*** Rivels?
*** Daffodils vs Narcissus?
*** Cuspidors in the Washington State Capitol
*** Bicycling in the Early Days
*** Columbia River Gorge: Why Steeper on the North?
Ever eaten rivels? Bet your grandparents and beyond surely did. Here is the recipe for Rivels: “Mix flour and some salt. To this add one drop of water at a time to stir into the flour and salt. Mix well each time water is added. When flour has stirred into “rivels” add them slowly to hot milk. Ladle into bowls and serve with butter and sugar.” (This was a recipe in my Aunt Ruth’s cookbook saying the got it from her grandmother.) Think you’ll try rivels??? Let me know if you do.
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What is the difference between daffodils and narcissus? Not much, according to the good folks at Roozengarde near Mount Vernon. Daffodils and jonquils belong to the narcissus family; daffodils usually have longer trumpets. Narcissus have shorter, flatter, “cups” with often frilly edges. Now you know. (NOW is the time to order tulips and daffodils for fall planting from Roozengarde; call to request their catalog or view online.)
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According to the magazine Columbia, publication of the Washington State Historical Society, ” In 1928 the cuspidors for the new Washington State capitol in Olympia cost $47.50 each and no one objected to the spittoons themselves…..every well-equipped office had them at a time when most men chewed…it was the price of them that was shocking.” I guess so!
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This from an article in the periodical Clark County History for 2015 titled “Bicycling in the Late 19th and Early 20th Century,” by Jan Anderson: “Bloomers are not only not coquettish, but (are) hideously ugly and unbecoming.” (Quoting a New York journalist on women’s bicycling fashions.) Around 1900 “women took to the wheel and protest came from many critics including fashion experts, clergy, society mavens and even medical professionals, who warned ominously of over stress to weak female bodies, juggled reproductive organs and lascivious urges. A major cause for panic was the need for a new style of women’s clothing: floor-length skirts and tight corsets didn’t make for safe cycling. Part of the answer was biking bloomers which scandalously showed an inch of ankle.” My, my, my but we have come a long way, baby.
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Doing some reading on the Great Ice Age Floods, which carved Washington and Oregon, I finally learned why the Gorge is much steeper on the Washington (north) side than the Oregon (south) side. A speaker on that subject at a recent conference I attended in Vancouver, WA, explained that the Washington side is less steep “due to the 15,000 years of land slides and mud slides.” Duh. Yessiree. In some places you can certainly see evidence of those slides.