robin's blog

Cosmos Returns

Thu, 24 Nov 2005 02:41:36 -0800

"The surface of the Earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean. On this shore we’ve learned most of what we know. Recently, we’ve waded a little way out, maybe ankle-deep, and the water seems inviting. Some part of our being knows this is where we came from. We long to return. And we can’t, because the cosmos is also within us. We’re "made" of star stuff. We are a way that the cosmos can know itself. The journey for each of us begins here. We’re going to explore the cosmos in a ship of the imagination, unfettered by ordinary limits on speed and size, drawn by the music of cosmic harmonies. It can take us anywhere in space and time. Perfect as a snowflake, organic as a dandelion seed, it will carry us to worlds of dreams and worlds of facts. Come with me."

Our 2nd Anniversary

Mon, 6 Jun 2005 21:35:24 -0700

Happy Anniversary to us! Many of you witnessed our wedding two years ago in our backyard. The trees you gave us as wedding gifts are very tall now. Where the dance floor was, there is now a cottage garden with fruit trees and wildflowers.

When will we be able to legally wed? Things are looking good in the California courts but bad everywhere else. The Attorney General has appealed the recent ruling that denying marriage licenses based on sex is unconstitutional. The Religious Freedam and Defense of Civil Marriage Act (which would have allowed us to marry legally) was defeated by 1 vote in the California Assembly.

Planting Time - Grapes, Kiwi, Blueberry

Sun, 30 Jan 2005 15:41:26 -0800

Last Sunday we planted table grapes, kiwi, a blueberry (to replace one that had died), artichokes, collards, and leeks. We planted these in our cottage garden (between our office and our well house), which we had covered with cardboard and composted horse manure in the fall. The soil is now delightful to work with. Simply stick the garden fork right through the wet cardboard and turn over beautiful soil.

Today we bought lots of seeds to plant perennials and self-seeding annuals in the cottage garden. We'll start the seeds indoors and put them out in 6 weeks or so. We're also looking forward

Bye Bye Pigs

Sun, 30 Jan 2005 15:28:34 -0800

On January 12, we said goodbye to this year's pigs. We'll get four big boxes of pork and so will Jessie. We let the pigs get much bigger this year than last time. They were over 200 pounds each.

Because it is rainy season, we had to have the slaughter in the front yard. The ground is too wet to drive a truck into the back. Martin did the butchering again, then took them over to Bud's Meats for cutting, smoking and wrapping.

We got the pink pig on August 29 or thereabouts. We got the black pig a few weeks later. Then Jessie brought over some other pigs, but he sold or traded these within a few weeks. My best guess is that our pigs were about 6 months old when we had them slaughtered.

Our Backyard

Sun, 27 Mar 2005 15:03:38 -0800

We love our backyard. Some people wouldn’t like having a large portion of their property under water all winter, but we like it. Scout likes it, too. Look at her run.

Uncle Bo's Bock Beer

Sun, 30 Jan 2005 15:57:17 -0800

Ingredients for 5 gallons:

9 lbs Amber plain malt extract syrup
1/2 lb Chocolate malt
1.75 oz Vanguard hops
1/2 oz Hallertauer hops (finishing)
German lager-type yeast
1.25 cup dried malt extract (for bottling)

I put about 2 gallons of water in the pot, which was a bit too much to deal with. I heated the water to 160, then kept it at about that temperature for 30 minutes, steeping the crushed chocolate malt. After 30 minutes, we strained out the grains, added the malt extract and hops and boiled for 45 minutes. Then we added the finishing hops and boiled for 15 minutes longer.

The tricky part was getting the finished wort into the bucket (that already had 2 gallons of water in it). The strainer was not as stable with the bucket as in the carboy. The pot was very full, so it was difficult to handle. We ended up spilling quite a bit. What a mess! I hope Bo managed to get it all up, or the floor will be very sticky tomorrow.

Hunt's Brown 2 or Justin's Stout?

Sun, 30 Jan 2005 15:57:41 -0800

We're finally making beer again. We're repeating our first beer with some minor modifications. Then we're going to make a bock beer.

Ingredients for about 2.5 gallons:

4.5 lbs. dark plain malt extract syrup
.25 lbs. crystal (carmel 40) malt
.125 lbs. black patent malt
.8 oz. Fuggles hops (boiling)
.3 oz. Cascade hops (finishing)
English ale liquid yeast
3/4 cup dried malt extract for bottling

This time we crushed the grains at the store. We steeped the grains for 30 minutes at 160 degrees. The wort was very dark after just the grains. We removed the grains and added the malt and hops and boiled for 60 minutes. Then we added the finishing hops. I through in a half-dozen of the hops we grew, which added charm, if not flavor. They had been sitting out on my desk, rather than properly stored in an air-tight container.

Haiku for Bob

Thu, 30 Dec 2004 03:02:24 -0800

Ice and heart melting
Into Dogan Translation
Name the cat g G

Basho Haiku

Sun, 30 Jan 2005 20:41:37 -0800

Deep into autumn
and this caterpillar
still not a butterfly
(Basho)

I like that.

Mulligatawny

Mon, 13 Dec 2004 08:50:50 -0800

1.5 cups chopped onions
1 celery stalk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small chile
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 heaping tablespoon whole coriander seeds (toasted then hand ground in a pestle)
1 quart no chicken-chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
2 carrots or more
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
2 tomatoes
1 can coconut milk
juice from one lemon or lime
fresh cilantro

Saute onions and celery, then add spices (including chile). Add broth and carrots and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add pepper, tomato and coconut milk. Simmer 10 more minutes. Add lemon or lime juice and cilantro.

Robin Joins GLMA Board

Mon, 29 Nov 2004 12:38:11 -0800

I’ve joined the board of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.

GLMA is a national organization committed to ensuring equality in health care for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals and health care professionals. GLMA achieves its goals by using medical expertise in professional education, public policy work, patient education and referrals, and the promotion of research.

Kinsey is awesome

Sun, 30 Jan 2005 20:33:35 -0800

We saw the movie Kinsey on Friday night. The movie is great. I never really appreciated what Kinsey did for us—I took it for granted. I hope the movie generates lots of interest in the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University and helps them with their fundraising.

Back in the Saddle

Mon, 29 Nov 2004 11:26:52 -0800

Bo rode Justin today. Other then a quick ride around the parking lot at Lake Sonoma at the end of September, this was her first ride since breaking her foot. We had fun.

I'm exhausted, because I rode with Jessie, Mel and Greg before I rode with Bo.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sun, 30 Jan 2005 20:39:08 -0800

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I took the picture of the turkey at the Isis Oasis, which is where Bo had an ISNA retreat 8 years ago. We recently visited there with Mani and David. This was a very old turkey (2 years). He was friendly, and let us touch him.

You're So Vain (Scouty version)

Sun, 7 Nov 2004 17:58:13 -0800

You rushed into the thrift store
Like you were herding just for a kick
Your face strategically marked below one eye
Your fur it was very slick
You had one eye in the mirror
And the other one on the stick
And all the girls dreamed that you’d pull their shirts down
You’d pull their shirts down, and

You’re so vain
You probably think this chair is for you, Scout
You’re so vain
I’ll bet you think this chair is for you, Scout
Don’t you? Don’t you?