NFTNIF16
OK WINTER HAS COME FOR REAL THIS TIME
First, it rained. It started at the end of the day, drawing a soggy gray curtain over everything and as darkness fell, pulling a glistening silken shimmering coverlet of black, wet like a coat of black high gloss spray paint. Then, sometime in the middle of the night it got cold, turned to snow, and pulled the white blanket over the silvery black one. Then it stayed cold. And snuggled in and got colder. SO we got the exciting combo of cold snow over ice coating everything. It had been so nice - sunny and up into the high 30's low 40's.
I picture winter, frigid and shiny and white and blue and silver and black - all the colors of snow and ice kind of laughing at us and saying: "Oh, for real? You thought THAT was winter? I been busy elsewhere, but now I got around to you!"
Then, Wednesday morning we woke up to no electricity. Our mini heater downstairs runs on gas and it kept running, but nothing else worked. We could not even get coffee at the Speedy Mart or Maverik because they were closed on account of no power too. Dustin used his phone as a wifi hotspot and Glenn used his laptop with battery to jump online and find out that 50,000 people were without electricity. We stumbled through the cooling house and then D and I called a taxi, and went shopping at WinCo which is in Idaho Falls and had power. It wasn't very crowded and it was relaxing to be getting food again. Glenn did house cleaning while we were gone.
The taxi driver had recently moved here from Salt Lake City, and said they were getting less snow there and warmer winters every year. He was very careful, as the roads are also ice covered with snow except for the strips where people have driven so much it's melted/worn away. He also picked us up at the store and took us home. About 15 minutes after we got home the power came back. Then it went back off. Then came back on. Then went back off. Came back on. Finally it stayed on again.
We found out that this was a "planned outage". Planned? We had spent some time trying to figure out what had cause an outage of that size. We proposed and rejected a number of possibilities. What did not cross our minds was that the outage was "planned"!
I can't stop asking - "Planned?"
Um, I know this may sound like a stupid question - but. . . .
if it was "planned", (!!!) then (I am almost embarrassed to have to ask) - Why didn't "they" (the ones who "planned" an outage) tell their customers? This questions echoes inside me like I just pounded a big bell in the top of a bell tower - it booms through me that same way. . . WHY WOULDN'T THEY TELL US? After all, it was "planned"!
My PC was, to say the least, not a happy little musketeer when I turned it back on after the power was restored. The laptops did fine - they had batteries - my PC thought it was the beginning of January 2010, which led to all sorts of hilarious and intractable problems until I reset the date and time - then it shook itself like a wet dog, groomed all of it's software into place, rolled over and let me scratch it's belly, and then finally worked normally. "Unplanned" power outages bad. "Planned" power outages good. Oh if only we had been in on the "plan".
BUT
What if we had "needed" electricity instead of just wanted it for heating, cooking, light, furnace, computers and communications, alarms, etc? What if we had a breathing machine, or something not fault tolerant to sudden power outages? Or some other vital bit of medical machinery which needed power? Might they have told us about their "planned" outage? Then we could have "planned" too. I wonder if the businesses had been notified or if they got blind-sided too? And why would "they" (the "planners"), wait until the winter took it's coldest turn this winter so far? At this moment it is 3 (three) degrees here in Ammon, Idaho. Call me suspicious, but do I sense a rate increase on the near horizon? I mean they were not earning money during the "planned" outage - so they have to make up the revenue shortfall some way - and the ratepayers have "extra" money we hadn't "planned" for since we did not pay them for the time our electricity was turned off during 17 degree weather so . . . I mean it's what I would do if I were a soul-less artificial "entity" legally required to maximize shareholder value.
Back-tracking to Thanksgiving.
Dustin worked the night and morning before and when he got home around 8 am - he had a few bites to eat and then made his recipes - a blended cashews and quinoa bake - which was excellent!, and some maple baked parsnips. Then he went to bed. Glenn made mushroom caps stuffed with Italian bread crumbs and parmesan, and water chestnuts wrapped in bacon with a sweet barbeque sauce which were both very very tasty. I made the turkey; cauliflower, broccoli and mushrooms roasted together; Italian roast potatoes cooked in my convection oven; and baked a pie using the apple filling I made from our next door neighbor's apples with a graham cracker crust. I ate that with vanilla ice cream, no one else had or has had any of it - so I am slowly eating it a slice every couple days. It's really good but I guess I didn't think I would have to eat it all.
We ate after 6 pm when Dustin woke up and it was very nice. We missed our friend JM who had to go home early, but we were glad things at home got better.
I have to say that I was horrified by and ashamed of the following things over the Thanksgiving holiday: Walmart putting out boxes to collect food for their "associates" instead of paying them a living wage (and the corollary that they were really knocking themselves out to care about their employees in that way); extending the shopping madness to Thanksgiving Day; the shopping madness including but not limited to: chaos, beatings, shootings and other killings during the shopping rush; the fact that a church that was feeding the homeless at a park was stopped and dispersed by the police; the so sad fact that police were made available to arrest protestors and strikers and none to prevent and few to respond to the violence that rose like an evil perfume from the "Black Friday" shoppers.
I watched sadly the events we are shown unfolding across the globe: the increasing tension over the South China Sea; unrest and violence in Thailand and the Ukraine; Saudi Arabia considering getting atomic weapons; the town where so many of the people committed suicide because their lake water source was privatized by Nestle and their access too limited to sustain life.
I was proud of the people who made it to dinner with their families, blood and extended; the people who worked because they had to; the people who fed other people that day, Glenn and Dustin for working so hard and so well to make our dinner special, progress toward a treaty and a chance to improve world relations with Iran - I hope it results in improved conditions for the Iranian people; the Pope for his brave advocacy on behalf of the poor.
I continue to believe that we are despite appearances, heading toward a future that is better - more responsible ecologically; more decent to each other and to all life forms, acting in love and respect; continuing to improve the quality of life for all.
Now for a recipe -
Italian Angel Wing Cookies (Crispellis in the Sabatini family)
Prep time: 1 hr +
Cook time: Frying time between 1 - 2 minutes per batch
Deep Fryer Temp: 350 Degrees F
INGREDIENTS:
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 Whole Eggs
2 Egg Yolks
1 TBSP of Confectioners' Sugar for the pasta dough mix
¾ cup of powdered sugar to sprinkle on to dust the finished cookies
1/4 tsp of salt
Vegetable Oil for Deep Frying (Use a good high temperature oil – NOT corn or olive oil).
A deep fryer or electric skillet because controlling the temperature at 350 degrees is important to this recipe
A pasta machine - I use my manual pasta machine.
Put flour into a mixing bowl, and make a well in the center. Add the eggs, sugar and salt. Mix well until forms a dough. You can also do this with a mixer. If you use a food processor or mixer then the dough is ready once it forms a ball comprising all the ingredients.
Let the dough rest covered by a damp towel for 1/2 hour.
Cut the dough ball into fourths. Work with a quarter of the dough ball at a time. Roll out the dough through the pasta machine. Use floured surfaces for the dough including the counter and the pasta rollers.
Roll it through until it is thin - using the largest aperture for the first run, dust with flour, then the next setting, dust, then the next setting. Cut into strips about 7" long and about 1/2" wide. Cut a slit in the center of the strip - lengthwise about 3/4" to 1". Pull both ends of the dough through the slit and cross them over each other.
Lay them out on a floured surface.
Heat oil about 3-4" deep to 350 degrees. Place dough ties into oil and gently flip them a few times. Fry them for about 2 min. and when they get golden then take them out and let them drain on paper towel. Dust with remaining powdered sugar on both sides. Enjoy.
I'm working on an essay about Water - next time here at NFTNIF.
OK WINTER HAS COME FOR REAL THIS TIME
First, it rained. It started at the end of the day, drawing a soggy gray curtain over everything and as darkness fell, pulling a glistening silken shimmering coverlet of black, wet like a coat of black high gloss spray paint. Then, sometime in the middle of the night it got cold, turned to snow, and pulled the white blanket over the silvery black one. Then it stayed cold. And snuggled in and got colder. SO we got the exciting combo of cold snow over ice coating everything. It had been so nice - sunny and up into the high 30's low 40's.
I picture winter, frigid and shiny and white and blue and silver and black - all the colors of snow and ice kind of laughing at us and saying: "Oh, for real? You thought THAT was winter? I been busy elsewhere, but now I got around to you!"
Then, Wednesday morning we woke up to no electricity. Our mini heater downstairs runs on gas and it kept running, but nothing else worked. We could not even get coffee at the Speedy Mart or Maverik because they were closed on account of no power too. Dustin used his phone as a wifi hotspot and Glenn used his laptop with battery to jump online and find out that 50,000 people were without electricity. We stumbled through the cooling house and then D and I called a taxi, and went shopping at WinCo which is in Idaho Falls and had power. It wasn't very crowded and it was relaxing to be getting food again. Glenn did house cleaning while we were gone.
The taxi driver had recently moved here from Salt Lake City, and said they were getting less snow there and warmer winters every year. He was very careful, as the roads are also ice covered with snow except for the strips where people have driven so much it's melted/worn away. He also picked us up at the store and took us home. About 15 minutes after we got home the power came back. Then it went back off. Then came back on. Then went back off. Came back on. Finally it stayed on again.
We found out that this was a "planned outage". Planned? We had spent some time trying to figure out what had cause an outage of that size. We proposed and rejected a number of possibilities. What did not cross our minds was that the outage was "planned"!
I can't stop asking - "Planned?"
Um, I know this may sound like a stupid question - but. . . .
if it was "planned", (!!!) then (I am almost embarrassed to have to ask) - Why didn't "they" (the ones who "planned" an outage) tell their customers? This questions echoes inside me like I just pounded a big bell in the top of a bell tower - it booms through me that same way. . . WHY WOULDN'T THEY TELL US? After all, it was "planned"!
My PC was, to say the least, not a happy little musketeer when I turned it back on after the power was restored. The laptops did fine - they had batteries - my PC thought it was the beginning of January 2010, which led to all sorts of hilarious and intractable problems until I reset the date and time - then it shook itself like a wet dog, groomed all of it's software into place, rolled over and let me scratch it's belly, and then finally worked normally. "Unplanned" power outages bad. "Planned" power outages good. Oh if only we had been in on the "plan".
BUT
What if we had "needed" electricity instead of just wanted it for heating, cooking, light, furnace, computers and communications, alarms, etc? What if we had a breathing machine, or something not fault tolerant to sudden power outages? Or some other vital bit of medical machinery which needed power? Might they have told us about their "planned" outage? Then we could have "planned" too. I wonder if the businesses had been notified or if they got blind-sided too? And why would "they" (the "planners"), wait until the winter took it's coldest turn this winter so far? At this moment it is 3 (three) degrees here in Ammon, Idaho. Call me suspicious, but do I sense a rate increase on the near horizon? I mean they were not earning money during the "planned" outage - so they have to make up the revenue shortfall some way - and the ratepayers have "extra" money we hadn't "planned" for since we did not pay them for the time our electricity was turned off during 17 degree weather so . . . I mean it's what I would do if I were a soul-less artificial "entity" legally required to maximize shareholder value.
Back-tracking to Thanksgiving.
Dustin worked the night and morning before and when he got home around 8 am - he had a few bites to eat and then made his recipes - a blended cashews and quinoa bake - which was excellent!, and some maple baked parsnips. Then he went to bed. Glenn made mushroom caps stuffed with Italian bread crumbs and parmesan, and water chestnuts wrapped in bacon with a sweet barbeque sauce which were both very very tasty. I made the turkey; cauliflower, broccoli and mushrooms roasted together; Italian roast potatoes cooked in my convection oven; and baked a pie using the apple filling I made from our next door neighbor's apples with a graham cracker crust. I ate that with vanilla ice cream, no one else had or has had any of it - so I am slowly eating it a slice every couple days. It's really good but I guess I didn't think I would have to eat it all.
We ate after 6 pm when Dustin woke up and it was very nice. We missed our friend JM who had to go home early, but we were glad things at home got better.
I have to say that I was horrified by and ashamed of the following things over the Thanksgiving holiday: Walmart putting out boxes to collect food for their "associates" instead of paying them a living wage (and the corollary that they were really knocking themselves out to care about their employees in that way); extending the shopping madness to Thanksgiving Day; the shopping madness including but not limited to: chaos, beatings, shootings and other killings during the shopping rush; the fact that a church that was feeding the homeless at a park was stopped and dispersed by the police; the so sad fact that police were made available to arrest protestors and strikers and none to prevent and few to respond to the violence that rose like an evil perfume from the "Black Friday" shoppers.
I watched sadly the events we are shown unfolding across the globe: the increasing tension over the South China Sea; unrest and violence in Thailand and the Ukraine; Saudi Arabia considering getting atomic weapons; the town where so many of the people committed suicide because their lake water source was privatized by Nestle and their access too limited to sustain life.
I was proud of the people who made it to dinner with their families, blood and extended; the people who worked because they had to; the people who fed other people that day, Glenn and Dustin for working so hard and so well to make our dinner special, progress toward a treaty and a chance to improve world relations with Iran - I hope it results in improved conditions for the Iranian people; the Pope for his brave advocacy on behalf of the poor.
I continue to believe that we are despite appearances, heading toward a future that is better - more responsible ecologically; more decent to each other and to all life forms, acting in love and respect; continuing to improve the quality of life for all.
Now for a recipe -
Italian Angel Wing Cookies (Crispellis in the Sabatini family)
Prep time: 1 hr +
Cook time: Frying time between 1 - 2 minutes per batch
Deep Fryer Temp: 350 Degrees F
INGREDIENTS:
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 Whole Eggs
2 Egg Yolks
1 TBSP of Confectioners' Sugar for the pasta dough mix
¾ cup of powdered sugar to sprinkle on to dust the finished cookies
1/4 tsp of salt
Vegetable Oil for Deep Frying (Use a good high temperature oil – NOT corn or olive oil).
A deep fryer or electric skillet because controlling the temperature at 350 degrees is important to this recipe
A pasta machine - I use my manual pasta machine.
Put flour into a mixing bowl, and make a well in the center. Add the eggs, sugar and salt. Mix well until forms a dough. You can also do this with a mixer. If you use a food processor or mixer then the dough is ready once it forms a ball comprising all the ingredients.
Let the dough rest covered by a damp towel for 1/2 hour.
Cut the dough ball into fourths. Work with a quarter of the dough ball at a time. Roll out the dough through the pasta machine. Use floured surfaces for the dough including the counter and the pasta rollers.
Roll it through until it is thin - using the largest aperture for the first run, dust with flour, then the next setting, dust, then the next setting. Cut into strips about 7" long and about 1/2" wide. Cut a slit in the center of the strip - lengthwise about 3/4" to 1". Pull both ends of the dough through the slit and cross them over each other.
Lay them out on a floured surface.
Heat oil about 3-4" deep to 350 degrees. Place dough ties into oil and gently flip them a few times. Fry them for about 2 min. and when they get golden then take them out and let them drain on paper towel. Dust with remaining powdered sugar on both sides. Enjoy.
I'm working on an essay about Water - next time here at NFTNIF.
