gova

(Continued from June 23)

“You will be able to make the salad bar display its capabilities in you usual smooth manner.”

“Thanks for your encouraging words.”

“I think that, in the future, you will be called upon to demonstrate more advanced robots.”

“My interpretation of your words is that I should be concentrating on determining which gadget I would like to demonstrate next.”

“You understood correctly.  Aunt Dorothy expects you to continue your proactive behavior.”

“Just to give my self-esteem an additional boost, remind me about the instances of proactive conduct on my part.”

“When you first started playing with the salad bar, it was just for fun; but, when you realized that the ladies were impressed, you increased your focus to achieve even greater smoothness.”

“If you have ambitions in the area of mindreading, you do have talent.  I did indeed redouble my efforts to impress the ladies even more.”

“I have known you for a long time; so, occasionally, I have a fairly good idea about what may be going through your mind.”

“What is your next example of proactive behavior?”

“The ladies were expecting you to take Sam out for a stroll and to make him duplicate some of the lingerie-bag moves.”

“I know that you would not have applauded me for copying that scenario.”

“You are right.  I was expecting you to show us your usual proactive tendencies.  Making Sam display some of his other skills, while doing repairs on your Mini, was a brilliant move.”

“Thank you for the praise, my friend; but, I feel compelled to point out that severing the Mini’s tailpipe was on the top of my things-to-do list.  Therefore, the idea of making Sam do it came to me effortlessly.”

(To be continued)

(Continued from June 20, 2010)

“Interesting development,” Alphonse said.  “You have often mentioned that you would like to make a bit of wine.  Obviously, you couldn’t possibly get a more favorable situation.”

“As I have explained to Thea, making wine from Zinfandel grapes is relatively easy.”

“Indeed, the high alcohol content means that you don’t have to resort to the use of chemicals.  Another advantage is that your grape vines are in a greenhouse.  If the North West summer turns out to be inclement, you have some control over heat provision.”

“Folks who make wine in apartments would be envious. On the farm, there is lots of room to manipulate equipment.”

“What about storage, do you have a cool place?”

“I haven’t seen it yet, but Thea mentioned a large cellar.  Apparently, the former owners used to produce cheese and butter, which needed to be kept cool.”

“I am looking forward to seeing the farm and your wine prospects.”

“When winemaking time rolls around, we will need your help.”

“Will that be a party kind of situation?”

“Very likely.  Elsie and Alice will be there as well.  Normally, wine from the preceding year is consumed.  Since we won’t have any, we can buy some Zinfandel wine and speculate how we will improve on that product.  By the way, how is the ailing bodyguard doing?  Is his convalescence progressing satisfactorily?”

“The latest information on him is that there was a slight complication, which has been dealt with.”

“What is the newest time estimate concerning his absence?”

“It will be at least three weeks before he will be able to return to his duties.”

“So, next week, you will be multitasking when we visit the robot factory.  The bodyguard will show the sales force how to demonstrate the various gadgets.”

“I am happy that the tour of the atelier will precede my performance with the salad bar.  Any additional knowledge about robots in general will help me.”

(To be continued)

.

(Continued from June 17, 2010)

“I am happy that our Zinfandel won’t have any chemicals in it.  Do all store-bought wines contain chemicals?”

“Most of them do.  Wineries use a chemical product to stop the fermentation, which brings about sediment.  Many wine drinkers don’t like the sight of sediment.”

“It is becoming obvious to me that certain folks may well need to have two different kinds of wine on hand,” Thea proclaimed.  “One kind, with chemicals and without sediment, to offer to clients or fussy visitors.  The wine that one drinks oneself can be syphoned off just before consumption.”

“Richard, in Tokyo, buys his wine at Costco.  He has found there a Chilean brand that contains sediment in each bottle.  When I have dinner at his place, it is the Chilean wine that he serves.  The sediment comes out in clumps, which, we tell each other, is prove that the wine is as old as the label claims.”

During the short ride from the shopping center to the place, near my apartment, where Thea dropped me off, she requested that I provide a few more details about Richard and his family.

Upon entering the front room of my condo, I noticed the blinking light of the answering machine.  There was a message from Alphonse.  He requested to be contacted immediately and he underlined the urgency by supplying his cell number.

It was the development that I had hoped for.  Alphonse would be waiting for my call.  It often wasn’t easy to contact him during the day.  He seemed to prefer the space of his Mini to that of his apartment.  Furthermore, recently, he had frequently left his cell at home.  “The money I save, by not being subjected to unnecessary chatting on my cell, buys the fuel for my Mini,” he asserted with a chuckle of satisfaction.

I did not have a cell phone, a situation that was about to change.  “I supply all the volunteers with cell phones,” Thea had told me.  “Aunt Dorothy’s accountant made an agreement with a telephone company.  Volume buying really does work out well.”

The contact with Alphonse was immediate.  “Where have you been all afternoon?” my young friend wanted to know.

I explained about the time spent on the farm and I briefly mentioned the winemaking store.  I then realized that he would definitely want to know the purpose of our stopping off at the shop.  So, I told him about Thea’s wonderful Zinfandel grapes.

(To be continued)

.

.

(Continued from June 14, 2010)

“As you might expect, Alphonse is very handy with tools.  So, he’ll construct the stand while you girls are doing the initial pressing.  Is there some lumber on the farm?”

“Yes, there is a shed that has all sorts of pieces of wood in it.”

In the winemaking store, along the far wall, there was a row of glass jugs filled with fermenting wine.  In noted that the jugs had been arranged in order of progression, which would allow me to show Thea the various kinds of action in the fermentation locks.

There were a good number of clients in the store; so, when a clerk came forward to assist us, I told him that we were familiar with the winemaking procedure.  Since we wouldn’t buy anything that day, I didn’t want to waste his time.  Furthermore, I would enjoy explaining details about winemaking to my daughter.

They were all ten-gallon jugs and most of them contained red wine.  The most recent addition was on the very right.

“In the spring, one doesn’t expect to find wine in the first stage of fermentation,” Thea remarked.

“They used concentrate, not fresh grapes, for these.”

“So, concentrate is available any time of the year,” I presume.

“Yes, but winemaking from concentrate is not so simple. It involves what you referred to as ‘fiddling with measuring cups.’  I would not be interested in working with chemicals.”

“I agree with you.  We will be patient and wait for our Zinfandel grapes to ripen.”

Thea and I walked over to the jug in which the wildest fermentation was occurring.  The wine was full of tiny ascending bubbles and the small hood, inside the fermentation lock, was bobbing up and down at full speed.

“I can clearly see that the bubbles of gas can easily escape and that no air can enter through the fermentation locks.  They are simple but effective contraptions.”

The fermentation lock on the middle jug showed moderate action.  A bubble came up every ten seconds.  To see an escaping bell of gas in the one to the left, we had to wait forty seconds.

(To be continued)

.

(Continued from June 11, 2010)

As we were walking toward the Audi, I remarked: “When I get home, I will sit down in front of my computer and write a lengthy e-mail to my sons in Tokyo.  There have been a number of very interesting developments.”

“How will they react to getting a sister in this advanced stage of their life?”

“They will undoubtedly react positively.  There has often been talk about the fact that a sisterly point of view would be beneficial.  Furthermore, in addition to my rendition of your good qualities, there will be a mighty favorable description of them by Alphonse.”

“How well do your sons know Alphonse?” Thea wanted to know.

“My youngest, Richard, is best friends with the big guy.  I imagine that the two have already been communicating.  I noticed that there are all sorts of computers in the boardroom.”

“What makes you so sure that Alphonse will talk positively about me?”

“It is mainly because of you that he finds himself in a great situation.  A day or so before, he was unemployed.”

“It was rather a one-thing-led-to-another kind of progression that caused Aunt Dorothy to form such a favorable opinion of Alphonse.”

After some more enjoyable kibitzing concerning who was most responsible for Alphonse’s enviable position, Thea determined that it was I.  She reasoned: “By making your young friend part of the Bob affaire, you started the chain of events.”

We were approaching the shopping center with the wine store.  So, the conversation reverted to our winemaking ambitions.

“I forgot to show you the big cellar where the former owners used to keep their butter and cheese cool.  That might be the ideal place to store the wine,” Thea said.

“Even without seeing it I am pretty well convinced that you have hit upon a splendid place.  Is there a floor drain in that cellar?”

“Yes, there must be one because I have seen them clean the floor with a hose.”

“We will have to build a stand on which to place the barrels so that we can manipulate them more easily.  Also, elevation is necessary for syphoning.”

(To be continued)

.

.

(Continued from June 08, 2010)

“He is extremely happy here.  In the Dakotas, there was not much that could be done in winter and he used to get bored.  Our mild winters allow him to putter around outside on the farm as well as work in the greenhouse.”

“Does he have relatives who live in the North West?”

“No, his children and grandchildren live in North and South Dakota, but they visit periodically.  He is fond of saying: ‘Since I am able to bank pretty well all my pension money, I can show my children and grandchildren a really good time when they visit me.’  Last Christmas, they all came west for a week.”

“Did they stay at the farm?”

“No, the old gentleman had made arrangements with a nearby hotel.  He had rented three luxury suites.  I couldn’t believe my ears when he mentioned the bargain price that he had been able to obtain.  He has an interesting way of haggling.  That talent also benefits my organization.  He gets seeds, plants and tools at very low prices.”

“He appears to be a really interesting gentleman.  Therefore, I venture to guess that pretty well all the volunteers are his friends.”

“That is correct.  At lunchtime, he usually consumes his meal in the company of a few volunteers; and, when he wants to go into town, one of them will drive him there and arrange for his pick-up later.”

“I take it that he does not have a driver’s license.”

“His Dakota license has expired and he does not want to go through the bother of obtaining one here.  Also, he does not consider himself capable of driving in the dark.  Apparently, his night vision is poor.”

“I am assuming that his relatives drive back and forth in their vehicles.”

“Yes, with whole families, that usually turns out to be a lot more convenient and more reasonable than flying, especially at Christmas time.”

“In that respect, your field manager has a bit better set-up than I have with my children and grandchildren in Japan.”

“On the other hand, you have the opportunity to experience and learn about an interesting culture when you go to visit them.  I am looking forward to accompanying you on your next trip there.”

(To be continued)

(Continued from June 05, 2010)

“Do you take any precautionary measures if stronger than average frost is forecasted?”

“Yes, we cover the carrots with straw.  We always have some bales ready in the shed and the field manager can depend on assistance from a number of volunteers.”

“In the summertime, your fields provide you with a much greater variety of vegetables than in the wintertime.”

“We supplement our North West winter yield with produce from southern California.  We have made an arrangement with an organic farm there.  They furnish us with vegetables at their cost.  They are fully aware of the charitable nature of our organization.  They usually visit us a few times during the year.”

The rain had stopped and the sun had come from behind the clouds; so, we walked into the field to view the small remaining patch of carrots.  Because of the exceptionally mild winter, the use of straw had not been necessary.

“During the next couple of weeks, we will have to dig up those carrots.  Very soon they’ll start growing again and the new foliage takes nutrition away from the roots.”

“What about the new growth on the kale stems?”

“That is an entirely different situation,” Thea responded with a laugh.  “The small and tender new leaves are great in the salad; and, since we don’t eat the stalks, we are not worried about the loss of nutrition in them.”

“The fields look very organized.  You must have a very good manager.”

“The gentleman in charge is a retired gardener who came west from the Dakotas.  He was attracted by our much milder North West climate.  We have made an interesting agreement with him.  He lives in the farmhouse for free and he gets his three meals a day.”

“So, his part of the bargain is that he organizes and oversees the work to be done by the volunteers.  Is that correct?”

“Yes, and he is very good at coordinating activities that need to be done.  One could say that his background prepared him for this position.  He used to be head gardener in a cloister.  In addition to a farm, there was a large ornamental garden to be kept in good condition.”

(To be continued)

(Continued from June 02, 2010)

“Rum or whiskey, eh.  That is interesting.  And, they would be better than new barrels?”

“Seasoned winemakers will shy away from so-called new barrels for a number of good reasons.”

“Your are implying that they are not really new.”

“Many of the barrels that are available in winemaking stores have been renovated.   All of the ones in the store near me are like that.  Only the metal hoops are new.  The wooden staves have been planed on the outside to make them appear new.”

“However, we won’t be able to see all of the inside.”

“You have just pinpointed the big problem.  Bad bacteria from previous wine may be inside.  It is much simpler to decide on rum or whiskey barrels with strong liquor soaked into the wood.”

“Hopefully the liquor barrels will be available.”

“We will have plenty of time to get good barrels as well as other equipment and gadgets before wine making season rolls around.  It is early spring and the pale-green leaves are just starting to show on the vines.”

We turned our attention to the midsection.  At a height of 90 cm, there was a table of about a meter and a half wide.  It extended the full length of the greenhouse.  Flats with small seedlings occupied the entire surface.

“Those tiny plants will be transplanted as soon as the soil becomes warm enough outside,” Thea explained.

We walked to the end of the table and around it to gain access to the right side of the greenhouse.  A table that was the same height as the one in the middle and about 70 cm wide stretched all along that side.  A bit less than half of its surface was taken up by various kinds of herbs.  Tomato plants filled the remainder of the space.

“In this temperate climate, which vegetables are hardy enough for the winter time?”

“We cultivate large quantities of kale, Brussels sprouts and leaks, which survive nicely even in cold winters.  When mild temperatures prevail, here in the North West, various kinds of cabbages also survive quite well.  Furthermore, we leave our carrots in the ground in the best-drained, sort of sandy, parts of the fields.”

(To be continued)

.

(Continued from May 30, 2010)

“So, after cleaning that jug, we will have enough room to syphon off barrel number two.  A little bit more than half will go into the jug and the remaining wine will go into barrel number one,” Thea reasoned.

“We will top up that barrel with juice from the second five-gallon jug.”

“And after we clean barrel number two, the remainder of wine from jug number two will be syphoned into it,” Thea observed with a chuckle.

“The wine from barrel number one, stored in temporary containers, should then go into barrel number two as quickly as possible.  Mind you, it should be fine because, as expert wine makers, we will have covered the containers carefully.”

“In this kind of scenario, I wonder how much juice would be left for topping up.”

“Anything more than two gallons would surprise me.  We would have washed away a lot of sediment.”

“Therefore, it appears that we just rehearsed the logistics pertaining to a small yield of grapes,” Thea concluded.  “During the next months, with moderate fermentation continuing, quite a bit more sediment would form and the two gallons wouldn’t be sufficient to replace that.”

“We would already be down to less than 25 gallons and the gasses that escape daily through the fermentation locks would contribute to a further reduction.”

“I am curious about the functioning of a fermentation lock.”

“Later, when you drive me home, we can stop off at the shopping center near my place.  There is a wine store in that complex.  We will be able to have a look at some other equipment and gadgets as well.  They have a good selection.”

“Are their prices reasonable?”

“For small items, like fermentation locks, that store will be alright.  However, we will probably be able to buy the crusher and the winepress secondhand, for next to nothing.  People who have to purchase grapes often make wine only once.”

“What about barrels?”

“Expert wine makers say that the best barrels have previously been used for rum or whiskey.”

(To be continued)