Mood:
a-okTopic: The Fungus AmungUs
I really haven't been doing much that's blog worthy lately. My only sewing projects for myself are a few pairs of "jorts" jeans+short=jorts. No, I haven't lost my sense of style, these are not for wearing around the city, these are for hiking and camping far away from the city. Denim is more durable and is less likely to rip when caught on branches or sharp rocks. The only problem is that jorts are neither challenging to sew nor interesting to discuss.
On the weekend i got to the annual Rock, Mineral and Gem show. I got some really nice banded agates and some small nautaloid fossil discs with holes drilled in them. I also got a couple freebies, an amethyst crystal point, a clear quartz point, a pair of moonstones, and a pair of uncut rough diamonds from the Herkimer mine is the US. There was a large polished, round herkimer diamond that was hollow and contained water. Imagine that! Water the way it was 500 million years ago! I learned a bit more about drilling rocks, the tools to use and to not use. Standard drill: bad. Dremel mounted on drill press: good. Drilling dry: bad. Drilling using baby oil or bath oil: good. And it smells nice too.According to New Age Crystal guides Herkimer diamonds are supposed to enhance the dream state and to facilitate astral (out of body) travel. I don't know about that, but they will be nice wrapped in silver wire and enhanced with some swarovski beads.
We've had a very early spring this year, It is barely May and the tulips are almost over, the late season purples are now in bloom. This of course means it's Morel time, so here's this years Morel Mushroom Newspaper article: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100503/NEWS/5030316/1001/NEWS/Wanted-%28badly-%29-More-morel-mavens-in-Iowa this article tells of how a government agency went wayyyy overboard to protect people. It's not that difficult to tell a false morel from a true morel, usually the smell is enough, but for those with olfactory challenges here's a simple rule: If it's the heat of summer it's a false morel. The end. The mushrooms grow in entirely different seasons. Spring is for morels, summer for false morels. And for further identification, false morels look like brains, and when cooked they smell harsh and metallic. It's the rocket fuel in them; cooking releases the rocket fuel in the steam. Raw False Morels have a slight metallic chemical smell, again it's the rocket fuel in them.
In other food news: why isn't broccoli canned? Some one has answered this: http://www.yumsugar.com/Why-Doesnt-Broccoli-Come-Can-8285229 It would emphasize the yucky metallic taste, turn out slimy like canned green beans, and it would enhance the gas factor. I freeze broccoli: it takes about five minutes in the blancher and i can freeze enough to last all winter. I do, however prefer fresh because freezing and then re-ccoking makes it soggy and you loose some vitamins. Like Asparagus and Spinach it is best fresh. And just because you CAN can something doesn't mean you should: see canned chicken: http://www.geekologie.com/2009/04/good_eats_a_whole_chicken_in_a.php And of course the classic campfire favourite Cheeseburger in a can: http://www.gizmag.com/the-canned-cheeseburger--fast-food-in-the-wilderness/8713
All this food talk of morels and cheeseburgers and chicken has made me hungry! Time for lunch!
