There is a common thread running through this month’s list. You will see what I’ve been focusing on learning lately.
- Our front yard has a creature in it. It’s a vole. I’ve never seen one of those before.
2. A friend showed us these inflatable solar lights from REI. Sounds like a great way to not use propane at the cabin, but the lights themselves run from about $30-$50, depending on the size. Inflatable!?!
3. Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchauspé is a book that has inspired me to change the way I eat. It is well-researched, well-written, and makes a ton of sense. Here it is on ThriftBooks (I got my copy at the library).
4. CACHE is starting a new quest to gather money to have longer hours. Their attempts to secure grants have been unsuccessful, so they will be asking 300 people to give $100/year for two years in order to be open more hours. This makes much more sense to me: the local people who care will be more involved if they feel responsible for helping to keep it running. You should see the museum now—it is fabulous, nothing like the normal small town history museums! CACHE = Center for Arts, Culture, & History, Exeter, and their website is here: CACHE
5. I learned how to transfer a pattern from a picture on the computer to a life-size outline on a wall.
6. Xylitol is a zero calorie sweetener made from the bark of birch trees. (Birch trees?? Who figured this out?) It is supposed to work on a 1:1 exchange with sugar in baking (too expensive for me!), and the reviews are mixed. Glucose Revolution says it might still spike your glucose (how?? why??); other sources say it is a great substitute without side effects. I think it tastes better than stevia (but I still prefer real sugar, so there!)
7. Monk fruit (what in the world?) is the favored non-sugar sweetener these days. I haven’t tried it yet.
8. Currants are difficult to pick, and when you run them through a juicer, they make orange goo rather than juice. If you want to make jelly, pick way way way more than you think you need, boil them awhile, then mash them in a colander for a long time to let the juice appear. Or, you can dig a hole in your garden and bury the entire mess.
9. Did you know that buffalo are classified as bovines? I didn’t know either, until they were listed as possible subjects to enter into the current exhibit at CACHE, called “A Bovine State of Mind”.
10. I heard somewhere that only 18% of Americans now attend church regularly. I’m not sure how “regularly” is actually defined here; I go native/rogue/heathen in the summer, and then attend regularly when the cabin is closed for the year. I love my church.
5 Comments
Thank you Jana for the CACHE comments! We appreciate you!
Hey Anonymous, it is my pleasure to be associated with such a great place, and I am happy to give you a (minor, sorry it isn’t more) publicity boost.
2. “Inflatable” so it can be stored in a backpack? Have you seen one “in action?” Before buying a bunch I would see how bright the light is, how long it lasts on a charge, and how long it takes to charge.
6. Fake whatevers (margarine and stevia, NutraSweet, maltitol, etc.) are no valid substitute for the real thing.
10. No surprise. “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Matthew 7:13-14
P.S. I see the option to be notified when there are new comments on these threads is back, YAY!
Sharon, it’s always fun to hear what you think about my Learned List items!
2. The friend who showed me was completely sold on these, saying they didn’t take long to charge and they are very bright. They store flat, and then you just blow them up like a cheap air mattress (a very small mattress).
6. Stevia isn’t actually fake. I grew a plant once, and the leaves are so sweet they’ll make your teeth hum.
10. Sad sigh.
P.S. Great! I love it when things actually work.
10. Yes, it is sad.
P.S. I received a notice when you posted your reply. I love it when things work like their supposed to! Do you think (dare I say it?) that WP actually listened to end users’ suggestions? Now . . . if they can only fix the option to keep one’s name and email for future replies, everything would be coming up roses!
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