Eleanor Kuhns's Blog, page 15
August 31, 2015
Horses, wagons, buggies
Think about this fact for a moment: humans have used horses and wagons for millennia. Yet, in the space of 100 years, less, actually, the use of horses had ended.
Most of us no longer have a connection to these beautiful animals or the really elegant inventions that shaped the wagons and buggies that were used for most of human civilization. True, the advances made for the creation of the humble axle did set up the use of axles in cars. How many of us think about this tool which was really the product of many years of trial and error investigation?
First came the wheel?
Not exactly. Remnants of sledges using rollers, not wheels, have been discovered n eastern Europe. There is a lot of discussion about the dating of these rollers and some estimates put it back to about 4000 B. C. (To my amazement, when I began researching wagons and horses, I discovered that Eastern Europe and the steppes were actually the home of many inventions that today we take entirely for granted. Axle is actually an evolved word (aks) from some Proto Indo-European tongue that spawned of the languages from Greek to German, Iranian to Celtic that we are familiar with today. Honey bees. Pigs. Sheep who were domesticated first for meat - they were short fibers so the wool was unspinnable. No one is sure whether it was a mutation or human intervention that created sheep with the wool we use today. )
But I digress.
Sledges had to be pulled by teams of oxen and were very heavy. Also, and this is where the axle comes in, they didn't move smoothly. Drag is very important in the movement of objects since it pulls back. Think of trying to move something through heavy mud. Later wheeled wagons and of course our current cars don't have drag - not from the wheels nor to this degree - because the wheels and axle and all the other pieces are constructed in such a way that the vehicle moves as though it is much lighter, without the clutch of another force holding it back. From mud to a smooth asphalt road, for example.
Are we to wheels yet?
Next time.
Most of us no longer have a connection to these beautiful animals or the really elegant inventions that shaped the wagons and buggies that were used for most of human civilization. True, the advances made for the creation of the humble axle did set up the use of axles in cars. How many of us think about this tool which was really the product of many years of trial and error investigation?
First came the wheel?
Not exactly. Remnants of sledges using rollers, not wheels, have been discovered n eastern Europe. There is a lot of discussion about the dating of these rollers and some estimates put it back to about 4000 B. C. (To my amazement, when I began researching wagons and horses, I discovered that Eastern Europe and the steppes were actually the home of many inventions that today we take entirely for granted. Axle is actually an evolved word (aks) from some Proto Indo-European tongue that spawned of the languages from Greek to German, Iranian to Celtic that we are familiar with today. Honey bees. Pigs. Sheep who were domesticated first for meat - they were short fibers so the wool was unspinnable. No one is sure whether it was a mutation or human intervention that created sheep with the wool we use today. )
But I digress.
Sledges had to be pulled by teams of oxen and were very heavy. Also, and this is where the axle comes in, they didn't move smoothly. Drag is very important in the movement of objects since it pulls back. Think of trying to move something through heavy mud. Later wheeled wagons and of course our current cars don't have drag - not from the wheels nor to this degree - because the wheels and axle and all the other pieces are constructed in such a way that the vehicle moves as though it is much lighter, without the clutch of another force holding it back. From mud to a smooth asphalt road, for example.
Are we to wheels yet?
Next time.
August 16, 2015
Devil's Cold Dish
I am happy and so excited to announce that I have received the cover for the new Will Rees mystery - A Devil's Cold Dish. The graphics arts department at Minotaur is so good. In my opinion, they have scored with every single cover.
Unfortunately I don't think I can add it here but if you go to my web page you will see it there.
Will and Lydia Rees return to Dugard after their adventures in Salem and find themselves in new trouble. Not only is Will accused of murder but Lydia finds her own life in danger.
Coming June, 2016
Unfortunately I don't think I can add it here but if you go to my web page you will see it there.
Will and Lydia Rees return to Dugard after their adventures in Salem and find themselves in new trouble. Not only is Will accused of murder but Lydia finds her own life in danger.
Coming June, 2016
August 14, 2015
Random thoughts about Scandinavia trip
Just a few things I found interesting. I have already commented on how cold it was. The tour guides in every country mentioned a late and cool spring. That probably explains why we saw flocks and flocks and flocks of sheep. And why everyone was wearing a thick sweater.
Other notes about fashion.
Stripes are definitely in. I saw stripes on everything so I guess, without noticing it myself, stripes became the new orange.
The other thing is nail polish. When I saw a woman with polished nails she was almost always American. This does not seem to be a fashion in the Scandinavian countries. I didn't really see nail salons or colored nails until I reached London. Not that important maybe, but interesting.
We also did not hit hot weather until London. The last time I was in the British Isles, it was cool and rainy even in London. Not this time. Not only was it hot, but the grass was brown and dry. We took a walk in Green Park and it was not that green. Everyone's climates is undergoing some kind of change.
I also like to try the food of the region. Not a fan of herring. (At least guinea pigs were not on the menus - as they are in Peru) But I had the best cheese ever in Denmark and Norway and some really tasty bread.
One last thing. My Goodreads Giveaway for Death of a Dyer (learned a lot about the dye trade in Peru) lasts until August 23. So far 350+. Be sure and add yourself to the giveaway before it ends.
Other notes about fashion.
Stripes are definitely in. I saw stripes on everything so I guess, without noticing it myself, stripes became the new orange.
The other thing is nail polish. When I saw a woman with polished nails she was almost always American. This does not seem to be a fashion in the Scandinavian countries. I didn't really see nail salons or colored nails until I reached London. Not that important maybe, but interesting.
We also did not hit hot weather until London. The last time I was in the British Isles, it was cool and rainy even in London. Not this time. Not only was it hot, but the grass was brown and dry. We took a walk in Green Park and it was not that green. Everyone's climates is undergoing some kind of change.
I also like to try the food of the region. Not a fan of herring. (At least guinea pigs were not on the menus - as they are in Peru) But I had the best cheese ever in Denmark and Norway and some really tasty bread.
One last thing. My Goodreads Giveaway for Death of a Dyer (learned a lot about the dye trade in Peru) lasts until August 23. So far 350+. Be sure and add yourself to the giveaway before it ends.
August 6, 2015
Orkneys, Scotland
Our final stop, before sailing to London and flying out to home, was Kirkwall. It is in the Orkneys. We were told that the Orkneys do not want to separate from Great Britain but remain. That, of course, is not the common view in Scotland. The National Party just had a vote to leave and enter the EU as a separate country. The vote failed but who knows what will happen next time?
Anyway, ruins here make even the Iron Age farm seem relatively recent. There are standing stones, similar to Stonehenge.
Like Stonehenge, they line up to the solar equinox. There are a lot of speculations about the purpose of the stones but no one really knows.
We also saw ruins that date to 3000 BC. (Is the US a young country or what?) Trash was used in the walls to insulate inside. Plus, just like the ruins in Crete, there were indoor toilets. What happened that this little luxury went extinct and had to be reinvented in modern times?
It is thought that the sea was further away then; again no one is sure. But the water is coming in now and threatening the excavation. The people who lived here ate fish and other things from the sea. No one is sure what happened to these people although there is another settlement nearby and one of the theories is that they moved.
The land upon which these ruins were found has belonged to the same family for generations. Incredible.
It was very cold and windy. We did not hit warm weather until we reached London. And, as with the other places we visited, there were a lot of sheep.
For all my fellow librarians, I checked out the Orkney Library. I was told this is the oldest Carnegie in the world. Something that amazed me. I thought all the Carnegies were in the U. S.
Next time: some random thoughts.
Anyway, ruins here make even the Iron Age farm seem relatively recent. There are standing stones, similar to Stonehenge.
Like Stonehenge, they line up to the solar equinox. There are a lot of speculations about the purpose of the stones but no one really knows.
We also saw ruins that date to 3000 BC. (Is the US a young country or what?) Trash was used in the walls to insulate inside. Plus, just like the ruins in Crete, there were indoor toilets. What happened that this little luxury went extinct and had to be reinvented in modern times?
It is thought that the sea was further away then; again no one is sure. But the water is coming in now and threatening the excavation. The people who lived here ate fish and other things from the sea. No one is sure what happened to these people although there is another settlement nearby and one of the theories is that they moved.
The land upon which these ruins were found has belonged to the same family for generations. Incredible.
It was very cold and windy. We did not hit warm weather until we reached London. And, as with the other places we visited, there were a lot of sheep.
For all my fellow librarians, I checked out the Orkney Library. I was told this is the oldest Carnegie in the world. Something that amazed me. I thought all the Carnegies were in the U. S.
Next time: some random thoughts.
July 30, 2015
Iceland
Iceland is a beautiful country. Very dramatic with steep mountains, volcanoes and then lakes and streams with waterfalls.
Because Iceland is a geothermal country it is growing - slowly. Volcanoes are a big part of the landscape. We saw the volcano that erupted in 2010 (I can neither pronounce or spell the name) and stopped air traffic over Europe. The lava formations do indeed look like trolls, which are huge in the mythology. One of our tour guides read us a troll fairy tale. (The guides were excellent. One even led the bus in singing America the Beautiful since it was July 4. This will always be a special memory.)
Because of the this activity, all the energy is geothermal. And signs of the geothermal activity are everywhere.
Iceland was very green, with snow on the higher peaks. But it is too cold to grow many things so most of the produce - that is not imported - is grown in greenhouses. Here, even a degree or two can make a huge difference.
We bought more sweaters.
One interesting feature: the livestock. Almost feral horses that are thickly covered with hair. Cattle that are a very old breed (Iceland has strict laws on importing livestock since they want to keep their breeds pure). The cattle look very different from our modern cows. They are horned with long pointed horns, for one thing, and instead of a barrel shape their bodies hang from their prominent hips as though the flesh was on a coat hanger.
And there are more sheep than people: sheep everywhere.
I loved Iceland but I don't think I could take the cold climate. And, in the north, we had almost 24 hours of day. I cannot imagine coping with 24 hours of night.
Because Iceland is a geothermal country it is growing - slowly. Volcanoes are a big part of the landscape. We saw the volcano that erupted in 2010 (I can neither pronounce or spell the name) and stopped air traffic over Europe. The lava formations do indeed look like trolls, which are huge in the mythology. One of our tour guides read us a troll fairy tale. (The guides were excellent. One even led the bus in singing America the Beautiful since it was July 4. This will always be a special memory.)
Because of the this activity, all the energy is geothermal. And signs of the geothermal activity are everywhere.
Iceland was very green, with snow on the higher peaks. But it is too cold to grow many things so most of the produce - that is not imported - is grown in greenhouses. Here, even a degree or two can make a huge difference.
We bought more sweaters.
One interesting feature: the livestock. Almost feral horses that are thickly covered with hair. Cattle that are a very old breed (Iceland has strict laws on importing livestock since they want to keep their breeds pure). The cattle look very different from our modern cows. They are horned with long pointed horns, for one thing, and instead of a barrel shape their bodies hang from their prominent hips as though the flesh was on a coat hanger.
And there are more sheep than people: sheep everywhere.
I loved Iceland but I don't think I could take the cold climate. And, in the north, we had almost 24 hours of day. I cannot imagine coping with 24 hours of night.
July 24, 2015
Scandinavia - Norway
After Copenhagen, a city I loved, we went to Norway. We stopped at several cities: Oslo. Kristinsand and Stavanger. Another wonderful country.
The pointed roofs are absolutely characteristic but of course they have tons of snow. As we saw in Copenhagen, there are lots of buildings hundreds of years old but still in use
The inhabitants can do anything they like inside but the outside has to remain as it was.
As one would expect, Vikings are very important to Norway's history.We went to a museum which included ships pulled from a bog. Hard to believe anyone sailed in these little tiny things - and crossed the Atlantic besides and made a colony in North America.
But how did people live? We saw several open air museums.
One tiny shack housed about 15 people with their animals. There was no chimney, just a hole in the sod roof which had to be closed during bad weather. Infant mortality was 50%.
The good old days were terrible!
One of my favorite parts of this trips was seeing an Iron Age farm. Man, times were hard. The people lived in longhouses with sod roofs.
Peopel lived in the south, animals in the north, so the heat from the animals came down, Also the smells and other less nice things. I've read about the custom of keeping the animals in the house. Diseases that began in animals then jumped to humans.
But I digress.
I was very interested in the loom. The weaving was done top to bottom. The warp threads at the bottom were hung with weights. Weaving, which for me is a fairly quiet operation, must have been noisy.
One of the things I found interesting was the green tape and the interpreter's green shirt. I knew from my research for "Death of a Dyer" that there was no green dye in Europe. In Peru they used some plant but that had not been discovered in Europe. But they did have yellow, blue (indigo) and red (madder).
So, where did they get green?
I asked the interpreter and he referred me to the Archaelogy Department. Answer: they over dyed, beginning with yellow and then blue.
For pictures of the dress and shoes I refer you to the blog by ArchaeoFox.
The pointed roofs are absolutely characteristic but of course they have tons of snow. As we saw in Copenhagen, there are lots of buildings hundreds of years old but still in use
The inhabitants can do anything they like inside but the outside has to remain as it was.
As one would expect, Vikings are very important to Norway's history.We went to a museum which included ships pulled from a bog. Hard to believe anyone sailed in these little tiny things - and crossed the Atlantic besides and made a colony in North America.
But how did people live? We saw several open air museums.
One tiny shack housed about 15 people with their animals. There was no chimney, just a hole in the sod roof which had to be closed during bad weather. Infant mortality was 50%.
The good old days were terrible!
One of my favorite parts of this trips was seeing an Iron Age farm. Man, times were hard. The people lived in longhouses with sod roofs.
Peopel lived in the south, animals in the north, so the heat from the animals came down, Also the smells and other less nice things. I've read about the custom of keeping the animals in the house. Diseases that began in animals then jumped to humans.
But I digress.
I was very interested in the loom. The weaving was done top to bottom. The warp threads at the bottom were hung with weights. Weaving, which for me is a fairly quiet operation, must have been noisy.
One of the things I found interesting was the green tape and the interpreter's green shirt. I knew from my research for "Death of a Dyer" that there was no green dye in Europe. In Peru they used some plant but that had not been discovered in Europe. But they did have yellow, blue (indigo) and red (madder).
So, where did they get green?
I asked the interpreter and he referred me to the Archaelogy Department. Answer: they over dyed, beginning with yellow and then blue.
For pictures of the dress and shoes I refer you to the blog by ArchaeoFox.
June 12, 2015
Death in Salem books
I am thrilled to announce that I have received my first copies of Death in Salem and they look stunning.
The books look even better in real life. I will probably be having another Goodreads giveaway later in the summer.
To summarize the plot: Will Rees is on a weaving trip and stops in Salem to buy some imported cloth for Lydia. He gets stopped by a funeral and sees an old friend at the head. Anstiss Boothe, the deceased, has been ill a long time but the very next day her husband Jacob. a wealthy Salem merchant, is dead and this time it is clearly murder. Rees has already left Salem but his friend rides after him and draws him back to investigate.
Smuggling, piracy, prostitution, and of course all the dynamics of interpersonal relationships keep Rees investigating.
I had a lot of fun roaming Salem when I researched this book.
The books look even better in real life. I will probably be having another Goodreads giveaway later in the summer.
To summarize the plot: Will Rees is on a weaving trip and stops in Salem to buy some imported cloth for Lydia. He gets stopped by a funeral and sees an old friend at the head. Anstiss Boothe, the deceased, has been ill a long time but the very next day her husband Jacob. a wealthy Salem merchant, is dead and this time it is clearly murder. Rees has already left Salem but his friend rides after him and draws him back to investigate.
Smuggling, piracy, prostitution, and of course all the dynamics of interpersonal relationships keep Rees investigating.
I had a lot of fun roaming Salem when I researched this book.
June 10, 2015
shrink wrap
If I may vent a moment about shrink wrap. It now seems to be used for everything and a more non-user friendly device was never invented.
Although I stream music to my phone all the time, I listen to CDs in the car. (I drive a very old car. Besides a CD player it has a tape deck - no kidding!) So I tried to listen to the new CD of Fallout Boys. I couldn't get the plastic off! With Arctic Monkeys, I managed to get my nail in the plastic and peel it off. The cardboard case opened like a book and the CD was in one sleeve. But Fallout Boys I had to take the package inside the house, slit the plastic with a knife and then cut those little sticky things that hold the OTHER case closed.
Really? (she said snarkily.)
Now lets talk about the plants that come swathed in shrink wrap. As most people who know me, and I count the readers of this blog in that number, know, I am a pretty passionate gardener. Why do they come in shrink wrap instead of straw or something like that? There is nothing more frustrating than getting out to a section of the yard and discovering the plant cannot be put into the ground because it is tightly covered with shrink wrap. I have sometimes been reduced to trying to cut the shrink wrap with my teeth. (Not a good plan, by the way.) I now have set up a little tote bag with scissors and gloves. I try never to forget the bag and now I am thinking of adding secaturs - which are like stronger scissors.
I guess the next step is a belt like the medieval housewives used to wear with keys, scissors and everything else they might need.
Although I stream music to my phone all the time, I listen to CDs in the car. (I drive a very old car. Besides a CD player it has a tape deck - no kidding!) So I tried to listen to the new CD of Fallout Boys. I couldn't get the plastic off! With Arctic Monkeys, I managed to get my nail in the plastic and peel it off. The cardboard case opened like a book and the CD was in one sleeve. But Fallout Boys I had to take the package inside the house, slit the plastic with a knife and then cut those little sticky things that hold the OTHER case closed.
Really? (she said snarkily.)
Now lets talk about the plants that come swathed in shrink wrap. As most people who know me, and I count the readers of this blog in that number, know, I am a pretty passionate gardener. Why do they come in shrink wrap instead of straw or something like that? There is nothing more frustrating than getting out to a section of the yard and discovering the plant cannot be put into the ground because it is tightly covered with shrink wrap. I have sometimes been reduced to trying to cut the shrink wrap with my teeth. (Not a good plan, by the way.) I now have set up a little tote bag with scissors and gloves. I try never to forget the bag and now I am thinking of adding secaturs - which are like stronger scissors.
I guess the next step is a belt like the medieval housewives used to wear with keys, scissors and everything else they might need.
June 1, 2015
Spring Gardening
This is a funny year. I always find surprises, partly because many plants reseed themselves. Tomatoes is one. Random plants come up all over the garden and I can never bear to pull them, which may be one reason I end up with 11 plants.
Two tomato plants came up along with what looks like squash. And the leaves on what the package said was broccoli look like cabbage.
This year is odd as well. I have flowers on my peas, because they went in late (snow on the ground) and flowers on the tomatoes (begun in the house). Tomatoes and peas at the same time?
And finally, just something nice. My weigela - a beautiful shrub with tons of pink flowers. I just missed a butterfly on it. I love spring!
Two tomato plants came up along with what looks like squash. And the leaves on what the package said was broccoli look like cabbage.
This year is odd as well. I have flowers on my peas, because they went in late (snow on the ground) and flowers on the tomatoes (begun in the house). Tomatoes and peas at the same time?
And finally, just something nice. My weigela - a beautiful shrub with tons of pink flowers. I just missed a butterfly on it. I love spring!
May 18, 2015
Gardening - and insects
I spent a lot of time this past weekend working in the garden: putting in string beans as well as taking out a lot of the winter-killed plants. (Yes, out of 12 roses, I have only 4 left.) The vegetable garden in enclosed by a fence, and most of the larger yard is fenced to keep out the deer. I coated my gardening pants with off (Deet variety) but I still got bitten by mosquitoes and black flies. Welts all over my ears and neck. But my husband, who was mowing in the front, and unfenced yard, got a tick. And the dog and my grandson (who spends hours running around the yard 'with the doggy') both got ticks.
It is the season. Be careful out there.
It is the season. Be careful out there.
