Bear's Journal

5:26PM

I do love my 22 sheet shredder. A blue light comes on in the bin while it is shredding ;)

2:25AM - Quote of the day

Advice: If you happen upon the skull of a dragon, leave that place quickly. For whatever killed it, may still be around.
---Thieves Proverb

8:08PM - It must be spring

Yay! The daffodils are here. They showed up today.

From Garden 2011-April

I've had some dumb leurgy for almost two weeks, complete with awful headaches on some days. It puts me in a better mood to see the weather getting springlike and Daffodils!

8:21PM - Supper

swestrup made supper. It was wonderful. It was Danish. It was mock armadillo (mock hare - meat loaf), roasted potato boats, red cabbage, and cucumber salad (which I made a while ago, it was in the fridge)

From Danish Food

1:40PM

8:55AM - Chocolate cake

I made chocolate cake for dessert last night. I'm having some for breakfast. This cake is easy to make; you mix it in the pan in which it is baked; it is coarse and moist and yummy; it doesn't need egg. I love this cake.

8:31PM - Growing herbs

Last year I grew rosemary, parsley, and Greek basil, as well as the chives that just keep coming back. This year I want to grow some more kinds of herbs.

Is anyone interested in sharing some seed packets? I have such a tiny yard, that I won't be growing much of any one kind. I figure if two or more people get together and choose some varieties, we could share the cost.

11:09AM

Happy Birthday Sweetie
(swestrup)

9:05PM - Quote of the Day

"STRESSED? Spell it backwards for the cure." ~Anonymous

1:59AM - Quote of the day

You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once. 
Robert A. Heinlein 

9:43PM - Leaves

I want to make lacto-fermented pickles. The recipe says to add one or two grape leaves to keep the pickles crunchy. I don't know where to get fresh grape leaves.

Does anyone have a grape vine? How about tart cherry, black currant, or horse radish leaves?

12:12AM - Happy birthday

Tillykke med fødselsdagen americanstd

12:07AM - Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday valerie922

10:28PM

We had corned beef for supper. I "corned" the brisket myself. It was a success. I'm looking forward to the sandwiches.

4:46PM - Carrot cake

I made carrot cake. It was good, but no better than what I have eaten elsewhere. The icing turned out tasty. I used home made quark instead of cream cheese. The texture was a little different. If you looked closely, you could see tiny curds, but it wasn't apparent while eating it. I'll see if I can fix that another time.

2:19AM - Bodhisattva of compassion

As long as you are kind and there is love in your heart
A thousand hands will naturally come to your aid
As long as you are kind and there is love in your heart
You will reach out with a thousand hands to help others

.Guan Yin is the bodhisattva of compassion, revered by Buddhists as the Goddess of Mercy. Her name is short for Guan Shi Yin. Guan means to observe, watch, or monitor; Shi means the world; Yin means sounds, specifically sounds of those who suffer. Thus, Guan Yin is a compassionate being who watches for, and responds to, the people in the world who cry out for help.

10:56PM - Redwoods

Many years ago I met a man who said he was a logger. His family had been logging in the redwood forests for a long time. I don't remember his name, so I'll call him John.

According to John, a redwood forest is a very interesting thing. He claimed that the trees "face" the centre of the forest. If you put a wide road through a redwood forest, you split it in two. The trees start to "face" the new centre of the section they are in. That's pretty weird, considering how old those trees are. He said that they are babies for the first hundred years or so. If they survive that, they will live to grow old. They will know how to resist fire and storms. Actually, if there is a high wind, the tops of the trees will lean into the wind! It will be completely calm on the floor of the forest. But, if the wind is not so strong, the trees will use it to groom themselves. There will be branches and other debris flying everywhere.

I don't know if I believe this, but I do know that a redwood forest is a magical place. You can feel it. You wonder if the trees are sentient. I still don't understand how John could tell those stories and still cut down redwoods.

5:46PM

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

3:13PM - Drivers

I have often noticed that the drivers around here seem to have contagious behaviour. By that, I mean that on one day most of them drive too fast; another day it's don't used turn signals; or drive slow; or cut people off. Yesterday evening, it seemed to be, "I have been drinking, so I better drive fast and get home, where I won't get caught drinking and driving." o_O

10:54PM - Don't change lanes in an intersection.

I had a close call on the way home today. I was heading north on Sources and turning left onto de Salaberry. There are two left turn lanes. I was in the one to the right. The dingbat in the left one decided she wanted to be in the middle lane at the end of her turn, so she started to move into my lane without looking or signalling. I had to honk and slam on the brakes to avoid hitting her. o_O