Author: boomingbanter

Saint Valentine was Italian. Not surprising for one so closely associated with romance and love!

But did you know that Ireland holds a very important place in his story. His remains, or at least some of them, can be found in a Carmelite Shrine in Dublin.

They have been there for two hundred years and were given as a gift to one of Ireland’s great orators a certain Father Spratt!

Having for sure kissed the Blarney Stone, Spratt brought the Bishops bits back to the homeland and since then those seeking love have paid them a visit.

This may explain why Saint Valentines Day is treated with such humor in Ireland. Not really the worlds most romantic date visiting a box of bones!

So as soon as they can put pen to paper Irish youngsters write cards full of funny rhymes and jokes to their school mates. The more messages in the card the greater the degree of affection! The one that sticks most in my mind runs like this

Your teeth, just like the stars shine bright! Especially in their cup at night!

If that’s too radical, here’s another  one to share with you better  half!

Blessing #249 – Love a Laugh

Do you eat the same breakfast ever day? Many people do and I’m one of them.

We’d probably complain if we ate the same dinner ever night but there is something comforting about not having to think first thing in the morning and being able to just run on automatic pilot.

Some restaurants in the USA offer breakfast all day long. One of the first to do this was the Bob Evans Group. Headquartered here in Ohio it is a lovely family friendly place to eat with farm fresh favorites.

My girlfriend Lori asked me out for lunch today and let me choose where we’d go. So we went to Bobs and as always, even though it was way past breakfast time, I had one of their Classics of eggs, bacon, and pancakes with loads of maple syrup.

Can’t imagine making this for myself everyday there would be a serious risk of setting something on fire and definitely setting the scales into orbit. Once in a while though it’s such a treat.

Back to porridge tomorrow!

Blessing # 248 – Favorites with Friends

On January 9th Aaron and I went to the eye doctor. Within a matter of days Aaron’s contact lenses were on the doorstep. The week after that we got a call to say his specs had arrived and he could come and pick them up.

We said we’d wait and pick them up when my specs came. We waited and waited and still waited. Finally last week I called and the optician said that the lense maker had shipped the glasses that day.

A few more days past and the glasses still did not show. The lense provider said they were posted on Friday so today when I got a call from the opticians I assumed they had arrived.

WRONG! The glasses are lost.

Well those of you who know me well know that, on rare occasion and only when needed, I can get a clear and strong point across when displeased!

Such was the case today.

The glasses I’d picked were Jimmy Choo’s and they must have been dipped in 24 carat gold because they cost a fortune.

It crossed my mind in the past month when we had some major unexpected bills to pay if these were really worth it.

So, since the bejeweled bifocal extravagance is now lost in translation I « negotiated » starting again with a much less expensive choice.

By the time I got to the opticians to pick the new pair they had still not received the glasses and had found that the Choo frames are now out of stock and won’t be available till March 27.

What they did offer though was a very steep compensatory discount from the lense maker if we find the Choo’s and if we don’t we have a much cheaper frame selected and ready to process.

Who needs Jimmy Choo’s anyway when you have a furball who is a walking Fort Knox of medical science!!!!

Blessing # 247 – Chance To Change

It is hard to imagine in the Ireland of today that between 1845 and 1849 one million people died of starvation.

This came to mind today as I was peeling the spuds. A few of them looked perfect but when I took of the skin there were brownish blemishes that ran deep within.

Imagine living on not much more than a plate of potatoes and some oatmeal each day and finding that not just one spud but your crop was rotten That was the death sentence of the Irish peasant.

The tragedy was that they were growing grain without problem but had to use this to pay their rent. A quarter of the population died.

This tragedy was the moment from which it became clear there would be no turning back in the Irish fight for independence.

Similar  incidents played out in India with the march for salt to the sea and in the holocaust.

Unimaginable horror.

Today Krishna and I were in downtown Columbus in the heart of the most obvious areas where the opioid crisis has struck. We are not naive enough to believe that it only happens in the slums though.  In our city, our state and in this country this is the famine of today.

What will be the tipping point and what can we do to make sure this ends?  It is certainly a disease that runs deep. Things may look fine on the surface but we need to peel back to find the cause.

I don’t know what to do today to help stop this crisis but I’ve decided to find out.

Blessing # 246 – Deciding to Do

Its nearly twelve years since my friend Laura and I first started working together in Paris. We got to know each other so well during our three years in France and Aaron and Laura’s daughter did lots together. Laurel was so tiny then but now is a beautiful young lady.

They moved to Florida around the same time we moved to Ohio and our friendship has continued to get stronger.

Two years ago when they moved to Ohio we were again within driving distance and today we had a flying or rather driving visit  from them.

As always the lovely ladies brought treats this time some super duper champagne and a tarte aux fruits. A delicious reminder of our days together in France.

Even though we might only see each other every few months it’s always the same when we meet. We just catch up where we left off as though we’d seen each other yesterday.

Blessing # 245 – Beautiful People

Like magic our Dibley has improved over the past five days.

Only in seeing this can you believe it!

On his first day on his meds he played ball with Aaron. After running around he had a little accident inside and was very embarrassed. So for the rest of that  night he chilled.

By day two his fluid consumption started to fall. It had been as high as 1.5 liters but he is now back to 900 mls which is already a step in the right direction. All this is as libitum so we could restrict if needed.

The best progress though was today! Up until recently when asked if he wanted to go for a walk he was at the back door like a flash. Over the past months we’ve had to drag him out but today he was just like the old, or maybe that should be the young, Dibley and nearly took me out when the walk word was mentioned.

With beautiful blue sky and cool temperatures he then proceeded to walk a full mile at least. Much more than he has done in sometime.

He walked fast and wasn’t in the least breathless. He even broke into a little jog at one point when he picked up on another dogs smell who was some distance ahead of us.

Best of all he was up to his usuals tricks walking with his head held high and peeing on ever mail box!

Blessing # 244 – A Boy Leaving Calling Cards!

My Dad was a man who loved a bet. Every Saturday without fail he would place a triple permutation on the horses. It was amazing how he could do the math in his head to calculate what he’d win if all three horses placed. All too complex for people used to calculators like me!

He sometimes got lucky and won quite a bit but of course this was quickly spent on buying us all treats not to mention a few beers with a whiskey chaser! His winnings never made it even as far as a post office savings account.

Krishna and I have always been conservative with investments and have rarely taken bets on anything.

Recently though we decided to take a little gamble on something that we sincerely hoped would pay off.

We bought some SEARS stock. One reason was that the price was really low just 39 cents a share and we were only buying a small amount.

The main reason though was that we heard of a last minute attempt to save this iconic company from the brink of closure and very much want this to happen.

SEARS has always been iconic in the USA. The tallest building in the world was once the SEARs tower in Chicago and every family in the country shopped at the stores at some point in their lives.

We always found SEARS staff to be helpful and knowledgeable about what they are selling. A recent example of this was when we were changing our oven and fridge.

We had looked all over for a good deal but it was only when we went to SEARS that someone explained to us that very few of the hundreds of models available would just slide into the space left by our old built in appliances. He was absolutely right!

Yesterday the rescue bid was accepted by the courts and the stock hit a full dollar today!

The press have been far from gracious in their treatment of the key bidder but the prospect of saving so many jobs surely plays a part in this rescue attempt.

There are surely headwinds ahead but the revival had begun and were sticking with the stock!

Blessing # 243 – Leaves Fall Trees Survive!

There is heightened awareness of how dietary choices impact the environment. Many people are cutting back on their consumption of animal products for this reason.

Today a friend posted a chart comparing beef and beans. Those beans surely look like the better choice!

Each time something like this surfaces it reminds me of  Sir Kenneth Blaxter. This great man was an expert on human and animal nutrition and in particular on energy metabolism. His books and papers are key references for generations of students working in this field and in 1984 I had the honor to have him as my Ph.D examiner.

One thing he studied extensively and underlined often is the ability of ruminants to graze on lands that could never be used for crop production. Their ability to harness this scrub energy into highly nutritious food is nothing short of a miracle.

Seeing sheep climbing in the mountains of Ireland and the cows in the alps of Switzerland always underscored his position for me.

Grazing is just part of the story. Traditionally and still in many parts of the world to this day  poultry, pigs and ruminants transform waste food into fine quality materials.

Shouldn’t all this be environmentally beneficial?

Well it might if we still ate grass fed beef and free range eggs but we don’t. We eat animal products that are often intensively reared and fed corn and soy and grains that are environmentally demanding. Add to this the amount of animal products we consume and we begin to see why we need to change.

Each of us have a choice to make. Some may choose to be vegan out of deep concern for animal welfare and this will have a positive environmental impact too.

If we can afford it some others may choose to eat only free range eggs and grass fed beef.

Maybe the easiest first step, given the obesity epidemic is simply to eat a little less of everything!

Share your thoughts and suggestions and for those interested in digging a little deeper here’s some not so light reading.

https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/raising-cattle/efficiency-of-cattle-grazing-ze0z1411zdeh

https://bovinepracticum.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-beef-vs-vegetable-land-use-argument.html

Blessing # 242 – Debate

It is only a few days since we had record low temperatures in Central Ohio. Once again we are set to break new records. This time with record highs! A mind blowing swing of 50 degrees!

Today, as we’d say in Ireland it is not taking time to rain! It is pouring!

This rain, combined with all the snow that has melted means the yards are like swamps.

A small river has formed at the front of our house. Good for frogs and ducks but not doggies who have regained their energy.

The warming has brought with it  hopeful signs of spring with daffodils pushing through the mulch up near our front door.

Great day also for getting all that salt and grit washed away before the next blizzard blows in!

Blessing # 241 – 100% Natural Car Wash

 

Today sees the start of the Lunar New Year. In China, Japan, Tibet and of course in every country where people of these cultures live this is the biggest celebration of the year!

With family members from both China and Tibet we of course have to make sure we join in the festivities. This includes a red envelope for the lad and a pill in a pocket for the pup. So much easier than Santa visits!

We’ll be making dumplings tonight too and stuff Dibley’s meds in one as a special auspicious start to the new him!

For the Chinese this is the year of The Earth Pig. For Tibetans it’s the year of The Earth Boar!

The last time we had an Earth Boar / Pig year was 1959 the year when many of my friends from schooldays were born.

People of this sign are said to be full of love and generosity. They are social and affable and have all sorts of other great gifts! They may run a little late at times though just like the piggy who was last to arrive at the Buddha’s ball!

As I have learned from Chinese friends if it is your Year you must prepare yourself for the challenges that will come your way by wearing red underwear!

So ladies get yourselves to Victoria Secret or at least to Marks and Spencer as soon as possible. Boys better buy boxers!

Blessing # 240 – Piggy Pals