Thanks, Colleen. I thought I'd heard that. The worst, I think, would be someone who casts a random vote.

Of course, that's also different here. Except for president, we vote directly for the individual for a particular position, though some states also allow casting a single vote for a party. For president, even though the person who will take office has his or her name on the ballot, we're really voting for electors, who in turn meet and vote for president. Nowadays, they're bound by law to vote as directed by their state governments, which in turn are usually guided by some kind of law or regulation, whether it's winner take all or a proportion matching the proportion of ballots won. It's supposed to make sure that states with smaller populations get a bigger say. It confuses the heck out of people who didn't pay attention in Civics class. :) Many states are dominated by one party or the other, so if they're winner take all, it's pretty easy to count on them ahead of time. It's all pretty weird.

John, I think it's great that your daughter can just vote online. In general, I prefer paper balloting, but for people in her situation, online makes so much sense! When I lived abroad, I had to have a signed affidavit for the registrar, then they sent a perforated Hollerith card and and an opened paperclip to punch it with. We have ink voting nowadays, more like scantron forms, so I think you can just use a pencil. :) All of which isn't easy if you're moving around!

I was happy about it. She is a new voter, takes it seriously, is excited about it. I remember when I started voting, it was a big deal to me too.

We are starting to plan our trip to France over the holidays to see her. I think SWMBO may spend most of a month over there. The boy and I, alas, will only have short trips. Fortunately we're finding reasonably priced flights.

Lucky SWMBO!

Daughter's bread, on sale at the market in Thionville

An action shot of daughter vigorously selling bread, apparently so vigorously that she's blurry

Fantastique! (sp? Is that even a real word?)

she looks like she's having fun. I hope she is. The bread looks great. The experience looks great. Is she using her French to sell?

Thanks so much for sharing!

Is she having fun? Well, she says the baker is, um, eccentric. Very eccentric. But the baker's husband, who farms but also helps with the markets on weekends, is very nice, and so is the son. The cats are adorable and sleep with the girls.

The girls are working a lot more than they expected or than is normal for WWOOFers. But I'm not sure what else there is to do in that miniscule town. If I was in their shoes, I'd want to do as much as possible, make every kind of bread and pastry the baker does.

They have another week at this farm, then they go to Reims.

John, I must admit I love your offspring! Such great kids. You and SWMBO must be so damned proud. Great adventure for your daughter.

Voting. Here, since I never know from day to day how mobile I'll be, I get a mail in ballot. I had Christy get one too this year since she's getting a knee replacement, then a hip replacement. We print the applications from online, then fill out and mail. I encourage anyone who thinks they could possibly run into a situation that might keep them from the polls to get one. Not every state has them, but good to check what various voting provisions your state has.

Thanks John for sharing.

The bread looks amazing and so does your daughter! She also looks likes she's having a wonderful time.

Enjoy your short visit, anyway. I'm sure SWMBO will be happy to tell you everything you missed by not being able to stay longer. :-)

Annie

I wish I had started reading this earlier, John. What a wonderful adventure for your daughter. I don't have time to read the whole thread right now, but I will later. I just wanted to say I'm very happy for her.

Sally

Great job, Dad!!! You and SWMBO have to be tickled pink and yet nervous about having such an independent daughter. I love all the bread she's been making, and she's doing such a great job of it. And petted a cow for the day :-)

Isn't it wonderful how the other CF'ers are offering to help her out.

I think a dog is a great stand-in for kids!

I've started monitoring the Pac NW chow chow rescue groups. I had a chow a long long time ago, and have always wanted another. They are not the breed for everyone, though.

What a wonderful experience! What will she do in Reims?
And Islay...I have been hearing your name in my head as Eee.lay Glad to see it's I-le...as someone i know who's name is Illa

She'll learn all about Champagne!

"Kim Kardashian West has left Paris on a private jet after being tied up and robbed of $10 million in jewelry by armed masked men dressed as police."

Tell your daughter to be careful with her diamond jewelry while she is in France. LOL!

When I was flying to Paris, 1/2 the plane was students from some exclusive private school for immersion French study class. Incredibly spoiled, annoying, loud, disruptive bunch of idiot kids.

It is refreshing to read your daughter's story.

dcarch

She appears to have moved from baking to doing something with cows. She likes cows. I'm getting photobombed with portraits of her favorite cows. Some of the cows look dubious. Maybe they always look dubious. These are French cows after all.

Steady on, there John LOL Les vaches françaises sont les meilleures au monde! They probably just don't speak English!

But she's speaking French to them. Perhaps they are puzzledly trying to place her accent?

Well, I'm sure her accent will get better soon! As long as she's having fun.

Maybe she'll be making cheese next.... (thinking of the train scene from 'French Kiss' :)

ROTFL!!

What a wonderful experience for her.

It IS a wonderful experience, although I'm a farm girl and know what she has to do with that pitchfork and I notice she's dressed fashionably in muck boots. (grin) Cows always stare like that, you've never been truly stared at until you get stared down by a cow (or a herd of them). That Holstein is really just hoping she has some kind of treat in her pocket, I think. Tell your daughter that cows really like donuts, and they especially like the kind covered with powdered sugar! At least American cows do, trust me on this.

Has she sent any pictures of Jersey or Brown Swiss cows, with those lovely soulful eyes and colored like deer? She'd LOVE them, I think. And they have the milk fat content that makes the best cheese and butter, she should cozy up to THEM!

She is certainly getting a well rounded education on this trip, the whole "farm to table" experience... :-)

Annie

I guess I don't understand cow expressions. I thought this cow was dubious

And this one comfortable

But you're telling me they both are thinking only of donuts, or in France maybe eclairs.

I guess I will stick to cats.

Oh, there were some brownish cows too. They were in fenced fields by where she is living. I can't find the pictures. She goes to see them often.

I'm in Bali ATM. The cows here are very pretty, less angular and smaller than European breeds. Think Indian cows.

Wow. Bali! Please post a pic! Perhaps the french cows like beignets! I like beignets!

LOL at the dubious cow! I've not got anything to add but have been enjoying this thread. Keep posting!

Yeah, I bet they'd like beignets. I see they are standing by a feeder, those loops are meant to keep the cows from standing in their food.

Actually, the "dubious" cow may indeed be dubious. They are prey animals after all, and everything from a plastic bag to an unfamiliar human can be a predator. The first thought is usually "oh, geez, THAT'S going to eat me". And sometimes they are right. (grin) If they are used to humans, though, they are usually just associating us with food. Hmmm. Kind of like our kids, they always show up at dinnertime, LOL.

Cows are really, really curious. Not smart, but curious.

Your daughter is getting all kinds of education on different lifestyles, though, from the bakery to the farm. I think that's great, an education that sure can't be had in a classroom, virtual or otherwise. Nothing like wielding that pitchfork, a picture cannot prepare you for that, including the smell and the physical work.

She's not afraid to work hard, either, and is apparently willing to try most anything, and that's a very, very good trait to have in life, I think. Some people never move outside their comfort zones, and I think she's way, way past that!

Annie

Daughter-san finished her first WWOOF, spent a few days in Reims, and is now in Paris, living in an AirBnB and trying to not go broke. She proudly informed me that tonight's dinner cost EUR 3.27 per person. She has also resumed her occasional blogging, so here are the details on how she spent her three euros. https://katemakesthings.wordpress.com/2016/10/16/in-which-kate-skips-school-to-make-a-tuna-melt-in-paris/

What a great blog! I'm enjoying reading it!

One time, about 40 years back, speaking of dumb cows, my husband came home from work laughing. He ran a cheese making company that also had 5 farms, 4 of them dairy farms..( Cheese? Dairy? Yeah!) It seems that one summer day, at milking time, the cows in the pasture weren't gathered around waiting to be let into the barn for milking. One herds man set out looking for them and my husband got a call from a farmer about a mile away saying..."missing some cows??" Seems the whole milking herd, about 40 cows had followed one cow down into the creekbed, and just followed her....and when you have 40 cows in a file in a creekbed, it's a sure thing that the last cow isn't going to turn around and say follow me out....they got into that creekbed and just kept going! Took a bit of coaxing to get the lead cow up the embankment and headed toward the barn....and the rest followed.
Yeah....dumb!

John, I love Kate's blog. I like her "voice," and the photos are fantastic!

I am really enjoying following this thread! It is wonderful to really see all the different areas and cooking. ( I have got to try the tuna!)

John, I also enjoyed Kate's blog, I hope she continues through her trip. I was smiling at the egg disaster and the beet catastrophe, and her beet salad looks delicious. I love beets. I also chuckled at her picture at the Eiffel Tower, with the explanation that she needed pictures for her parents, as "They are deeply unsatisfied with the ratio of cow-to-Kate photos being sent their way."

Annie

Lovely to see a young person so full of enthusiasm and energy. She won't waste a second!

Latest installment of Daughter San's blog. For a blog ostensibly about making things, this entry shows not much making, but I offer it anyway.

The cats at farm number two were a big hit. There was a kitten who slept with the girls in their caravan, jumping off their bed only to eat the mice that mommy cat brought. I believe the girls never figured out how to light the woodstove in their caravan, hence the 12 layers of clothes. I am informed that due to the cold, their showers were less frequent than perhaps desirable.

https://katemakesthings.wordpress.com/2016/11/13/the-catch-up-la-petite-mane-nantes/

They are now staying with our good friends in Marseille, then will go to Narbonne for a while, then somewhere else in France, and then I think they are headed to Spain. I'm losing track of their exact plans.

Adventure, language, farming, cooking, eating, writing, cows and quality cat time... All looks lovely. Thanks to you and her for sharing!

She is wise beyond her years!

Didn't get any pictures of Balinese cows, but here's a Balinese buffalo for your DD. They're smallish (for buffaloes) too!

(John’s mysterious gardenweb friends perhaps?)..lol

Nice to see an update. Travels not to be forgotten. My niece is doing similar travels right now. A farm in Budapest after a summer working in Alaska. We were actually meant to attend a wedding in Portland this weekend but work got in the way....a nephew traveler settling down.

She gives me hope for our country and its future.

Thank you for sharing her ongoing adventures. We can all live vicariously through her wonderful photography and writing. I'm hoping she enjoys her stay in Narbonne and the surrounding area -- we quite enjoyed it..

Oh, the picture of the forest is beautiful and I love seeing the pictures of farms. Of course.

Ashley used to call the Cooking Forum my "imaginary friends", LOL, so apparently your daughter shares that view!

Between France and Budapest, all via internet, travelling vicariously, that's fun, and there's food, farms, cows and cats besides, it's perfect.

Annie

Daughter Kate certainly has your gift with words!! I have no doubt that she will have many career options ahead in her life. Props to you and SWMBO for allowing her the freedom to explore Europe.

Here is the latest installment of Daughter-san's travel-food blog. I must remonstrate with her to address the dwindling food content.

https://katemakesthings.wordpress.com

She cooked mussels in Marseille for the first time, and later asked me what interesting things can you do with this shellfish. I didn't know, since my main goal with mussels is to inhale them in great quantity and not let anyone else get any. Any suggestions, you might post on her blog, as we'll be in Marseille for Christmas and could try them.

Okay, I'm starting to cook. SWMBO has made two pies and cleaned the house. I have to make a red wine-shallot-balsamic-mushroom reduction, roast a leg of lamb, make a honey glaze and do the ham, then make brussel sprouts with candied walnuts, those are my only jobs for the day.

Hopefully I do them well, because SWMBO has been very upset with me. I have been buried in a neighborhood activism project. We are trying to get my neighborhood, Laurelhurst in Portland, listed as a Historic District. I have been writing a website, preparing flyers, setting up an online petition, building a database of houses and neighbors, linking that to an online map to track supporters and opponents, organizing teams of volunteers to canvass door-to-door around their homes, preparing lists of houses to contact and to avoid, beginning fundraising, and generally working a 30 hour/week unpaid job on top of my day job. Which is why I'm not posting so much here, and if you listen to SWMBO - and I would encourage that you don't - completely failing to pull my weight around the house.

I've decided that there's been enough sitting around and bemoaning things without doing anything to change them. At all levels, from national to local. I've been encouraging all my friends to pick a cause and get to work.

I agree, John, if someone doesn't like the way something is, then change it. Don't wait for others to change it, don't complain about the way it is, do SOMETHING. We may or may not be able to change it, but it certainly won't change at all if we do nothing. I'm not a terribly big proponent of "accepting those things I cannot change". I'm going to try to change them anyway! Don't neglect yourself, though, and SWMBO. Hopefully your project will conclude successfully and very soon.

Meanwhile, I posted on Kate's blog, a recipe for Mussels Fra Diavolo. Elery loves them, and they're relatively inexpensive here, so I should pick some up and make something. I've used them in paella and in seafood stew, I like them very much.

Annie

I can't stand mussels (nor can DH), but we went to a restaurant that had a degustation menu and among the offerings on one plate was a mussel cooked in buttermilk. I decided to eat it first and get it over with :-) It was fabulous! Both DH and I regretted that there weren't more on the plate :-D

We can wait for your project to wind down to have more of your time, but do tell Kate that your Mysterious Gardenweb friends are eager to hear about what she's cooking and eating! I hope she, and you and She Who and the boy, all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and a good wish for a swift and positive resolution to your project.

Brilliant as always and such a pleasure to follow.

What is your Portland neighborhood? Laurelhurst... My BIL is somewhere in the heart of 'Portlandia". lol. We could not make the recent wedding so once again that is a city i have no connection or ever visited We keep trying.. (you may be neighbors and they would be cohorts in your cause for sure)...i would even expect to see them in your holiday 'table scape'. Nope, no Todd or Betsy.

Gee, I thought Laurelhurst must already be a Historical District. Lucky you to live there.

And what fun to read your daughter's blog!