It’s been a damned long winter, but signs of spring are everywhere.
I’ve finished my current bag of oatmeal–Bob’s Red Mill Rolled Oats. I don’t insist on the organic variant, but Amazon doesn’t seem to have the inorganic variety–and it’s warm enough I feel no urge to replace it.
The Chron is beginning to run baseball stories that have nothing to do with the As’ attempts to relocate outside of Oakland. According to the latest story, their slogan this year is “Rooted in Oakland”. I’d suggest they reconsider, but since they’ve already filmed commercials using the phrase, it’s probably too late. (To clarify, “root” has several meanings, not all of which convey the sort of message the As probably had in mind. In particular, the Australian slang interpretation makes it a darn good summary of the organization’s attitude towards the team’s fans over the past decade or so.)
And, arguably most importantly, the recent rains have resuscitated our lemon tree. After more than a year of producing next to nothing, it’s suddenly covered in lemons.
Let’s get one thing clear. I know some of you outside the Bay Area are thinking “Whoa, that writing thing must bring in pretty good money if he can afford a house with an attached citrus grove.” Untrue. It’s one tree. And, to be blunt, lemon trees are common around here, only slightly rarer than indoor plumbing. Granted, ours is a little unusual, in that–until the drought took its toll–it produced so many lemons we thought it must be part zucchini. But realty listings don’t even bother mentioning lemons; they’re just assumed.
But I digress.
It’s not exactly the season, but what can you do? When your lemon tree gives you lemons…
So there’s a jug of lemonade in the fridge, made to an exacting, complicated recipe:
- Combine one part sugar, two parts lemon juice, and six parts water.
- Mix well.
(You can make this at home, even if you don’t have a tree. Do not get packaged lemon juice, especially the kind that comes in a little plastic lemon. The flavor just isn’t there. Buy lemons and squeeze ’em yourself. Better yet, get the kids to squeeze ’em. It’ll keep them out of trouble for a few minutes and give them a sense of accomplishment.)
I know some of you are thinking “Sugar? No, honey!” It’s a valid point. But I’ve never had much luck with honey. It doesn’t dissolve as well as sugar.
And, while I’ve had some tasty honey-based lemonades, IMNSHO the flavor of the honey distracts from the pure lemon-sour/sugar-sweet contrast that’s the soul of the beverage.
Pitchers and catchers begin reporting to Spring Training on Sunday. Have a cold glass of lemonade and enjoy the turning of the season.
Koi Scribblings 
I have to make my peace with the “e-version” of the Chronicle, given that the Chron is my primary source of news about both the A’s and the Giants. I’ve been on the verge of cancelling my on-line subscription, because I really hate trying to navigate through the e-Chron. I subscribe to two other online newspapers, and numerous lesser news sources, and none of them require the patience, attention and serious hand-eye coordination to get from the front to the back; I don’t know how they could have made it more demanding and frustrating.
That said, okay. I need to be reading the articles about our local guys, and I really depend on the little box, bottom of the second page, that gives the schedules. I’ll grumble, but I’ll do it, every day, wishing, every minute, that I still had an actual newspaper in my hands- but the damned thing just got too expensive, and this time of year the paper was usually soggy and had to be dried over the heater, before I could read it.
All of which is to say, thanks for the reminder. I’ll make the Sporting Green part of my daily routine, as we count down to the week- not so far off, now- when life once again has meaning. Thanks.
LikeLike
I confess that I’m more than a little underwhelmed by the e-version of the Chron as well. Slow and awkward. So I continue to deal with the dead tree version. Despite the need to toast it from time to time, especially on Sundays when they don’t tie the anti-rain bags shut, the aggravation factor is much lower.
As for the little box, I was delighted when the teams began posting iCal versions of their schedules. Makes it possible to put them on my phone, complete with starting times and TV channels.
LikeLike