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Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it!
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Subject: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Mark Cohen Date: 31 Jan 02 - 04:57 PM Genie mentioned on another thread that she would be interested in using her frequent flyer miles to attend a Mudcat gathering in Hawaii, if such a thing would happen. This has been talked and joked about before, but with airfares so low it might be a good time to see if there's enough interest to make it happen. I live in Hilo, on the Big Island of Hawaii. There are places to meet for song circles and such. I have a spare bedroom and a couch in my apartment, and there's also camping available and relatively inexpensive places to stay. (My former house would have done for an entire festival, and there's a slight chance it could be made available.) If people really want the sunny Hawaiian paradise experience, we could try meeting in Kona. It's about a 2 hour drive from my house, but there's an airport on that side of the island. If there's interest, I can post links to maps, weather and tourist info, etc. So, any takers? I'm sure I can make this happen if there's interest (and flexibility!) Aloha, Mark |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Amergin Date: 31 Jan 02 - 05:03 PM sounds interesting, Mark....never been to the islands....if i could swing it might (stress on the might) be able to show up.... |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Sorcha Date: 31 Jan 02 - 05:49 PM You know what would be fun? We set up a special auction and everybody who donates stuff gets their name in the pot to win the $$ to buy airfare.....or put names in xx number of times for every $20.00(sic) raised........can you rent/borrow a fiddle in Hawaii? |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: wysiwyg Date: 31 Jan 02 - 06:41 PM One of our sons is stationed there (at Pearl) and has mentioned flying us out. Dunno when tho. I sure would love to meet you! ~Susan |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Genie Date: 31 Jan 02 - 07:42 PM Well, my schedule can be pretty flexible with enough advance notice. Count me in if the time is right. Genie §:-) |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Jeri Date: 31 Jan 02 - 08:19 PM Mark, I'd love to come, but I hate airplanes and I don't have any money anyway. Kinda puts a damper on all that "jet-set" stuff. Can you get Lion Brand Kona coffee? (I used to be addicted when I was in Korea, but they quit selling it there and I haven't seen it since.) Maybe I could do a swap for some real maple sugar or something... |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Mark Cohen Date: 01 Feb 02 - 04:23 AM There are much better coffees than Lion, Jeri. As best I can tell, some people in Honolulu (where they don't grow coffee) found a coffee company from the Midwest that had gone belly-up years ago, bought the trademark, and is trying to pull a Starbucks. They mostly sell imported Colombian or Brazilian or whatever, though they do also have Kona blend (10% Kona, by law), and I believe I've seen Lion 100% Kona. But what you want is the real local Kona stuff, grown, picked, processed and packed here on this island. Do you prefer whole beans or ground? (There's even one grower who makes organic Swiss process decaf.) I'll trade you for maple syrup--the dark kind, what they used to call Grade B. Aloha, Mark |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Jeri Date: 01 Feb 02 - 09:31 AM I'll PM you, Mark - the coffee sounds great and the syrup's available just up the road. Yum! We had our first real snow of the year yesterday and last night, and Hawaii is a wonderful place to dream about at the moment. |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Steve in Idaho Date: 01 Feb 02 - 10:14 AM Not this year I'm afraid. But the next year we are saving to go to Australia. Perhaps we could stay an extra day on our way and get together with you. I'd certainly enjoy that! If some folks do go be advised that I am jealous!! And BTW - Happy Birthday to you Doc! Steve |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Mark Cohen Date: 02 Feb 02 - 03:24 PM We'll let this go down the list again and see if anyone jumps up... |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Barry Finn Date: 03 Feb 02 - 09:44 PM Hi Mark, if it's maple syrup, you'd really want to try grade A, light or at least medium. In New England B means a tree winked at it. Jeri's smack dab in syurp ville too. If she waits a bit she can almost get right it out of the farmer's pail. Happy Slurpping. Barry |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Peg Date: 03 Feb 02 - 10:56 PM I love ya, Barry, but Vermonters who do the maple sugar thing for a living SWEAR by Grade B! I do,too; darker, richer, much more flavorful. Everyone: Mark Cohen is a super guy so visit him if ya can! Wish I could, but I am trying to sort out a trip to England this summer and it will probably be my only trip this year. Mark: I use to sell real Kona coffee beans years ago (along with other varieties) and I would love to find a source for it again. Nothing like it; those in the know realized it clearly rivalled the much more expensive Jamaica Blue Mountain (overpriced because the Japanese bid on 90% of the crop). Wish I'd thought of the maple syrup exchange first, but if you have a sweeth tooth, I could nab you some wonderful treats from Trader Joe's to trade...can't think of any other Boston-based treat...lobsters probably wouldn't ship very well! :) Peg
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Mark Cohen Date: 04 Feb 02 - 04:46 AM Barry, I think you're talking new system and Peg (and I) are talking old system. Now I only lived in Mass. for a year back in the 80s so I'm not sure about this, but it seems to me that what used to be Grade B (the dark flavorful stuff that I prefer) is now called Grade A dark. My suspicion is that some media type told the syrup producers that real people would only buy stuff that was labeled Grade A. I guess if there is a Grade B now, it's probably what used to be called "reject". Of course, I'm sure lots of people prefer Grade A light (the former Grade A?), but lots of people also like lager, while I'll take porter or stout any day. Oh, well, Chacun a son gout, which I think means either "Jack has noisy gout" or "Give the goat a shaka, son." Peg, try the Kona Coffee Council. There was a big brewhaha a few years ago when it turned out a number of distributors were selling "Kona coffee" that had less Kona in it than Hawaiian Punch has fruit juice. So now they came up with a seal certifying 100% Kona, and a new phrase, Kona blend, which means 10% (minimum, and usually just that much) Kona-grown beans. Well, it looks like there's not a whole lot of interest in an Mudcat gathering here (not surprisingly!), but the offer remains open for anyone who comes out this way. Aloha, Mark |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Charley Noble Date: 04 Feb 02 - 08:30 AM Steve - if you're seriously considering a trek to Australia, you might sift through my recent thread "5-String Banjo in Oz" for contacts. We had a wonderful time, and if you have the time it's always cheaper to go 'round the world than any round-trip. |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Barry Finn Date: 04 Feb 02 - 03:26 PM Government grading (this has been the standards for ages now) stipulates that fancy grade syrup be maple-sap syrup, free from foreign material & of a density of 36 degrees Baume hydrometer reading (no clue) reading, weighing not less than 11 lbs. to the gallon. It should be of a color no darker than that designated in the U.S. color standards as light amber. It should possess a characteristic maple flavor, should be clean, free from fermentation & free from damage caused by scorching, buddiness, any objectionable flavor or odor, or any other means. Grade A syrup must be the same as above except in color. The color is darker than light amber, but no darker than that designated in the U.S. color standards as medium amber. Grade B is the same as above except in color & flavor. The color is darker than medium, but no darker than that designated in the U.S. color standard as dark amber.br From the Maple Sugar Book, "the finest syrup has been compared to a pale ginger ale, grade A to a Pilsner beer, grade B to tea & grade C to coffee. In the not to far past grade B was usually used for cooking & grade C used in the tobacco industry or whiskey manufacturers. Most of what's on the shelves of the supermarkets are blended syrups & are artificially flavored. The best I've been able to get at the store was grade A medium. We used to live an hour or so north of here (southern NH) & always got syrup by stopping at a roadside stand or better yet where the farmer would hang out a shingle & sell from their doorstep (no bother to them). That's where we've also found the best (IMHO) candy, sugar, & butter. I guess it all boils down to personnel taste & preference. Sounds a lot like Kona coffee. Barry
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Stilly River Sage Date: 04 Feb 02 - 04:05 PM
Mark, one of these days I'd love to get over to Hawaii, but I don't really have a musical excuse to go. I don't play an instrument that is transportable and I only sing along in the background when someone else leads the song. My kids tell me that their father is making noises about maybe taking them to Hawaii next summer. I won't hold my breath--he takes a long time to plan things. But if he does, perhaps I can direct them your way so you can see how little John Dwyer's grandchildren resemble him--except in wit and talkativeness, that is! Maggie |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Mark Cohen Date: 04 Feb 02 - 05:30 PM I don't know, Maggie, I wouldn't have referred to your dad as "little John Dwyer"... (ouch!) Aloha, Mark PS, singing along in the background is fine, there are lovely places here for a song circle. |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Jeri Date: 04 Feb 02 - 05:59 PM Barry, the last time I bought any, I was told they no longer used "Grade A" or "Grade B" but "Light Amber" and "Dark Amber." The label on the stuff I bought says simply "Dark Amber." The place is about 8 miles east of me, and they make it there. I got to walk through the shed where they were boiling it down, and the smell was just wonderful! The sugaring should start later this month. |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Peg Date: 04 Feb 02 - 08:09 PM Trader Joe's sells it labelled "Grade B" and their description of it being "what the folks in the know prefer" is its selling point... Barry thanks for all that fascinating information on maple syrup! At the Tunbridge Worlds Fair in Vermont every year they sell soem of the best maple syrup products you can buy. They will sell PURE (not blended) maple sugar candy freshly made and the "seconds" are reduced in price! (but just as yummy) They also make maple sugar cotton candy and maple-frosted yeast donuts with REAL maple in the frosting (unlike the ersatz fake stuff from Dunkin' Donuts). Mark thank you for the Kona coffee information; I will try to order from them... Peg |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Stilly River Sage Date: 04 Feb 02 - 08:42 PM Mark, If you start a thread on maple syrup and Kona coffee perhaps people will discuss flying to Hawaii for a Mudcat gathering. ;-) I'm the English major, I should watch those modifiers. No, I wouldn't call him "little" either. But I was married to (and am still good friends with) a fellow from Puerto Rico who is American Indian (Taino) and Hispanic and the kids have olive complexions and big brown eyes. I managed to get a few genes through on my son, his hair is a dark blonde, but I was just a vessel for genetic material to pass through on my daughter. Spitting image of her dad. So, as I say, you wouldn't pick these kids out of the crowd first if you were trying to match family members. Heck, I used to have a fear of losing them in the store then trying to prove they were mine, back before they could talk. All this blonde-haired blue-eyed mom would have to show was stretch marks! (And this blonde would also have to watch those rays in Hawaii!). Maggie
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Genie Date: 08 May 02 - 12:31 AM Mark, In the recent thread on good news for Kendall, folks seem to be talking about gathering with you in Hawaii. Did you manage to put this thing together, after all? [I couldn't come, even if you did, mind you, because of work conflicts, but I'm curious. More power to you and all the mucdat wahines and kanes who meet you there, if you do manage it!] Genie |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: CarolC Date: 08 May 02 - 12:37 AM (Genie - shhh... don't tell anyone. it's a secret tryst) |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Amergin Date: 08 May 02 - 01:14 AM Hey Mark...how about you coming back to the Northwest for the gathering this summer? |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Genie Date: 08 May 02 - 01:15 AM [Whispering]OK, Carol, mum's the word. Genie §;- ) |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Charlie Baum Date: 08 May 02 - 10:38 AM The maple syrup grading system is upside down--because it was invented back inthe days when people used maple instead of sugar. Grade A was the most like sugar and the least like maple. Grade B was more mapley and less like cane sugar, and Grade C even more so. (I encountered this fact in one of Noel Perrin's books of Vermont essays, most likely in First Person Rural.) --Charlie Baum |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Amos Date: 08 May 02 - 10:52 AM Well, Mark, creeping back to the thread, I'd give my eye teeth to come out and jam with you all -- or do you call it syruping? -- and we can trade notes on sap-gathering expeditions, which I used to do on occasion in Vermont. We had a middle-size boiling shed in the middle of the woods where I went to school, and some of my fondest memories are of sliding around the slopes on a tractor in the early Spring, collecting sap. There goes the thread again!! LOL! A |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Naemanson Date: 08 May 02 - 11:17 AM A gathering in Hawaii? What a nice idea. It would be nice to visit when the weather is good. When is the good season there? (This from a New Englander who knows better but has trouble believing there is a place where the weather is always good.) Actually there are job openings in my classification in Hawaii. Unfortunately my fiancee thinks living on an island would not be good for us. And I have my sights set on Europe.
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: SINSULL Date: 08 May 02 - 12:39 PM I have some frequent flyer miles...maybe...someday... |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: Mark Cohen Date: 08 May 02 - 08:04 PM Brett, tell her don't knock it if you haven't tried it. I can go outside comfortably in shorts and a t-shirt 365 days a year. (The other 1/4 day I may wear a sweatshirt.) Jeri and I did manage to do the Kona coffee/maple syrup swap, and that fresh New Hampshire maple syrup is fantastic! (All of you Vermonters and Mainers who are anxious to show me that yours is MUCH better than NH...I'm eager to learn!) And the plumeria massage oil is still warm... Aloha, Mark |
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Subject: RE: Mudcat gathering in Hawaii? Just do it! From: CarolC Date: 08 May 02 - 09:09 PM (Ooohhh, Baby!) I love it when you say "plumeria massage oil". |
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