Barbara Manning

r ransom wrote:Wouldn't that be nice.  

The number parcels I've had end up delayed by going to California is ridiculous. One shipping company uses both international 2 letter codes and usa state 2 letter codes. And then confuses itself.  Instead of traveling from one side of the city to the other for next day delivery, my parcel gets a week vacation in California.  Then the company tries to charge me brokerage and duty (twice).  It's a real pain.

R. Ransom, Let me tell you a story.  

I have had a lot of success by digging around to find the Apex predator of the companies that bring me pain. The trick is to find the corporation that owns whatever bullroar company owns the mopes who are ignoring you, or otherwise making your life unmanageable.   There is nothing more dynamic and satisfying than having the holding company's CEO's office calling the president of the company that giving you s**t to dress them down for dissing a constituent.

My best story is to tell you that for 20 fricking years, the company that pretended to "manage" my pension, sent letters to me to tell me how great they were doing for me. But when I called the number they had in all their letters, the CSR (customer service rep) response was rude, abrupt, and disinterested. As far as they were concerned, I was not their client and I did not have an account.

It took a little time to find the parent company, and to write a terse letter to the CEO of the international holding company telling him (it's always a him, isn't it?) that if, in fact they did not owe me the money that they continued to tell me was in my pension account, then that they could possible be overstating the amount they needed to hold in reserve for future pensioners. This is a big deal for large corporations that need to hold monies in reserve to pay to its employees in the future -- it's money they cannot invest in current expansions or projects. They can invest in very conservative assets, but not much more. In short, I appealed to their greed.

I told him I was enough of a data manager that I understood that my account was not an anomaly -- that it represented a small but significant number of accounts that, for his company could represent quite a bit of cash being held in reserve that could be put to use today. I was rude, abrupt, callous, and very disrespectful to whatever company they hired or department they used to manage their employee retirement accounts. Basically, I told him to "man-up" and figure out WTF was happening with the mopes he or his minions hired to manage the retirement accounts.  The letter included the time and date and the fact that the last CSR that I spoke with not only told me I did not have an account, but also was unwilling to tell me how to identify him or his location. It included the "Oh yay! Aren't we doing a swell job for you," original letter and the disrespect and possible abuse I experienced with on the telephone with the CSR.

I was not out of control, but I was very angry at the treatment from a international company that I worked for in 2 countries for 10 years. I wrote the letter, spent a few days editing and document it, then sent it registered to the overseas corporate office.  Imagine my surprise when weeks later, I got a mailed response from the HQ office of the CEO. He assigned one of his, well, someone who reported directly to him, told me that indeed I did have a retirement account with them and added a specific person in the US to call. Given that I have never personally met the CEO of ANY company I've worked for, this was a big deal.

I called the person he mentioned in the email and very quickly transferred the money into an account I could manage directly.

Here, my laboriously written bla bla bla can be reduced to an example of the Squeaky Wheel Syndrome, and possibly a grand Winston Churchill quote: "Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense." delivered in a speech to Harrow School in October 1941 - during possibly some of the darkest days for the UK during  WWII.

I will be cheerful in helping you write a finely crafted letter to the nettlesome company that has yet to figure out international shipping.  As an American expatriate, I am uniquely qualified to re-write and/or edit your letter to them. If they continue to be unresponsive, I can help you find other companies that can provide the products or services you need without the crapola you are currently forced to endure. I think I am well versed and can help you tame the beast in the company you are currently working with and/or find a company that can provide what you need with far less hassle.

We all need more peace in 2026. Let's start here.
Happy New Year, everyone.
Barbara




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Dustin Waller wrote:Just curious,
Is FL /or FLA understood unanimously? 🙄

Unlikely. I'm assuming you are referring to the US state of Florida, but is my assumption correct?
Also, I get the 2 letter abbreviations for Alabama and Alaska confused all the time. I'm just lucky that I don't know anyone who lives in either state.
I think we citizens of the world should simply abandon the two-letter US State abbreviations altogether, in favor of spelling the WHOLE state name on the envelope.

First let me say that I am well out of my league here. But, as a urban "farmer" there are some techniques and tips you may be able to use from Cassandra Brown at Becoming a Farm Girl. She has a YouTube channel of the same name and this website: https://becomingafarmgirl.com/. I also learn from her newsletter, "No-Acre Almanac:" Homesteading Wisdom, No Farm Required

While you may not need all the tips and techniques she shares, I think you might benefit from her talks on vertical gardening, fermenting, canning, and other preserving methods.  I would also encourage you to plant as much vegetable variety as you can. Having lived on a delicious and very hearty potato and ham soup for a mere 5 days, I can attest to how immediate the need to savor something else arises. Your 9 people will want variety.

I would also encourage you to read the recipes at least in Eat more, Weigh less by Dr. Dean Ornish and anything by Christina Pierello. Christina, like Our Fearless Leader, survived cancer by changing her diet.

I realize my experience in permaculture is tiny, some will say non-existent, but I've learned a lot from all three of these sources.  Good luck. You're doing a good thing.

Alina Green wrote:Some people buy chicken feet (aka "back scratchers"  haha) to add to bone broth, for the gelatin in all that skin and connective tissue...and toenails.  ugh.

You are so correct. Where I live I have to buy chicken feet, but the resultant broth was so delicious. I'll buy them once again but prepare them separately and add the resultant gelatin to individual brews. I suppose they would work in beef bone broth, but unless it was a voluminous beef broth, it might change the flavor. What  do you think?

wayne fajkus wrote:Prepping batch 2. Bones are frozen. I will take the advice of roasting the bones in the same pot. Great advice!

Yep. If you can, roast and boil/simmer them in the same pot.  You'll save yourself some clean up, and retain all of the flavor bits.

I don't salt my bone broth because I treat it as an ingredient in something else, and I know I'll be salting the end product.

Also, rather than boil the bones and toss the first batch of water, try cleaning the bones (or do as I do and used them direct from the source) and keep the water you use to boil them for the balance of the broiling/cooking might help with the gelling factor.  You may find that during the first boil, a dirtyish foam forms on the surface of the water. I use a skimmer to remove the foam.

Roasting the bones for a longer period of time and simmering the bones for a longer time will also give you a darker, richer broth. Having said that, purchased broth often has food coloring in it. The whole point of making your own is to reduce or eliminate all the additives, preservatives and unpronounceable ingredients. Try adding blackstrap molasses if you want to have a darker color. It's a processed product but less so than than the common commercially available browning sauces. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/benefits-blackstrap-molasses

Here's that Chef Google says about getting a good gel in a bone broth:
"The element of beef bones that makes the resulting broth gel is collagen, which breaks down into gelatin during the long cooking process.
Here is a breakdown of how this process works:
Collagen source: Collagen is the primary protein found in the connective tissues, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments attached to the bones, especially in joint and knuckle bones.
Conversion to gelatin: When these collagen-rich parts are simmered gently in water for an extended period (typically 12-24 hours), the heat breaks down the insoluble collagen into soluble gelatin.
Gelling effect: As the broth cools, this dissolved gelatin re-forms, creating a rich, viscous, and "jiggly" or jelly-like consistency when refrigerated. The more collagen in the bones and the better the extraction, the firmer the gel will be.
Reversibility: When the gelled broth is reheated, the gelatin melts and turns back into a liquid, giving the hot broth a rich body and mouthfeel.
A broth that gels when chilled is a key indicator of a high-quality, nutrient-dense bone broth."

I'm thinking that your first boil (where you pitch the water) also may be pitching some or all of the collagen. Or, you are cleaning off the bone bits that contain most of the collagen.

You're lucky to have so many bones!  I would also continue to reduce the broth until, like someone else in this thread suggested, you end up with a syrup-like consistency. You can pressure cook that too, and end up with a shelf-stable beef concentrate.

Good luck and keep cooking!

r ranson wrote:I've worn Pattens quite a bit and it looks like this style of clog is modelled after them. here's the wiki about them

In  modrrn Japan, women and men wearing Kimono in inclement weather wear a protective plastic oversoe on their footwear. Here's photos and a brief description of each style. May it give you inspiration.
https://livejapan.com/en/article-a0000942/#:~:text=Geta,with%20synthetic%20materials%20as%20well.

I'll  look for thr modern plastic overshoe later today and post. I understand you want to use natural materials, but many of these shoes have stood the test of time and are still sold and worn today.

Ah HAH! Here are some examples of thr "rainy day" overshoes worn over Zori. BTW, The workman's boots shown in the original link are the footwear of choice for all mondern-day construction workers. https://www.google.com/search?q=Zori+Cover&client

I know this is just for inspiration but I think it's interesting that at least In some cultures in modern day concept of wooden shoes and straw shoes and other shoes made of natural Fabrics is still alive and working quite well. Best of luck with your project.

I regularly replace virtually any citrus with yuzu juice. It has a fruitier aroma and flavor than lemon -- less acidic, or tart too. I buy it exclusively to lemons and lines these days. I've made a passable Yuzu tart and pie with it.  I've used it as a meat tenderizer too. I make a quality lemonade-like drink with it and I also like a pop of it in club soda or seltzer water. I like it heaps better than orange or grapefruit too. There's another Japanese citrus fruit mentioned in this thread Sudachi, I think.  It's similar, but for me the bang for your busk is with Yuzu, because the fruit is much larger.  

Re' Burton wrote:Paul, I love the card!  ...What, why, how, when.  Maybe that only makes sense to me.  I'd like the card to be able to stand alone, so if the reader has no knowledge of what a "rocket" is, maybe add rocket stove/heater/chamber or describe it or show sticks going into the fire box, or something?  Very cool idea and graphics though!  ... Thanks!  

I'd like to see more information on the car too but the type can't be so small that it can't be read conveniently, so I would ask you to consider bullet points rather than trying to write out full sentences. Thanks!