Blitherings – Page 75 – Ink, Yarn & Beer

A Few Days Away

Last weekend was the first time since last year that we spent the night away from home. We went up to Paso Robles, CA, for a couple of nights with the main goal of getting to the Mission San Miguel Arcangelo. The esposo’s parents came with us, and it was good for them to get out of town, too. It’s always nice to travel with them.

We stayed in the wine country outside of the town of Paso Robles itself, amongst rolling green hills covered with wild flowers, studded with oak trees, and lined with vineyards.

Paso Robles is located in the central coast California county of San Luis Obispo, and since the mid 70s or so has become well known for its wine production. We enjoyed Daou Vineyards and Le Vigne wines. I also think it should be recognized for its beer, too! There are a couple of breweries we enjoyed, with good pub grub and a nice variety of beers. Since we were staying 20 minutes outside of town, we soon became familiar with all the strange roads and twists needed to get into Paso Robles itself.

The drive up took us inland from the coast. Along Hwy 154, which connects Santa Barbara to the Santa Ynez Valley, we were able to see just how the rains have filled our water reservoirs. Lake Cachuma was full. Stopping at various points, we could see how green our hills have become and lots of lovely water!

Alongside Lake Cachuma, the oaks and undergrowth were filled with grasses, miner’s lettuce, and flowers. A lot of green! There was a sandy path to follow above the lake, and it led to some wonderful springtime surprises.

And so we drove on through, along the 154 to connect once more with the 101 to Paso Robles. We had coffee in town and then off to the B&B. And then back into town for dinner. And finally, a sunset from the patio at day’s end.

Letting the Fairies Out

In our home, fairies abound. They take things away, hiding them, as well as giving things back, or leaving presents of many sorts, desirable or otherwise. We have Sock Fairies, Cat Fairies, Phone Fairies, Key Fairies, and Amazon Fairies, to name a few. And as today is St. Patrick’s Day, it is worthwhile to celebrate our own Irish heritage by enjoying a shot of good whiskey in the evening and some traditional Irish soda bread.

And letting the fairies run free.

There are very simple recipes of only 4 ingredients for soda bread, to some more complicated. All require the use of baking soda and an acidic liquid – usually buttermilk – to react with the soda to produce the gas which makes the bread rise. So, without further ado:

Irish Soda Bread

4 c. flour
6 T cold butter cut into small pieces
4 T sugar
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 c raisins or currants
1 egg
1 3/4 c. buttermilk (can use an appropriate substitute)

Preheat oven to 350-375. Place raisins in hot water to soak for 30 mins. or microwave a minute, soak, drain, pat dry. Line baking sheet or cast iron pan with parchment paper.

Mix together all dry ingredients except raisins. Add butter, cut into flour to make a coarse meal in appearance. Stir in raisins. In a separate bowl beat together egg and buttermilk.

Check to be sure the oven is hot enough. Once you have verified it is to your liking, make a well in your dry ingredients, dump in your wet, and stir with your hand, fingers extended, until you have a soft, sticky dough. Turn dough out onto a floured board, knead a bit as you would a biscuit (but not a yeast bread) working quickly. Shape into a large circular loaf about 1 1/2 – 2 inches in height. Place on parchment lined pan.

Using a sharp knife, slice the bread with gashes about 1/2 inch deep and spread the gashes a bit. The gashes go from one side of the bread to the other, forming a cross. The cross blesses the bread; on a more practical level this allows the center of the bread to bake more quickly. Then, in each quarter of the bread, make a small cut – this allows the fairies to escape and ensures better chances of a successful loaf.

It is important to note that you do not want your bread to sit around, liquid mixed into dry, while your oven heats up. Wait patiently to mix. My oven is a slowpoke and takes a bit of time to get anywhere I want it, and then it often sits around at 350 even with the marker up to 450!

Bake 50-55 mins. at 350. And then, cool the bread on a wire rack. Test for doneness by tapping bottom of bread. Just as with yeast bread, a hollow sound indicates it is baked.

Some people say wait until all is cooled before cutting in for a better loaf, but that can be difficult. Who can resist warm bread and butter?

So here’s to St. Patrick! Slàinte Mhath!

The Next Toy

The “beer” side of this blog is building a car – and the progress is slow, but steady. He also has some 3D printers and has made a number of cool things and useful things. But, his heart of hearts (at the moment) has been craving a CNC machine. A CNC machine is a machine that allows complex machines to be tooled using a computer. To learn more, click here!

CNC machines cost money. Personal ones are easily a few thousand dollars, and good ones probably even more. So what is a boy to do?

Enter the 3D printed CNC machine, built from scrap and extruded plastic filament.

Enter a creative genius.

Enter a YouTube video

The 3D printer machines have been moved out to the garage, set up on a work bench, and are now busily beginning the process. The plans are available online here: https://ivanmiranda.com/products/3d-printed-desktop-cnc

And that is it for now.

National Handwriting Day 2023

Handwriting has gone the way of the dodo, and cursive even more so. When I was teaching, it really surprised me to find students who were barely able to hold a pen or pencil, much less form readable printing or cursive. Apparently kids are forbidden to use cursive in hand-written work these days because they just can’t do it neatly. And while I disliked practicing handwriting, today I will say that I am so appreciative of the fact that it was part of my public school curriculum on a daily basis for grades 1-8. Today? Well, keyboarding is taught, and learning to touch type in high school has really paid off, but I still turn to pen and ink and paper, and on a daily basis I prefer quills I have cut myself, and iron gall ink I make as well.

Here in the US, National Handwriting Day has apparently been a thing since 1977. Choosing January 23 is because the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence was John Hancock, whose signature is famous for its beauty. The expression of “put your John Hancock here” or anything similar is a way of saying “sign on the dotted line.”

Times change and we need to adapt, but there are times when I think modern technology and the wonders of the computer age mean we lose what we use to have. In a way, the book Fahrenheit 451 makes a point for preserving older technologies, and having people memorize whole novels is much like the oral traditions of countries where not everyone could write. Working together, old and new can preserve our history – and what we consider to be a daily thing (i.e. writing a letter on paper!) can vanish. Digital archives preserve such knowledge, but to acquire this knowledge again means actual, physical experience.

If you look at my little blurb in the photo, you can see my handwriting is okay, but I don’t always make my letters correctly and have to backtrack over them. When I was in school, if I had to turn in a handwritten essay, such mistakes would bring down my grade. And if I made them – well, I just started over.

So, cheers to National Handwriting Day. Reading cursive and handwriting is important and the best way to learn is to be taught at an early age. Apparently students not taught handwriting and cursive lose out on far more than just an ability to pick up a pen or pencil and communicate on paper.

Come to think of it, do kids even pass notes in class? Or do they text and hope they don’t get busted for using a phone in class?

The End of a Year

Like most people, I look back over the past year, I look ahead to the new year. New years are like morning – something to anticipate. Yesterday is the past, and so is a past year. There is a bit of melancholy in looking back as awareness of passing time grows more acute each year but, it is always offset by the anticipation of the future. I don’t know if other people feel like that, but to me there is always an element of joyful anticipation even in times of gloom and sadness. I’ve lived long enough to know nothing lasts forever, but the patterns repeat, and therein lives hope. There is enough change and enough consistency. And I prefer to dwell on hope rather than despair – but to avoid it is foolish.

So, what has happened in this past year? For me, the most difficult thing has been the loss of my closest friend on November 30th. I am not lost because of his death, but just feeling a loneliness. On the other hand, I have rekindled a friendship from years ago that could prove to be a pleasant addition to my life. A door closes. A door opens.

I have also learned and realized a lot about my family – my parents in particular. I found two letters, one from my mother, one from my father. The first was a letter written by my mother 6 months before she married my father. The second letter was one written by my father 12 years later. While the contents are personal and private, what was most important was seeing my parents as people in a very different perspective – such different personalities and approaches to life! I think of the grasshopper and the ant in Aesop’s fables – my mother had the gaiety of the grasshopper but lacked foresight, went along for the moment, and my father was the ant, always planning and working toward the future, but often failing to value the moment he was in. (I’m sort of both!)

In some ways – perhaps in many ways – 2022 was about re-evaluating life and people. As I move more into retirement and into free time, I am less concerned with the connections -the ongoing desire for connections – with people, but more appreciative of them when they occur. It is so easy to want more from others than is realistic with copious free time, and it takes a bit of effort to rein it in. Once done, though, a bit of disappointment – but again, another door opens, and there are things to look forward to doing and experiencing.

For me, life is always a balancing act. There is sorrow and sadness, there is joy and hope. Reality is a harsh teacher, but if you pay attention, there is much to be learned and the subtle pleasures of little things – like the yellow volunteer flower on my doorstep – remind you that the small individual person, event, critter, plant, in the big, vast world has a whole universe within to be explored.

So, welcome to 2023!