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