven, including the pizza stone, to 425º.

Liberally spread corn meal on the pizza peel, liberally floured my hands and the rolling pin and rolled out the dough.

My own sauce I had canned earlier in the year, pepperoni, broccoli, mushrooms, and six italian shredded cheese.

15 minutes baking.

Dough I had made that morning:
4 cups bread flour (though this was 2 cups graham flour to use up some old stuff, and 2 cups bread)
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp yeast
Mix the dry then mix in:
1-1/2 cups warm water
2 tbsp olive oil

Makes two crusts.

I let it rise all day, though I think it's supposed to be ready in an hour.

Higgins Armory

Finally went to the Higgins Armory...only have known about this place and driven by innumerable times for 20+ years. Bad Matt, Bad Matt.

But Sunday it was a drizzly day, and I decided a good one to finally go.

It was awesome. And unfortunately the building is closing December 31st, and the collection is moving to the Worcester Art Museum and I doubt the exhibition space will be anywhere near as cool.

The building was built 1928-1931, with the top two floors being the museum, and the bottom two the offices of Worcester Pressed Metal Company -- factory tour encouraged with museum visit. (Company closed in 1975).


Suit on the left is actual battle armor, middle is ceremonial armor, and the right is jousting armor. I believe these were owned by the same knight originally.


There is a catch-button that you press to release and lift the visor...cool!


Japanese arrow heads. The top ones had specific uses, the bottom ones were decorative for gifts.








Kids getting a guided tour:








Someone had a sense of humor:

Amazing detail work:












As if Dalmatians already weren't prone to delusions of grandeur, you go dressing them up in armor! (This guy is in the foyer greeting visitors)

Thanksgiving Pies

Made two pies...the crusts weren't amazing, but they were competent for homemade crusts from someone who doesn't bake them often :) I think I could've used a bit less butter, and chopped that butter up even finer before mixing the dough.

The bacon crumb apple pie was...disappointing. I think the bacon "smoked" in the oven, and next time I used the oven, I had a problem where gunk dripped off the ceiling of the oven onto a pizza stone I was warming up. It definitely didn't taste good...but now I want to experiment. I'm thinking adding the bacon afterwards on top of the crumb, and forgoing the cheddar cheese called for in the recipe would work better. And as I type that, I'm wondering if the cheddar I used made a difference -- I grated some off a block, perhaps shredded cheddar in a bag would've acted differently in the oven.

Passion, wits, and dreams...

...beats plans any day. Provided, of course, your wits are sharper, your dreams are bolder, and your passion is stronger.

Apple Pie Filling

3 1/2 Pecks = 11 Quarts...and I ended up over-filling the jars and having a canning disaster so let's call it 12 quarts per 3 pecks?

Each quart took three ladel fulls of hot "juice"...probably 2 or 2-1/2 with fewer apples.
I also found making the Thanksgiving pies, I didn't use all the juice I made to can them with, either discarding some or mixing freshly cut apples in with a jar of canned ones.

Thumbs up on the Norpro apple peeler! Made my work much faster!!!

The completed product...I could can 7 bottles, I wasn't prepared to do another batch that night -- plus as soon as I started removing jars from the water bath I could tell they hadn't sealed right. So the next day I repacked them in plastic and put them in Mom's freezer.

Girls Who Read

Editing to add this that I came across today as well:

Cutting away...

Today's progress on the pile, would like to have it all bucked up before we get any snow that sticks.

About breaking your own heart...

...but there’s something that is more painful than any rejection that we can receive from others.
It’s the rejection and criticism of ourselves.
Self-criticism and judgement is the way you break your own heart.

http://www.rebellesociety.com/2013/10/04/self-criticism-the-way-you-break-your-own-heart/

Oddly enough, Yoda seems appropriate here:

Firewooding...

So I had a small window Sunday afternoon -- it rained overnight, so I didn't want to climb on the pile till it dried. And there was another line of showers approaching this afternoon.

Goal though was the top two logs -- the topmost you see one block still up there I cut last week. It's cantilevered so I can buck up a good part of it and still have it pinning the log below. That log is arched so it's supported on either end but raised in the middle...yuck. But more I thought of it, more I was confident I could safely handle it without chains/straps to make sure it wouldn't move unexpectedly while I was on top of the pile working it:



So I started by blocking the top log out of the way as much as I could, then from "below" the problem log I made the top cut about 2/3rds down its length and wedged it.

I then stepped above it, where I had already cut a little log up and out of the way so I'd have solid place to stand, and finished the under cut -- it rolled down perfectly where I wanted it:



I was able to get enough leverage on the part that rolled down to then flip it forward and down to the ground for bucking. I wish I had a cigar, because I love it when a plan comes together.

And not my normal view of my garden...



It was raining as I finished on the ground bucking up some pieces of logs I had rolled off the pile, but mission accomplished that I have enough wood cut to fill the time I have to split this week.

Firewood Selfies!

Hey, one of the few times I took a selfie I like:


I had climbed up on top of the pile of logs so I could start picking my way down it:






Some of my tools...I'm going to have to buy some more short wedges, which I use to make sure the logs don't pinch the bar when cutting the logs, because I keep having them drop down into the pile when I finish the cut...*sigh*


By the data center I go up to once a week is a fencing company that puts out scrap wood that is free for the taking. I've learned to stop on my way in, because if I wait till later it's gone! This was last week, Tuesday I was picked up another load this size and just after I started an elderly couple with a mini-van pulled in and snagged a van full as well (there was two big 4x4x4 bins full!)

Turkey Soup...

*Most* of my shopping, I think, is better than average. But Monday night was exceptional, well, except for the vice of a bag of chips:



And I think the chips were a Buy 1, Get 2 free deal and I didn't quite realize you had to buy three bags for the discount. Certainly without the sale price, and arguably with it, that's a heck of an expensive item which is partly why I don't buy the "junk food is cheaper" arguments you read sometimes.

Much of that was to go into this week's Turkey Soup I made today and didn't take a picture of. I had carrots, potatoes, onions, and garlic at home already.

Figure it made 4-1/2 quarts which is 9 big servings for me. I'm guessing this worked out to just about $2.00 to $2.25/serving which is just about what I pay for better quality soups like Campbell's Homestyle which is $1.99 on sale...and I know my stuff is MUCH better :)

Halloween...

I threw dinner on the grill, and decided to split some firewood while waiting for it.

After the outside lights, which are on motion sensors, had all shutoff I realize here I am wearing an LED head lamp but otherwise in the pitch black of Halloween night swinging an ax. On the off chance anyone had actually ventured up the driveway, I'm sure they would be telling the tale of the crazy man who lives in the woods...

Highland Park Fire Videos

Nice video short about Highland Park by Verge:



And the YouTube helmet cam video that inspired the above:

Scientist or Pyschopath

Just watched this clip..."We've known all along you're a psychopath, but you're a happy psychopath who doesn't hurt anyone, just likes to play with people's minds..."



Which ties into the book I'm currently reading, Clarence Pfaffenberger's "The New Knowledge of Dog Behavior" which is a 1950-something classic which outlines the early days when genetics and behavioral science combined to create very strong SOPs and bloodlines that turned guide dog training around from reject 90% of pups born to a litter to graduating 95%. The book is written in an older style so it is a bit long in the tooth and repetitive at times, none the less it is considered one of the foundations of modern dog training.

Like most things, it ends up being a combination of nature and nurture. They developed tests to pick out the early behaviors common in dogs that would graduate their programs and bred bloodlines to emphasize them, but they also learned of very critical, but short, windows to take advantage of them -- a delay sometimes of a week or two in a three month old puppy's training could double the likelihood of flunking out of guide dog training. And this was sometimes very small -- a little as 15 minutes a day (and if I remember correctly, even just one 15 minute session once a week in some cases) could make the difference during the critical psychological development periods.

New London Industry in 1915...

A special edition of The Day from March 11, 1915 describing many of the city's businesses, from banks to utilities, including the Shoreline Electric Railway, T.A. Scott which specializes in marine construction (piers, underwater pipelines, etc.), and New London Ship & Engine Company that was an early name for Electric Boat:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1915&dat=19150311&id=svkgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Y3UFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6276,1153617

In fact, this is the Droid I've been looking for...

What's the irony ratio when you set this to be the wallpaper on your Droid phone?
More of Heather here.

Cranberry Hill Farm, Ashford, CT Walktober

This morning's walk -- the rest of the pics and commentary are here: Walktober 2013

The main gardens

Continuing my fascination with the Aquitaine region...

View Larger Map
Stumbled on this while surfin' the net and watching TV. The non-satellite view shows the feature better -- the extensive modifications of the estuary of the Seudre for oyster farming, and going through Google images possibly some salt production evaporation ponds.

More on the estuary and oyster culture.