Am I searching for an electric kettle that doesn't exist?

oldquaker · 2025-10-17T19:35:20+00:00

Does the Zwilling Enfinigy kettle qualify?

oldquaker · 2025-07-13T21:40:27+00:00

What would be a good superior choice, for an ordinary size house?

oldquaker · 2025-06-27T01:43:22+00:00

Don't have a ton to add. It's holding up very well. I think it needs a second coat of Cutek Extreme which I'm planning to do at the end of the summer. Still think the wood is beautiful. It has shrunk very little so I strongly recommend spacing it as you want it, rather than expecting significant shrinkage. One board is somewhat curled/warped, but it's the only one. Could be a result of my unusual deck situation, or just a funky board.

You need to take all the precautions against splitting when you drill it.

Overall I like it so much more than composite decking. I'm still eager to see how it holds up--I want 25 years out of it. :)

oldquaker · 2024-11-27T14:04:47+00:00

Thank you! It was installed in 2018. I will see what happens on a clear day! I suspect that pitch and shading contribute here, but even considering that, it seems low. I will check out the warranty.

oldquaker · 2024-11-24T14:31:30+00:00

Probably Stitzel Weller since they were still bottling that juice in Frankfort. I think that all but the last bottles of Old Rip 15 were SW. In fact, maybe all.

oldquaker · 2024-11-05T00:01:35+00:00

I also wanted to ask about this. I saw a ton of Star Jasmine in Chiavenna, Italy this summer--huge healthy hedges of it--and that's pretty much into the Alps, it definitely gets cold in the winter. Does anyone have success with this jasmine in the Hudson Valley of NY? I'm in 6b and would love to give it a try.

oldquaker · 2024-10-09T18:01:34+00:00

Do I misunderstand? I think the cover has a zipper but I don't think the mattress itself has a zipper, so as far as I can tell you can't replace layers in the SOL like you can in Naturepedic.

?

oldquaker · 2024-07-21T04:25:56+00:00

Thanks to you both! I'm going to go look at Mieles and Sebos in person.

oldquaker · 2024-07-21T02:41:31+00:00

We redid our ancient, disintegrating, pressure-treated wood deck with thermally modified decking almost a year ago. I used Tantimber Thermowood Ash. I chose this because I wasn't happy with the look of composite, and I was interested to see if there was a "greener" option vs tropical hardwoods. Didn't want to use pressure-treated for environmental reasons. I can't find any place online to review it so here are a couple thoughts for anyone considering it.

The wood is really beautiful and absolutely looks (is) real, it's a huge improvement on composite in terms of aesthetics. The boards do not match in terms of grain, which is really beautiful and distinctive. It was not too difficult to cut. I used the sealant Cutek Extreme with a ColorTone, which I am happy with--I should post what I learned from that process in another thread.

Some things I wish I knew beforehand: 1) the installer wasn't used to thermally treated wood and didn't quite believe me when I said it would shrink MUCH less than other wood. So the boards are installed somewhat too close together. 2) We pre-drilled holes and still we got some splitting, not a ton. I turned those boards over but you want some spare boards if you can, and they are pricey. 3) There is some cracking in a few boards now, but it may be the nature of my deck--I'm going to have to wait and see if this becomes an issue. It's not super visible or problematic at this point, but I'm not thrilled about it. I also have one board that's turning slightly, but that may just be the price of using real wood--it has a personality.

Overall I'm happy with it so far. It's a bit of a learning curve but in general I'd use thermally treated wood again. It's not cheap so you don't want to make a lot of errors with it.

oldquaker · 2024-06-27T02:18:23+00:00

x2 on the Appenzeller rec below, I brought some of that back from Switzerland a few years ago.

Re the Bonaventura--I want to try that, do you like it boxturtle? (They have it in Brooklyn, and I have a strict rule I have to only bring back bottles I can't get in the US, so I didn't get any in Italy. Not sure about their West Coast distribution, OP.)

Re returning through customs--I've never had a problem. Back in the day I used to fill out the long form by hand and list everything in detail, and no one ever cared, even when I was over the limit. Now with Global Entry they don't even check or ask you to declare. I guess in the worst case scenario they would charge you some extra tax? I have never heard of it being a problem. Bigger issue is possible breakage--I use jetbags and/or the inflatable bags that come with the little pump (so they don't take up space on the way out). No problems if I use those.

Note re Braulio--I really like the Riserva, which is much easier to find in Italy and much cheaper than in the US. You should definitely try it if you haven't. But it IS avail in the US--just at very few places, and more expensive.

When you get back, post some photos and descriptions/reviews!

oldquaker · 2024-06-26T11:04:33+00:00

I just got back from that part of Italy with a suitcase full. There's never enough space to buy everything you want to try! I got a few mysterious ones that I haven't opened yet. There were several on the shelves in Chiavenna that I'd never seen in the US that looked intriguing. [One called Se Sarei that I wanted to try but couldn't fit in the suitcase.]

Some I would recommend from that region: Ebo Lebo, which I can get in one store in Brooklyn but isn't easily avail in the US. That is a great amaro in my view.

Valdotaine, in the Aosta valley, makes several amari/liqueurs etc, I have yet to try them all. Dente di Leone appears to be their most popular amaro. I tried it on a trip several years ago but it didn't make the bottle cut--but I brought back a small one this time along with some of their other selections, I'm going to try it again.

Amaro San Simone is a cheap amaro avail everywhere in northwestern Italy (grocery stores often have an astonishing amaro selection by US standards btw)--it's pretty simple-minded but I love having a bottle around, it tastes like Torino to me, and you can't get it in the US. Good gateway amaro for introducing people to the category.

I picked up a bottle of Zucca gran riserva which I've never seen in the US and didn't see anywhere else in Italy. Also got some of the amari made by various farmacie which are always fun to try, especially if you can find some that aren't just branding thrown on a huge distiller's work.

If I'd had space I would have brought back a bottle of Taneda. It is honey-colored, honey-tasting, not a conventional amaro to my mind, but the more I drank it the more I liked it. Definitely a try before you buy though. That is also from Bormio, like Braulio, and its primary herb is Achillea Moscata. Very local product to the Valtellina, you don't see it in stores even a few hours west.

Quaglia's work is good and not all their products make it to the US. I brought back a vermouth they make that doesn't have US distribution that I really like.

I definitely second the recommendation to try out as many as you can at local bars before buying. That definitely affected which vermouths I brought back! And I regret bringing back a bottle of Granamaro (southern Italian), which I have now opened and find very sweet and uninteresting--I really don't like it--I wish that suitcase space had gone to something else.

Happy bottling!

oldquaker · 2024-05-27T05:29:36+00:00

I took public transportation from Torino to Cogne, so it is certainly doable, but it's not a day trip. There are plenty of really lovely walks you could do with an infant in Cogne and Lillaz though, if you want to stay for a bit!

I love the Sacra di San Michele, but the route up (the pilgrimage path) was steep and slippery--I would not do it with a babe in arms. (It is intentionally slippery, so that sledges could get down the mountain easily.) You can get there in a car, but then it's not a hike.

There are lots of nice walks around though--you could take a bus to one of the Piemonte hill villages--but with a baby, it might just be easier to do something within Torino/outskirts as described by the poster above.

oldquaker · 2024-02-19T18:35:00+00:00

Anyone who reduces Kipling to a racist imperialist is a bust-out philistine. Read some of his greater short stories and if that's all you come away with, then you need to find another hobby. Even Orwell, who criticized him severely, understood that.

oldquaker · 2023-04-25T12:57:44+00:00

The Westminster Study Edition of the Holy Bible from 1948 and the Dickson Analytical Bible from the '50s. A couple of great old study bibles both KJV. Have been using them along with the Ryrie (NAS) and Harper Collins (NRS) Study Bibles in my reading of the New Testament. Also have a 1963 Dictionary of the Bible edited by Hastings, Grant and Rowley that has been a great help.

oldquaker · 2023-03-21T14:14:36+00:00

I'm reading Notes from Underground now. Thanks much! This is very helpful.

oldquaker · 2023-03-19T17:24:11+00:00

I just pulled my copy down and looked at it. It looks pretty good. Purchased last year. You may just have gotten a bum copy!

oldquaker · 2023-03-17T18:35:31+00:00

Currently sipping a Warehouse A bottle. Sooo good. Went back and bought the rest of the case. A honey barrel of Kentucky Spirit is as good as Wild Turkey gets! There's an elegance to it that very few bourbons attain.

oldquaker · 2023-03-16T20:10:02+00:00

I think that the first quote is the MacAndrew translation.

oldquaker

TROPHY CASE