Resetting the Room

By Elizabeth Prata

I enjoy being productive. I enjoy knowing I'm using my time and resources well. I always have. After I was saved and became a Christian, I learned the importance of shepherding our resources wisely. This is because all that we have is given to us by God, and when we use our resources well (time, space, money, energy...) then it honors Him, the Giver.

I listen to a podcast and read the blog of Reagan Rose called Redeeming Productivity. In the latest podcast, he talked about 6 tweaks to habits he is trying out. One of those he called "Resetting the Room."

Goodness, I already do that one! I love it! I just didn't have a name to call it, except "normal." LOL.

It's when you leave a room for the day or the night, and you take a moment to put everything back into order the way it was when you entered. You put the sofa pillows back into the corners. You collect the coffee mugs or soda cans and bring them to the kitchen. If the kitchen is your main go-to room, you wash the dishes or put them into the dishwasher, lay the towel over the hook. Make it look organized for yourself or the next person or the next time you enter it.

I enjoy when I walk into a room and it's orderly. It is restful to walk in and be calmed rather than be aggravated. It's why I make my bed every morning. I pick up my clothes and either put them into the hamper or hang them in the closet. When I walk into a room I don't want to have my stomach clench up or grimace because I see all the things I have to do to get the room ready for use instead of being able to come in and just enjoy the room.

When I was growing up, the adult in my home had a different idea of orderly than I did. My love for orderliness comes from that and the opportunity I have now to make my place exactly the way I want it. I know since I live alone it's easier to maintain its tidiness. But even for a married couple or a mom of a busy family, it doesn't take long to re-hang the dishcloth, to put the dishes in the sink, clear off the table of accumulated stuff, put away the laundry.

I think resetting the room makes sense. What do you think? Do just abandon it all and head to bed, and it doesn't bother you? Do you pick up? Obsessively clean LOL, your mileage may vary, but I do enjoy an orderly room.

How many office supplies do I need, anyway?

By Elizabeth Prata

I don't like to be acquisitive, but I do have weaknesses for certain things that I think are pretty. I like lamps. I like rugs. I like art. But thankfully those larger items are too expensive or too bulky to keep buying. My floors are covered in area rugs. I have enough lamps. Though, The Special Store has wonderful lamps I'm always eyeing. At least I know where to go if a lamp breaks or becomes unusable. Lampshades too. My walls are full of art. No more room. And for the most part I enjoy what I have and if I want a change I just switch them around in the apartment.

But I love notebooks and office supplies. Love. Love. Love. Can never have enough! I use them constantly. They are small enough to store without my place becoming cluttered. And they're functional.

It helps if they are pretty, also. A friend sent me a Robrasim handmade leather journal. I love it. They are refillable, too.

At school we have a guy who does a monthly pop-up shop in the copy room. He is from Collective Goods, formerly known as Books R Fun. Educational materials, doo-dads, and things for home. I love the stationery they offer, lots of good quality cards. I like to use cards for encouragement to give or send postal mail. Those are a good buy. They also offer office supplies. Uh-oh! Temptation!!!

I bought a set of sticky Notes in a 'Happy Camper' cute motif.

I do not write in any of my books or in my Bible. Ever. I use arrow sticky notes. I also use square sticky notes to make myself notes, all the time. So, who doesn't need like a thousand sticky notes in a cute camper motif? I mean really? We all do. Surely.

What's your weakness? ;)

The Special Store: Henk Bos, B Riasni, Time/Life Food of the World cookbooks

By Elizabeth Prata

Admittedly, it's been a hard week at school. Believe it or not, kids get just as excited for Valentine's Day as they do for Christmas, maybe even more. Add to that, we have a three-day weekend coming up. It's been benchmark testing and other testing, and parent conferences are coming up next week. Phew.

We're all ready for the long weekend. To get ready and to reduce some stress, I engaged in some retail therapy, Prata style. We've been pinned in for so long due to excessive rain, bad weather and dense fog (even snow) that on Thursday being a slightly sunny day,  I wanted to drive up to The Special Store as a nice little jaunt and bust out a bit. They were having a sale. Yay.

I needed to swap out my art over the kitchen table. I also am always looking for kitchen items. I'm always seeing what I can see. There's a lot to see. The ladies had bought another estate and were busy unpacking it all week. I was eager to check it out.

Of interest was the sign "Free art with purchase" from the pile of art placed by the register. Also of interest was the announcement "Free cookbook with purchase".

I saw a gorgeous teacup (not that I need any more) by Royal Doulton. This is a well known English china and figurine company. The mark said the patter was Pillar Rose and it was translucent china. Pillar Rose is described as Pink Roses, Gray Leaves On White, Coupe, Pattern Number: TC1011, sold between 1961 - 1974. It's very late mid-century... so... Post Modern Contemporary? Here is a good article spelling out the difference between mid-century modern and postmodern contemporary.

Anyway, I was intrigued by the translucent part of the pottery mark. Bone china I know. Translucent China I don't know. Royal Doulton is an esteemed pedigree, so it was worth taking a shot and buying the teacup.

It turns out that translucent china was introduced by Royal Doulton in 1960, called English Translucent China (ETC), which was known as Royal Doulton Fine China after 1974. ETC offered the excellent translucent quality of bone china, without the expense of using the calcined bone in the manufacturing process and fired in a higher temperature. In 1966 Royal Doulton became the first china manufacturer to receive the Queen's Award for Technical Achievement.

The New Scientist magazine in December 1959 remarked on the then extremely new technique Royal Doulton had perfected. If you're interested as to why this was such a huge advance in tableware, read the next few paragraphs. LOL, otherwise scroll down to skip.

English tableware is based on two traditional ceramic materials, both developed in the eighteenth century: earthenware with its porous and opaque body, and bone china, which has an entirely vitreous and translucent body. Bone china acquires its excellent qualities during the firing, when a fluxing agent binds animal bone to certain other ingredients. The bone, which is expensive, constitutes 50 per cent of the mixture. So it is not surprising that earlier experimenters hoped to imitate china by modifying the earthenware recipe.
English Translucent China, however, is completely vitreous. It is made from (among other things) a blend of feldspars, china clays individually picked for special chemical or physical properties, and silica. These are cunningly compounded to achieve a happy balance between such factors as whiteness, fired strength and plasticity. Plasticity, or the case with which the clay can be worked, is in fact reported to be so good that it has been possible to speed up the moulding and shaping stages of the manufacturing process.

No doubt the search for the correct formula was the Doulton team's biggest problem. But they had also to experiment with the preparation of the raw materials, establish firing regimes and devise new methods of glazing. Then special refractory supports had to be designed.

Whereas earthenware stands up to the rigours of the kiln without much distortion, the new variety, like bone china, tends to become mobile at the higher firing temperature of about 1,300° C. Originally each piece was laid in a bed of calcined flint. This turned out to be a cause of silicosis, and some years ago was superseded by calcined alumina beds which, at Doulton's, have recently given way to solid refractory supports like disks that help to preserve the shape of a piece when it contracts during the first (biscuit) firing.

In short, the housewife will now be able to acquire a dinner or tea service virtually as strong as bone china and possessing many other of its attributes, yet costing little more than the best earthenware. To Doulton's it is a source of pride that this bid for the "intermediate” market both at home and abroad has evolved from the English pottery tradition rather than oriental or Continental methods.

No wonder Royal Doulton became the first china manufacturer to receive the Queen's Award for Technical Achievement! Good on them. And now one of their technically perfect, affordable, and gorgeous items now graces this housewife's kitchen!

I bought a gift for someone, that was my main purchase, and also the teacup. And this little guy, it's SO cute! A small owl whisk in stainless steel.

I obtained the following pieces of art, one I bought and one that came free with a purchase. This is "Still Life with Pumpkin" But I like to call it Still Life with Book. It's by Henk Bos. It turns out he is a pretty interesting guy. Born in 1901 and died in 1979, from ArtNet we learn,

Henk Bos was a Dutch still-life painter. Staunchly devoted to the tradition and style of the Dutch Old Masters, he exclusively painted still lifes throughout his career. Bos realistically rendered fruit, vessels, and traditional accouterments set on wooden tables against a foreshortened stucco wall. He would also become a a member of several Dutch artist collectives, such as the Vereeniging Sint Lucas and the Gooische Painters Society. Born in 1901 in Huizen in the north of Holland, Bos died in Huizen, Holland on November 18, 1979.

Bos produces a bulk of his works in the 1950s and 60s. Mid-Century again, seems I gravitate to that design aesthetic whatever I do! Here is my Bos closer up-

I bought one of the cookbooks and the other one as mentioned came free with a purchase. My mother collected these. She enjoyed cooking and experimenting with new recipes all the time. I guess "nostalgia" is bringing all this Mid-Century on.

In looking up the cookbooks I found this-

Why This Vintage Cookbook Series Was a Half-Century Before Its Time

Published in the late ’60s, Time-Life’s Foods of the World cookbook series was a good 50 years before its time. Truly from the golden age of publishing, these books were intended to educate and entertain. Today, the authentically ethnic and American regional cookbooks have a certain charm as the “exotic” ingredients introduced are readily available in supermarkets today—things like chorizo, tahini, hoisin sauce, fresh bay leaves and jasmine rice. 

If you like exploring the world and its history through food, or if you’re looking to discover great food writing from such icons as M.F.K. Fisher and Waverley Root, you should add some of these books to your library. 

The series included hard cover almost-coffee table sized cook books and the smaller spiral bound ones (like mine) were addendum. The hardcovers apparently have luscious photos.

I also bought this piece of art by a "B Riasni", of whom I can find little about.

The back of the print says "Floral" Riasni. Contemporary Italian. Italian born, Riasni, with the skilled brush strokes of a master, creates a charming floral study of red and yellow roses. These sturdy cardboard prints are both signed. D. A. C. N.Y. No. 103 & No. 119 Published for Creative Manor Galleries on left lower corners and LITHO IN USA is in the right lower corners. The few places that sell these online mention they are vintage 50s or 60s. So...mid-century again.

It might be stretching it just a touch to compare Mr or Mrs Riasni to a master, but the print is charming.

I enjoy the opportunity to browse and see pretty things, small and large (the furniture at this store is amazing). I like bringing home this and that, and apparently the gift I'd bought was a hit. It's not far away and the drive to it is lovely. It's all good.

Well, thanks for sticking with me on my meanderings as I studied up on the items I got at the vintage store I like to go to. I like studying about them after I get home as much as I enjoy browsing and buying. Till next time, I leave you with this. We'd had a bunch of storms all week. The air was changing from the humid sticky stuff being driven out by a fresh clear and cold air mass. The clouds were scudding and moving quickly as the day waned. As I pumped gas at a gas station on a high plateau I watched the clouds go by. The hues of gray captured me. No filter-

Food Prep: Week of Feb 10-15, & Daily Murray

By Elizabeth Prata

I didn't do food prep last week. That is, making food ahead for lunches, snacks, and dinners. I paid for that decision. By Friday lunch I was eating radishes and carrots, and I bought a sushi combo plate (on sale, of course) for Friday night's dinner so I didn't have to cook. I won't do that again!

I just didn't plan well, I didn't shop well, and I was out of ideas.

A week off helped, I survived, and I am now in the throes of making the following:

Meals:

Chicken and rice soup with a tomato base, turkey sausage, and corn. This is lunches.
2 Salmon fillets (marked down). This is 4 dinners.
Baked tofu and green beans. Add peanuts to final cook, rice or quinoa if I'm in the mood. 2 Dinners.

Sides:

Roasted mushrooms (marked down & on sale)
Roasted pepper and carrots
Potatoes in the crock pot when the squash is done

I have a spaghetti squash but I'll save it for next week. It'll keep.

In the fridge is a large container of greens for salads.

Fruit this week:

Strawberries were on sale. I like to cut off the green leafy tops and chip them into a container, and let the juices meld. This helps the sometimes dry mid-winter hard strawberries you sometimes get If you add a pinch of sugar this also draws out the juices. If still hard or not too sweet you can quickly stir them in warm balsamic vinegar and a pinch of sugar. It's a fantastic way to serve them. If hosting, a nice dessert is to top it with a small dollop of whipped cream or a small dollop of vanilla ice cream and a basil leaf. Here is a recipe for strawberries and balsamic vinegar.

Mandarin oranges (on sale)
Red grapes (on sale)

The best way I've found to prepare tofu is to buy the extra firm. Then cut the brick in half. I use half at a time. It keeps a long while, just replace the unused half brick in a container with fresh water, cover, and put back in the fridge. I wrap the half brick in paper towels, put on a cookie sheet, and lay something medium heavy on it, to squeeze out the moisture. I say medium heavy because you want to get the water out but not so heavy you crush the tofu.

When dried out a bit, I cut into cubes. At this point you can toss lightly with cornmeal, Parmesan cheese, or bread crumbs. It makes a nice coated crunch when you bake the tofu.

When I'm ready to eat the tofu with green beans. I toss it all with soy sauce, or lemon juice, salt and pepper, and eat cold as a salad or hot.

Having to be lactose free and gluten free, it's sometimes a struggle to make sure I have enough protein and healthy food. It's a struggle because food prices are going up and up. I really search out the coupons from my grocery store they send me, the online weekly sale sheet, and the in-store sales. The peppers were on sale for 69 cents and carrots are always a good buy. Tofu goes a long way.

Proteins this week:

-chicken (already cooked and picked, $3.50).
-turkey sausage (on sale for $2.50),
-salmon fillets, marked down $3.50 each, (I split them so it's 4 meals for $1.75 each).
-tofu, $1.75

Just the protein alone was $15.

Gluten free bread is $5, and a half gallon of lactose free milk is $3. Produce is off the charts expensive. You see how things add up quickly. I've had to raise my weekly budget goal from $40 to $60.

I rarely shop anything from the middle of the store but some things are necessary, like the diced tomatoes I put into the soup, chicken broth, and of course hard goods like paper products and soaps, which I buy at the Dollar Store. This week on the marked down section of the health food shelves was a box of Kashi cereal that usually goes for $3.50 but was marked down to $1.29. It is gluten free cereal so I bought it.

I just be diligent with the coupons, try to resist most temptations, and see where else I can cut back. There's not a lot of places but there's always somewhere I can save a buck or two.

Enjoy the day and the week ahead. We have a three-day weekend coming, our "winter break" is next weekend. Saturday our church is hosting a movie in the morning and lunch afterwards: Brandon Kimber's American Gospel. Should be fun. Then Sunday Services and next Monday while off school I plan to write a lot.

Here are some photos from my week:

Daily Murray. Where is he? Oh, there he is, with his head in the lamp. Oy what a cat.

I didn't take this picture through a window and it isn't raining. I stood on the step and aimed the camera toward the spotlight illuminating the driveway. It's the freezing fog in the air that the lens captured. The NWS has a freezing fog advisory in effect. You might not see the freezing droplets hanging in the air, but the lens does.

That's OK, the kitchen's warm & cozy!

It got warmer during food prep. That's OK, it's below freezing outside. Top left, carrots & peppers, tofu cubes and green beans under that. Middle is the salon filets and the pot of soup. Bottom is mushrooms.

Have a great week!

The Blizzard of '78!

By Elizabeth Prata

We had a turbulent weather week.

I was reading about the Blizzard of 1978. It was part of The National Weather Service's retrospective on some of the worst weather events. I lived through that one. It's etched in my memory. February 6th...it began. A five-day travail that affected millions.

I grew up in Rhode Island, ground zero for the blizzardy weather bomb that unloaded over us that week. Snow was predicted and it was supposed to get hairy but no one suspected how much and how fast. We were let out of school at 1:00, unusual for a New England school, where the bus drivers and other drivers are used to a bit of snow. But when it began snowing at 11 or 12, it started coming down fast and hard.

I was a high school senior, who drove to school from 8 miles away from my mother's house. My brother was a sophomore and he was with me. There was a hill a mile out of the turn from our school drive and I slid down it and spun once. I knew I would not make it the 8 miles to my mother's house, so I aimed for my father's home, a mile away.

We made it and I called my father immediately to let him know we were there. I asked him to come home, and stop at the grocery store first because it looked like we might be there a while. I'd peeked into the fridge and all I saw was prune juice, tomato juice, and some frozen dinners. I knew we'd need more than that, lol.

He came home but only brought more prune juice and two more frozen dinners, rofl. Thankfully his girlfriend brought more substantial provender.

And there we were. The snow came down at several inches per hour. The power went out. But my father had a kerosene heater and a huge fireplace, so we were warm at least. The snow piled up amazingly, we could not stop watching its level get higher and higher against the sliding glass door. The battery operated radio stated that the entire state was closed down, to stay off the roads and that the turnpike was clogged with stalled cars and even stalled rescue vehicles. The folks that were stuck inside their cars on the highway were in peril.

It wasn't just the snow. High winds actually hurricane force...waves swept homes away... heavy snow collapsed roofs.

We were trapped together. My father was not prepared for kids and having us stay there for days on end was difficult for him. There was no power, so no TV. The internet had not been invented yet. Just us. In the cold and the dark. We got on each other's nerves.

School was out for five days. Finally the roads were (barely) cleared enough for me to drove me and my brother home. And we put the event into our memories and looked ahead to spring.

A dinosaur snow sculpture someone in my town made, the snow was still pretty high even weeks later. Walking to my friend's house it was up to my thighs.

Here in the present day, we had wild weather in Georgia. Tornadoes and thunder and 6 inches of rain and wind and heat and humidity. We huddled in the hall at school, covering and protecting hundreds of children, as the tornado sirens went off and the sky got green. A lot of roads were washed out in our county. Now today we have a winter weather warning for 4 inches of snow. Go figure! Maybe it's February that comes in like a lion!

Have a wonderful weekend and stay safe wherever you are.


Retrospectives on the Blizzard of '78

New England Historical Society
15 Facts about the Blizzard of 1978

Weather.gov, Blizzard of 1978

Moody Winter Sky

By Elizabeth Prata

Last week I wrote "My pile is too high." You know the piles you get when you toss this or that over there to be dealt with later, but more stuff comes in and soon it's a tower, not a pile? I destroyed it today. I went through everything and got 'er done.

So, it's February. Wow, didn't that go fast? Seems like we just had all the blogs about Bible Reading Plans, New Year's Resolutions, and optimism for the freshness of 2020. Now it's February, hearts and flowers and candies.

We have a winter break in February. There won't be school on February 17th, barring any weather closure days. I'm looking forward to the three-day weekend because I love being at home.

I always have.

As a kid, if I wasn't at home or somewhere in the yard, I'd be across the street playing in the brook, or behind the house (in the cemetery) looking at old gravestone inscriptions. I liked the cemetery. It was quiet there.

Today after a day of writing and emailing, I decided to take a breather outside. The sky was moody, one moment clear, the next scudding with dark rimmed fluffy clouds. Crows were crowing. It was windy and the tree branches were waving to each other across the yard like passengers on a dock waving to the departing passengers on the ship. The temp said OK but the reality was 'cold'. I snapped a few pics in the yard and scurried back in. Here is the yard today, the first day of February.

Have a great Sunday everyone.

My pile is too high

By Elizabeth Prata

My pile has gotten too high. It drives me crazy. Since I live alone I have no one to blame but myself.

We all have a junk pile, things we don't want to deal with immediately but have to be dealt with eventually, and we throw it on the pile. Mine is in the kitchen on the printer in the top shelf of the bookcase. When I sit at the table to eat or write, it's staring me in the face. This is by design, so that I cant/won't ignore the 'need to deal with' papers and stuff ... stuff of life, I guess.

This morning I moved the pile to the counter, and I'll take care of it today, sigh. The jewelry is on top because I broke the necklace. When you wear extra long necklaces, they catch on things. This one caught on the corner of the shopping cart (OK Southerners, "buggy") and one of the links broke. It's my favorite necklace so I will fix it. It won't take long.

I'm going to finish my coffee and search for a casserole recipe of some kind. It's cold today so using the oven will give me a double comfort level, warming the kitchen AND good food coming out. I think for food prep I'll do a lentil soup for next week. I've had my favorite chicken soup for lunches two weeks in a row so I'll switch things up and make the lentil again.

I'll also do a casserole, hopefully I can find a few-ingredient casserole using stuff I already have in the cupboard. I'll make some hummus, and I also have green beans and tofu. That will become a stir fry with rice noodles and soy sauce. I have eggs and potatoes and greens so Eggs Florentine with home fries will figure in there at some point. I also still have some spaghetti squash and combined with stewed tomatoes will also be a hearty dish, especially if I add eggs and cheese to it. There really is more in the fridge and cupboard than we think.

We are at the last week of a loooooooooooooong six weeks. Our school district's usual method of salary schedule is one paycheck per month. In a blessing, we get paid before Christmas break, but that means we receive our December paycheck almost 2 weeks early. The next paycheck comes at the regularly scheduled time of the last day in January, making the time between paychecks 6 weeks instead of four. It's a skill to make your 4 weeks' salary last for six! Phew will I ever be glad for next Friday. Meanwhile, I'm stretching the fridge and cupboard to make healthy food without having to go to the grocery store again until payday. If I do not go to the grocery store out of habit and look with fresh eyes at what I already have, there really is enough, more than enough.

Meanwhile here is your daily Murray:

He flopped down in front of the gas fire. Bert used to LOVE it here. He loved it there so much I put his kitty bed in that spot and he lazed in it all winter, enjoying the burst of warmth coming from the gas heat. Cats are no fools, they know where the best comfort is!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone :)

Score at The Special Store

By Elizabeth Prata

Last night I had a baked salmon filet, baked potato, and roasted carrot N peppers for dinner. I'm exhausted, so thank goodness for Monday's food prep. All I had to do is heat it up. Mmm, it was so good.

After school I had to get gas for the car, and while I was out, I decided to mosey up to The Special Store. They're open on Thursdays now. It is a resale store about 5 miles from school. They buy estates and resell them in their store for great, low prices. Since inventory changes often, and since the items in the store are lovely and wonderful to look at, as well as being functional, I enjoy window shopping. Though truth be told, if I go up there it's because I need something and they have the best prices.

The "I need" items I sought were a small clock for the classroom and a large wall clock for my other classroom, and some fridge memo pads. I looked at Amazon yesterday for fridge memo pads, you know, the kind you make grocery lists on, and I was astounded at the prices. I have gotten stationery and pads at The Special Store for $1 for so long that I was taken aback at how much they cost now. So I abandoned Amazon for the fridge pads and headed up to my favorite store.

I'm also always on the hunt for books. I have found many an interesting or classic book there for $1.

It was a rainy, dark, and cold day so I knew the store would not be crowded. In fact, aside from a customer chatting with the owner, I was the only person in the place for most of the time. The owner has gorgeous furniture, most of it antiques- marble topped dressers, old farmer's tables, mid-century bureaus, beautiful dining sets and so on- handmade quilts, delicate china, art...it's a feast for the eyes.

They have expanded now and all the books, music, CDs, DVD, clothes, and art are in the adjacent building. More feasty stuff to look at.

Anyway, I found the following items:

A small battery operated Linden clock. It's about 4" high with a rounded top and a faux marble front rimmed in brass. I put a fresh battery in it at the store to see if it worked. It did. I forgot to test it long enough to determine if it keeps time. It doesn't. Oh well!

Carved Aztec Mayan-looking Stone bookends. I think they are carved from agate. I found similar ones on ebay and Amazon, it seems that agate is the usual stone these type of bookends are carved from, though it could be a type of onyx or marble or alabaster. Some of the ebay descriptions claimed a date of 'mid-century', others said 70s, still others simply said "classic". They all sold for upwards of $30 or more, Amazon had them for $57.00. I got them for $7. Mine are more elaborate than any I'd seen on ebay or Amazon, too. I think they're beautiful, with a milky striation on the back, a hint of brown hue here and there in the front, a pleasing weight and heft to them, and the triple decker base.

An unopened set of 24 Hallmark 'Thank you' cards with envelopes. Good. I needed some. $1.50.

A magnetic white board calendar with expo marker, still in wrapping. It's a gift for someone. $1.50.

A bundle of a fridge memo pad with a smaller memo pad, for $1. Another gift.

A pretty mug with flowers on it and an inspirational quote. Price unknown, she packed it while I was in the other building looking at books. Another gift for someone else.

Book, $1. "The University Library" by John Finley, 1926. I haven't been able to discover too much about this series. The store had three of the series, I think there are 25 in all. Description from ebay:

These vintage books are part of the 25 volume "The University Library" by John Huston Finley, LL.D. They were published for The University Guild of Atlanta, Georgia by Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc. of Garden City, New York in 1931. These books were originally chosen by Dr. John Huston Finley and first published in 1897.

The book has lots of short stories in it. Thomas Hardy, John Greenleaf Whittier, Bret Harte, Sir Walter Raleigh, and the like.

I love unexpected vintage books like this, but even more unexpected was this inside:

By National Museum of American History - Image by Godot13, Public Domain

OK, well this is an unusual something. The bill was crisp and undamaged. I left it in the book and bought the book because it has several stories by Thomas Hardy and I love Thomas Hardy.

Looking up the money, it seems that it's known as Japan Invasion Money, or JIM.

Common among most issues of Japanese invasion money, the Oceania notes depict the title "The Japanese Government" rather than the name or region they were intended for. This is due to many of these currencies having been printed ahead of time and intended to circulate in more than one country in a given region intended to be absorbed into the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. (Source)

Apparently Japan thought they were going to win the war. They had promoted the Prosperity Sphere as a way for the Oceanic nations to come out from under "Western Oppression" AKA colonization. Initially, the receiving parties were excited at this prospect, but the excitement palled as they began to realize they were making a bad trade, Japan always will consider herself on top, and prosperity wasn't just around the corner. Japan lost the war anyway, and the bills were never circulated.

The bills were rendered worthless and literally thrown into the streets. Even today they are not worth anything. The one-shilling bill I hold can be sold on ebay for 41 cents, lol. It's more valuable as the bookmark it it had been used for in the book I bought than anything collectible. The interest for me is the surprise of finding it and the excitement of learning about its history.

My cat is snuggled in his kitty bed next to me, the gas fire is hissing and emitting a warm fiery glow, and the day is ending. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, wherever you are and whatever you're doing.

Food Prep January 20-25, 2020

By Elizabeth Prata

Winter is finally here. It was below freezing last night and it will take a long time to warm up today. So what to do on my day off from school but cook? Turning on the oven to warm the apartment and have some nourishing food ready for lunches and dinners for the week- double win.

Coming out of the oven today are two pieces of Cajun tilapia, a spicy piece of salmon, roasted carrots & peppers, and roasted yellow squash. On top of the stove is a big pot of chicken and rice soup with a tomato base. The fish will be split into 5 servings, and along with a spinach salad and a baked potato, will be dinners this week. The soup will be lunches.

I missed out on a lot of marked down specials at Kroger but still managed to come away with a few- the yellow squash was a 99-cent special. Some single serving hummus cups were spied out and tossed into my cart. And a large container of power greens will either be salads and/or cooked for a side dish. I found some bags of kettle corn marked down to 79 cents, and that was probably because they were flavored like gingerbread men. I can't taste that well, so a gluten free snack for 79 cents (even less because I could split that bag into 3 servings) was added to my cart without a second thought. Even if I didn't like it I'd make myself like it. (Conclusion: the popcorn was fine, spicy and lightly ginger-y). I win.

It feels good to be home. My cat is glad I'm home. I am happy to have been away and happy to be back. Isn't it good to be content?

Oh wait, I have all these baking and cooking pots and pans to wash...

Travel Vignette: Texas; Coyote call at sunrise

By Elizabeth Prata


In the deep winter of 1994-1995, my husband and I and Abby the Cat bought a 1983 VW Westphalia pop-up camper van and took off for warmer climes. Our goal was to meander down the leftest road closest to the ocean, from Maine to Florida, across the FL panhandle, down Texas way towards the bottom, and across through Big Bend National Park, parallel the Rio Grande or the border all the way to San Diego. The we'd turn up and go as far north in California as the weather and timing allowed, which turned out to be Monterey. Then we'd head for home when the Maine snow let up, usually end of March. It was a good road trip, with lots of memories. Our country is beautiful and majestic, with a variety that's breathtaking. Being from verdant New England we did not expect to over the Texas desert as much as we did, but we did. Rocks, sagebrush, & tumbleweed, we were enchanted. Here is a vignette from my travel journal from February 1995 upon our departure from the National Park.

Big Bend National Park, Chisos Mountain campground

We left Big Bend National Park in Texas after 10 days and 9 nights of primitive desert camping. We absolutely loved it. The last couple of days we met 3 guys from Nebraska on a 'guy trip'. They sleep under the stars, chew tobacco, swig Southern Comfort and work for IBM. All 3 very cool. We call them "The Cowboys." The took us on a primitive road, 4X4's only, and we saw the interior desert we would not have been able to see in our van. We stopped for lunch at an old mine, and ate it out of the Bronco's tailgate- beans, beef jerky, and Southern Comfort. Then topped off the day floating in an ancient hot spring. The guys got out every now and then to cool off by splashing in the Rio Grande, but I didn't.

Remember:

Sunset over the Sierra Del Madres
Geology lecture in the night air amphitheater
Coyote call at sunrise
Drinking Southern Comfort over a campfire with 'The Cowboys'
The hot spring
Back-country Bronco drive through rough terrain exploring abandoned mines
Climbing the high trail to 'The Windows'

Previous Vignettes:

Travel Vignette: Tuscany's Sparkling Coast

Travel Vignette: Paris, The City of Light