Category: Blitherings

Out with the Old!

Happy New Year!

Another year, one which we all hope will be more positive on the news front, the employment front, economic front, and whatever front needs improving.

And, of course, with the change of the year, come reflection and resolution.  And gratitude.

In the upcoming year, there are things which both need to be done, and want to be done.  On the “need” list is to get certain things under control, and under the “want” list are things I want to do!  Well, the “need” list can stay in the background, but the “want” list is more fun.  So, what do I want?

  • more outdoor activities
  • more peaceful times
  • more visits with friends and family
  • more creative time set aside for painting, photography, writing, knitting, designing
  • more creative cooking

Outdoors . . . 

What can I do here?  I can take a walk at lunch or after work.  I can go to the park or find a trail.  I can make an effort to keep on the move – at least for part of the evening.  And on weekends.  I can get the other half involved as well (ha!) – if I’m lucky!

Peace . . .

Quiet time, time to meditate, time to focus on slowing down, no matter what the craziness of the day.

Family & Friends . . .

So easy to take for granted . . . and resent, too, for obligations that some put upon us.  Not quite sure what I want to do here, but I think some things can be improved.  Maybe an attitude change?

Creativity . . .

All too often, I get so worn out with work that I forget the need to be creative.  It is too easy to stare at the internet or plop down in front of the TV.  I need to set aside time to do the things I really love – and often ignore because I am too tired.  I wonder, though, if I just do and not think about how tired I am – mentally, physically, spiritually – if there will be a healing quality in the activity.

Cooking . . .

Creative cooking to make more healthful meals -more vegetables and fruit and less fat.  Simple cooking to make it do-able.

Whatever . . . 

Talk is cheap.  Let’s see what happens.

 

 

Sandwich Rolls

I am not a fan of boughten bread, especially rolls that pass as “bread.”  More specifically “buns” – that ubiquitous, cottony fluff that seems to haunt the American hamburger.  Specialty bakeries can produce very good products, but they are not that easy to find for a reasonable cost.  Of course, cost is always relative – is it worth my time?  If yes, the cost is worth it.  But if my time is not available, boughten might be acceptable.

This past week I have not been interested in sitting inside.  Rather, the weather and light have been pulling me outdoors.  The air is bright and wintery (as wintery as it gets where I live!), clouds, new green on branches, willow buds and toadstools.  The squirrels are quite plump – “in someone’s corn” – and busy eating everything.  I’ve also been inclined to knitting and reading and fidgeting and cooking and, today, baking some rolls for tonight’s dinner.  In a week, all this will be set aside as I return to work.

So, the recipe, and the rolls.

Sandwich Rolls
1 pkg. dry yeast
1 c. hot water
1 tsp sugar
pinch sea salt
2-4 T. olive oil (I glopped it in)
3-4 c. King Arthur unbleached white flour
cornmeal

Mix together hot water (not boiling) with yeast, sugar, oil, and a cup of the flour. Stir to make a slurry. Beat awhile to mix it smooth.

Begin adding the remainder of the flour, about a cup at a time. At about 3 cups total, add it in 1/4 c. increments.

When batter is a bit stiff, turn out onto floured board and knead about 10 minutes, working in flour. Keep dough a bit soft.

When done kneading, form into ball, and then place in oiled bowl. Turn bread dough around in bowl to make sure all surfaces are covered with oil. Cover with damp cloth and set aside to rise in warm area for an hour, or until double in volume. Punch down dough, turn out onto lightly floured board, and knead for about a minute. Return to bowl to rise another hour.

Remove from bowl, cut into 6 slices, and then shape into balls and flatten. Roll in cornmeal, and place on 11×16 cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with damp towel and let rest for 15 minutes. Warm the oven to 375 F, with rack in center of oven.

Remove cloth from top of rolls, brush with olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes; cool on wire rack. If rolls are not brown enough to your liking, broil lightly to brown tops.

Sandwich Anyone?

We have leftover pork tenderloin which we roasted after marinating it in olive oil, rosemary, garlic and pepper.  This will be thinly sliced and made into sandwiches with caramelized onion, mustard (optional), tomato and something green and leafy, like cilantro or arugula.  We also have some aioli, which might also be a good addition to a sandwich.

Now, out for the evening walk, to enjoy the sky filled with pink clouds!

Postal Express

Josh writes . . .

My uncle has been getting into and enjoying high-power rocketry for a while now, and I guess I’ve been a little inspired by his enjoyment. In hanging out with him, I got interested in it, too, and raided his scrap bin for some parts and ideas. While most people interested in rocketry would probably begin with any of the high-quality kits that are available, things seemed to line up for a scratch build for me.

I started with a standard 3-inch mailing tube from Office Depot. We wrapped it with a layer of fiberglass for strength. I built a motor mount out of a piece of “blue tube,” which is high-strength paper composite tubing made specifically for rocketry, and some rings cut out of plywood. Fins I cut from a composite called G10 (aka Garolite). The recovery harness was made from Kevlar and nylon webbing. I found an inexpensive surplus parachute online, and added a plastic nose cone. The whole thing was assembled with epoxy, and a little spray paint I had around prettied it up some.

In between work and other obligations, it took several build sessions over the course of six months or so to get the whole thing ready to fly, but finally I was both ready and available on the club’s regularly scheduled launch day. My uncle and I went out to the club’s launch site in the desert, and we saw several flights despite the conditions, which were on the windy side. One rocket, launched to about 2000 feet, drifted more than a mile on its parachute before touching down again. I was a little nervous, but I knew that my comparatively large, heavy rocket would not be flying as high, especially given that I was planning to fly on a comparatively small motor, so I decided to go for it.

The motor I had chosen was an H-238, and the simulation software estimated it would boost my rocket to about 980 feet. The delay packaged with the engine was rated for ten seconds, so we cut a little hole in it with a drill bit to shorten that a bit. The launch looked good, although the rocket seemed to wiggle a bit just after it cleared the launch rod – perhaps because a crosswind caught it. While I have seen lots of rockets go completely out of sight, the comparatively high weight and low power kept mine in sight the whole time. It had a smooth climb to apogee, then turned and started down again. I had a terrible moment or two when the rocket was clearly pointing toward the ground and falling, but the ejection charge finally did go off. The chute deployed, and the rocket came down smoothly after that. It touched down only a few hundred yards from the pad, and when I caught up to it, I could see by grooves in the sand that it had been dragged about eight feet by the wind. There was no damage, though, and the rocket is ready to fly again.

Plans are already under way for future flights and projects. This rocket, although it flew well, does have some design flaws that aren’t fixable, so the next one will benefit from what I learned in building and flying this one. I also have plans to install an electronic altimeter in the next one to control the ejection charge (actually, charges, plural, for dual deployment) and avoid the possibility of a bad landing. I also want to install a GPS receiver and radio beacon so I can find it if I lose sight of it. An on-board camera looks interesting, too.

Ahead

The holidays are coming up, and with it the usual plans.  Families.  Presents.  What to do during the two weeks off at the end of December.

I have some thoughts about what to do this weekend.  The first one that crossed my mind this morning was whether or not I should go out and see the last of the lunar eclipse.  The answer was no.  I rolled over and slept another hour or two.  I also need to write up a test for Monday’s class and print it out, grade some papers, and pack some things into the car to take in to work.  This is the tedious stuff, but luckily it doesn’t take up hours!

And what else . . . ?  Well, we got our shipment of candied citron, orange and lemon peel from King Arthur Flour in Maine yesterday.  Time to get ready for baking fruit cakes tomorrow and figuring out . . . brandy or bourbon?  Maybe some of each.  This means assessing what is in the pantry and augmenting existing supplies.  Josh wants dates and / or figs.  I like nuts.  We also have dried fruits in a number of varieties, and a goodly collection of spices.  And a recipe we have agreed on.  Did you know that it will take 3.5 hours to bake these cakes???

Today is cold and bright, with streaky clouds overhead presaging tomorrow’s rain.  Certainly a good day to take a bit of a walk with the camera.  It has crossed my mind to drive out to the beach, but the fact is, being home is nice – no people except Josh and me and Wicket (who needs a bath . . . maybe something else to consider).  Still, I do want to get outside – too pretty to stay in!  I can think of a few places to go where contact with people will be minimal.  You see, being a teacher and an introvert, is really a conflict!  Students need my focus, and I need my focus – hence the need to decelerate and regroup on the weekend.

And there is a new hat in the works, along with pulling together some brushes to photograph and describe for someone . . .

Mornings are exciting adventures in thinking about what lies ahead.  It’s like Christmas when you are a kid – mystery and potential!