Category: Learned List

1.Have you ever heard of a leucistic raccoon? I read about it on The Frugal Girl blog in the comments and had to look it up. Leucistic means an abnormal condition of reduced pigmentation affecting various animals (such as birds, mammals, and reptiles) that is marked by overall pale color or patches of reduced coloring”. (But why isn’t it albino??)

2. There is a website with all sorts of information about comfortable shoes for women, recommended according to one’s foot condition. Alas, Barking dogs shoes doesn’t mention neuropathy.

3. While we are on the topic of comfortable shoes, there is a brand I’ve never heard before of shoes with wide toe-boxes. (Have you ever wondered why we squish our toes to a point in shoes? What’s the point?) The brand is Bronax. (I’m still wearing Crocs.)

4. Never let cockleburs get into your hair. NEVER.

5. While wasting time on the internet, I stumbled across this little piece of wisdom. “When you desire, admire, don’t acquire.” It isn’t necessary to own things just because you like them. This is important for those of us who try to keep our possessions to a minimum. I am in that group, because the more I stuff I own, the more stuff breaks (and gets lost).

6. Straw sausages have a weird name: waddles wattles. (Thanks, JC!) (And thanks MB for correcting the spelling)

7. I drive a “three-peddle car“. This charming term came to me from a friend who loves cars, so I am now using it. (Thanks, JR!)

8. Theobot is Artificial Intelligence to describe art. I posted a drawing to it, and it came up with 4 paragraphs of flowery gobbledygook. This is one of the paragraphs, and the robot didn’t know to use the article “an” when a word begins with a vowel. It used the word “tranquil” twice in one sentence. (I won’t be using AI for a long time, if ever.) “The background features majestic mountains, their peaks lightly shrouded by clouds or mist, conveying a sense of elevation and the grandeur of a alpine wilderness. The careful shading and attention to detail throughout create a realistic and tranquil scene reminiscent of a tranquil wilderness escape.”

9. A blog reader (Hi Marlena!) told me that Jackson looks as if he might be a Savannah cat. This is a breed I’ve never heard of. I looked it up, and decided that no, more likely he has Bengal in him, because he looks like our former cat Samson. However, Samson was active and liked water, whereas Jackson is fat and grumpy and always hungry.

10. Just for fun, here is a list of about 100 things you can do to boost happiness in your life—The Emotion Machine.com

If you receive this in your email and want to see the photos, click on the title “Nine New Things Learned in December”.

One of those things is actually a relearning situation. I’ll put it last because it makes my head spin, which makes it hard to type.

1. Did you know you can order pet prescriptions from Chewy? You need a vet to allow you to connect with them, and the vet has to approve the order, of course. But it certainly beats trying to wrestle this guy into a box or pen for a long car ride, although I did have to restrain him while my vet friend/neighbor examined his boo-boo. Jackson was very displeased with the entire situation.

2. You know all those ads for “miracle cures“, prescription-free supplements guaranteed to fix whatever your health problem is? They all employ the same tactics of “Call now with this special code for this amazing one-time offer”. Then, it turns out that you have to order a 12-month supply of their product in order to get the promised discount. They all guarantee their stuff for 90 days, but it is supposed to work after 90 days, so how are you supposed to get the refund when you don’t know if you have used it long enough? Despite knowing this pattern and recognizing the hard-sell tactics, once again hope has triumphed over experience. I ordered a 3-month supply of a “mystery herb, recently rediscovered” and expect it to fix my peripheral neuropathy.

3. apricity (noun): The warmth of the sun in winter. I find myself seeking apricity during December.

4. Apple cider vinegar is a current cure-all food trend. If it comes with the mother, it is better for you. This means it contains natural probiotics. So, if you want to use “ACV” as it is known by its aficionados, pay twice as much as store brand so it comes with its mommy.

5. The mystery of why some of my blog subscribers can see the photos in their email notifications and other blog subscribers cannot is getting closer to being solved. Those with Apple devices who use either the app that came with the device or use Yahoo to read their mail cannot see the photos. Those who use Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, or AOL are able to see the photos. After spending 1-1/2 hour on the phone with Apple, all they could say was that I need to call the host of my website. Ugh.

6. Kaweah Arts will have a new location. They will close right after First Saturday (January 6, 2024) and reopen in March at The Dome! This is so excellent—I rely on Kaweah Arts to do my selling in town.

7. When I told a bank teller that I was having trouble balancing a checkbook, probably because the ink is too faded on my printing ten-key, she taught me how to change the ink cylinder. I didn’t even know it had such a thing!

8. “Lido” means outdoor swimming pool. I learned this while reading the novel The Lido, by Libby Page. I’d heard the term “lido deck” in reference to a particular level on a cruise ship but had no idea what it meant. It’s been 10 years since I went on that cruise, so I can’t remember if the lido deck contained a swimming pool. I do remember a pool on the way to one of the dining areas that was always loud and splashy with children, but I didn’t photograph that one.

9. A friend once told me that Adobe and Mac are like 2 people in a bad divorce. This little piece of wisdom came alive again when it took me about 2 hours to design a little sticker using Photoshop Elements. I searched and searched for help online, and every piece of instruction said to use tools that were not there. I finally stumbled across what I needed, no thanks to “Photoshop help”, Adobe, or online tutorials. No matter how many times I have used Photoshop Junior or InDesign, or even Word, each time I return to it nothing makes sense.

10. Reimer’s Candies and Gifts in Three Rivers has sold to Stafford’s Chocolates from Porterville. I know no more regarding name changes or products, although a friend enlightened me to Stafford’s a few years ago, proclaiming their chocolates to be superior to any she had ever had in her well-traveled life. (Good grief—I’ve lived in Tulare County 64 years, and she’d only been here 2 years at the time!)

Did you learn anything in December? (I hope it didn’t include frustrating head-spinning sessions with Adobe programs or non-functioning photos on Apple devices.)

In case you can’t remember what we learned in previous years, here are the past three Decembers for you.

EIGHT THINGS Learned in December 2022

ELEVEN THINGS Learned in December 2021

ELEVEN THINGS Learned in December 2020

Long month; many new ideas, thoughts, trivia, and items of interest for you.

1. Old coffee grounds do NOT act as fertilizer; instead, the caffeine (yes, even in used grounds) acts as an herbicide. (I read this in a science magazine.) This could explain the poor growth in the planting bed by my front porch. . . 24 years of using an herbicide instead of fertilizer. . . oy vey.

2. The creature that I was certain is a vole is almost certainly a gopher, according to Trail Guy. None of the animal reference books at the cabin have gophers in them, so how was I to know? By asking Trail Guy instead of consulting the books, of course.

3. Have you heard the saying “Someone got a wild hair” to describe random or risky behavior? Turns out that the saying is “wild hare”; I wonder why an untamed rabbit causes people to go rogue.

4. Did you know that very few people value their hubcaps? I’m certain there must be a study, a poll, or a survey that confirms this. I have sent photos of the found hubcaps to the place where Mineral King folks get their news, and NO ONE CARES. They recently went into the trash.

5. A friend of mine is frugal almost to the point of absurdity; I have learned many things from her through the years. (The Queen of Cheapa) A recent adventure in frugality was fixing her own tooth when a crown fell off. She bought dental cement online, rinsed with peroxide, dried the tooth, and reapplied her own crown. I wonder how long it will last; if I hear more, I will include it on another Learned List for you.

6. Enzyme cleaners in tablet form for contact lenses have become impossible to find. ‘Tis a mystery.

7. Everything is a process. Want insurance? Start making phone calls, working through “phone trees”, leaving messages, waiting. Want to do something with your phone? Start making phone calls, leaving messages, listening to robots lying to you about “your call is very important to us”. Need a medical appointment? Be prepared to be on hold, to hear multiple reassuring messages about how much “we care about your health”, and then plan on getting multiple phone calls to “preregister”, to “verify”, to “confirm”, and to “prepare”. My opinion is that everyone is overloaded with precautions that waste everyone’s time, all in the hopes of not getting sued. It all comes down to lawyers and insurance. Further, big companies are difficult to deal with.

8. If you switch cell phone providers, you have to get a A. transfer PIN, B. account number (which account #??), C. unlock your phone from the previous provider. I emboldened C because the new provider neglected to mention this and many hours were wasted on the phone with the new provider trying to establish the reason for the new phone’s inability to work. The phones are still locked after more wasted time with the old provider, our old nemesis Huge & Rude (and incomprehensible).(See #7 and then find our new vocabulary word on #10)

9. The Clover Creek Bridge in Sequoia National Park was NOT built by the Civilian Conservation Corps; it was built by a construction company before the CCCs came into the Park. Additionally there is another one like it that most people just fly over without actually seeing: the Marble Fork Bridge (the creek after it runs through Lodgepole campground). You can learn more about these bridges on Tulare County Treasures.

10. A friend sent me this most excellent new word: “ineptocracy”. (see item #7) Look at the definition, and see if you can relate:  Ineptocracy (in-ep-toc’-ra-cy) – a system of government where the least capable to lead, are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

11. Here is a little gift of a link to a very touching story on Tim Cotton Writes: The Last Impala.

Perhaps you could use a peaceful seasonal image after all that information. I am happy to oblige.

There is a common thread running through this month’s list. You will see what I’ve been focusing on learning lately.

1. Our front yard has a creature in it. It’s a vole. I’ve never seen one of those before.

2. A friend showed us these inflatable solar lights from REI. Sounds like a great way to not use propane at the cabin, but the lights themselves run from about $30-$50, depending on the size. Inflatable!?!

3. Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchauspé is a book that has inspired me to change the way I eat. It is well-researched, well-written, and makes a ton of sense. Here it is on ThriftBooks (I got my copy at the library).

4. CACHE is starting a new quest to gather money to have longer hours. Their attempts to secure grants have been unsuccessful, so they will be asking 300 people to give $100/year for two years in order to be open more hours. This makes much more sense to me: the local people who care will be more involved if they feel responsible for helping to keep it running. You should see the museum now—it is fabulous, nothing like the normal small town history museums! CACHE = Center for Arts, Culture, & History, Exeter, and their website is here: CACHE

5. I learned how to transfer a pattern from a picture on the computer to a life-size outline on a wall.

6. Xylitol is a zero calorie sweetener made from the bark of birch trees. (Birch trees?? Who figured this out?) It is supposed to work on a 1:1 exchange with sugar in baking (too expensive for me!), and the reviews are mixed. Glucose Revolution says it might still spike your glucose (how?? why??); other sources say it is a great substitute without side effects. I think it tastes better than stevia (but I still prefer real sugar, so there!)

7. Monk fruit (what in the world?) is the favored non-sugar sweetener these days. I haven’t tried it yet.

8. Currants are difficult to pick, and when you run them through a juicer, they make orange goo rather than juice. If you want to make jelly, pick way way way more than you think you need, boil them awhile, then mash them in a colander for a long time to let the juice appear. Or, you can dig a hole in your garden and bury the entire mess.

9. Did you know that buffalo are classified as bovines? I didn’t know either, until they were listed as possible subjects to enter into the current exhibit at CACHE, called “A Bovine State of Mind”.

10. I heard somewhere that only 18% of Americans now attend church regularly. I’m not sure how “regularly” is actually defined here; I go native/rogue/heathen in the summer, and then attend regularly when the cabin is closed for the year. I love my church.

A follow-up on nine topics mentioned in previous posts.

August is a long month, and the new information kept coming, so instead of the usual 7 or 8 items, this month there are 10: Elvis, a couple of books, some poems, and other fascinating facts for you!

1. Elvis was naturally blond but he dyed his hair black. I read this in Bill O’Reilly’s Killing the Legends, which I didn’t finish because A. I don’t have an interest in celebrities and B. it was very depressing. (Why did I start it? Just normal curiosity, which often leads me to check out books that I don’t finish.)
2. Trails develop cracks. When the cracks are lateral (running the length of the trail), it means the ground was super saturated and the snow weight was substantial. Repairing such cracks before the trail sloughs away requires some real hard work.
3. A1C. Ick. Would prefer not to know. Would prefer to live on ice cream. However, I am a responsible adult and have been diligently paying attention to what I consume in order to lower that number before it becomes a problem. Essentially, forgoing sweets simply makes me feel both righteous and perpetually dissatisfied.
4. The Art of Frugal Hedonism is a fun book, written by two Australians. I didn’t finish this one either, but enjoyed the turn of phrase. (Phooey, wish I had copied a few down to share with you.)
5. I helped a friend get an extremely heavy piece of black oak for his wordworking hobby. He used some of it to make this turned wooden bowl for me. It is about 6″ in diameter, maybe even 8″. It is perfect to hold my Very Important Items at the cabin.*
6. That slanted side pocket on Carhartt pants is so that things won’t fall out when you sit down. The tall part of the slant is in the back.
7. Two little poems about the size of Texas: The sun has riz/The sun has set/And here we is/
   In Texas yet!
   —
   Oh, the distances in Texas aren’t so very far.
   We’ve driven from border to border and only wore out one car!
8. Did you know there is a trend called “restocking“? It is people repackaging consumable items into pretty containers and arranging everything to be aesthetically pleasing in their pantries, refrigerators, linen closets, etc. Then they film themselves doing this along with the results and post it online. WHY??? Do they expect to get rich and famous? Maybe they ought to learn to do something useful instead, real work, like plumbing or welding.
9. 105.5 FM is called The Legend and plays classic country music. (I cannot define “classic” but am guessing it means music older than about 10 years, or is it 20. . .?) I think it is based in Fresno. You can play “name that tune”, or “name that artist”, but they don’t seem to have a real DJ to tell you what you have heard or are about to hear. 
10. At a recent “happy hour” gathering, some friends wanted to supply me with something non-alcoholic to drink (not because I was getting sloppy, but because I don’t drink alcohol). They introduced me to this stuff: Lagunitas Hoppy Refresher. It wasn’t bad; it fits right there with all those sparkly nothing drinks like La Croix.

*camera, sunglasses, and keys, if I happened to drive up the hill rather than hitchhike** or go with Trail Guy.

**Just kidding! I often catch a ride with a neighbor heading up, but have never stuck out my thumb.

Most of these fall under the category of Cowboy Logic, but it is fun to learn and see them in action.

1. When diverting flowing water from a trail, go to the highest point of trouble first; then look for the first best place to send it down to its correct channel. 
2. When repairing a sinkhole in a road, put boulders in first and fit them together as close as possible; keep adding rocks of progressively smaller sizes, and put the dirt in last. Also, be sure to have a backhoe and an operator handy.
3. Baby peregrine falcons could get blown out of their nests by the concussion if you explode a boulder nearby. But the real reason for not using explosives near a nest is that drilling the rock is the most upsetting sound to them.
4. This Irish saying tickled my funnybone: “May those that love us, love us, and for those that don’t love us, may God turn their hearts, and if he can’t turn their hearts, may he turn their ankles so we know them by their limping.”
5. Ever heard of a “tulipiere“? A friend told me about them. They are special vases, invented in Holland in the 1600s for holding tulips, which were considered expensive status symbols. (The tulips, not the vases). It is pronounced, er, never mind. Can’t write it correctly.
6. When your radiator disintegrates, it is best to not be on a steep road on a hot day, but if the road is closed, everyone who shows up will be a friend. (No photos of Fernando disabled on the side of the road nor as he was being towed away; he is repaired now.) 
7. Every heard of “24 7 Day”? It is July 24, which is 7/24 or flipped, 24-7. This has been turned into a day of appreciation for first responders, and many stop-and-rob stores honor people that day who have badges or are wearing uniforms of first responders. (“honor”– maybe they get free coffee)
8. When you have a skittish cat with a booboo (nope, not showing a photo of Tucker with a fat face) who cannot be captured in a carrier or a box, it is good to find a traveling veterinarian and to have a large bank balance. (THANK YOU, DR. McCONE, 559-942-1101)

Thus we conclude a month of some difficult circumstances, new experiences, and random pieces of trivial information, (but no talk of hiking in Mineral King when it is closed to the public.)

P.S. Anyone know of a Honda or Toyota (no Civics, Elements, or Tercels) for sale with less than 100,000 miles and a manual transmission?? I am ready.

1. Mulberries are SWEET. Some friends brought a bowl to church to share, and they were so sweet that my teeth almost started humming.
2. A gabion basket is a wire mesh cube, perhaps 4x4x4 feet. It gets filled with rocks, and then it serves as a solid piece to built up a road bed or shoulder.
3. A Foley fork, also called granny fork or a blending fork (because “Foley” is a brand name) is an old-fashioned kitchen tool that some people just cannot be without. There is interesting info about it on this website, called The Baking Wizard. (Nope, I don’t want one—simply found it interesting.)
4. There is an entire subculture of foragers, with a website called “Falling Fruit“, which maps where there is free stuff for the picking all over the world! The Central Valley’s flyover status is confirmed in that although we feed the world, we do not appear on that map (unless it gets greatly enlarged and you locate an orange or fig tree overlapping a sidewalk in Fresno). I love to glean walnuts and citrus from friends’ groves, have occasionally picked Miner’s Lettuce to add to salads, wished to find the wild berries along the Mineral King Road (but never stopped to look), picked elderberries for jelly, and never hesitated to ask someone with a pomegranate tree if they had extra. Foraging in public spaces in a city sounds very bold.
5. The price of flat screen televisions has dropped significantly. However, there is catch: you have to pay someone techie to hook it up and teach you how to operate it. (If it was up to me, I would not own one.) Furthermore, there is no way to get rid of “non-smart” teevees. No one wants or needs them, even if they work. (The cable company said it was the teevee, but it turned out to be their cable box that got fried in the 2 power outages and restarts.)
6. A friend who participates in 12-step programs told me about a list of questions for consideration that she received in one of her meetings. The question that grabbed my attention is one that we all need to ask ourselves in many situations: Why am I talking? (I once heard Rush say “Before you pick up your phone and dial this show, ask yourself the question ‘Does anyone care?'”)
7. There is a monastery in Dubuque, Iowa, where the monks make caskets. This sounds like a weird thing to learn, but the caskets are beautiful. They provide free caskets to people who have lost a child, and they do not accept orders online, only over the phone. They are called “Trappist Caskets“. I hope none of you need this information anytime soon, but it is an undeniable truth of life that none of us will leave this planet alive (unless Jesus raptures us outta here.)
8. Have you ever heard of terramation? This is a new alternative to cremation also called “human composting, a process whereby your body is turned into compost and then spread in your garden. It is legal in five states and you can read about it here.

Well. Alrighty then. Ahem. This had a bit too much morbidity. What does it mean? 

Why am I talking?? 

Over and out.