Monday, November 12, 2007

Gnomon ancient Greek ~~~ "the one that knows".

Sundials
******* Yesterday morning, as I sat in my “Nook’ aka 'a morning room', I noticed something quite odd. There was “STUFF” hanging off the Gnomon.
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Ewwwwwwwwww what ever could that be? So I get my socks and shoes on camera in hand and investigate. What had appeared to be the synthetic stuff used for Halloween decorating, fake cob webs, was indeed a real cob web. Enhanced with delicate crystal orbs.
During the night the weather was rainy and turned to a light ice covering on the deck and the steps. Needless to say walking was slow. My expression is , “it was slicker than Owl snot”, but then that is me. The gnomon is the part of a sundial that casts the shadow. Gnomon is an ancient Greek word meaning "indicator", "one who discerns," or "that which reveals."
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Gnomon ,(NO mon) is also a mathematical term that describes the part of a parallelogram that remains when a similar parallelogram is removed from one of its corners.
Several years ago my Sweetie gave me a Armillary Sundial. This past summer I took it to a welder friend so he could make a stand for it so the deer would not knock over. It needs a good cleaning of the rust and a re paint. That will happen in the spring.

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The armillary dial is an extension of the equatorial dial, with two rings representing the celestial equator and the meridian.

I did not know this but thought it quite interesting. ******************************* Anaximander (610 BC-546 BC) is credited with introducing this Babylonian instrument to the Greeks. The Chinese also used the gnomon, mentioned in the 2nd century Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art as being used much earlier by the Duke of Zhou (11th century BC). How Sundials Work ********** The sun will always rise in the morning and set at night, making sundials remain one of the most reliable methods of telling time. ************* Most sundial designs indicate apparent solar time. Minor design variations can measure standard and daylight saving time, as well. **************** The History ************ If you want to make one Check this Site: Then I prepared a most excellent Brunch for my Sweetie. ************** Swedish Waffles (Våfflor) More Recipes Like This Swedish Breakfast Recipes Ingredients: Metric Units 1 2/3 c whipping cream 1 2/3 c flour 1 1/4 c water, ice cold (or soda water) 8 Tbsp butter (1 stick), melted Directions:Combine all ingredients, mix gently until just combined. Cook on a waffle iron. When done, place on a rack. Stack just prior to serving. ******************************** Serve with raspberry or cloudberry jam and whipped cream. Submitted by Gretchen Grant Contributed on: Tuesday March 28th, 2006 ********* Remember my Sweetie got me the Cloudberry Jam when he was in Canada? Well I did not use it instead I used A Walnut Buckwheat Honey concoction for the topping and left a jar of our homemade [not by us but by a wonderful friend JJ] Maple syrup to round out the waffles. To this I served bacon and sausage and fried eggs with Juice available. After typing this post I think Hot Chocolate would have been added…but then you will have the re thinks!
*************** I will use the Cloudberry Jam over the Holidays when the kids are in… ;) ********** I was so on a roll cooking again [the out of town trips make it more a challenge to cook with regularity] I made a new Chicken soup. I showed my Sweetie 2 recipes and this is what he chose. He did an excellent job I might add. I did some substituting of ingredients,
of course. No leeks at grocery until tomorrow so I used shallots. Had apples, but not Granny Smith, had no Calvados so I used some Apple Jack. ********** French Creamed Chicken and Noodle Soup Recipe courtesy Michele Urvater ************* 2 tablespoons butter 1 leek, including 1-inch of green, cleaned and finely diced 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely diced 2 tablespoons Calvados 1 tablespoon cider vinegar 3 cups chicken broth 1 cup authentic apple cider 12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast 2 cups fine egg noodles (dry) 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup grated Gruyere (optional) Salt and freshly ground black pepper Snipped chives, for garnish *********** Heat butter in a saucepan. Add leeks and Granny Smith apple, cover and simmer until tender, for about 5 minutes. Add the Calvados and reduce until almost evaporated. Stir in the cider vinegar, broth, and apple cider then bring to a simmer. Add the chicken and egg noodles to the broth cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Skim off any fat, which is floating to the surface, stir in the heavy cream, optional Gruyere and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Garnish with chives.Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Yield: 4 servings ********************* Copyright © 2006 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved

4 comments:

imac said...

!st things 1st = Fodd sounds fantastic, room for 1 more??.

Web design, just great.

Tom said...

I loved this post, I looked up the word before I read furth down where you had already explaned it.. I should have known by now you would have..ha!.
I laughed out loud at the thought of Owl Snot...
The pictures of the webby dial are stunning, but I had to break of reading the post because I got hungary... I had toast and honey..
so thank you for that, and thank you for another stunning post...

Alyssa said...

Those pictures are great. They would make beautiful wall art when framed. I'm dieing for waffles now!!

DeeMom said...

IMAC there is always room for one more at our dinner table.

O.W.T. you did post an Owl picture a few days ago, so then you know about OWLS…;)
It is getting closer to Thanksgiving so I am seeking out fabulous recipes to serve for the Family get togetherness. Be prepared for more foods O.W.T. and Alyssa.

Alyssa, I actually have framed some Cobweb prints from prior years.