An introduction
Sue
Hi, I have 2 unschooled daughters 12 and 4. I started my journey
after 3 days of kindergarten. Yep, the teacher was an a... and being
an older Mom (late 30's at the time) I thought, "What happened to
kindergarten?".I had no idea. Of course I didn't get the
daycare/preschool thing either because it didn't exist when I was a
wee one. So I called my LLL Mom friends that were doing it-
"homeschooling" and one was sweet enough to drive to my house and
hand me the copy of "Why Schools Don't Educate" and I GOT IT and
here I am.
Well, we had a small homeschool group for a few years and then some
of the Moms started a charter school for homeschoolers. aaarrrggghh
I opted out of the testing and they begged me to "do it" or they
wouldn't get their funding...aaarrrgg. And I stood my ground and
then they asked if we would go off the books...so I asked can we
still come here? How am I going to explain this to my little one?
And they said, "Oh, sure". Well, the drive was an hour and 10
minutes and then my next daughter was born so I just quit going. As
my little one got older we went to another group 35 minutes away and
they wanted you to sign a "Statement of Faith" aarrggh. Well, a
catholic Mom from the group called me later and after I told her who
I was and that I don't belong to that group she said, "that we need
to just support each other because we are homeschooling". (a kind
soulful lesson that I continue to pass on). So we had some friends.
Well, we just moved from small town CA to Idaho. We were in the
country and the whole family was tired of being so isolated. And my
11 year old daughter needed more and my social 3 year old was going
to get desperate too but even sooner.
So here we are. I found this site in 1999 and peek in here every
once in awhile to feel connected when so few like minded souls are
around. And it works every time!! Thank you for being here everyone.
This area (Boise/Meridian) has tons of homeschoolers with a good mix
and they are inclusive on their yahoo groups and there are field
trips, etc. and this place just has tons to do! PE for homeschoolers
at the YMCA twice a week, and in the other direction at the Nampa
Rec center. Homeschool Days at the Discovery Center!! They cater to
homeschoolers!!
Are any of you in the Meridian/Boise, Idaho area? I would love to
connect with you. Thanks again, Sue 898-1486
after 3 days of kindergarten. Yep, the teacher was an a... and being
an older Mom (late 30's at the time) I thought, "What happened to
kindergarten?".I had no idea. Of course I didn't get the
daycare/preschool thing either because it didn't exist when I was a
wee one. So I called my LLL Mom friends that were doing it-
"homeschooling" and one was sweet enough to drive to my house and
hand me the copy of "Why Schools Don't Educate" and I GOT IT and
here I am.
Well, we had a small homeschool group for a few years and then some
of the Moms started a charter school for homeschoolers. aaarrrggghh
I opted out of the testing and they begged me to "do it" or they
wouldn't get their funding...aaarrrgg. And I stood my ground and
then they asked if we would go off the books...so I asked can we
still come here? How am I going to explain this to my little one?
And they said, "Oh, sure". Well, the drive was an hour and 10
minutes and then my next daughter was born so I just quit going. As
my little one got older we went to another group 35 minutes away and
they wanted you to sign a "Statement of Faith" aarrggh. Well, a
catholic Mom from the group called me later and after I told her who
I was and that I don't belong to that group she said, "that we need
to just support each other because we are homeschooling". (a kind
soulful lesson that I continue to pass on). So we had some friends.
Well, we just moved from small town CA to Idaho. We were in the
country and the whole family was tired of being so isolated. And my
11 year old daughter needed more and my social 3 year old was going
to get desperate too but even sooner.
So here we are. I found this site in 1999 and peek in here every
once in awhile to feel connected when so few like minded souls are
around. And it works every time!! Thank you for being here everyone.
This area (Boise/Meridian) has tons of homeschoolers with a good mix
and they are inclusive on their yahoo groups and there are field
trips, etc. and this place just has tons to do! PE for homeschoolers
at the YMCA twice a week, and in the other direction at the Nampa
Rec center. Homeschool Days at the Discovery Center!! They cater to
homeschoolers!!
Are any of you in the Meridian/Boise, Idaho area? I would love to
connect with you. Thanks again, Sue 898-1486
Sandra Dodd
Any idea thrown out on this list is open for discussion, and one
jumped out at me:
liked each other and it was a good fit, not because you were both
homeschooling.
Although it's fading, years back people adamantly insisted that
homeschoolers had to stick together against the rest of the world. I
don't think it's healthy or realistic.
There are hundreds of thousands of homeschoolers who homeschool
specifically to keep their children away from families like ours and
ideas like mine. <G> We're not doing the same thing.
Sandra
jumped out at me:
> Well, aif you were friends and it worked out, though, it was because you
> catholic Mom from the group called me later and after I told her who
> I was and that I don't belong to that group she said, "that we need
> to just support each other because we are homeschooling". (a kind
> soulful lesson that I continue to pass on).
liked each other and it was a good fit, not because you were both
homeschooling.
Although it's fading, years back people adamantly insisted that
homeschoolers had to stick together against the rest of the world. I
don't think it's healthy or realistic.
There are hundreds of thousands of homeschoolers who homeschool
specifically to keep their children away from families like ours and
ideas like mine. <G> We're not doing the same thing.
Sandra
Chris
Oh I don't know if my 2 weeks is up yet but here I am anyway. I'm
Chris, mom to 1 wonderful 12yo ds. We have "homeschooled" since 1st
grade, this is our first season of unschooling. We have chosen
radical unschooling and it's been an absolute joy.
We live in Boise as well (Sue I emailed you :). I love Sandra's site,
links, etc. and am really enjoying learning from you all.
Thanks!
Chris
Chris, mom to 1 wonderful 12yo ds. We have "homeschooled" since 1st
grade, this is our first season of unschooling. We have chosen
radical unschooling and it's been an absolute joy.
We live in Boise as well (Sue I emailed you :). I love Sandra's site,
links, etc. and am really enjoying learning from you all.
Thanks!
Chris
Drew & Tami
Sandra Dodd wrote:
don't think it's healthy or realistic. <<<
I want to comment on this. I think there are situations where it's good for
people to from "relationships of convenience"...but I agree that
homeschooling is not one of those situations. Here's a real example from
our lives. We live in Japan. We're military, but we don't live on base--
we live in a Japanese neighborhood and most of our neighbors don't speak
English or eat the same food as we do, or go to the same places, or shop at
the same stores.
There is an American, school-at-home family just around the corner from us,
and they would qualify as this kind of homeschoolers:
ideas like mine. <<<
In spite of this, we have a very good neighbor-type relationship. If we
were in the states, theirs would be the last place I'd ask to borrow a cup
of sugar, because we are SO different-- except that we live near each other.
Our kids play together sometimes, but we just don't discuss homeschooling
except in very general terms.
It seems to me that there are lots of homeschool families who don't really
understand what "support" is. I think it can even be dangerous to form
relationships or support networks based on the, "You homeschool? So do we!"
principle. On the other hand, sometimes even wildly different homeschool
styles can be a non-issue in a relationship if there is some other source of
commonality involved.
Just a few random, mulling-it-over-while-drinking-coffee thoughts.
Tami, who actually has the only full-size oven in the neighborhood. (Most
Japanese houses don't have ovens, only little "fish broilers", and so many
Japanese people have never baked a cake, or cookies, or anything. Bakeries
are VERY popular, and expensive.)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>>> Although it's fading, years back people adamantly insisted thathomeschoolers had to stick together against the rest of the world. I
don't think it's healthy or realistic. <<<
I want to comment on this. I think there are situations where it's good for
people to from "relationships of convenience"...but I agree that
homeschooling is not one of those situations. Here's a real example from
our lives. We live in Japan. We're military, but we don't live on base--
we live in a Japanese neighborhood and most of our neighbors don't speak
English or eat the same food as we do, or go to the same places, or shop at
the same stores.
There is an American, school-at-home family just around the corner from us,
and they would qualify as this kind of homeschoolers:
>>> There are hundreds of thousands of homeschoolers who homeschoolspecifically to keep their children away from families like ours and
ideas like mine. <<<
In spite of this, we have a very good neighbor-type relationship. If we
were in the states, theirs would be the last place I'd ask to borrow a cup
of sugar, because we are SO different-- except that we live near each other.
Our kids play together sometimes, but we just don't discuss homeschooling
except in very general terms.
It seems to me that there are lots of homeschool families who don't really
understand what "support" is. I think it can even be dangerous to form
relationships or support networks based on the, "You homeschool? So do we!"
principle. On the other hand, sometimes even wildly different homeschool
styles can be a non-issue in a relationship if there is some other source of
commonality involved.
Just a few random, mulling-it-over-while-drinking-coffee thoughts.
Tami, who actually has the only full-size oven in the neighborhood. (Most
Japanese houses don't have ovens, only little "fish broilers", and so many
Japanese people have never baked a cake, or cookies, or anything. Bakeries
are VERY popular, and expensive.)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
On Mar 7, 2006, at 5:48 PM, Drew & Tami wrote:
We bought a Japanese rice cooker (looks like a crock pot, sort of,
and plugs in) before American manufacturers started making them, and
much cheaper, or before we saw any American versions, anyway. I had
been thinking they must have kitchens with too many little
appliances, but I hadn't thought they wouldn't have an oven.
So we have big ovens (unlike Japan) and big refrigerators (unlike the
U.K.) and big dishwashers (unlike... the U.K. and maybe unlike
Japan). Big microwaves, generally.
What do kitchens have in New Zealand and Australia? Do they follow
the English tradition of bitty little fridges and room-temperature
beer and soda?
For small appliances, I have a little food processor, a blender, a
hand mixer (not a stand-up thing like my mother-in-law has), two
crock pots and the aforementioned rice cooker. They take a lot of room.
Sandra
> -=-Tami, who actually has the only full-size oven in theI didn't know this!
> neighborhood. (Most
> Japanese houses don't have ovens, only little "fish broilers", and
> so many
> Japanese people have never baked a cake, or cookies, or anything.
> Bakeries
> are VERY popular, and expensive.)-=-
>
We bought a Japanese rice cooker (looks like a crock pot, sort of,
and plugs in) before American manufacturers started making them, and
much cheaper, or before we saw any American versions, anyway. I had
been thinking they must have kitchens with too many little
appliances, but I hadn't thought they wouldn't have an oven.
So we have big ovens (unlike Japan) and big refrigerators (unlike the
U.K.) and big dishwashers (unlike... the U.K. and maybe unlike
Japan). Big microwaves, generally.
What do kitchens have in New Zealand and Australia? Do they follow
the English tradition of bitty little fridges and room-temperature
beer and soda?
For small appliances, I have a little food processor, a blender, a
hand mixer (not a stand-up thing like my mother-in-law has), two
crock pots and the aforementioned rice cooker. They take a lot of room.
Sandra
Drew & Tami
We, of course, have a rice cooker. Tiger Brand, which is Japanese, (the
American versions, ummmm..suck.) Everyone, and I mean everyone here has
them. Little tiny side of the road veggie stands with no electricity---
there's an extension cord running to the nearest gas station, house or
grocery store to power the rice cooker.
These things not only cook the rice perfectly, they keep it hot for 12
hours! I highly recommend one to anyone who ever eats rice. What we don't
have because our Japanese house is too Americanized, is a built in, humidity
controlled, bug-proof rice storage bin with handy-dandy measuring feature.
You dial up the amount of rice you want, pull the handle, and presto! Most
of these bins actually measure in the same units as the rice-cooker
measuring cup...which isn't really a "cup" as we know it.
More interesting tidbits: in Japanese, the word for rice: "gohan" is also
the word for meal. With additions, it also means "breakfast", "lunch" and
"dinner". The price of rice is regulated by the government, and people get
way bent out of shape over the politics of rice. Gas costs almost the
equivalent of $5 a gallon, which is not so big of a deal, but if the price
of rice goes up 2 yen, everyone fusses!
Alright, enough already! It's morning here, and I haven't had breakfast!
I'm hungry!
Tami, who will save the tales of the Japanese underwear vending machine for
another time!
and plugs in) before American manufacturers started making them, and
much cheaper, or before we saw any American versions, anyway. I had
been thinking they must have kitchens with too many little
appliances, but I hadn't thought they wouldn't have an oven. <<<
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
American versions, ummmm..suck.) Everyone, and I mean everyone here has
them. Little tiny side of the road veggie stands with no electricity---
there's an extension cord running to the nearest gas station, house or
grocery store to power the rice cooker.
These things not only cook the rice perfectly, they keep it hot for 12
hours! I highly recommend one to anyone who ever eats rice. What we don't
have because our Japanese house is too Americanized, is a built in, humidity
controlled, bug-proof rice storage bin with handy-dandy measuring feature.
You dial up the amount of rice you want, pull the handle, and presto! Most
of these bins actually measure in the same units as the rice-cooker
measuring cup...which isn't really a "cup" as we know it.
More interesting tidbits: in Japanese, the word for rice: "gohan" is also
the word for meal. With additions, it also means "breakfast", "lunch" and
"dinner". The price of rice is regulated by the government, and people get
way bent out of shape over the politics of rice. Gas costs almost the
equivalent of $5 a gallon, which is not so big of a deal, but if the price
of rice goes up 2 yen, everyone fusses!
Alright, enough already! It's morning here, and I haven't had breakfast!
I'm hungry!
Tami, who will save the tales of the Japanese underwear vending machine for
another time!
>>> I didn't know this!We bought a Japanese rice cooker (looks like a crock pot, sort of,
and plugs in) before American manufacturers started making them, and
much cheaper, or before we saw any American versions, anyway. I had
been thinking they must have kitchens with too many little
appliances, but I hadn't thought they wouldn't have an oven. <<<
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Angela S.
<Tami, who will save the tales of the Japanese underwear vending machine for
another time!>
Can't wait to hear that one. :)
Angela ~ who thinks maybe she needs a rice cooker.
game-enthusiast@...
another time!>
Can't wait to hear that one. :)
Angela ~ who thinks maybe she needs a rice cooker.
game-enthusiast@...
Robyn Coburn
<<<< What do kitchens have in New Zealand and Australia? Do they follow
the English tradition of bitty little fridges and room-temperature
beer and soda? >>>>>
Fie upon that sacrilege!!! Warm beer?! Not for an Aussie! There is an old
and reworked joke - two men on the top a snowy mountain (or climbing a
glacier or traveling Antarctica) in a blizzard stop and hunker down in the
snowy flurries and icy gale. They open their Esky (Australian for cooler).
They pull out a bottle or can of beer. They pop the top and both take a
swig. Moments later they spit it out in huge disgust and exclaim, "Eerrgh!
Warm beer!"
When I was a renter of houses and flats in Sydney & elsewhere, and when Mom
was a house and condo owner, all the places had in common no dishwasher and
no place to insert one. Just not considered standard equipment. Some places
had an insinkerator (sink disposal), but only the most modern condo
buildings. Fridges are just like here, microwaves smaller and not ubiquitous
then as I recall.
Free standing ranges with oven below were much more common than wall ovens
(a luxury kitchen item). The ranges and stoves all have a feature called a
"griller" - what you would consider a broiler - but separate from the oven,
a slide out drawer just under the hot plates. This applies to gas or
electric. Perfect for those staples of Australian cooking the lamb loin chop
and lamb cutlet. I remember the big deal was to have a gas stove and an
electric oven as the height of modernity.
I used to have a large asian style rice cooker - the kind you see at Panda
Express keeping the steamed rice warm. I had toasters, hand held mixer, and
blenders. My grandmother always had a Mix Master (like a KitchenAid stand
mixer) that she was very proud of. When I lived with electric stoves, I
generally had an electric kettle. I did my vegetable steaming on the stove
with a stacking set of steaming pans - like a double (triple) boiler with
holes.
One very useful and important appliance was an electric skillet. We had
those in different sizes all over the world. Another is a water boiler
called a "berko" - like an electric kettle but with a wide mouth top instead
of a spout - it can be used to heat/cook pretty much any liquid like soups
or intant noodles. Lots of folks in dorms had those.
I also used to have a rolling clothes washer when in an apartment - twin tub
with a hose that attached to the kitchen faucet. None of the apartments or
houses I ever rented had clothes dryers, only washers in the laundry room.
Most people hang their laundry. My mother had a stacked washer & dryer when
I was in high school in our house - but it was unusual.
Also rare in Australian homes - although that may be changing with the
newest constructions - built in closets in any bedrooms, the coat closet in
the living room, central heat or air. Really - apartments do not come with a
furnace! I never had central heating until I came here, only numerous
methods of room heating such as kerosene heaters or electric ones. One of my
enormously wealthy friends had gas powered central heating in her house - it
was a mark of luxury.
Another common feature of many of the homes I lived in was instant gas water
heaters in the shower/tub and kitchen. You open the flue, light the pilot
light, turn the flame into the heater and "whoomph" the gas lights up and
heats the water instantly. Easy adjustments to temperature are made by
panning the pilot back and forth. Very efficient and inexpensive end use
energy water heating.
Robyn L. Coburn
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 268.2.0/276 - Release Date: 3/7/2006
the English tradition of bitty little fridges and room-temperature
beer and soda? >>>>>
Fie upon that sacrilege!!! Warm beer?! Not for an Aussie! There is an old
and reworked joke - two men on the top a snowy mountain (or climbing a
glacier or traveling Antarctica) in a blizzard stop and hunker down in the
snowy flurries and icy gale. They open their Esky (Australian for cooler).
They pull out a bottle or can of beer. They pop the top and both take a
swig. Moments later they spit it out in huge disgust and exclaim, "Eerrgh!
Warm beer!"
When I was a renter of houses and flats in Sydney & elsewhere, and when Mom
was a house and condo owner, all the places had in common no dishwasher and
no place to insert one. Just not considered standard equipment. Some places
had an insinkerator (sink disposal), but only the most modern condo
buildings. Fridges are just like here, microwaves smaller and not ubiquitous
then as I recall.
Free standing ranges with oven below were much more common than wall ovens
(a luxury kitchen item). The ranges and stoves all have a feature called a
"griller" - what you would consider a broiler - but separate from the oven,
a slide out drawer just under the hot plates. This applies to gas or
electric. Perfect for those staples of Australian cooking the lamb loin chop
and lamb cutlet. I remember the big deal was to have a gas stove and an
electric oven as the height of modernity.
I used to have a large asian style rice cooker - the kind you see at Panda
Express keeping the steamed rice warm. I had toasters, hand held mixer, and
blenders. My grandmother always had a Mix Master (like a KitchenAid stand
mixer) that she was very proud of. When I lived with electric stoves, I
generally had an electric kettle. I did my vegetable steaming on the stove
with a stacking set of steaming pans - like a double (triple) boiler with
holes.
One very useful and important appliance was an electric skillet. We had
those in different sizes all over the world. Another is a water boiler
called a "berko" - like an electric kettle but with a wide mouth top instead
of a spout - it can be used to heat/cook pretty much any liquid like soups
or intant noodles. Lots of folks in dorms had those.
I also used to have a rolling clothes washer when in an apartment - twin tub
with a hose that attached to the kitchen faucet. None of the apartments or
houses I ever rented had clothes dryers, only washers in the laundry room.
Most people hang their laundry. My mother had a stacked washer & dryer when
I was in high school in our house - but it was unusual.
Also rare in Australian homes - although that may be changing with the
newest constructions - built in closets in any bedrooms, the coat closet in
the living room, central heat or air. Really - apartments do not come with a
furnace! I never had central heating until I came here, only numerous
methods of room heating such as kerosene heaters or electric ones. One of my
enormously wealthy friends had gas powered central heating in her house - it
was a mark of luxury.
Another common feature of many of the homes I lived in was instant gas water
heaters in the shower/tub and kitchen. You open the flue, light the pilot
light, turn the flame into the heater and "whoomph" the gas lights up and
heats the water instantly. Easy adjustments to temperature are made by
panning the pilot back and forth. Very efficient and inexpensive end use
energy water heating.
Robyn L. Coburn
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 268.2.0/276 - Release Date: 3/7/2006
Laura Endres
>Oh please don't wait too long, I'm sooo intrigued! And I loved hearing about rice... I love to travel, hope to do more of it in later years. Fascinating stuff.
> Tami, who will save the tales of the Japanese underwear vending machine for
> another time!
>
>
Warmly,
Laura in IL
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Christy Mahoney
We lived in Germany for a while, and they generall don't have built in
closets either. Actually, a lot of places don't have built in kitchen
cabinets. We lived on base, so we had those things, but we had hot
water radiators in each room that I thought were pretty cool. In
Germany, air conditioning is very rare in homes, but it doesn't
usually get hot there. Also, they are very picky about clean windows
and don't have screens. We had really big windows that swung into or
outside of the house so they were easy to clean.
< Also rare in Australian homes - although that may be changing with
the
there, we stayed in a hotel for a few weeks. Instead of a big double
bed, there were 2 single beds with wooden frames around them, and they
were pushed together. But it wasn't really like a big bed because
there was wood in the middle! And instead of disgusting hotel
bedspreads that rarely get washed here in the U.S., they had down
comforters and changed the comforter covers every day. They hung the
comforters out of the (unscreened) windows to air them out. You could
see comforters hanging out of windows all over the place.
-Christy
closets either. Actually, a lot of places don't have built in kitchen
cabinets. We lived on base, so we had those things, but we had hot
water radiators in each room that I thought were pretty cool. In
Germany, air conditioning is very rare in homes, but it doesn't
usually get hot there. Also, they are very picky about clean windows
and don't have screens. We had really big windows that swung into or
outside of the house so they were easy to clean.
< Also rare in Australian homes - although that may be changing with
the
> newest constructions - built in closets in any bedrooms, the coatcloset in
> the living room, central heat or air. Really - apartments do notcome with a
> furnace! I never had central heating until I came here, only numerousWe found the beds to be interesting as well. When we first arrived
> methods of room heating such as kerosene heaters or electric ones.>
there, we stayed in a hotel for a few weeks. Instead of a big double
bed, there were 2 single beds with wooden frames around them, and they
were pushed together. But it wasn't really like a big bed because
there was wood in the middle! And instead of disgusting hotel
bedspreads that rarely get washed here in the U.S., they had down
comforters and changed the comforter covers every day. They hung the
comforters out of the (unscreened) windows to air them out. You could
see comforters hanging out of windows all over the place.
-Christy
jimpetersonl
Much of Europe doesn't bother to store drinks in the refrigerator.
What most Americans don't understand is that the average European home
is kept at 50-55, not 70, degrees Fahrenheit. Therefore, British and
German beer is, at room temperature not at all "warm" as many
Americans imagine "room temperature" to be.
We used to keep our milk, too, in the cupboard under the window that
had a sliding foor on the "inside" and holes to the outside of the
house on the other.
~Sue
What most Americans don't understand is that the average European home
is kept at 50-55, not 70, degrees Fahrenheit. Therefore, British and
German beer is, at room temperature not at all "warm" as many
Americans imagine "room temperature" to be.
We used to keep our milk, too, in the cupboard under the window that
had a sliding foor on the "inside" and holes to the outside of the
house on the other.
~Sue
>Do they follow
> the English tradition of bitty little fridges and room-temperature
> beer and soda?
>> Sandra
>W114408
Joyce Fetteroll
On Mar 8, 2006, at 6:42 PM, Angela S. wrote:
*anything* in Japan from a vending machine.
Beer.
Pornography.
Action figures.
Soda.
Panties. (The Japanese have got this ... thing about panties.) The
picture there is for used school girl panties. (Do they guarantee
that I wonder?)
There was a picture that turned up on Google for BVDs and men's
socks. A vending machine for a hotel.
In Tokyo at least they have hotel "rooms" that sort of look like
vending machines. They're like tubes in a wall. Basically just a
place to sleep for the night.
http://www.photomann.com/japan/machines/
Joyce
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> <Tami, who will save the tales of the Japanese underwear vendingWhile you're waiting here's some pictures. You can buy practically
> machine for
> another time!>
>
> Can't wait to hear that one. :)
*anything* in Japan from a vending machine.
Beer.
Pornography.
Action figures.
Soda.
Panties. (The Japanese have got this ... thing about panties.) The
picture there is for used school girl panties. (Do they guarantee
that I wonder?)
There was a picture that turned up on Google for BVDs and men's
socks. A vending machine for a hotel.
In Tokyo at least they have hotel "rooms" that sort of look like
vending machines. They're like tubes in a wall. Basically just a
place to sleep for the night.
http://www.photomann.com/japan/machines/
Joyce
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
emily dreyer
how long does milk keep at that temperature? what an interesting, informative thread this is.
also, regarding vending machines-- is anyone familiar with the convenience-store-in-a- vending machine? my husband saw them in washington dc while on tour with his band. he was quite taken. gum, eggs, milk, beer. whatever you need.
emily
jimpetersonl <jimpetersonl@...> wrote:
We used to keep our milk, too, in the cupboard under the window that
had a sliding foor on the "inside" and holes to the outside of the
house on the other.
~Sue
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
also, regarding vending machines-- is anyone familiar with the convenience-store-in-a- vending machine? my husband saw them in washington dc while on tour with his band. he was quite taken. gum, eggs, milk, beer. whatever you need.
emily
jimpetersonl <jimpetersonl@...> wrote:
We used to keep our milk, too, in the cupboard under the window that
had a sliding foor on the "inside" and holes to the outside of the
house on the other.
~Sue
"List Posting Policies" are provided in the files area of this group.
Visit the Unschooling website and message boards: <http://www.unschooling.info>
SPONSORED LINKS
Graduate school education High school education Home school education Middle school education New york school education School education in california
---------------------------------
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
Visit your group "UnschoolingDiscussion" on the web.
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
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Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
---------------------------------
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Mail
Bring photos to life! New PhotoMail makes sharing a breeze.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
elainegh8
> Fie upon that sacrilege!!! Warm beer?! Not for an Aussie! >The British don't have warm beer anymore either. Most of it is cold
now. Even real ale is often served slightly cool.
BWs Elaine
Su Penn
On Mar 8, 2006, at 9:33 PM, Laura Endres wrote:
during my visit there in 1985: They had a glass sitting on a little
shelf. You'd put your five kopek piece in, hold the glass under the
dispenser, and it would fill with soda (much less sweet and bubbly
than ours). You'd stand there and drink it, then flip the glass over
this little fountain-thing that dispensed disinfectant when you
pressed the glass down, it would get sprayed with the disinfectant
and then sit there waiting for the next person.
Su
>>This reminds me of the soda pop vending machines in the Soviet Union
>> Tami, who will save the tales of the Japanese underwear vending
>> machine for
>> another time!
during my visit there in 1985: They had a glass sitting on a little
shelf. You'd put your five kopek piece in, hold the glass under the
dispenser, and it would fill with soda (much less sweet and bubbly
than ours). You'd stand there and drink it, then flip the glass over
this little fountain-thing that dispensed disinfectant when you
pressed the glass down, it would get sprayed with the disinfectant
and then sit there waiting for the next person.
Su
Sandra Dodd
On Mar 9, 2006, at 4:07 AM, Joyce Fetteroll wrote:
-=-This condom vending machine was conveniently located between the
drink and porn machines. It offers designer condoms including one
package labeled "United Colors of Benetton". Other machines offer
different varieties based on your blood type.-=-
So they have AB-normal condoms? (Just joking)
Not long ago I had told my kids about the cigarette vending machines
that were everywhere in the 1950's and 60's, and about going to buy
cigarettes for my mom when I was twelve and would ride my bike up to
the highway and there was a cigarette machine in just any building.
Now, even where Marty works at a grocery store, the cigarettes are
all behind the customer service counter, and if a customer wants
some, the "courtesy clerk" (formerly known as sackers or bag boys�
Marty's job) trot over there and get them and bring them back. Quite
a controlled substance now, comparatively speaking, tobacco.
But at New Year's Keith and Holly and I went to visit her
grandparents in Alamogordo, a four hour trek south. In Carizozo, a
town where my own grandmother went to high school during the
Depression, we stopped at an ancient filling station, and in the
hallway toward the bathroom there was an empty, dusty cigarette
machine with the eight or so slots and the pull handles to release
one pack after you'd paid 60 cents. I was thrilled to be able to
show Holly one of those very machines.
I think a pack of cigarettes is $3 or so now, isn't it? And they
have dozens of choices.
Everyday history.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>Those photos are SO COOL!
> On Mar 8, 2006, at 6:42 PM, Angela S. wrote:
>
> > <Tami, who will save the tales of the Japanese underwear vending
> > machine for
> > another time!>
> >
> > Can't wait to hear that one. :)
>
> While you're waiting here's some pictures. You can buy practically
> *anything* in Japan from a vending machine.
>
-=-This condom vending machine was conveniently located between the
drink and porn machines. It offers designer condoms including one
package labeled "United Colors of Benetton". Other machines offer
different varieties based on your blood type.-=-
So they have AB-normal condoms? (Just joking)
Not long ago I had told my kids about the cigarette vending machines
that were everywhere in the 1950's and 60's, and about going to buy
cigarettes for my mom when I was twelve and would ride my bike up to
the highway and there was a cigarette machine in just any building.
Now, even where Marty works at a grocery store, the cigarettes are
all behind the customer service counter, and if a customer wants
some, the "courtesy clerk" (formerly known as sackers or bag boys�
Marty's job) trot over there and get them and bring them back. Quite
a controlled substance now, comparatively speaking, tobacco.
But at New Year's Keith and Holly and I went to visit her
grandparents in Alamogordo, a four hour trek south. In Carizozo, a
town where my own grandmother went to high school during the
Depression, we stopped at an ancient filling station, and in the
hallway toward the bathroom there was an empty, dusty cigarette
machine with the eight or so slots and the pull handles to release
one pack after you'd paid 60 cents. I was thrilled to be able to
show Holly one of those very machines.
I think a pack of cigarettes is $3 or so now, isn't it? And they
have dozens of choices.
Everyday history.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
On Mar 9, 2006, at 8:41 AM, Su Penn wrote:
how terrible the USSR was and said that Coke machines had a glass
everyone had to share.
There used to be machines like that here, though, only you used a
paper cup and threw it away. Hot chocolate machines, and coffee
machines. I was assuming they were out of paper cups and had a
default other glass there. Maybe people could've taken their own
plastic cups with them, I thought.
Maybe it was before "disinfectant" (It didn't get rinsed off from
disinfectant!? I think I'd rather drink after someone else than have
a combo fizzie disinfectant cola.)
Sandra
> This reminds me of the soda pop vending machines in the Soviet UnionIn the 1960's during the Cold War a guy came to our school to tell us
> during my visit there in 1985: They had a glass sitting on a little
> shelf. You'd put your five kopek piece in, hold the glass under the
> dispenser, and it would fill with soda (much less sweet and bubbly
> than ours). You'd stand there and drink it, then flip the glass over
> this little fountain-thing that dispensed disinfectant when you
> pressed the glass down, it would get sprayed with the disinfectant
> and then sit there waiting for the next person.
how terrible the USSR was and said that Coke machines had a glass
everyone had to share.
There used to be machines like that here, though, only you used a
paper cup and threw it away. Hot chocolate machines, and coffee
machines. I was assuming they were out of paper cups and had a
default other glass there. Maybe people could've taken their own
plastic cups with them, I thought.
Maybe it was before "disinfectant" (It didn't get rinsed off from
disinfectant!? I think I'd rather drink after someone else than have
a combo fizzie disinfectant cola.)
Sandra
[email protected]
A few years ago I bartended at the local Moose Lodge (OMG...it was the WORST
JOB I'VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE!!!) and they had one of those machines in the
bar part of the lodge. They still had it when I left. It was ancient. Maybe
they can still have it there because anyone in there in the first place is
supposed to be 21 anyhow. Plus, we are in WV. Smoking is still HUGE here as
is chewing tobacco.
I just recently had to take a CPR/first aid class for foster care (update)
and the guy TEACHING the class was chewing...he had a little cup behind his
Pepsi can spitting into it. THEN....he gets down on all 4's and demonstrates
CPR....LMAO. Thank God we didn't have to share mouthpieces.
Nancy B.
town where my own grandmother went to high school during the
Depression, we stopped at an ancient filling station, and in the
hallway toward the bathroom there was an empty, dusty cigarette
machine with the eight or so slots and the pull handles to release
one pack after you'd paid 60 cents. I was thrilled to be able to
show Holly one of those very machines<<<
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
JOB I'VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE!!!) and they had one of those machines in the
bar part of the lodge. They still had it when I left. It was ancient. Maybe
they can still have it there because anyone in there in the first place is
supposed to be 21 anyhow. Plus, we are in WV. Smoking is still HUGE here as
is chewing tobacco.
I just recently had to take a CPR/first aid class for foster care (update)
and the guy TEACHING the class was chewing...he had a little cup behind his
Pepsi can spitting into it. THEN....he gets down on all 4's and demonstrates
CPR....LMAO. Thank God we didn't have to share mouthpieces.
Nancy B.
>>>But at New Year's Keith and Holly and I went to visit hergrandparents in Alamogordo, a four hour trek south. In Carizozo, a
town where my own grandmother went to high school during the
Depression, we stopped at an ancient filling station, and in the
hallway toward the bathroom there was an empty, dusty cigarette
machine with the eight or so slots and the pull handles to release
one pack after you'd paid 60 cents. I was thrilled to be able to
show Holly one of those very machines<<<
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
kazitetalibuse
> Much of Europe doesn't bother to store drinks in the refrigerator.We live in upstate NY. Ocassionally the electricity is out due to a
> What most Americans don't understand is that the average European home
> is kept at 50-55, not 70, degrees Fahrenheit. Therefore, British and
> German beer is, at room temperature not at all "warm" as many
> Americans imagine "room temperature" to be.
>
snow storm. Once my husband was all worried about how to keep our food
cold without the fridge working. I thought it was funny. I suggested
we just put the food outside where it was freezing :).
My Grandma used to keep her food on her window ledge or in a plastic
bag hanging outside her window. Czech refrigerators used to be about
the size of a dishwasher or smaller.
At least in my country when everything was government owned and
centralized, electricity was cheap and so most people kept their
apartments really hot even in winter and with the windows open. People
would walk in short sleeves in their homes all winter.
Renata
kazitetalibuse
--- In [email protected], Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...>
wrote:
water/tea at train stations. It would come in earthenware cups. After
you returned the cup it would be smashed and the material would be
used to make a new cup. I thought it was a cool way of recycling and
sanitizing.
Renata
wrote:
>I have read someplace that in India (?) you could buy a cup of
>
> On Mar 9, 2006, at 8:41 AM, Su Penn wrote:
>
> > This reminds me of the soda pop vending machines in the Soviet Union
> > during my visit there in 1985: They had a glass sitting on a little
> > shelf. You'd put your five kopek piece in, hold the glass under the
> > dispenser, and it would fill with soda (much less sweet and bubbly
> > than ours). You'd stand there and drink it, then flip the glass over
> > this little fountain-thing that dispensed disinfectant when you
> > pressed the glass down, it would get sprayed with the disinfectant
> > and then sit there waiting for the next person.
>
>
> In the 1960's during the Cold War a guy came to our school to tell us
> how terrible the USSR was and said that Coke machines had a glass
> everyone had to share.
>
> There used to be machines like that here, though, only you used a
> paper cup and threw it away. Hot chocolate machines, and coffee
> machines. I was assuming they were out of paper cups and had a
> default other glass there. Maybe people could've taken their own
> plastic cups with them, I thought.
>
> Maybe it was before "disinfectant" (It didn't get rinsed off from
> disinfectant!? I think I'd rather drink after someone else than have
> a combo fizzie disinfectant cola.)
water/tea at train stations. It would come in earthenware cups. After
you returned the cup it would be smashed and the material would be
used to make a new cup. I thought it was a cool way of recycling and
sanitizing.
Renata
kazitetalibuse
--- In [email protected], Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...>
wrote:
water/tea at train stations. It would come in earthenware cups. After
you returned the cup it would be smashed and the material would be
used to make a new cup. I thought it was a cool way of recycling and
sanitizing.
Renata
wrote:
>I have read someplace that in India (?) you could buy a cup of
>
> On Mar 9, 2006, at 8:41 AM, Su Penn wrote:
>
> > This reminds me of the soda pop vending machines in the Soviet Union
> > during my visit there in 1985: They had a glass sitting on a little
> > shelf. You'd put your five kopek piece in, hold the glass under the
> > dispenser, and it would fill with soda (much less sweet and bubbly
> > than ours). You'd stand there and drink it, then flip the glass over
> > this little fountain-thing that dispensed disinfectant when you
> > pressed the glass down, it would get sprayed with the disinfectant
> > and then sit there waiting for the next person.
>
>
> In the 1960's during the Cold War a guy came to our school to tell us
> how terrible the USSR was and said that Coke machines had a glass
> everyone had to share.
>
> There used to be machines like that here, though, only you used a
> paper cup and threw it away. Hot chocolate machines, and coffee
> machines. I was assuming they were out of paper cups and had a
> default other glass there. Maybe people could've taken their own
> plastic cups with them, I thought.
>
> Maybe it was before "disinfectant" (It didn't get rinsed off from
> disinfectant!? I think I'd rather drink after someone else than have
> a combo fizzie disinfectant cola.)
water/tea at train stations. It would come in earthenware cups. After
you returned the cup it would be smashed and the material would be
used to make a new cup. I thought it was a cool way of recycling and
sanitizing.
Renata
Sandra Dodd
On Mar 9, 2006, at 10:52 AM, kazitetalibuse wrote:
In the 18th century (and maybe somewhat before and after), in England
and probably in the U.S. too, a guy could buy a smoke in a pub, and
it would be a cheap clay pipe pre-filled with tobacco. They could be
thrown away later, or the guy could take it home and re-use it. The
pipes were white. They're in smalltown museums sometimes, and in
illustrations for old stories like Rip Van Winkle. It was like a
plastic cup. Disposable, but not necessarily right away.
They were bisque-fired clay, one firing only, so they weren't
"ceramic," but were porous and easily breakable.
Oh! Here's an article involving those pipes, a report on an
excavation of Brunswick Town
One of the most commonly encountered forms of
material culture on British colonial-era sites in North
America, smoking pipes clearly represent the power and
influence that tobacco had on the development of the early
colonies. Imported white kaolin clay pipes have been found
in almost every archaeological context imaginable, from
residences to public buildings to industrial sites to
agricultural fields, and across lines of socio-economic status
and gender. The great volume of pipes imported to
Colonial America by British manufacturers made them an
inexpensive commodity, an object that was expected to be
readily discarded and replaced with another. As such, the
clay tobacco pipe may be considered to be one the first
disposable products. Archaeologist Ivor Noël Hume
(1969:296) observed them to be “as expendable as
cigarettes, though vastly more durable, ensuring that their
fragments survive in the ground in prodigious quantities.â€
"Site's fogger doesn't faze flies:" Rediscovering Tobacco
Pipes from Colonial Brunswick Town
http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:Z5O7QXrd-XIJ:rla.unc.edu/
Archives/NCAS/Newsletters_(new_series)/Volume_14_No_3-4.pdf+disposable
+clay+pipe+18th+c&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=3&client=safari
(You'd have to cut and paste that whole thing, or go to google and
put in disposable clay pipe 18th c, which is how I got it, and it
seems not to be there except in cache/archive state.)
Here's a photo of one of the plain pipes:
www.ramshornstudio.com/ e3d010b0.jp
And others (because they were made in molds) were fancier, but I was
thinking of those plainest, cheapest ones.
Here are some photos of others, similar, and some fancier. This
could open a whole new window onto some history you might not want to
explore with your kids. Just warning...
http://www.ramshornstudio.com/clay_pipes_2.htm
http://www.ramshornstudio.com/pipe_.htm
Sandra
> I have read someplace that in India (?) you could buy a cup ofThat's really interesting!
> water/tea at train stations. It would come in earthenware cups. After
> you returned the cup it would be smashed and the material would be
> used to make a new cup. I thought it was a cool way of recycling and
> sanitizing.
In the 18th century (and maybe somewhat before and after), in England
and probably in the U.S. too, a guy could buy a smoke in a pub, and
it would be a cheap clay pipe pre-filled with tobacco. They could be
thrown away later, or the guy could take it home and re-use it. The
pipes were white. They're in smalltown museums sometimes, and in
illustrations for old stories like Rip Van Winkle. It was like a
plastic cup. Disposable, but not necessarily right away.
They were bisque-fired clay, one firing only, so they weren't
"ceramic," but were porous and easily breakable.
Oh! Here's an article involving those pipes, a report on an
excavation of Brunswick Town
One of the most commonly encountered forms of
material culture on British colonial-era sites in North
America, smoking pipes clearly represent the power and
influence that tobacco had on the development of the early
colonies. Imported white kaolin clay pipes have been found
in almost every archaeological context imaginable, from
residences to public buildings to industrial sites to
agricultural fields, and across lines of socio-economic status
and gender. The great volume of pipes imported to
Colonial America by British manufacturers made them an
inexpensive commodity, an object that was expected to be
readily discarded and replaced with another. As such, the
clay tobacco pipe may be considered to be one the first
disposable products. Archaeologist Ivor Noël Hume
(1969:296) observed them to be “as expendable as
cigarettes, though vastly more durable, ensuring that their
fragments survive in the ground in prodigious quantities.â€
"Site's fogger doesn't faze flies:" Rediscovering Tobacco
Pipes from Colonial Brunswick Town
http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:Z5O7QXrd-XIJ:rla.unc.edu/
Archives/NCAS/Newsletters_(new_series)/Volume_14_No_3-4.pdf+disposable
+clay+pipe+18th+c&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=3&client=safari
(You'd have to cut and paste that whole thing, or go to google and
put in disposable clay pipe 18th c, which is how I got it, and it
seems not to be there except in cache/archive state.)
Here's a photo of one of the plain pipes:
www.ramshornstudio.com/ e3d010b0.jp
And others (because they were made in molds) were fancier, but I was
thinking of those plainest, cheapest ones.
Here are some photos of others, similar, and some fancier. This
could open a whole new window onto some history you might not want to
explore with your kids. Just warning...
http://www.ramshornstudio.com/clay_pipes_2.htm
http://www.ramshornstudio.com/pipe_.htm
Sandra
Liz in AZ
This thread has reminded me of a long-standing question I have tried,
in vain, to find an answer to. Perhaps someone here knows: when and
why did the British begin measuring for cooking using weight, versus
volume?
I have a couple 19th century English and Scottish cookbooks, and the
measurements are all in teacups and dessertspoons and so on, as are
American ones from the same time period. But now the British
(Australians? how about you?) measure flour, sugar, etc. by weight.
Why? When?
I stayed with an English family during part of my spring holiday when
I was at the University of Edinburgh for a year, and the mother made
a "snack cake" for me and her two sons. It was so good I asked her for
the recipe, which began "you weigh three eggs...". I tuned out at that
point--I didn't have a kitchen scale until just a few years ago.
Anyone know the history of this difference?
Liz in AZ
in vain, to find an answer to. Perhaps someone here knows: when and
why did the British begin measuring for cooking using weight, versus
volume?
I have a couple 19th century English and Scottish cookbooks, and the
measurements are all in teacups and dessertspoons and so on, as are
American ones from the same time period. But now the British
(Australians? how about you?) measure flour, sugar, etc. by weight.
Why? When?
I stayed with an English family during part of my spring holiday when
I was at the University of Edinburgh for a year, and the mother made
a "snack cake" for me and her two sons. It was so good I asked her for
the recipe, which began "you weigh three eggs...". I tuned out at that
point--I didn't have a kitchen scale until just a few years ago.
Anyone know the history of this difference?
Liz in AZ
Robin Bentley
Not sure on the history, but I have a few English cookbooks. One uses
metric weight and avoirdupois weight; the other uses metric weight,
avoirdupois weight *and* tsp, ½ cup, etc. I have enough trouble cooking
without trying to figure out whats what and what to measure it with <g>.
I recall requesting a recipe from a woman who grew up in small-town-Ontario,
Canada. It was for some kind of self-saucing pudding and it called for
butter the size of an egg. I suspect the recipe was handed down through
generations and was written before eggs were graded for size
Robin B.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
metric weight and avoirdupois weight; the other uses metric weight,
avoirdupois weight *and* tsp, ½ cup, etc. I have enough trouble cooking
without trying to figure out whats what and what to measure it with <g>.
I recall requesting a recipe from a woman who grew up in small-town-Ontario,
Canada. It was for some kind of self-saucing pudding and it called for
butter the size of an egg. I suspect the recipe was handed down through
generations and was written before eggs were graded for size
Robin B.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Robin Bentley
Not sure on the history, but I have a few English cookbooks. One uses
metric weight and avoirdupois weight; the other uses metric weight,
avoirdupois weight *and* tsp, ½ cup, etc. I have enough trouble cooking
without trying to figure out whats what and what to measure it with <g>.
I recall requesting a recipe from a woman who grew up in small-town-Ontario,
Canada. It was for some kind of self-saucing pudding and it called for
butter the size of an egg. I suspect the recipe was handed down through
generations and was written before eggs were graded for size
Robin B.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
metric weight and avoirdupois weight; the other uses metric weight,
avoirdupois weight *and* tsp, ½ cup, etc. I have enough trouble cooking
without trying to figure out whats what and what to measure it with <g>.
I recall requesting a recipe from a woman who grew up in small-town-Ontario,
Canada. It was for some kind of self-saucing pudding and it called for
butter the size of an egg. I suspect the recipe was handed down through
generations and was written before eggs were graded for size
Robin B.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
-=-I recall requesting a recipe from a woman who grew up in small-
town-Ontario,
Canada. It was for some kind of self-saucing pudding and it called for
“butter the size of an egg”.-=-
That is so cool!
Sometimes I wish I would sell all my books, but other times I wish I
had every book I had ever owned (like my English version of the first
Harry Potter book, which I didn't keep)... but in college I had a
cookbook called "Housekeeping in Old Virginia," and one of the
recipes began thusly:
"Render a pig."
Then they told what to do with the various parts and byproducts of
all that. I think at the end you'd end up with a ham, some pies, and
some soap, at least. (Joking about that—I don't remember what one
thing the recipe was for.)
My granny's recipes always involved pinches and smidgens, teaspoons
and tablespoons, but she used real teaspoons or tablespoons, not a
storebought set of "measuring spoons" and I learned from her to see
what it looked like in the palm of my hand instead of really using
the spoon.
Now, though, I use measuring spoons and have lots of sets of them,
because I just like the way they look.
I like that butter is sold by the pound, but measured in tablespoons
and quarter cups and half cups. Maybe that's the intersection, that
1/4 pound of butter is 1/2 a cup, and other measurements come from
butter. I don't know how butter is packaged and marked other places,
but here (speaking of butter paper, again, so soon), it's in a light
cardboard box, one pound. And usually within that there are four
quarter-pound packages, each wrapped in paper. The paper has
markings for half cup, quarter cup, and then all the teaspoon
markings starting at the left side, so you can cut it on one of those
lines and add that pre-measured block to a recipe. Maybe that's
still true in all of the English speaking world, and maybe it never was.
My granny (born early 1900's) got single-pound blocks of butter in
her later years, in sets of commodities she got from the State of
Texas, because she was on welfare to some extent ("getting
commodities") in the 1960's. She didn't like for the butter to look
like it was packaged, because most of her earlier life she had made
her own butter, with a hand churn. So she would leave the butter out
in a little bowl, and when it got soft she would press it down with a
knife to the shape of the bowl, and leave it in there that way. That
way it reminded her of homemade butter and she was happier for it not
to be so obvious she had government butter.
That's not the same grandmother who was in Carizozo, New Mexico in
the Nineteen-teens. That was Mamaw, my dad's mom.
Sandra
town-Ontario,
Canada. It was for some kind of self-saucing pudding and it called for
“butter the size of an egg”.-=-
That is so cool!
Sometimes I wish I would sell all my books, but other times I wish I
had every book I had ever owned (like my English version of the first
Harry Potter book, which I didn't keep)... but in college I had a
cookbook called "Housekeeping in Old Virginia," and one of the
recipes began thusly:
"Render a pig."
Then they told what to do with the various parts and byproducts of
all that. I think at the end you'd end up with a ham, some pies, and
some soap, at least. (Joking about that—I don't remember what one
thing the recipe was for.)
My granny's recipes always involved pinches and smidgens, teaspoons
and tablespoons, but she used real teaspoons or tablespoons, not a
storebought set of "measuring spoons" and I learned from her to see
what it looked like in the palm of my hand instead of really using
the spoon.
Now, though, I use measuring spoons and have lots of sets of them,
because I just like the way they look.
I like that butter is sold by the pound, but measured in tablespoons
and quarter cups and half cups. Maybe that's the intersection, that
1/4 pound of butter is 1/2 a cup, and other measurements come from
butter. I don't know how butter is packaged and marked other places,
but here (speaking of butter paper, again, so soon), it's in a light
cardboard box, one pound. And usually within that there are four
quarter-pound packages, each wrapped in paper. The paper has
markings for half cup, quarter cup, and then all the teaspoon
markings starting at the left side, so you can cut it on one of those
lines and add that pre-measured block to a recipe. Maybe that's
still true in all of the English speaking world, and maybe it never was.
My granny (born early 1900's) got single-pound blocks of butter in
her later years, in sets of commodities she got from the State of
Texas, because she was on welfare to some extent ("getting
commodities") in the 1960's. She didn't like for the butter to look
like it was packaged, because most of her earlier life she had made
her own butter, with a hand churn. So she would leave the butter out
in a little bowl, and when it got soft she would press it down with a
knife to the shape of the bowl, and leave it in there that way. That
way it reminded her of homemade butter and she was happier for it not
to be so obvious she had government butter.
That's not the same grandmother who was in Carizozo, New Mexico in
the Nineteen-teens. That was Mamaw, my dad's mom.
Sandra
Rina Groeneveld
One thing I find interesting is how the different availibility of
electricity or the way it is delivered affects what appliances are used. I
discovered when we moved from South Africa to the USA that electric kettles,
which are the norm where the current is 220 volts are pretty uncommon in
America and I had to get used to putting the kettle on the stove (no not my
electric one - although I wouldn't put that past me ;-). We had to leave all
our electrical appliances behind in South Africa anyway, because they
wouldn't work in America. (Dh and kids are busy watching West Side Story and
I couldnt avoid the refrain "Everything's good in America... " from running
through my head.)
After a few years in Germany I had to invest in a stovetop kettle after our
move to Italy, for different reasons. Because of a chronic electricity
supply shortage in Italy, households can only use a limited amount of
electricity at one time. In our case it was 3 kilowatts (our dishwasher and
two lights). There was no way I could have, say the kettle and the iron or
the oven and the vacuum cleaner going together without tripping our
electricity so I bought a kettle to boil on top of our gas stove. That was
one of the reasons I was happy to move back to Germany even if it meant that
homeschooling could get us in trouble with the authorities. Sheesh, do I
have my priorities wrong or what?
Someone mentioned comforters, which is also something I had to get used to.
I prefer duvets with duvet covers, large sized, as we had them in South
Africa. I paid a lot of money to get a big duvet here in Germany (and had to
hunt for it too) rather than try to cuddle up to my dh under two teeny
single duvets. Amazing what one accepts as the norm when one is used to it.
Rina Groeneveld
electricity or the way it is delivered affects what appliances are used. I
discovered when we moved from South Africa to the USA that electric kettles,
which are the norm where the current is 220 volts are pretty uncommon in
America and I had to get used to putting the kettle on the stove (no not my
electric one - although I wouldn't put that past me ;-). We had to leave all
our electrical appliances behind in South Africa anyway, because they
wouldn't work in America. (Dh and kids are busy watching West Side Story and
I couldnt avoid the refrain "Everything's good in America... " from running
through my head.)
After a few years in Germany I had to invest in a stovetop kettle after our
move to Italy, for different reasons. Because of a chronic electricity
supply shortage in Italy, households can only use a limited amount of
electricity at one time. In our case it was 3 kilowatts (our dishwasher and
two lights). There was no way I could have, say the kettle and the iron or
the oven and the vacuum cleaner going together without tripping our
electricity so I bought a kettle to boil on top of our gas stove. That was
one of the reasons I was happy to move back to Germany even if it meant that
homeschooling could get us in trouble with the authorities. Sheesh, do I
have my priorities wrong or what?
Someone mentioned comforters, which is also something I had to get used to.
I prefer duvets with duvet covers, large sized, as we had them in South
Africa. I paid a lot of money to get a big duvet here in Germany (and had to
hunt for it too) rather than try to cuddle up to my dh under two teeny
single duvets. Amazing what one accepts as the norm when one is used to it.
Rina Groeneveld
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/9/2006 2:54:39 PM Eastern Standard Time,
robinbentley@... writes:
I recall requesting a recipe from a woman who grew up in small-town-Ontario,
Canada. It was for some kind of self-saucing pudding and it called for
“butter the size of an egg”. I suspect the recipe was handed down through
generations and was written before eggs were graded for size…
Or before chickens were bred or genetically engineered for different sized
eggs. Maybe at one time all chickens had about the same size eggs.
Nancy B.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
robinbentley@... writes:
I recall requesting a recipe from a woman who grew up in small-town-Ontario,
Canada. It was for some kind of self-saucing pudding and it called for
“butter the size of an egg”. I suspect the recipe was handed down through
generations and was written before eggs were graded for size…
Or before chickens were bred or genetically engineered for different sized
eggs. Maybe at one time all chickens had about the same size eggs.
Nancy B.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Drew & Tami
We have the paper cup machines here, only the cups are plastic. In some
office building in Tokyo, they have installed a "use your own cup" hot drink
machine...it's a big new thing, everyone thinks! On the other hand, there
are "hot" vending machines, that serve little cans of hot coffee and tea.
Joyce pretty much covered the rest of the Japanese vending matching
thing...I haven't checked the photos...but there really are machines that
sell...umm..."used" underwear. It's definitely NOT Victoria's Secret!
There are some weird "all you can eat" restaurants here, but you pay a
different price based on how long you want to stay, and if you leave too
much uneaten food on your plate when you're ready to leave, you have to pay
an extra fee.
Tami, who is happy that the Japanese McDonalds has the "old" kind of Apple
Pies...the yummy deep fried kind!
machines. I was assuming they were out of paper cups and had a
default other glass there. Maybe people could've taken their own
plastic cups with them, I thought.
Sandra <<<
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
office building in Tokyo, they have installed a "use your own cup" hot drink
machine...it's a big new thing, everyone thinks! On the other hand, there
are "hot" vending machines, that serve little cans of hot coffee and tea.
Joyce pretty much covered the rest of the Japanese vending matching
thing...I haven't checked the photos...but there really are machines that
sell...umm..."used" underwear. It's definitely NOT Victoria's Secret!
There are some weird "all you can eat" restaurants here, but you pay a
different price based on how long you want to stay, and if you leave too
much uneaten food on your plate when you're ready to leave, you have to pay
an extra fee.
Tami, who is happy that the Japanese McDonalds has the "old" kind of Apple
Pies...the yummy deep fried kind!
>>> There used to be machines like that here, though, only you used apaper cup and threw it away. Hot chocolate machines, and coffee
machines. I was assuming they were out of paper cups and had a
default other glass there. Maybe people could've taken their own
plastic cups with them, I thought.
Sandra <<<
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
On Mar 9, 2006, at 2:33 PM, Rina Groeneveld wrote:
electric teakettle. Seemed to be a good idea; faster, cheaper.
When I got home I saw one, fat, yellow, plastic, kinda see-through,
in the shape of a traditional stove-top teakettle, in a thrift
store. Bought it immediately. Thought "Cool, they do have them
here." Then I found it was made in Canada. <g>
They do have them here, but they're rare and I think more for office
use than home. I don't use it regularly but I took it with me to the
conference in St.Louis, and it's back in our back... kitchen, sort
of. We have a place that could be a kitchen. It has a sink, but no
stove/oven, and so sometimes I make tea there and use that kettle.
I grew up without central heating, and in a house without even a
swamp cooler (unusual for here). We didn't have an automatic
washer. We got a dryer a couple of years before I left home. Before
that, it was wringer washer, hang it on the line. The only
appliances my mom had were a percolator (old-time electric coffee
pot) and a hand mixer. I find myself, still, sometimes GIDDY at
having a microwave, dishwasher, washer and dryer. Keith resists
technology. He doesn't like to spend money. Once the technology
arrives, he's totally hooked, but avoids the next wave. So he
resisted DVD players for a long time and now, including computers and
DVD players and cars that will play a CD, we must have 20 players.
He resisted DVD players; now he lives on DVDs (Babylon 5, Farscape,
stuff like that). We don't have cellphones. Weird. <g>
In England even six years ago it seemed every living being had a
"mobile" (which the pronounce not as Americans pronounce the word,
and not as Alabama pronounces their city, but (how can I indicate
it?) MOH bile (long "i", which we reserve for the yellow yuck
in one's digestive system).
In the U.S. mobile rhymes with noble.
Sandra
> ILast time I was in England I saw that everyone everywhere had an
> discovered when we moved from South Africa to the USA that electric
> kettles,
> which are the norm where the current is 220 volts are pretty
> uncommon in
> America
electric teakettle. Seemed to be a good idea; faster, cheaper.
When I got home I saw one, fat, yellow, plastic, kinda see-through,
in the shape of a traditional stove-top teakettle, in a thrift
store. Bought it immediately. Thought "Cool, they do have them
here." Then I found it was made in Canada. <g>
They do have them here, but they're rare and I think more for office
use than home. I don't use it regularly but I took it with me to the
conference in St.Louis, and it's back in our back... kitchen, sort
of. We have a place that could be a kitchen. It has a sink, but no
stove/oven, and so sometimes I make tea there and use that kettle.
I grew up without central heating, and in a house without even a
swamp cooler (unusual for here). We didn't have an automatic
washer. We got a dryer a couple of years before I left home. Before
that, it was wringer washer, hang it on the line. The only
appliances my mom had were a percolator (old-time electric coffee
pot) and a hand mixer. I find myself, still, sometimes GIDDY at
having a microwave, dishwasher, washer and dryer. Keith resists
technology. He doesn't like to spend money. Once the technology
arrives, he's totally hooked, but avoids the next wave. So he
resisted DVD players for a long time and now, including computers and
DVD players and cars that will play a CD, we must have 20 players.
He resisted DVD players; now he lives on DVDs (Babylon 5, Farscape,
stuff like that). We don't have cellphones. Weird. <g>
In England even six years ago it seemed every living being had a
"mobile" (which the pronounce not as Americans pronounce the word,
and not as Alabama pronounces their city, but (how can I indicate
it?) MOH bile (long "i", which we reserve for the yellow yuck
in one's digestive system).
In the U.S. mobile rhymes with noble.
Sandra