Cider Creek Press

Happy Easter Dad

2011-04-24T09:53:00.000-04:00

Easter just wouldn't be Easter without the traditional Easter Bread. This video is from Easter of 2006; the year Matthew was born. Ryan was about 3 1/2.

So glad we have this to share with everyone today. Happy Easter!

I Have a Rendezvous with Death

2011-01-26T22:00:00.006-05:00

One evening over a year or so ago I had a enlightening phone conversation with my father. At that time, he was in declining health so every new thing he shared about himself with me was a gift. Our conversation started with his per usual repetitive WW2 experiences, which I always enjoyed listening to. During WW2 my father served in an Army tank division. His unit deployed to the Battle of the Bulge without him because of an injury he sustained while working on a tank stateside.

Cleaning my desk drawers this weekend I came across an envelope with a scribbled list of favorite things he wanted to share with me.

The Creamation of Sam Mcgee, by Robert W. Service:

The Wonderful One Hoss-Shay

There is a practical lesson to be got out of the story. Observation shows us in what point any particular mechanism is most likely to give way. In a wagon, for instance, the weak point is where the axle enters the hub or nave. When the wagon breaks down, three times out of four, I think, it is at this point that the accident occurs. The workman should see to it that this part should never give way; then find the next vulnerable place, and so on, until he arrives logically at the perfect result attained by the deacon."

My father was a perfectionist with a capital P with anything he built or had built by others. Perhaps this is why he was drawn to that poem. I recall a time when he tore out and reinstalled our kitchen bay window because he didn't like the way the contractors had installed it.

I am most intrigued by this one - I Have a Rendezvous with Death, by Alan Seeger. Seeger fought and died in WW1 while serving in the French Foreign Legion. This poem was also a favorite of John F. Kennedy; he often asked his wife to recite it to him.

I have a rendezvous with Death
At some disputed barricade,
When Spring comes back with rustling shade
And apple-blossoms fill the air-
I have a rendezvous with Death
When Spring brings back blue days and fair.

It may be he shall take my hand
And lead me into his dark land
And close my eyes and quench my breath-
It may be I shall pass him still.
I have a rendezvous with Death
On some scarred slope of battered hill,
When Spring comes round again this year
And the first meadow-flowers appear.

God knows 'twere better to be deep
Pillowed in silk and scented down,
Where love throbs out in blissful sleep,
Pulse nigh to pulse, and breath to breath,
Where hushed awakenings are dear...
But I've a rendezvous with Death
At midnight in some flaming town,
When Spring trips north again this year,
And I to my pledged word am true,
I shall not fail that rendezvous.

When Spring comes round again this year

And the first meadow-flowers appear. . .
When Spring trips north again this year,
And I to my pledged word am true,
I shall not fail that rendezvous.
My father passed away April 24, 2010, he was 88.

A song he loved from Man of la Mancha, To Dream the Impossible Dream:

Yip Yip Martians discover Phone

2011-01-21T11:14:00.011-05:00

I love the music in this video!

2010-09-29T11:11:00.002-04:00

Mistaken Identity?

2010-04-13T22:00:00.001-04:00

Childcraft How and Why Library published a volument 5 book in 1964 entitled "About Animals". While reading to Ryan and Matthew one night I came across a story on page 273 - Getting help from animals

Animals help scientists who look for ways to keep people well. Some kinds of animals get the same diseases people do. So if a scientist can learn how to make an animal well, he may learn how to make people well too. By working with animals, scientists have discovered many kinds of medicine that help people.

Then followed this caption and picture

Dr. Albert Szent-Gyorgyi is a biochemist. By working with animals he has discovered much about how people's bodies work.

Anyone have any idea who Ryan and Matt think this is a picutre of?

Judy Garland

2010-04-01T21:42:00.000-04:00

One of the most emotional versions of Somewhere Over the Rainbow - 1955

Sustainable Living on a Kentucky Houseboat

2010-02-19T09:10:00.000-05:00

Oh yeah, this is what the "good life" on the Kentucky River is all about. Nature, family, good food, good music; what more can one ask for?

"Cut em off at the pass"

2010-02-02T19:32:00.000-05:00

Ok, this one should bring back memories for some you Cider Creek Press followers. Butler Street, Mechanicville? Oh, how young we were.

Captain Kangaroo - The Surprise Ending

2010-01-22T09:13:00.000-05:00

Hundreds Gather to Protest Global Warming

2010-01-08T08:52:00.005-05:00

Ya got to appreciate the humor here.

Lullaby from the Great Mother Whale for the Baby Seal Pups

2009-12-08T09:34:00.001-05:00

My brother Dave first turned me on to Paul Winter back in the 80's. Paul Winter is an award-winning musician and composer who

has been motivated for the past thirty years by the vision of a musical-ecological community, and has followed a steady course towards his unique 'Earth Music', a vital celebration of the creatures and cultures of the whole earth.

He has recorded most amazing whale music I've ever heard. One of my favorites his albumn this piece he created using a lullaby from the great Mother Whale for the Baby Seal Pups:

Traditional Woodland Indian Dish

2009-12-04T15:42:00.000-05:00

What I like about teachers is they also know how to cook or at least are inquisitive to learn. This recipe is from our Director of Student Teaching and Field Experience at the IUSB School of Education who says “this recipe is my take on a traditional woodland indian dish, I've made it hot and cold, I think I like the cold best”. I tried it cold and it was great!

Without any further adieu, here it is:

1 box uncle bens wild rice mix (i used the traditional long-cooking kind) - cook according to package directions and let cool to room temp.

Add:
1 cup dried cranberries
1 c. chopped pecans
Finely chopped green onions (according to your taste for onion, I used about 1/4 cup for a single recipe)

Dressing:
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
Grated orange peel (i put the skin of a clementine in the food processor to get a fine grind, and used about 1 tablespoon for a single recipe)
2 Tablespoons maple sugar (maple syrup works just fine here too)

Enjoy!

Dangers of Fundamentalism

2009-10-20T10:00:00.006-04:00

Religious fundamentalists believe they alone have the "truth". They seek to inspire nations of the world to embrace their "beliefs" as a universal truth. History has proven that nowhere is there greater potential for harm then when destructive religious fundamentalism becomes part of government behavior.

Why The "Fundamentalist" Approach To Religion Must Be Wrong

It is this overwhelming seriousness about religion that seems to be one of the hallmarks of the fundamentalist. He is concerned not only with his own conformity to doctrine, but the conformity of the rest of society to it, too. Many fundamentalists will not hesitate to intervene in the political process to ensure that society is forced to conform to the behaviors their world view requires, if not accept that world view. The belief that they are right, without any question, justifies, in their own minds, taking upon themselves the right to impose their point of view, by force if neccessary.

Sound familiar?

By far one of the best discussions I've come across regarding the dangers of religious fundamentalism comes from John Dominic Crossan. I originally posted about this issue over at Bilerico Indiana.

Free Directory Service from Google

2009-10-15T12:22:00.005-04:00

We all can use a little help now and then when on the run or in a hurry. This little treasure comes at ya from Google. Free directory service for your cell phone. What more can you ask for. How difficult is is? It's so easy even Ryan and Matthew can use it. Check it out for yourself:

Cider Creek Press Launch

2009-05-23T17:00:00.001-04:00

Greetings! Welcome to the launch, of Cider Creek Press.

Inspiration for CCP came last fall from a trip I took with my family to visit my brother's home on the Common Place Land Cooperative . Common Place is a 432-acre rural land trust located in the rolling hills of central New York State. I’ll post more about Common Place later.

During our visit we made homemade cider with organically homegrown apples and an outdoor cider press, hiked, cooked, played music, laughed, danced, and hauled firewood (a lot of firewood) for their annual Winter Solstice celebration.

That visit combined with my interests in nature and wildlife, gardening, landscaping, home projects, arts and music, and activism is what led me to create Cider Creek Press.

I hope you will stop by again to see what’s cooking at the Cider Creek Press.

For now let me share with you a video clip of my brother (drummer on left) and his beautiful significant other Colleen Kattau as they perform "Mama's Cooking" live at the Lost Dog Lounge in New York State.