Bison - Yummy!

     Mike and I saw a TV spot about the benefits of  bison over beef.  We wanted to eat us some bison.  Mike found a restaurant in Warrington, Pennsylvania where bison is the featured food, Ted's Montana Grill.    http://www.tedsmontanagrill.com/about_history.html
   

Mike on his way to eating a bison burger.

They start you off with "half sours" - partially pickled pickles.  They taste like salty, crunchy cucumbers.

Home made potato chips and onion dip.

Bison burger with a side of fries.

We saw this guy on the way out.  He was hanging out in the bar. 

Labeling Your Cousins - Easy as 1,2,3

      I have a little article I clipped from the paper that explains how to correctly label your cousins. It can get confusing trying to figure out who is a first, second, or third cousin, and how many times removed they might be.  Here's the trick to getting it right:

First cousins - Your parent's siblings are the parents of your first cousins.  The children of your first cousins are your first cousins once removed.  The children of your first cousins once removed are your first cousins twice removed.  The children of your first cousins twice removed are your first cousins three times removed.

Second cousins - Your second cousin is the grandchild of your grandparent's brothers or sisters.  A second cousin's child is your second cousin once removed.  The child of a second cousin once removed is your second cousin twice removed, and so on.

Third cousins - Third cousins go back another generation.  They are the great-grandchildren of your great grandparent's siblings.  The "removal process" is the same as for first and second cousins.

     The relationship between me and my burlesque dancing cousin from yesterday's blog was first cousins once removed.

   

Burlesque

     We all have those occasional nights when we can't fall asleep.  When I found myself in that situation a few weeks ago, I switched on the TV and watched a documentary called "Behind the Burley Q."  This film about the golden age of burlesque was made by Leslie Zemeckis.  Ms. Zemeckis also wrote a book with the same name.  Here's a Wikipedia synopsis of the film:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behind_the_Burly_Q

     Here's an in depth interview with Zemeckis in which she discusses "Behind the Burley Q" and another of her documentaries titled "Bound by Flesh," the story of conjoined twins Violet and Daisy Hilton.  It's long - 49 minutes - but it's interesting.

    




     They say Australians love to brag about the criminals in their family trees.  When I got my tattoo, one of the ladies working in my doctor's office revealed her grandfather was the tattooed man in a circus.  Well, by gosh, now I get to brag that I have a stripper in my pedigree, my cousin. Her stage name was Kena Barry, and she danced at the Trocadero in Philadelphia.  She was skilled in gymnastics and incorporated some of those moves into her act.  I think I met her once.  I have a hazy memory of a very outgoing, bleached blonde, overly made up lady.  She was married three times, and number three was the charm.  According to my parents, she couldn't say enough good things about numero tres.  He nursed her through two hip replacements and stuck until death parted them.
     I have a postcard published by the Burlesque Historical Company, a photography studio in 1950's Philadelphia.  Here's Kena:

      

     Lo and behold, I also found another of Kena's pictures online.

     She had nice handwriting, don't you think?

Easy Greeting Cards

     These won't win a Hallmark greeting card contest (check out the 10/5/12 blog entry), but they might make the tech aware person on the receiving end crack a smile.  Insert some card stock into the printer.  Using a card making program, type your greeting.  Print.  Couldn't be easier.    

The inside message could be"#manyhappyreturns" or "you're what's trending now" or the inside could be left blank for a hand written message. 

I think a thank you card requires a personal message, so leave this one blank inside.

       

               

Inside message: "being without you does not compute"

#Hashtag

     Have you seen the Honda Civic commercial - the one with the #stupidcar (that's "hashtag stupid car") theme?




     I decided once and for all to find out what this hashtag thing means.  It's a label or a way to divide topics into groups.  Placing the # symbol in front of a word or phrase makes that topic easily searchable on social media sites.  Searchers can locate commentary and discussion associated with the hashtag.  In this case, searching #stupidcar leads to peoples' reaction to the TV commercial and other postings related to the advertisement.  While hashtagging (oh, geez, a new verb) came into its own with Twitter, it also works on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and a bunch of other sites.  When enough people search a specific hashtag it is said to be "trending now."  In the old days we would have called it a new fad.  The Civic commercial also shows that hashtags serve more than their original purpose.  They are a way to inject some humor into a situation.  For example, "Why can't people pick up after their dogs #steppedinit?"
     So, check out the chick in this commercial.  She dresses like a high school kid from 1968.  Ditto on the hairdo #whatgoesaroundcomesaround.
     

New Jersey Wineries

     It's no secret.  I have a weakness for the fruit of the vine, and I like to go wine tasting.  There was a time when Renault was the only game in town.  Renault was established in 1864 and has operated continuously ever since.  Strict prohibition era laws limited the number of wineries in New Jersey, but all that changed in 1981 with the passage of the New Jersey Farm Winery Act.  This act exempted low volume, family owned wineries from restrictions, and allowed the farmers to create outlet stores. There are more than 45 wineries in New Jersey today.  That's a lot of tasting!
     I spent some time Friday at Terhune Orchards in Princeton.  The first thing I noticed was the pick-your-own signs.  Strawberries, asparagus, and cherries are over until next year.  You can pick blueberries and blackberries now.  Peaches, apples, and pumpkins are on the way.
     You can shop at the farm store.  There are organically grown fresh herbs and a multitude of fruits and vegetables, including heirloom varieties.

They have black heirloom cherry tomatoes.

They sell donut peaches. 

 

Try some yellow pear heirloom tomatoes.

      Besides produce, you can buy local honey, locally made preserves, fresh breads, and cookies.  They sell pies that are to-die-for and apple cider donuts.  On a hot day, you shouldn't leave without an apple cider slushy, made from Terhune cider, of course.
     The winery is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Tasting is free on Friday.  You have to pay on Saturday and Sunday - $5 for five samples/ $8 if you want to keep the glass.  Besides the whites and reds, they make apple wine, Harvest Blue (apple wine with blueberry flavor), and Just Peachy (apple wine with peach).  I'm adding some seltzer and fruit to my peach wine to make some Just Peachy sangria.
     There are lots of activities at the farm.  Besides the festivals and wagon rides, they offer classes about growing herbs, preserving food, and pruning fruit trees.  Kids can attend farm camp for a week in the summer.
     So take a ride to Terhune Orchards.  Support your local farmer and suck down some of those free samples of grape juice (on Fridays)!

http://www.terhuneorchards.com/index.html          

Repainting

     The entry from 12/14/12 was about painting.  Well, I'm at it again.  I'm sure I have the perfect color this time.  It's been such a hard job that I have sworn never, ever to paint the living room again.  Ever!
     As I finished up today, I wondered, "Who invented the paint roller?"  According to Wikipedia, a Canadian named Norman Breakey came up with the basic design in 1940.  Before he could mass produce the device (and make a killing), others improved upon the design.  Richard Adams held the first U.S. patent for the paint roller.  He said, during his off hours from his job at Sherwin-Williams, he developed the roller in his basement workshop.
     The really interesting thing about all this is that paint rollers could have been inspired by science fiction comic books.  Edward Elmer Smith (E. E. "Doc" Smith) was a food engineer and later a science fiction author.  In one of his books, published in 1931, a roller was used to spread paste on the outside of a space ship.  From paste to paint, it's not a far leap.  I wonder if Breakey or Adams read science fiction.
     Watch how paint rollers are manufactured -