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BWS 14.09.16: Phoebe Wang

Phoebe Wang writes and teaches in Toronto. She recently edited a supplement issue on the theme of inheritances for The Puritan, and her chapbook, Hanging Exhibits appeared with The Emergency Response Unit this spring. Her debut collection of poetry, Admission Requirements will appear with McClelland and Stewart in Spring 2017.

Phoebe talks with BWS this week ahead of her Sept. 14 visit to the series, about the poems
in Hanging Exhibits and some of their subjects: the paintings in her mother’s collection.

BWS: In “Still Life with Dream Interpretation”, what can you tell us about choosing the shape of the poem vis-à-vis the shape of the image in the painting?

Phoebe: It’s one of the modest joys of poetry, to be able to play with white space. For me, constantly using a flush-left margin and tidy little stanzas can become monotonous. Lu Shou Kun’s painting is so perfectly balanced with the whimsy of the pink butterfly floating above this heavy, dark mood that I wanted in some way to evoke that tension with more than just words. The element that ties the two together—shape and image—is the story. Without the story of my mother’s struggle to “rise above” the ignominy of being born a girl, and of working in a factory from the age of thirteen—the poem’s shape is little more than a fanciful conceit.

Phoebe poem

“Still Life with Dream Interpretation”

“Zhuangzi is Free”, by Li Shou Kun

BWS: What else can you tell us about the relationship between the painting and the poem? Are you able to translate the words down the right-hand side, for example?

Phoebe: The characters on the side are his name and the year, which is a common practice in Chinese painting. However he did it in a somewhat quirky way. The first two characters are his nickname, followed by two characters that basically mean “here is me”, then the date then his formal family name.

My mom also told me the story of the painting: the painter dreamed he became a butterfly, then he woke up and he wasn’t sure whether the butterfly was dreaming to become him. This directly became a part of the poem in its closing lines.

BWS: You’ve called the poems in this chapbook ekphrastic–they describe works of art–and though they’re not at all like explanations you’d get in a museum, you did title the collection Hanging Exhibits. Can you talk a little more about how your chapbook and a museum might resemble each other, or how poetry is (or isn’t) well-suited to the explanation or interpretation of art?

Phoebe: Museums are curated spaces, in that the works of art on display are removed from their original contexts and placed in a space that is, ostensibly, clutter and context free. However, viewers bring their own frames of reference—their moods, the time of day they visit, etc. I don’t necessarily think poetry is like this, because poetry is a container, like the empty frame. But I do think childhood and memory are like museums, in that they’re selective. My images of my mother and how I was raised by her are on display in this chapbook, they’ve been selectively arranged, and like paintings, they aren’t accurate representations. I wanted the reader to be just as aware of what’s missing from the frame of these poems as they are of what’s being tenuously held within it.

BWS: There’s clearly a personal element to the artwork you chose, too–many were in your home growing up. What’s it like bringing the personal, the almost memoir-like, into ekphrastic poetry?

Phoebe: It was immensely scary. I’ve never done anything like it before. Essentially I’m a lyric landscape poet, if I really wanted to put labels on myself. I like to write about things as a distance, and I tend to have an abstract, impersonal view of the world. But I think the most thrilling poems come out when I feel like I’m being backed into a corner. When I finished this series, this experiment, I did see that the “ekphrastic” label didn’t really fit. I had been writing in a very personal way all along, but suffered from a kind of myopia. So now when I’m writing a poem about fog or about a long walk in the neighborhood, I’m conscious of it being a very internal, private poem and not something separate from my psyche. Conversely, the harder I tried to represent my family as who they really are, they more archetypal they became.

BWS: Looking forward to hearing these poems live! Thanks, Phoebe.

Phoebe Wang visits Brockton Writers Series on Wednesday, September 14, 2016 – full of beans Coffee House & Roastery, 1348 Dundas St. W., Toronto (6:30pm, PWYC) – along with Madhur Anand, Jeremy Hanson-Finger, Shane Joseph and a special guest talk, “Best Practices for Grant Writing”, by Toronto Arts Council Interim Dance & Literary Officer Natasha Powell.

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One response to “BWS 14.09.16: Phoebe Wang

  1. Pingback: BWS 14.09.16: Phoebe Wang | Phoebe Wang

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text:
BWS Bonus Content: Farzana Doctor Interviews Daniel Perry

Daniel Perry is the author of the short story collections Hamburger (Thistledown, 2016) and Nobody Looks That Young Here (Guernica, 2018). His fiction has been short-listed for the Carter V. Cooper Prize, and has appeared in more than 30 publications in Canada, the U.S., the U.K. the Czech Republic. Dan lives in Toronto, and on Twitter @danielperrysays, and you might also know him as BWS’s co-host and blog co-ordinator.

He recently sat down and answered some interview questions instead of asking them!

Farzana: I was interested in how you structured the collection into the three parts of Coarse, Medium and Fine. What was your inspiration behind that?

Dan: Hamburger wasn’t written with a structure in mind: the oldest story in the book was drafted in 2006, published in 2010, and when in late 2013, I sent Thistledown Press this one and 11 more published stories that didn’t fit in my other collection (Nobody Looks That Young Here), I intended them for New Leaf Editions, Thistledown’s imprint that publishes first-time authors in 64-page books. To my surprise and elation, Thistledown asked if I had enough material for a full-length collection, so I finally fixed some abhamburger-1andoned drafts and wrote some new ones, too, after which I found myself with 23 stories—one a single sentence, one nearly 40 pages long, and the rest landing somewhere between—and no idea how make more than nine years of wildly different material “flow”. In the end, I settled on length: I knew “Hamburger” had to be the first story, so my thinking was that stacking the shortest pieces up front might build some momentum for the reader. “Hamburger” ends on the image of a grinder, so I came to think of these flashes as the coarse grind, a kind of “first pass” over the material. “Medium” came to represent the medium-length pieces once I realized that the only place I could possibly put the very long, detailed, historical “Three Deaths of James Arthur Doole” was at the end of the book; it seemed to make sense to call this fullest story the finest grind.

Farzana: I savoured the microfiction, reading these really short stories the way I would poetry. I needed to pause after each, and process the feelings and thoughts that arose. One question that recurred was about the alchemy of the ending. How do you decide when and how to end stories that are so short?

Dan: Microfiction (or “flash”) is, to me, a form that deals with a moment. At the risk of over-simplifying, in a lot of these pieces the stimulus simply stops: in “Eclipse”, the cathedral bells stop ringing; or in “The Locked Out”, the main character’s done all he can think to do for the moment and he has to just sit down and wait.

Farzana: Just for fun, show us a photo of your writing space.

Dan: I contemplated cleaning up first, but that would misrepresent how it actually looks most of the time… Surly cat included…

Farzana: I noticed that writers appear in a number of the short stories. Can you tell me about this choice and what it’s like to be a writer writing about writers?

Dan: In other interviews etc. around Hamburger, one discussion topic has been characters’ relationships to their work. For writers, “inspiration” plays such a small role compared to actually doing the writing: the crafting, the shaping, the whittling; the attempt to say exactly what you mean, to make some little thing perfect so that someone else might find it beautiful. It’s a lot less romantic than a lot of people who don’t write think it is. If I can mix metaphors, it reminds me of the proverbial sausage factory: the cliché is, “You won’t like sausage once you’ve seen how it’s made,” but who says that sausage-making isn’t interesting? I’ve always liked writers as characters and the porous fourth walls in Henry Miller’s novels or the last line of Charles Bukowski’s Post Office (“Maybe I’ll write a novel, I thought. And then I did.”). Maybe part of it is some kind of self-affirmation, some acceptance of the idea that people (yes, people like me, too!) actually try to make a living writing fiction. Myself, I’ve been lucky, in the sense that I have university degrees and a job and haven’t found myself starving in Paris or Brooklyn scrounging for any buck I could get (nor down-and-out drunk in L.A., for that matter…), but I think the writer’s labour is as interesting and valid to depict in fiction as any work that people do.

Farzana: How did you research the stories that take place outside of Canada? Do you have a favourite research/travel experience that came from writing this collection?

Dan: I have visited a lot of the places that appear in the stories, though not all of them, and certainly not in the day-to-day, neighbourhood detail of the Cleveland of “Chaser” or the Philadelphia of “Rocky Steps”. A completely factual scene I could point to would be the glimpse in “Vaporetto” at the perplexed tourist family of four in the square in Venice. I don’t claim that I could read the parents’ mind, but they just looked so lost. I couldn’t imagine what it was like to arrive at a dream destination, a can’t-miss stop on an Italian vacation, only to realize there was nothing there for your young children… so, later, I sat down and imagined it.

Farzana: Work, and the drudgery connected to it, is prominent in a number of the stories. In an interview for Pages Unbound, you shared some of your early and strange jobs which included chicken loader, gas station guard for your father, and knitting store cashier with your mother. Which past jobs most influenced this collection?

Dan: Oddly, the industry that I think appears most in the book is one I never worked in, food service. (Though I was hired to deliver pizzas once: it was minus 30 on my first day, my shitbox car wouldn’t start, and I got fired.) The service industry comes up a lot in the book, too, with museum and tour guides, nannies and landscapers as well. My interest in these kinds of jobs might come from the fact that a lot of the time, a lot us don’t consider these workers as the people they are, but merely as the conduit to the service, food, etc. that we want. I think it’s the feeling of invisibility or interchangeability that comes with so much entry-level work that influences the stories more than any specific job(s) I’ve worked. It says a lot to me that one can feel these same feelings across many jobs in many sectors.

Farzana: Just for fun, write a haiku about your current job.

Dan: Fun for whom? The last thing I’d call myself is a poet…

“Beer makes you sexy”
No. “Sexy people drink this.”
Commercial’s approved.

Farzana: In the acknowledgements, you mention a personal connection that inspired the final story in your collection, “Three Deaths of James Arthur Doole”. This got me curious about whether there are any other personal connections that were inspirations to the other stories. Care to share one?

Dan: “Be Your Own Master” was born of a terrifying dream I had about trying to get rid of a loaded gun. It went through a lot of changes before it became a proper story, but hopefully some of that base fear is still in it.

Farzana: You have another book coming out in 2018 with Guernica Editions. Tell us about that project.

Dan: Nobody Looks That Young Here is a second short story collection, though with the exception of a new story I added to it this spring, it was the first one I finished. The collection revolves around one family in small-town Southwestern Ontario and a male child’s upbringing and coming-of-age, and taken together the stories form a larger narrative kind of like a novel might.

Farzana: What are you working on now?

Dan: I’m about 20,000 words into a novella (or if it goes well: a novel) about a pretty regular guy who moves into a new apartment then starts getting nightly visits from a paranormal entity of some kind. I’ve also started mapping out a Canadian Writer Contractual Obligation Tragicomic Hockey Novel™ that I’m quite looking forward to starting.

10924159_10155119358340704_2745966143424118938_oFarzana Doctor lives in Toronto and is the author of the novels All InclusiveSix Metres of Pavement, which won the 2012 Lambda Literary Award and was short-listed for the Toronto Book Award, and Stealing Nasreen. She was named one of CBC Books’ “Ten Canadian Women Writers You Need to Read Now” and received the Writers’ Trust of Canada’s Dayne Ogilvie Grant. You probably also know Farzana as co-founder and curator of the Brockton Writers Series.

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2 responses to “BWS Bonus Content: Farzana Doctor Interviews Daniel Perry

  1. Cathy Bennett

    Wonderful interview Farzana and Dan! I look forward to finally getting a copy of “Hamburger”!

  2. Pingback: Autumn: Interviews, Reviews, Events | Daniel Perry

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Bug 804591 - (CVE-2012-1186) CVE-2012-1186: ImageMagick: Incorrect fix for CVE-2012-0248
CVE-2012-1186: ImageMagick: Incorrect fix for CVE-2012-0248
Product: Security Response
Classification: Other
Component: vulnerability (Show other bugs)
All Linux
medium Severity medium
: ---
: ---
Assigned To: Red Hat Product Security
: Security
Depends On: 796844 796845
Blocks: 798337
  Show dependency treegraph
Reported: 2012-03-19 06:57 EDT by Stefan Cornelius
Modified: 2015-11-24 09:50 EST (History)
3 users (show)

See Also:
Fixed In Version:
Doc Type: Bug Fix
Doc Text:
Story Points: ---
Clone Of:
Last Closed: 2012-04-24 17:38:05 EDT
Type: ---
Regression: ---
Mount Type: ---
Documentation: ---
Verified Versions:
Category: ---
oVirt Team: ---
RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
Cloudforms Team: ---

Attachments (Terms of Use)

  None (edit)
Description Stefan Cornelius 2012-03-19 06:57:28 EDT
The original fix for CVE-2012-0248 was found to be insufficient.

The original fix for CVE-2012-0248 failed to correct the denial of service condition in "profile.c" source code part, too. This still allowed the specially-crafted image file, when processed for example by the "convert" executable, to cause original CVE-2012-0248 problem (denial of service).

Relevant upstream patch:
[1] http://trac.imagemagick.org/changeset/6998/ImageMagick/branches/ImageMagick-6.7.5/magick/profile.c
Comment 1 Stefan Cornelius 2012-03-19 09:22:28 EDT
A CVE identifier of CVE-2012-1186 has been assigned to this issue.
Comment 2 Pavel Alexeev 2012-03-19 15:58:29 EDT
Is upstream author informed about it?
Comment 3 Stefan Cornelius 2012-03-19 16:17:51 EDT
(In reply to comment #2)
> Is upstream author informed about it?

Yes, they've been informed about the issues and published fixes (e.g. see the patches linked in the description above - comment #0).
Comment 4 Pavel Alexeev 2012-03-20 12:29:04 EDT
I meant is author informed what they patch is not sufficient?

And is there already complete solution?
Comment 5 Stefan Cornelius 2012-03-20 14:05:03 EDT

Yes, we've informed ImageMagick upstream about the incorrect fix, so ImageMagick upstream knows about the incorrect fix. Upstream ImageMagick has completely fixed this in the ImageMagick subversion repository (3 weeks ago).

If you want to know a detailed list of the upstream ImageMagick releases including the complete fix, you should contact ImageMagick upstream.
Comment 6 Pavel Alexeev 2012-04-11 09:29:24 EDT
Rawhide build which should fix it http://koji.fedoraproject.org/koji/taskinfo?taskID=3977291.
Comment 7 Stefan Cornelius 2012-04-24 17:38:05 EDT

Not vulnerable. This issue did not affect the versions of ImageMagick as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and 6 as they did not backport the insufficient patch for CVE-2012-0248.

Note You need to log in before you can comment on or make changes to this bug.


text:
Candidate Statements – Altadena Town Council

It’s election season – and our own Altadena Town Council is also in election mode.

In the past, Neighbors Building a Better Altadena has held candidate forums, giving the community and candidates the opportunity to talk with each other directly.  This year we were unable to do that – but are able to provide statements from candidates responding to our NBBA questionnaire.  [click here for UPDATED  2016 Town Council Candidate Questionnaire Responses- updated (apologies to John White, whose statement was left out before] Thanks to all the candidates who provided this additional information.

For those of you new to Altadena politics, our ATC is elected by Census Tracts – each CT has 2 seats on our ATC – each seat is a 2 year term – and the election for each seat is on alternate years.  To find your CT district, here is the map:

This year the election will be held on the 11th of June, with early voting at the Altadena Senior Center on the 7th.  Details of the election polling sites can be found here:

Candidates have also provided statements to the ATC Election Committee which you can read here:

Look forward to seeing you at the polls!

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text:
Difference between revisions of "Ash Ketchum"

From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.
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[[Ash's Staravia|Starly → Staravia]]
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[[Ash's Staravia|Starly → Staravia]]
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{{AP|Turtwig}}

Revision as of 10:49, 26 January 2008

Ash redirects here. For the item attached to Ho-Oh, see Sacred Ash. For the ash found at the foot of Mt. Chimney, see volcanic ash.

Ash Ketchum
サトシ Satoshi
Art from Diamond/Pearl anime
Age 10 (as of debut)
Gender Male
Hometown Pallet Town
Region Kanto
Relatives Delia, Unknown father (EP002), Unknown grandfather (EP002) (anime)
Mom (manga)
Trainer class Trainer
Anime debut Pokémon! I Choose You!
English voice actor Veronica Taylor (4Kids)
Sarah Natochenny (PUSA)
Japanese voice actor Rica Matsumoto

Ash Ketchum (Japanese: サトシ Satoshi) is the main character of both the Pokémon anime and the manga The Electric Tale of Pikachu. His Japanese voice actress is 松本梨香 Rica Matsumoto, his English voice actresses are Veronica Taylor (4Kids Entertainment dub) and Sarah Natochenny (Pokémon USA/TAJ Productions dub), his Brazilian voice actor is Fábio Lucindo, his Italian voice actor is Davide Garbolino, and his Spanish voice actors are Adolfo Moreno (Spain) and Gabriel Ramos (Latin America). In the first dub of The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon he was voiced by Jamie Peacock.

Ash is apparently based on the main character of Pokémon Red and Blue, Red. He shares his name with the creator of the Pokémon franchise, Satoshi Tajiri. His Japanese name can be taken to mean "wisdom" or "reason" (智), and his English name has many meanings. His English last name is a pun on the original English Pokémon motto, "Gotta Catch 'em All!" As for his first name, some note that "Ash" has the same letters found in Satoshi.

In the anime

File:Anime Ash.png
Ash Ketchum in the original series

Ash's goal, as described in the first episode, Pokémon! I Choose You!, is to be the world's greatest Pokémon Master. Ash began his journey at the age of 10 as a warm-hearted and well-intentioned but stubborn and unskilled Pokémon Trainer. He was forced to accept the irreverent Pikachu from Professor Oak as his starter Pokémon because he carelessly broke his alarm clock and woke up late on the day he was set to get his first Pokémon. He was determined to achieve his goal, however, and when he showed his willingness to give up his own safety to keep Pikachu safe, he formed a strong bond of friendship with his Pokémon which would set his course for the future.

However, from that point, Ash still had a lot to learn about becoming a Trainer. He caught his first Pokémon by luck, knew nothing about battling, and showed a reluctance to admit when he was wrong. Many of his first Gym badges were given to him out of pity or gratitude for his assistance rather than claiming a victory in battle over the Gym Leaders. Every time he thought he was doing well, he would somehow cross paths with his childhood rival, Gary Oak, who always reminded Ash that he was always a step or seven behind.

Ash's dedication to his goal paid off over time, and after earning his first eight badges, he competed in the Indigo League, and advanced further in the rounds than Gary. After recovering from his defeat, he continued on to improve his skill, take on new challenges, and compete in more Pokémon League competitions.

Ash in the Advanced Generation series
Ash has changed a great deal over the course of the series, particularly in regards to his skill at Pokémon training, but his earnestness and determination have remained. Never straying from his goal, he has remained loyal to his friends, his family, and his supporters, but most of all his Pokémon. Ash became a great Trainer by learning to find and use the inner strength of each of his Pokémon by bonding with them and learning where their hidden abilities lie, as well as resorting to unorthodox strategies when fighting particularly challenging opponents. For example, he uses his Pikachu's speed to outmaneuver larger foes and attack, and defeated Gary's Blastoise with his Charizard by causing the field to overheat and have Charizard mount a close-range attack while Blastoise was blinded by the steam. Additionally, during the first season of the series, while Ash originally trained not to further himself but instead to catch more Pokémon than his rival, Gary, he later slowed his pace which allowed him (as well as the writers of the anime) to focus on the individual traits of each Pokémon. At the Johto League Silver Conference, with great humility and maturity, Ash finally won a battle against his old rival, signifying a great milestone in his history. His maturity has also increased in his dealings with Pokémon, as when a Mankey stole his hat in Primeape Goes Bananas!, he screamed and yelled at it, even climbing trees just to get his hat back, but when an Aipom did the same in Slaking Kong, he stated merely that he would feel strange without a hat.
Ash demonstrates his maturity in the earlier seasons.

In nearly every episode of the anime, Ash befriends someone who will influence him and cause him to strive to become a better Trainer. Although he is not a dependent individual, he is still young and has learned to make his way relying on his friends. His closest friends have joined him on his Pokémon journey through the years: Misty, Brock, Tracey, May, Max, and Dawn.

He has traversed much of the Pokémon world and has thus far participated in four Pokémon League regional competitions, but he is still learning new things about Pokémon all the time.

Ash apparently has a close connection with Legendary Pokémon, especially Ho-Oh and Lugia. In the English dub of the second movie, he was revealed to be "The Chosen One" - the one who would bring balance back to the world. He also shares his aura similar to Sir Aaron, a legendary hero, and is supposedly able to manipulate it in much the same way.

He has a Contest Pass for the Sinnoh region, though he has stated that the contest he got it for was the only one he intends on entering. He also has one for the Hoenn region as it was required to watch one of the contests held there. Ash also carries around a broken Poké Ball, of which the other half belongs to Gary and is a symbol of their rivalry, as well as Misty's special lure, which she sent to him as a gift, and also half of a ribbon he received in a contest against May before she left to Johto.

Ash lived with his mother, Delia Ketchum, until he left for his Pokémon journey at the age of ten.

His father is never introduced. The anime suggests that his father was once a Pokémon Trainer, but it is unclear whether he is still living. There has been much discussion in the fandom as to the identity of Ash's father, though the writers have chosen to not focus on this aspect of Ash's life. Common characters put forward by fans for the role are Giovanni, Professor Oak and Silver. In Pokémon Live!, Delia told Ash that Giovanni had once been her boyfriend, and that he was Ash's father. However, this has never been officially acknowledged.

Ash is an only child, breaking from the tradition of several other main characters, with the exception of Dawn and possibly Tracey, whose siblings are often a foil or focal point in their lives.

File:Battle Frontier - Satoshi's Lineup 3.jpg
Ash surrounded by his Pokémon in the Battle Frontier opening.

On hand

Starly → Staravia

With Professor Oak

Krabby → Kingler
Snorunt → Glalie
Chikorita → Bayleef
Spr 4d 164 s.png
Egg → Phanpy → Donphan
Treecko → Grovyle → Sceptile
Taillow → Swellow

In training

Charmander → Charmeleon → Charizard

Caterpie → Metapod → Butterfree
Pidgeotto → Pidgeot

Traded away

Raticate (Traded for his Butterfree, and back again)
190 f.png
Aipom (Traded to Dawn)

Arbok (Used during a Pokémon League exam)
Weezing (Used during a Pokémon League exam)
Meowth (Used during a Pokémon League exam)
Seaking (Released as part of Contest Rules)

Gave away

Beedrill (given to Casey)

Badges obtained

Indigo League

Orange League

Johto League

Hoenn League

File:Ashs hoenn badges.jpg
Ash's eight badges from Hoenn.

Battle Frontier

Sinnoh League

Pokémon League ranking

Ash placed in the following Pokémon League competitions:

Pokémon Championship battles

Ash challenged the following Pokémon championships as well:

Pokémon competitions

Ash has participated in the following competitions:

  • Ash has caught 50 different kinds of Pokémon, including evolutions and counting Larvitar, Haunter, and Raticate, even though Larvitar and Haunter were not officially his. The original tagline for the dub was "Gotta Catch 'Em All!", but Ash has only caught 10.14% of the current number of Pokémon. This line was eventually dropped in 2003.
  • Ash has caught or received 63 different individual Pokémon, 30 of which are his Tauros.
  • Other than Krabby and his Tauros, Ash has never caught a Pokémon when his party had six members.
  • Ash's first choice of a starter was Squirtle. Later, it is revealed that Gary was the one who, in fact, chose Squirtle. Ash's second choice was Bulbasaur, while his third was Charmander.
  • So far, every time Ash becomes the champion of something, he then battles and gets defeated by Gary a few episodes later, before heading off to a new region. This has happened after his championing of the Orange League and the Battle Frontier, which, ironically, were both "filler seasons" before the start of even-numbered generations.
  • At one time, Ash was transformed into a Pikachu. This transformed state is sometimes referred to as Ashachu.
  • Ash has captured each generation's Template:Type2 starter Pokémon (Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Treecko, Turtwig).
  • In both the Kanto and Johto story arcs, Ash managed to capture all three of the starter Pokémon for both regions. This trend was broken in the Advanced Generation series, where he only captured Treecko, while the other two were obtained by May and Brock. However, it is possible that the trend will be reestablished in the Diamond & Pearl story arc, as Ash has already managed to capture both a Turtwig and Chimchar, two of the Sinnoh region's starter Pokémon. This is unlikely, however, as Dawn already has the third, Piplup.
  • Ash has captured a form of each Template:Type2 Pokémon that players can encounter early in different games: Pidgeot, Noctowl, Swellow, and Staravia.
  • In each region (except for the Orange Islands), Ash always loses against at least one of the Gym Leaders before challenging them to a rematch.
  • With the exception of Koga, Ash had to either do some sort of heroic deed or re-challenge all of the Kanto Gym Leaders to earn his badge. This, however, never applied to his Earth Badge, as he never battled against Giovanni himself, instead challenging the Team Rocket trio that had constantly followed him.
  • So far, Ash always befriends someone shortly before the regional tournament. That person will beat Ash later on in the semifinals.
  • Though not as touched on anymore, a running gag in the English version of the series involved his mother making sure that Ash changed his underwear every single day.
  • A pattern has developed among Ash's Grass starters: Bulbasaur never evolved, Chikorita evolved once and Treecko evolved twice. Many believe Ash's Turtwig won't evolve so the pattern continues.
  • Ash's room, seen at the start of the first episode, contains a lot of merchandise based off various Pokémon, including a bedspread with a Poké Ball pattern, a trash can with a Staryu on it, a big Snorlax doll, a Poliwag pencil sharpener, a Clefairy bank, a Zubat mobile, a poster with Squirtle, Bulbasaur and Charmander, and a Voltorb alarm clock with a Pidgey inside it which he breaks in his sleep. He also has many books, a globe, a boombox, a television and a Bug Catcher's net. Based on the slanting of the ceiling of his room, it is probably in the attic of his house.
  • During his adventures in Kanto, Johto and the Orange Islands, Ash pinned his badges to the inside of his jacket. From Hoenn onwards, they have been kept in some form of case. It is unknown where the badges of Ash's previous journeys are, though it is assumed that they are kept somewhere in his house. Delia placed Ash's trophy from the Orange Islands on top of the television, though this was missing when Ash looked in his living room in Home is Where the Start Is. Interestingly, the scene following it showed an identical trophy placed in Professor Oak's lab.
  • Each time Ash successfully wins his eighth badge, all eight are stolen, though soon after returned. It is unknown if this will happen again in Diamond & Pearl.
  • The most badges Ash has ever gotten in the first thirty-five episodes were five badges in Kanto, which makes sense considering that Kanto was significantly shorter than any other saga (aside from the Orange Island saga and the Battle Frontier saga). In every other region thus far, he has only won two badges in the first thirty-five episodes.
  • The only girl Ash has even shown a confirmed interest is named Giselle whom appeared in The School of Hard Knocks.
  • The only Template:Type2 starter Ash has not owned is Torchic.
  • Ash is the only main character that has caught a shiny Pokémon.
  • Ash has two rivals that started off with turtle-like Pokémon. Gary started with Squirtle and Paul started off with Turtwig.
  • Ash had two female friends that started off with bird-like Pokémon. May started off with Torchic and Dawn started off with Piplup.
  • The characters of the anime that share Ash's voice actress, both in English and in Japanese, are usually female or Pokémon.
  • In the case of Ash's Fire-type Pokémon, he always somehow saves them before capturing them, either from an abusive trainer or from other Pokémon.
  • Because Ash began wearing his AG clothes before leaving for Hoenn and did not change into his DP clothes until after he arrived in Sinnoh, Ash wore the AG clothes during episodes from all three series.
File:Ash maid.jpg
Third time's the charm.

Language Name Origin
Japanese サトシ Satoshi Can be taken to mean 智 (wisdom; reason).
English Ash Ketchum Ketchum sounds similar to catch 'em.
French Sacha
German Ash Same as English name
Korean 한지우 Han Jiu 지 is from 智 satoshi.
Chinese 小智 Xiǎo Zhì 智 is from 智 satoshi.

In the manga

The manga version of Ash Ketchum is based on the anime version, but there are many differences after both versions took different directions. For example, while anime Ash is indifferent to romance or members of the opposite gender (or same gender, some may argue), manga Ash has a big crush on Gary's sister, May Oak. He's also prone to quickly falling in love like Brock, but to a much less extreme degree.

Caterpie → Metapod → Butterfree
Charmander → Charmeleon → Charizard

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Incorporation of Realtors May Be a Possibility in the Near Future

Bill 69, Tax Fairness for Realtors Act, 2015 was introduced and was carried after its first reading in the Ontario Legislative Assembly in Feb 2015. If passed, Bill 69 will amend both the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002 (the “REBA”) and the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) (the “OBCA”) by allowing for the incorporation of “personal real estate corporations” that can act as salespersons and brokers in accordance with the requirements set by REBA and the Real Estate Council of Ontario.

If Bill 69 becomes law, REBA will be amended as follows:

  • The definitions of “broker” and “salesperson” will be broadened to include personal real estate corporations where the owner of the equity (common) shares must have the qualifications to be registered as a broker under REBA and the corporation must be employed by a brokerage to trade in real estate;
  • Limits will be placed on the structure and operation of “personal real estate corporations”, which include the following:
    • All equity (common) shares must be held by individual persons how are qualified to be registered as brokers;
    • Shares cannot be held by corporations;
    • All non-equity (preference) shares must be held either by the individual who holds the common shares or by individuals in their immediate family;The corporation’s name must include “personal real estate corporation” or its French equivalent; and,
    • The corporation can only carry on the profession of trading real estate.
  • These corporations must meet the qualifications of “professional corporations” as set forth in the OBCA.

Accordingly, these changes will affect the OBCA which will be amended accordingly. The following OBCA conditions will apply to professional real estate corporations:

  • All officers and directors must be shareholders in the corporation;
  • The corporation cannot use a number name; and,
  • The articles must specifically set out the restrictions on what business the corporation can provide – e.g., solely trading in real estate.

We will follow Bill 69 as it works its way through the legislature and if it becomes law, we are ready to assist realtors with incorporation and ensuring they meet all of the legislated requirements.

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Seasons of Change

The Early Days

As Colleen and I (Heather) retire and step down from BWI of Chicagoland, we’ve both been reflecting on what a phenomenal journey we’ve been on, from learning to use our first carriers, to learning to wear toddlers and preschoolers, to learning to spread the love, and meet so many new and veteran caregivers along the way.

I am forever grateful and appreciative of Colleen and Hyacynth (our other leader from Lake County, when I learned of the group).  I found them when I had a 2 year old and newborn.  Colleen and I both started using carriers around the same time (8 years ago, if you can believe that!!), but all I had experience with was my Baby Bjorn and an awesome ring sling.

Colleen learned about different carriers through our local La Leche League, before her first was even born!  She then found the local Lake County group through an online forum at .  Helping teach others was a calling for her.   When I met Colleen and Hyacynth, they were warm, welcoming leaders for the Lake County Babywearers, and had group gatherings I wanted to keep coming back to.  That was almost 6 years ago!  Colleen was my inspiration, and she pushed me beyond my comfort level.  “You want me to try this long piece of fabric?”  “Are you sure he’ll be ok on my back”  (remember I had only used a ring sling and Baby Bjorn before this…).  THANK YOU COLLEEN.

Back then, we were a small group, with around 30 attendees online (and maybe 10-15 adults total in person each month?).  It was a social group, and very much about wearing all the babies!  There weren’t nearly as many carriers or brands of carriers out on the market.  I will always think fondly of my early days learning from so many women I consider great friends to this day.

There has been SO MUCH growth and it is really exciting to see how many parents and caregivers are embracing different types of carriers and holding their babies close.  There has also been an explosion of education along the way, and an explosion of options.  If you’d like to learn more about our history along the way, this post has a lot of great information:

We’ve both grown as educators, parents, and friends.  The organizations have had tremendous growth as well over the last number of years.  But now, our kids are growing up, our lives and passions as parents have changed focus.  It’s time for us to find some new adventures!

Almost 2 years ago I won an educator award from BWI.  When I look back at the bio, I’m reminded of the passion to help others, and the empathy needed to help caregivers effectively.  I was asked to put together a BIO for the award page.  I think about these two quotes often:

“I love sharing what I’ve learned, and want and help others see how this great tool can help make parenting so much easier.  I wish I’d have found our group earlier in our lives as parents.  I don’t think it’s important for an educator to know everything; I think it’s more important for an educator to know what resources to look for to help with a difficult situation.  I also think it’s important to listen to parents, and figure out what they’re REALLY asking, so we can meet their needs.  I love the look on a caregivers face when they find something they like, or their baby quiets down and falls asleep, or is content to look around.”

“It’s easy to forget that it’s NOT about the special fancy carrier, it’s about using some fabric to help them and their babies.  The parents are the real carriers, the fabric just helps them do that effectively.  That’s really the heart of our organization.  Thanks for letting me be a part of it.”

Sometimes caregivers will thank us, but we really need to be thanking all of you!  It was all of YOU that kept us coming back meeting after meeting, month after month, and wanting to spread out more, and stretch ourselves as a group.  To meet more of you, and share what we’ve learned about wearing our babies close.  The years have flown by.

This volunteering journey and the people we’ve met have changed our lives, so thank you for that as well!

You ALL drive this group.  You help each other socially, through questions, and support on the off topic facebook chat group.  You help each other learn about carriers, carries, and support each other in the local BWI group, at meetings, and playdates.  The group will continue to thrive because of ALL OF YOU.  If you see a post that you can contribute to?  Share what you’ve learned with others.  That’s how all of our past and present leaders learned along the way.

We love how the current and future leadership team has such passion, excitement, and “fresh eyes” to share babywearing. Their ambition and passion will serve the Chicagoland chapter well, and I’m sure they will make great, positive changes in the future.  I’m looking forward to hearing about the things they accomplish that took a back seat during our tremendous growth.  They have drive and ambition, and they will make great improvements and changes for the group!

Hold those babies close.  They grow up WAY TOO FAST!  One day (believe it or not) they’ll get too big to want to be worn.  This weekend, we hope you all get a chance to use whatever carries at your disposal to enjoy time with family and friends!  Happy Independence Day!

(Here are some photos of us along the way.)

Babywearing in Summer!

Sara and her son Ronan in their Wrapsody Water Wrap

Babywearing is hot in general, but how do you combat extreme heat when you have literally tied a little space heater to your chest? In Chicago we see highs in the 90s to low 100s, and humidity levels that make the rainforest seem like a desert. Combine that with a sweaty, needy, hotbox and… Wait! Where are you going?

Overheating can be very dangerous for babies, especially for infants under 6 months, who lack the ability to regulate their own temperatures. Use common sense and go back inside when baby seems to be overheating. Take breaks from the sun when you can and make sure both baby and you stay well hydrated. Don’t feed a baby, less than 6 months old, water without your doctor’s permission, and don’t add excess water to their formula, or any water to expressed breastmilk. Use sunscreen according to the directions, and according to your pediatrician’s recommendations, to prevent burns. Take your baby out of the carrier if it seems to be causing them to overheat.

Carrier choice:

  • Soft structured carriers (SSC) are usually fairly cool. Any heavier fabric SSC may be a little more uncomfortable than one with a lighter fabric or a breathable panel, but just because you have a heavier SSC doesn’t mean you can’t use it comfortably in the summer. Infant inserts, on the other hand, can cause overheating. Use caution with infant inserts and speak to one of our VBEs if you have a younger baby and an SSC in the summer. There are often tricks to remaining cool that we can help you with, depending on the brand of carrier
  • Asian inspired baby carriers, such as meh dais and onbuhimos, tend to remain nicely cool in the summer. The exception being where they are made out of a heavy fabric or cover most of the body (as in a traditional wide blanket podaegi).
  • Woven wraps – depending on the weave and fiber content, woven wraps can be a cool choice but also can be extremely suffocating. If you have a warmer wrap, try one layer carries and use shorter wraps so there is less excess fabric. If you have only long wraps, still aim for one layer carries that eat up some of the length, like a Front Wrap Cross Carry (FWCC) with the passes bunched.
  • Stretchy wraps – Most stretchy wraps are very warm and don’t breathe well. However, there are some brands that are thinner and more airy, such as the bamboo blend ones I’ve seen out there. So check with us on your stretchy if you have questions. You have to have all three layers of fabric over baby with any stretchy wrap so choosing the right stretchy for summer wearing is important.
  • Ring slings are your summer friend! By their nature, ring slings have only one layer of fabric, and it is often a very breathable one, like linen or cotton.

Planning on hitting the pool or beach this summer? There are some great carriers specifically made for water usage you can find! Although you can often use regular carriers in the water, they will become heavy and the colors may fade or bleed in water. Additionally, chlorine can damage the sewing on a carrier making it structurally unsafe. The most common types of pool carriers are mesh or solarweave ring slings and wraps but there are other types as well.

***For safety reasons, use caution in the water, and don’t attempt to actually swim or go in deep water with a child tied to you. Nor should you wear a baby on a boat or anywhere else a safety device is needed that babywearing would interfere with.***

Remaining Cool:

You don’t need a special carrier for warm summer wearing. There are a few tips for staying cool in the heat no matter what your carrier is:

  • Dress for the weather. Remember that your carrier is another layer. It’s fine to dress baby in just a onesie and diaper, or just a diaper, when you’ll have another layer over them (watch for sun exposure though).
  • Dress yourself for the weather. Wear moisture wicking clothing and make sure you and baby aren’t skin to skin. When your skin meets you both get hotter. Wear a thin shirt with a higher neck to keep you both from sweating.
  • Dribble water on their heads, arms, legs, and any other part sticking out. Some people I know carry around a spray bottle to add a little mist, but letting a few drops drip from your water bottle works as well.
  • Cooling towels! These became popular a couple years ago and really hit the babywearing community last summer. You can find them in big box stores and online. Some name brands are Frogg Toggs and EnduraCool but you can find generic brands at the dollar store even! They are similar to a chamois – you get them wet, and the evaporation technology keeps them cool for hours (or even days!!). Lay them over baby’s legs, dab baby’s cheeks, and the back of baby’s neck. We just got back from the desert, and this is what helped the best to keep baby from overheating. Do not put the cooling towel between you and baby though. They work by evaporation and if the towel is between you two then it can’t evaporate so it will not work.
  • Stay in the shade as much as possible. The sun is hot and it’s not great for the skin anyway. Keep baby in a hat to block the sun and put a light, breathable blanket over baby (but not over their face!)
  • Since sunscreen isn’t recommended in large amounts for infants under 6 months of age, try to keep younger babies in the shade as much as possible. This is easier said than done, especially if you have an older child to chase after. There are a few companies that make carrier covers that are 100% UVA/UVB. Monkey Pocket and Rain or Shine Kids makes them, and you can sometimes find old Peekaru ones that were discontinued. Bjorn makes a UVA/UVB cover that fits over their carriers too. Outfits that have sun protection are also recommended; rash guards and UV blocking clothing are fairly easy to find these days but we can help you search if need be! A light blanket as stated above can help too.

*A note about sunscreen: Sunscreen is going to be a necessity on any day for a baby older than 6m (and even under 6m according to the AAP), but it can stain your carriers. Follow the general guidelines for using sunscreen by applying 15 minutes before going out. That should be enough time to protect your carrier.

Shameless plug: Don’t forget about your local lending library! If you need to borrow a carrier for a vacation or want to use something lighter in the summer without actually buying a new carrier – check one out from the group! You can borrow one carrier a month for $30/year.

Happy wearing, and stay cool!


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Friday, December 26, 2014

Senegalese Seafood Gumbo

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Time flies and so has the journey to Dakar in Senegal, but here is one more dish to celebrate the Senegalese cuisine and the 4th stop on our tour of ABC-Mondiale-an untraditional seafood gumbo created by Sean Brock. Untraditional to me as in my seafood gumbos, I would have never thought to include dried shrimp, smoked oysters or fish sauce in the mix, or not use a roux to thicken.  What is traditional to me in this gumbo is shrimp, crabmeat and red snapper, along with fresh okra, essential ingredients in any gumbo.
Red Snapper
Selecting Okra
Kiawah Island 2010

Senegalese Seafood Gumbo

Two 1 pound red snappers, cleaned filleted, skinned and coarsely chopped, heads and bones reserved
4 cups chicken broth
1 onion
3/4 fresh okra, thinly sliced and smashed
Two 3-ounce cans smoked oysters
10 small dried shrimp (I omitted the dried shrimp as I couldn't find it)
6 garlic cloves
3 dried cayenne chiles
3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
18 large shrimp, heads on, if desired
1/2 palm oil (Dende oil comes from the fruit of the African oil palm-annato oil can be substituted) Omit if desired. See Note
1/2 pound lump crabmeat
Kosher salt
Cooked Rice for serving.

In a large pot, combine the fish heads and bones with the stock and 4 cups of water, (Brock uses 8 cups). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, skimming off any foam. Strain broth into a large bowl.

Wipe out the pot and return the broth to it. Add the okra, oysters, dried shrimp (if using), garlic, chiles and fish sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook on moderately low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the snapper filets, shrimp, and palm oil (if using). Simmer until the fish and shrimp are just cooked through, about 4 minutes. Stir in the crabmeat and cook for 1 minute, until heated through. Season with salt. Serve with rice.

Note-The dende oil can be purchased from speciality food stores and from Amazon. The oil gives the gumbo a red color and a rich flavor.

Please do not use images or text without my permission.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Julekake-(Norwegian Cardamom Scented Christmas Bread)-We Knead to Bake #

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God Jul!
Merry Christmas
In Norway, Christmas presents are exchanged on Christmas Eve. While some presents are brought by Santa, some are brought by "Nisse",  small gnomes, mythological creatures typically associated with the winter solstice. Many different festive breads and cookies are eaten over the holidays in Norway, the most popular and well-known is "julekake", a yeast leavened bread studded with raisins, candied fruit and citron. Cardamom is the essential spice in the julekake, but often cinnamon and nutmeg are used to flavor the bread.

It is this lovely holiday bread that Aparna-My Diverse Kitchen chose for the December edition of We Knead to Bake. Julekake is an enriched dough that is cake-like in texture. Left unadorned, it's a good breakfast bread, but with a sugar icing or studded with sliced almonds, the julekake is a perfect tea time bread.
Adapted from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas

For the dough

2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1 egg
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4-5 pods cardamom, powdered, about 3/4 teaspoon
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup mixed candied fruit or peel
1/4 cup golden or dark raisins

For the Glaze

Pearled sugar or crushed sugar cubes and/or chopped almonds

For the Icing
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 or 2 tablespoons cream or milk
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon chopped almonds (optional)

In a bowl, proof the yeast by sprinkling it over the lukewarm water, milk and 1 teaspoon sugar( from the 1/4 cup).Set aside for 5-10 minutes until frothy. From this point on, I use the dough cycle of the bread machine to mix and knead the dough. If you want to follow Aparna's instructions, refer to  the instructions there.

Place all ingredients, except the mixed candied fruit or peel and raisins, in the pan of a bread machine according the the manufacturer's instructions. Process on the dough cycle. When complete, remove the dough from the machine to a lightly floured surface and deflate slightly. Flatten it into a largish round, sprinkle the fruit and raisins over the top, the roll up jelly roll style. Knead lightly to incorporate the fruit.

Shape into a ball and place on a parchment lined or lightly greased baking sheet. Let rise for about 45 minutes. If using the egg glaze, brush it over the top of the dough. Otherwise, brush with milk and sprinkle the bread with crushed sugar cubes, pearled sugar or chopped almonds. If using the icing, ignore this step.

Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes until bread is golden brown and done. If the bread begins to brown too quickly, cover with some foil after 15 minutes of browning.  Remove from the oven, cool completely before you slice it or ice it. For the icing, combine ingredients and pour over the bread. Sprinkle with almonds or decorate with candied fruit and peel. Let icing set. Makes 1 medium to large loaf.

Please do not use images or text without my permission.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Black and White Wednesday #153 Christmas Edition-The Gallery

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Welcome to the Christmas edition of Black and White Wednesday! I'm just a little late posting as our admin, Cinzia, had a lovely birthday luncheon today and wanted to include some images from her celebration! Happy Birthday, Cinzia! Black and White Wednesday will take a break and return for week #154 on January 7, 2015.

Saffron Butter Cake with Orange Glaze
Lynne-Cafe Lynnylu

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Saffron Butter Cake with Orange Glaze

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Just a quick post with a recipe for an easy cake to make for the holidays. Saffron and butter give the cake a lovely yellow color and the orange glaze helps preserve the flavor for up to a week.

Saffron Butter Cake with Orange Glaze
Recipe Adapted From Gale Gand's Short and Sweet
  • 2/3 cup orange juice ( I used fresh mandarin oranges)
  • 2 pinches saffron
  • 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened slightly
  • 1 cup plus 1/3 cup sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
  2. In a small saucepan, bring the orange juice and saffron to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside to steep.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt. In another bowl, cream butter until smooth. Add 1 cup sugar and mix. With the mixer running, add the eggs, one at a time, mix well. Add half the dry ingredients and mix. Add 1/4 of the saffron steeped orange juice and mix. Add remaining ingredients. Remove any remaining saffron threads in the orange juice and mix them in the batter. Reserve remaining saffron steeped orange juice for glaze
  4. Pour the batter in the prepared pan. Bake 65-75 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  5. Meanwhile, make the glaze. Stir the remaining 1/3 cup sugar into the reserved orange juice until sugar is dissolved.
  6. When cake is done, let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Carefully, run knife around the sides of the pan and remove the cake to a wire cooling rack. Peel off the paper and using a pastry brush, spread glaze over the tops and sides of cake. Let it soak in. Let cake completely cool at room temperature, then serve. Or wrap in plastic and refrigerate. Cake will keep for about a week refrigerated. If desired, cake can be frozen up to 4 weeks.

 This black and white image is my contribution to Black and White Wednesday #153 hosted by yours truly.

Please do not use images or text without my permission.

Monday, December 15, 2014

Announcing Black and Wednesday #153-Christmas Edition

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“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder

Announcing the Christmas edition of Black and White Wednesday! This long-running blog event is open to anyone who loves culinary related images either photographed in black and white or converted to black and white using a favorite software program. The images don't have to be holiday oriented; just shades of black and white. Think of food, restaurants, kitchen items, even animals and  plants; the possibilities are endless. The device you use to capture the image is up to you-DSLR, point and shoot or smartphone.

The rules and history of BWW can be found here. You don't have to have a blog to submit an image-just send me your image at lynnylu AT gmail Dot com. before 10 am New York time, Wednesday, December 17, 2014. I look forward to seeing them!

Please do not use images or text without my permission.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Dakar Spice Rubbed Lamb Kebabs with Mustard Onions-

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"One who eats alone cannot discuss the taste of food with others" African proverb

In my mind as I walk the busy streets of Dakar,  the capital of Senegal, I see curls of wood smoke and the smell of roasting meat assail my senses. I follow my nose and there before me I see long lines of people from all walks of life; young and old, patiently waiting to be served on grease-stained papers chunks of succulent roasted meat, thinly sliced onions in a mustard vinaigrette and a side of bread. I realize that I am witnessing the best of street food Dakar has to offer.

Typical street food, these spice-rubbed lamb skewers, most often called dibi (roasted meat)are bought at dibiteries"hole in the wall" type restaurants with large wood fires. There are usually no seats or limited seating in a dibiterie, so long lines are the norm.  The tradition of roasting meats in this fashion originates from the Arabs, but with sheep instead of lamb. As Senegal is roughly 95 % Muslim, pork would not be used in a dibiterie.

With peanuts being a major cash crop in Senegal, I thought a rub consisting of ground roasted peanuts, and a melange of spice would be delicious slathered on the lamb before grilling. Tsire or suya, a Nigerian speciality, is a thin cut of beef that is marinated in the ground roasted peanut rub, but the term Tsire now pertains to the rub.

D is for Dakar-this is my second post on The World Culinary ABC hosted by yours truly. Thanks to Aiuolik for creating the World Culinary ABC. For more Dakar cuisine, see us on our Pinterest page.

Dakar Spiced Rubbed Lamb Kebabs with Mustard Onions
Modified from Sean Brock-Food and Wine and The Chile Foundry
Serves 4

For the Lamb
  • 1/2 cup white vinegar
  • 1/2 cup coarse Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tablespoon agave nectar
  • 1-1/2 cups thinly sliced yellow onion
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground white pepper
  • 1 tablespoon peanut oil, plus more for oiling the grill grates
  • 2 pounds trimmed leg of lamb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • Freshly ground black pepper
Tsire Spice Rub
  • 1 cup roasted peanuts
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  1. Prepare rub by combining all ingredients. Set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine the vinegar, Dijon mustard and agave nectar. Stir in the onion slices and season with salt and pepper.
  3. Preheat a grill pan or preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium heat. Oil the grates. In a large bowl, toss the lamb with 1 tablespoon of peanut oil. Salt and pepper the lamb pieces. Use enough of the Tsire rub to generously coat the lamb. Thread the lamb pieces onto 8 skewers.
  4. Grill over medium heat, turning occasionally, until charred in spots, 6-7 minutes, for medium. Transfer the lamb to a platter and serve with the mustard onions.
The mustard onions can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

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Monday, December 08, 2014

ABC Mondiale-Dakar

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Dakar, the capital of Senegal, is the fourth stop on our whirlwind journey of the World Culinary ABC. The cuisines of SamoaIndia and Australia are behind us with pleasant memories of food enjoyed as we move on through the world of food.
The food of Senegal, a West African cuisine,  is a fusion of three cuisines-North African, French and Portuguese. Dakar, the capital, sits at the tip of the Cape Vert peninsula settled in the 15th century by the Lebou people skilled in aquaculture; fish being an important part of the Senegalese cuisine. The national dish is thiéboudienne, ( pronounced Cheb-oo-jen), chunks of fish stuffed with herbs and served on a bed of locally grown rice and vegetables. Another very popular dish is Thiébou guerté,  translated as "the rice of peanut", Senegal's cash crop. Chicken, lamb and beef are also used in many dishes, as well  as sweet potatoes, black-eyed peas, okra and cabbage. Most dishes are stewed and served over rice.

French pastries are often served at breakfast and beverages include bissap, made from hibiscus, sugar and water as well as home roasted coffee, mint tea and a yogurt drink called Toufam. The are a few traditional desserts; Thiakry, a couscous pudding, Cinq Centimes (the five cent cookie) made from peanuts and a Banana Glace, a French inspired dessert.

I chose Dakar for my contribution to World Culinary ABC since many of the traditional foods grown in Senegal and other countries in Africa have heavily influenced the cuisine of the low country of South Carolina and Coastal Georgia. As a child of the South, I grew up enjoying seafood from our waters, locally grown peanuts, sweet potatoes, okra and black-eyed peas from our gardens; recipes gleaned the West African influence in the area.

Senegalese Okra Stew

This rich and creamy vegetarian stew is  an embodiment of some of the similar vegetables that I use in many of my dishes. Okra, butternut squash or sweet potatoes, nut butter and a heady mixture of cumin, fresh ginger, and hot peppers create a colorful and delicious melange of flavors.
 Original recipe from Food and Wine.

Senegalese Okra Stew
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 tablespoon peeled ginger, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 to 1 habanero, seeded and minced (use gloves as the habanero is very hot)
  • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1-1/2 cups 1/2 inch cubed butternut squash or sweet potato
  • Salt
  • 3-1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  • 3/4 pound small to medium size okra, trimmed and sliced crosswise
  • 1/4 cup cashew butter (or peanut butter)
  • Cilantro leaves, for garnish
  1. In a large pot, heat the oil. Add the onion, ginger and garlic;cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, 5-6 minutes, until softened. Add the habanero, cumin and turmeric. cook an additional 2 minutes. Add the squash or sweet potato, season with salt and cook, stirring until the squash is coated with the seasonings. Add 3 cups of the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer over medium low heat until squash is tender-5-6 minutes. Stir in the okra and cook until tender, about 3 minutes.
  2. In a bowl, whisk the cashew or peanut butter into the remaining 1/2 cup broth (heated). Stir this into the stew and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve in soup bowls and garnish with cilantro. The stew can be made one day ahead and refrigerated.

You are welcome to participate in our journey of Dakar. You will need to post a Senegalese recipe by December 27th. In your post, please include a link to this post and to the World Culinary ABC then leave a link to your post in the comments section below. Old posts can be used but update the details. Multiple entries are welcomed. If you don't have a blog but would like to submit a recipe, send me an email at lynnylu AT gmail Dot com and I will be happy to post it for you.

Contributions to ABC Mondiale-Dakar

Poulet Yassa-A traditional chicken dish from the Casamance region of Senegal-Morena
Mafé-Senegal-Beef stew with Vegetables and Rice-Similar to the African Peanut Stew-Lucia
Yassa Poulet-Another delicious variation of the traditional chicken dish-Pinko Panino
Dakar Spice Rubbed Lamb Kebabs with Mustard Onions-street food from Dakar-Lynne
Yassa au Poulet-Love the interesting renditions of this traditional chicken dish-Eloisa
Fish Yassa-A lovely fish yassa from Marta
Sugar Cookies topped with Peanut Butter- Yummy Desserts-Resy
Carrot Coconut and Pineapple Cake-Another delicious dessert-Resy
Potato Salad Dakarois-A nice dish to go with any of the main courses above Cinzia-Cindy Star Blog
Yassa Senegal-Another delicious beef stew-Carla
Dakar Spice Rubbed Lamb Kebabs with Mustard Onions-Lynne
Thiakry-Dolce Senegalese-a light and pleasing dessert-Elena
Senegalese Seafood Gumbo-a hearty seafood stew-Lynne
Poisson Grille Senegal--a lovely Senegalese grilled fish -Carla
Senegalese Spiced Swordfish-another delightful marinated and pan fried fish dish-Terry
Exotic Salad -Senegal-A delicious shrimp and fruit salad-Lucia
Caramel Bananas-A beautiful banana dessert with caramel-Elena
Thieboudienne-Senegalese rice dish-Tamara
Bissap-a refreshing Senegalese fruit drink made with dried hibiscus flowers-Morena
Tarte du Senegal- a lovely meringue pie made with bananas, dates and nuts-Resy
Coconut Fritters-beautiful coconut fritters-Tamara
Mafé-Peanut Sauce-lovely stew with peanut sauce-Anisja
Thiakry-a light dessert with yogurt-Eloisa
Papaya Chutney-a perfect complement to roast meats-Cinzia
Rice With Coconut Milk-a delightful rice pudding-Rosa Maria
Senegalese Chicken Yassa-lovely chicken yassa served with homemade pasta-Simona
Salad Niebe-a beautiful melange of cowpeas and vegetables-Alejandro

Please do not use images or text without my permission.

Wednesday, December 03, 2014

Coffee Bean Still Life -Black and White Wednesday #152

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Some classic quotes about that lovely black liquid that many of us stand in long lines for.......

"It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity."  Dave Barry

"As long as there is coffee in the world, how bad could things be."  Cassandra Clare-City of Ashes

"At Starbucks I like ordering a "Tall venti in a grande cup". That's like basically me asking for a small large in a medium cup." Jarod Kinta-This Book Has No Title

"No matter what historians claimed, BC really stood for "Before Coffee."Cherish Sinclair-City of Ashes

"Life is a beautiful and endless journey in search of the perfect cup." Barbara A. Daniels

The image above is my contribution to Black and White Wednesday #152 hosted this week by Aparna from Stories From the Mahe Coast. I photographed the beans with an iPhone 5 (sadly lost in San Antonio recently), processed it in Photoshop CC, added a filter from MacPhun Tonality Pro and added two textures (Elysium and Danielli) from Flypaper Textures.

Please do not use images or text without my permission.
Gadget by The Blog Doctor.


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The Last Hurrah…

by Bec ThomasMy friend Bec Thomas (of visual perpective) took this photo of Deb (another park ranger’s wife) and I, during the Cama Beach Staff’s last hurrah, Monday June 16th. It was the last staff party with the park closed.

For me it was a bitter sweet time, as my family and I lived down there for almost three years. We arrived when my daughter was 7 and my son was 4, she is now 14 and he just turned 12 (Monday!).  As everyone talked about the park opening, I had visions of my children running up deer trails, stumbling on paths, scraping knees, climbing into holes with archaeologists, jumping up on giant dirt “mountain” and sliding down it (even when told repeatedly to stop…dirt ground into underwear THROUGH the clothes!). Visions of my daughter and son bringing me their treasures, running terrified off the beach from an errant sea lion, watching a pumpkin flung from a homemade trechuchet be taken down to Davy Jones locker, by what we assumed was a seal, but who knows…

Eagles, orcas, friendships, people who passed through our lives, people who are still there…my friend Bec’s boys were so little when we met, her oldest was my son’s “Almost seven year old” friend when we met…her youngest was a baby, he’s seven now.

So as we get ready to celebrate the opening of the park…I had to detach, to let go, of the park, it was my home once, it holds the imprints of my children’s laughter, and their tears, the garden that provided so many people with joy has changed, and will change again, and new memories for other people will imprint the park…other children’s laughter, other children’s tears…

It makes it easier to let go of our private nirvanah…knowing that come Saturday, grandparents will bring grandchildren to share their memories, and create new ones. It’s easy to want to hang on to things, because those days slip by so quickly, without us even noticing…yet, a place like Cama Beach belongs to us all…

As I stood watching the children play unfettered one last time in “our” park, I thought back to the thousands of years that we know Cama has been used by human beings…I thought of how many voices we could hear on the wind if we just but listened.

The one thing I do know from living there, is that it is magical, it is healing…and it is there for us all. I can detatch knowing that.

As for crocheting…I finally got that stitch figured out…photo coming soon 😉

About thegoldenme

I love crochet and hand-spinning. I am visually impaired, and thus extremely tactile. I love texture and color, and creating things that feel good, and look good has made life richer and warmer.
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July 23, 2010 at 10:23 pm | Posted in Books, China, Development, Economics, Financial, Globalization, History, Research, World-system | Leave a comment

Losing Control:

The Emerging Threats to Western Prosperity

Stephen D. King (Author)

Editorial Reviews

‘I’ve not come across another book which so forcefully gives the European or American reader a China-centred view rather than a Western-centric one…A disorientating and thought-provoking perspective.’ — Diane C, The Enlightened Economist

”In this intellectually stimulating and excellently written book, Stephen King explores the implications of the end of western hegemony for the ability of the erstwhile rulers of the world to sustain their standards of living. The rising competition from new players and the growing scarcity of resources will, he argues, squeeze the West hard. It will have to adapt. It will not find it easy to do so.”

Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator, Financial Times

“Mr. King lays out his arguments in accessible and engaging prose. He is a lively writer with a deft eye for catchy historical analogies.”

The Economist

Product Description

As the economic giants of Asia and elsewhere have awakened, Western leaders have increasingly struggled to maintain economic stability. The international financial crisis that began in 2007 is but one result of the emerging nations’ increased gravitational pull. In this vividly written and compellingly argued book, Stephen D. King, the global chief economist at HSBC, one of the largest banking groups in the world, suggests that the decades ahead will see a major redistribution of wealth and power across the globe that will force consumers in the United States and Europe to stop living beyond their means.

The tide of money washing in from emerging nations has already fuelled the recent property bubble in the West, while new patterns of trade have left the West increasingly dependent on risky financial services. Unless things change drastically, King argues, the increasing power of emerging markets, when coupled with poor internal regulation and an increasingly anachronistic system of global governance, will result in greater instability and income inequality, accompanied by the risk of a major dollar decline. And as Western populations age and emerging economies develop further, the social and political consequences may be alarming to citizens who have grown accustomed to living in prosperity.

Product Details:

· Hardcover: 304 pages

· Publisher: Yale University Press

· June 15 2010

· Language: English

· ISBN-10: 0300154321

· ISBN-13: 978-0300154320

Losing Control: The Emerging Threats to Western Prosperity

Stephen D. King (Author)

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Tag Archives: home

Strollin’ Through The Hood Before Fall

A beautiful day although fall is quickly closing in.

   A ride in the stroller, you say…OK…let’s go.
Sup, mom?  I don’t know if I want a stroll or not….maybe, any foooood…what are you doing?  Well, if you put it that way I’ll go for a stroll with you and Kali.                                                         I wanted a better view so was headed to the front of the stroller.  Out of the blue, Kali growled at me….just cause I was standing on her back……♪ I ain’t heavy I’m your sisteh.♪  She made it up to a hisss by the time I stood dancing on her shoulder.  My Cod Kali, you have fish breath!  Yuck!  Alright, alright, I’ll sit down.  Geesh!

We headed down the sidewalk and to Gateway Seniors Facility where mom had a chat with one of the residents.  My Cod, mom can talk.  We sat twiddling our paws while she gassed about what’s happening in the facility.  Six hours later we left for Total Pet.                                             No, we have no idea who this dude is but he ruined mom’s picture.

Kali begged mom for this Beauty dry food but mom was adament….just the Hypoallergenic Soy….no Beauty Food. Kali then turned her back on mom.  Until mom went up to the cashier.  The cashier gave mom a treat bag for us.                                                 Mom opened the bag and gave a piece of Freeze Dried Chicky Liver to Kali and I…we immediately started to gobble them and then we spit them out in unison.  They were ghastly!  Ewww…..They must be 87 years old.  The treats they gave us last year were disgusting too.  Don’t ever buy our treats here.

Then we headed for home.                                   We were gone for 2 hours and did we ever have to use the kitty litter.

Have a great Tuesday, my friends.

Shopping Around The World for April….Reminder

Hi folks, it’s me…Shoko.  Mom and dad made it home last night.  What a sight they were!  Tired and shabby looking….I had to rub my paws over my baby blues.                                                           Kali has welcomed dad home but not mom…Kali is giving mom the cold shoulder where I am delighted she is home.  I actually missed her.

Now, on to our Shopping Around the World for April.  We are handling the SAW for April.  We have decided to have recipes done with seafood.  You have a special tuna salad sandwich recipe…write and tell us all about it, including the prices in your area for the ingredients.  Got a good recipe for jellyfish without the stinger, let us know.  A cold or hot meal is great.  Remember to spell the recipe out as mom is not exactly the greenest nip on the vine these days. MOL

Shopping Around The World and your recipe will be held on April the 31st. folks.  My mouth’s waterin’ already.

PPS: Mom screwed up already. Yes, Two Spoiled Cats, we meant the 30th of April. lol.

Things are Lookin’ Good

*sigh*  Are you leaving us mom?  Ummm…just for a short while Kali. Who will read to us and give us treats?  Is dad staying home?  N no…he’s coming with me.  Judy will stay with you every evening she’ll be here and she’ll give you treats.  When I get home, I’ll read to you.    Maybe Judy will even read to you.

Shoko and I will do our best mom and welcome Judy to our house. Glad to hear it Kali.                                                                          Shoko, mom has no idea what’s going to happen when she’s gone. MOL  Great, the coast is clear Kali.

May your pawty have no poopers.

Easy’s Heading Home

Easy is heading home today and we are going to help light our friend’s way home.  As members of Blogville, we salute you Easy and shall never forget you and your antics.    Please go to The Lone Star Cats and see the others guiding Easy home.                                                                  shoko-and-easy-thanksEasy and flat me giving thanks for  a happy visits-up-a-treeLooks like Easy and flat me exchanged mews and woofs and are ticked with each other but not really.  Easy was wondering if he should run or go tinkles…..big decision.

Still Kali and my favourite picture is Easy arriving at my 7th birthday party.

easys-tunnelThis picture will always be the fun and playful Easy to us.  Our love for Easy will live on in our hearts.

Till we meet again my dear friend.  May our candle plus the others in Blogville light your way home.                                                                          candle

A Special Day

Did you say it was mom and dad’s anniversary today.  Yes, Shoks.  They’ve been married like way too long.  Well, I’ve only been here for 8 years Kali and they were married then.  Were they married when you came here?  Oh yes, they’ve been married for 45 years. Cwap, that long!!  That’s like 3 lifetimes for us catsSo where did they go for dinner.  Mom made reservations at The Twisted Cork.  Let me guess.  There are corks all over the floor  and the servers have twisted personalities.  MOL MOL                                                       aaashokocroppedThey’re home!  Tell us mom what did you have for your special dinner?  OK girls, listen to this.  I had a Caesar Salad tossed with bacon and parmesan cheese.  You must have had more than a salad.  Then I indulged in pan seared Pacific scallops in a saffron cream and topped with red caviar.   Caviar…fish eggs….what were they like?  Very tiny Shoko and not much flavor.                                                               1a1a1aWhat’s the black stuff under the scallops?  I’m ashamed to say I don’t know but it was delicious.  It wasn’t chocolate but what a delicate flavour.

What did dad have?  Dad eats meat like we do…..none of this salad bit for him.  Dad had a New York Steak, thick cut with a house dry rub and six large prawns on top of the steak.  The potato was coated with seasoned bread crumbs and baked.  He also had a vegetable ragout with red peppers, zucchini and broccoli.  That steak makes my mouth water.  You can keep the veggies.

  So the dinner was a success?  Not everything.  We each had sparkling water and it tasted…bad!  It tasted like someone threw baking soda into the water.  Yuck.

How about us mom, we’re getting hungry.  You got any Fancy Feast for us gals?  Sure enough….Make room for the beef girls.                                                                       adone1.

May you never suffer from insomnia my furry friends.                                                                                sistersinarmsfall

Kali’s Vet Visit

Mom was rather nonchalant this morning, which means she’s up to something.  I was keeping an eye open for any quick activity on her part….just in case she decided it was time I got meds cause my life was too happy.  Then it happened…Kali was picked up and thrown in her carrier.  Alright. alright, gently put into the carrier.  They all jumped in the Toyota, except for Kali who was singin’ the blues.  Take it away Kali.                                                              smsm KaliWe arrived at the vet’s stinky house and were taken into the office immediately.  My leg seemed to feel better almost instantly and I wanted off the cold steel table.  I hid and tried to pretend I was home.  Oh dear, home doesn’t ever stink like this place.                                                                       ackalivetDoes this pose look like you’ve seen it before?  This is my standard pose at the vets so nothing varies much.

Dr. V sauntered into the office and stated I was beautiful….maybe she’s not so bad after all.  She stroked me and then felt all up my front legs.  She was getting a little rude.  We just met!  She then put me on the floor and yelled asked me to walk.  I hobbled like at home.  She was quite concerned as was mom.  They decided to torture me for hours.  That’s what it felt like but really Dr. V did an x-ray of each leg.  Both legs showed a fair bit of arthritis in the shoulders and paws.  The worst arthritis was in my elbows which were inflamed and quite swollen.   I was at a loss for mew’s.  Horrified even!  Does this mean I’ll no longer pad about like a model?  I started to feel glum.  This is when Dr. V said I should be on liquid morphine for three days to control the inflammation and bring the swelling down.  They might just as well have been barking…I understood nothing.  Then Dr. V told mom and dad they had to treat me like a princess on a velvet pillow for the next few days.  I understood that.  What a marvelous vet….I like her.  No other vet has ever said that before.

When we got home I told Shoko what the vet said and she didn’t believe me.  You’ll see Shoko.                                                                            aakaliupcloseI had some yucky liquid in my mouth after supper and I am very sleepy, but my elbow is ok….not great but ok.  Really, I don’t care if I have an elbow about now.  I’m going to dream about the new tiara mom got for me.                                                               aaakalitiara

Have a great weekend my fwiends….think the morphine is starting to woke.

KALI…..ORANGE                                                                              SHOKOKALI2

Friendly Fill-Ins with Shoko

That was a super fast week!  I was gone every day this week while my uncle and his girl friend were visiting.  I came home to eat and showed up for bed when everyone else was in their rooms.  I’m a wee bit timid around strangers.

Today is the Friday Fill-Ins with our hosts 15 and Meowing and McGuffy’s Reader.                                                                                ellen_cat_badge_2-1-300x300Our fill-ins this week are:

2. My favorite comic strip is GARFIELD

3. I am really happy  WHEN I’M WORKING IN MY GARDEN.                                                                           ashokworking4. If I could go anywhere on a road trip, I would go to RICHMOND AND VISIT WITH NELLIE, MY MENTOR AS THE CAT FROM HELL.                                                                     Nellie cartoonIsn’t she beautiful?  She’s a meezer, like me too.

May the red dot always guide your way home.                                                                             badge1


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Jonic Bedding

While Sue and I were at the Manchester Caravan & Motorhome Show this year, we dropped by the Jonic stand to have a look a the bedding. We had wanted for a while to get a set of bedding that fitted the cut off corner mattress installed in our Sterling Celebration 550. Having looked on-line at three companies that offer bedding – Jonic, Raskelf – Duvalay & Ship Shape Caravans we had sort of plumped for Jonic as they had the set and colours we wanted.

We placed an order at the show on Thursday morning for a bed protector, bottom sheet, 10+5 duvet and a duvet cover with a matching pair of pillowcases…. the chap from Jonic asked us for our caravan make and model as they knew the sizes. We stressed that it was a Celebration 550 and therefore had the upgraded thicker mattress. Everything totaled it was a shade over £179. A bit of a hiccup paying, as someone had forgotten to bring the chip & pin machines with them but our card details were phoned through to the office and our order taken. This also ment we had no receipt for our order or even a copy of what we had ordered. We were told that expected delivery would be two to three weeks.

Three weeks on to the day, I gave Jonic a ring to check on the progress of our order, and was told it was due out the next day (Friday) so would be with us Monday or Tuesday. A short while later Sue got a call to let her know our order was being despatched that day and it would be with us the following day. Great as it was Sues weekend off, we could get the new bedding washed dried and ironed and on Saturday go and fit it ready for our trip in a couple of weeks time.

The courier delivered the box from Jonic on the Friday. The box was a bit bashed about, but as it was all soft contents, nothing breakable, I signed for it. We opened the box and checked the contents… the mattress protector was missing and it became obvious that a gash on the bottom of the cardboard box had opened up the bottom edge of the box. A quick call to Jonic to let them know and I was told they would check with the courier and call me back. (Saturday PM… not heard anything). Sue put the bottom sheet, pillowcases and duvet cover in the washer and by Friday night we had the bedding washed and dried ready for the following day.

This morning we set off up to the caravan with all the freshly washed Jonic bedding. We decided to leave our old mattress protector on pending the update from Jonic. Putting fitted sheets on the mattress is always a bit of a struggle in the caravan and the best way we found is to slide the mattress off the bed and stand it on its edge. We tried the fitted bottom sheet… nope would not fit so we took it off and tried again. I checked that the two corner seams that were closest together were at the bottom of the bed where the cut off corner was… yep but it still would not fit. The elasticated bottom edge would only just wrap underneath the mattress. The length was not as bad, but width wise, it was too small. Hmm. As we had washed the bedding, so according to the details printed on the packaging sw could not return it. We knew this when we opened the packaging, but who would open the packs, test the fit, then take it off again to wash it?

So, with the judicious use of two ‘Clingon‘ clips and a length of soft nylon cord I clipped the long edges of the bottom sheet together and laced them under the mattress. We put the mattress back into position and moved on the the quilt and quilt cover. We opted to buy the 10+5 quilt. Two quilts – one 10 TOG and one 5 TOG that clip together, so we can vary the quilts as weather dictates. The idea is great and we think will work really well. The cover for the quilt is shaped for the bed, with the corner cut off, but unfortunately the cover seems too big for the quilt. With both the 10 and 5 clipped together, it is quite baggy, so what it will be like with just the 10 or 5 on its own! I think we might end up with quilt rage in the middle of the night!

The pillow cases seemed fine and had good deep end “pockets” to tuck the pillow inside so should not pull open at the ends.

Wether we were expecting too much and hoped, unrealistically maybe, that the bed would look like beds made in show caravans I’m not sure, we did however expect that it would at least fit better than the bedding we had been previously using which was made to fit a standard double bed.

There is not much we can do about the bedding as we have washed it and accept that, however if the mattress protector is made to the same size as the bottom sheet, we decided that it would not be worth getting, so I’m going to send off an email (and ring them on Monday) to Jonic asking not to send the missing mattress protector but refund the cost of it.

We were both disappointed with the fit, if the mattress had been half the thickness it is, maybe the bottom sheet would have fitted. One thing I hate is when the corner of the bottom sheet comes off the mattress and wraps itself round your feet. The test of that will be in a couple of weeks when we are away. We have put on hold our idea of ordering a spare set of bedding for the moment.

UPDATE – 09:30 Monday 11th Feb.

After sending in my email on Saturday, I was going to follow it up with a call to Jonic. However they (Jonic) beat me to it!

I received a call this morning from the MD. She asked me about the condition of the box and said they had checked with the courier, who denied knowledge of the damage, but they would send out another mattress protector.  I then started to explain about the fitted sheet size problem and the fact we had the upgraded mattress as it was a “Celebration’ dealer special and she said it was possible that we had been sent a fitted sheet for a normal mattress, so she would arrange for the correct one to be sent along with the mattress protector and they should be with us tomorrow.

Now that is good customer service!

UPDATE – 14:00 Tuesday 12th Feb.

Just received a parcel from Jonic… one mattress protector and TWO fitted sheets. We will go and try one of the sheets in the next couple of days (before washing) and see how we go. Now that is customer service at it’s best!

UPDATE – Thursday 28th Feb.

I posted the following in A couple of updates and a problem…

Something else we need to update you on as well is our recent purchase of Jonic bedding. After our initial problem (“Things that make you go Hmm…”) we received a replacement mattress cover and two replacement bottom sheets. Not wanting to wash the sheets first in case we needed to return them, we took one of the sheets with us to check to see if it would fit. We compared the corner seam on the Jonic sheet we had fitted against one of the replacement sheets. There was an obvious difference. The replacement sheet corner seam was about three inches longer which ment the fitted sheet would wrap nicely under the mattress. So a huge 10/10 for Jonic’s customer service! We also have to report that the 10+5 duvet, even though light in weight, kept us warm even when the outside temp was down to 1 or 2 degrees at night.

So our issues with the bedding have been sorted out and I have to say it was done without any hesitation from Jonic. The quality of the products is very high. If you are looking for fitted bedding for your caravan, motorhome or boat, well you couldn’t do much better than Jonic and if there is a problem, I’m darn sure their customer service will sort it.

Copyright © 2011 – 2015 Simon P Barlow

7 thoughts on “Jonic Bedding”

  1. I am afraid I would have asked for a written receipt, I have experienced this sort of thing before and only sending a photo of the receipt has saved me losing money.
    People do not read well i.e. they skim because they see something familiar and think I know what that is, a ‘Celebration’ they are “blind” to the important model number.
    I also write or e mail with the details just to remind them. Just bear in mind also, for many workers English is a second language.

    • Hi Rod
      I was brought up old school and still believe in a handshake…. in 50+ years so far it’s worked, although back in 1966 I wanted the football card of Bobby Moore and arranged to swop the German goalkeeper and the Brazilian goalkeeper for him with my best mate. Unfortunately he swopped it with someone else in class.

      I did make a point of mentioning it was the upgraded mattress and was thicker when we were ordering and he was writing the details on his order sheet.

      In fairness, they did ship out everything we ordered in the timescale quoted. The fact the item was missing I think was down to the courier. Some of the reviews for Jonic praise their customer service, so hopefully that will continue.

      I sent off an email to them Saturday evening and I’ll give them a ring on Monday.

      PS….. I never did get Bobby Moore.

  2. Christine Smith said:

    I have just made my second purchase from Jonic, the 1st purchase was 3 years ago and yes the bedding is expensive but i was pleased with the quality and i am a firm believer in that you get what you pay for. Unfortunately i cannot say that for my recent purchase. The fitted sheet is not shaped, it seems to be more suitable for a bed with no shaping and the finishing on the hems of the pillowcases is very amateurish. Not getting much joy from Jonic Customer services. Because i took the bedding to our caravan to replace the ones taken home to wash, we had to use the new ones. I just keep being asked for photos which i have supplied but now they want me to return them so they can have a look at them, they obviously do not believe me or the photos i have sent them. I do not need all this hassle and will not use Jonic again.

    • Hi Christine
      Thanks for the feedback, sorry to hear that it wasn’t up to scratch.

      Funnily enough we were considering a second set so that Sue didn’t have to do the ‘wash and dry in a day’ act between trips. I think we might hang on a bit.

      Please post back on the outcome, it would be very useful for us and other readers to know how you got on.

  3. Christine Smith said:

    Further to my previous comment I now confirm that Charlotte at Jonic contacted me to confirm that she was arranging to send me another set of my bedding completely free of charge and that they do not require me to return the set that I was unhappy with. Thank you Charlotte for your help in sorting my complaint.

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text:
World War Moo

World War Moo

An Apocalypse Cow Novel

Book - 2015
Average Rating:
Rate this:
"It began with a cow that just wouldn't die. Yep. That's right. They're still un-dead, and now the disease has spread to humans. The epidemic that transformed Britain's bovine population into a blood-thirsty, brain-graizing, zombie horde...err...zombie herd... is threatening to take over the globe. And there's not much time left to stop it. All of Great Britain is infected and hungry. The rest of the world has a tough choice to make. Should they nuke the brits right off the map -- men, women, children, cows and all -- in the biggest geocide in history? Or should they risk global infection in a race against time to find a cure? With hungry zombies attempting to cross borders by planes, trains, boats, and any other form of transport available, it's only a matter of time before the virus gets out. And if it does, there's only one answer. This means war"-- Provided by publisher.
Publisher: New York : St. Martin's Griffin, ©2015.
Edition: First edition.
ISBN: 9781250061652
Characteristics: vii, 309 pages ;,22 cm.

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Jul 18, 2017

Cynthia_N Sep 19, 2015

Funny book! A little more political than the first but still funny. How do human zombies resist the urge to eat the uninfected? Well, its a combination of meditation, medication (marijuana), and sex. The cows play a smaller role in this book.

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