The first semester

My son is finally home for another two weeks. He has finished the first semester of the MSc graduate training at Sopron to become a forest engineer.

Now there are only 9 more semesters to go. I know, I know, this is just the beginning. But if he keeps liking the things he studies here and the prospects of life his future diploma may hold, he will keep on marching towards his MSc title.

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My tennis elbow on the other hand feels all right. I mean it does not go away. I overloaded my body with lots of gardening stuff in mid to late October in 2015 so by early November my right forearm has become deformed. Not knowing of the condition and to avoid pain I kept my forearm in slightly arched position and it stayed. I was practically unable to straighten it. A bit frightening sight, if you ask me. So I had to visit a specialist and by mid December I received two steroid injections. The deformity has gone now. Certain movements do hurt (like I twisting my hand when I am holding onto something between my fingers such as opening a door with a key). I can not lift anything heavy and I can not chop firewood. Well, I can, per se, but when I do such activities say more than 3 (not an accurate number, just a guess) times per day my night's gone due to the pain.

I hope to get recovery by March for the pruning season.

My chances are low.

Wow.

I am beginning to sound like the Dear Cat Diary, heh.

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some writers foresee the future

speaking about what i have read and what i have experienced in the world around me, first it was Orwell who got it right in his 1984.

some of what he dreaded was reality, or was really close to reality in his time (in 1948), and most of his projections have become reality in the later years.

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now, with this comes Ms. Atwood's nightmare-ish vision true: the chicken nobs.

i have no access to knowledge about engineering artificial meat, but the idea grossed me out in Oryx and Crake and it horrifies me to see the vision becoming reality.

i am strongly against the notion that this is 'good for the animals and for the environment'.

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and now, as i type this blog post, just a couple of minutes ago, i found an article here that voices similar worries back in 2008.

(meaning that i have not found something outbreakingly new).

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this is surely the wrong way on many levels.

mixed emotions

warning: lots of emotions in the following post.
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my maternal grandmother, born in 1921, has been living in an institute for the elderly. this is a safe place with nurses and with regular medical checkups by special doctors. the institute is run by a church.

my grandmother, who became weak physically in the past 3 or so years has become one of the favourite of the nurses. her kindness and polite behaviour made her really likeable person among the other inmates, too.

in this institute each person has his/her own room and two persons share a bathroom.

it is not a really cheap facility, but not a fancy one either. say, a medium one.

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she sold her flat and moved in when her health weakened.

with all the comfort of the facility around her, her health status kept dropping.

little by little she lost her physical and spiritual strength.

to avoid incidents, such as falling on the ground (you know how easily the bones of the elderly brake...) they began to give her mild sedatives.

i recall her as a caring, warm-hearted, witful and smiling person. she was extremely good at basic mathematics and could easily beat anyone in the simple logical questions of everyday life.

her old self, the one i knew her has gradually faded away.

i kind of imagine that she was in a haze for the past 6 month or so.

with her physical conditions dramatically dropping to a level hardly bearable, and her mind being wandering around in spheres unreacheable to us, i believe her soul was in an eager search to find solace with god and re-unite with her husband (my grandfather, who passed away 5-6 years ago) with whom they led a perfectly, unimaginably solid married life for more than 50 years (was it 60?).

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she passed away a day ago.

i am crying but i feel relief.

may she rest in peace at last.
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this Ave Maria is for her

a successful fit

yeah, the title is grammatically correct.

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this afternoon i had a really fast heart rate.

it is not unusual for me.

when at times i get lazy and exercise less i have this tendency to have a mild case of tachycardia.

tachycardia is one reason i exercise as much as i can.

but today i had my regular 40 minutes before lunch and dang, at 3 pm it just started.

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it beats so fast that it takes my normal way of thinking away: i get weak and dizzy.

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today i tried all the tricks that work: laying down, sitting, taking my attention (reading), i even felt asleep - but this time nothing worked and i got so very angry that i started throwing a fit.

i jumped and ran across the rooms as fast as i could and was crying quite like an idiot.

voila.

the heart rate went down to normal.

i think the trick was that my body was lured into thinking that the fast rate was due to the running and jumping and when i stopped these actitivies, the heart rate also dropped back to normal.

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any similar experiences?

on mobiles and meditation

this thursday we had a friend for lunch (uhm, no, we did not eat him...)

his hobbies are meditation, fengshui and the like.

he taught us some basic steps of hand/ear/foot massage.

the hours he spent with us sharing his knowledge and exploring some of the fengshui aspects of our house were all relaxing.

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at one point during the day, annoyed by the number of incoming calls, my husband switched his cellphone to silent mode. some 3 hours later we discovered that there had been 4 unreturned calls.

horrified by the frequency of the calls, we lamented about the fast pace of these times and how unhealthy this world was.

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then the friend had to go, and my husband escorted him to the train station on foot. he did so to elongate the friendly talk a bit... to soothe his own nerves...

at first i suggested to make up for the loss of time and take his mobile as well so that on the way home he can return the calls one by one.

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we were standing in the kitchen and for a while we stared at one another.

i changed my mind: leave your cellphone here. don't bother about returning the calls while immersed in the thoughts your friend has given you. think about his words, you interaction, try to relax a bit more.

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we all agreed this was the right decision.

sometimes it takes just to let the world go by, to allow us some time and energy to recompose ourselves.

this post

might be just the last one about my front teeth.

today i had my final check up.

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my dentist opened up the soft gums and examined the state of the titanium implants. he was impressed and told me that there were quite much bone-growth around the implants. this is a good sign, my body took the implants in and *quote* you are so young.

i am over 40, so i guess his words mean that my body reacts well and repairs itself easily.

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another miracle that my dentist blames on my guardian angel or on god itself that my upper canine (eye-tooth, tooth number 3 on the upper left), that was shocked and moving due to the accident in October, and could have easily been removed just by pulling by hand, is now as firm as any other healthy tooth.

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i had the mid-section of the implant installed and the whole procedure is supposed to be over early June.

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photos about my journey to Finnland are coming soon.

making pasta

looky!
a post with a subject other than my accident and related dental problems.
whoa.
here, here!
we bought a simple hand-made machine that can turn a loosely formed dough of flour and eggs into useful shapes of fresh pasta.
they are much more delicioso than those one buys at the shops.
hear pasta!
imagine the smell of tomatoes!
the smear of olives!
the fall of freshly grated cheese from a chinaware!
the feel of the outer peel of garlic!
the onset of unwanted kilos!
loads of fun!
the kids involved in something useful for the household!
a hearty, meat sauce with hungarian paprika!
some morekilos!
whoa!
hear us eating!

(how come i still managed to fit those magic words into this completely non-related post. i deserve a good surprise.)

and finally

a short post to remember that on february 7 i had my second (and hopefully, last) titanium root implanted.

this time my husband escorted me to the dentist, as it is in another town. we took two trains to get there. his presence was comforting.

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after the operation i had felt awful until the painkillers kicked in at about 3 pm, and i am currently having one in every 6 hours. my face is swollen. not my kind of living... but it will pass :)

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and here's a link about dental implants for the brave.

just a warning for those who wish to click on the link above: it does not contain any *ahem* picture or any material that is in any way would be considered as nsfw, but believe me it isn't all fluffy rabbits chasing each other for another slice of carrot on a sun-kissed soft green grass.

body image

'body image' is the notion you have in your mind about what your body looks like.

some people think they are just fine and neglect work-out and eat more than they should. some of these people get fat. some other people on the other hand think that they are extremely overweight and stop eating properly. some of these people might get anorexic. now i think you get the picture :)

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as most of my readers know i lost four of my front teeth. the second titanium base will be fixed in on 7 february, and the surgery is completed in early may. i can't wait to see that.
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now everyday, everything i do from eating to speaking and even to breathing reminds me to the lack of those four teeth. i know it must be even boring to read about it all the time, but it is so very annoying that i just can not *not* notice it.
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now, get back a a bit in time.
once upon a time, like 5 years ago, i had a hole in one of my upper front teeth. it was quite visible and an annoying phenomenon. i went to a dentist. she filled it up twice but the filling had kept falling out.

but when the filling was gone the third time, i chose another dentist.
that man made a good job and the filling stayed.
it also matched the color of my tooth much much better.

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yesterday i recalled this filling.
yes, people sometimes do think about the fillings within their tooth.
do you?
well, i certainly do.
yesterday i said myself: what a great job that dentist had done. he filled the gap like three years ago and it is still doing fine.
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the fun part comes now.
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i went up to the bathroom mirror to have a short check on that glorious little filling that is so well done it is not even visible.
i went right up to the mirror to see it once again.
i opened up my mouth to check that particular front tooth with the nice invisible filling in it.
i looked at my teeth.
wtf?
i had no front teeth.
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do you get it?
my body image in my head still includes those four teeth i had lost in october.
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strange...

any opinions?

or experiences with body images?

please share in the comments.

much appreciated.

Bon appetit

This is a meme about food.

I borrowed it from HERE - thanks for the idea, but yes, I did spice it up by changing the directions, which now are the following:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.

2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten, or are planning to eat in the foreseeable future.

3) Italicize any items that you would never consider eating.

4) Add a special treat at the end by adding 1-2 more to the list that you think probably NOONE ELSE has ever tasted in your circle of friends. Put them at the bottom of your list and mark them with ***s.

5) Mark with a special color those you have prepared at least once at home.

6) Return the f(l)avour by letting me know about you doing this fun meme.

1. Venison

2. Nettle tea (one of my favourite herb tea)

3. Huevos rancheros (it's almost like a normal ham and eggs)

4. Steak tartare

5. Crocodile

6. Black pudding (AKA Blood Sausage)

7. Cheese fondue

8. Carp

9. Borscht

10. Baba ghanoush

11. Calamari - no, but I have tasted shrimps. *shudders*

12. Pho (c'mon, it's broth with veggies!)

13. PB&J sandwich

14. Aloo gobi (basically it's potatoes with cauliflower, topped with cheese and baked in an oven. I'm sure to have made something similar.)

15. Hot dog from a street cart

16. Epoisses (we call them camambert cheese)

17. Black truffle

18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes

19. Steamed pork buns

20. Pistachio ice cream

21. Heirloom tomatoes (what's the big deal?)

22. Fresh wild berries (anyone has not picked and tasted wild berries in the wild is definitely missing something)

23. Foie gras (a.k.a. goose liver paté. It is traditional in Hungary.)

24. Rice and beans (what? why? why not?)

25. Brawn, or head cheese (again, this is traditional over here)

26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper

27. Dulce de leche (it's definitely on my to-do list)

28. Oysters

29. Baklava

30. Bagna cauda (as in #27. I love garlic)

31. Wasabi peas

32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (one of my favourite when in a restaurant)

33. Salted lassi

34. Sauerkraut (a tradition for winter)

35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea

38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O (why do these nasty things accummulate - 4 of them nasties in a row?)

39. Gumbo

40. Oxtail (it makes a brilliant soup)

41. Curried goat (goatmeat smells, I'm sorry)

42. Whole insects (whoa! Hell no!)

43. Phaal - I have not yet tasted it, but I'm not a fan of really hot dishes.

44. Goat’s milk

45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more

46. Fugu

47. Chicken tikka masala (as in #27)

48. Eel

49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut

50. Sea urchin

51. Prickly pear (see also No. 27. Unfortunately it is not grown in Hungary.)

52. Umeboshi (As with any other, formerly unknown food I did some google search. Uhm...thanks, I'd rather not.)

53. Abalone

54. Paneer

55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal

56. Spaetzle

57. Dirty gin martini (I think I had a gulp or two like ages ago. That was all)

58. Beer above 8% ABV

59. Poutine (as in No.21)

60. Carob chips

61. S’mores (the result of my google search made my stomach ache. Pffft.)

62. Sweetbreads (Ouch. I do eat liver, testicles, but this is waaay too much)

63. Kaolin (The one who put kaolin on the list of food was surely kidding. It's like saying:lime powder. Or ground bricks.)

64. Currywurst (see also Sweetbread. Plus, my father used to work in a meat factory. He used to tell me stories about how this kind of stuff is made to look acceptable. Trust me. This is not food. Real muscles and eggs, bacon and all - those can't deceive you. But a wurst is a potentially dangerous mix in disguise.)

65. Durian (Have not. Why not?)

66. Frogs’ legs

67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake (I felt google just puked a picture of it onto my monitor. Blah. I'd rather stay hungry)

68. Haggis (Have not. Why not - a home-made real haggis can not be bad, after all.)

69. Fried plantain (I thought bananas were made sweet...)

70. Chitterlings, or andouillette (hmmmm....unsure. Some days I'd say yes.

71. Gazpacho (the best soup for a hot summer day)

72. Caviar and blini

73. Louche absinthe

74. Gjetost, or brunost (This is yet to come, but I'd love to meet a specimen along my life. I like old cheese.)

75. Roadkill

76. Baijiu

77. Hostess Fruit Pie

78. Snail

79. Lapsang souchong

80. Bellini

81. Tom yum (I don't think I have tried it, but...why not?)

82. Eggs Benedict (another item aspiring for *the silliest item on the list* award)

83. Pocky (I mean...are those edible?)

84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant

85. Kobe beef (No, to my greatest sorrow. I'd love to, yes, yes!)

86. Hare

87. Goulash (mwah-hah-hah. I'm from Hungary, remember? But I bet there are many types of goulashes all over the world. And in Hungary, there are as many types as households. Even the goulashes I make are different from one another)

88. Flowers

89. Horse (horse meat is put into sausages, so, it's far too obvious again)

90. Criollo chocolate (I have not tried, but I'm a fan of pure chocolates)

91. Spam (uhm... are those edible?)

92. Soft shell crab

93. Rose harissa (looks/sounds like fun)

94. Catfish

95. Mole poblano (No encounters here as well, but the pictures look yummy)

96. Bagel and lox

97. Lobster Thermidor

98. Polenta

99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee

100. Snake

101. Cleansed intestines of a chicken in a soup. ***

102. Blackbird.***

UPDATED - Need some exercise?

If creative writing is among your hobbies, and/or you like reading love stories, do not hesitate: give your hand and brain a try at Christine Eldin's 35th Writing exercise. I wrote my entry and will be publishing it over here early next week.

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In the meantime, do some aerobic gladiator exercise with me.

Go out and so some gardening. Walking does count, too.

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And if you still have some brain capacity left, try your mathematics and belief in the supernatural. The link I'm giving will take you to a Hungarian site, but do not worry about language. Here's what you have to do:

Think about a number between 99 and 10. Got that? Take the individual numbers and add them up. Extract the sum from the original number. Got this? Check (mentally) the symbol beside this number. Click on the blue sphere. You can go on repeating with the process.

It took me some minutes to find out the truth. And you? I'm awaiting your comments! You may or may not indicate your average grade you had in schools in Maths. (Mine was 4, with occasional 3s and 5s), which equals B in the American system.)

Here's the LINK.

*************** real update - SPOILER ALERT ********** Spoilers are written in write. Highlighting areas where there seems to be nothing reveals the hidden text.

Step 1. I'm all into the supernatural, but this is pure math.

Stept 2. Think about two digit numbers as the sum of two separate numbers. One is taken ten times, the other is one time. Let's say the number is 38. Here, you have ten times the 3, plus one time the 8.

Step 3. If you extract (one time 3 plus one time 8) from (ten times 3 plus one time 8) you got NINE times 3.

This happens all the time.

Step 4. Now go check the symbols. They are randomized, but it's a false random. Numbers of the multiplier list of 9 always have the same symbol.

Step 5. For a freaky touch, the symbol belonging to 9,18,27, etc. are displayed elsewhere, too :)

Step 6. Now tell me which 'Step' introduced your hand to your forehead?

Sauerkraut

This is going to be a small, informative post about how to make you own sauerkarut at home.

First of all this post is dedicated to Herrick Kimball, who is a farmer by heart and a very educative at that. Most of his blogging time is spent upon providing the curious reader with information about how to make garlic powder, how to butcher a chicken, how to take home-made sinus sauna and although being mostly agriculture/food-related, the list is almost endless. I recall the little discussion we had about the culinary use of chicken head for example. I have to add that we seem to have different views on the Bible - but that's a completely different story. Herrick is a tolerant teacher for anyone interested in agriculture. He illustrates his posts with so many proper photos that you just can't miss the meaning.

Secondly sauerkraut is a healthy, living food. Uncooked, it really is alive. It is the microorganisms (bacteria) that make sauerkraut different from a simple heap of shredded cabbage.

Thirdly, I love food with sauerkraut.

Once I posted one of my favourite meals HERE and I got some positive reflections from my readers. Hence is the third reason for writing this entry.

My fourth reason for writing this post is that making sauerkraut is damned easy.

So here we go.

You need:

white cabbages

salt, 1.5 gram per each kilogram of cabbage

a large clean tank

a glazed pot (a large container made of clay)

You have to do:

1. Remove all dirt from the cabbages. It is not really suggested to wash the plants. Simply remove dirt with your hands or a towel from the outside of the heads.

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2. Slice cabbage, or shred it. You can also leave a head or two intact - those come handy if you want to wrap some nice rice+meat combination of filling inside whole leaves.

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3. Measure cabbage and calculate the amount of salt.

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4. Collect salt all shredded cabbage into the large tank. Remove shoes/socks and wash your feet. This is not a joke. You have to push the unnecessary liquid out of cabbages with the force of your feet. If you have a cut, the salt will hurt your skin. You may want to do it with gloves on your hand, or with your feet wrapped into a plastic foil. Those are great options too. But what are kids for? For them it is kind of funny and/or strange. My kids were quite willing to do this labour intensive part of the making. Believe me, this is the toughest part. The rest is easy.

Illustrated down below:

It takes about 10 minutes of pushing. All right, once it is done you can go on forward.

5. Take the pot.

Let me ponder here for a while - there are special pickling pots, you can use them quite easily. Do NOT use, by any means plastic containers. As you probably know, not all plastic things are brand new. Some of them are recycled ones. Why the hell is not THAT great one might wonder...Oh why. Some of the plastic containers had their previous life as containers of pesticides that's just one of the reasons why.

I suggest buying a clay pot instead. In Hungary, pots are sold in various sizes. Size determines how much sauerkraut you will have. If you are into eating tonnes of it, buy a large pot. If you are unsure, buy a small one. Remember that you have to make the pot full with cabbage.

We used to make 15 kgs each winter - but we found out that we just can't eat as much. So we need a smaller pot.

6. Once the pot is clean, start layering shredded cabbage into it. But don't just 'add' as if you'd place a flower into someone's hands. Push it hard.

Some people add other ingredients as well. These may include, but absolutely not limited to: bay leaves (to give some extra flavour), zucchinis, slices of quince, or basically any other vegetable you feel suitable.

Once the pot is filled up you close it with the lid. The one special pot we use has a rim that goes along the top of the pot. We pour water into the rim, which keeps air out of the whole system.

Now, all you have to do is wait and make sure there's always water in the rim. I don't know of other type of pots, so I'm unsure as to how to airtight those. I'm sorry about that.

7. Sauerkraut is ready within two weeks.

8. You can take any portion out of the pot, but don't forget to re-close it making sure it's airtight. Once the sauerkraut is ready, you have about two months to use it up - as it is alive, you can't stop that useful bacteria from growing. Also, when air meets sauerkraut inside the pot there is a high chance of other bacteria and microorganisms getting into contact with both the product and the useful bacteria. So I suggest making a smaller amount at first and/or giving it endproduct away as present to friends/family.

Any questions?

Pictures were made in 2005. Sorry for the lameness of the second photo - I had to erase some personal reference...

Health quiz - a step-by-step solution

Yes, I am kind.
Taken from the previous post, with solution after each sentence!!!
This was the question!!!!

Which of the items listed below does SzélsőFa have?

(Solutions capitalized, in brackets - with some explanations here and there)

x.) National Health Care Insurance (FALSE - as I am not a registered employee, I'm not covered. So far so good.)

c.) A wish to see the doctor's (FALSE - I'd have to be really sick to go to see the doctor. A broken bone might take me to the office for example. I'm 37 and have not broken ANY of my bones. So far so good.)

a.) (an) infected ear(s), an infected throat (TRUE - oh yes.)

a.) a wish to read 'The Wind in the Door' (TRUE - *waves a friendly Hello to Chris, in Maryland*)

u.) a neutered male cat named Berci (FALSE - Berci used to be a female. I think I wrote about that some time earlier. Or not.)

i.) a neutered female cat named Berci (TRUE - see above.)

h.) a friend in Japan (TRUE - see the sidebar for links)

y.) friends in the USA (TRUE - chances are, you, yes you are one of those people.)

e.) a former high-school class mate in the USA (TRUE - okay, this was difficult.)

w.) a subscription to 'Medical news' in Hungarian (FALSE - this was the one I thought the most easiest one.)

p.) a trust in doctors (FALSE - you must be kidding.)

n.) a positive attitude when being sick (TRUE - why the hell else would I be writing this post?)

o.) belief in modern day medicines (FALSE - no comment.)

r.) belief in older-day medicines, like herbs and natural ointments (TRUE - sure. I am old-fashioned. I am a tree.)

v.) a friend who can actually make illnesses go away by touching (TRUE - I think this was a bit tough. He's not.)

Now, you have all those letters in front of the sentences marked (TRUE)

Pick the letters, and you have

a,a,i,h,y,e,n,r and v.

Can you make 2 words out of them?

Thank you for playing.

Do you think it was boring?

Take a closer look #7

Well, my vow binds me to go on with the series, so, here we go. Round six proved really easy, my friends and dear visitors.

We had 4 players this time, with six guesses. The most interesting guess was by Hoodie, who thought it was a toad. I think she was looking at some minor detail of the picture, though...

Others voted for earth, sand, rock surface, sugar on top of a muffin...

Well, what am I to say...other that Beth was playing and she was guessing first, so ....

BETH got it right again! Congratulations!

Here's the proof - this is a similar photo, although there's this lovely beetle walking past my camera.

I swear there's no secret deal between the two of us, but on a second thought, I don't think anybody would have thought about that in the first place. If there were prices, valuable ones...

But there aren't any.

It's just for fun.

If you like it, join us.

Find out what's on the next photo.

Round seven is a-starting now.

On a side note: I'm having aches in bones and muscles I've never known they existed in the first place all over my body, so I guess I'm sick. In fact, I have a severe head/throat/ear/whatever else's in my head-infection.

A little health quiz:

Rules:

Answer the below question by picking which things I DO HAVE.

If you got all the answers correctly, you'll be having a pile of letters.

Combine those to make an English word. Or two. Use up all letters.

Write that into the comments section.

Which of the items listed below does SzélsőFa have?

x.) National Health Care Insurance

c.) A wish to see the doctor's

a.) (an) infected ear(s), an infected throat

a.) a wish to read 'The Wind in the Door'

u.) a neutered male cat named Berci

i.) a neutered female cat named Berci

h.) a friend in Japan

y.) friends in the USA

e.) a former high-school class mate in the USA

w.) a subscription to 'Medical news' in Hungarian

p.) a trust in doctors

n.) a positive attitude when being sick

o.) belief in modern day medicines

r.) belief in older-day medicines, like herbs and natural ointments

v.) a friend who can actually make illnesses go away by touching

apologies

Dear friends,
you don't deserve bad manners from me.
So.
It was a bloody toothache that inspired me to write that. Nothing more and nothing less.
And I would like to apologize.
It all started out like a small writing about the feeling the pain evoke within me, and you listened to me and understood me.
I am sorry for making you waiting for that long.
I did not have the intention to play with feelings - the reason I did was that I knew it was not really serious. I knew, but you had no idea what it was. Just an ordinary, though nasty toothache. Had it been something more important, something that carves itself into the marrow, I would have accepted your hugs and kind words.
I truly hope not to loose them in the future.
I do not wish to become the boy in the fable who cried wolf just to entertain himself.
I am sorry.
And I'm making an appointment to the dentist this coming Monday.

I'm not an inch better, I'm just fed up with that bloody photo.

There are moments where I could chop an entiry human body with the nice little Fiskars axe we use to chop firewood with. If not in those moments, I think all I can do is lump down into a sheepskin in the sunlit room and sleep for like, hours. Please consider that I'm officially ill. I had a fever this morning. It went up as much as 37,0 degrees centigrade. I'm not doing good even when I'm bad. That's just my luck.

I have started collecting money to buy my digital camera. I do NOT accept donations, thanks for the offers. I work bloody hard to earn it. I'm in a bad-language mode so I just stop here my entry.

And before I'm saying a sickness-induced goodbye, here's a photo of our chainsaw. Never near as good as a real axe, I mean, to discharge your aggression, but still.

(This photo was made on December 4, 2006 in our new kitchen, which is, as you see is being under construction. Please note the somewhat high pile of firewood in the background. The bricks are there waiting to be built into a new chimney and we use the gas for cooking.)