Eight Flying Geese

 

Antarctica is 40% larger than Europe, 50% larger than the US, and roughly half the area of Africa. Antarctica contains 90% of Earth’s fresh water, where it’s inaccessibly frozen. In spite of the fact it’s completely covered in ice, Antarctica gets less than 2” of precipitation per year, making it the world’s largest desert. The lowest temperature ever recorded was -128.6 Fahrenheit (-89.2 Celsius) at the Vostok station in 1983. Antarctica has no permanent human residents. The only inhabitants are scientists and support staff living in temporary quarters at research stations. The animals found here are blue whales, Antarctic krill, southern royal albatross, and several varieties of seal. Lots of penguins live here, too. The world’s largest penguin – the emperor penguin – is the only vertebrate that breeds here. Antarctica has no single official time zone. Instead, each research station uses the time zone of its supplier or home country.

Nine Echo Blocks

 

Three brothers, aged 92, 94, and 96, live in the same house together. One night, the 96-year-old fills up the bath, put his foot in, then pauses. Then he yells down the stairs, "Was I getting in or out of the bath?" The 94-year-old yells back, "I don't know. I'll come up and see.” So, he starts up the stairs, but halfway up, he pauses and then yells, "Was I coming up the stairs? Or was I going down?" The 92-year-old is sitting at the kitchen table having a coffee, listening to his older brothers. He shakes his head and says, "I sure hope I never get that forgetful." He knocks on the wooden table for good luck. Then he yells, "I'll come up and help both of you as soon as I see who's at the door!"

Tiny Barbara Fritchie Star

 

This recipe works better if you whisk the broth, water and mixes together before stirring in beef and onions. I like to coat the pot with cooking spray before adding anything. Better yet, use a slow cooker bag!

 

Slow Cooker Beef & Noodles

 

1 1/2 pounds stew beef

1 packet au jus mix

1 packet brown gravy mix

1 packet onion soup mix

1 onion, diced

1 cup water

1 cup beef broth

12 ounces egg noodles

Sour cream

 

Place beef, gravy and soup mixes in slow cooker. Add onion, water and broth; stir until combined. Cover and cook on low six hours. Cook noodles according to package directions. Stir beef mixture again. Serve over cooked egg noodles and top with sour cream. Pairs well with a side salad, green beans or broccoli.

Two Flying Geese

 

“Are there those among us who suffer in silence, afraid for others to know their hidden struggles because they don’t know what the reaction will be? Only the Lord fully knows the actual level of difficulty with which each of us is running our race of life—the burdens, the challenges, and the obstacles we face that often cannot be seen by others. Only He fully understands the life-changing wounds and trauma some of us may have experienced in the past that are still affecting us in the present. Often we even judge ourselves harshly, thinking we should be much farther ahead on the track. Only the Lord fully knows our individual limitations and capacity, and because of that, He is the only one fully qualified to judge our performance.” – J. Anette Dennis

Four Echo Blocks

 

In 1991, researchers at Cambridge University had a problem. They’d run out of coffee and head to the Trojan Room in the computer science building for a refill. All too often, when they got there, they’d find no coffee in the pot. I don’t know how far their desks were from the Trojan Room, or how long it took to brew a fresh pot, but it was a significant source of frustration. At least two of the researchers – Quentin Stafford-Fraser and Paul Jardetzky – rigged a camera so they could monitor the coffee pot without leaving their desks. So, the first web cam was created to avoid fruitless coffee runs. Today, I can watch the tide ebb and flow at Whitby. I can check the London traffic. I can see the Pope waving at tourists in Rome, and penguins playing at Sea World. Or, I can observe the delivery driver putting a package on my doorstep.

Winter Checkerboard

 

Things Europeans know I wish Americans would learn:

To build better restrooms. We have rows of stalls you peek through to see if they’re occupied. After you’ve done your business, you gather belongings, open the stall door and THEN wash your hands. Creepy and unsanitary.

To have a better work/life balance. Europeans have more vacation days, and they USE them. They understand no one on their deathbed wishes they’d spent more time in the office.

To eat mindfully. In Europe, no one gobbles lunch at their desk while answering emails. They don’t scarf down dinner while literally on the run. They take time to enjoy meals while seated at a table. And their portions are human-sized.

To display the price – tax included – on everything. And not to tip. Tipping's stupid.

That healthcare isn’t only for the rich. Every year 550,000 Americans declare bankruptcy from medical debt alone.

To walk everywhere, every day. When you can't, take the train.

Hourglass Block

 

In the 70’s and 80’s, it seemed like there was a bagel shop on nearly every corner with a frozen yogurt store right next door. One by one, all those bagel shops disappeared (along with most of the frozen yogurt spots), leaving just a handful where there once were dozens. As far as we can tell, bagels have been around since at least the 17th century in Poland. The thing that makes bagels distinct from other baked goods is they’re cooked twice. After they’ve been shaped into little toroids, bagels are boiled (sometimes people steam them instead) before baking. This gives them a unique chewy texture and “skin” that goes so well with cream cheese, lox, avocado, jam, bacon and eggs, hummus, ham and Swiss, Nutella, tuna salad, you name it. January 15 is National Bagel Day. I’m prepared to celebrate with a glass of milk, a cinnamon/raisin bagel and a strawberry schmear.