84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 23, 2000 On Being a Farm Wife (and other hazards) Joyce Bupp The progress potential is awe some. Computerized monitoring of our households is just around the comer. Somewhere. Commonplace to our living quarters of the future will be comprehensive home-watch sys tems, featuring such promises as digital printouts from your freezer and refrigerator, confirm ing at a quick glance that the ice cream is staying frozen and the leftover pizza cool. And glowing numbers blinking at you while you vacuum up dog hair and barn straw from the living room carpet, noting perhaps the motor power load and the machine’s dust-gulping function working at 95 percent peak capacity. Which would blink “error, error, error!” when you accidentally pick up one of the kids’ small toys which lodges in the machine’s innards and have to be re-programmed after it sucks up a Lego block. We’re headed there, if we be lieve the predictions of the gee whiz, digital developers. Having just read about a computer-fu ture-convention, where one of the features was a computerized barbecue grill (yeah...go figure), I can’t help but anticipate this with just a shade of skepticism. Rather than just pester me Menopause Separate Fact From Fiction LEBANON (Lebanon Co.) Menopause, Separating Fact From Fiction, is the third in a se ries of workshops sponsored by Lebanon Family Health Services, 1 Cumberland St., Lebanon. The workshop on Tues. Nov. 14, from 7 p.m. - 8 p.m., will be taught by Dr. Carol Baase. She with information. I’d like the promise of a computerized sys tem which really tackles the mundane, ordinary household challenges. How about a digitalized refrig erator-freezer, which not only de frosts itself, but also cleans itself out once a week? Give me a sys tem that dumps out the fuzzy, half-cup of leftover lima bean s...the blue-hued, half-crust of bread...that container 0f...n0 thanks, I don’t even want to know. Just please pitch it for me. Now that would be progress. Give me a computerized clean ing system that faithfully pro grammed every three days, or so pokes itself under the appli ance cart to suck up those errant grapes which por ** the clusters the grandkids . ibbling, roll across our wci» ui ained, old farmhouse, slightly-tilted floor and go into hiding. A system that doggedly goes after the popula tion explosion of dust bunnies re producing under the beds. An entertainment system capable of both taping and storing pro grams from the TV and polishing thi sticky handprints from its own screen. Now that would be progress. Give me a system that keeps track of where I left my sneakers the last time I took them off. A will address signs, symptoms, and treatments including alter native therapies. A $5 donation is requested. Make checks payable to LFHS, 1 Cumberland St., Lebanon, PA 17042. For more information or to register, call (717) 273-6741. system that scans the mail, which methodically sorts the nu merous bills into one pile and tosses the lone check onto anoth er, while at the same time rip ping and shredding all that junk mail into garden mulch. Give me a microwave which intuitively knows what to have ready for mid-day lunch and pinpoint the exact time between 11:45 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. when The Farmer will show up to eat it. Give me a coffeepot that emp ties its own grounds, refills itself, and dumps the half-cup of re maining brew when it reaches in dustrial-strength staleness. Give me a digital dishwasher which unloads itself and stows the glasses away in the cupboard without breaking them. Give me a computerized bath tub-n-tile scrubber. An automatic bedsheet remover which carts the bedclothes to the basement, hangs them out to dry in the sun shine, then carts them back and re-installs them before bedtime. Give me a computerized sys tem to scrub forage-harvester and combine grease out of tee shirts and jeans. Which turns socks right-side-out. Which re trieves the buttons gobbled off during the washing process and sews them back on automatical ly- And, computer guys, while you’re fine-tuning all this stuff, how about figuring out how we can have appliances which reset their own digital brains after the power flickers off, without sitting there and flashing “888888” at us in glowing red numbers. Now, THAT would be pro gress. Built with Land Pride Quality & reliability. Betts Equipment 3139 Windy Bush Road.Rt 232 New Hope, PA 18938 215-598-7501 Hoober, Inc. Mam Street Intercourse, PA 17534 717-768-8231 Hoober, Inc. East Mam Street McAlisferville, PA 17049 717-463-2191 Deerfield Ag & Turf Center, Inc. RR 2 Box 212 Watsontown, PA 17777 570-538-3557 Detlan Equipment, Inc. 141 East Mam St Silverdale, PA 18962 215-257-5177 Thomas L. Dunlap Rt 220, Mam St Exit Jersey Shore, PA 17740 570-398-1391 Whafs The Difference Between A Spice And An Herb? An herb is the leaf from plants or shrubs with non-woody stems. Think oregano, basil, parsley, mint or thyme. A spice, on the other hand, is the seed, bark, root, fruit or flower from plants. Think cinnamon, pepper, cara way, clove or mustard seed. Herbs usually have a milder flavor, while spices tend to be stronger and more pungent. However, for many people, call ing something an “herb” or a “spice” is a distinction without a difference. In some cases, though, the dis tinction can make a big differ ence. Some plants give us both a spice and an herb both their seeds and their leaves can be used to flavor your favorite culi nary dishes. But even though they come from the same plant, they have different flavors and really can’t be used interchange ably. Take coriander, for example. The coriander leaf is also called cilantro; its flavor has been de scribed as “strong, pungent and earthy,” but distinctly different from the coriander seed, which has a citrus or lemony flavor landpnde com Eckroth Bros Farm Equip Rd 2, Box 24A New Rmgold, PA 17960 570-943-2131 Eckroth Equipment Co. 4910 KernsvHle Rd Orefield, PA 18069 610-366-2095 Hines Equipment RT. 220, Belwood, PA 814-742-8171 Kelier Brothers R 7 Box 405 Lebanon, PA 17042 717-949-6501 1950 Fruitville Pike Lancaster, PA 17601 717-569-2500 M.S.Yearsley & Sons West Chester, PA 610-696-2990 got mi All-Flex Mowers • 11', 14', 16'8" and 22' Widths • Three decks • Generous deck overlap • Mowing height of 1" to 5 1/2" • High blade tip speed ensures a sharp cut • Automatic deck transport locks • Narrow transport widths with a touch of sage. Similarly, dillweed, the herb, is the feathery leaf of the dillweed plant. Its flavor has been called “fresh and sweet,” while the small, hard dried seeds of the spice “dillseed” have a sharper, more bitter, dominant flavor. With herbs and spices like these, make sure you know what the recipe calls for before you add it. Spices are almost always dried before they get to the cook, but can be used whole, crushed or ground. Most herbs can be used fresh or dried. Fresh herbs don’t last very long use them imme diately after picking, if possible. To store, keep them in the refrig erator in a perforated plastic bag. When you are ready to use them, wash the herbs gently under cool (not cold) water and pat dry be tween paper towels. Dried spices and herbs keep their flavor longer if stored in airtight containers in a dark, dry, cool place. Over the kitchen range may not be the best choice, because heat and moisture can cause them to lose flavor much more quickly. V. Pikeville Equipment Inc. RD 2, Oysterdale Road Oley, PA 19547 610-927-6277 Stoltzfus Farm Service Cochranville, PA 610-593-2407 Stouffer Bros Inc. 1066 Lincoln Way West Chambersburg, PA 17201 717-263-8424 Rodio Tractor Sales North White Horse Pike Hammonton, N J 08037 609-561-0141 Warren County Service Center 228 Route 94, Blalrtown, N J 908-362-6916
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