Quickly made this video of our adventures in the snow today … I hope that you enjoy it!

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This was the first time that we let Phoenix off lead in the park, and he loved it. He is such a winter weather dog and now he is asleep on the rug!

Original Illustration by Sidney Paget

At Christmas, my father gave me a volume of Sherlock Holmes stories and they are ideal for bedtime reading!  Not only are they great little stories, but they were all written to be read in short segments.  So, I would recommend that if you are looking for some nighttime literature that you turn to Watson’s recollections of his adventures with Mr. Holmes.

This is the first time that Burns Night has passed since 2004 that I have not had at least one haggis!  Burns Night is one of my favorite holidays from my time in the UK and I will miss it this year.  But, I will definitely have to have a dram or two of whisky later to celebrate!

(The image above is a Wordle of Burns’ Ode to a Haggis, complete with original spellings.)

A few photos from Founder’s Feast …

What say the birds of Australia to this?” – Darwin’s Origin at the National Library of Australia

From the library:

Earlier this year, the National Library of Australia acquired a copy of the first edition of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, perhaps one of the most influential books of the nineteenth century. Believed to be one of the earliest surviving copies of Darwin’s work to have arrived in Australia, the Library’s copy was first owned by Dr William Woolls of Parramatta, N.S.W. and it bears his inscription and the date March 17 1860 on the front free end paper. Woolls, a clergyman and schoolmaster, was also a noted botanist. He wrote many articles and papers on the subject and was made a fellow of the Linnean Society of London in 1865 and was later awarded a doctorate by the University of Göttingen for a dissertation on the botany of the Parramatta region. His name is commemorated in the genus Woollsia, as well as the name of six species. The book contains many penciled annotations made by Woolls and these provide a fascinating insight into the reception of Darwin’s revolutionary ideas on a well-educated reader at the other side of the world. Although many of the annotations have faded with the passage of time, some of Woolls notes are still legible. While some of the comments show agreement with Darwin’s theories, other comments call into question the author’s statements, in a couple of instances drawing upon Australian examples. Next to a passage on birds learning to fear man, for example, Woolls has written “what say the birds of Australia to this?”

Also, on a more light-hearted note … A Science Carol.  According to the note that I got about it, it is …

Performed and produced by Christopher Last, Casey Walruth & Jeffrey Tucker, this podcast constitutes a dramatic interpretation of Steven Shapin’s book ‘The Scientific Life: A Moral History of a Late Modern Vocation.’ Intended as a parody of Charles Dickens’ literary classic ‘A Christmas Carol,’ Last,Walruth & Tucker tell the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge, a miserly old scientist who embarks on a mystical journey to learn the true-meaning of science. Visitations by the Ghosts of Science Past, Present & Future help Scrooge to see that the scientific life is not exactly what he thought it to be, and that scientists themselves are as human as the next man. Dramatic acting, excellent scripting and good-natured humor make this a presentation not to be missed.

Okay, I have been taking photos since my desktop was packed up and none of them have made it online yet … but that is about to change …

Here are the first ones, from Cliff’s Birthday trip to Wychwood Brewery in Witney.

Unfortunately, none of the photos inside turned out well … anyway, more photos to come soon!

While many of the Christmas treats in England are very similar to those available in the USA, mince pies are very British.  Additionally, they are one of the few holiday foods that I know we will miss after we have settled back in America.  So, today, when I opened the BBC homepage, I was excited to see this homemade mincemeat recipe by Delia Smith and her family recipe for mince pies.  Now, when next year rolls around, we can make our own mince pies … instead of relying on Marks & Spencer to supply them!

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While she is best known for the Migrant Mother, many of her other works are visually more interesting and tell much better stories …

Oregon, August 1939. "Unemployed lumber worker goes with his wife to the bean harvest. Note Social Security number tattooed on his arm." (And now a bit of Shorpy scholarship/detective work. A public records search shows that 535-07-5248 belonged to one Thomas Cave, born July 1912, died in 1980 in Portland. Which would make him 27 years old when this picture was taken.)

Or, something closer to home (aka, North Carolina) …

Fourth of July 1939 near Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Rural filling stations become community centers and general loafing grounds. Cedargrove Team members about to play in a baseball game.

For me, both of these images speak volumes. The top image is of two people that, in today’s world, could make a good living with their looks but who are having to live meal-to-meal. The bottom image shows the type of community that is rare to find today, plus I love the vintage baseball uniforms.

Saw this on Something for the Weekend this morning and it looked very good … especially over the Christmas vacation!

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp muscovado syrup
• 60ml/2¼fl oz extra viejo rum
• 15ml/½fl oz chestnut liqueur
• 2 dashes chocolate bitters
• ice cubes
• 1 x 7.5cm/3in sliver clementine peel
• twist lemon peel, to serve

Methods:

1. Pour the muscovado syrup, rum, chestnut liqueur and chocolate bitters into a whisky tumbler, one after the other.
2. Add the ice cubes and clementine peel and stir.
3. To serve, hook the twist of lemon peel over the edge of the glass. Serve with roasted chestnuts.

This last week, as part of the St Cross Colloquia, I was recorded and podcasted!  If you want to download the presentation, click here.

While it was a good experience, I don’t like how my voice sounds on the recording and, for some reason, I kept saying “um” during the talk (especially, the first part of it).  Anyway, it is out there and is something to go on my CV …