Gunsmoke and Knitting

This white (not albino) lion was photographed by Simon Needham.

Read the story here.

This map shows crude oil production in the United States. I was surprised by some of the numbers (NM, ND, OH), not so much by others (TX, OK, AK).

The article, by Visual Capitalist, states:

“In 2018, the United States became the world’s top crude oil producer. It has strongly held this position ever since.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the country accounted for nearly 15% of the world’s total oil production in 2020, churning out close to 13 million barrels of crude oil per day—more than Russia or Saudi Arabia.”

Read more here

It is National S’mores Day

Do you need a recipe about how to make s’mores?

I didn’t think so.

It is National Underwear Day – Don’t Forget Yours!

Today is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day!

I always followed the recipe on the back of the Nestle’s bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips . . . until I read King Arthur’s blog on cookie chemistry. Now, the Nestle recipe is still good, but King Arthur’s recipe is my new favorite.

Here is the blog post

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup (142g) light brown sugar, packed
• 2/3 cup (131g) granulated sugar
• 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup (92g) vegetable shortening
• 3/4 teaspoon salt (use 1/2 teaspoon salt if you use salted butter)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract, optional
• 1 teaspoon vinegar, cider or white
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups (240g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 2 cups (340g) semisweet chocolate chips*

*For cookies with extra chocolate in every bite, use up to 16 ounces (2 2/3 cups) chocolate chips.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
2. In a large bowl, combine the sugars, butter, shortening, salt, vanilla and almond extracts, vinegar, and baking soda, beating until smooth and creamy.
3. Beat in the egg, again beating until smooth. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure everything is thoroughly combined.
4. Mix in the flour, then the chips. Perfect your technique Blog Cookie chemistry By PJ Hamel
5. Use a spoon (or a tablespoon cookie scoop) to scoop 1 1/4″ balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2″ between them on all sides; they’ll spread.
6. For enticing salty-sweet flavor, sprinkle a touch of sea salt atop the cookies before putting them in the oven, if desired.
7. Bake the cookies for 11 to 12 minutes, until their edges are chestnut brown and their tops are light golden brown, almost blonde.
8. Remove the cookies from the oven, and cool on the pan until they’ve set enough to move without breaking. Repeat with the remaining dough.
9. Store cookies, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 5 days; freeze for longer storage.

Tattoo artist Luke Cormier eschews traditional tattoo designs to recreate characters from the 70s and 80s. The shading, background and creasing he creates make the tattoos look like paper stickers that could be peeled off your skin. Don’t try it.

From My Modern Met

I remember, when I was in junior high school, having a book that showed you how to make a variety of pictures and vignettes using a typewriter keyboard.  Of course, emojis and computers have made that “art form” obsolete, but some artists such as James Cook have not surrendered to the technology.

I just made mice and cats and things like that – nothing like Cook accomplishes, but I still hope I can find that book.

Read more about Cook and his art at My Modern Met.

In a rather abstract way, I knew about ice boxes being used before mechanical refrigeration became popular – there is actually a drain for the ice box remaining in the back hall of my 100 year old house. I had seen photographs of the ice men with their horses and wagons. I had also seen photos of ice harvesting on northern lakes. I always associated that occupation with a way of life from the early days of our country and certainly no later than the early 20th century.

Reality was brought home to be when we came across the Thompson Ice House in South Bristol, Maine which remained in operation through the 1980s. The business was owned and the property was retained by the Thompson family until 1987 when it was donated to a non-profit organization and is now maintained as a museum. The Thompson Ice House is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

We have been vacationing in this area for years and I remember exploring its dim and dusty interior of the ice house before it became a museum and everything was all locked up. It is a lovely tranquil site – lots of fish and frogs in the pond.

Searching the web for background, I found this video of ice harvesting at the Thompson Ice House as part of the museum’s educational mission.