cheese

We saw wheels of cheese on display at the huge food show, Salone Del Gusto, in Turin, Italy.  They were naked, so to speak, except that many were covered in a fine white mold.  Earlier, at Nijmegan in the Netherlands, where we stopped to find the orphanage from which my great grandparents had emigrated to America, we saw huge wheels of that most Dutch of all cheeses, gouda, on display in shop windows.  Many of these were covered in a wax coating.  The Dutch, you know, are famous for washing their front stoop on a daily basis.  Quirky people, the Dutch.  Very clean.  In America I have found that in order to enjoy a good gouda, which I very much love, I must buy it covered in the wax but then also wrapped in plastic.  This makes Americans what?  "Nuts" jumps to mind.

Jim    

sideways

We were at the southern tip of the major rain/wind event that moved through northern Kandiyohi on the morning of this 19th of May.  The rain fell sideways against our south facing kitchen windows and I ate my breakfast watching it and wondering at how much it must be like viewing a very clear river from the bottom.  I think building construction must be a different process here on the prairie compared to the more eastern and wooded parts of our Midwest, as the walls here must be as water proof as the roof.

Did you ever consider how inaccurate rain gauges are in a strong wind?  To prove it, hold a water glass upright but tilted away from you so you can see it in the same way wind driven rain hits the gauge and see how much smaller the open top is!

Half inch this time.  (or whatever) We are going to need it.

Jim