Hi everyone! This week we have an article on my bowling trip for Summer Fun. Also,on Thursday a guy named Sam Coulter came to the library and played some renaissance music and some other stuff so we’ll have article on that.
This week the poll will be a little different so read the article titled, “Which dragon are you?” and then do the poll.
This issue of Odds-n-Ends is dedicated to Grandpa Stan; June 3, 1938-August 2nd 2003
| Donations to Support this Newsletter Gladly Accepted |
ODDS-N-ENDS
6063 N. Piedra
Sanger, Ca. 93657
559-787-2831
In This Issue....
Articles and Links....
In Memory Of Stanley White
Paul recently began insisting we play fetch with him....no kidding, he initiated this game!
The Hurdy Gurdy Man
My Bowling Trip
Recipe from Mexico
Dragon Poll
Recently Paul has insisted that we play fetch with him. No kidding, he actually initiated this game!!!
Mammoth Moth
Back Issues
On Saturday, August 2nd in the evening. my Grandpa Stan died. He was diagnosed with colon cancer about two years ago The cancer also spread to his lungs and his liver. Here is a little excerpt from my article on grandpa Stan (you can find the rest in the back issues) .
“Stanley White was born on June 3, 1938 in Kansas City, MO. He has a sister (Beverly) and that lives back in MO. He has graduated from 6 colleges and he has a degree in Russian language from California State University in Fresno. Some of the colleges that he went to are southern Baptist University, William Jewell college, and California state university at Hayward. He and Grandma Sherry married in May,1967 in Hayward California. From there they moved to Manteca and had 5 children on the way. Paul, John, Shawn, Jason and Daniel. John was my father.”
A couple of things come to mind when thinking of Grandpa. Grandma Sherry thinks of him playing chess, mom and I think of his lousy jokes and his love for yard sales. I also remember that he tested out various supplements for my science fair project last year.
Grandpa Stan was really good at chess, and it was his favorite pastime. He also really, really like Pepsi.
Grandpa belonged to a group called Men of Promise. The Men of Promise were in the process of opening up several group homes for troubled kids when Grandpa died.. In his honor, they have decided to name one of the group homes, the Stan White House. The Stan White House will have a plaque and a picture of him.
And, in the immortal words of Grandpa Stan (and the joke he most often told); What did one twin say to the other twin? Hey, we’re womb mates!
We'll miss you Grandpa
The first instrument he played was called the Citole. The citole is a string instrument that was popular from the 12th through 15th century. Almost all of the Citole (the back, ribs, and neck) is carved from a piece of solid wood and then the front is made from a separate piece of wood and then fitted on there. The top (where the tuning pegs are) is called the peg head. It’s not called that because it’s the head of the instrument, but because a head was usually carved there.
Another instrument played was a drum and a little flute thing. The drum was called a side drum and was made out of goat hide and wood and some other stuff. It was played at the same time as playing the flute (which is called the tabor pipe). The tabor pipe is meant to be played with one hand and it has 3 holes.
He also played the bagpipes, and we got an interesting little history lesson. The bagpipes do not come from Scotland, but from the middle east. The bagpipes he played were called small pipes and sounded quieter and gentler.
The most interesting instrument was called a symphonie or a hurdy gurdy. It was a little box that had a belt so you could strap it around your waist. Then you turned the little wheel and pressed the wooden keys. It sounded like the bagpipes for some reason.
The performance was really cool because he did some card tricks and we learned a lot about the renaissance period. This time I was the only person to volunteer to help with anything, just like in the magic show. Below are some links I thought were interesting and the last one is Sam Coulter’s website. Check it out, its got some pictures and samples of music.
Interesting site on Renaissance period
This is a web site explaining traveling minstrels and courts jesters ETC.
Here is Sam Coulter’s website, I got some info on the instruments from here.
Sam's Ciole
Sam's Small Pipes
Sam with his Small Pipes
Sam's Tabor Drum
Sam's Hurdy Gurdy
I had to get up kind of early since we had to be there at 9:15. The reason we had to be there so early was so we could come back in time for lunch. Anyway, we had to get on a bus and we went to a place called Cedar Lanes. When we got there we had to get bowling shoes (do they even make normal looking bowling shoes?), unless you were wearing tennis shoes. Luckily for me I wore my tennis shoes.
One of my friends got one shoe that was neon green, yellow, and pink and the other shoe had the same color just a different pattern. Another friend of mine got two shoes that looked really ugly and each shoe had a different color shoe lace. After thinking about ugly bowling shoes, I decided they must make them that way so that nobody in their right mind would steal them. Either that or they were so ugly that no one wanted them and they got them for a really low price.
After eventually figuring out how to work the little computer score thingy we started bowling. Un-luckily for me, I got stuck with the 12 pound ball (which hurt my wrist) while everybody else got 10 and 8 pound balls.
At the end of our game we were arguing over how the scoring worked, some said the lowest score won, and some said it was the high sores that won. After everyone decided that the lowest score won, they said I won. When I returned home, I found out from Phillip that I had not won but lost horribly.
...made up a recipe here in Oaxaca and it has been a hit. I thought that you could include it in your newsletter, if you want.
For the filling:
3 or 4 large or 4 or 5 medium RIPE mangos
(Ripe mangos are slightly soft and smell very strongly sweet. They should should also be red and orange with some green, as opposed to mostly green with some red/orange. You can buy unripe ones and let them ripen in a paper bag.)
For the crisp topping:
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup chopped macademia nuts (or almonds)
Note: This recipe makes about 2 cups of topping. We always make more because Ryan loves the stuff and will eat it raw.
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Peel the mangos and cube the flesh. This is a tricky process. Here is a website that explains how to do it: http://pub76.ezboard.com/facookscommunityfrm1.showMessage?topicID=20.topic
Put the mangos in a 8" x 8" x 2" square pan.
3. Mix the flour and the brown sugar into a bowl Add the butter and cut it into the flour mixture. You can use a food processor, but I always mix it with my hands, sort of squishing it all together until it is crumbly looking.
4. Add the nuts and mix by hand until the mixture looks like small clumps of crumbly topping.
5. Spread the topping evenly over the mangos.
6. Bake until the topping is brown and the filling is bubbling, about 30 minutes
The link here is link for an online quiz to find out which dragon you are. Each dragon has different traits ETC. After you get your results, vote on the poll. By the way, I was the Green dragon. http://www.geocities.com/teo592/quiz/dragon.html
