Thursday, January 19
Jan. 19th, 2023 11:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gottawonderToday I am grateful for:
This wonderful stretch of moderate temperatures we've been having.
Sunshine today.
I went to town, and one of the things I needed to do was to pick up a belt for our snow blower, that has been sitting there for weeks waiting for us to go get it.
My Sweetie asked me to get it, BUT DID NOT KNOW THE NAME OF THE BUSINESS. He says to me "It's in the same building as the bike repair shop". He also did not know the name of the bike repair shop. Luckily, there was only one bike repair shop in town.
That said, the bike repair shop was in the back of that big building, so Google didn't know how to get me to it, and sent me off on a wild goose chase. I had to call the business itself to ask him to please stay open just a few more minutes until I could get sorted out.
Luckily he was willing to wait a few minutes, I finally found the business (no thanks to Google), and got the belt.
Then I went to Winner's for retail amusement, and I tried on some clothes, and EVERYTHING looked good and fit well. I picked one nice item, a lovely sweater. I was kind of shocked that so many things looked good AND fit. Usually you can get ten things in my size and have half of it not fit quite right, and not much of it be actually attractive.
Then I went to pottery. My usual day is Monday, but the Thursday "class" is open to having drop-ins.
This group is the beginner class, and none of them know how to throw using a pottery wheel yet. The instructor (who oddly does not throw with the wheel) was showing them a video. I was off to the side working, and listening a bit, and hearing just the snippets was hilarious (mainly because I have a stunted sense of humor). It's hard not to laugh at "then slam your two pound ball onto the wheel" and "using both hands, keep pulling until you get ten inches".
I got a fair amount done today. I didn't throw (I don't think I could have kept a straight face), but I got a few items glazed, and trimmed some others.
Lately I've been interacting with the instructor for this group. She was a key player in me being part of this group in the first place, wayyy back when the group was some insular old biddies who were trying to keep it to themselves and lock out new members. She was instrumental in forcing them to let new members register.
Well, just before Covid, I would have to say we weren't getting along that well. Over the years, there were a few things that left us not on the best of terms.
Then somehow, she seems to be more friendly again, and I don't know if she just FORGOT that we had some disagreements? I am fine with being on good terms again. It's just a bit of a mystery. We never hated each other, but I was under the impression that we weren't on great terms.
Anyhow. It was fun, I got some things done, and chatted with a few people. I saw the one lady I often talk with at pottery (she was in the wood working studio) as we were both leaving.
I picked up some groceries, full of gratitude that I am able to do so, and drove home.
I learned that it might be possible to produce a nearly identical chocolate flavor through complex fermentation processes that can use other sources to provide material. Like potatoes.
Apparently most of the complex flavor from chocolate comes from the fermentation of the cacao beans, but is not exclusive, and could come from other sources. The development of other ways to make chocolate would reduce the ecological strain from monoculture of cacoa beans, the child labor often used in the harvest, and the deforestation of the jungle.
The same company hopes to also replicate coffee and vanilla from alternate fermentation pathways, and reduce the demand for these key destructive agricultural products.
https://fermentationassociation.org/chocolate-without-the-cacao/
This wonderful stretch of moderate temperatures we've been having.
Sunshine today.
I went to town, and one of the things I needed to do was to pick up a belt for our snow blower, that has been sitting there for weeks waiting for us to go get it.
My Sweetie asked me to get it, BUT DID NOT KNOW THE NAME OF THE BUSINESS. He says to me "It's in the same building as the bike repair shop". He also did not know the name of the bike repair shop. Luckily, there was only one bike repair shop in town.
That said, the bike repair shop was in the back of that big building, so Google didn't know how to get me to it, and sent me off on a wild goose chase. I had to call the business itself to ask him to please stay open just a few more minutes until I could get sorted out.
Luckily he was willing to wait a few minutes, I finally found the business (no thanks to Google), and got the belt.
Then I went to Winner's for retail amusement, and I tried on some clothes, and EVERYTHING looked good and fit well. I picked one nice item, a lovely sweater. I was kind of shocked that so many things looked good AND fit. Usually you can get ten things in my size and have half of it not fit quite right, and not much of it be actually attractive.
Then I went to pottery. My usual day is Monday, but the Thursday "class" is open to having drop-ins.
This group is the beginner class, and none of them know how to throw using a pottery wheel yet. The instructor (who oddly does not throw with the wheel) was showing them a video. I was off to the side working, and listening a bit, and hearing just the snippets was hilarious (mainly because I have a stunted sense of humor). It's hard not to laugh at "then slam your two pound ball onto the wheel" and "using both hands, keep pulling until you get ten inches".
I got a fair amount done today. I didn't throw (I don't think I could have kept a straight face), but I got a few items glazed, and trimmed some others.
Lately I've been interacting with the instructor for this group. She was a key player in me being part of this group in the first place, wayyy back when the group was some insular old biddies who were trying to keep it to themselves and lock out new members. She was instrumental in forcing them to let new members register.
Well, just before Covid, I would have to say we weren't getting along that well. Over the years, there were a few things that left us not on the best of terms.
Then somehow, she seems to be more friendly again, and I don't know if she just FORGOT that we had some disagreements? I am fine with being on good terms again. It's just a bit of a mystery. We never hated each other, but I was under the impression that we weren't on great terms.
Anyhow. It was fun, I got some things done, and chatted with a few people. I saw the one lady I often talk with at pottery (she was in the wood working studio) as we were both leaving.
I picked up some groceries, full of gratitude that I am able to do so, and drove home.
I learned that it might be possible to produce a nearly identical chocolate flavor through complex fermentation processes that can use other sources to provide material. Like potatoes.
Apparently most of the complex flavor from chocolate comes from the fermentation of the cacao beans, but is not exclusive, and could come from other sources. The development of other ways to make chocolate would reduce the ecological strain from monoculture of cacoa beans, the child labor often used in the harvest, and the deforestation of the jungle.
The same company hopes to also replicate coffee and vanilla from alternate fermentation pathways, and reduce the demand for these key destructive agricultural products.
https://fermentationassociation.org/chocolate-without-the-cacao/
no subject
Date: 2023-01-21 07:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-01-21 08:10 am (UTC)There is a woman in our group who does some sculpture, and I keep meaning to work with her when she does it.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-22 05:44 am (UTC)