Cricket & Snail

I may see them perform tomorrow.

Photos?

L dropped and broker her camera almost upon arriving in Paris, so her blog hasn't been really up and attem. However, funds were finally funneled to her for purchase of replacement, so watch her blog. I know I will be.

Hey

happy Spring! we are unexpectedly having a fire here in the fireplace.

I just received my information on Crown Point Road in Shrewsbury:

The Crown Point Road: An Introduction Across the state of Vermont a chain of markers stretches from the banks of the Connecticut River to the shore of Lake Champlain. Erected at different times, by different people, and made of different materials - granite, marble, stone, wood, metal - the markers have one thing in common; they mark the route of the old Crown Point Military Road. Built in 1759-60, during the French and Indian War, the Crown Point Road was of great importance in the early history of Vermont. It was ordered constructed by General Jeffrey Amherst following his capture of the French forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Its purpose was to connect the great stone fortress at Crown Point, then being built, with Fort No. 4, now Charlestown, New Hampshire. There was a suitable branch nearly straight west to Fort Ticonderoga. This military road was of prime importance in the plans of General Amherst. The new fort at Crown Point was to be a strong point in the defense [and future development] of the colonies, and a jumping-off point in the campaign against the French in Canada. The new road to No. 4, then the northernmost outpost in the Connecticut River valley, would serve to bring much needed supplies to the fort at Crown Point, as well as troops from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The road, though a poor one by today’s standards, was built well enough to serve its purpose. Portions of the road were graded, trees were cut, stumps removed, bridges and causeways were built, and corduroy sections were laid in swampy areas. Over this road, in the 1760 campaign, passed Colonial troops with supplies, munitions, cattle and sheep for the support of the army at Crown Point. The Crown Point Road was again used for military purposes during the Revolution when troops and supplies were sent over the road from Fort No. 4 to support the American position at Ticonderoga. But perhaps the road’s most lasting contribution to Vermont’s history was its use by settlers in the period between the French and Indian War and the Revolution. The road opened a large area of Vermont for settlement and, with the defeat of the French and the lessening danger from Indian raids, settlers were soon traveling the Crown Point Road and building their homes in the valleys and on the hillsides of Vermont. The Crown Point Road of today has changed greatly. Much of the road has disappeared entirely, reclaimed by the forest. Other parts have been plowed under or bulldozed away to meet the needs of the expanding population of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Some sections of the road are marked and can be followed as trails, while other sections are barely discernible paths through the woods, marked only by the lilac-fringed cellar holes and stone walls of abandoned farms. A few short stretches of the old military road are still in use as town roads. Written by: Martin J. Howe, First President of the CPRA

I'm glad I'm a member. If any of you can make it to one of the organization's outings, I would suggest it

Horseradish

Freshly harvested from out back, the root is soaking to get rid of some of the dirt that clings to all the crevices. Rather octopus-like, don't you think? We planted it two years ago, and this is the first root we've dug up.

I remember (many years ago) when our across-the-way neighbors in western Mass. asked if they could dig up some of the horseradish in the field between our house and the church. We didn't even know we had a patch of it! Turned out, we had a lot of it.

I'll never forget the wallop it packed after we ground it up in the food processor. One whiff almost sent us reeling. According to Nikki Duffy in River Cottage Handbook No. 10, Herbs, these fumes "(thiocyanites, if you want to know) are highly volatile, however, and soon lost. That's why freshly grated horseradish, mixed into an acidic stabilising medium, always tastes better than any that's been grated and stored." Her basic method "is to peel a small section of root, grate it ([she uses] a fine Microplane grater) and immediately combine it with enough lemon juice to make a damp (but not wet) mixture." Which is what I'll be doing later today.

A girl's gotta have a guide

I have a rather interesting memoir/collection of notions of recipes that is quite enigmatic. Mary Ann Caws's Provençal Cooking is her account of her time in France and her friendship with the poet René Char, some of whose poems she translated from the French (published by Princeton U Press). In fact, she says that Provençal Cooking was "deeply influenced by the poetry of Provence itself, as well as the poetry of René Char." What does this have to do with The Busy Girls' Cookbook? Ms. Caws mentions it: "my preference for speed, informality, and spending time with the mountains [of Provence] or my guests may be a direct product of too heavy a reliance on one of my first loves in the kitchen, and which I still recommend wholeheartedly: The Busy Girl [sic] Cookbook." So of course I had to track it down. And I thought you'd like to see some of the suggestions/recipes/artwork/typeface used.

dun, mousy, slaty, etc.

General damp, overarching gray Sunday afternoon. Visited the garden w/D; leeks soldiering along. Rabbits/deer must be enjoying all the lovely chard. Still, it lives.

Need to get over to the other blog and work on it, get it going. I really think it has potential, but right now that reads as inertia.

Because of the wonders of the Internet, we can talk to L on the phone, calling from Paris. Somehow, it costs nothing. I don't understand a bit of it. I remember many years ago not being able to call home from England because the cost was astronomical. What a lonely feeling that was.

Midway through making Indian lime pickle in this shot:

It's now actually completed, but I haven't had the courage to taste it yet . . .

Timber . . . not with a bang but a whimper

Today is the day. The Christmas tree must come down.

This is the reason I don't like to put the tree up in the first place. Taking the ornaments off is the saddest, dreariest activity. Ever. The holiday is over. It's wet, gray January. And really, what is there in the offing?

Adding up the accounts for the taxes.

Valentine's Day.

That's about it, really.

I look at all the ornaments, and we now put up only those that have been made by someone—mostly Helen's, but lots by Lucy, and others (some by me) and I think of time disappearing. Other Christmases with lots of relatives around, who no longer are here . . . Argh

All right, enough being maudlin.  Time to get down to business.

However, I may have to break my austerity pact (just this once) and buy two skeins of Madeleinetosh Tosh DK (they're on sale, and I can make the Honey Cowl x 2; presents!).

But maybe I can restrain myself.