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The new school year is in full swing.  Excitement and curiosity fills the atmosphere for the children and teens enrolled in the Rural Robotics Program at Mt. Olive Ministries.  Each week, the students examine scientific techniques in solar mechanics and civil engineering.  Within the semester, two projects are completed by each class of students.

Each class is lectured on the design and function of the upcoming hands-on experiment.  Before the actual hands-on approach begins, each child must fully understand the importance of safety procedures in the laboratory.

When asked why safety is important, Joseph Crouse, age 11, of Brandon, MS, replied, “Following the rules protects everyone.  It keeps mistakes from happening.”

The first project was to build a solar-powered, model car built on wooden frames.  Through instruction from Mr. Ray Holt, each student gained an understanding of the effects of solar energy converted to electrical energy and ultimately transferred into mechanical energy.  Volunteers from the senior robotics class assisted the children in the construction of their cars.  Alana Peden, 16, and Antawn Easterling, 17, both of Mt. Olive shared their knowledge with the students.  A small motor with lead wires, wheels, and a solar panel were attached to the frame. The students performed several troubleshooting test phases before the final race.  Upon completion, the cars were judged for speed, appearance and functionality.

Caine Smith, age 9, of Magee, MS, stated, “I enjoyed gluing the wheels on my car.  My car will run super fast.  I’m expecting to win the race!”

The fastest solar powered car traveled a distance of 200 feet within 5.69 seconds.  The cars were also equipped with a battery component.  The fastest battery powered car traveled a distance of 200 feet      within 6.58 seconds.

The second project was to design and develop a bridge from toothpicks.  Mr. Billy Blain, Civil Engineer, along with Mr. Richard Dukette, Instructor of Mechanical Systems, explained the necessary theories in statics. First, each student evaluated the strength of the available materials.  The student then applied the knowledge taught in lecture to design a plan.  Drawings of the bridge design were submitted to the instructors for approval. Upon completion of construction, each student tested the strength of their bridge by applying hanging weights until the bridge failed.  The students produced bridges that held weights up to 41 pounds.

Points are earned for each completed project.  As a student reaches 1,000 points, they are eligible to join the competition club.  The competition club challenges each student.  The students learn how to build and program a robot.  The robot’s function is to complete specific obstacles in a set course.  The students learn valuable problem solving skills throughout this process.  Students compete in state and national competitions.  Scholarship money is available to the winners.

Kaitlynn Tuggle, age 13, from Mendenhall, MS, will compete in this year’s competition.

“My goal is to accomplish my project, win an award and most importantly, have fun,” says Kaitlynn.

The completion of the project produces feelings of accomplishment for each student.  Confidence is a key to success.  The volunteers and supporters of the Rural Robotics Program are providing an atmosphere of learning, teamwork and confidence for future leaders.

Category: Robotics


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Thursday, February 2, 2012

The Way

Program: Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly

Episode: The Way

Actor Martin Sheen says his new movie about the Camino de Santiago is ultimately about "a journey of the spirit as well as the flesh" as well as a search for ritual and transcendence.

Watch The Way on PBS. See more from Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.

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• MissingLuigi

    MUGEN Boss Edition

    February 26, 2016 by MissingLuigi

    So I'm currently making a version of MUGEN which is a boss rush kinda like the I wanna be the Guy The MUGEN based fan game. Bonus games are also allowed. If you know some good bosses feel free to post them in the comments :)

    Current Roster:

    Playable Chars:

    Justice by Bane84

    Yukari Yakumo by RicePigeon

    Apocalypse by N64Mario

    Evil Spirit Incarnate by Dark Ruler

    Kraid by Endoedgar

    Kraidgief by fhqwhgads7

    Metal Rear by Noctis

    Mike Tyson by fhqwhgads7

    Phantoon by Endoedgar

    Red Dragon by Doggiedoo

    Ridley by Endoedgar

    Super Mario Bros Level 1-1 by Bane84

    Synn by Doggiedoo

    Yellow Devil by O Ilusionista & Magma Dragoon MK-II

    Also I use IMT Red, so please no 1.1 only bosses.

    Read more >

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Friday, January 30, 2009

I Run With Scissors With The Pointy Side Down

The first summer I was working for the Big K he sent me a new client. K got in the habit of passing off the clients he thought would irritate him once he was comfortable with my teaching style.

Michelle was an instructor, a trainer and a low key horse trader. She worked with one of the bigger 4-H clubs in the state. She wanted to bring a horse in for some reining training.

"I inherited this horse from my uncle. She's a cute little western horse and I need to sell her. I'd like you to teach both of us to rein," Michelle told me.

Michelle rode dressage.

K figured this woman would piss him off in no time, so he quickly let her know I was the one with the time and patience to start a newby reiner and her horse.

"You know she's going to come in here with all her notions about what's right and how she's going to do things," he told me.

"I'll just end up tossing her out on her ear. Have fun."

So with just a little trepidation I waited to meet my new client.

Michelle came piling in with a 10-year-old truck and a 20-year-old stock trailer. I felt better immediately. She unloaded a nicely built, plain-headed sorrel filly, already saddled with an old, serviceable western saddle. The filly was hairy, but well-groomed and the saddle was clean and well cared for. When she tied her up and walked towards me I noticed the filly stood quietly. She looked around the place with interest and a calm eye.

I was pleased enough to not worry about Michelle's impeccable riding tights, turtle-neck and Irish Wool sweater.

Her Ariats were scuffed and worn and her half chaps had seen better days. Michelle twirled her helmet by it's straps while we talked. It was the only sign of nerves I saw.

"I have to warn you, I don't have a clue what I'm doing. I ride well enough, but I need to help my 4-Her's with reining and I can't begin to show them what to do," she told me.

"You didn't pick the easiest way to learn," I warned her, "it would be easier to learn by riding a finished reiner."

"But this is the horse I have and I need to learn step-by-step. If I understand the process I'll do a better job with the kids."

I was liking this woman more and more with each passing minute.

"How broke is your filly?" I asked.

"She can walk, trot, canter. She's pretty one leaded and gets a little bucky, but it's just green stuff, she's fine."

"Well let's get started."

I saddled Loki, my seasoned, quiet mare and met Michelle at the gate of the outdoor.

The Big K sat in the sun on the bench outside the tack room, his arms folded behind his head and his big old feet stretched out in front of him. He grinned a smart-ass grin as I walked by.

"He doesn't look too busy to take on a new student to me," Michelle told me.

"Is that what he said?" I knew the Big K could hear every word we were saying.

"Yes, yes he did."

"He told me he thought you'd be a pain in the ass."

Michelle burst out laughing and K ducked into the tack room. I knew already this was going to be great.

It turned out Michelle was pretty comfortable in a western saddle. She had worked with her husband as an outfitter for several years in their family business. She handled her horse with a western sensibility which made me feel comfortable right away.

"I'm going to simply tell you how I do things," I started.
"I'd appreciate it if you would do as I ask first and then ask me why after the fact. I'll try to answer the best I can, although sometimes the answer is simply, because it works," I added.
"No problem," she said.
By the end of the lesson Michelle was a little bug-eyed.
"I can't believe you have us moving that fast."
"She's fine, once you relaxed and sat back she motored right along."
"She was fine, I'm the one who felt totally out of control."
"We can back off if you want," I told her.
"Are you kidding? I'm having a blast!"

So we began what turned out to be a solid friendship and an exchange of ideas. Michelle simply did what I said. She accepted our different approaches, did them herself and moved on. She was a great rider, had wonderful feel and really wanted to slide stop a horse. Our lead changes fascinated her.

She adopted all our cowboy habits, including the terrible inclination to hop on, trot out into the arena and start loping.
"Don't you walk and trot first?"
"Not unless they need it for their head."
"Aren't you afraid you'll hurt them?"
I shrugged."It's easier on them to just let them drag themselves along by their front end and lope easy, than getting pushed into frame in a trot. Plus, we only have a half hour to an hour for each horse, we gotta get going."
Michelle got into the habit of showing up early and warming up her horse the way she saw fit. She didn't argue or criticize, she just made it work.
I didn't feel the need to prove my point, so our relationship became that much smoother.
As time went on we got in the habit of visiting after each lesson. Then Michelle would talk about differences she saw in how I was teaching her and how it affected her riding.
"I'm slouchier when I ride with you. I ride less with my upper thigh muscle and more with my lower back. My seat is deeper. I get in trouble at my dressage lesson."
She switched to an O-ring snaffle like mine and got rid of her cavesson. She hung a loose leather curb strap off the rings behind the bit and in front of the reins. She got a pair of eight foot split reins.
She pointed out to me how much more effective the O-ring was than her D-ring when she handled the reins "western".
"You have her following my rein, encouraging her to move toward my hand, almost like I'm leading her from her back," Michelle said.
"Why would the O-ring make a difference?" I asked.
"I like the way it moves off her face when I bring my hand out."
So Michelle got out her English bridle, fit it on my bewildered Loki and had me try it out. Within minutes I was posting and driving Loki into my hands, my elbows close to my sides, my reins an extension of my hands. The D-ring gave me a solid feel of connection, it was kind of nice.

We realized our stirrup length and basic body position was the same. Michelle learned that our loose jointed way of riding didn't mean sloppy and I learned that the tidier dressage seat didn't mean tight. We discussed muscle use, leg and hand placement and balance.
I put Michelle into my custom cutting saddle and she loved the close contact feel. I let her learn to slide on Loki. She was rolling back on her "pockets" and rounding her lower back in no time.
Michelle let me spend a lesson in her dressage saddle. I loved the comfort and was surprised at how similar the look and feel was to my own saddle.

I had been stuck with a horse to sell. I had put several months training on her. She was a big-boned, rangy appendix mare. She was built all wrong for reining. She was never going to stop, she couldn't spin, it just wasn't going to happen. It also ended up the only way I was going to get paid was if I got her sold.
I asked Michelle if she would ride her and see if she had potential as an English horse. She had a lovely trot and a big strided canter. That's all I knew.
Michelle brought out her gear and tacked up my mare. She got on and began to ride. The longer she rode the bigger her smile grew. My gawky giraffe horse looked beautiful under her hands. I didn't know what they were doing but it sure looked good.
When Michelle was done she was pretty excited.
"Do you know the history on this mare?" Michelle asked.
"She was a trail horse until the gal who stuck me with her bought her."
"So you taught her this?"
"I didn't teach her what you were doing."
"Well you must have. I think I can sell her for you."
Within two weeks I had a woman come out and try my mare. She hauled her out to her dressage instructor. My Giraffe passed her level two dressage test and I got my full asking price. The woman who bought her was delighted, I guess she had a good chunk of her level three done too.
Michelle took her commission and put her little mare in training with me.
Michelle and I are still friends. We ride together now and no money changes hands. I've helped her students and she has helped mine. We have a free flow of thoughts and ideas. I have learned and taken on many of her "moves."
She has adopted many of mine.
I don't think we have ever said, "I'm right," to each other. We have said, "What if", "How about", and "What do you think".
Michelle's little sorrel filly has become a top notch pony clubber. To this day she will park it and slide on a whoa.

heater said...

What a cool story!

I finally have a friend like this. Not quite to the extent you do, as we're not trainers. I grew up with such animosity towards western riding, and vice versa. I'm glad to say I've grown out of most of it. My friend and I share stories and ideas. It's lovely to not be english vs. western riders, and just horse-people instead.

Anonymous said...

I love this story, thanks for sharing what an open minded inter-disciplinary friendship can be like.

SunnySD said...

Super lesson in communication and figuring out what works. And a great Friday afternoon feel-good - thanks!

Redsmom said...

Thanks for this story. I've driven a pony sulkie, ridden saddleseat, western, dressage and hunter/jumper and I never understood the animosity between the styles. I like horses any way I can get at them!! And I like playing dress up so I like the costumes for all kinds of riding. The only thing I haven't gotten to try is an Arabian robe outfit, but I would love to! Anywho, funny you should talk about this today. Our local club voted to add a reining class this year. I was in there raising my hand and promising to enter the class in at least the first 5 shows. (Stupid hand, why was it up?) So, my question is, can you go over how to get the sliding stop again (bearing in mind right now I have a shuffle-to-a-stop kind of fellow) and also, do I need sliding shoes on the horse, or can we get a passable slide in regular shoes? If I put sliding shoes on him, would that make him slide and fall down doing barrels?

ezra_pandora said...

And that's the way people SHOULD discuss and learn new things. Open minded and compare. Not yell and scream at whoever doesn't see sames the same EXACT way you do. I like that.

mugwump said...

redsmom-I wouldn't put sliders on your horse unless you are getting serious about reining, although I have done things you wouldn't believe in my sliders.
For what you want to do you need to worry most about asking your horse to ride a straight line down the center of the arena on a loose rein.
Then when you get to the end, say whoa. You want your horse to stop on a loose rein. Now.
I'm sure there is a stopping post somewhere back there.The judge will be more concerned about a nice straight, relaxed lope, (don't go 100 MPH)good solid circles, clean lead changes and correct spins than long stops.Slide stops, like everything else, start slow and relaxed, then build.

Redsmom said...

Thanks, Mugs! You are good at encouragement. You should know that I am inspired to try reining because of YOU. I tried to get them to add working cow horse, but they said getting cows there would be too expensive. Give me a few years and I bet I'll nag them into doing it. LOL. It just looks like such a blast. I'm all excited about the new show season, and and so am blathering non-stop. I got my daughter a new horse so I get to ride her old one this year. I'm so excited not to have to ride the Red bucking monster anymore!! Instead of worrying about not getting killed, I can now work on riding!!

Shanster said...

Great story! I've always felt wierd cuz I'm so neutral... I really have no bad feelings about any particular way of going - I think it's all pretty cool.

I do what I do cuz it's the path I chose at the time and it worked for me at the time. I really enjoy it and I can't afford to get into the other things and do them well... time or money wise.

Nice way to head into the weekend -Thanks!

Redsmom said...

Oh, one more question. I guess they post the pattern you are supposed to do on the day of the show? As opposed to you demonstrating a pattern you have perfected at home? I found a link to NRHA patterns. Will it be one of these or could it be any pattern the judge dreams up?

mugwump said...

redsmom-it depends on the club. We NEVER practice an entire pattern. The horses learn them immediately and begin to anticipate. We only practice the pieces.
In order to learn them for yourself practice them on foot or with a breyer on the floor. Both work really well and you get to play horse!
This sounds like it needs a post....

Stelladorro said...

When I was younger and I knew I had a lot of patterns to memorize for a show (with 4-H in our area they sent out pattern packets a week or two ahead of time), I would set up an arena in the backyard with cones, and then trot and canter through my patterns on foot until I got them all right. It was seriously an awesome way to memorize them!

Redsmom said...

Thanks, Janet. Didn't mean to highjack!!

Latigo Liz said...

Sounds like a great friend to have!

Justaplainsam said...

Great story!! I always take cones with me to shows to practice patterns both on foot and parts of the patterns on the horse.

horsesandturbos said...

I love this too...I'm down the middle, liking both Western & English (have a saddle of each) and will throw whatever one on I feel like. My mare doesn't care, but it was funny when I threw my Western saddle on my step-horse...the 17 hand, only done jumping, DW...he couldn't figure out why the leg signals suddenly were very dull LOL!

JJ said...

I wasn't able to get riding lessons until I was 12. That seemed like forever for a horse crazy kid. So by the time I finally had my butt in a saddle I didn't care that it was western. Yeah, I really wanted to jump but I was riding a horse.

Maybe because of that, I have never really understood why people seem to have such blatant animosity towards the other disciplines.

We are all working towards the same general goal right? Bettering ourselves and our horses? Who cares what the saddle looks like or how you decide to trot - you are still riding

Esquared said...

I'm pretty in the middle too, though I've never had a friend to really discuss training back and forth with. Sounds like it'd be pretty awesome though!

fuglyhorseoftheday said...

I loved that story! It was so great to see someone come in without the "my way or the highway" attitude and really want to learn something new and different. But I am a Michelle...I would be aghasted at not properly warming up (15 min. walk before you even think about trotting) so I would be out there early, too. :-)

BMGallop said...

Mugs, love the post title.

I've been reading your blog for a while now and now, with this post, I feel compelled to say something I've been feeling for a while. I ride dressage. And now I really really really want to learn to do reining. (Is grammatically correct? I feel like an idiot...)

BrownEyed Cowgirls said...

That is awesome. It takes two to tango, but both of you benefited tremendously.

Reining and barrel racing go hand in hand too. Since you cannot spend all of your riding time training a barrel horse on the barrel pattern, I focus on teaching them the basics of reining horse manuvers. And I expect a barrel prospect to be able to perform a reasonable enough reining pattern to at least place in an open show before or while I am seasoning them to run barrels.
While I am not an experience english rider by any means, I am also fond of throwing my english saddle on the barrel horses, because I find that in an english saddle, I can get them to round better when long trotting for conditioning. Cavaletti's are next on the list to add for conditioning aids. I know I have at least two horses that would really benefit from them.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Mugs for another great story!
I love this one because in my mind it relates to the Horsaii piece. When your truly love horses and want to be the best rider you can, all pride and preconceptions should go out the window. My friend and I are English riders, we are going to a western ranch in Montana this summer to learn some Western basics. I can't wait, I want to soak in whatever I can and become a better rider. I want to improve my seat and balance, have better hands, better understand my horse and how to communicate what I'm asking for. I feel that exposure to different disciplines will widen my understanding and that's what is important!

stillearning said...

"Do as I ask first..." Ok, trying for that elusive perfect circle on my young, silly, very fresh horse on a 20 degree day with the wind making the icicles in the trees rattle. My horse's 2nd favorite evasion is flinging his shoulders around (#1 is sucking back.) Circles are something we work up to doing. I use many different techniques to make my circles round.

"Horses make perfect circles naturally." Focus on setting it up, asking the question, checking the response, correct as needed, let the horse be, just circle. Follow the instructions, ask questions later.

And? A few false starts, a few straight-across corrections, a couple of spins...and voila! Perfect training level dressage circles with a steady rhythm, moving softly into a light contact, correct bend, his entire back swinging gently--with me sitting up there grinning and not doing much else! Wow! So simple when I get out of the way.

More, please.

Leah Fry said...

This is such a great story, and one to which everyone with horses can relate. There always comes a time when you meet someone with whom you share nothing but the love of horses, and you are instantly on common ground.

SOSHorses said...

You know the funny thing is I started taking dressage lessons last fall, and I learned so much that I have incorporated into my western and gaited riding.

I am a firm believer there is always something you can learn from other disciplines to improve your riding ability for the horses benefit

jalin33 said...

Great topic! I think we can all learn from each other, my two best friends ride in other disciplines then I do, one rides Arabs saddleseat and the other is a hunt seat rider, both are trainers also. We love to pick each other's brains particularly my Arab buddy and I. We look at things differently and it has been beneficial on more then one occasion. Now if I could just convince them both that Pig is really not a people eater! LOL!

jalin33 said...

One more thing, we all swap out tack and try new things....her Country English Pleasure horse has been a lovely western horse for me on more then one occasion.....

kel said... the part about the mare. I have been wrestling with a similar issues of my own. Awhile back I posted a question about a horse that I was trying to make into a reiner. He is lazy and only wants to work when you are beating his ass constantly. A couple of weeks ago I went over to another barn to ride with a friend. She rode the A Circuit in the Bay Area and southern CA in her high school and college years and now just enjoys her big old 17.2 hand OTTB. She asked me if she could ride my boy english to see if he might work easier. Of course I am delighted when anyone wants to ride my horses, I take it as kind of compliment. She tacks my 15 hand quarter horse up in her jumping saddle and english bridle and off she goes. She liked the way he moved off her leg and how soft in the face he is. She commented on the fact that the basic manuvers for reining and dressage must be very similar because he was warming up like a dressage horse. He went over the cavaletti's like a pro so she set up a little (8 - 12 inch) jump and he went over like he had been doing it forever. I am sure that I was grinning from ear to ear. It was so nice to see him work willingly. My goal for all my horses is to see them be successful at something that they enjoy (besides eating and pooping). I am too old to start riding jumpers and my ass is too big for breeches. Your story gave me motivation to do what is right for him. Thanks.

ps... I rode her OTTB western that day. what a hoot!

autumnblaze said...

Openminded horse people are the best! Great story. I have a diverse group of horse friends and it's rare to see trainers who do. However, it's really refreshing to see you do and how easily you exchange ideas. Very cool post.

badges blues N jazz said...

i love reading your stories mugs.. I also just wanted to check in and say that I havent been able to try any of your methods for the bulging shoulder. Here in Canada, my arena was frozen solid this weekend...sigh.. I will update the MINUTE I get to try though. Keep the Big K stories coming!

pinkbellepink said...

This story pulled me out of hiding and has 'forced' me to comment. I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed reading it. I am a faithful reader of your blog, and absolutely love your training posts as much as your Big K stories.

At risk of this comment being a little lengthly, I wanted to let you know why I like your blog so much. I love the fact that you are writing from knowledge based on actual experience. I love the fact that you have shown successfully, and are still willing to be honest and open about the not-so-good side of the horse industry. Most of all, I love the fact that your techniques fall directly in line with my Instructor/trainers (in Alberta, Canada) and by reading your explanation some of the excercises have become clearer, and and thus easier to execute.

I think it is great when those of a specific disciplines are willing to try new ideas and thoughts. I mean not everthing is going to cross over, but good horsemanship always does. A trainer in Alberta whom I take clinics from on a regular basis has a few english riders that our repeat customers in his clinics. He is more than happy that they ride in an english sadde, but the split reins are not optional. I always think it's cute when I see their frusteration with trying to learn to manage split reins, but then during the occasional time i'm riding in an english bridle, I'm pretty sure they all think I'm a huge dork trying to short my reins up without having the bonus of a bridge in the middle to help pull them through and shorten them. :)

Thanks for the great stories, and the super insite into your world. I may not comment, but you can be sure I am here reading. Sorry this got so long... it became a bit of a runaway train!

gtyyup said...

I found your blog a week or so ago, set myself up to follow it and have just now got just get busy some times...You've stopped by my blog and left a lovely comment...thank you so much :)

I truly enjoy reading your writing; you've got a lot of knowledge that I want to tap into. I sure wish you lived closer!!

My goal it to read all of your don't be too surprised if you get questions and/or comments from your posts from months past!

Aylin said...

Great post! This is why I read your blog - I would love to try new things, but around here everybody rides English and mostly flatwork. At the moment I don't even have the chance to jump, let alone do anything more "outlandish". That may change though, and meanwhile, I'm enjoying your writing.

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Available dogs at the top of the blog, adopted at the bottom! Be sure to check 'older posts.'

Sunday, May 10, 2015

"SPUD" happy healthy baby rat

"TRANSFERRED" to Oregon Humane Society!
May 19, 2015

Available for adoption with Multnomah County Animal Services!

here's my Mcas weblink

Spud is a little black and white male Hooded Rat. He is only about 2 months old. Spud will need a large cage with lots of toys and places to cuddle up, and regular play times with his people daily. This youngster is happy and healthy and will make a great companion pet. His adoption fee is $5. Ask about Spud at the shelter today!

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I Feel Dirty (Obscotch Dirtystep Remix)

from by Tomás Ford

  • Streaming + Download

Obscotch is an idiosyncratic gentleman who turns up to venues with a thousand pieces of interconnected hardware, full of pretty flashing lights and touch surfaces. Onstage, he becomes a glitch-making octopus-human, with his arms flailing out in all directions to program beats and chords. His remix of I Feel Dirty does a similar act, cutting up the original into an arm-flailing techy slow jam monster.

If you get a chance to see him live, it's a must do. But his records are great too, including his new EP "Miasma Eden", which is a free download from www.obscotch.com .

from I Feel Dirty, released August 5, 2011


text:
He's what you can call a Friend!

A man who gives you, for your birthday, his original copy of "Down..." and the very rare flexi "Move on up"... he deserves to be called a friend, don't you think?

Down in the Tube Station at Midnight - Single

Written By Paul Weller
Released 21/10/1978
B Side - So Sad About Us (with a pic of Keith Moon) / The Night (Bruce Foxton's song)
Album - All Mod Cons
Chart Position - 15

Mark Edward Lee said...

My friends suck!! Congratulations!

Anonymous said...

Any chance you could post the move on up flexi? i lost mine many years ago. thanks in advance :)


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Butternut Squash Agnolotti with Cilantro Pesto

It has been a while since I made filled pasta. That is only good, common sense, since filling pasta is extremely time consuming. Also, I’m not yet particularly good at it. My agnolotti leak and my ravioli never get properly plump. Still, a result of imperfect pasta pillows doesn’t petrify me. It’s not like getting peer-reviews back on a journal submission, after all. So every once in a while, I get back to trying to fill pasta (just for the record, I also diligently get back to my papers’ reviewers).

So far, I’ve experimented with fillings of egg yolks, beet greens, and ricotta. Two large butternut squashes in our fridge last week made the filling decision easy with this round of filled pasta, and I was overall extremely pleased with the result. Although, as the picture reveals, I still have a ways to go before I realistically claim to have filled pasta. Oh well, with some pesto on top, who’s to know? (Unless you happen to be writing a blog about all your cooking of course…)

I decided to make agnolotti rather than ravioli, because I have this idea that agnolotti are easier. I have no evidence for this, whatsoever, but nonetheless the idea persists. So with my butternut squashed cooked and mashed for the filling, I set out to decide what I wanted to serve the agnolotti with.

Obviously, I had something of an idea of this, based on what was in my fridge, as always. We’ve been getting cilantro in our CSA box lately, and I thought this would be interesting with the butternut squash. I made things easy on myself and made a pesto. I’m not sure why I thought it would be a good idea to use orange instead of lemon in this pesto, but that is what I did, and it was in fact a good idea. I also used almonds instead of pine nuts, because I always have the former in the pantry but never the latter. The combination of the orange and almonds with the cilantro made this pesto so deliciously savory. I didn’t expect this at all, because you know how cilantro tends to be perfumed and almost flowery? But something about this pesto processing brought out lesser known qualities of the cilantro, and it was good! Made me wish I had made a double portion, as we ate it all in one sitting.

I didn’t exactly succeed in making my agnolotti. There’s a step where you pinch pasta dough and filling to create individual pockets, which you later separate by cutting. Sadly, I not only separated the individual pasta pockets, but also the pasta layers that were supposed to keep the filling in. Still not entirely sure what happened, but it resulted in the cooking water becoming a beautiful orange color by the time the pasta was cooked. I called it butternut stock and stored it in the fridge. Lemons to lemonade and all that.

So in conclusion: while my agnolotti still need work, I was on top of my pesto game this week. You can find the recipe for the whole ensemble below. And because it’s pretty much impossible to make agnolotti the first time without any visual aid, here’s a link to a greatly helpful step-by-step tutorial by the kitchn. And if you’re not making agnolotti for the first time and you have some tips for me, I’d love to hear from you!

Butternut Squash Agnolotti with Cilantro Pesto

Pasta Dough

  • 3 cups flour (plus a bit extra to adjust)
  • 3 eggs

Cilantro Pesto

  • 1 small bundle fresh cilantro
  • 30 grams almonds
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 orange (juice)
  • 3 tbsp oil (I use sunflower oil)
  • 1/3 tsp vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Pasta Filling

  • 400 grams butternut squash puree
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 20 grams sharp cheddar
  • 1/2 tsp vinegar
  • 3 pinches smoked paprika
  • 1 pinch coriander (ground)

Pasta Dough

  1. Put the flour on your work surface and create a well in the middle.

  2. Add the eggs to the well and mix the two by circling your fingers in the egg, continuously adding a little flour from the sides of the well as you go.

  3. When the dough begins to come together, knead with both hands until you have a dough that is moist but doesn't get stuck on the counter. You may not have incorporated all the flour, but that is ok.

  4. Cover the dough in plastic wrap, and let it sit on the counter for 30 -60 minutes. Prepare the filling and the pesto in the meantime.

Cilantro Pesto

  1. Put all the ingredients except for vinegar and orange juice in a food processor and pulse several times.

  2. Scrape down the sides and add half the orange juice, then blend for 15 seconds.

  3. Taste the pesto. If it needs more liquid, and you can't yet sense the orange, add more orange juice. If you content with the amount of orange, you can add more oil or a bit of water to increase the liquid if you need to.

  4. Blend for another 20-30 seconds, but be careful not to make the pesto too fine - it should have a bit of crunch.

  5. Add the vinegar one drop at a time, pulsing to incorporate and tasting after each drop. When you're happy with the acidity, the pesto is done.

  6. Cover the pesto with cling film, and store in the fridge until the pasta is ready.

Pasta Filling

  1. First make sure your butternut squash puree is not too watery - it has to be able to hold its shape when you place it on the pasta later. If you think your puree is too loose, you can cook it over medium-low heat to evaporate some water before you add the other ingredients. Just make sure the puree has cooled before you proceed.

  2. In a bowl, press the garlic and grate the cheese, then mix in the butternut squash puree.

  3. Add the spices and vinegar bit by bit until you are happy with the taste.

Rolling, Filling and Cooking the Agnolotti

  1. Put a big pot of salted water on the stove and start it heating while you're making the agnolotti. You want it to be boiling when the pasta is ready.

  2. Split your pasta dough into 3 parts, and roll them out by hand or with a pasta maker. The sheets should be thin, but not flimsy (not the thinnest setting on the pasta maker). Cover each sheet after making it, to prevent it from drying out.

  3. Put the filling in a pastry bag, and pipe a line of filling onto the pasta sheet, about 2 cm (3/4 inch) from the bottom and left/right edges. The filling should be around 1.5 cm (1/2 inch) in diameter.

  4. Fold the long edge nearest to the filling up and over it. Make a seal 1.5 cm (0.6 inch) wide by gently pressing with your fingers. If you're having trouble, paste a bit of water between the layers of dough.

  5. Separate the filled dough from the rest of the pasta sheet by cutting along the double layer of dough in the seal, creating a neat and even edge.

  6. Now pinch the filling into equal-sized, individual portions inside the dough tube. The pinching both separates the filling and creates a seal between portions. Make sure your seals are around 2 cm (3/4 inch) wide, otherwise you risk the filling spilling out (which seems to happen to me anyway, but I'm sure practice will eventually make perfect).

  7. Make the tube into individual agnolotti by cutting in the middle of each seal. Use a crimped pasta wheel to make it look cute. A pizza cutter works too (as does a knife, duh), but it's less cute. Cut so that you cut the seal of the tube last, and while you're cutting, gently lean the pasta tube towards the seal. This creates a nice additional little fold on the outside of the agnolotti for pasta sauce to gather in. If it stays sealed anyway.

  8. Place each agnolotti in a tray or on a cutting board. Dust with flour or cornmeal to prevent sticking. Continue filling and cutting the remaining sheets of pasta dough.

  9. If you are using your agnolotti right away, proceed to cook them immediately. At this stage, you can also freeze them

    To cook, gently dump the agnolotti into your pot of boiling water. Depending on the size of your pot, you might want to cook in batches. When the pasta rises to the surface, it is done. This should be around 3-5 minutes.

  10. Divide the pasta between your plates. Get your pesto out of the fridge and gently spoon on top of the agnolotti. Serve immediately.

If, like mine, your agnolotti lost some filling during the boiling, don't despair. Instead of draining the pot when the agnolotti are done, you can remove them with a slotted spoon. That let's you keep the cooking water, which you can use as a stock.

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Sunday, January 31, 2010

Getting to know us and birthday cake!

I am so excited to be a part of this blog! For me recipes need to be easy to follow and easy to make or I wont touch them lol! This blog has given me many ideas on ways to cook for my 1 yr old daughter with many food intolerance's. We finally did allergy testing and all tests, except for grass, came back negative as we thought, because there is no testing to check for GI response allergies (or intolerance's as they like to call them). We have a plan to slowly introduce dairy/soy/rice/bananas and a variety of other foods that our daughter has reacted poorly to but for right now I will be learning to cook free of all of these.

Our first obstacle....Birthday Cake and frosting!

Since I am fairly new to cooking with many restrictions I visited our local Whole Foods and found many birthday cake mixes. One that I especially thought looked promising is a yellow cake mix by Cherrybrook Kitchen (most all of their products are dairy/egg/peanut/soy free.) It does call for butter so i picked a tub of Earth's Balance dairy/soy free butter and brought it home to make. It was so easy as it only calls for butter, water and the cake mix, and tasted GREAT! Its a bit more dense then your average cake but well worth it to be able to let my daughter have cake on her birthday.

To frost it I made a very simple frosting that required powdered sugar, "safe" butter,almond flavoring and a bit of water to smooth it out. I first melted the butter (the amount of butter depends on how much you want to make. I used about 1/2 cup of butter.) I then mixed in powdered sugar to make it clumpy and added about a teaspoon of water just to smooth it out. If you want it thicker you will want to add more powdered sugar. After I got it to the consistency I wanted I added 1/4 tsp of almond flavoring and 3 drops of pink food coloring. It turned out great and my daughter loved it! You can tell it tasted good by how she dug into it! For everyone else I made mini cupcakes with the same cake mix and frosting mix.

Everyone loved them and couldn't even tell they were allergy free!

Becky @ BoysRuleMyLife said...

We have enjoyed Cherrybrook Kitchen a few times, too! In fact, I found a 25 POUND box of their chocolate cake mix at a discount store for $8.00!!! I came home and sectioned it out into over 20 packages and froze them! They really do make a nice, dense cake!

Those cupcakes look delish! :)

Naomi said...

You know there are cook or chef who can serve foods that are glucose free or allergy free. I've tried it and nothing really happens.

new york hives doctor


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Wednesday, September 30, 2015

review: the flying circus by susan crandall

Set in the 1920s, Susan Crandall brings together three people of different backgrounds in The Flying Circus. There’s a young woman determined to make her own way after her family’s money is lost, a young man who is running from accusations of a terrible crime, and a World War I pilot who has left his wife since she’s really in love with his deceased best friend. The unlikely trio earns money by performing stunts as they travel around the Midwest.

As one might guess with a mixed gender trio all of similar age, there is sexual tension that finally comes to a head about the same time the law catches up to the group. The drama of it all plays out splendidly as Crandall uses facts of the time period (Prohibition, smuggling, and the rights of unmarried women) to make the plot more compelling.
Review copy provided by the publisher, Gallery Books.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

review: blood red by wendy corsi staub

Wendy Corsi Staub kicks off a new series with Blood Red which takes place in a small east coast town called Mundy’s Landing. The town has quite the history which will likely be developed more as the series continues. The first book centers on current events though that actually have little to do with Mundy’s Landing other than the fact that the target of serial killer lives there. As Rowan will soon learn, someone has been harboring a grudge for many years.

Although Blood Red begins with a murder, the plot develops slowly. Rowan is a frustrating character whose navel-gazing only makes the plot move even slower. The killer keeps things interesting though. Staub makes sure to hide the killer’s identity by using a gender neutral name and never using pronouns which allows for a number of possibilities for how the killer is connected to Rowan. Rowan’s secret though isn’t nearly as provocative as the killer’s motive for going after her and a number of other redheads (redheads abound begging the question, just how many people in the Mundy’s Landing area have red hair anyway?) which is unfortunate as Rowan’s secret could’ve made her a more multi-dimensional character. A more explosive secret could also have set up the future books in the series more the numerous subplots that further slowed the pacing did.
Review copy from Amazon vine.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

review: shadow fall by laura griffin

Tracers is back! Special Agent Tara Rushing is now on the scene to solve some serial murders in Texas. Much of the evidence points to a man whose security company had been employed by one of the victims, but Tara soon begins to think it’s one of Liam’s employees rather than Liam himself.

While the more recent Tracers novels don’t involve the Delphi Center as much as the early books, Shadow Fall mixes in the Delphi Center techs well. The strong, intelligent leads are easy to become invested in, especially once Tara’s life is threatened. Shadow Fall is filled with suspense and doesn’t try to force too much in the way of the romance. Another great element was the illustration of the tension between the local sheriff department and the federal agents.
Review copy provided by the author.

Friday, September 11, 2015

review: the westhampton leisure hour and supper club by samantha bruce-benjamin

Although set at the time of The Great Hurricane of 1938, the hurricane barely comes into play in The Westhampton Leisure Hour and Supper Club with only a few party guests mentioning the storm. The focus is instead on the lives of a wealthy set including the pair deemed The Host and The Hostess. The chapters rotate in perspective with The Host and The Hostess taking most of the intriguing tale, but others are included. As such, the story is somewhat hard to follow with the jumps in perspective also moving around in time. The writing is beautiful, but the minor characters are shallow and Serena makes for a weak lead even if her situation would have been typical for the era.
Review copy provided by the author.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

review: the good neighbor by a.j. banner

Author Sarah Phoenix and her doctor husband live in an idyllic neighborhood or so Sarah thinks. The image is shattered when the house next door catches fire killing two of the occupants and then spreads to Sarah’s house. Sarah makes it out and becomes a hero for saving the child next door, but the fire unravels many secrets.

A.J. Banner keeps The Good Neighbor moving at a quick pace which heightens the thrill, but that speed also seems to serve as cover for some holes. For example, Sarah finds a picture of her husband with a woman she doesn’t recognize, but it doesn’t make sense for Sarah not to recognize her. The characters are also lacking depth. While that may be intentional for the neighbors (after all, the heart of this novel is how well do you know your neighbors), Sarah needed more development than just being wounded by her father’s philandering.
Review copy provided by the publicist, BookSparks PR.

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

review: star craving mad by elise a. miller

Borrowing from Jane Eyre, Star Craving Mad features an elementary school teacher, a celebrity couple, and the couple’s daughter amongst others. When Maddy Braverman discovers the daughter of Nic and Shelby Seabolt is in her first grade class, she immediately begins fantasizing about NIc. Although Nic and Shelby are said to have a solid marriage, Maddy soon discovers Nic is more than willing to play. Because Maddy consistently makes bad choices and is more than a little sex-crazed, she hooks up with NIc, who has led her to believe his marriage to Shelby is rocky due to her drug use. There is one development which saves Star Craving Mad from being entirely predictable, but it’s hard to get past the banality of the rest of the plot.
Review copy provided by the publicist, BookSparks PR.


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Getting Good Mortgage Refinance Rates on Bad Credit

Bad credit creates really bad memories, specifically in the minds of creditors and lenders. And they're not about to forget any time soon. Access to information regarding your credit standing is easy for the people you need money from. And you know that if your credit report comes out a little less than ideal, you might not always get the loan you need. But the emphasis is on 'might not' because even with bad credit, it's still possible to obtain a mortgage refinance loan. The catch just simply rides on the refinance rate.

Don't look too low
If you're trying to obtain a mortgage refinance loan at low rates and you have bad credit, forget it. Bad credit makes you different from the rest of the consumers, particularly those who have decent to good credit standing. The best you can expect is a decent (meaning a moderately high) mortgage refinance rate.

The reason is that lenders are very wary about consumers with a problematic credit history. They're giving you money, after all and if you can't pay it back, that spells a loss to their business.

Consider the types of programs available from your lender
Not every mortgage broker can offer you loan programs that are advantageous to you, which means, they probably can't say for sure which types of loans you qualify for. When looking for budget-friendly mortgage refinance rates, try to find out which loans your lender has. A few you might want to look at:

- FHA financing, which don't have stringent guidelines. Plus, you'll like the fact that you won't get charged a significant downpayment.

- Conventional mortgages (Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac), which could offer you good refinance rates even with bad credit depending on the type of property you want, how much downpayment you can pay and of course, your credit rating.

- Subprime mortgages, another name for bad credit mortgages, typically the type of loan you'll get if your credit score dips to under 600. The rates you get will depend on the criteria set by your lender and on your credit standing.

Where to find mortgage refinance rates if you have bad credit
The best thing to do is to find out what your credit score is, bad as it may be. This will help give your creditors a more useful figure to use as a basis on which to calculate your refinance rates. You can then talk to your creditor to find out what types of rates you qualify for. Just make sure to get quotes from multiple lenders to identify which one gives you the best deal. Remember that it's not necessarily just the rate but also the overall package being offered to you.

Another option for finding information regarding mortgage refinance rates you qualify for even with bad credit is to use online sites. Many creditors offer calculators and other resources on their websites that you can use. Simply enter the required information and the tools will calculate your refinance rate for you.

Don't let bad credit stop you from finding the best deals that will help save you money. Historically, consumers who have taken advantage of mortgage loan refinancing have enjoyed its benefits. Make sure that you obtain all the information you need so you will be able to make the right decisions regarding your finances. Remember that a mortgage loan is something you will be dealing with for a long time.

If you have bad credit, you should be focusing on getting the most advantageous deal possible.

SOURCE: blogatme.com

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Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works]展 exhibition

They are event items, I can't accept any cancellation!
If you cancel, I never accept your order!

Before you make an order, please read these articles.

I will go Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works]展 exhibition on 27th July.

If you want these items (, please ask me.

In this event, you must pay item price + usual handling charge  + international shipping charge (with paypal charge).

1 item price (expected price)

Please see the following page.

post card + book cover set  1852yen + 8% tax
rubber strap 741yen + 8% tax for each
random metal charm 463yen + 8% tax
Archer UBW T-shirts price unkwon
 mini table 3000yen + 8% tax
clock Saber 6900yen + 8% tax
clock Archer 6900yen + 8% tax
clear file 350yen + 8 % tax
tapestry 1200yen + 8% tax
random rubber strap 500yen + 8% tax
ribbon charme Saber 1500yen + 8% tax
ribbon charme Rin 1500yen + 8% tax
ribbon charme Sakura 1500yen + 8% tax
instant miso soup 600yen + 8% tax
towel Saber 2200yen + 8% tax
towel Archer 2200yen + 8% tax
towel Lancer 2200yen + 8% tax
towel Gilgamesh 2200yen + 8% tax
post card set 500yen + 8% tax
trading badge 300yen + 8% tax
cookie 800yen + 8% tax

2 Handling charge
Please read this site. I can combine shipping, but you need to pay handling charge separately.

3 Dead line

25th July

If you want all items which you want, please order as soon as possible!

4 Limitation
You can buy these items as much as you want.

5 international shipping charge and paypal charge

I don't know the weight of each item, so I can't answer the international shipping charge now.
If you mind how much is the shipping cost, please don't order.

Please order from mail form or

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Sunday, December 27, 2009

A Simple Christmas

We're a fairly large family and usually have so much going on that it makes my head spin...for days! With five kids, one of them with children of his own now, our household fills up quickly when we have everyone over. Normally, Christmas at our house is a very noisy production with lots and lots and lots of wrapping paper! And food.

But, this year, four of our five kids were spending Christmas somewhere else. We had only one child at home this year and let me tell you, it was a very strange feeling. Normally, Santa only brings a certain amount of gifts for each child - usually no more than 10 (one big gift and several smaller ones). This year, those 10 gifts for the one child looked rather slim under the tree. So she ended up with 15, I think. We had to remind ourselves that Christmas is not just about getting presents - it's about keeping Christ in it!

So, we decided to keep it simple this year. On Christmas Eve, we made cookies for Santa.

We got up at 8am to open gifts, then did nothing all day long but play with our child's new toys. One of our other children (Zach) and his family came over for dinner. Dinner consisted of Swedish meatballs over pasta, caesar salad (from a bag), Steamer veggies, and french bread. Dessert was a pre-made coconut cake with egg nog. It took me less than 30 minutes to make dinner.

My husband was so pleased that we're doing it again next year! We so enjoyed just being able to slow down and spend some quality time with our family rather than being in the kitchen for hours and hours and then doing piles of dishes and before you know it, the day is gone.

I have to say, there is something very special about having a very simple Christmas.

I hope all of you were able to spend some quality time with your families!

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Tuesday, February 13, 2007

im a baboon's ass

okay, so today i made a complete ass of myself in class, today.

i was in my fiction workshop and we were work-shopping a classmate's story. I really enjoyed the story. Briefly, it dealt with a man, somewhat of a recluse, who accidentally wandered into the wrong house. the resident was on vacation and the man was fascinated by her grand piano. he eventually started sleeping there until she returned. he spent a lot of time fixing up the piano and cleaning her house. while he was there he brought over his cat and let it play around with him. that is a very unjustly summary to a wonderful story.

so, at the beginning of the class, we went around the group and spoke about what we really enjoyed about the story. When it got to me, i went off on a tangent about how much i appreciated the consistency in representing the man's disturbed childhood and his reliance on his imaginary friend throuhgout the story. Well, apparently there was no imaginary friend. it was a cat. a real one. Turns out, for whatever frickin reason, i read the story, 3+ times, and it never occurred to me that the cat was real. though everyone else did. So i was going on in class about this imaginary friend that was only imaginary in my own head. Very humbling experience for a graduate level fiction workshop. the biggest problem was that all my comments on her paper, as well as my 1 page written response all dealt with her successful inclusion of an imaginary friend in the story. i get this sick feeling that she is back home now, reading my responses, in tears of laughter.

the problem was that last thursday i was out with some friends and i asked one of them (who was in my class) about the stories, as i hadn't read them yet. he remarked that one of them was dealt with magic realism. for whatever reason, i just assumed it was this particular story and after 3 reads, never thought, even for a second, that the cat was real. apparently, my classmate was talking about something else.

my the majority of my embarrassment is due to the fact that i am an english nerd, literary geek, etc., that prides himself on his close reading of texts, and well, i can't deny it. im officially a literature geek.

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18 May, 2015

e-Commerce, Internet Marketing, Online Business

This is the logo for Yodel Australia. Yodel Au...
This is the logo for Yodel Australia. Yodel Australia is an online advertising and internet marketing company located in Sydney, NSW. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you are one like me who has been searching for so long, and have tried many things, and ending up only failing, today may be your day.

Free membership, with option to become a Premium member
Free training and guidance from the 200k+ community of members
2 free websites, to begin with
And the possibility of making money, even if you don't go Premium

Isn't that incentive to try it out?
Go ahead, it is free.

It just might be what you have been looking for to make it in the world of internet: e-commerce, internet marketing, affiliate marketing, online business.

This is no scam, for sure. a 200,000+ community of legitimate members should tell you that this is something: real people, real system, real results.

Try it. You'll be glad you did:

e-Commerce, Online Business, Internet Marketing, Affiliate Marketing

When you did, let me know how it went. You don't get rich quick, but you will be shown the way to make it big in the online world.

Till then!


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Tuesday, October 28, 2014

31 for 21: Alex

It's Alex! Remember the laughing baby in last year's picture (left)? He's now a handsome 2 1/2 year old (right) who can light up any room he enters! This past year, Alex has become a real talker. He loves to sing songs, especially "Twinkle, Twinkle" and those by Laurie Berkner. He knows his entire alphabet, can identity all upper-and lowercase letters, knows his primary colors and shapes, and can even count to ten! He has started preschool a few mornings a week and starts saying "bye bye" to his Nana as soon as they enter the door. Alex's mom says, "When we first found out  Alex would have Down syndrome, we were so afraid he wouldn't talk or learn to read. He is well on his way to mastering both of those goals! He is one smart cookie!"

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Tuesday, February 25, 2014

A month gone by...

Just in case we look back on this blog for some recounting of February 2014, I figured I better get a scrapbook's page worth of highlights from the month.  There's all sorts of tidbits that feel worthy of remembering, not sure if they will be of interest to anyone other than us.  But here is what stands out as I look back on the month gone by.

We've had lots of activity here at Tangly Woods!  While we have greatly missed Jonathan and Rachelle (who will be coming back soon from Guatemala speaking Spanish!), we haven't been twiddling our thumbs and have enjoyed many other people enjoying our space with us.  We have held Keezletown potlucks every Thursday evening in February and through that are making more connections in our neighborhood, which makes us very happy!  There have also been a number of very energetic playdates around here, as well as calm times with friends like the one pictured here.  Books!  What would we do without them?

We continue to savor the fruits of last year's harvests, but also are enjoying finding local sources for things that we haven't grown/stored up for winter.  We've been buying carrots by the 15-20 pound increments from a good friend and local farmer.  It was an added bonus to pick them up at his farm earlier this month and get to enjoy a little lamb watching field trip in the process.  That was probably worth about as much as the carrots!  There had been 5 born within the hour before our arrival and they were still working hard on standing up.  The ones that were not so fresh from the womb were tearing around, jumping on the moms, and playing what looked like a very intentional game of "who can race to the end of the barn and back the fastest."  We could have stood there for a long time if it hadn't been the start of a family night that still had three activities in store (dinner at the EMU dining hall, games in the EMU game room with friends, and a concert featuring good friends in Common Grounds coffee house).

We've been having fun with our new year's resolution to take a series of shots on the first of the month from various points on our property. January and February weren't so strikingly different, but we expect other months will show much more drastic changes.  However, we decided to do a special edition on Valentine's day since we had gotten well over a foot of snow the day before.  These two pictures are just a sampling of the ones taken.  My hope is at the end of the year to put together a slideshow that does each shot through the twelve months so we can enjoy watching the progression throughout the seasons.

The snow made for a mandatory slowing down of sorts.  It's a good thing since I'm more of less obsessed with the new game we got at Christmas.  If I don't get a round of Blokus in every few days I find myself starting to think about the shapes and making different patterns with them in my head at very odd times (I dreamed one new strategy that didn't really work at all and I've had to bring myself back to focus on a meeting at work at least once).

We don't have any "snow traditions" in our family but decided to try one I learned about from a friend. So the evening of the start of the big snow storm I ground some of our home grown corn and made mush.  We enjoyed fried mush the next morning, alongside eggs and sausage, as the snow poured down.  We like the tradition quite a lot!  Just like we haven't been suffering without regular trips to stores for food, at a meal like the one pictured here, I don't feel at all like I'm missing out not consuming gluten.  For a variety of reasons, I decided a number of weeks back to engage in a little experiment and cut gluten out of my diet for an undetermined amount of time. The experiment is still ongoing and I feel like I'm learning a whole lot about myself and food.  It feels like it would trigger a bit of an identity crisis to not have yeast breads be a regular part of my life, so I'm easing into it by just experimenting with what I personally am consuming.  Giving up baking actually feels harder than giving up consuming what I bake.  And my family is not interested in me giving it up either just yet!  It has been really fun and rewarding to experiment with baking more with corn - we are big fans of skillet cornbread!

We are still enjoying many evenings with a fire going in the woodstove, but there are also signs of spring around us.  Jason has started collecting hatching eggs for the various breeding projects he has going with the chickens.  There are little flowers poking through the ground outside.  And inside our windowsills are starting to fill up with egg cartons of seedlings.  We enjoyed our first walking iris blooms while it was snowing outside.

This past weekend the weather warmed and we were all eager to get outside.  We decided to spend our sabbath morning together in the woods.  In all the years we have lived here, I have never climbed to the top of the hill right behind our home.  It's a little embarrassing to admit it, and after having done it I hope it will be the first of many such times.  We hiked up together, with a picnic lunch in tow.  They had done some logging this past year so the tree tops remaining on the forest floor made for a bit of an obstacle course for the first half of the hike.  However, once we got near the top, the understory cleared out and we were able to see all around us.  The air felt fresh and clear and we found a little bench to sit on and enjoy a picnic lunch. Alida was running around in the crunchy leaves declaring that she was "exploring."  She talked about it a number of times since and Kali was clearly in her element.  It felt like the perfect way to spend a Sunday morning together!  And it never hurts for our sabbath days to not include stepping foot into a vehicle.

It was also a breath of fresh air to enjoy some family time that felt more or less tension-free.  I've been mourning a bit what seems to be the end of (or at least a temporary break from) the "our girls adore each other unconditionally" phase.  I know they still love each other very intensely and there are still oodles of sweet moments on a daily basis.  But there is also more peskiness and arguing and need for parental refereeing than has been needed to date.  While I can tell myself this is probably 100% normal and they are learning good relational skills through the process (if I can keep my creative juices flowing and stay patient), I can't help but admit enjoying the pure sweetness more!  And those moments come!  The other evening they wanted to play a game that was up in the game cabinet.  Kali (who is more like her mother at this age than I'd like to admit) was feeling very jittery about going upstairs by herself.  I (who tend not to be as patient as one might think I would be remembering how scared I was of the dark when little - and even sometimes now...) told her to turn lights on and to take Alida with her.  As the girls went up the stairs hand in hand, I heard Alida say, "Kali you don't have to be scared, I'm right here with you."  Yes, pure sweetness!


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Bargains / Sales / CouponsBargains / Sales / Couponsn/a

The quiet one
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1 year ago
Selling a few things in my shop: (mfc link)
All prices are negotiable, and I prefer to ship within the US :)

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Bargains / Sales / CouponsBargains / Sales / Couponsn/a

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8 days ago
R_Kasahara (9 days ago) #29376389HLJ's Happy Holidays Sale is starting on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 11AM JST - [ext link ]

Hopefully this'll be better than their Black Friday Sale...

It's HLJ so I doubt it... lol
Treasures untold in my Sales List 1 and Sales List 2!

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Musical Musings A to Z: R is for Robbie Williams

It’s Sunday, so time for some more music on the blog. I’ve been spending the last few months travelling through the alphabet, featuring some of my favourite artists along the way.

Today I get to share one of my all-time favourites – Robbie Williams.

Why do I love Robbie? I think it’s a mixture of his bad-boy ways, his cheekiness, his honesty and the richness of his songs. He also happens to have a great voice and is pretty okay on the eye as well!

Robbie Williams

image source

I have to admit, I was a fan of his Take That days and followed his career when he left to become a solo artist. And I’ve pretty much loved most of what he’s produced along the way.

I’ve tried to narrow down some of my choices today, but it’s been a hard task. But here are my absolute favourites for your listening pleasure…

Rock DJ

I love the danceability of this song and the video clip too – really shows his sense of humour and daring!

By All Means Necessary

I love this song from my favourite album “Sing When You’re Winning”. It is a slower number but I really love the beat that runs through it and the strings that lift it up from the subject matter. The middle is my favourite part – it has a cool retro vibe that I can’t help tapping my foot to.

I have featured this song before and I still count it as one of my all-time faves. The beat is funky, the melody is smooth and it has a dancy/loungy vibe. It’s definitely one of those songs that I will repeat over and over again when it comes up on my iPhone.

What would you have chosen for your R artist? I could have also featured the mighty Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kelly Rowland and Simply Red – there are so many amazing R artists out there!

I hope you can come back again and join in with the fun as I speed towards the end of my alphabet quest – it should be an interesting ride!

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4 Responses

  1. How come, in the last paragraph of your post you gave away what next weeks choice for “S” would be?
    The Sound and the Fury Podcast recently posted..Sunday Sessions: Bill Lloyd

    • Kirsty says:

      I don’t know if it will be my choice for S (I actually added that in as an R artist not even thinking that it could be next week’s S artist). You’ll just have to wait and see…

  2. Love love love Robbie Williams! I would possibly choose Sade for S!
    Mystery Case recently posted..Watching me watching you!

  3. ann says:

    Oooh I love Robbie!! He has so many great songs and is very easy on the eye!!
    ann recently posted..90’s flashbacks

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Wednesday, November 25, 2015

ESXi 6.0 - CBT bug and fix

In the last weeks there was found another bug in the CBT feature in ESXi 6.0 and ESXi Update 1.

The bug affects all Backups in the VMware Virtual area. This bug affect any tool that use CBT(used in the incremental backups) in their backups.

VMware note:

"When running incremental virtual machine backups, backup applications typically rely on the vSphere API call QueryDiskChangedAreas() to determine the changed sectors.

This issue occurs due to a problem with CBT in the disklib area, which results in the change tracking information of I/Os that occur during snapshot consolidation to be lost. The main backup payload data is never lost and it is always written to the backend device. However, the corresponding change tracking information entries which occur during the consolidation task are missed. Subsequent QueryDiskChangedAreas() calls do not include these missed blocks and, therefore a backup based on this CBT data is inconsistent."
To fix this issue, we need to disable CBT in the VMs, or just deselected the use of CBT in the Backups jobs.
  • How to disable CBT in your Veeam Backup & Replication:
             Edit job and in the Storage menu choose Advanced and in vSphere Tab. Disable in the CBT

Or other option was to downgrade to ESXi 5.5 and VM hw revision 10.  This is no solution for us of course.

In out environment this have a huge impact. As we all know, CBT is to be use mainly in Incremental backups, whiteout this all changes are not synchronized and all backups work as was a full backup.

Using CBT backups will only backup the changes that happen in the VMs after the last backup.

In our case we use Veeam Backup & Replication, and on jobs that normally takes 1/2h to finish is taking more then 3/4h. Others with more VMs that takes around 6/7h to finish is taking more than 18h to finish. With this our daily backups cannot finish in a 24h cycle and have a huge impact in our environment.

Plus the size of each backup will increase. When you have around 20Tb of backup repository data already, this size will increase. And in the last days I need to had more 2Tb to our Backup Repository because of this problem.

Of course this is huge problem for many environments. Not only the backups cycle are not running properly(with all issues in the restores that maybe be needed), but also the size of the backups will increase.

UPDATE 27-11-2015: Finally in the last days VMware as launched a fix for this Bug.
We will implement during this next weekend and hope that will fix the problem.

More information about the patch in VMware HERE

Hope this article can you help understanding this bug and fix.

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Home page

Welcome to New Life Bible Church!

Our goal is to reach our communities with the message of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. We invite you to visit us and learn more about God’s plan for your life!

Celebrate the Christmas season with us!

Join us for the next three Sundays as we explore what the Bible says about Finding the True Jesus.

We’ve Moved to Wheatland School

Our Sunday services are now being held at the Wheatland School just three miles north of our current location located, just south of Hwy 50 on 368th Ave. However, will meet at our 112 W. Main Street location in Sundays when there is more than 2 inches of snowfall.

6606 368th Ave, Burlington, WI 53105

Learn how you can go to heaven by clicking on the link below


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Herbal Shampoo

“Black soap Herbal Shampoo ”

Hard to decide? Ask your friends :)

Nubian Roots Herbal Shampoo is a gentle Black soap based Natural deep cleanser.

Its unique formula combines  the moisturizing properties of honey, aloevera gel and coconut oil

It is formulated with the finest natural herbs and ingredients; it contains stinging nettle and Burdrock root which stimulate growth, willow bark to relieve dandruff, psoriasis and itchy scalp.

Our herbal shampoo is infused with a unique blend of essentials oils of lavender, peppermint and rosemary to also aid in Hair Growth and scalp related issues.


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Sunday, 7 April 2013

Happy Birthday, Simon Says Challenge Blog

I had a bit of time this morning, seeing as I woke up "early" (end of daylight saving!!) so I checked out a few of the challenge blogs I like to participate in (though I haven't had much time to lately) and the first one I came across was the "Simon Says Challenge Blog"...They are celebrating their 4th year, so their current challenge ties in quite nicely, it is "Happy Birthday"
And here is my card, using a Penny Black stamp (main image), a Darkroom Door stamp set (sentiment), Derwent Inktense watercolour pencils, a black fineliner(for the hand-drawn frame), Archival ink (jet black) and some Prima pp.

If you get a chance to play along have a look HERE, there are some great prizes up for grabs...
Until next time, thanks for visiting and have a great Sunday  : )

Karen said...

Great card! I love the hand drawn frame - adds the perfect finishing touch.

Melissa Bove (SCS ~ Melissa1872) said...

Adorable card!! Love that sweet image!! So happy you found the time to play along with us!!

Thank you very much for joining us this week at the Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog!


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Saturday, March 8, 2014

The State is a Mother of All Forces

Anyone who understands the true criminal gang nature of the state (aka government) knows that it is a mother of all forces. The fundamental basis of every government, whether that be fascist, socialist or a liberal democratic, is force. Without coercion no state can ever survive. Taxation is the quintessential of this force. Without coercive taxation no government can come into existence. I have made this point time and again in front of people, but still many refuse to believe this eternal truth. Many people bring out age old boring and long refuted argument of government - especially a democratically elected one - as a voluntary institution just like any club. They say that people voluntarily go and elect their representatives in elections! Nothing can be farther from the truth. I have explained in my past write-ups that these democratic elections actually present no true choice in front of people. They are an illusion of choice e.g., hapless voting public can never elect a no government for themselves for five years or more. When you have to choose a lesser evil, it is still choosing an evil!

But I digress. In today's article I want to focus on the coercive nature of the whole election process itself from the side of those who are involved in conducting these elections. Indian election commission has announced the dates of the general 16th Lok Sabha elections 2014. In this election more than 81 crore citizen slave voters are going to forcefully elect who is going to loot them for next five years. This time around they are given a false choice of NOTA (None of The Above). NOTA is a tool of fooling public yet again. If someone is thinking that by giving a NOTA vote they are fundamentally going to change the outcome of the election process, then, they sure are day-dreaming. Here is what Wikipedia entry of NOTA says about the possible outcomes if  majority votes for NOTA:
When None of the Above is listed on a ballot, there is the possibility of NOTA receiving a majority or plurality of the vote, and so "winning" the election. In such a case, a variety of formal procedures may be invoked, including having the office remain vacant, having the office filled by appointment, re-opening nominations or holding another election (in a body operating under parliamentary procedure), or it may have no effect whatsoever, as in the state of Nevada, where the next highest total wins regardless. (See here).
Not only that, in India NOTA has no importance whatsoever as the same Wiki entry again discusses:
Although frequently termed a "right to reject" in India, a former head of the Election Commission has noted that it is not in fact such a thing. The Election Commission also clarified that the NOTA votes are considered as invalid votes and will not be considered for determining the forfeiture of security deposit. (Footnotes removed).
So, NOTA votes are basically considered invalid votes! Good luck people if you decide to waste your time on election day for voting for NOTA.

Now, I said I want to focus on the coercive nature of this election itself from the side of those who are conducting it. I will give you my own example because in this general election my home town authorities have picked my name also for the election duty work. Few weeks back I received an order from the local body election authorities notifying me about this misfortune of mine! What I want to do here is let my readers see the scanned copy of a selected paragraph of this order where the State election officials are clearly threatening and forcing me to do this work compulsorily. You will see in this order that I don't have any other choice but to carry out this work under all kinds of duress. There is no choice open in front of me over here. If I refuse to do this work, they will take punitive actions against me. They will take me to the court and police will come and harass me. And I won't take names of my friends here, but they have faced these headaches in past for refusing to do this work. Below I present the scanned copy of relevant part of my election duty order:
My Election Duty Order
It is in Gujarati and it basically says, that I have to remain present for the election duty training program otherwise they will take legal actions against me as per the Representation of the People Act 1950! This is a typical Statist language of aggressive force and intimidation!

I know Statist people will always say, that there is nothing wrong in this use of force for the sake of keepping democracy alive in India! They will always think it is alright to push people around to further their own end of ruling over them. But, any sane person with a thinking head will realize that there is no choice involved over here. When people who are conducting election are being forced to do this work, how can one think that this election represents any choice for the voters also? There is NO CHOICE. In the name of dreaded democracy these thug state officials are exploiting people, period.

As I said in the beginning, the state is a gang of criminals and it represents no choice in front of us. It is a mother of all forces. Everything it does is always compulsory for the hapless slave citizens. You can't say No to the State. It is better that people realize this fact quickly. As long as we don't realize this fact, the State will continue to plunder us.


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Tuesday, November 13, 2012

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 13

I have to admit, as the days are passing its getting a little harder to find things about infertility that I am thankful for.  For the past 12 days, I mentioned how I am thankful for:
Day 13
Today, I am thankful for all of the people who prayed for me.  I've often mentioned that I came to a crossroads in my infertility walk and walk with the Lord.  There came a time in my life when I just couldn't pray about our situation any longer.  I had prayed millions of countless times.  I honestly didn't know what I could possibly say that I hadn't said 152 times before.  I know that God knows our heart, even when we can't pray.  But, I am thankful for the people who faithfully prayed for me.  They would send me cards or text messages to let me know they were thinking of me, and I felt them.  I am so thankful for the people who cared enough about me to pray.  Thank you so, so much!  I am thankful for those who pray for others when people can't pray for themselves.

1 comment:

Team Harries said...

So encouraging! All the praises ad-mist the pain!