BEWARE !!!!

 

BEWARE !!!!!!

 

If you should ever get a notion (as I have) to be creative and make certain food groups of your own for your family, please be advised.

THINK VERY HARD ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO DO.

As you know I am now retired and thus far I have attempted several different food related experiences with a variety of results which I will gladly explain as a public service announcement for which I think I can get a tax deduction this coming year.

Number one, if you are planning on attempting to make any of the following:

Cheese, butter, bread, jam.

I suggest you take my advice and look at the cost of your labor and materials in much the same way you would when buying a boat that you only use 3 times a year when your brother-in-law comes to visit and wants to go fishing for ½ a day. It is not cost efficient.

Cheese- I can buy a block of good cheddar for $5.24. The gallon of whole milk needed for the same amount of cheese costs $7.85. You are already in the hole before you start. Then you need cheesecloth to strain, a cheese press and various and sundry other chemicals to help the process. These various chemicals have a shelf life of about 13 hours from the time they arrive until they expire, and you will need new ones which can only be bought from the Cheese Institute of the World. If you have the milk and your chemicals ready you must start the entire cheese process within about 45 minutes, or everything will automatically go bad, and you must start all over. If you do succeed you will be forced to wait up to 6 months for the cheese to ‘cure’ to see if you did the process correctly.

Thus, I am a no-go person for trying to make cheese again.

Butter-  4 sticks of butter cost us $4.18 and requires nothing other than peeling off the wrapper. On the other hand, a carton of whipped cream costs $5.54 and requires a stand mixer with either a paddle or a whisk and several hours of your time to make the same 4 sticks. I initially used the paddle attachment as the video shows and after one hour switched to the whisk and got a sizeable amount of soft butter which firmed up after being in the refrigerator overnight. It had zero flavor.

Scratch butter from my list.

Jam-a jar of strawberry jam costs $2.62. Enough frozen strawberries to make the same amount costs $3.00 each. I need two bags of it, so my material cost for a product I can buy at $2.62 is $6.00 before any labor is required. I can’t even calculate the cost of the sugar and other stuff.

Needless to say, unless you are the government, this is not a workable effort.

Bread- I have saved the best for last. Do not, I say again do not believe the recipes you get on a hourly basis from some guy in Boise about his ‘fabulous’ bread. He is lying to you and wants you to subscribe to his substack account for only $5.00 a month. He has been making bread for about two weeks. No, use the recipe your grandmother wrote down on the cover of a 1956 Sears and Roebuck Christmas catalog. At this point in time, I am about 0-15 on my bread making efforts. It either doesn’t ‘proof’ right or it’s too dense or the crust didn’t harden or any of about 25 other things. Rye bread at our store is $4.45 a loaf. Bread flour is $5.86 a sack, so you are on the downside right there. But even if the cost of the materials isn’t too much out of whack, there are several other things to consider. You need a Dutch Oven, not a English oven or a French oven. Only one from Holland. Mine says ‘made in China’ but Amazon says it’s Dutch. Who am I to argue with Bezos? Then you must have a banneton basket to proof it properly. I am wondering how native Americans and cave men managed to get their water temperature at precisely 110 degrees, no more no less? Then you have to have a ‘lame’ to cut the bread before baking. A regular knife or razor blade wouldn’t do at all.

If you have the proper equipment and if you hold your mouth just right and if the moon is properly aligned with Venus and your room temperature is not too hot or too cold, you may end up with a pile of dough you can put in the oven.

Trust me, it is less stress and heartache to just buy this stuff at the store. I know, I know you don’t have the mental satisfaction of actually producing something with your bare hands, but it leaves you time to explore other venues.

Like gardening.

I’ll keep you posted.

See you next week… Peary Perry

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"TOO SOON OLD"

 

“TOO SOON OLD….”

 

We’ve all heard that saying…. “ too soon old, too late smart”.

I could be the poster boy for this quotation. It has only taken me some 83+ years to realize some vital thoughts about myself. “too late smart” indeed!

Yesterday, my wife and I drove to Waco, Texas for a doctor’s appointment. No big deal, no problem, just about 50 miles each way. Stopped and had lunch with some friends and came home.

Very peaceful and enjoyable.

I wake up this morning about 5AM and as I am drinking my coffee, I am thinking back about yesterday’s trip. What made it so pleasant?

It dawned on me (“too late smart” again) that I was engaged with my wife of 50+ years in conversations about everything and about nothing. No stress, no agenda, no pressure, just mundane words about everything you could think about and enjoying the day.

So why was this different than any other day?

For #1, I have retired after 68 years of working and #2 I don’t have a lot to worry about. The amazing thing is that it has taken me over a year and a half to come to grips with it and jus roll with the tide.

We don’t have any health issues, which is a major blessing in and of itself and our finances are ok for what we need. I can’t think of a thing I really need.

So, what happened?

Well, I think we (meaning all of us) live with such stress in our lives that we don’t know how to just stop and take a breath and relax. The pressures we put ourselves under with jobs we don’t like or work that seems impossible to produce along with the stress of family and friends’ relationships takes more of our time than we have.

We want to succeed in our work environment. We want our kids to be happy and successful. We want to maintain good, caring relationships with our extended family and our friends. But who has the time and energy for all of the stresses we put upon ourselves? All of us have the same number of hours in a day, don’t we?

But, fear not, Professor Perry is here to give you some words of wisdom for your use (free of charge).

Try and focus your energy on things you can fix and stop worrying or filling up your limited brain space with things beyond your control. You (nor I) can do anything about those folks in Washington D.C. except vote. We can’t do anything about the turmoil in other parts of the world either, can we?

We can be kinder to our neighbors, listen to our kids more and call or visit our old parents. After they are dead, you will regret not having visited more with them. Call someone you haven’t talked to in many months. Try and listen to them and encourage them with your support. Often you will find you are much better off than a lot of others out there which will go a long way towards making you appreciate your life.

In short, accent the positive and eliminate the negative. I think someone wrote a song about that.

Enjoy your time here on planet Earth, don’t wait around until you are too old to hug each other or take a simple road trip together on a sunny day.

The days go much faster the older you get.

See you next week, don’t forget to subscribe….Peary Perry

 

 

 

 

 

I NEED YOUR HELP

 

I NEED YOUR HELP---

 

Several years ago, our pastor committed suicide. As you might imagine, it was a huge blow to his family as well as to our church. As a result, I wrote an essay about the things I see pastors doing for their church congregations that are not necessarily pastoral responsibilities.

I, for one, do not believe it is the pastor’s job to fix a flat tire for someone in the parking lot of his church if he is somewhat old. I do not think they should be called to a church members house to unplug a toilet. I believe any church would have someone with a plunger to take care of an item such as this. I do not believe the pastor or clergy member should have to take care of dressing, bathing, and feeding of an elderly member unless they just felt compelled to do so. But to be ordered to do so as a part of their job description is beyond the pale, as far as I’m concerned.

As a result of my pastor’s death, I wrote an essay on my feelings about these non-pastoral requests. In July, it was resurrected again by a Christian publication, and I was asked to verify my research sources and to update these as well.

I’m sad to say that in the 10 years since this event, the statistics have not improved very well when it comes to the life of a pastor or clergy member.

Their divorce rate, depression rate, hopelessness and loneliness rate are very much equal to the secular population as well. The percentage of pastors considering leaving their jobs is sad.

Think about it. You are a pastor of a small church in a small town. Who can you complain or share with about some problem that you are carrying? You can’t discuss it with any of your church members. I talked to one pastor who has been in the ministry for over 30 years. I suggested to him that in his time as a pastor, he had seen more dead people than I ever did as a cop in Houston. He agreed, and I asked how this affected him and was there any therapy or counseling for the stress he endured. He said there was now, but it just became available a couple of years ago.

Pastors are humans. They suffer and feel just like you and I do. They have families and need down time. Otherwise, they will suffer burnout and bitterness. Think about this: when do people get married? The rehearsal dinner is usually Friday night and the wedding on Saturday. Funerals usually occur on weekends in order to allow family members to arrive. What days off do pastors get? If there is a Saturday in there, then he has to work. Now, he realizes that is part of his job, but don’t you think he gets weary with it sometimes?

Revisiting these statistics made me think. We have an Alcoholics Anonymous, a Gamblers Anonymous, as well as many others. Why not have one for pastors and clergy?

So, a pastor friend and I created one. We started Pastors Anonymous on Facebook. It is a closed group for pastors and clergy only. It is a safe place for clergy of all denominations to go to and ask for help, advice, and resources from other experienced pastors and clergy. Doctrinal issues such as baptism, women preachers, etc. are not to be discussed. We want this to be a place to discuss industry issues such as addiction or depression or loneliness.

I will be the administrator, not a commentator, since I have never been a pastor.

Being a pastor or clergy member is a hard job and requires commitment and dedication. We need to support them as best as we can. They need us.

Please send this PASTORS ANONYMOUS Facebook page to any active or retired pastor or clergy member you might be acquainted with.

Who knows? We might just be able to help save someone and their family as well.

See you next week….Peary