100 year old Corn Chowder recipe, Ida Bailey Allen recipe

The show is up and running and now I'm bored. Too early for gardening, too early for integrating new chickens, too early for..... pretty much anything I want to do.   The internet is completely bereft of any good UFO stuff right now . No new sightings of aliens,chupacabra,swamp monsters or anything else .........So, I'm looking for Ida to entertain me.  And I think I will let her entertain me with classic corn chowder..  I've made this chowder several times with a minor change. I add a little finely chopped carrot.

100 year old Corn Chowder recipe

2 slices salt pork or bacon
2 tbs minced onion
2 cups diced potatoes
3 cups boiling water
2 cups corn
4 cups milk
1 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tbs flour

1. Saute onions and salt pork/bacon together until onions are clear.
2. Add Potatoes and water, simmer until potatoes are tender.
3. Add corn, seasonings and milk, let simmer for  about 10 minutes
4. Thicken with the flour and let simmer for five minutes 

Watson, SKYNET, End of the world, Brad and Ken we are depending on YOU. We are in Jeopardy!

Brad and Ken MUST  win or SKYNET  will become a reality!!!!!!!
IBM is about to rule the world in an end of the world as we know it kind of way, SKYNET,HAL and BIG BROTHER all rolled into one.  If ever we were going to run screaming ....NOW IS THE TIME.
The name of this terror?  WATSON! Learn it, know it, fear it.
Jimmy is hoping that tonight's questions include a category in gibberish: pig latin, baby talk, sub culture slang...... anything that is distinctly  human abstract thinking.  Anything to prove that in the end the human ability to adapt and decode multiple levels of communication instantly....... will save us!
How completely appropriate that our first mass  exposure to this   technology is on a show called JEOPARDY!   

Classic American Garden, Backyard chickens, No French Carrots, Cold Frames, No Frills

Jimmy Wins. No baby chicks this year. We will be buying  young laying hens to replace the  the reds.  Jimmy made a good argument about how with show season upon us we just don't have the time to babysit.  ...Annnddd he wants eggs NOW.  The reds look like they are getting ready to lay again.  We can tell because their combs are beginning to poof up and are getting a brighter color red.  I'm going to miss them when they are gone. But, gone they will be.  All of them are pretty mad at me right now.  They need to get used to the idea of being penned up for the gardening season so I have started shooing them into the pen around 4 pm.   We cant just suddenly pen them up one day. The noise levels from their bitching would be intolerable.  For those of you wondering about the penning ...don't worry, relative to their size, the pen area they have to run in is enormous. 10x14 with an extra 8x10  exercise yard we let them into to dig around in the grass. Even penned up they are still  'free range'.  Even penned up they are still spoiled and demanding. But the garden must be protected from them. Especially this year as food prices are predicted to skyrocket.  When Jimmy and I first started our little backyard suburban farm....it was an experiment in quality of life. I think maybe this year it will be a necessity. And this year it is spreading to the front yard.  The big beautiful 50 ft pine tree in the front had to go down this winter, much to my tree hugging dismay.  We had to make a choice..... toilet or tree.  Yep the roots were breaking the plumbing pipes.  Makes me very sad, but the upside is  sunny garden space in the front yard.   Full sun almost all day.  Jimmy and I were thinking it might be a good place for the squash since we always underestimate the jungle  that our squash plants turn into. 
 Its raining in Seattle...... SURPRISE! But as soon as we get a nice day we are going to add new soil, condition it and then build our cold frames over the boxes . We are beginning our starts in the garage next week.  Our  garden grid will NOT  include  french carrots this year. Those things were a waste of space.  We have pretty much decided to go all classic American garden.... no boutique veggies.  We are going to have a 'no frills' garden to go with the new American 'no frills' economy.      

The Promise of Energy Psycology a review, Well... sort of a book review

Well boys and girls, Today we are doing a book review...... sort of , Mostly I am letting you know about something that I have had success with.

THE PROMISE OF ENERGY PSYCOLOGY
I bought the book through Amazon.com back in June of 2010.
One of the best purchases I have ever made.
The techniques that are laid out in an easy to understand, step by step, process really do work...... with caveats of course. 
The information you need to get started is given up front in the first chapter (which is great for people like me who spend the first 3 chapters of every non-fiction book asking 'what is your point?')  The authors lay out a fast and easy basic recipe,  which quite frankly after 9 months of playing with it, I can honestly say works.....especially in emergent or stressful situations. It relies on the points in your body that are used by acupuncturists....minus the needles.  By lightly tapping on these points and stating what you need, (using the  script the authors provide) you can change your energy and emotional state in just a couple of short  minutes. (I've been using it for 9 months and I am still surprised at the obvious, immediate and positive responses I get from others) I have used it to change my energy / attitude for interviews, cravings, confrontations, trips to the dentist and visits with my mother.  I have also had some success with  breaking habits and building new  routines that support what I want to do.  Since I have been using the technique laid out in the book  my studio has become more organized and I have been able to focus my energy on creativity. When I need to switch gears from  creating  art to marketing and presentation of  said art, that feeling of being zapped by a tazer is not so bad (its still there... it has just dropped the voltage considerably).   One of the coolest things to come out of using the technique is the ability to ask for the solution to a problem.  I'm not lazy....I have no problem with doing the work needed for anything from relationships to fixing the car.  But I get really pissed when I'm working on something and everything I try fails.  So, being handed actionable solutions just by asking  is a gift from the universe.

CAVEAT

The book claims that deep psych issues can be worked out with this process.  Deeply ingrained self esteem issues and the such.   Maybe I don't have the patience to keep at the process or maybe I need to work with a group but some of the info that I get from working on the long term issues is overwhelming enough to make me walk away from it.   I recommend if you use the technique for deep issues  that you either have professional counseling support or put together a group of folks who  can be objective and supportive at the same time.  The authors do a great job in the 300 pages they have in the book, of trying to address these things. But it is only a book and people really do need people in some situations.
That said, I have been buying this book for friends and family  for 6 months now and the ones who have actually cracked it open are reporting successes such as  finally getting a job, weight loss,  better focus, better general attitude and so forth.  Feral Jane and Slick willie  feel free to chime in on the comments sections.

So, the technique is a good new tool to add to the  'quality of life ' toolbox.  The book is an easy read.  Its possible to see immediate results.  Go ahead and try it and then let me know what your results are.
 I'm keeping track even if its just anecdotal.  Here is the Amazon link for anyone who is interested.
http://www.amazon.com/Promise-Energy-Psychology-Revolutionary-Dramatic/dp/1585424420/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1297710879&sr=8-1