And mushrooms, too.
Oct. 18th, 2004 07:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
butterflydreamingI know that I said I wouldn't do any more pairing fics, but... . I had to balance out my Tomouya somehow. So, in case you hadn't noticed yet, there's a Sakura/Tomoyo in ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
chrysalisdreams. I'll put it on ff.net and mm.org if I feel like it, later -- but I kind of like keeping some things exclusive. I kind of like to "reward" readers who have sought me out, and, of course, my lj friends. But then I get the moral dilemna -- I know that I'm a better-than-average writer, so should I make things more public in order to bring up the quality in the fandom?
As I'm typing this, I'm attempting to sign up with redjellyfish.com. I'm using the wireless, which has me a little nervous, but I just can't do downloads on dial-up; they take forever. Looks like I'll have to create my email account name later, because their site is having issues.
I'm switching from earthlink (or trying to) because redjellyfish supports The Nature Conservancy, and costs $5 less per month. Which means that I can apply that money to maintaining a paid LJ account, for example. So far, though, I'm less than impressed with the initial set up. Their site continues to have troubles. And I forgot my "first month free" coupon. I think that might be automatic, since there wasn't any place to sign into a special offer. [edit-- looked at coupon offer. I'll have to muscle their customer service.]
So now I've downloaded the files. And since I've finished my mocha at The Bubble Lounge, and am on battery power, I think I'll go home to finish up this post.
Saturday, I went to the Puget Sound Mycological Society show, which is the largest national mushroom-hunters exhibit. Why mushrooms, you ask? I've always thought that mushrooms and toadstools were freakin' cool, especially because of the legends and folklore associated with them. Think of Alice in Wonderland, with the Caterpillar and his hooka pipe. Think of Brian Froud and Amy Brown, and faerie, and every fairytale image that features a big, spotted red mushroom. (Like the smurfs.) In Seattle, toadstools pop up in autumn the way that dandelions pop up in spring. They're all different, and they grow HUGE: 5 or 6 inches across the cap, averagely.
For foragers, the Pacific Northwest is heaven. And this year is supposed to be excellent for chantrelles, morels, King Boletes (porcini), lobster mushrooms, and other gourmet varieties. How cool is it to go out and find, by the bagful, something that sells at specialty stores for $24 a pound? Mushrooming is a counterpart to berrying, but berrying is less likely to get you killed. Because there are things like mock-death-morels (not the actual name). There is an all-white one that has several names, such as The Death Angel -- a famous poisonous one. It won't make you sick; it will kill you outright. And this large, lumpy golden kind that causes kidney failure over an extended period of time killed an experienced mycologist in Australia. I guess it's tasty.
But I learned that not all mushrooms are either poisonous or gourmet. A large number of varieties are just... "unpalatable". There were so many different varieties at the show, and crowds! Unlike many collector-type shows, the people who attended the PSMS show were lively, enthusiatic, and over-all rather youthful. It's probably because mushrooming is tied in to hiking and outdoor activity. The level of enthusiasm was contageous, too. It was wonderful to be around a bunch of adults who were really interested in something, not as escapism, but actually alive and interested. I was at the book table (books on dyeing with mushrooms, cooking with mushrooms, finding mushrooms, identifying mushrooms, and growing them) when a couple were showing some pictures of what they had recently found on the Olympic Penninsula: black chantrelles. One of the women minding the book table became very excited. Black chantrelles are so rare! "Have you shown (so-and-so)?" she asked the couple. And, "Were they delicious?" (The answer was a definite yes.)
These people enjoy mushrooms just for their beauty and rarity and brief availability. Many of them are artists; if you can't eat them, you can still sketch them.
The mushrooms on display (there were hundreds) were golden, orange, pink, light purple, jade green, every tone of brown, black, white, translucent... and some were small clusters, traditionally shaped cap-on-stem types, "jelly fungi" (just like it sounds), lumpy masses, and delicate coral-like fans. Some looked like moths, or cloth. One kind was described as a "toasted marshmallow" when it was immature (accurate). One category is "gilled" mushrooms -- that's like your usual store-bought button or crimini. Another category has a toothy fringe instead of gills... those were pretty. They had names like "bear's tooth".
There was a kind called a "puffball". The ball-shaped top is full of mushroom spores, and when the rain falls on them, they break open a little hole and puff out the spores like smoke. It sounds gross, but they were kind of impressive, like a clever little firework. (Oh, and different varieties have differently colored spore-clouds. Like pink.)
Y'know, it's the kind of thing that sounds dorky, but it was fun! It was brainy+outdoorsy+gourmet+artistic. How many things can overlay all of that? I bought 2 beautiful pairs of earrings from a local woman. They're etched metal, layers of brass and red copper, realistic to the mushroom variety but so beautiful. She had a watercolor for sale, too, and the detail on it was breathtaking.
cygna_hime, I was walking around the event, and it seemed to me (oddly, I guess) that you would have just loved it, because it was weird, but lovely, too. They had a little closet to show off the ones that flouresced under blacklight, in aqua, light blue, and pink (again). Of course, I wanted to set it up better, with their blacklight shielded and such.
Well, now, it's off to dinner. I just spent $15 at the grocery store, buying expensive ingredients for a lazy pizza (ready-to-go foccaccia, fancy domestic mozzarella, Boar's Head pepperoni); that's less than what it cost the last time to have pizza delivered. I need to choose to go to the store more, even if it means some poor guy with two jobs doesn't get a tip from me. (I should so not be eating the pepperoni. That's +40% of my daily sodium, and three of my family members have hypertension.) Funny enough, there're no mushrooms on this pizza (just in the sauce).
chrysalisdreams. I'll put it on ff.net and mm.org if I feel like it, later -- but I kind of like keeping some things exclusive. I kind of like to "reward" readers who have sought me out, and, of course, my lj friends. But then I get the moral dilemna -- I know that I'm a better-than-average writer, so should I make things more public in order to bring up the quality in the fandom? As I'm typing this, I'm attempting to sign up with redjellyfish.com. I'm using the wireless, which has me a little nervous, but I just can't do downloads on dial-up; they take forever. Looks like I'll have to create my email account name later, because their site is having issues.
I'm switching from earthlink (or trying to) because redjellyfish supports The Nature Conservancy, and costs $5 less per month. Which means that I can apply that money to maintaining a paid LJ account, for example. So far, though, I'm less than impressed with the initial set up. Their site continues to have troubles. And I forgot my "first month free" coupon. I think that might be automatic, since there wasn't any place to sign into a special offer. [edit-- looked at coupon offer. I'll have to muscle their customer service.]
So now I've downloaded the files. And since I've finished my mocha at The Bubble Lounge, and am on battery power, I think I'll go home to finish up this post.
Saturday, I went to the Puget Sound Mycological Society show, which is the largest national mushroom-hunters exhibit. Why mushrooms, you ask? I've always thought that mushrooms and toadstools were freakin' cool, especially because of the legends and folklore associated with them. Think of Alice in Wonderland, with the Caterpillar and his hooka pipe. Think of Brian Froud and Amy Brown, and faerie, and every fairytale image that features a big, spotted red mushroom. (Like the smurfs.) In Seattle, toadstools pop up in autumn the way that dandelions pop up in spring. They're all different, and they grow HUGE: 5 or 6 inches across the cap, averagely.
For foragers, the Pacific Northwest is heaven. And this year is supposed to be excellent for chantrelles, morels, King Boletes (porcini), lobster mushrooms, and other gourmet varieties. How cool is it to go out and find, by the bagful, something that sells at specialty stores for $24 a pound? Mushrooming is a counterpart to berrying, but berrying is less likely to get you killed. Because there are things like mock-death-morels (not the actual name). There is an all-white one that has several names, such as The Death Angel -- a famous poisonous one. It won't make you sick; it will kill you outright. And this large, lumpy golden kind that causes kidney failure over an extended period of time killed an experienced mycologist in Australia. I guess it's tasty.
But I learned that not all mushrooms are either poisonous or gourmet. A large number of varieties are just... "unpalatable". There were so many different varieties at the show, and crowds! Unlike many collector-type shows, the people who attended the PSMS show were lively, enthusiatic, and over-all rather youthful. It's probably because mushrooming is tied in to hiking and outdoor activity. The level of enthusiasm was contageous, too. It was wonderful to be around a bunch of adults who were really interested in something, not as escapism, but actually alive and interested. I was at the book table (books on dyeing with mushrooms, cooking with mushrooms, finding mushrooms, identifying mushrooms, and growing them) when a couple were showing some pictures of what they had recently found on the Olympic Penninsula: black chantrelles. One of the women minding the book table became very excited. Black chantrelles are so rare! "Have you shown (so-and-so)?" she asked the couple. And, "Were they delicious?" (The answer was a definite yes.)
These people enjoy mushrooms just for their beauty and rarity and brief availability. Many of them are artists; if you can't eat them, you can still sketch them.
The mushrooms on display (there were hundreds) were golden, orange, pink, light purple, jade green, every tone of brown, black, white, translucent... and some were small clusters, traditionally shaped cap-on-stem types, "jelly fungi" (just like it sounds), lumpy masses, and delicate coral-like fans. Some looked like moths, or cloth. One kind was described as a "toasted marshmallow" when it was immature (accurate). One category is "gilled" mushrooms -- that's like your usual store-bought button or crimini. Another category has a toothy fringe instead of gills... those were pretty. They had names like "bear's tooth".
There was a kind called a "puffball". The ball-shaped top is full of mushroom spores, and when the rain falls on them, they break open a little hole and puff out the spores like smoke. It sounds gross, but they were kind of impressive, like a clever little firework. (Oh, and different varieties have differently colored spore-clouds. Like pink.)
Y'know, it's the kind of thing that sounds dorky, but it was fun! It was brainy+outdoorsy+gourmet+artistic. How many things can overlay all of that? I bought 2 beautiful pairs of earrings from a local woman. They're etched metal, layers of brass and red copper, realistic to the mushroom variety but so beautiful. She had a watercolor for sale, too, and the detail on it was breathtaking.
cygna_hime, I was walking around the event, and it seemed to me (oddly, I guess) that you would have just loved it, because it was weird, but lovely, too. They had a little closet to show off the ones that flouresced under blacklight, in aqua, light blue, and pink (again). Of course, I wanted to set it up better, with their blacklight shielded and such.Well, now, it's off to dinner. I just spent $15 at the grocery store, buying expensive ingredients for a lazy pizza (ready-to-go foccaccia, fancy domestic mozzarella, Boar's Head pepperoni); that's less than what it cost the last time to have pizza delivered. I need to choose to go to the store more, even if it means some poor guy with two jobs doesn't get a tip from me. (I should so not be eating the pepperoni. That's +40% of my daily sodium, and three of my family members have hypertension.) Funny enough, there're no mushrooms on this pizza (just in the sauce).
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-10-18 07:56 pm (UTC)For example, whatever's on FFN is the original version of the story. It's a workable story in its own right, and contains everything needed to enjoy it.
If they visit my website, they'll find the revised version of the story, with rewordings and corrections and little HTML tricks that FFN doesn't support. An "enhanced" experience, so to speak.
If they follow my LJ, they'll be able to find DVD-style commentaries and little sidestories that elaborate on certain plot points.
Of course, all this is dependent on my actually finishing something.
no subject
Date: 2004-10-19 09:37 am (UTC)But should I keep "Happiness, Anyway" only here, or go ahead and put it out? (It's kind of your belated birthday present.)
no subject
Date: 2004-10-18 08:33 pm (UTC)That's all I know about mushrooms. That's the big one with the red cap with white dots on it, as in the Smurfs. I think the red "skin" is edible, but the white dots are some particularly nasty poison - arsenic maybe?
Talk about dredging up memories from about 20 years ago (when I could also identify "magic mushrooms")!
no subject
Date: 2004-10-19 09:39 am (UTC)Magic mushrooms, huh? I knew you had a secret, dark past! ^^
no subject
Date: 2004-10-19 01:02 pm (UTC)(They grew everywhere in the t-house complex I lived in. Were almost as common as grass, especially this time of year!)
Your earrings sound really pretty. I've always thought the amanita was the prettiest mushroom...
no subject
Date: 2004-10-19 05:11 am (UTC)I reward people for seeking me out, I guess. People who visit my LJ get the dubious pleasure of seeing me babble on any and all topics simultaneously. Whether this is, in fact, a reward is dependent on the reader.
no subject
Date: 2004-10-19 09:42 am (UTC)