Fuel Cells

I'm now an expert in Fuel Cells.  No, seriously.

I just returned from visiting my mother in southern California.  While there, I decided to take a quick trip to northern California and visit my son, daughter-in-law and my sister. 

 

Travis is getting his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at U C Davis.  His emphasis is fuel cells.

 

When you get a PhD, you don't go out and invent the wheel.  You take a tiny portion of the wheel and make THAT better, or explore that tiny portion of history, etc.  So, Travis is taking existing fuel cells and making them a bit more efficient.  If lots of people do that, we soon will have dilithium crystals to power the warp drive to other solar systems.  Until we are in the Roddenberry/Star Trek world of the future, we have TRAVIS to solve the power needs of the world.

 

He took me to his lab. 

 

There are huge, pricey machines used to cut and design parts for things we don't know anything about. 

 

Your tax dollars, and corporate funding, at work. 

 
They buy blocks of steel and turn them into useful bits. 




 


Travis is taking existing fuel cells and making the grooves in them a different shape and depth to increase surface area and make them more efficient. 

 

The goal being to have a energy module in each house that is chock-o-block with many fuel cells.

 

  Eventually the unit will be the size of your water heater.  Hydrogen and oxygen is pumped in and it converts to electricity from the carbon(?) strip on the fuel cell. 

 


Any emissions are water, or maybe air.  I think.  You run all the appliances, lights and other energy users from this unit.

Do not run out to your local hardware store.  Not currently available.

Do not hold me to this explanation.  I think it is like going to a tribe in the deepest jungles of South America and telling them how to use a computer and how they work.  I am the Korowai in this explanation. ( "Yeah, that makes sense.  Sure, I understand.  Wha???")

Regardless of my lack of complete understanding of his research, I am very proud of him and the work he is doing.   Who knew my smart, little boy would grow up to be a smart, tall man who will help with energy consumption and reduce the emissions from energy plants?

Of course, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, she said modestly.

Oh, and in his spare time he has volunteered with  a high school in New Orleans for their robotics program. 

 

Built a wooden boat. 

 

And recently he has worked with the National Science Foundation to assist with teaching math and science to local sixth graders and is now working with the administration of that program.

A Plethora of Crepes

 

I am considering adding crepes to the breakfast menu for our B&B.

The problem is keeping them warm.  Each crepe takes about a minute to make.  I like to serve a variety of crepes, so that is several for each guest.  Then you have to add the fillings.

 

The fillings I chose were Nutella with sliced strawberries, lemon curd with fresh raspberries and lemon curd with a blueberry sauce.

I made the blueberry sauce with:
1 cup frozen blueberries
2 Tablespoons sugar

Cook over medium heat until the blueberries break down and it thickens, stirring frequently

 

I made a crepe recipe of:

3 eggs
1 1/4 cup whole milk, which I improvised by mixing 1 % milk and some whipping cream
1 cup flour
1 Tablespoon melted butter
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons Kahlua, homemade from my cousin Saja  You can ask her, but you should probably just buy some.

 

Mix all the ingredients and then strain them to remove any lumps. 

 

Chill for at least an hour.

 

Heat a crepe pan and melt a small dab of butter.  Add another dab every third crepe or so.

 

Pour a scant 1/3 cup of batter in the warm pan and swirl it to cover the bottom of the pan.  When the top looks dry, about 1 minute, flip the crepe and cook for  about 15 seconds, or until  done.  Set aside and make another.  I would have gotten a picture, but the batter is thin and you have to swirl it immediately.  No time to pick up a camera.  I am sure there are You Tube videos for you to watch!

 

I had a practice night and invited a friend to see if it could be done.  For this experiment, I made all the crepes.  Then I set up and electric griddle and heated them three at a time.

 

Then I filled them and did the next batch.

 

After I filled them, I dusted them with powdered sugar.

 

All the crepes were delicious.  But they weren't all hot.  I guess I could serve them one guest at a time.  Or just serve them for US and not for anyone else.  I know you want crepes, B&B guests, but you can't have them.

Still deciding.....

Perfectionist

I started and finished a scarf this last week.  It was super hot and I enjoyed having an inside project.  I had to do it in and around our latest guests. 

 

They were only here two days, but you have to clean, make beds and set out fresh towels.

 

Then you have to fix something to welcome them each afternoon and set out fresh towels after the first night.  Not to mention the meal planning, grocery buying and then making and serving said breakfast.

 

These were the first guests that came specifically to be HERE.  Others have come here for weddings or graduations. 

 

Some have stopped here on their way to somewhere else or just passing through.  I hope we gave them a great, relaxing vacation.  They left some very nice remarks in our guest book, so I think we did.

 

The night before their last day, I finished my latest knitting project.  A beautiful, shiny, midnight blue, grapevine lace scarf.  It's hard to tell in the light from the late evening, but it is just a beautiful color.  Then I wove in the loose ends, sprayed it with water and stretched it out flat to block it and let it dry. 

 

Then the worst thing happened. (cue Jaws, or maybe even Psycho music) I discovered a GLARING flaw in the scarf.  When you are knitting scarfs, they frequently curl up on the edges.  This scarf had a very dark yarn and it was hard to see the details of the pattern.  But when I blocked it and had it all flat and in bright light, I noticed I had made an error.  ( cue curse word of choice,  not the worst one but the next one down)  An entire ROW of an error.

 

Luckily, it was fairly close to one end.  Had it been at the beginning, I would have just let it go.  I have no idea how to unravel and knit backwards. But it was close to the finished end.  I stressed about it all night.

The plan was to give it as a gift.  You have to figure which person to give it to.  Then you have to figure, who won't notice?  Or you can tell them about it and hope they wear it even with all the flaws.  I don't have good friends and then second tier friends, to whom I could give a second rate gift, so I HAD to fix it.

 

I snipped the corner where I wove in the last tail of yarn.  I unraveled the scarf, keeping track of which row I was on, for the sake of the pattern. 

 

Then I slid the knitting needles back in, keeping a crochet hook handy to pick up any dropped stitches, and re knit the scarf to the appropriate length and finished it AGAIN.  And blocked it AGAIN.

 

And now I can give it with a happy heart and I hope it will be well used and enjoyed.  And, dare I say it, loved?

 

Scarf Addiction

I don't know what it is.  I decided to make a few scarves for family members as Christmas gifts.  In the past I have made afghans and they are a real time commitment.  I can only do one or two a year.

Last year I made a scarf for my favorite son-in-law.  It is amazing how fast they work up.  Especially compared to an afghan.  I thought I could make a bunch of scarves and that would be good.

Then I made three.  How satisfying to make three nice gifts with wonderful, soft, yarn.  It will keep them warm and cozy.  Oh, no, I thought.  I am going on a trip soon and staying with a friend.  I better make one for her.  Oh, no, I thought.  I am visiting my sister, also.  I haven't seen her in years.  I should take her a gift.  Oh, no, I thought.   I am also staying with my son and favorite daughter-in-law.  And then I am going to meet some of my very good friends for a meal while on my trip.

You see where this is going. 

 

The friend I am visiting in California hosts me almost every time I visit.  She has for years.  I found some fabulous variegated yarn that I thought she would love.  I know.  It is summer in California.  But she can save it for winter....when she travels...some place where it is cold.  Like HERE.

 

You knit this one with two strands of yarn at the same time.  It takes a little more concentration as you have to knit up two loops at a time and that is harder to do by feel.  You have to look.

 

Then it curled on the edges and I had to block it.  This involves getting it wet and laying it out the way you want it to dry.  It is really long.  I had to move it before it was time to feed the cats dinner.  I'm sure you can figure out why....

So now I have four made.  And enough yarn to make three more.  I don't think I am going to finish them all before I leave.  I thought scarves would be LESS stress!
 

Screen Porch Fix

Our latest two B&B guest just left.  They were the first ones to use the screen porch since we had a bunch of work done.  They seemed to like it and we are mostly happy with the new porch.

 

The biggest problem was that water collected at the edge of the porch and was starting to rot the fascia boards on the posts. 

 

The posts that hold up the rest of the house.  Important posts.  Also, the railings around the perimeter were so low that I couldn't clean, or even vacuum, under them.  Yuck.

 

The screens allow the most delightful breezes to circulate, making this an ideal three season porch.  The screens also allow rain and snow in, thee root cause of the problems.  Dilemma.

 

We thought about putting in windows and then opening them when we were out there.  That sounded really pricey and HOT!  Then we would have a greenhouse!

 

We decided to remove all the damaged fascia and replace it with concrete board, impervious to water.  We also cut the wood all around the perimeter and replaced it with marine plywood and a sealer.  I asked for Trex at the very edge and got something else, but it is also impervious to water and looks okay.

 

When we removed the railings, we noticed that the bottom rails had collected water and were gross.  The water collected there was also held against the fascia on the posts and was causing problems, which is why we have the concrete boards up so high on the posts.  The contractor said that the drop off the porch to the ground was not over 30 inches, so building codes didn't require a railing.  We just put the top rails back and hope the animals don't decide to ruin the screens by running through them or scratching them up.  So far, so good.

Wasn't Lee smart to mark all the rails?  The openings weren't identical, so it would have been a real problem if he hadn't thought to do that.

 

Then we had some indoor outdoor carpet installed.  This is a thinner carpet than the last one we had.  It shows all the flaws and lumps in the subfloor and I don't like that.  But because it is a thinner product, we hope it will dry sooner and cause fewer problems.

The room is even more open with just the one rail and we really like the color of the new gray carpet.

 

So Jeff and Ashley were the inaugural users  of our refurbished screen porch.  They only stayed one night, so they only had one breakfast here.  They seemed to like it and said nice things in our guest book.

 

We hope future guests will also enjoy this area for their breakfasts, but we really did it for us.  We eat most of our meals out here and it is one of my favorite places.   And it's even better, now.

Ham, Brie and Apple Sandwiches

Once again I was reading a book and one of the characters mentioned food.  Then it stuck in my head and I had to have it.  And this is why they do product placement in TV and movies!  I am such a sucker.

The story had people at a wedding shower or something like that (THESE details escape me, not the FOOD) and they were served ham, brie and apple sandwiches.  I thought it might be good to melt the brie.  Or maybe have them in a Panini sandwich.  One problem.  I don't have a Panini press.  Oh, but I DO have a George Foreman grill and that is the poor man's Panini press.

 

Ham, Brie and Apple Sandwich

Thinly sliced ham.  I used Black Forest ham.  I like the smokiness.
Brie
Apple,  I used Granny Smith
French Bread
Mustard  I used honey mustard
butter, softened

If I had been able to find a chutney, I would have added that.  You should use it if you live in a civilized area.

 

Heat the George Foreman grill

Peel and thinly slice the apple.  Slice the French bread about 1/2 to 1 inch thick.

 

Generously spread the mustard on both slices of the bread.  Fold the ham to fit the slices and place on a slice of the French bread .  Add a few slices of the brie to cover.  Don't worry about the rind.  You will never see it.  Then place the apples on top.

 

Place the other slice of French bread on top and butter it.

 

Place the butter side down on the hot grill and butter the top slice of bread.  Close the cover and wait for the magic. 

 

I cooked it for about 4 minutes, but feel free to peek.  I stopped when the top was brown and the brie started to ooze out of the sandwich.
 


Serve it with the rest of the apple.  And a tall glass of Sangria, should you be so lucky.