A gluten free education.

                                                 The gluten free industry has really undergone an enormous change in the last decade. So many new, delicious and satisfying foods have now been created that make the gluten free diet a pleasure to undertake and not a horridly dull, tasteless experience. Before November of 2012, I had never encountered this part of the culinary and health related world other than occasional snippets from the newspaper or from advertisements in my letter box. Then, after meeting my sweetie and her roommate a few months prior to this date, I was introduced to the gluten free world and the business of helping those with Celiac disease, allergies and general issues with gluten. What a revelation it has been !!

                                                      So, for almost two years I have worked at a gluten-free market called Lingonberries. This delightful store sells exclusively gluten free foods and products that showcase some of the best goodies on the market. Not only food products but health and beauty aids as well. All in ONE location, not scattered across a 10,000 Sq Ft box store that labels itself as "health food". This is a huge distinction that many overlook for a couple of pennies in savings on a few items as well as driving all that way to those places. Not that they are BAD stores. They are fine and have their customers although admittedly, most are not looking for gluten free when they go there. A very small percentage in fact as those businesses are aiming toward the higher dollar making folks in trendy areas. That's fine. Be that way and enjoy. But if you are really looking to keep as far away from gluten as possible and have celiac disease or allergies brought on by contact of any sort, be careful at those places as cross contamination is a huge problem. They mix their GF and non GF items right next to each other and it only takes a broken bag, damaged box or wrapper and it can contaminate quickly. Yuk and ugh. So, that being said, shopping at a GF only store provides a location for all your needs as well as other allergy free, some dairy free, nut free and egg free choices.
We even have vegetarian and vegan foods as well. 


                                                     

 
                                                            After my time of working here I can honestly say how much I appreciate all that I have learned about the gluten free industry. So many people come in that relate their experiences of dealing with gluten issues as well as many other allergies. And I have made some great friends there as well. not only that, but I have a boss who allows me to wear my kilt every day I work and that makes me super happy that I can show my Scottish heritage!!!!

Ok, I usually go to work a lot more casual than a sweater  and long hose but I DID work a few days like that, learning it was not going to work out as planned. Way to warm of an outfit to be wearing while putting away freight.




 Is this blog post today a wee bit of shameless self promotion, trying to get the word out about my place of employment? Perhaps. Ok, yes, it is. But....why not? If someone is happy with their work place,employer and the way life is going, why not? And so that is what I write about at Hiroshige's Owl. My life. And working at Lingonberries is a big part of MY LIFE. So, this is what i decided I'd write about today.As I type this, the industry has changed and now other stores have decided to take on gluten free sections. That is all well and fine except that they are really not into customer service and helping the individual with GF. Just a hurry, get your goods and move along mentality. many have questions and they want it from knowledgeable people, not a stocker who hasn't a clue about the products they are shelving. This is where a smaller market can really shine... and we do that every day. Seven days a week.

                                                             If you are in the Portland/Vancouver area or even the Seattle/Tacoma metro area and want the best and most extensive selection of gluten free products, all in ONE location, at competitive prices, with knowledgeable staff who are part of the GF community, stop in or call for your needs. Our Facebook page is updated daily with news and sales as well as a great place to ask questions and inquire.

                                         https://www.facebook.com/LingonberriesMarket
  
                                         And for our newly constructed and developing web page...

                                                      http://www.lingonberriesmarket.com/


Now that I have shown the world where I work and enjoy my time while "on the job", I hope to see some of you stop by and say hello if you get the chance. I'm a part time employee right now and primarily work Tuesdays and occasional other days. Let me know via Facebook IM or email if you are stopping in and I will be there!! Hopefully kilted. Not always, but a lot of the time.

The lost art of writing. Actually WRITING !!!

                                                Ever since I spotted my first fountain pen in the late 70's, my mind was made up to learn how to use one. Back then, we were still using pencils and ball points in school and learning how to write the English language in cursive and print both. Oh how I disliked the pencil and it's scratchiness. The ballpoint, while it was a great invention and I didn't mind using it, they always seemed to hold such a limited supply of ink. Another throw away part of our society and adding to the heaps of garbage at the dump.

Yeah, great. Just what we need. More garbage at the dump that won't decompose well and be here for a thousand years. So, after almost a hundred years of refillable fountain pens being available, why were people not using them ?? Such a  great idea was this that there HAD to be others using this design and writing with a pen that could last for generations. Amazing that the invention had been around for so long yet many felt it was too cumbersome and messy. Ok, I will grant you that I can see the messy part. Yes, ink.

    Before I had a chance to really play with fountain pens though, I wandered through my school years with the same old writing devices that we all did the last forty years. It wasn't until I had graduated high school and moved to Portland that I would see a fountain pen again.
In 1986 I went to work for the J.K. Gill company, an institution in the office and art supply business. The store I worked at was located on Hayden Island in Portland, aka Jantzen Beach. So much of this industry was new to me but I educated myself as much as possible with the many assorted devices used in the business world. Pens were among them, of course. People were still writing then, way before the laptop computer and other electronics would eventually take the place of such antiquarian actions. Email had not yet really gained a foothold in the media world and we sold pens and accessories to make writing not only easier, but a joy at the same time. People were still WRITING letters then!!! Yes, you read that correctly. Writing.
Alright, I'm being a bit flippant with my words but seriously, how many people do you know NOW that take time to sit down and compose a hand-written letter to someone? I would bet very few. And if you DO know of some, most are older folks who still value that personal touch of a written letter.

                                                                 Not that all fountain pen users have died out or disappeared and gone over to the "dark side" of penmanship and writing utensils. We are still here!!!! And in larger numbers than once thought. I used to think the same way when I took this job at J.K.Gill and was introduced to the pen world again. But this time, my job was to take care of the pen case and all of those beauties that were usually only purchased by business men and women with a lot more money than most. Sure, there were ballpoints and roller ball pens that could get up there as regards price, but most of the fountain pens were expensive as they used 14K gold for the nibs and as they had fewer production quantities, they commanded premium prices. These were new pens, of course. Many great vintage pens were still out there and could be had for a really low price. But these new models were the envy of the business person. The brands I sold were Mont Blanc, Sheaffer, Parker, Cross and Waterman. These names are all popular for various pens but Mont Blanc and Waterman/Cross were the expensive models,especially the MB. I drooled over those pens every day, knowing it would cost me a month of wages for the lower priced line. So I waited. One day, they marked down the Sheaffer Targa to a price I could afford and I snapped it up! Beautiful pen !!!

No, this is NOT the most handsome of fountain pens on the market, but it was all MINE!!!! And now that I owned it, I bought some ink to go with it and was on my way to a slippery slope of fountain pen mania.I continued to manage the pen dept and moved on to supervisor and other departments, eventually adding a few inexpensive pens to my wee collection. Eventually my work there at that company stopped when they planned on closing it down in 1990. So I moved on to a lumberyard and spent the next two plus decades selling building materials to contractors. Sadly, I forgot about my pens and moved on to other hobbies as well.Then in 1999, I started to see pen magazines appear. Evidently mid and high end pens were becoming available and within my price range. As I had always kept a diary/journal since 1987, now might be a good time to back to trying my pens out. I dug out my Sheaffer and Parker pens and started to write again. At that time, I had no pen pals and nobody else to write to. Sheesh, when I think back now and the pens I used, I'm embarrassed. So NOW the pens I started to buy were higher end, from the $100 to $500 range. Used, of course. I became a member of Fountain Pen Network and started to learn so much!!! Made some great friends there and before long, had a full compliment of pen pals from around the globe. In a few years I went through more pens than you can imagine. At least a hundred pens in those years, trading up, down, with cash, without,etc. I eventually settled on a collection that I now have and use daily. And yes, I WRITE with them, not only let them sit there collecting dust as objects of art, which they could as they are beautiful! My favourite brands are Omas, Stipula, Conway Stewart, Visconti and Parker. And now THESE are what I write with:

While I  no longer own the three in blue, green and red in the middle, the others get normal rotation in use. The Stipula Etruria at far right is my best pen!!!! Writes like a dream!!!!!!!

 This pen to the left is the Omas Colombus II, A special edition pen commemorating the voyage of the small craft.
It is made of briar wood, which is rare in a pen.










And this delightful Mont Blanc 145 "Chopin" edition is my second favourite and most used. It was given to me by one of my bestest of friends, Jane. Thanks my dear!!!!

   Those are just a few of the beauties I own and use. In addition to fountain pens, I also use dip pens for writing. These are usually older pens from the 1920's or could be made of glass.

                                    Either way you want to write, they are both splendid!!!!

                                    They make my writing very enjoyable and an experience, more so
                                    than uncapping a Bic or Papermate ball point . Give a fountain pen
                                                                     or a dip pen a try!!!!!!
  

Always late to the dance.

                                                 My life has been blessed. I have made it to the age of forty seven with little in the way of major problems and my health is the best it has been for years. There are some age related problems that I deal with but all in all, I'm very happy. It never used to be that way. I was a baby born into the change filled days of the mid sixties and remember many of the events from those heady times. Yet, even as I took in all of the happenings around me in southern California and then in other parts of the country, rarely did I ever get to take part in them. I'm not talking about war protests or Woodstock nor free love,etc. I was certainly too young for that even though I remember them quite well. What I'm referring to are the many parts of society I was forbidden to be part of. I was raised from age 6 on as a Jehovah's Witness. And in this very religious organization, I was kept from participating in, listening to and viewing, most forms of entertainment that were available then.

                                                 What did I miss? Wow, where do I start. Other than the usual things JW's were and are still not supposed to do (with no real Biblical reasoning) are holidays, birthdays, school dances and functions such as parties, after school sports and many others. So therefore I didn't get to participate in a LOT of things while growing up. And what about the world around me? This is what I missed...

 Concerts. Especially anything with rock, heavy metal or blues music being played. Not a chance one should be seen at a concert and it had better be classical if there is one. Ok, classical was not all we were allowed to go to. but there would always be SOMETHING wrong with anything in order to keep any of us from attending.
At least if it was due to the cost, I would have understood better.

 Rock music: no way. I lived through a few decades of the best rock guitar music ever played and recorded. I missed out on Hendrix as he left us way too early in death. But oh how I would have loved to go to a concert of his!

Same goes for Led Zeppelin. They were at their height when I was really getting into rock music. I had a few chances I COULD have gone to a concert but admit I was still a bit younger. This rock group along with most others were on the NO list of mine for verboten music. I had to sneak in what I could from the radio and listen that way. Fortunately my parents were not super strict so I did have a bit of leeway there. Some of the groups on the photo there are ones I got away with.

Wow, after looking at that photo of all those groups, I realized how many of them really sucked. :-)

But, even though they sucked, I wanted to be there to listen to them as this was THE music I was attracted to. In addition to classical music, which I still adore. But I had my "tough" side I wanted to show as was rather limited in the way I could show off. What was one way a kid of 12 or 13 could do so and possibly make a future for himself? Guitar lessons! My mother had been taking them for years from various teachers, usually playing folk and pop numbers on her acoustics. Me, hell, I would have none of that nonsense. Rock guitar was where it was all at and my favourite then in 1978 was Eddie Van Halen. Truly, if I had been a "normal" kid growing up in the late 60's and on, my guitar gods would have certainly been Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Carlos Santana and a host of others. Not Van Halen. Don't get me wrong. He is a great guitarist and I love him to death as an artist. But I wanted more blues based music and Hendrix and Page were mine. Yet, I could not listen to them. So, Van Halen it was. And I proceeded to start guitar lessons. I wanted to play NOW. Not two years from now. Yeah, that does not work as expected. I was simply not good at guitar. And I had way too many other interests at that age.
No wait...I was not only bad at the guitar...I was horrid!  So that didn't last long.

Another area we couldn't partake of, was movies. No, not ALL movies. But anything R rated for sure, no way. Even if your parents were there to watch you and get you in. THEY were not supposed to be there either. Yep, adults couldn't watch them .  I missed so many films from those days that I finally sneaked away to rent or see if possible.

Films like Slapshot and others that were not ok to watch but approved for live and in person sporting events. Oh, only as a spectator though. never a participant.. Ugh










Well....like the title says above for the blog post: Always late to the dance. I have felt that through a very large part of my life. I was always the LAST to hear about something, get to see it, do it, enjoy it, etc, etc.Then what happens? Bang, I wake up and all of those things that I had previously been forbidden to do I CAN do. Sure, many of them are way past their time. Always a decade or two late it seems. I didn't get to do most of these things till after 2008, when I left that religious group and became enlightened. My eyes opened to the past. Of course, I was also looking towards the future and most especially, the present. But wow, what did I miss in my years growing up? So much I cannot begin to scratch the surface. After leaving, I started to visit those things. The bands, the music, the films, arts, literature, sports and so much more!!! It was like a rush of blood to the extremities when you are cold and walk into a warm place. That "ahhhh" moment that we all enjoy when life and pleasure flash up to knock us on our asses and say " Here I am you moron! Where have you been?" Yep. I had that moment many times in that delightful year and enjoy such moments every day now.  Life is all there for the taking. Look at what has happened since I was born into this America I love. I'm blessed to be able to live now and even more fully after leaving. I don't feel hatred nor discontent at the past and what I was raised in. I did learn a lot and was well educated enough to, at least, type a blog post up and take care of myself. But eyes wide open, I believe these things:

            
                                              My life is now being lived in the moment. Where everything around me is an incredible experience and some major exploring still needs to be done. I CAN try playing the guitar again if I want to. Listen to what I want and not be told "no". I can go to concerts, watch films and participate in any sport I want. I chose running. Yeah, they probably would have forbid races as too competitive. Ugh again. So the last six years have been a true delight as I explore what I missed.
I might be late to the dance but at least there is some time left in the evening of my life. I hope to live my last half to the best of my ability and to enjoy it all!!!!




                                   

Does a family tree really matter??

                                                   Does knowing your family tree really matter that much? Some I know think it not worth the bother nor all the headache and research that goes into digging up the past family members and what they did or didn't do. As it does not affect me now, why should I? Simply put, I could never understand that thought process. Of course your familial means something! So much about US, about we ourselves can be understood better with some digging into our past. And I started to delve into mine more than a decade ago, when I purchased Family Tree Helper on CD-rom.
Much has changed since then with the Internet and research material becoming so much more readily available. Ancestry.com has been a HUGE help as has Family Search. This, along with the cousins I found online, has increased my family tree by 500 %. Corroboration with European sources has made this fact, not just conjecture.

                                                          These two sites online are a mine and treasure trove of information!!! Family Search does not charge for their services, making it a great resource for us folks with little cash. Ancestry.com is a better resource in many ways and can be accessed free although they can be quirky and delete your info if you don't pay them after a certain length of time. i found this out the hard way. Fortunately, I printed most of my family tree before this and before losing some info during a computer re-build. So, I have some work ahead of me in adding these ancestors to my family tree again. Still, I get reacquainted with those long lost grandparents,uncles and cousins from the Celtic lands in Europe. THAT is worth all the effort one puts into researching!


                                  My family was primarily European. Mother's side from Switzerland and Germany as well as England and father's side from The Celtic lands of England,Wales and Scotland. They moved very little in the 15th to 17th centuries but started to after that, especially during the Highland clearances and when Scotland and Wales were added to be part of the United Kingdom.Some of my family came over from the continent in the early 1720's and were here before the Revolution and Independence. That side came from Germanic and Swiss lands. The Gebhardt family were my kin from then and built up generations here in America, fighting in the Revolutionary and Civil wars here.


                                                      The other side of the family came exclusively from the Isles. I have no history farther back than 1525, with my ancestors living in Wales, Scotland and England. My great uncles are buried in Scotland, near Glasgow and others around the midlands of England and Wales for the most part. None were real city dwellers and most were poorer stock who worked as tradesmen and women. The last of my ancestors came over in the late 19th century with the others in the huge immigrant flood. As far as I see, none came through Ellis Island, arriving before those years. Some landed in Philadelphia and others in New England and New York. They spread out to Pennsylvania, Ohio and then West.  A lot of us ended up in California in the early 20th century and then filtered out from there. So yes, I'm 100 % American by birth, but love my family history and all it entails. Especially my very Scottish name,Ross, and that of my father, and grandfathers before me!!!  I love that Scottish heritage so much I just HAD to look into kilts and more of my family history!!! So I have been wearing those for the last few years and love it.  And I have a full right to with my heritage and family history. Some would say I do not unless a full blood Scotsman and living there. Nonsense. i shall wear it where and when I want.

 Sure, I still get the occasional "Nice skirt" or "I love the dress" comment from the ignorant public. But I don't let it get to me too much. If I can yell back "It's a KILT" then I will have at least done my part in correcting them. Perhaps they will go home and research it a little. Doubtful but, oh well. :-)

Another great thing about family history is medical knowledge and what we might have down the line as far as genetics goes.
Our family is not a very long lived one, usually making it till the upper 70's. but then again, as that is the average, all is well.
What I REALLY enjoy about the research is the distant cousins I have met through this. Some cousins on the east coast and Midwest have provided valuable information regarding the family and I have mined it well.


                                                              During the last few years I have inked myself with a few tattoos as regard my heritage and they have been all about celebration of that. Today, I added one that trumps them all in my opinion. This tattoo shows not only the Scottish Ross clan crest and motto, but flags of all the countries my family has hailed from since 1525. This design was partially general knowledge, partially mine and the rest of the best part from my artist, Doug Auld. he has been the only tattoo artist to ink me. Ever. And he is the only one i would ever trust to do this special piece anyway. It is on my right front calf, where any can see it when running or in a kilt. So, here is what was inked today, at The Parlous St Johns in Portland,Oregon:

Yes, this is a great piece of work and I'm so proud to wear it. For the rest of my life.













So, if you haven't researched your family tree....give it a shot and see what you come up with. Could be great fun. One never knows what they will find in the records.







Now, off to do some research and add more names to the family roll books!!!!  Thanks for letting me share all of this!!!