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 Thoughts destined to be washed away by the tides of life. |
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I've been studying my cover photo for a while now, and it seems to me that it is more than just a photo of what is there that can be seen, more than just three white rocks stacked on a beach. It contains an important question about the future, about what happens long after the photographer has gone. What will happen to our pile of stones when the tide comes in? Will it topple or has the architect built this structure at a safe distance? I don't know what will happen to these words that I stack here on the sand. They may prove safely distant, or they may be swallowed up by a rush of self-doubt. They may be here for a season. They may lose their balance and be scattered by the shoreline, or be hidden away under shifting sands. Perhaps someday, the tides of life will reclaim them. Or maybe that's just a bunch of poetic, romantic nonsense. After all, this is just a blog. |
| I’m afraid I have missed a lot of the fun of birthday week. I have had some other duties in the area of grandchild care and have been both sleep-deprived and feeling ill. Some days I managed to do the minimum, others I let it all slide. I hate the missed opportunities, but that’s how life goes. There’s always next year. I hope everyone else has had a great birthday party! |
| I like finding recipes that yield only one or two servings and whenever possible, use the microwave. I will sometimes use the air fryer, rarely the oven. I want to produce only one serving, no matter what it is. I am only going to eat one serving and I don’t want leftovers. I think the most amazing recipe that I have found recently is for making lemon curd in the microwave. No stirring on the stove for what seems forever. Zap it! You know it's an amazing recipe because it makes more than two servings and I made it anyway. Now I have to stop eating it. https://ketocookingchristian.com/5-minute-microwave-lemon-curd-keto-and-low-carb... |
| So, I've tried making egg white wraps two ways - with protein powder and with xanthan gum. I am surprised, but I like the ones made with protein powder better. They have a sturdier texture. The xantham gum ones seem a bit jelly-like. Like a wrap made out of a jellyfish. Well, maybe not a jellyfish, but like a creepy thing and not a crepey thing. I used Bob's Red Mill unflavored whey protein powder. I got the xantham gum from Walmart. The eggs came from chickens. If you do want a crepe and not a sandwich wrap, then use vanilla protein powder. Then wrap them around some sliced strawberries and whipped cream. The best thing about making egg white wraps is that now I have all these egg yolks left over with which to make lemon curd. Don't you hate it when people start a blog post with "So"? It's to create the atmosphere of casual conversation, as if we were just chatting over coffee. Presumptuous, really. But I think I will go make coffee. Talk amongst yourselves. |
| I read recently that cockroach milk is slated to replace cows’ milk. Scientists say cockroach milk is higher in nutrients and is kinder to the environment. Because of climate change we need to get rid of cows and breed more insects. Of course, the biggest problem with this plan is that it takes more than a thousand cockroaches to produce a couple of ounces of "milk". Now your average cow can produce six or seven gallons of milk per day, more if it’s calving season. Oh yeah, and you have to cut open the cockroach to get the milk ingredients, so it’s a one-time contribution. And while cows take up a bit more room than an equal number of cockroaches, you have to admit that they actually look better in the environment. Just drive by a dairy farm sometime. It’s quite pleasant to see a meadow full of grazing cows in their classic black and white contrasted against the lush, green grass. Why, it’s downright picturesque. I suppose you could drive by a cockroach farm if you wanted to, but I bet you’ll keep the windows rolled up when you do. In some ways, I feel a little bit sorry for the scientists these days. They have spent a lot of time convincing us that the ice caps are melting only to find that there has been an exponential increase in ice on Antarctica. They have to get to work explaining that away. And they really, really, really want us to eat bugs. The UN wants us to eat bugs. Bill Gates wants us to eat bugs. Of course “us” means everyone who isn’t a scientist, a delegate at the UN or Bill Gates. But, there’s one big problem - “us” don’t wanna eat bugs. I think the only way forward is for scientists to genetically engineer a species of cockroach that is the size of a cow and tastes like steak. Good luck catching them, though. |
| People are always so sure that they’re right. Me too, I'm usually pretty sure that I'm right. Of course, I hope that if something were to come up that indicated that I might be wrong about something that I would be open to entertaining that idea. That's not a guarantee. I'm pretty stubborn. But I hope I could recognize the truth. And I don't mean if other people tell me their opinions or repeat to me things they've heard that are not proven. I don't mean if they tell me that based on their logic and calculations, something entirely different than what I think or believe is the actual truth. I mean, I want something factual. I will debate. I will argue with opinions. But I think it's pretty childish to block somebody because you don't like what they said. And I'm pretty sure I won't do that. |
| I am using a different computer setup this morning that is not my own. I don’t have ear buds that are synced to this computer, therefore, I cannot watch and listen to youtube videos to distract me from actual writing. This is hell. |
| My mother used to tell us : ”Scud to school or you’ll rue it!” No, really. She did. My mother had some odd sayings but I loved them. Many of them come in handy when one has nothing else to say but the silence requires something to break it. When that happens. I can recommend these interjections: “Hark! I hear footsteps approaching on horseback.” “It is, it is. Let us be off!” “You’ll chase a crow a mile for that someday.” My favorite thing was my mother’s logic. When being questioned by my father on her latest expenditures, she exclaimed: “Jack, we’re married. That means your money is my money and no one is going to tell me how to spend my money!” |
| One of my goals this week is to organize my Portfolio. This involves collecting items into folders. However, it is very slow going. One reason for this lack of progress is that I am often unable to determine if an item is a short story or a poem just by its title. I must open each item and read it in order to place it in the correct folder. Then, I just get lost. I opened a short poem this morning and it just stopped me It was a 24 syllable poem based on the word mellifluous.. Monday was my mother’s birthday. She passed in 2003. It’s been a long time since I have heard her voice. I find myself Listening in Vain Sweet notes of your voice, now long gone. How my memory tries to echo its mellifluous music. |
| I’ve been thinking about Mars a lot lately. For a barren wasteland millions of miles away, it’s in the news quite often. I remember reading that when NASA advertised for volunteers to go to Mars, they were inundated with hundreds of thousands of applicants. I don’t understand that. Sure, there are some qualified scientists who might sign up for a one-way trip to explore in the name of science - a sacrifice in the service of mankind. I can respect that, but I still don’t understand it. And what about the rest? Most people wouldn’t want to leave those they love behind forever. No hope of return. To spend the rest of their lives far out in space. To travel an unimaginable distance to a lonely and inhospitable planet where they will die alone eventually - if not somewhere along the way. So what makes someone feel so disconnected to their planetary home that they could easily leave it, never to return. Is it utter despair or reckless optimism? I suppose it could be a metaphor for desiring personal space. Mars was on my mind. "The Place In Between"  |
Well, it’s August.  Not sure how I feel about that. Normally, I am all for Summer coming to an end. I look forward to a couple of months of cooler weather. The just-right weather means no air conditioning is needed. No heating is needed. It’s the less expensive weather.So, that’s how I start a blog post when I don’t have any ideas for a blog post. Trying to come up with some deep, philosophical thoughts about something everyday and mundane. I have no thoughts about August. I don’t think it’s possible to find anything philosophical or poetic about August. I forgot to watch Christmas movies in July so I am going to watch Christmas movies in August.  A little snow makes it all bearable. All the dry grass, the flowers dying and going to seed, all the desperate last-minute bees who don’t realize their fate is sealed, birds disappearing one by one. Cover it up with snow. Please. I see in the news that some parts of Australia got a rare blanket of snow. Enough snow to cause power outages. Enough snow to play in. Enough snow to build snow-roos.  Some snow, twinkly lights and a world without stinging insects. Better than August. |
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, is that appropriate? I would make it an 
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