Julia Rachel Barrett's Blog, page 3

To paraphrase Mrs. Clinton, Don’t roll in stupid shit is a pretty good organizing principle

for dogs.

My sister and her family recently spent ten days in California and Oregon. I called them after they returned home, after our earthquake, after we had power, and I got my nephew. I asked how their new crazy golden retriever puppy faredwhile they were away.

He said, “He did okay. Didn’t do anything stupid.”

So I asked, “His philosophy is don’t do stupid shit?”

My nephew said, “No, his philosophy is don’t roll in stupid shit.”

Their poor deceased golden loved nothing more than to roll in st...

Aftershocks and After Effects.

We suffered four noticeable aftershocks this morning– nothing that sent us running from the house but the earth definitely made herself felt. The 3.9 aftershock was a biggie. Nothing fell but Jake jumped on the bed again.

We are lucky. So many homes and businesses are red-tagged. So many Napa residents still have no water and power. In the midst of a drought water mains are pouring water down the streets. Repair crews are everywhere and they’ve come from everywhere, but still– these repairs ta...

Aftershocks and After Affects.

We suffered four noticeable aftershocks this morning– nothing that sent us running from the house but the earth definitely made herself felt. The 3.9 aftershock was a biggie. Nothing fell but Jake jumped on the bed again.

We are lucky. So many homes and businesses are red-tagged. So many Napa residents still have no water and power. In the midst of a drought water mains are pouring water down the streets. Repair crews are everywhere and they’ve come from everywhere, but still– these repairs ta...

#earthquakewinecountrycalifornia and the Great Bobblehead Massacre of 2014.

Apparently the Napa Valley is becoming Earthquake Central. This is the second major quake we’ve suffered in fourteen years – both along the same basic fault line which runs, oh, within a half mile of our house.

We are so fortunate. The only lasting damage we suffered was a few dents in the wall where the crazy swinging ceiling fans bashed into it. One of the ceiling fans is broken. A lamp broke. One jar of raspberry jam flipped over and broke. Oscar was quite upset about this as I had only rec...

Busting Nutrition Information Redux- We Need Fat.

Why do our bodies need fat? Good question!

Let’s start with the infant nervous system. From the Journal of Pediatrics:

Fats are necessary for the development of your young child’s central nervous system, vision and intelligence. Fats surround the nerve cells in the brain and protect it. Breast milk contains the fats DHA and AA which are critical for brain and retina development. Infant formulas are fortified with these important fats.

Parents, listening to conventional (anti-fat) wisdom, often i...

I made it all by myself- with no ice cream maker!

It’s really good– Frozen Vanilla Custard!

Yummy vanilla custard.

I had to use up some raw milk and raw cream and fresh eggs before we left town. I’d recently tasted frozen vanilla custard from a new place in Napa. I was determined to make it for myself but aye yi yi! No ice cream maker!

No problem!

I successfully improvised. This method totally worked. Here are both the recipe and the method~

Frozen Vanilla Custard

1 1/2 cup whole cream

3 cups whole milk

8large eggs, whites and yolks

2 cups sugar

2 tsp...

What’s beneath that kilt?

Oh Jamie Fraser. I love you so. You epitomize the romance hero. (Don’t tell Oscar.)

The truth is, in my mind Jamie is Gerard Butler, the way he was back in the day, when he was Jamie’s age – mid-twenties.

There it is!

But the new Jamie is not bad. I can accept Sam Heughanas Jamie Fraser. He may be a little too pretty, but he’s appealing. He has promise, a great voice, he’s sweet, he’s sexy, so I’ll suspend disbelief for the moment.

The new Jamie.

I’ve waited years for someone to bring Outlander, b...

Schrodinger’s Cockroach and a Jake Update.

While in Los Angeles we stayed at this upscale high rise hotel. Actually it was Newport Beach. Anyway… You all know the story of Schrodinger’s Cat, right?

In a nutshell:

So Sunday morning I hopped out of bed only to step right next to a giant cockroach, or as my grandmother used to say, cock-a-roach. I screamed and jumped back on the bed.

Cock-a-roach

My husband grabbed a shoe and tried with all his might to kill it, but the cockroach slid under a loose piece of carpet which my husband then beat...

One Foot In Heaven, Journey of a Hospice Nurse.

People die everyday. While most people in America die in a hospital, many families choose hospice for end of life care. Death, as experienced by hospice nurses, can be beautiful, peaceful, humorous, touching, tragic, disturbing, and even otherworldly. Hospice nurses act as midwives to dying people every day. Death transforms not just the patient and family, but the hospice nurse as well. The stories in this book are presented with the hope that their transformation extends to you, too.

I recei...

Busting nutrition misinformation – Peanuts are not nuts.

So my sister says to me, “I’m allergic to nuts.”

So I says, “Oh? In what way are you allergic to nuts?”

So she says, “Nuts give me vertigo.”

So I rolls my eyes because vertigo is not what happens when people are allergic to nuts and EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN GIVES HER VERTIGO, but I’m willing to play along so I says, “Which nuts?”

And she says, “Cashews, almonds, walnuts, peanuts…”

So I says, “Peanuts?”

So she says, “Yeah, nuts like peanuts. Peanuts give me real bad vertigo.”

So I says, “Peanuts ain’...