Hi Michael,

 ML> > We've got the rain today. After this set of storms pass, it's
 ML> supposed > to be clear until next Wed. night/Thursday morning.

 ML> We ended up getting 0.02" on Christmas eve;
 ML> it evaporated within the hour.

I'm not sure how much we got but I know it was probably at least a
couple of inches. We've had ice on flat surfaces the last couple of
mornings from what didn't run off.

 ML> Edited to add: the Weather Service downrated our
 ML> rainfall to T[race], which means that there was
 ML> perceptible but not measurable precipitation.

Sounds like some of the monsoon showers we had in HI.


 ML> > Seriously dry out there! We're about 10" over average for the
 ML> year--too > bad we can't ship some water your way. (G)

 ML> The airport reported a tad over 11" all year,
 ML> mostly in the spring - not a record, but I think
 ML> fairly close. Last year was over 22", also
 ML> not a record but fairly close. Appropriately,
 ML> the average is a bit over 16, placing us in
 ML> the semi-arid (steppe) classification, but
 ML> just a few miles in one direction is the
 ML> hot Mediterranean climate and a couple dozen
 ML> in another the bona fide desert. Your notion
 ML> that there should be more NWS weather stations
 ML> around here would make sense, except then there
 ML> wouldn't be any left for the rest of the country.

Quite a few microclimates there! I'm thinking of adding to Steve's
weather data collection of odds and ends--he is on a couple of ham nets
that give weather updates. He's relying mostly on Weather Underground
for his data but if I can get him some instruments to record closer to
home data, it would be more accurate.


 ML> >  ML> > I used to be that way. (G)
 ML> >  ML> That's a trait helpful for survival in
 ML> >  ML> places like upstate New York.
 ML> > Also other cold places we've lived--Germany, Massachusetts, even
 ML> Arizona > and North Carolina, tho not as often.

 ML> Yeah, Devens does get pretty raw.

We got there on July 20, left January 22 the following year. In just
early November to when we left, we had several major storms, including
one the day/next day we packed out. Steve had to do a lot of shovelling
to get a clear area in the parking lot for the truck that came in to
pick things up. It was supposed to come in the day after pack out but
got snowed in at Fort Drum, only a 24 hour delay.


 ML> >  ML> > So they're back to the midwestern bland? Thirty some years
 ML> ago I >  ML> would
 ML> >  ML> No, Ethiopian and Somali food. Once
 ML> >  ML> tasted, always wanted, that sort of thing.
 ML> > Sounds good, never would have thought that area would have something

 ML> And the lady behind the Sri Lanka Curry House
 ML> apparently still does catering and house
 ML> party dinners and things like that.

So, she survived and appears to be doing well--but don't know how the
Covid shut downs have affected that.


 ML> > that "exotic". I could see German and Scandinavian foods being
 ML> popular > in the area.

 ML> That kind of goes without saying, as Germans
 ML> and Nordics make up the bulk of the population,
 ML> but the influx of south Asians being presumably
 ML> permanent, there should be enough of a market,

As well as those who are interested in trying new to them foods.

 ML> plus the Germans and Nordics are not always
 ML> uneducable.

Some are (G); my parents, when we were in AZ and they visited us, always
wanted to go to the local German restaurant instead of trying any of the
many Mexican places. Also, listening to Garrison Keillor's "A Prarie
Home Companion" radio shows, some of his monologues dealt with the
sameness of Lutheran church suppers.


 ML> >  ML> > Envy some, pity others?
 ML> >  ML> One doesn't generally divide neatly into
 ML> >  ML> camps.
 ML> > Win some/lose some sort of issue.

 ML> That's not what I was thinking - rather
 ML> that's it's not a binary problem.

OK


 ML> >  ML> He did note at the end of the recipe that
 ML> >  ML> bacon would be a good addition.
 ML> > I usually put some ground beef in mine.

 ML> Meat loaf
 ML> categories: celebrity, main
 ML> servings: 8

 ML> 2 c fresh bread crumbs
 ML> 3/4 c minced onion
 ML> 1/4 c minced green pepper
 ML> 2 eggs
 ML> 2 lb chuck, ground
 ML> 2 Tb horseradish
 ML> salt
 ML> 1 ts dry mustard
 ML> 1/2 c milk or evap. milk
 ML> 3/4 c ketsup

 ML> When convenient, prepare bread crumbs, minced onion,
 ML> and green pepper.

Prepare as in do what? I saute bell peppers (usually not green) and
onion, let them cool slightly before adding.

 ML> About 1 hr. before serving: preheat oven to 400F.

I bake mine at 350F, used to do it at 400F but prefer the lower
temperature now. I just give it a bit more time.


 ML> P.S. If you prefer a soft, moist exterior, bake as

Cover it with foil.

---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net  FIDO 1:396/45.28


... OH NO!  Not ANOTHER learning experience!

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