Apple Pie anyone?

    All that commotion about pie and cheese made me hungry for apple pie. A meal in the dining room of the OFH is very complete. It includes a starter; soup, salad or fruit. The entrée has a side of vegetables. To finish there is a dessert of the day, which sometimes is apple pie and can include ice cream. Ice cream is always available as are large cookies, my favorite is macadamia nut. A wide selection of beverages is also available. Food portions are moderate size which is appropriate for old folks. A meal such as this is $15.00, the cost added to our monthly bill. For less one could have soup and salad, for example.  

   Living the good life with a bit of humor in the OFH.  Occasionally the site administrator will email inmates with issues of concern. This was the gist of today's epistle.   "SMOKING AND CANNABIS 

All PHS communities are smoke-free. This policy prohibits smoking of any kind (including, but not limited to vaping, e-cigarettes, and cannabis products) in any area of the building or grounds, including your apartment, parking garage (inside or outside of your vehicle), balcony or patio by you or your visitors. Possession of cannabis products by Minnesota residents is strictly limited to only what is permissible by state law. Cannabis products may not be consumed, displayed or handled outside a resident’s own enclosed private living unit."

If a resident, or a guest under their responsibility, is found not complying with this policy, this could be grounds for a lease violation. "

   Now the inmates are in a tizzy wondering 'Who was smoking pot?'  'Are they going to search our apartments for gummy bears?  Oh, the anxiety!

Takk for alt,

Al

   The Little House on the Prairie has been upsized.

Received this email realtive to cheese and pie

 Here’s what artificial intelligence says:

“Apple pie without the cheese is like a hug without the squeeze” is a humorous saying that compares the experience of eating apple pie without cheese to a hug without a squeeze. The saying is meant to highlight that something is missing from the experience. [1] 

Explanation [2, 3] 

The saying may have originated in Yorkshire, England, where apple pie was traditionally served with Wensleydale cheese. The tradition spread to New England and the Midwest when settlers brought the idea with them. [2, 3, 4] 

The tradition of serving apple pie with cheese may have started in the 17th century when dairy-based sauces were added to pies. Cheese was a readily available supplement to apple pies, which were often bland before the Red Delicious apple was created in the late 19th century. [3] 

Some cheeses that pair well with apple pie include: Wensleydale, Roquefort, Cheshire, Gruyère, and Sharp cheddar. [2] 

Well then?

Al

Vindicated!

      It doesn't have to be a matter of life or death or a serious matter, one likes to be vindicated even in the trivial. Yes, vindicated! This requires a bit of context.

      For many years Charlie, my son's father-in-law, my daughter-in-law's father, my granddaughters' other grandfather, you get the idea, came from N.J. to hunt pheasants with me. He'd fly to Minneapolis and then we'd drive together to The Little House On The Prairie. 

     On one of the earlier trips as we drove down highway 169 south of Jordon we stopped at that garish yellow building. You know the one that preceded by a half mile of yellow picket fence with a sign proclaiming Minnesota's Largest Candy Shop or maybe The World's Largest Candy Shot. If you've ever driven that section of 169 you know it.

     Inside the shop we bought an apple pic just out of the oven, the shop has its own pie baker. When it was time to sample the pie in The Little House, I cut slices. With Charlie's slice I offered a slice of cheddar cheese. "Cheddar cheese," Charlie said "no one eats cheddar cheese with apple pie!" Dumbfounded I said "I thought everyone did."  He'd never heard of such a thing but it was common in my family.

      Relatively recently the subject of cheese on pie came up in conversation. The upshot was that we must have a peculiar family. EURKA!!!  While reading a novel about immigrants preparing to leave Norway for America a large family picnic is held. Kristi, age twelve is the narrator and she says "mother always wants to have a slice of cheese on the pie." Vindicated, it's not just our family, it's a cultural practice Never mind that it's Gjetost on cloudberry. Cheese on pie came with my grandparents from Norway to America! So there! take that!

Takk for alt,

Al

With a little tractor like this Farmall B, my father farmed from 1941 until 1948, when he bought a slightly larger one. He succeed by spending countless hours on it.

A Nice Surprise

     When that cache` of books arrived from MJV I expected The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan to be moderately interesting. That was to underestimate both MJV and Tan. Likely Tan is known to you both as an accomplished author. Perhaps it should not be surprising that her diary of backyard  birdwatching should be engaging. Seeing that it's a #1 New York Times Best Seller gives me hope that it will turn more persons into birdwatchers. 

    Her diary entries are accompanied by her sketches of the birds she writes about. Tan definitely has artistic talent. In addition to being a best selling author she's also a neurosurgeon. Her house in Sausalito, CA, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, has a backyard well suited to birdwatching. She reveals much of herself in the diary entries coming across as a warm human who is not full of herself. One of my favorite authors, Ann Patchett writes "Much great writing comes from great interest, and in The Backyard Bird Chronicles, Amy Tan shows us how the world fascinates her, especially the birds. The result is both unexpected and spectacular."  AMEN!

Takk for alt,

Al

My Dad!

    Writing about shoveling yesterday brought to mind another shovel story connected to my Dad. One of the anomalies in Dad's life was  the difference between his relationship to cars and tractors. His first car was a 1914 Overland. It must have been one of the first cars in Sinai Township. Roads were mostly dirt tracks and few of them were even graded. Tires were so unreliable that drivers often had to stop and patch them. Dad never wanted to be late, a trait I inherited, and his reason for leaving early always was "We might have a flat tire." This was said even after tires became very reliable. How many automobiles were present in Brookings County in 1915? Hang in there and the shovel will come in a bit.

    So, if Dad bought his first car in 1914, would you suppose he purchased a tractor early? Nope, he didn't buy a tractor until 1941. By that time he was on his third car and year from his fourth. His second car was a 1919 Buick Roadster, the third a 1928 Model A Ford, which they drove to Washington, D.C., and South Carolina on their honeymoon, and in 1942 he bought a 1942 Chevrolet Fleetline. Why wait so long to buy a tractor after buying a car. Part of it might have been that he was the family horse expert.

    Now, let's shovel. The 1941 tractor was not equipped with hydraulics and consequently wasn't much use in snow removal. The next tractor didn't arrive until 1948, and even though it had hydraulics it didn't have loader useful for moving snow. So, there we were moving snow by shoveling. The shovels were steel, so long lived, but heavy. Often the shovel weighed more than the snow. This was long before plastic shovels. But, lightweight aluminum shovels were available. When he resisted buying one I gifted him one.😀 No self serving in that gift!

   An entire blog could be devoted to the frequency in which a giver is served by the gift given. Someone else can write that.

Takk for alt,

Al

A 1942 Chevrolet Fleetline

Shoveling...

    The current moderate snowfalls have given me the opportunity to do a bit of shoveling, No, not at the OFH. Shoveling was a big part of my youth, corn, oats, barley, flax and especially snow required shovels. The farm was only rudimentally mechanized. Mechanical snow removal didn't arrive until my brother became the farmer.

   U.S. Highway 81, was the west border of the farm. The driveway from highway to farmyard was longish. It climbed a hill and then wound through the grove of trees grandpa planted. Northwest winds would drift snow into the yard. To clear a car path out of the yard required shoveling. The four of us, Dad and his three sons, could move much snow.

   The winter of 1948-49 defeated efforts to keep the car in the yard. Dad's 1942 Chevy was parked at the highway. No matter how cold it always started. Highway 81, was kept open. The township and county roads were an issue. The National Guard opened them with bulldozers. Walking to school the drifts were so deep we could step over telephone wires. Time to say winters are like they used to be?

Takk for alt,

Al

With good rains in May, June and July, the native grasses responded with lush growth. Evidence is this windrow of hay in July. 

Never Doubt!

     In the cache of books MJV sent me one to which I reacted "Really?"  Being in possession of many appealing books to read next posses a dilemma. Which should be next? Thinking I should at least look at the one to which I reacted "Really?' I picked up intending to  read just the introduction. Before putting it down I'd read fifty pages. Engaged? Certainly, even if surprisingly!

    The lesson here, relearned, is 'never doubt MJV!'  Ed, chances are you've known this for a long time. So thanks, MJV, now I know the entire cache is engaging! 😀 

Takk for alt,

Al

This tall Chinese Elm stood behind my shop. Fortunately it was removed before the 90 mph derecho struck. Surprisingly it had a double trunk which, though so proximate it seemed one, was only connected at the base. Surrounded by power lines if had blown down it would have created havoc.