Countdown to Christmas 6

Countdown to Christmas 6 - Blast off!

How do fruitcakes travel? Stories of fruitcake on the Crusades, battles and pilgrimages as well as a more recent report of a fruitcake being taken up to Mt Everest are not surprising. My own travel story involves Papua New Guinea and my friend, Phil who makes fruitcakes and vacuum seals them to be opened later as a special treat when travelling and working as volunteers on special projects in the PNG highlands. Not only did the cakes travel well, they were delicious and so welcome as a treat with a cuppa, - always timed perfectly when homesickness and fatigue set in after being away from home for too long. Earlier in this countdown, I discovered that on some airlines fruticake is a banned substance becuase its density confuses scanners.. Phil's fruitcake has never had a problem travelling by plane!

from http://mentalfloss.com/article/60595/15-fun-facts-about-fruitcake

So much for going to exotic places! This fruitcake I think has the best travel story - to the moon and back! Disguised in a space food package, this compressed pineapple fruitcake was flown on Apollo 11 Space Mission. . As it was not consumed during the mission it was returned to earth and transferred to the National Air and Space Museum from NASA. The food was protected with a 4-ply, laminated film coating. This protected the food from loss of flavour, moisture and oxygen invasion, spoiling and excess crumbling, and was used on both the rehydratable and the bite-sized foods. from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. A typical Apollo menu suggests pineapple fruitcake as a lunch item for the astronauts.

from http://io9.gizmodo.com/vintage-menu-recalls-a-time-when-pineapple-fruitcake-wa-1688775507

I am not sure what is the going price for a piece of fruitcake which has been in space, but here is an auction lot described if you would like to own one.

Unique freeze-dried ‘space food’ from the collection of Apollo 15 commander Dave Scott. The first item, labeled “Corn Chowder,” measures 3.5 x 11 and rests within a sealed pouch to which a nozzle is attached. The label also bears the simple heating instructions; the other is a 4.5 x 3.5 block of four pieces labelled “Pineapple Fruit Cake.” Also included is a sealed skin cleaning towel. Accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Dave Scott stating “I hereby certify that this Apollo Food is from my personal collection.” In fine condition. RRAuction COA.

http://www.rrauction.com/bidtracker_detail.cfm?IN=541

There are few foods which can claim to be still edible after outer space travel - is that a positive or negative characteristic of the fruitcake? At least, it has the reputation of not spoiling in extreme conditions.

Tomorrow - Fruitcake's connections to royalty.

"Temari Or Not Temari?" Tutorial

Background Information: Temari (literally translated “hand ball”) is a Japanese folk craft that is alleged to have originated in China and was introduced to Japan five or six hundred years ago. Traditionally, the balls were constructed from wrapped kimono fabric remnants and silk threads. They were made by mothers and grandmothers for children to play with. Nowadays, decorative embroidered temari represent a highly valued and cherished gift symbolizing friendship and loyalty. Recently I've wondered if your don't use traditional techniques whether you should call what you create "temari". That is an ongoing debate but today I share what I do to make a "non-traditional temari".... 1.I start with a polystrene ball ( traditionally the balls were wound silk scraps or other organic materials) and begin to wrap with approx 4 ply wool, turning the ball as I wrap. 2. I then wrap another layer of wool in a similar fashion , this time a 3 or 2 ...

Bilby Infatuation

Wrapped wire and fabric bilby sculpture : Wilma Simmons 2016 Over the years I have been fascinated with the plight of the bilby and it has inspired quite a few of my cloth creations... With long pinkish-coloured ears and silky, blue-grey fur, the Bilby has become Australia’s version of the Easter Bunny. Unlike the rabbit, bilby numbers are falling rapidly. There were originally two species but the Greater Bilby is now commonly referred to simply as ‘the Bilby’ as the Lesser Bilby (Macrotis leucura) is thought to have become extinct in the early 1950s... Bilbies are nocturnal, emerging after dark to forage for food. Using their long snouts, they dig out bulbs, tubers, spiders, termites, witchetty grubs and fungi. They use their tongues to lick up grass seeds. Bilbies have poor sight and rely on good hearing and a keen sense of smell. To minimise threats from predators they’ll mostly stay within 250m of their burrows, but sometimes roam further afield depending on the food...

Countdown to Christmas 20 - Fruitcake song!

There are many songs about fruit cakes - not all of them referring to the Christmas cake we know and love.It is really surprising to learn via Google that there are 89 listed songs with references to Christmas cake or fruit cake - not all of them complimentary. Probably one of the most famous folk songs about Christmas cake is Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake (a favourite sung by The Irish Rovers). This first recorded comical Christmas song was written by C Frank Horn in 1883 in Pennsylania, as a variation of an Irish folk song, 'Miss Mulligan's Christmas Cake' . The chorus might give you the hint that Miss Fogarty's cake was not for the faint hearted or those who suffered from a weak stomach. Chorus : There were plums and prunes and cherries, There were citrons and raisins and cinnamon, too There was nutmeg, cloves and berries And a crust that was nailed on with glue There were caraway seeds in abundance Such that...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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