kochleffel

I don't understand 33 Flavors Day: it's supposed to refer to Baskin Robbins, but they advertised 31 flavors. Howard Johnson's advertised 28 flavors. I was hoping that we were done with butternut squash. I like ginger ale but wouldn't order the drink. I was going to say that there was no Finger Lakes vermouth, but there is, from Method Spirits. It's scarce away from NYC but the big liquor store here stocks it. I need to shop at both Wegmans and Aldi, but I don't have the mental energy to shop at both in the same day. For some outdoor maintenance, I checked on whether my reciprocating saw was charged. It wasn't. Not only was the battery not inserted into the charger correctly, but the charger wasn't plugged in.

Sasha was a rescued cat, from the Massachusetts SPCA, which obtained her from an incipient hoarder. I wouldn't mind some banana cream pie, and I think I qualify as old stuff myself. The chicken and lentil stew would probably be OK, with reduced heat. Pass on the drink. For a sauvignon blanc, this time we'll go with Glenora 2021. On Spacehook I saw a video of horses running along I-90 in Cleveland, in the opposite direction to traffic (which was probably fortunate since drivers saw them and moved aside). They were from the Cleveland Police Department's mounted unit and headed for their stable. Garden club: in class on Thursday, I gave a presentation about increased rainfall and how to manage it, including replanting residential lawns with native plants so that they would absorb and hold more water. I'm thinking about doing that on a small part (at first) of my property. To avoid being hauled into town court, I will have to make it entirely flowering plants, no native grasses. When I start, even so, I'll have to fence it, to make it clear to the neighbors that it's intentional. Perhaps I can include some sedges (carex), as some them top out at 12 inches, the town limit for "weeds."

Rabbit, rabbit. I would like a peanut butter cup right now. More people need to heed Mr. Huxley. I wouldn't mind turkey bolognese but probably won't make it. Pass on the drink. As far as I know, Bully Hill is the only Finger Lakes winery to box any wine, but I think that their Sweet Walter Rosé is sweeter and redder than the Franzia. Walter Taylor founded Bully Hill. He is from the family that founded Taylor Wine Company, which fired him in 1970. Coca-Cola, which had acquired Taylor Wine, sued to prevent him from using the Taylor name on wine. Their Le Goat Blush, in a bottle, is probably more similar. Walter Taylor had noticed when farmers protesting in Washington let a herd of goats loose, and he bought a goat, saying "They took my name and heritage, but they didn't get my goat." I was at Livorno in 2018 on the Norwegian Epic and visited Florence and Pisa, but can't locate pictures. Today I plan to attend a virtual Shabbat service at 12:30 p.m., which is the wrong time here but the right time in Europe. That's a bit like "It's after 5:00 somewhere in the world."

I live in New York, so I'm not at any risk of arrest because of chili. But I have to confess that I don't eat Buffalo wings.

One of my course assignments for this semester is to spend time in 10 natural settings and document them with photographs (of flora and fauna, not of oneself). It would be difficult in this climate to begin with--although the school is in Connecticut, I think that the professor created this assignment at a previous job in California. It's turning out especially hard for me because I've been ill for the entire semester so far, and the assignment is due in April. So far I have only one, on St. Thomas. I'm treating this as eligible because international students are allowed to include a site in their home countries, and although we hadn't yet had a class session, the semester had begun. There is extra credit for a species that one hadn't seen before, and I'm going to include a brown anole.

This is also a leap year in the Jewish religious calendar, but in that calendar, a leap year adds an entire month. That's because it's based on the lunar cycle, and a lunar month is 29.5 days and the lunar year would be only 355 days. To keep the calendars from getting too far out of sync, because Jewish holidays are seasonal (Passover must be in the spring, for example), a month is added seven times in 13 years. I'm enrolled in two online courses and teaching one. I probably won't have toast today, although I could. No jambalaya, please, and also no breakfast martini. The most expensive FL pinot noir I could find was Nathan K at $31.95. Most of what I know about the Panama Canal is from Arsenic and Old Lace, both the 1944 film and from a stage production in which I acted, although not in the role of Teddy. I'll see the actual canal, not the imaginary one in the play, in December.

I'm not really taken with any of the special days. The chili would be OK, the drink probably not. For a Finger Lakes rosé, the unusual 2022 Blaufränkisch rosé from Ravines Wine Cellars. I'm not sure what to expect in the way of weather. Last night our regional cable news was saying 61° by noon, then rapidly falling temperatures, very high winds, and torrential rain, with ten inches of snow tomorrow. The Weather Channel agreed about the temperature but said less rain and snow than that. The National Weather Service said even less snow, probably none. I'm still coughing, but much less, and the appearance of my nose continues to improve. I'm struggling with this week's class assignment, which is to write about an example of local environmental distress, discuss proposed solutions, and evaluate them according to an ethics template. My area is not experiencing environmental distress right now. I will probably write about the increase in extremely heavy rain and the potential for flooding in places, such as my house in 2018, that had never experienced it before. BUT: last week I also had a hard time, with a letter to a grandchild (hypothetical in my case) to be received when the grandchild is the age that I am now. The professor's response: "Brilliant work, Paul. This is one of the best of this paper I've received in many years of assigning it."

During our first summer here, Fergus saw a black bear in the garden. For the rest of his life he was vigilant in watching for bears, even in the winter. He knew that polar bears could hide in the snow. Lamb & rice would be OK, and few people (or pets) are allergic to them. No on the drink. From the Finger Lakes, Empire Estate NV Brut.

There was only one large Black Lives Matter rally and march here, and I participated. I think that Carnival Day is mistimed since Carnival (Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday) has already passed. If you don't seize the day, you might end up carping about it. No pork anything, please. I wouldn't like the drink, a variation on the Depth Charge, even if it were called something else. For a Finger Lakes Syrah, this time we'll try Glenora, "elegant aromas of plum, brown baking spice, molasses and hints of chocolate covered orange." One of my friends has a beagle but the dog doesn't yet have a Youtube channel. I hope it goes as easily as mine did.

From that alone I would have known that you were on NCL. I have platinum status there, and two future bookings, but not because of the coffee.

I read Adelle Davis's books in the 1970s and I suppose that I still follow some of her guidance. I totally approve of chocolate-covered nuts, but no clam anything for me. The meal suggestion appears to be a sort of quiche or frittata baked in muffin tins. I did something like that once when I needed to serve 40 people at brunch and realized that they would make a mess of serving themselves quiche. I'd also like Roy's alternative. I would try the drink, maybe only once. For a Finger Lakes rosé, maybe Hosmer Estate Dry Rosé of Cabernet Franc, "Quince and rose water on the nose shift to strawberries and red raspberries on the palate. The finish is juicy and driven by notes of mulberry." I need to go grocery shopping, and maybe I'll buy some chocolate-covered nuts, but cat food is the one essential. The European Zoom at 2:00, and if it ends in time, the nature center.

I have two suggestions. First, send only one bottle, so that if it gets confiscated you won't have a larger investment in it. Second, if you have to fill out a customs sticker, write "OTC Products." That's what a pharmacy in NZ did when shipping me a drug that was legal in the U.S. by prescription, but available there semi-OTC (could be bought at a pharmacy counter without prescription, but not off the rack).

I look for tortilla chips that are less salty. Trading cards is the genre that includes baseball cards, a big thing in the 1950s and 1960s. Twin Peak Day made me think of the Peak District in England, but actually refers to a TV show that I've never watched. The soup would be OK with me, and I'd try the drink, maybe only once. For a sweet Riesling from the Finger Lakes, I'll suggest Chateau LaFayette Reneau from the east shore of Seneca Lake. Garden club: I have planted lettuce seeds outdoors as early as the first of April, but they took a very long time to germinate and now I would wait until later that month. I was thinking about doing some pruning now, but it's rather cold and when I got up a few flakes of s-n-o-w were falling. My other plans are confused. I signed up for a Zoom program that is tomorrow at 20:00 CET (Germany), which is 2:00 p.m. here, in other words, right in the middle of everything else. I also don't know whether the program is in German or English, but I understand German and since the program is supposed to be pan-European they may use English as the Einheitssprache.

Yup. Here, they're having a Carole King-James Taylor special, followed by the Bee Gees. I don't understand this at all: it would attract people who don't ordinarily watch the station and thus have no reason to pledge, while alienating those who do watch.

Nexus is a smaller program and may have less staff, but biggest difference is probably that it has to be approved by two countries.

I renewed Nexus around the same time, and nothing has happened. The last renewal took only a few days. But they are saying that Nexus applications take 12-14 months, so the grace period is extended.

I've been looking up flights for the conference in San Diego. Of course the schedules will probably change eleventeen times between now and then, but substantial change is unlikely. I'd very much prefer to leave from my local airport, but that requires both leaving a day early and staying a day late. The schedules are better from Rochester, but getting back still requires an overnight stay after the conference, a redeye, or leaving before it ends, and driving to and from ROC (116 miles). I'd also prefer to fly on Delta, where I can check a bag free, but the schedules and fares are better on United. It's all very annoying.

I had to check whether Curling is Cool Day honored the sport or hair styling. It's the sport, and since that's played on ice, I think that curling is probably cold. Graham made a good point about cyber-bullying and it makes me glad that social media didn't exist when I was growing up. I wouldn't mind an oatmeal cookie, but probably won't have one. Pass on the drink (too complicated). Reading that the wine is a blend of Rhone varieties, I wanted to know where the winery is. The answer: Milton-Freewater, Oregon. We grow Syrah in the FL but not Mourvedre or Grenache, so I'll suggest Hector Wine Company's 2020 Sawmill Creek Estate, a blend that is 40% Syrah.

One thing was odd, I thought. I'm prone to vasovagal syncope (translation: I faint easily) and I've found that taking HCTZ increases the likelihood of it about tenfold, so I skipped it this morning. When the technician took my blood pressure, I was surprised to learn that, even without HCTZ, it was in the range my doctor considers acceptable. But she considered it elevated and said it would have to be rechecked by someone else after 10 minutes, even though it was well below what they allow. I asked whether we could do the medical history while waiting, and she said no, that has to be last. (I would think it should be first, before they test hemoglobin, etc.) In the recheck it was the same as the first time. My next appointment is during Passover. I'll have to bring my own cookies.

Back from donating blood. They were running behind schedule, but doing as well as they could without more staff. I think that the roster of donors filled up, which is unusual at the church around the corner, and they were only staffed for the typical number. But I mentioned that I had limited time before a class, and while they couldn't get me started any earlier, they did make an effort to get me out as soon as possible.

Also: The "Miracle on Ice" in 1980, when the U.S. hockey team defeated the U.S.S.R. team in the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid. https://apnews.com/article/today-in-history-3c9b07ea1a2cc199d1e30ddee2805f1a

I'm not very impressed by any of the special days. Would probably pass on the meal suggestion and on the cocktail. I don't think that there's any way to make wine with an astrolabe; in the Finger Lakes we use conventional methods. I'll nominate Fulkerson's 2020. I visited Helsinki during a cruise from Stockholm in 2020. Just a few pictures, first from the Seurassari open-air museum. One of the buildings is a church that can be booked for weddings; the second photo is a wedding party waiting for the bride (who did eventually arrive). Our guide rushed us around the open-air museum and then kept us for way too long at the Temppeliaukio Church, but I won't post all my photos. I'm due to donate blood this afternoon, and I've already filled out the Rapid Pass. I'm envious. I was looking forward to Danish butter when I took a cruise from Copenhagen in 2022, but the butter in my hotel was French, not that there is anything wrong with French butter, and on the ship the butter was Dutch. FWIW, a cruise from Cape Liberty, in New Jersey, this year also had Dutch butter.

Disappointed that card-reading day is about greeting cards, which I don't save, rather than Tarot, which I don't have, either. The meal would be OK but I'm not making it. Pass on the drink. No Zin or anything like it in the FL so I'll substute one of our best varieties, Cabernet Franc, this one from Glenora. I'm no longer stating that I haven't been to the destination of the day -- you can name almost any port and I won't have been there. Amazingly, I slept until 8:00 a.m. without waking once. Last night I taught a class on Ecclesiastes and usually I can't sleep at all after something like that. I have no explanation. I'm hoping to get to the nature center this afternoon for a class assignment, since it's 41° F. I also need to bake a koginut squash, which is a hybrid of butternut (!) and kabocha squashes. Because of the Utah trip, if it takes place, I won't be starting any seeds indoors -- it would be too early to plant them outdoors before I go. I'm also limiting plant orders to nurseries that will ship late, since the trip is during the time that many of them would ship to this area (and too early for planting, imo). It's very disappointing that the owners of Graceful Gardens, in Trumansburg, have retired.

Thanks. I know never to make important decisions at this time of year, and also not to act quickly on thoughts that I have in the middle of the night. This is something that I keep in mind, because Swiss chard is one of my favorite vegetables, and chard is merely a beet that is grown solely for the foliage. But I can't obtain it very frequently.

A few decades ago I worked across the road from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. No kale pesto, please, because it would taste like kale. Also no melon drinks. There are a few choices for Moscato in the Finger Lakes and, including the 2017 vintage from Hunt Country Vineyards. Waking at 4:30 a.m. and not getting back to sleep is affecting my mood, as is the season, and I'm thinking about cancelling the May trip to Utah. No cruise line sails there, but one of the reasons is that I'm not confident that I'll be well enough for what I planned to do. Another is that I envision cutting back all travel and especially air travel, and I'm submitting session proposals for a summer conference in San Diego. I'm keeping the Panama Canal booking for December even though it will conflict with school, specifically giving a presentation in class that I couldn't do with an iPad, so it will mean taking a laptop computer. I'm not sure about an Alaska booking for 2025; I would transfer the deposit to another itinerary if I could find one that I wanted.