CoTT 2 House of Cards

[Valkyrie]

I just got back from a nice, long walk.  It's sunny, but cool.  It felt great to get out of the house  

[Page Scrawler]

11 minutes ago, Albert1434 said:

Wow Page there hiring

Sounds interesting, but I don't want to go looking for a new job now.

[dughlas]

20 hours ago, Albert1434 said:

Rhubarb and strawberry pie rocks I have one plant

What a terrible thing to do to an innocent bunch of strawberries. As I've stated before ... I do not care for rhubarb.

[Albert1434]

Dughlas much could be said here 

[dughlas]

20 hours ago, Valkyrie said:

My mom always made homemade jelly when I was a kid, from berries we'd go pick or grapes from our neighbors' vines.  My absolute favorite was grape jelly made from our neighbors across the street's grapevines.  Sadly, the neighbors have both passed and the vines are long gone, so the jelly is a distant memory now.  The closest I've come to tasting something similar was when I visited Cole a couple of years ago.  He made grape jelly that was very similar to my old favorite  

My maternal grandma made homemade grape jelly and grape juice from concord grapes.

[clochette]

9 hours ago, Marty said:

Not totally made my mind up yet, clo.

I'm thinking I may convert the upper story into some sort of living accommodation. Perhaps a holiday rental, or just somewhere for friends or family to stay when too many visit at once.

The lower story may eventually become a workshop/storage area.

(And is it wrong that I initially read the last word of you replay as "herb"...? ) 

All nice ideas

About what you thought you'd initially read maybe you've been smoking too much "herb"?  

[Valkyrie]

1 minute ago, dughlas said:

My maternal grandma made homemade grape jelly and grape juice from concord grapes.

I'm not sure what kind of grapes these were.  We had two neighbors who grew grape vines.  The ones right next door were vibrant purple and made a jelly that was dark purple and had a rich grape flavor.  The ones across the street were a lighter purple and made a light purple jelly with a more subtle flavor.  It was soooo goood.   

[dughlas]

18 hours ago, clochette said:

That's a lovely property you've got there Marty. What will you do with the cottage? Store some herd?

I think your cottage may be larger than my house. I really like the b/w photo.

[dughlas]

6 hours ago, Albert1434 said:

A tiger in the Bronx Zoo has the Virus

As do five other large cats, all are doing well and expected to recover. The tiger was the first one tested.

[dughlas]

5 hours ago, Bucket1 said:

I had a chat with Dad today about him coming out of hospital and how the world has changed. It sounded really weird saying it all out loud. He is of a vintage that needs to be isolated and explaining that friends from high school were dropping food parcels/shopping at their parents door and then phoning to say they had made a delivery. No physical closeness at all. And this is happening all around the world. 
 

Given that he is still unstable on his feet it is likely he will have to stay in a facility for the short term at least. All these rules have completely changed the world 

Hoping all goes well B.

[dughlas]

51 minutes ago, Albert1434 said:

Tonight were having

Chicken Adobo Flautas

with cilantro and Roma tomato salsa

Is it bad that the first thing I thought of when I read chicken adobo flautas was flatulence?

Edited April 6, 2020 by dughlas

[Albert1434]

Dughlas you need to cut back on the booze

[dughlas]

16 minutes ago, Albert1434 said:

Dughlas much could be said here 

I was being kind when I said I do not care for rhubarb. My true response is more along the lines of Val's opinion of fungi as a foodstuff.

[Page Scrawler]

10 minutes ago, Valkyrie said:

I'm not sure what kind of grapes these were.  We had two neighbors who grew grape vines.  The ones right next door were vibrant purple and made a jelly that was dark purple and had a rich grape flavor.  The ones across the street were a lighter purple and made a light purple jelly with a more subtle flavor.  It was soooo goood.   

My parents have some Concord grape vines which were planted the year before I was born. After nearly 30 years, the base of the plants are as thick and wooden as a tree trunk. The vines have run rampant and the trellis is in danger of collapsing under their weight, but the plants are still in excellent health. Nobody does anything with them, so I thought I might harvest the grapes myself, this year. I doubt they'll need any extra sugar to make jelly.   

[Headstall]

18 minutes ago, dughlas said:

I think your cottage may be larger than my house. I really like the b/w photo.

I like the black and white photo too.  

[Page Scrawler]

7 minutes ago, dughlas said:

I was being kind when I said I do not care for rhubarb. My true response is more along the lines of Val's opinion of fungi as a foodstuff.

I share similar views on seafood. Fish should stay in the water and off my dinner plate. That's why I always toss them back after I catch them.   

[dughlas]

13 minutes ago, Valkyrie said:

I'm not sure what kind of grapes these were.  We had two neighbors who grew grape vines.  The ones right next door were vibrant purple and made a jelly that was dark purple and had a rich grape flavor.  The ones across the street were a lighter purple and made a light purple jelly with a more subtle flavor.  It was soooo goood.   

Concord grapes were very common in the northeast US. The grapes are round and a deep blue purple nearly black and have a rich flavor. They are typically used for jams/jelly, juice, pie and occasionally kosher wine. When I was a kid Welch's heavily advertised that they used concord grapes for their products. The lighter variety were possibly Catawba grapes. Catawba are common in the Finger Lake region and are used for jams and juice. There is also a red variety used to make New York Rosé wine.

[dughlas]

10 minutes ago, Albert1434 said:

Dughlas you need to cut back on the booze

Or more likely begin to indulge ...

[dughlas]

8 minutes ago, Page Scrawler said:

My parents have some Concord grape vines which were planted the year before I was born. After nearly 30 years, the base of the plants are as thick and wooden as a tree trunk. The vines have run rampant and the trellis is in danger of collapsing under their weight, but the plants are still in excellent health. Nobody does anything with them, so I thought I might harvest the grapes myself, this year. I doubt they'll need any extra sugar to make jelly.   

Concord grapes are considered "slip skin" as it's easy to separate the flesh from the skins and they have large seeds that are easy to remove. You might want some sugar to help things jell. In addition consider pressing some of the grapes for juice. You can "can" the juice in glass quart jars like you might tomato juice for use throughout the year.

[dughlas]

5 minutes ago, Page Scrawler said:

I share similar views on seafood. Fish should stay in the water and off my dinner plate. That's why I always toss them back after I catch them.   

I'm well aware of your stance on things piscine. I just didn't mention it as I didn't want to encourage your behavior.

[Albert1434]

Good one Dughlas

[Marty]

Now this is interesting:

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/06/europe/ireland-leo-varadkar-coronavirus-doctor-intl/

Please remember that this is a politics free forum, should anyone wish to respond.

[Marty]

1 hour ago, clochette said:

All nice ideas

About what you thought you'd initially read maybe you've been smoking too much "herb"?  

You may well think that, but I couldn't possibly comment, clo 

Although a friend of a friend, who knows someone who knows someone else, tells me that it's just about impossible to source during the current lockdown.  

(That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. )

 

Edited April 6, 2020 by Marty
Clarification

[Marty]

1 hour ago, dughlas said:

I think your cottage may be larger than my house. I really like the b/w photo.

 

1 hour ago, Headstall said:

I like the black and white photo too.  

Thanks, guys. 

That''s number one of what is planned to be 52 new photos I hope to take, one a week for the next twelve months. Part of a camera club challenge. I've decided to try and do all black and white ones for the current challenge.

[Headstall]

12 minutes ago, Marty said:

Now this is interesting:

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/06/europe/ireland-leo-varadkar-coronavirus-doctor-intl/

Please remember that this is a politics free forum, should anyone wish to respond.

Impressive leadership.