Wednesday, June 28, 2006

That's A Lot Of Dough

Today's brew: Starbuck's House Blend. I'm going to have to make tomorrow's pot a bit stronger as today's isn't getting the job done.

Who would place an order from a local bakery for 238 loaves of stone-ground honey whole wheat bread? Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Why? The circus is coming to town July 14-23 for a whopping 17 performances and the bread is given to the elephants as a reward for doing tricks. Wow, who knew? The elephants are the bakery's biggest customers. The order is very specific, too. The elephants must receive 119 loaves of unsliced and wrapped bread in plastic bags, top quality, only, according to Jim Ashpole, the owner of Stone Mill Bakery. This must be ready for deovery on July 13 and a duplicate order ready for delivery July 18. The loaves cost $3.75 each. They weigh 2.2 lbs each, so that's a lot of dough.

I'm with the elephants, a great bread is a wonderful treat.

I took our son to the circus a couple of years when he was small. He outgrew it all fairly quickly, though. I still have a souvenir mug from one of our excursions. I use it as a utensil holder next to my stovetop.

On a sadder note, Eddie the dog has died. You remember the old show, "Frasier", right? I still love watching the re-runs on late night tv. I think Kelsey Grammer shines in that role. Anyway, the dog's real name was Moose and he was one cute Jack Russell terrier. He was 16 1/2 years old and he died at his trainer's house. The trainer saved him from the pound where he was taken when his original owners could not handle the mischievous behavior of Jack Russells. That dog gave me many laughs. He found his calling!

And on a political note, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the question of legality of the re-districting the state did under the guidance of Tom DeLay. A couple of districts may have their borders re-drawn but no big deal there. Whining democrats, losers again. Elections have consequences.

"We cannot change our past. We can not change the fact that people act in a certain way. We can not change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude." - Charles Swindoll

5 comments:

Beverly said...

Don't you just love Chuck Swindoll?

Those elephants deserve the best.

Jennifer said...

Did you see the recent article about the wholly revamped circus, with one ring, not three, choreographed and designed with the Nintendo/MTV attention span of youth in mind? A former American Idol contestant is evidently the Ring Leader (or whatever it's called, I can't remember!) and the whole thing is very flashy. I thought it was an interesting, if somewhat sad, evolution of a timeless bit of my own Americana childhood.

srp said...

What a lucky dog Moose was. Actually, my Max is a lucky dog too. He is doing well with his chemo and is having his "summer hairdo" done in a couple of weeks.

Chuck Swindoll has written a lot of inspirational and thought provoking books.

AC said...

I was sad to hear bout Moose too. 16 1/2 is a great age to live to, for a dog. He made me aware of the JR breed, because I'm more of the German shepherd type. Now we would like to have one for the very reasons his original owner didn't want him.

When I made my husband his first cup of coffee, he (told me later that) he thought I had made a mistake. When he received the second, he figured the *strength* was no accident. I do like my cuppa really strong. Every now and then the same amount of grounds and water makes a weaker cup. I don't get it.

AC said...

I was sad to hear bout Moose too. 16 1/2 is a great age to live to, for a dog. He made me aware of the JR breed, because I'm more of the German shepherd type. Now we would like to have one for the very reasons his original owner didn't want him.

When I made my husband his first cup of coffee, he (told me later that) he thought I had made a mistake. When he received the second, he figured the *strength* was no accident. I do like my cuppa really strong. Every now and then the same amount of grounds and water makes a weaker cup. I don't get it.