CHIT CHAT in VOLTVILLE

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3mg Meniere

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The spray-dried instant coffee contains nearly no oil, just tiny particles (coffee solids), some molecules responsible for flavor and taste, and caffeine. When dissolved, spray-dried coffee forms a simpler and more stable colloid relative to traditionally brewed coffee.
From the Wiki article. Nestle has quite a few items for the Hispanic market. You can probably find the spray-dried instant in that section of your grocery store.
 

SandySu

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I explored Cayuta Lake today. Well, not the whole lake, but I drove down to a boat launch ramp and wandered around. I'm not sure if Cayuta Lake is considered one of the Finger Lakes or not. It's in the same general area, but I learned from a signbord that it empties into the Susquehanna River, which empties into the Chesapeake Bay, and efforts to clean up the whole system are under way at Cayuta Lake. Interesting! I took my camera, so I'll share a few photos.



Some kayakers were setting off. You can see how gray and gloomy it was, but they seemed undaunted. Now, the sky is clearing a little, and some blue is peeking through in places. All around the lake in the spot where I was, were wooded wetlands. There's a lot of that around here: woods with lots of very wet places, almost like the trees are growing in a swamp. So there was lots of skunk cabbage just coming up.



There were many, many red-winged blackbirds, of course. They love wetlands. I tried to get a good shot of them in trees without much success, so one obligingly landed on the pebbly beach to peck at the stuff that had washed up.



I thought it was interesting that his or her spot of color on the wing wasn't totally red but had lots of yellow, too. Is this a female, another variety, or is it the season, and there will be more red in the wing later in the year?
 
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SandySu

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From the Wiki article. Nestle has quite a few items for the Hispanic market. You can probably find the spray-dried instant in that section of your grocery store.

Or you can order it from Amazon, along with practically anything else in the world you can think of to buy. But look how much it costs! Shopping around might turn up a cheaper venue, but watch out when you compare prices that you consider shipping costs. Here it is on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Nescafe-Classic-Frappe-Instant-Coffee/dp/B009JRBW7U

I'd give it a try if I could just order a cup in a Greek restaurant and not have to buy a whole can of it just to see if I like it.
 

Konstantine

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Most probably it won't taste the same as here. You have to know how to make it and i am 90% sure the guys over there do not make it exactly like the one here. But it's easy to make it at home.
We get it around 7-8 euros for a can for many cups. Nescafe Greek Coffee 200g: Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food and you can get the normal can.
 

CatLady007

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...

I thought it was interesting that his or her spot of color on the wing wasn't totally red but had lots of yellow, too. Is this a female, another variety, or is it the season, and there will be more red in the wing later in the year?

Sandy, this is one of those times that I notice that you and I think a lot alike. You probably gave that some solemn consideration, right? Thanks for sharing...do ya know why it's called skunk cabbage? does it stink, perhaps?
 

SandySu

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Sandy, this is one of those times that I notice that you and I think a lot alike. You probably gave that some solemn consideration, right? Thanks for sharing...do ya know why it's called skunk cabbage? does it stink, perhaps?

About the red-winged blackbird. After posing the question, I had to look it up. The photo is of a male, since the female looks totally different. When the bird is aroused and displaying, more red shows, and the yellow shows more when he's relaxed. These birds all seemed to have more yellow than the photos I saw on the Internet, though, and more than I remember seeing before.

Skunk cabbage is called that because of its smell, which some say is like the smell of a skunk. This stuff didn't seem to smell, though I think you can smell it more on a hot, humid day. See Symplocarpus foetidus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia for lots of neat info about the plant. I remember seeing that sprout or flower or whatever it is, one day when I was riding Penny. I had no idea what kind of plant it was, and it looked like some sort of body-snatcher alien.
 

awsum140

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I thought the black bird was a male. In nature the males have the more ornate coloring and plumage, the opposite of us humans.

If you want to smell skunk cabbage just snap the stalk or crack the leaf. It does have a very "distinctive" aroma(?).

If I fool with frappe I'll definitely try the Greek version of Nescafe for it. After all, frappe is a Greek invention so who would know better about what it takes to make a god frappe. I wonder if I can use a paint mixer on my Bosch hammer/drill to get the froth?
 

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Hi everyone, two days of rain is giving me cabin fever. I can't wait to get outside and work on the lawn and garden. TV, Computer, DYI, Vape, nap, eat, nap, vape, eat, TV nap. Never ending cycle until the rain stops. Also waiting forever for Wizard Labs to ship my order from last week. They are down again, will I ever learn. I think I will switch to ordering direct from TFA.

Loved the pics of Kayaking, I also am waiting for some nice 70 degree weather to get out on the ponds around here.
 

awsum140

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We had 73 and sunshine today with a nice breeze. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer. I guess the rain stayed south of here for a change. I got the sump set in the hole, the hole prepped for concrete and all the dirt and concrete disposed of. That's another disadvantage of working in the basement hauling all that stuff up the stairs and outside. Thankfully, we have an outside entrance to the basement so I didn't track up the house. Five gallon buckets full of moist dirt do get a tad heavy after a while.
 

Renolizzie

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I mostly pulled weeds today but I hear you on hauling bins of stuff. I pull the needle and thread grass and some cheat grass and put it in a bin. I then haul it to the goat pen where they will eat a lot of it. Later on in the week I will rake up the left overs and put it in the compost pile.
 

SandySu

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I mostly pulled weeds today but I hear you on hauling bins of stuff. I pull the needle and thread grass and some cheat grass and put it in a bin. I then haul it to the goat pen where they will eat a lot of it. Later on in the week I will rake up the left overs and put it in the compost pile.

Wouldn't it be easier to put it in a wheelbarrow and wheel it to the goats?

Will the compost get rid of the seeds? Do they disintegrate in it after a while? Or hasn't the grass gone to seed yet?
 

Renolizzie

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Wouldn't it be easier to put it in a wheelbarrow and wheel it to the goats?

Will the compost get rid of the seeds? Do they disintegrate in it after a while? Or hasn't the grass gone to seed yet?

The wheel barrow is hard to push through the sand.

Between the goats and the composting, it seems to get rid of the seeds.


Glad to hear your excercises are getting easier, SandySu.
 

cindycated

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Good morning, Voltatics! Today looks a little more hopeful, at least here in the Nanny State. There is actually some sunshine and it's in the mid 50's. With some luck, we might actually get up to the upper 60's or low 70's today. After the all day rain yesterday that would be nice, although the light rain, all day, is good for soaking the ground and making the plants grow. Unfortunately, the weeds seem to grow better!

Coffee is on, dark roast Columbian and bagels and munchies are available.

The Dewey Decimal System seems the best way to arrange books in a library. Unfortunately, everyone interprets it a little differently, and "we must have our rules" whether they are based on logic or the whim of some rocket scientist.

Pictures of broken concrete, holes in the floor and finished concrete will follow in the near future. It's not really part of the solar project, just some prep work before the actual solar project starts. We'll probably be without hot water for a day when I actually move the water heater. There is a lot of pipe work to do so the hot water heater can be supplied directly from the well, with the oil furnace as a pre-heater or the solar system for a pre-heater. I'm also going to color code all the piping in the basement for cold, hot water heat, hot water heat return, domestic hot water and solar hot water. It's starting to turn into a maze down there!

DUDE! I told you put a small panel for your garden lights and you created a factory..... :D

I drink the same coffee everyday.

I know, huh? :laugh:
Hey everybody, if you need hot water, just go over to Awesum's house! He'll have lots! :lol:
 

cindycated

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Roland, you can only make frappe with this
greek-nescafe-large-s.jpg

Nothing else works.
I was gonna say - yeah, Nescafé Classic is the only instant I'd ever go near. But my usual coffee is dark espresso roast in a french press...with cinnamon...baby style.
 

awsum140

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Coffee is on, munchies are available, the washing machine is chugging away and Bo is walked and fed, napping contentedly on his "divan". Another sunny day but a little cool, mid 40's, but supposed to get to the mid 70's later on.

After I put the concrete around the sump to finish that piece of my puzzle, it's outside to prep the garden for planting. Lots of weeds, leaves and those darn sweet gum balls to clean up. I need to replace a few fence posts as well, but that's for another day.
 

White Rabbit

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Roland, you have tooooo much energy. The rain has finally stopped here, but things are very very wet. I paused to think about planting some more grass, but then my rational side kicked in. I have spent literally thousands of dollars in trying to grow good grass, ending up with tons of weeds and bare soil (dark sand). I have large patches of "wire grass" slowly creeping over my yard, which is actually quite good in summer, but brown in winter. I will let that take over the entire 3/4 acre eventually, but it will take a long time I think. It is still a little cool for planting vegetables, but I may get out and purchase seeds for cukes, squash, and zucchini then buy tomato plants later in May. My garden has had its initial tilling and is much smaller than last year, but sufficient for Mrs. Wabbit and me. Hoping for a package from Wizard Labs perhaps this week to keep my supplies up to apocalyptic levels :laugh: Have a great day everyone.

Wabbit
 

awsum140

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I hear ya on the grass, Wabbit. It's so darn frustrating to lime, seed, fertilize and water, have what looks like a nice lawn going for a few months, then the weed and brown take over yet again. If I hit the lottery one of the things on my list is have the whole yard plowed under, six inches of top soil added, then a sprinkler system and sod installed. It really galls me that less than a mile from me there's a really large sod farm growing acres of beautiful lawn...I only want an acres worth!

Lizzie, you need either a double wheeled wheel barrow or a yard cart with pneumatic tires. We got one from Wally World that does double duty...a hand powered yard cart or a trailer that goes on the garden/lawn tractor. It's big enough to hold about a half yard of leaves and hauls up to around 600 pounds.
 

Renolizzie

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Thanks for the coffee, awsum.

You have good taste in coffee, Cindycated:)

Awsum, at least you got rid of the gum ball trees and you won't have to rake those out of your yard too much longer.

Gee, Wabbit, all my clients have lawns that turn brown in the winter. It's not so bad:) I'm thinking about doing buffalo grass when I do the back yard. I'd like to put in large flagstones and then put buffalo grass and thyme in between the stones. Very water conservative and fairly easy to care for.
 
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