More True Rumors: Hattiesburg's Continuing Recycling Saga

There is now a receptacle for glass at Kamper Park in Hattiesburg!

(2/21/12: Addendum: Sometimes it is there.)

The Making of French Bread Loaf

My first venture into making bread of any sort took place today. With the help of Google, once again, I found just the right help- with this guy's video in particular.

The only thing was I wanted just one loaf to start with in case it was a flop. So I had to cut the ingredients in half. I tried to proof the yeast as instructed but it never bubbled or fizzled or did what the Internet bread "gurus" said it should. I took my chances anyway, and pretty much never really used actual measurements for anything except the flour, and even that changed over the course of the process. 

This is what it takes for one loaf of french bread:

approximately 2 cups of flour

a couple dashes of dry yeast

a dash of salt

water

I really enjoyed the simplicity of the ingredients. I had no idea, actually, it could be thrown together with just a few basic things. The trickiest part was the flour and water- too sticky, not sticky enough. I had to keep playing with that until finally it became the ball you see in the bowl. The process does take a while. After you get the ball formed, you let it sit, covered, for about two hours. Then you take it out and knead it and form it, making valleys and pinching them into peaks (which the man in the video said was actually a Julia Child tip) until you get it to the shape desired. Then onto a baking pan, where you score it and let it sit another two hours or so. It is called a second rise.

After the hours passed, the bread did expand but I was worried because it never really plumped up as magnificently as the man's bread in the video did. However, I had to follow through with the process to the end. There is no other way to learn! So, after the oven preheated at 400, I turned it to 350 and stuck the pan in the oven for about 35 minutes.

A couple friends popped over just as I removed it from the oven and of course we had to try it hot so I forgot to take a picture of it in tact. It doesn't look terribly impressive, but it actually turned out better than expected in consistency and taste for the first run! My friends both had seconds so I took that as a good sign, too. More to come...

CCL (not) in da Hizzy

 My friend Tandy giggled on the phone as she told me she had this little "happy" for me (made by Accoutrements, which is awesome). As a matter of fact, I'd seen this before. My brother and I once gave this same token of affection to my mother, who looks startlingly like this lady- same pajamas, same hair, same amount- the level of which is sometimes indiscernible- of "rescued" cats. Sorry mom, but you know it's true, crazy cat lady! And now, evidently, I warrant it too?! No! Just because when I see a cat, any cat, I immediately must stroke its fur, or worse, allow the old-Jewish lady tone to come screeching out of my throat when I talk to cat, doesn't mean anything. (The cats love it, really.) Oh, and the nicknames and songs are normal behavior, of course, obligatory, even. The thing that makes a person a CCL, in my opinion, is the cat to human ratio. One person can have up to two cats and fall below the CCL radar. 1:3 makes a person a CCL.

It is true I happened to have three cats in my kitchen this morning:

...But one of them- "Greybeard"- was just visiting. He is a magical neighborhood vagabond, making stops around the block for food and visits. I did at one point have a plan to "rescue" him, but he wouldn't be caught dead having lived in an actual house. Therefore, he saved me from becoming a CCL.

In the photo above, I let my cat, Oscar aka Babe aka Bay, take in the Crazy Cat Lady action figure via osmosis. This is a perfectly non-CCL behavior.

My ratio is still officially 1:2.

Beware of the LEAN (when you po it in yo white cup)

Ok so I picked up this can called LEAN recently (at the E& B Grocery) a few weeks ago. It looked intriguing. it said "slow motion...potion" on it, and at the bottom of the flashy, urban-art can, "Premium Relaxation." The anti-energy drink? Now I've seen everything!

 In case it actually did work, I'd been saving it for a time when I had nothing to do, no place to be and time on my hands. Yesterday, in the middle of the afternoon, after a nice morning walk in the woods, seemed to be it. I had plans to visit a friend later that day but figured the worse that could come of this, after only drinking one serving size, or half a can, was I felt, you know, relaxed. Well, let me tell you, it is a slow motion potion, all right. More like a liquid tranquilizer. It knocked me on my ass. My arms and legs got heavier and soon I was glued to the couch. Which prompted me to do more than read the can this time because while I'd read there were sleepiness-inducing ingredients in the soda (such as valerian root (anti-anxiety or sleep-aid) and melatonin (naturally produced by the body; synthetic form used as sleep-aid), I assumed the super-saccharine flavored "Yella" liquid would contain only a miniscule amount. But since I had turned into a log, basically only able to use the computer from my couch, I was questioning the matter further. I Googled it, naturally. I found the Slow Motion Potion website with the following video:

The whole thing blew my mind. I kind of love the video, a lot. Aside from its entertainment value and spunkiness, I do not understand how a powerful relaxant such as this is marketed as a drink (akin to the purple drank of Li'l Wayne fame?) to go out clubbing with. Seems dangerous to consume this then go out and try to dance and socialize, much less sit up or do anything, basically. After more exploration of the site, I had to close my eyes and ended up napping for almost two hours, which I can rarely pull off. I fought the sleep as I had plans but ended up having to change them because I was too groggy. Many hours later, when I felt pretty much rejuvenated, I decided to be fair, and finish the "experiment" (ie the remaining half of the can, which is the most you can have according to the can in a 24-hour period). It was around 10:30, which is a regular bed time anyway. It took longer to make me pass out, but when I went to bed, I slept a deep, solid sleep. I woke up with a slight residual fog this morning, but at least there were no bizarre dreams like the first time in the afternoon.

Is it effective in promoting relaxation/dead sleep? Yes. But please exercise extreme caution if you come across this beverage and are planning on doing anything other than resting. I do not think it is being marketed appropriately or responsibly. I wouldn't do anything other relax and clear your schedule for sleep with this.

2012: Don't Wait!

Don't wait in general (unless it's truly situation-appropriate, of course) but also don't wait concerning your new year's day helping of black-eyed peas and cabbage. Start your year off right with a bowl for breakfast! Cheers!

To health, "luck" and wealth!

***

Cabbage courtesy of a friend's fantastic winter garden up in the Jackson area:

***

And, read this: "New Year's Revolution," a retrospective from 1999, by Eric Francis

Noche Buena

This traditional American Christmas-time plant, the poinsettia, is commonly referred to as "noche buena" (good night, but for Christmas Eve) south of the border, as it is actually native to Mexico and Central America. The belief of this plant's toxicity is said to be just an urban legend. If you look at the base in the picture above, you will see ice cubes, a trick passed on to me by my landlady who so kindly bestowed this vivid red-leafed entity onto me. She said to keep it away from direct heat; that it really does well when it's cold, and it's a way to slow water the plant. But is it cold where it grows ingeniously?

Catvertisting!

Well, I was just geeking out to cat videos the other day....

These Rumors are Also True: The Bins Have Arrived!

 Curbside recycling pick-up starts January 5th for residential customers in the city of Hattiesburg!
Still, glass is not included, but I've got a bag or two of other acceptable items ready to go, saving me a trip to Kamper Park drop-off location! Yay! For more info, go to Waste Pro.

And Here's to Winter Solstice!

From the classroom....

Gimme that Live Stuff

The Lovely Weeds (Sam, Brad and AJ) this past Saturday night at T-Bones, with Allen Mann opening. 

A lovely, serene show! Blurry pic by me, via the celly.

December Color

Sidewalk-Avenues, 'Burg

The Rumors are True: Glass Recycling in Hattiesburg

This weekend I verified that Hattiesburg actually does have a place where one can drop off his or her glass items- and plastic bags, etc- for recycling: inside Target on 98. Curious, yes, indeed. Maybe when curbside recycling pick-up starts, they'll take glass too? For now, behold the second bin from the left.

Windowpane Blues

~Enchantment~

Into the Woods: Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf

~Reconnection~

A Lighter Adventure: Hello, New Jersey!

The view (with the Mississippi lighter) from Upper Manhattan: view of the Hudson River and George Washington Bridge

by illustrious and devoted Lighter Lady, Erika L.

Technology: this is what it's come to!

Video chat session with a lego man (who is actually a stand-in for my friend Kendall, The Whim of the Great Magnet)!