Will Work for Tiramisu

The daughter of a very good friends makes these cool items.  I'm getting my stocking stuffers from her this year.  The world can use a little whimsy about now.  My DW and I had a flamingo theme for our wedding, back in the day, thus the flamingos in veil and top hat.  I'm also having her make a bunny holding a sign saying "Will Work for Tiramisu", of course.  "Bunny With a Toolbelt" is her nom de plume.  

A lot of people spend their childhood wishing they were an adult, then spend adulthood wishing they were a child!  They say youth is wasted on the young.  Me personally, who am also 69, I wish the damn clock would slow down just a little!  I seem to recall days as a kid that would last for years!  On the bright side, I'm looking forward to starting to draw my full-pop Social Security when I turn 70.  I don't know when I'll cross the River Styx, but I try to enjoy every day I have left on this beautiful earth as much as I can.  And I don't take for granted that I have good health and a loving spouse and children, and 3 squares a day, a roof over my head, and a bottle of grape squeezings at the end of the day.  I'm certainly not in a rush to turn the odometer ahead, let me tell you.  

Our first cruise we booked on SS (2012) was cancelled, due to the entire ship being chartered to house a bunch of Saudi family in Monaco for the races.  It was a drag, as we had invited my wife's sisters.  Nonetheless, we rebooked and SS was very accommodating, and gave us a ship board credit in addition to full credit for original cruise.  This also happened in 2019 on Seabourn, and we ended up with a better cruise segment for the same price as the original.  It happens - I'm sure cruise lines are happy to get a big booking these days, to help them - shall we say - stay afloat!!  

This seems to be the motto for this distinguished forum, where all and sundry are bandied about on a regular basis, from soup to nuts:

'The time has come,' the walrus said, 'to talk of many things: of shoes and ships - and sealing wax - of cabbages and kings’.

Zoom time of year! 

Idle hands are the devil's playground...

In happier times the Beatles sang:

"Got up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head.

Found my way downstairs and drank a cup,

And looking up, I noticed I was late. (sounds of tooth brushing)

Grabbed my coat, and grabbed my hat,

Made the bus in seconds flat."  And so forth. 

But now, we have the pandemic floating over us and generally making it hard to spring out of bed when first you hear the alarm go off.  But still, despite the general malaise, some of us working stiffs still need to get up, shower and shave, and head out into the world in a wakeful, if not woke, state.  There is still work to be done, and the world deserves people ready to take on the world to do it. 

To that end, I'm happy to share a recent purchase I made from the estimable Acme Corp.:  The Smack & Shave Deluxe.  Feeling drowsy, still trailing clouds from dreamland??  Activate this little item, and you'll be on the receiving end of veritable Joe Palooka wake-up call!  Ten-shun!!  No more moping about, you'll be looking for your styptic pencil, a cold filet mignon, or maybe an icepack!!  

This quality, American made (using imported parts) device doubles as a shaving mirror, with the flip of a few levers.  You know it is the highest quality, as it is endorsed by Mr. Roadrunner.  Beep beep!!  

I started with Captain Crunch, then on to crunchy granola back in the day, now I'm into crunches.  (Better than crutches, I suppose.) 

Oops, my bad.  Jimmy Hendricks!  A fun website for browsing (whilst sipping on your gin drink, I suppose), is www.theginisin.com.  Not only reviews of hundreds of gin offerings, but also of tonics & other mixers.  Good for hours of entertainment while isolating in your covid cave.  

Ah, gin!  Proof that God wants us to be happy, doesn't she!  While the alcohol has its role, for me it is the botanicals that are of most interest.  I was thrilled to try my first bottle of Hendrix - yum!  Increasingly I find I'm more drawn to the botanicals than the alcohol. If you crack open that door, there is a world of flavors behind it.  Near the top of my list is Fernet Branca, an Italian concoction that some detractors say tastes like creosote & black strap molasses.  (OK, I made that up.)  But if you enjoy savoring complex flavors, it really grows on you.  We recently bought some Cynar, an obscure liquor made from artichokes; I'd take a glug of that before I strapped on the snowshoes, any day!  

Two books that are worth reading, on this topic:  "The Drunken Botanist - The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks", by Amy Stewart (NYT Bestseller), and "Botany at the Bar - The Art & Science of Making Bitters", by Selena Ahmed, Ashley Duval & Rachel Meyer.  Like so many things in life, there are people who have devoted their lives to such topics, and I tip my fedora to them.  The first title is impressive - you'll score a few more points at your next trivia game, for sure.  The second is directed more at DIY bitter making, but still full of info on the numerous plants from all over the world that get called to duty to flavor our apres 5 pm tipples.  

The last 20 years has really seen a rebirth of mixology, and interest in the craft of mixing drinks.  I'd go so far as to say we are (or were until covid came along) in a Golden Era of mixology.  Once we have this pandemic behind us, we'll all be ready to make our own version of the Roaring Twenties, and the mixologists and providers of wonderful ingredients will be ready to help us celebrate joie de vivre!  Salud!

I hesitated to post this poem, knowing that 95% of you have seen it, but it was a surprise to me when I saw it, 10 years or so ago, so thought there might still be one or two who haven't seen it.  Note the existence of the "Red Hat Society", which came about from this poem.  Was written in 1961, the author (from England) was 28 at the time, and the name of the poem is "Warning".  I would have great fun writing a "male" version of this, but I will spare you the result. I think the universal appeal to this obviously has to do with a younger person looking forward to when they are of a certain age, and how they will behave - and make up for the "sobriety of their youth"!   And I think we all hope, we have "miles to go before we sleep".  I think we all applaud Jenny's attitude, regarding not going into that good night without kicking and screaming, making a fuss, and being a general nuisance!!  

MD20/20 was indeed bad stuff - I always figured if you had a few pulls on the bottle, you wouldn't be seeing 20/20 - maybe seeing double more like it.  In same league as Night Train, or some of early 70's swill like Annie Green Springs.  Or God-awful fruit flavored wines - I thought of them as bubble gum wines - if you listened to bubble gum music, you probably drank bubble gum wines.  I dimly recall their being gallon jugs of Red Mountain, which was probably filled directly from the tanker car on the train fresh up from Lodi, or wherever the fine grapes were raised.  Yes, indeed - making fine wines since 3pm!!  One of my favorite New Yorker cartoons, appearing decades ago, was a couple in a car on the freeway, looking out window at passing tanker truck with big label on side "Cheap White Wine"!  

Tonight we get our first frost in the Southern Willamette Valley, so better get these Cosmos on here while the getting's good.  Since we started keeping bees (7 hives now), we decommissioned the lawn and plant all manner of bee-friendly things - clover, borage, lots of flowers, lavender, etc..  Those bees have a lot better work ethic than most humans seem to have, these days!  And - for you Brits - they love their Queen!!  

So, if a gentleman makes a long post here on the Watercooler, does that mean he's a tall, cool drink of water??  Asking for a friend...

Mysty, 

So much of human history has played out on the high seas, and places like Straits of Gibraltar, English Channel, Straits of Hormuz, etc..  My enjoyment of cruising has been much enhanced by reading about the history (human and natural) that has played out in the areas we are cruising to or through.  So many places I had read about in history books of one type or another, but to see them first hand (whether on cruise ship or on land based trip) is on a different level - it brings it home to you.  Last time we were in Venice, we skipped the usual stuff, and spent a couple hours in their Maritime Museum.  Talk about history - the Venetians, for an extended period, controlled trade between the Far East and Europe, and exacted their toll on that trade.  The fortunes made were hard to imagine, and that is what funded all that cool stuff you see sitting out on that mudflat that is Venice.  

I was going to make an innocent post about how I started every day while cruising:  Get up, go get a latte for my dear wife to enjoy in bed, then I walk laps on the deck for an hour.  The theory was that I could then eat and drink my way through the day without having to buy a new belt.  Nice theory - an hour of walking is probably good for about one G&T.  

When I opened the window to write the above, the below popped up, I think from a cut and paste about a topic I was going to respond to elsewhere on the SS forum site a week or so ago.  You never know what will happen with these damn computers!  It might be of some interest, so what the heck.  This forum is like Calvinball - you make the rules up as you go!!  

Regarding UK Jeff's interesting post about seizure of British citizens from the coast for the slave trade, the choke point of the Straits of Gibraltar were a perfect place for the Barbary States to harass and seize ships, and hold their crews for ransom, or to sell or keep as slaves.  After the Revolutionary War, the US was no long under the protection of the British Navy, and thus vessels were subject to ongoing attacks of its shipping in this area.  Under Jefferson, a policy was undertaken to solve this problem rather than pay annual tribute to these states (as had been done before, to buy protection).  Some credit this with the creation of what became the permanent US Navy.  Below is a very brief summary, but the full story is quite interesting.  Suggest google Barbary Wars, read all about it.  

Various nations encouraged piracy when it made economic or strategic sense.  (Think: Pirates of Penzance.) And of course, it continues to this day, most notably on the eastern coast of Africa.  (Or, think ransomware today.) I have heard the quote "Millions for defense, but not a penny for tribute" ascribed to this conflict, but I think it actually had to do with a diplomatic dust-up the young US had with France.  

The First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitan War and the Barbary Coast War, was the first of two Barbary Wars, in which the United States and Sweden fought against the four North African states known collectively as the "Barbary States". Three of these were autonomous, but nominally provinces of the Ottoman Empire: Tripoli, Algiers, and Tunis. The fourth was the independent Sultanate of Morocco.^[5]

The cause of the U.S. participation was pirates from the Barbary States seizing American merchant ships and holding the crews for ransom, demanding the U.S. pay tribute to the Barbary rulers. United States President Thomas Jefferson refused to pay this tribute. Sweden had been at war with the Tripolitans since 1800.

I often think of a lyric from Bob Dylan's "My Back Pages", actually the chorus:

"Ah, but I was so much older then,

I'm younger than that now."

The song is sort of a tirade about getting an education, in a way, with a less than glowing review of (then 1970's) college education (of the more high faultin' type, I gather).  Anyway, the gist I took away from it was that the person singing the song felt they had grown younger (in the mind) by getting their perhaps "street" education - school of hard knocks and all that.  So, I keep getting younger by the minute, by that standard!

Indeed!  Yes, there's more on tap here than just cool water.  

If I were embarking at Venice, (and assuming I would do our usual practice of arriving a day or two before to de-jet lag and acclimatize), and were staying in a reasonably decent hotel in Venice, I would talk with the front desk/concierge in a most friendly, solicitous way, and explain when and where you're embarking, and throw yourselves on their tender mercies to get you there, with expectation you will pay their somewhat inflated charges for a water taxi or van or whatever.  A good concierge will call ahead, and in their nice Italian way, find out what is really going on, and help you get where you need to be, and have someone to help with your luggage.  Big tips are in order.  You should still have copy of whatever official info you have from Silver Seas, as your starting point in all this.  It is possible or likely your hotel has helped others with same issue, and may know a few tricks (their uncle works in Fusina, etc.).  Good luck.  

Dumbo is cleared for takeoff...

Captain Lyle,

My DW & I have done 4 cruises on SS (Muse & Spirit pre-stretch), and 1 (the most recent) on Seabourn Odyssey (3 weeks banging around the Adriatic & Greece).  While we liked the staff (but we always do, as we try to be as kind to them as possible & they respond), we came away saying - nope, back to SS.  The food was good but not great, the hype of Thomas Keller was tiresome, and the standard of upkeep and cleanliness was noticeably lacking.  We have friends who LOVE Seabourn and sail with them all the time.  MY DW said she felt like it was a country club crowd.  (That is not a compliment from us - too many social climbers, hyperaware of the pecking order.)  I said I thought Silver Seas is like the best faculty lounge - interesting  people to talk to, well read and educated, well traveled.  Seabourn is still a great line, one of the best, but we feel if we ever can cruise again, it will be on SS.  Wherever you land, I hope you have a splendid time!  

The Beatles, in "When I'm 64" sang "We can rent a cottage on the Isle of Wight, if it's not too dear."  I took that as an endorsement!  Good enough for the Mop Top Four, good enough for me!

Will Hoover for Tiramisu. (Will Hoover UP tiramisu??)

If you know what Hoover refers to (or Electrolux, for that matter) you have obviously made a few too many trips around the sun! 😛

True Story:  I bought some very nice peanut brittle last holiday season, made by local artisanal types, as a seasonal gift for friends.  On the lovely label affixed by gold braid was the warning in small type:  "Caution!  May contain peanuts."  😮