Western Clipper Winters

Ran across an old friend of sorts the other day and spent some time reminiscing about long past winter adventures.  I had gone down the steps to my basement to find something (I forget what now) and there stood my friend leaning against a far wall as if it were waiting... and the memories came flooding back.

There it was -- my Western Clipper, the perfect wooden sled with metal runners. It is now definitely a "little" worse for the wear -- not much red paint left on the frame and runners, and the steering rope is long gone. I usually give my "vehicles" names (my current Wrangler's is Earl), but if I named this old friend, I have forgotten. I am sorry that I don't remember. A good friend deserves better.

Anyway -- for some reason, I have a strong sense that some of you probably have (or had) this same sled and remember how you waited for the perfect sledding day - for packed or just enough crusty snow that could handle those metal runners - snow that would enable them to slide perfectly all the way to the bottom of the hill. You could steer with your hands if lying on your belly, or if sitting, your feet or the steering rope worked just as well. You needed a good running start or a strong skootch or two either way. A good ride was worth the trudge back up the hill to make the "run" even better.  Ah winter -- it meant different things in those days. No easy-to-slide plastic snow saucers back then. 

That same evening ...  after dark, I walked through the snow to close a pasture gate that the wind had set banging and thought to myself -- this would be the perfect crusty snow to handle that Clipper for sure. It would fly smoothly along its way ... crust on top of a solid base - a little more powder on top would help, but not totally necessary.  (If you live in snow country or ever have, you know what that means.) Anyway -- after getting that pesky gate latched(had to break some ice to do it), I walked back to the comfort of my home and sat in front of the fire. It was lovely. 

Sometimes reminiscing is the way to go. 

Snow People Know... Snow Birds Remember...

The weather the past week or so has been very snowy and bitter cold. If you live or have lived in snow country, you know what those days are like. It can make life difficult.

The snow does make a special kind of quiet though –a nice quiet. It surrounds ... sort of like a gentle hug.  I especially notice it when the roads are heavily covered and the snow is not yet plowed. Vehicles sort of glide on by.  The snow silence envelopes. 

If it is especially cold, your footsteps make a clean, crunchy sound, but if there is enough snow  -- there is a wonderful silence even as you walk along -- kicking up powdery snow as you make a path. Snow people know what I mean.  Once again – I feel sorry for people who have never experienced that part of winter.  

I think the whole world needs some moments of total quiet now and again.   The cold, fresh air doesn't hurt either.  

Looking on the bright side.... Happy Monday.  (Current temperature  6º .  Feels like -7º)

Scraps...

The truth is ... I forget "stuff" ... sometimes "important stuff" ... so... I write things down on whatever is handy and end up with a pile of scraps of paper with words on them that I sometimes have difficulty interpreting. (I also sometimes carry a notebook around with me when out of the house just in case I want to jot down descriptions of the interesting things I see or ideas that pop into my head  -- all this for future consideration. Do the words "total nerd" come to mind?)

So today is the day to consider scraps. There are 15 in the pile and I have divided them into categories. I moved a few to the side right away -- like all the recipes that I probably will never try, the notes that I have no idea what they mean or why I wrote them, and the clippings that I may turn into blogs at some point like the one from a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan that is about combatting negative chatter inside your head. Anyway -- the categories for today are as follows... Interesting Words and Phrases, and Thought Provoking Direct Quotations.  (Oh -- I have decided to spare you my latest list of grievances against President Biden ... at least for now. That list remains in the current stack of scraps and it is long and detailed.)

Anyway -- starting with words and phrases -- Doromania (the unusual urge to give gifts), Cattywampus (something that is crooked or askew), and Coddiwomple (to head purposefully toward no specific destination) are interesting to consider. Did you know that Nurdle is the word for the "blob of toothpaste on the end of your toothbrush"? (My remarkable daughter sent me a meme about that fun tidbit of info.) "Weather Sissy" is self-explanatory and a good friend's brilliant term that definitely applies to me.  I also need to find some way to work "clutching her pearls", "slap upside the head", and "it seems like 100,000 o'clock" into my writing somehow.  I also like "To be Woke is to be a Whining, Wimpy  Weakling". (I made that one up myself when in an alliterative and ornery mode -- and tired of the Woke propensity for name calling. I left out the word Wuss because some find it offensive.) Is turn about fair play? I think so. The Woke have called me worse.  Moving on...

The direct quotes are the most fun for me even if I have no idea where they come from like "call a snail a snail" or  "Jim compared his 'To Do" list and his "Not a "F...ing Chance" list only to discover they were one and the same".

The most thought provoking of all the quotations in my scrap pile, however, is this one by an unknown someone (maybe Schopenhauer) and often misattributed to Mohandas Gandhi:

        First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you,         then you win. 

And finally... perhaps my most favorite ... are these words of Isabelle Allende:

      Maybe the most important reason for writing is to prevent erosion          of time, so that memories will not be blown away by the wind.                Write to register history and name each thing. Write about what              should not be forgotten. 

~~~~~

Thus the scrap pile is sorted out a bit -- at least for today.

Cardinals ...

I was walking by the windows in my dining room at some point during the Holidays, and noticed that there were three beautiful cardinals flitting from branch to branch in the little tree just outside.  It was a sudden moment of sunshine -- sort of a rare burst of bright light in these winter days in NW Pennsylvania.  The cardinals were stunning.  As I stood there watching them and wondering if they were watching me as well, I thought about all the stories I have heard about the significance of the appearance of cardinals and ... so, of course, I had to do a little reading on the subject.  

There are several "theories" about the appearance cardinals, at any time, but especially during Holiday times. Some call those theories lore or wishful thinking. I call them somehow comforting and reassuring. When digging around I actually found an article about the sightings of "Christmas Cardinals" and the significance of them. Anyway ...  some people believe that they are simply a happy sign -- others that cardinals bring cherished memories -- a reminder that loved ones live on and are somewhere/somehow near when you are missing them the most.

Interestingly, the lore of various Native American tribes offers sort of a mixed view.  Cardinals may be a harbinger of rain or of sun  - sort of weather forecasters.  Other Native American tribes associate them with good things like love, devotion, loving relationships, and good fortune.

Further... I read that there are those who even say that cardinals are messengers from Heaven that are bringing comfort and love, and that seeing males -- the bright red ones -- means that you are to be blessed with good luck and fortune.  

Now the sad thing, at least for me, is that cardinals do not live across the entire world.  Oh, how I wish they did.  

Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr.

 Just finished watching President Biden's 1st speech of the 2024 election campaign.  I had watched some of the preliminary commentary on CNN as well as MSNBC to get a feel of the direction of coverage to be expected.  I did not watch follow-up commentary on any channel.  

Biden has not been my President, but I found the speech to be impressively strong -- if one were inclined to believe him.  The speech was also powerfully angry, vitriolic, hateful and emotional.  He spoke, not of any positive accomplishments of his Presidency, but rather focused on trashing Donald Trump  - at times misquoting him by taking words out of context and leaving out the important points of what Trump actually said. In this his speech was strong in its divisiveness.  He is not the President of all American people; that's for sure. He is not a unifier of the people as he promised he would be. 

He also planted the negative seeds of fear to discredit his main opponent by implying that Donald Trump has power hungry Nazi-like tendencies. It is clear that this will be the direction of his campaign. So Sad.  Biden loves the power that comes from fear mongering.  We have seen this in him before. When I look at the controlling big government of his administration, I shudder to think what else may be destroyed in another four years of such short-sighted, slow to act and react administration led by a self-admitted plagiarist who is, in my opinion a weakening, not too bright, easily led man who really isn't as much about the American people as he would like you to believe.

I could go on and on about this and that, but let me just stop with a mention of the irony of Biden speaking about the power of the vote in a Democracy when it appears that "his people" are doing everything possible to prevent his opposition from even being on the ballot.

At this point I am just wondering who wrote his speech.  It was not like the President of the beach chair, ice-cream cones, and naps that I have seen for the past three years. 

Scat Cat! or ... Cat Scat

My son, always a fan of a good cup of coffee, suggested that I write this blog about my reaction to a fun gift he received for Christmas.  Simply stated it was a bag of Kopi Luwak coffee, described on the bag as the Rolls Royce of coffees. It is also described as having a "complex aroma". Remember that as you continue to read. 

The tongue in cheek title he suggested for this blog was something like... "Cat poo coffee: a journey through culinary culture". The title that I first thought of was, shall we say, less tactful.  I wish you could see my facial expression as I type this. Anyway -- he also texted a picture of his hand holding a cup of this coffee.  His caption was ... "Yum!"  Now the package also states that the coffee has hints of caramel and chocolate.  I need to ask him about that. I didn't, at that time, because I was thinking of other things.

Now you may already know this.  I did not. Here goes --- there are coffee beans that travel through the digestive system of civets, commonly called civet cats, that then are "passed"/defecated whole, after which they are carefully gathered, washed thoroughly and roasted. People pay good, hard earned money for this poo/poop coffee.  Interestingly enough there is a fascinating story on how this all first began.  I will leave you to do your own research however -- even though it is a marvelous story with a David vs Goliath type ending - definitely worth its own blog, one that I most likely will not be writing.

Here's the thing -- I simply find myself wondering 🤔 --  who was the first person to notice that these mongoose like creatures were eating coffee beans and defecating these beans still whole and thought to himself --  "Hmm... interesting. I think I will pick up all this "poop", wash it, roast it, and have a nice cup of coffee." Then again - maybe it happened by accident. But -- the process continues. It has become successful business. Seriously -- people are fascinating.

Note 1:  A civet cat, a cat like creature but really more similar to a mongoose, is not really a cat, even though they are called that.  Also... did you know that the the plural of mongoose is mongeese or mongooses.  I prefer mongeese because I find that fun. Imagine flying mongeese. 

Note 2:  The company that makes this Kopi Luwak poo coffee, a product of Indonesia, is called Monkey Business which caused some confusion as to the source of the coffee beans.  I, among others, first thought the poop was Monkey poop, but we were wrong.  Duh.  Although ... Monkey poop is a much more fun title than ... Cat Scat ... .