lummi island wine tasting may 15 ’26
Open Friday 4-6 pm
artist’s concept of the surface of Venus…for a long time
the ancient Venusians called it “global warming”…~!
Friday Bread This Week
Jewish Sour Rye: A traditional rye bread made with a rye starter instead of a wheat starter and made with traditional rye flavors, about half rye flour, malt syrup and caraway seeds. Brushed with a cornstarch glaze before and after baking to finish.- $5/loaf
Toasted Pecan & Flax Seed – Made with a rye starter instead of wheat flour for a different flavor profile. The final dough includes bread flour and whole wheat, toasted pecans, flax seeds, and honey. – $5/loaf
…and pastry this week…
Bear Claws! – Danish pastry dough rich in cream, eggs, sugar and butter, rolled out and spread with almond paste, powdered sugar, egg whites, and just a bit of cinnamon…and because bears (and people!) love honey, topped with a honey glaze after baking. –2/$5
This week’s wine tasting
Chapoutier Belleruche Blanc ’23 France $14
Delicious blend of grenache blanc and roussanne; fragrant and perfumed with a light, grilled-lemon note over ripe melon, and a lingering palate of rich white peach.
Chiarlo Le Orme Barbera d’Asti Italy $23
Ruby red with hues of violet; elegant and intense aromas, with notes of fresh cherry and currant; harmonious palate, with good structure and roundness, beautiful savory finish, and a local favorite!
Chehalem Corral Creek Pinot Noir ’21 Oregon $32
Elegant, smooth, complex, and light; bright aromatics of strawberry, cherry, toasted oak and baking spice; long, silky, and juicy palate with soft tannins and lingering flavors of bright red fruit.
Economics of the Heart: Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics
courtesy Star Trek
….Republicans have No Honor!
Every day we are bombarded with speculation about likely outcomes from this year’s Congressional elections. That makes sense, because the Republican majorities in the House and Senate have demonstrated complete support for Project 2025’s plan to replace our Constitutional government with an authoritarian Police State. If Democrats do not win majority control of both Houses this November, the future they intend for us will look something like our entire country being assimilated by the Borg in Star Trek: (something most devoutly to be eschewed!)
From many years in survey research I have grown particularly skeptical about polls that survey about, say, party leanings, without connecting that same person to their likelihood of voting at all or are otherwise being affected by broader current political events. You know, like being terrorized on local streets by heavily armed, masked ICE agents, and our new dictators abandoning long-standing international alliances for new ones with historic adversaries like Russia and China.
This recent article in the NYT ( just resubscribed ) takes a deep dive into some of the survey data in recent years, and concludes that recent election predictions have hovered within 1-3% of the actual outcomes for several of the top polls. Another column in the same issue notes that Republicans currently hold firm control across the federal government, with the White House, both chambers of Congress, a majority of Governorships and their very own conservative Supreme Court. However, that dominance will be tested in the midterms, when all all 435 House seats, 35 Senate seats and 39 governor’s races will be on the table.
“The Tilt“ column in the same issue notes that Republicans currently hold firm control across the federal government, with the White House, both chambers of Congress, a majority of Governorships, and a conservative Supreme Court. However, that dominance will be tested in the midterms, when all all 435 House seats, 35 Senate seats and 39 governor’s races will be on the ballot.”
Press analysis has shown that the last three recent Congressional elections have all been very tight, generally won by a mere 1-3% and shifting very few seats. Gerrymanders, a favorite Republican dirty trick, have their own risks, such as risking a party’s advantage in one district to improve in another. So even though it has become a favorite tool of Republican legislatures nationwide, it is by no means a slam-dunk, and will hopefully backfire on them. Oh, and by the way, everybody knows that each of these latest gerrymanders is already illegal and yet these legislators persist.
Every day alienates more of their former voters. Every day brings more crazy s#@t, more hardship to Americans, more global warming; more ICE violence against innocent people, more idiocy from the so-called Cabinet, more incompetence than anyone could have made up as the Maggits cheer their lunatic leader, and more $billions of taxpayer income disappear into AI black holes and the bitcoin pockets of “family and friends” around the world.
It’s our 250th National Anniversary. Everything is at stake.
lummi island wine tasting may 8 ’26
Open Friday 4-6 pm
Spring comes…the world shines
Friday Bread This Week
Pain au Levain – Made with a nice mix of bread flour, freshly milled whole wheat, and rye flour. After building the sourdough and mixing the final dough it gets a long cool overnight ferment in the refrigerator to develop the bread.- $5/loaf
Cinnamon Raisin – Made with a poolish of bread and fresh milled rye flour fermented overnight before adding bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat and rolled oats, honey, and milk, raisins and cinnamon mixed into the dough for a hearty rustic loaf. – $5/loaf
…and pastry this week…
Individual Cinnamon Rolls – Made with a rich sweet roll dough full of eggs, butter and sugar, spread with pastry cream, sprinkled with cinnamon/sugar, rolled up, and sliced into individual rolls for baking. – 2/$5.
This week’s wine tasting
Decoy Chardonnay ’23 California $16
Blended from several CA central coast vineyards; aromas of sweet mandarin orange and white peach; juicy and vibrant palate of tropical fruit flavors with a hint of oak from its time in barrel.
Zenato ‘Alanera’ Rosso Veronese ’23 Italy $17
Dark, inky color; rich, focused nose of ripe berries, dusty oak and waxy vanilla bean. On the palate delivers extracted flavors of cherries, strawberry, clay, and hints of crushed mint, soft tannins, and rounded finish.
Angels & Cowboys Proprietary Red ’22 California $22
Attractive nose of red berries, orange peel, spices, and crushed stone; medium to full-bodied and succulent, with silky, mellow tannins and flavorful finish.
Economics of the Heart: Adapting to Chaos
The Tweetster’s little foray against Iran, morphing as it has as if from some lost, dark Lovecraft novel, has been oozing unrest “over, under, around, and through” our planet’s networks of life, commerce, politics, economics, and society. This constantly unfolding canvas of chaos seems to have cloned itself from the larger, better organized, and catastrophic disaster of Project 2025. Like many spawns of unlikely unions, it manifests unpredictably moment to moment on the whimsical turns of a sociopolitical card game where the rules constantly change with the whims of the dealer.
Browsing today’s NY Times (recently resubscribed as hints of truth are reappearing) revealed some interesting surprises with somewhat hopeful threads. Where 2025 sowed confusion, conflict, cruelty, anger to mask and distract from Project 25’s purposeful destruction and looting of our 250 yr-old rules-based Constitutional government, 2026 has doubled down on brutality against immigrants, students, people of color– you know, everyone who is not a wealthy, white, Christian, male billionaire.
Economics, Stocks, Bonds, and Policy
There’s been a lot going on American politics that does not fit neatly into traditional macroeconomic theory, particularly with regard to balancing investments between stocks and bonds. Generally one buys stocks betting that their value will increase over time, and buys bonds when at least you earn a little interest even if the stock market crashes. E.g. during the “stagflation” in the Reagan years, I was able to put my meager savings into a bond fund at 17% interest.
Several business reporters have observed over recent months that a significant number of investors regularly seem to know about planned changes in federal economic policy about a hour before the markets opens, using a tip from their pals in the Administration about a pending policy announcement, buy or sell related stocks for enormous profits on their very generous donations to the Tweetster.
The economic chaos being created by the T’s war on Iran, together with Netanyahu’s relentlessly brutal extermination of Palestinians and all their supporting infrastructure in Gaza and Lebanon, has for years now showcased a relentless and merciless genocide to mostly innocent working families.
On a somewhat brighter note, during today’s reading I ran across a reference to an improbable and unlikely Republican politician named Tom Barrett. After looking at his blog I was surprised to find everything I read to be entirely honorable, caring, and in service to his constituency and our country. If this were a multiple choice questionnaire from the Republicans, I would happily check “more like this one!”
** Perhaps the first sighting of a notable departure from the old cartoon where the little girl in the kitchen with her mother looks up and asks, “Mommy, is it true that Republicans have hearts of stone…?” And the mother looks up thoughtfully and says kindly, “No dear, it’s not. Republicans don’t have hearts…”
lummi island wine tasting may 1, ’26
Open Friday 4-6 pm
Spring comes…the flowers bloom by themselves
Friday Bread This Week
Multi Grain English Muffin Loaf – English muffin dough made into a loaf, with bread flour, spelt, whole wheat, and oatmeal for flavor, plus buttermilk and butter and get a nice light, tender crumb. Delicious for toast or sandwiches!– $5/loaf
French Country Bread – A levain bread made with bread flour, fresh milled whole wheat and and a bit of toasted wheat germ in a sourdough culture with a long cool overnight ferment for a rustic loaf that you would find in the countryside. . $5/loaf
and pastry this week…
Chocolate Babka Rolls – A sweet pastry dough full of eggs, butter and sugar, rolled and spread with a chocolate filling, rolled up and cut into individual rolls that are placed in baking forms for baking and then brushed with sugar syrup after baking. I’ve heard some people say they hide these to keep them all to themselves. 2/$5
This week’s wine tasting
Mas des Bressades Rosé ’24 France $14
Bright and refreshing classic Rhone blend of grenache, syrah, and mourvèdre, with splashes of Carignan and Cinsault; nice flavor balance of bright red fruit, wild herbs, and a vibrant, spicy finish..
Lancyre Pic St Loup Vielles Vignes ’20 France $18
100 % malbec; unfolds with dark, enchanting notes of blackberry, grilled plum, and jammy raspberry with accents of orange peel, vanilla, and tobacco spice, finishing with balanced structure, plush texture, and a lengthy finish.
Tre Donne D’Arc Langhe Rosso Italy $16
Field blend of Barbera, Dolcetto and Friesa from 40-yr-old vines in the coveted Piedmont wine region in NW Italy, displaying the full-flavored freshness of Barbera, earthiness of Pinot Nero, and structure of Dolcetto in each sip!
Economics of the Heart: So the Cruelty Is the Point…?
For some while I have been working on reviving an online business I started back in about ’97, when I was a practicing, certified practitioner of Hakomi body-centered psychotherapy and Feldenkrais movement education. That was the launch of flowingbody.com to market my 7-hour, 10-lesson moving meditation course specifically to relieve chronic tensions, restore balance, and calm the psyche.
Over several years the cassettes and cd’s reached as far away as South Africa, Australia, and Europe, and drew a lot of very kind and sincere comments from satisfied users before the technology became obsolete. Anyway… after several years of stalled efforts, the whole package will (hopefully!) soon be going online into an uncertain market.
Curiously, the timing coincides with the recent release of five in-depth research studies in the US by credible research groups (1 2, 3, 4, 5) confirming and documenting widespread increases in physical tension, anxiety, distraction, and social imbalance across America since the 2024 election.
Project 2025 was designed from the get-go to create chaos, instill fear, remove social safety nets, target minorities, and violate all the rights granted to every American by our Constitution. Federal funds earmarked for social safety nets, environmental health…all of the institutions of justice, fairness, kindness, safety, community, and mutual caring that define our country are being looted and constrained.
Every day we learn more about it, take more steps to expose it, counter it, and fight it. Every day they alienate more former supporters, the Resistance grows, and more of their willing supporters back away.
Meanwhile the longing for the security, confidence, assurance, and pride of being an American still defines us.
lummi island wine tasting April 24 ’26
Open Friday 4-6 pm
stahtin’ ta get crowded again ’round heah…!
Friday Bread This Week
Dried Cranberry Walnut – Made with a nice mix of bread flour and freshly milled buckwheat and whole wheat flours. Orange juice and olive oil are a unique combination in this bread that add flavor and keep a soft crumb, then loaded up with dried cranberries and toasted walnuts. Makes great toast– $5/loaf
Sesame Semolina – Uses a sponge pre-ferment made with semolina and bread flour and a soaker of cornmeal, millet .sesame seeds, and a little olive oil for lots of great flavors. $5/loaf
and pastry this week…
Muffins – Two each Chocolate and Sesame Semolina muffins in every order – 4 muffins for $5. If you want a double order you will get 8 muffins. If you order one flavor, you will get both. 2/$5
This week’s wine tasting
MAN Chenin Blanc ’24 South Africa $14
Free-run juice preserves a crisp, clean, natural character; light, bright flavors of quince, pear, and pineapple, palate of fresh stonefruit and apple, and a round, soothing mouthfeel.
Wolftrap Red ’24 South Africa $14
Consistently appealing aromas and flavors of ripe plum, red currant, violets, Italian herbs and exotic spices; vibrant flavors of dark berries and spicy plum with hints of orange peel that linger on a juicy finish. (read more)
Matchbook Red Gravel Cab ’22 California $17
Medium-bodied white wine with dense texture, rich, elegant aromas, and succulent flavors of pineapple, lemon zest, chamomile, sea salt, stone fruits, and a bright, tangy acidity, pleasing creamy texture, and deep flavors!
Economics of the Heart: “Dress Rehearsal Rag”
Let’s start with the basics: how does a group select its leaders? What are the qualities that evoke enough trust and confidence in someone to give them power of life and death over yourself, your nation and all its rules, directions, policies, and outcomes. No doubt we each have our own lists, but to some degree, humans being what they are, and for most of the last 250 years, the criteria have overlapped to a substantial degree in the nation’s electoral base.
As we have discussed before, the two glaring exceptions were the Civil War, when the question of slavery bitterly divided our nation, and since 1987, when the Reagan administration adopted completely the playbook of the Heritage Foundation to take the country back to the pre-crash and pre-New Deal concentration of wealth and power into the hands of a small group of ultra-rich white men.
In a nutshell, that’s how we, the most powerful, wealthy, and democratic nation on Earth, has transferred control of our national government not to the “brightest and best,” as our Constitutional rules have generally insured, but to a tiny minority of ultra-wealthy white men who, like the Southern plantation owners, seem intent on making the rights of everyone else in the world completely subject to their whims of the moment.
Republican leaders at every level in our national and many state governments, from the White House down, have thrown away the Constitution completely. Despite losing countless lawsuits in every state, federal policies are ignoring laws, precedents, and the Constitutional rights of citizens, immigrants, visitors, nonwhites of every shade as their Gestapo rounds up, imprisons, tortures, and ‘disappears’ tens of thousands of people who have actual rights to protection from such abuse.
Our country has abandoned our long alliance with Europe, and turned its loyalties toward competing oligarchies, like Austria (oops!), China, North Korea, and Russia. Our present aggression against Iran in league with long-time sadist Netanyahu takes our international reputation down several more notches.
Indeed, our entire military structure has been systematically downgraded from a long history of being the best-led, best-trained, and best-equipped in the world to shameful, unethical, cruel, and heartless missions like murdering boatloads of “smugglers” in international waters; invading Venezuela, kidnapping its leader, and commandeering its resources; and systematically retiring our most experienced and most respected military leaders and replacing them with less qualified and less ethical subordinates.
In the song above by Leonard Cohen, it is easy to imagine the Tweetster as the intended listener, but really it is aimed at Maga supporters at every level. The sad part is that lots of them are incapable of the modest degree of critical thinking necessary to smack their foreheads and exclaim “this is CRAZY!”
The more positive part is that every day more and more people are seeing it’s ALL been a scam since the 2015 stairway…all of it…just a Dress Rehearsal Rag — and it’s time for it to stop!
2072 Granger Way