Kim Wills

Phil Stevens wrote:Your photos of the garden position sun path taken in early October will also work for early March, which might be useful in terms of prep and early planting with cloches, etc. You've obviously put some thought into this.

oooh! Thanks! I didn't realize that. And yeah, I put a super-lot of thought into most things; it can be a curse. Now I'll go looking up diagrams of the sun & earth rotating and revolving each month instead of doing bills or something, lol

Kevin Olson wrote:Another tactic of mine is (as was mentioned up thread) to have a cup of coffee (or tea, if you prefer - pick your poison!).  I mostly drink coffee, though I have been drinking green tea most every day for the EGCG, which is supposed to help with autophagy; I dunno if it works, but that's the rumor.  Since people in Asia have drinking it since time out of mind, I doubt it will hurt me, in any case.

To this, add a generous dollop of heavy whipping cream.  Don't be shy about it.

The heavy cream provides some good fats, with a bit of metabolic staying power, but without much impact on blood sugar, and the little bump of caffeine is a pick-me-up and mental re-focusser (at least for me, your mileage may indeed vary).  I don't imagine there's much caffeine in the coffee I usually drink; it's arabica, and dark roasted, both of which tend to be lower in caffeine.  Empirically, I know that other coffee offers more of a jolt - I had some old Cafe Bustelo around, made myself a cup a few weeks ago, and felt pretty jittery afterwards.

Anyway, adding some heavy cream to coffee is another of my go-tos, now so ingrained by force of habit that I hardly think about it.  I used to only drink my coffee black, but found that having a cup or two with heavy cream in the AM helped me to make it without snacking until lunch time.  Now, I just do it habitually.  I buy heavy cream by the quart, which lasts me for a couple of weeks, or a bit less.  The fat calories also help me to maintain body weight while on my particular brand of low-carb diet, which can be a challenge.

1 - It's not just a rumor; there are hundreds of studies on green tea and EGCG. I did a small research paper on it for school (nutrition degree). Consuming the whole leaf is always better, but as a tea it is definitely useful, and as a tea it's better than a capsule of just one constituent of the tea (EGCG). The more "whole" of any food, the better. I ordered a high quality matcha in order to consume the whole leaf (it's basically finely ground tea leaves) but it's kinda disgusting (to me, I cringe at bitter), so I mix it with sugar & lemon juice for a nice refreshing iced tea lemonade. Or, you could have your tea the Chinese way: Put the leaves right in your mug and when one finds its way to your mouth, just eat it.

2 - Heavy cream: do you also eat food for breakfast or is that coffee you described your only breakfast? Not judging, just curious, in fact, I don't *really* care, lol, my point is that fats & protein help us feel full, so for the OP (if you're reading), I know I can feel the difference if I eat fat & protein for breakfast versus a breakfast of just carbs (this applies to any meal). If I eat something that includes fat & protein I feel fuller and don't need to eat until the usual human timeframe of about 5 hours later. If I eat a small meal of mostly carbs (like people who have a donut or a bagel or cereal) I soon start feeling like I need more food.

So make sure every meal has a serving of fat and a serving of protein. Don't be afraid of them; making breakfast the biggest meal is a great strategy that many people use.

My similar situation: I will be buying my family's land soon, and it's 5 hours from where I live. My husband and I go there only 2-3 times a year, but we stay a few weeks each time (in the one room little house already there). Staying overnight is great of course, but the limitation of only a few times a year is harsh as far as observing. One thing I did was take pictures of where my kitchen garden will be, every 1-2 hours over the course of one sunny day. I did it in early October and once in June, but only one day was needed to get valuable information. Why those months? Because that's when I was able to go. The October one will be useful, to see  what kind of sun some late vegetables might get, and to see if greens might be possible into October. Now I know where to plant late veggies so they'll get sun into October. Also, in this last May/June visit, the fields weren't grown much yet, so I was able to walk across them, which is something we never really did in mid summer or fall. I discovered a very long ditch that can't be seen until you're twisting your ankle, lol, so that was useful, and I saw some erosion gullies going downhill, and was able to walk along the property line and I noticed some spots had old barbed wire. I got to know the land.

I guess my point is that even one full day is useful. Show up early and stay as long as you can. Another day show up later and stay as late as you can. And do that at different times of year. Different times of year is just as important (maybe more so) than a string of overnighters all at once. Camp nearby and spend the nicest days on the land. On a rainy day go check out the nearest town, farmer's market, kayaking spots, etc. That's also useful.

I've never used a 2 wheeled one, but I've been thinking of designing and making one (or looking up plans), because I need to choose materials myself. I want one with big wheels for bumpy terrain, but lightweight. I have a hill that isn't super-steep but can be uneven in unexpected places. I'll want to carry hand tools up the hill and into woods, and also carry wood or future crops back out.
I'm now thinking of my childhood baby doll pram, which had springs to act as shock absorbers. I wonder if I could incorporate that, because a regular wheelbarrow moves so clunkily.

Derek Thille wrote: ...This thread also brings to mind to me the 8 forms of capital.  Social capital, or community, can help us get through life events like this.  Spiritual capital is also very important dealing with things like loss.

Hi, I'm curious what you mean by spiritual capital, if you don't mind elaborating a bit.

Either way, like others here I haven't posted here in a while due to grief. When I was in my 20's I thought I had grief checked off on some fictitious list of things people go through or 'master'. My mother died when I was 2, then by the time I was 14 all 4 grandparents and an uncle died. In high school I read about death, and religion, and other cultures, trying to decide what I believed, and trying to make sense of life & death. Fast forward to my 50's (now) and I am currently grieving 5 major things and some in the "other" category. Starting in 2023 while finishing my master's thesis my aunt (who raised me like a 2nd mother) fell ill for about 6 months and died. I myself had 5 respiratory illnesses that year, along with the biggest anxiety I've ever felt (I don't want to say publicly why out of respect for another human who wouldn't like me talking about him), then my father fell ill. He died in 2024, and then my cousin/brother (my aforementioned aunt's son who I spent weekends with and we called each other brother and sister) died in early 2025. That's 3 deaths of very close people, and then there are 2 other very close people who have mental illnesses who have decided to go no-contact with family (ok, fine, it's my son & my brother). Although they are alive, they are not well and they are gone (separately, not together). I lost 5 people in the past 2 years. Among all this, was caring for my dad, now helping out my stepmother, renovating her upstairs to move in with her, cleaning out dumpsters-full and yard sales full of stuff, repairing my childhood home, and selling that. As I type this, I am in my last 2 days in this house. It must be empty in 2 days. I have seen things from my childhood go online for sale, then into the yard sale, then into the free pile, and finally some at the curb for trash. I am mourning 5 people, objects, memories, a house... and I'm allergic to dust doing all this, and my chest hurts. Then I cry and it hurts more.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine the lungs are related to grief. I had 5 respiratory illnesses during all that loss. The lung meridian starts in the shoulder. I got "frozen shoulder" last year, which lasts 1-3 years. Mine is mostly gone after 1 year, but still lingering. With frozen shoulder and with grief, there is really nothing to be done except wait... and feel what comes up, and don't do too much (I've put off finding a job because it was all "too much"), but after a vacation coming up I am going to start searching when I get back.

When I was younger I thought, "Why can't we cry on a bus?", meaning, why do we hide our sadness? Why can't it be ok to cry while food shopping, or anywhere, any time? Then we would know how to grieve and help others grieve, if we all saw it all the time growing up; if we let ourselves experience it freely and saw others experiencing it in different ways. I joked that grieving is like farting, lol... it comes out of nowhere and if you're alone you can let it out but if you're in public you have to hope you can keep it in, then maybe it'll come back later or maybe it won't... lol... and if we grow up seeing grief as much as we see other emotions, we could make stupid jokes like that and no one would say, "how dare you compare grief to farting!!", and I'd say, "Lady, I am SO grieving right now, and have experienced so much loss in my life I am HIGHLY qualified to joke amidst grief." I would put on a crown and proclaim that people who are bawling their eyes out are allowed to suddenly bust out laughing at something ridiculous, because emotions can be like a rollercoaster, and "anything goes" when it comes to grief!

Mark Reed wrote:.....The colors in the water and sky were interesting and I liked the little bit of greenery in the foreground. I don't know what the little rectangular thing was, a signature maybe?
 

Looked like a plant holding a cellphone to me, lol!

As for looking at it for 10 minutes, I simply found it too boring, and there was an issue I was trying to figure out about it, but staring at it won't solve that problem so it felt like a waste of time to continue. However, having finished a Bachelor's in Fine Arts and gone to many galleries & had to do many critiques, I know I am capable of spending time with artwork and analyzing it. And for another BS & an MS I'd hyperfocus for 6-10 hours at a time on on topic for many assignments.

I want to ask others about the concern I had, which I couldn't figure out, but I don't want to affect how much time other people might spend on it... hmm...

Ok, SPOILER ALERT that will give you something to look at and figure out, so stop reading after this sentence if you want to look at the picture without knowing what I saw and what intrigued me.... last chance to stop reading, lol... ok, so what I noticed was that the immediate reflection of the town (which I'll call a steeple and 3 smokestacks with a hill in between), was correct, but there was another reflection in the foreground near the plant, which looked like the same reflection but in reverse. Look for the upside down 3 smokestacks and the steeple-shape and then look at the hill, and the other hill.... notice that it's the same layout but backwards. Then there's an additional part of that lower foreground reflection: another building on the right that looks like a factory (with 2 small smokestacks), which, if we imagine the continuation then that building would be on the top left of the painting, but out of view, leaving me wanting to see what would exist on the left portion of the painting, and feeling frustrated about it not existing, like a tease.

PS - You can zoom. I didn't notice the + and - at the top; maybe I would have looked longer if I saw that before. Now I like it better because I can see the brushstrokes.

Jill Dyer wrote:I'm not a big tea drinker, so only experience is green tea, or jasmine tea, any of the "black" teas have to be extremely weak and all of them are taken without milk. Not being a purist, I'm more than happy to share a teabag (I can see people being horrified.) I've noticed that a lot of teas do not have an origin specified, so no idea of their source.

For black tea I get Newman's Own, Organic. And sharing a tea bag isn't weird. My grandmother would use a teabag, put it on a little dish, and use it the next day! She grew up frugal, but maybe she liked it weak like you! I've tried saving the tea bag, then when I have two, they can make a 3rd cup, but they look kinda unappetizing after sitting there for 2 days, so I decided that even though I'm broke and want to save the world, I will spring for a new bag for each cup (I like it very strong, with 2tsp unbleached sugar and soy creamer).

greg mosser wrote:I’m a tea fan (and a grower/producer).
.......

i’m kind of just starting to get deeper into the world of tea processing…it’s kinda magic. the tea leaves themselves drive all kinds of different enzymatic processes that affect flavor in response to various stimuli…that people have figured out all the different ways to manipulate the processes for different flavor/mouthfeel/etc is fascinating to me.

I've always wanted to grow my own tea, but my final destination is on the border of Zones 5 & 6. I've read that some varieties of the tea plant can live in Zone 6, so I wonder if they're somehow wrapped or covered for winter, do you think they could they live in my area?

(Rural NY, 1800 ft elevation, Zone 5/6)

Josh Hoffman wrote:Home made popcorn!
.....
I have a friend who doesn't use any oil/grease/butter. Air popped and he adds toppings. I don't really trust him because of this but I now know it can be done .

Dare I mention microwaves on Permies? (eek) Well, I do NOT mean microwave popcorn, but for one person you can put about 1/8 cup popcorn kernels in a brown paper lunchbag, NO oils or ANYTHING. Fold over the top in such a way that it'll stay closed but not use up too much bag; leave lots of room in the bag. Pop as you would microwave popcorn - 2-3 or more minutes, until the popping stops for 2 seconds between pops. You end up with totally plain popcorn and you can use the bag again. No greasy pot to clean, no oils.
Personally, I use an electric air popper and then add some melted butter/oil afterwards, with... get this... "black salt". The Indian kind. It's got a weird sulphury  flavor and lots of minerals. I believe there's a discussion thread about it here on permies.

Oooh, I love this topic! YES, loose leaf is noticeably better. I disliked green tea until I was 35 and went on a trip to China where we toured a tea plantation and were given a taste of their best Dragon Well (of 3 quality levels they offered; and of course their goal was that we buy some afterwards, which I did, lol)... I LOVED it!! I thought, how can this be the same green tea I've tried at home in tea bags? Well, liken it to growing your own herbs and gently drying them and using them versus buying a dollar store jar of the crushed dregs of getting-old spices not stored properly.

I am a Supertaster. Yes, it's a thing, and in a college nutrition class we did an experiment with blue dye on our tongues, counting the bumps, lol, and it confirmed my suspicions of why I go "BLECH" at bitter things, and have been a social outcast around food, disliking olives, wine, beer, mustard, mushrooms, and some other things (green tea). Well, turns out I like *high quality* wine, beer, mustard, green tea, etc (haven't found a mushroom I like yet).... so I understand about not wanting bitter, believe me!
And even the supposedly highest quality matcha from Dr Weil's site is very bitter to me, though I'm using it as an iced tea, with a generous amount of sugar or honey. The best way to get the health benefits is to ingest the leaves, hence matcha.

Pu-er will taste like a campfire. There is actually a tea called "campfire tea", which is reeeeally like a campfire (weird, very smokey), but pu-er leans toward that direction, and I find it bitter even when of high quality. I also don't like white tea, though I haven't tried many and don't know much about it.
My favorites are Tie Guan Yin and Dragon Well, loose. I can no longer drink any green tea from a bag; and believe me that's not bragging or acting superior about my tastebuds, lol, because the better the tea, the more expensive, in general. I wish I could be happy with a cheap box of bags.

So, in China, workers everywhere will fill a thermos or even a random glass jar with hot water and loose leaves. They'll sip at it all day, adding more hot water later as needed. The leaves sink; no need to strain, just leave them there. If one finds its way to your mouth, eat it! Even better! If the leaves unfurl into obvious leaves or parts of broken leaves (as opposed to crumbled tiny bits), it's a decent quality.

Some say tea gets bitter the longer you leave the leaves in. I have found that definitely true with black tea! Green tea, not so much, but if bitterness is a problem, try actually timing it and using the suggested temperature water, removing the leaves when the time is up. Different constituents of any plant come out at different temperatures, or after different lengths of time; it's real science, so don't let anyone tell you it's BS. However, most people won't notice these slight differences, so they'll say it doesn't matter. But maybe YOUR tastebuds are picking something out of it, so "you do you" after experimenting; don't toss a tea without giving it a chance in different ways. If you have one you really don't like but you want the health benefits (like me with my matcha), make it into iced tea with a sweetener and maybe other flavors (lemon juice, splash of other juice, etc) to use it up.