Lagopus Member

Heather - It looks like a composite of some sort and definitely not a native of the British Isles. Maybe something in the Othonna family? Or possibly Senecio? I saw something similar but much larger flourishing as ground cover in dry spots on the Algarve coast. /Penny

..and today's sourdough. My husband says it's great. I've managed to keep my hands off it. /Penny, resisting temptation at the

Last night I had an odd dream - not a nightmare by any means, but it probably has to be classed as an anxiety dream. I was one of four people who needed to be tested for virus. The healthcare worker came in carrying — a small bottlebrush! She insisted she wasn't going to stuff it into our gullets by way of our nostrils. I…

Oh Terri... Exciting! Glad you lived to tell the tale and dine out on the strength of it. /Penny

My answers to Machka's questions: And Lisa's: /Penny, presenting herself at the

I'm not doing the Facebook "view from my window" thing, but here's the view from my window. I took this shot last night at 12:23. Midnight sun, y'know. :wink: /Penny at the

Michele - My guess is the doctor doesn't want your friend's lungs exposed to dust. Particles hasten the progression of the disease, and ceramic dust is especially nasty. /Penny

The birthday celebration didn't adhere to plan. The evening before, my friend the deacon texted to ask if we wanted to go someplace for dinner, and maybe the editor would want to come along, too. (The restaurants here can serve food on site provided all guests are at least a meter apart and there no more than five per…

Oh YAY Karen! Good on ya! SuziQ - Ah, of course, tarragon. I didn't recognize yours because all the tarragon I've seen has much narrower leaves. I love tarragon! It's related to wormwood, the active ingredient in absinthe. The Artemisias are known for their ability to keep away pests. My mother-in-law had Artemisia…

Kylia - I'm so sorry to hear about your mother-in-law's diagnosis. Her denial is understandable, and I think you are wise to let her process it in her own time. May you all find the strength you need to navigate this difficult time. Margaret - Sorry about your sister-in-law. Small comfort, but it would seem she spent her…

Great website, Lisa! As for supporting girls, my husband the polar researcher/climatologist is always being asked how we can save the planet. People expect him to say something about electric vehicles or banning air travel or everyone going vegan. But no. He says the most important thing we can do is make sure all girls…

That's GREAT Lisa! I know how rare this is. In fact, back when I was regularly involved in securing grants, I told anybody who wanted to listen (and especially anybody who griped about how grants got spent) that when I set up a granting agency, it would exclusively fund operations, so all the earmarked funding everybody…

Sharon — That was a walrus. Goo goo g'joob. /Penny

Amber - You wanted suggestions on how to use salmon. Here's the woman who just got 13 pounds of it at the grocery store! One of my favorites is this maple/chili/soy glazed salmon: The other day my husband and I went out for a drive, hoping to see something beyond the center of our tiny town. What we eventually caught sight…

I can't get preserved lemons, but I've got fast internet, so I've found both instructions on how to preserve lemons and how combine them with free-range chicken and saffron and some of my other favorite spices in a tagine, courtesy of the Hairy Bikers :D Odds-on they're the source of your recipe. :laugh: What do you do to…

Okay Heather, let's make it a trade. My flatbread recipe for yours for chicken with preserved lemons and kale. We eat lots of chicken, I love lemon, and I'm always on the lookout for ways to use kale. Sounds perfect! ;) Michele — Before we moved here I was afraid of the cold, too. The thing is, here we expect the cold and…

Kate - I'm so sorry for your loss. :heartbreak: This situation is a wake-up call for the value of health care and health equity. Also for how many of the people providing "essential services" are poorly paid. It's sad that so many have to suffer before society's eyes are opened. Norway has a pretty good handle on covid-19,…

Katla, please check an updated version. I realized I'd forgotten to specify that the 1½ tsp was for active dry yeast, not fresh yeast.

Sure, Katla! European recipes for baked goods often don't work very well in the US, and vice versa. It apparently has to do with the protein content of the flour. But I've made this flatbread several times in New Hampshire with good results. Exactly as someone guessed (I forget who), cats are exotic species and thus…

Yeah, problem is they're de-lish! My husband needs a bit more food than I do so it's okay for him. But for me, it's a struggle to avoid eating them, especially because their aroma soaks into my skin and whispers to me constantly. >:) You know you want one. o:) No, I mustn't. >:) Just one. They're small... Machka - I feel…

Machka - I covet your cat. I'd dearly love to have a furry little black thing that jumped onto my bed, curled up and purred. But it is not to be. We've refrained from having pets for years because we travel so much. Even now, with travel out of the picture for the foreseeable future, we can't get a cat because they're not…

My daughter is a gazelle. Her apartment is on the edge of a vast recreation area, hilly and wooded, with lots of jogging trails - where she runs about 2000 miles a year. Ordinarily she's all by herself our there except for the occasional dog-walker. Now that everybody who can is supposed to work remotely, it appears…

That was inspiring! Thanks Karen! Interesting to see how differently different countries are attempting to handle covid-19. Norway's rules don't limit the number of times (healthy) people can go outdoors per day. We're supposed to avoid gathering in groups of more than five and keep a good distance. Health care workers are…

Thanks for breaking the ice, Heather. :heart: Yes, I'm still around. In mid-March I had an anxious week. Scandinavia was gradually coming under lockdown and I wasn't sure where I would end up. At the time I was teaching in Sweden and my husband was at home in Svalbard, under quarantine after a trip abroad. Norway closed…

Sorry I can't keep up with posts and posting. I'm doing StoryADay September and am short on time. In addition, I'm about to go on a 4-day cruise along the southwestern coast of Spitsbergen. I will be offline and without cell phone coverage the whole trip. Digital detox here I come! /Penny at the

Barbie - thanks for a new month. I'm glad you keep time moving forward. :grimace: If I had to do it myself we might still be stuck in the mid-1980s :lol: Lynda - my heartfelt sympathies. ALS is a horrific disease. Yesterday it rained a lot but today the weather was glorious so I went up the mountainside behind the house in…

There were typical North Norwegian downpours this morning — the kind my daughter describes as "raining hysterically" — so I put off my jogging until mid-afternoon, when it was only raining a little bit. I met more sheep than neighbors. (Maybe neighbors go indoors when it's raining? :smirk: ) But I also saw a HUGE flock of…

Hi Gals! I'm sorry I haven't been on the site for a while :( :'( Heather :heart: wrote to prompt me to let you know how I'm doing. I'm just fine and dandy, thankyouverymuch. :flowerforyou: This summer was a mixed bag. The usual family gathering in New Hampshire was joyous despite some kind of upper respiratory crud making…

Blehhhhch! I just finished editing a PhD thesis of the worst kind. The student has essentially copied text from the four studies she's been involved in and pasted them into a template. Sure, she presents lots of research work, but there's absolutely no synthesis. It's the kind of thesis L. Frank Dobie called "transference…

Yeah, Karen. Don't our children amaze us at times? :heart: :heart: I remember how humbled I was when my daughter, age 14, was doing a school project on current affairs and she was phoning ambassadors and legislators and asking sharp questions. I always got palpitations when I picked up the phone to call anyone I didn't…