(Random) Mid-Week Musings

This Place Is A Zoo

"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." I speak not of the gates of hell, but those of the Portland Zoo. To understand how we ended up in such a great place at such a bad time, a quick peek at the backstory that led us here is necessary. Several months ago, we put together an itinerary for our 7 year old grandson's visit. The zoo was not part of that plan, but a limited attention span and the arrival and departure times of flights to and from the East Coast caused it to become a factor in the time he would spend with us. The premium to fly directly into Eugene is steep this summer, so we decided to use Portland Airport as home base and pocket the savings for other trip related expenses. Flying into Portland is no problem, but departure is always a trick. On a good day, it takes 1-1/2 hours to get to the airport. The gods of travel have deemed it necessary to add additional time to that estimate because a sneeze can cause significant highway delays. Arrival delays can be easily handled, but departure is another thing. We have to be up at 4 AM. to reach the airport in time for an early morning departure. In order to avoid that hideous hour, I suggested we spend the day prior to departure in Portland and spend the night in an airport hotel. What better place to spend the day than at the zoo and the children's museum. Right? As it turns out, that would have been a great decision most days, but on the 2nd Tuesday of the month, entrance fees, which are normally high, are just $4 per person and the immediate world descends on Portland Zoo. I, who in another life, was paid for research and logistic skills most others lack, dropped the ball and got us to the zoo just in time to rub elbows with the immediate world. I swear, right hand on a bible you cannot see, of the 11,000 bodies  assembled that day, there was one adult and 10,999 children, some of whom were advanced in years but had not yet learned to surrender to the limitations of a very hot day. It was a zoo, my friends. Fortunately, the enthusiasm of that wonderful 7 year old saved the day. He's my favorite for always and ever. We just aren't going to tell the others, and we'll stay away from the zoo for a while.

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids

This one is more problematic. How would you explain driving a the car through a plate glass window? It's a tough one to be sure. There are no manuals to help you initiate the conversation. There were no drugs or alcohol associated with the accident and, miraculously, no one was hurt, but I am sympathetic to the plight of the poor woman who had to go home and explain to her husband how his car ended up inside the store. Due to installation of bus lanes, traffic patterns in the area have been disrupted, and I'm sure the poor thing became distracted and hit the wrong petal as she tries to navigate the maze. I hope he understood.

Did You Know Adelle Davis Invented Granola?

Adelle Davis invented granola as we know it today. You can find some or her original recipe here. Strangely enough, she created it as a snack, not as a cereal, and it was not until the the 1950s that it appeared on breakfast tables. She authored some of the first granola recipes in the 1940's, and they appeared in her book "Let's Cook It Right" which was published toward the end of the decade. Her granola, cooking techniques, and heath ideas made her views on nutrition very popular on television, radio and bookstores worldwide. She was by training a nutritionist, and she did a great job of making cooking healthy and developing recipes that were easy to work with. She fell out of favor for a while, but her reputation has been restored and contributions to nutrition research is now recognized.

“We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are.” –Adelle Davis

                    

                                     Older Posts

                 One Year Ago Today:                                                  Two Years Ago Today:

             Tomatillo Shrimp Enchiladas                                             Blueberry Bread Pudding


                Three Years Ago Today:                                                    Four Years Ago Today:
           Lemon Glazed Blueberry Cake                                                   Rhubarb Custard Pie