Recipe: Fruit Juice Soda

Getting tired of soda's sugary sweetness two years ago but unable to resist it through the heat of summer, I eventually realized what refreshes me are the bubbles of carbonation.

Unfortunately for some, plain carbonated water, even chilled and iced, may be an acquired taste. It was for me.

As an alternative to squeezing in a wedge of lemon or lime for flavor, I made up a recipe for Fruit Juice Soda (serves one):

1. Fill 12 oz. glass with ice cubes.

2. Fill half way with fruit juice of choice or empty a 6-7 oz. box of juice into the glass. My favorite juices for Fruit Juice Soda are apple, fruit punch, and grape.

Tip: If you use a box of juice, enlarge the hole as much as possible, then squeeze the box to make the juice flow more easily.

3. Fill the rest of the glass with Seltzer (plain carbonated) water.

4. Give a quick stir to help blend the juice with the fizzy water, but not much or you'll lose too many bubbles; once or twice around the glass is enough.

Enjoy!

"Prey"

I watched the movie, "Prey," this morning on HBO and can't contain this rant. I didn't know it was supposed to be a horror flick which is okay because it isn't. It is, however, the type of movie that has great scenery, excellent animal action, and an encounter with natives that had me tense up.

It's also the kind of flick that's great to hoot and holler at and for throwing popcorn at the screen.

For those who have yet to see it, "Prey" is a survival story about a woman and her two step-children, all seemingly fairly typical American tourists, who go off on a game safari in Africa for a day.

Got that? I don't want to spoil the story for you so it's important for you to get those parts. Game safari, in Africa, for a day.

Oh, heck.

***** SPOILER ALERT *****

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Is that enough space?
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Who in their right mind goes off into the WILDERNESS in AFRICA without WATER? Sure, they hired a guide and he should have had a large container of extra water, but he didn't and they didn't think to check. I didn't see a can for extra gas, either, and he certainly didn't have a radio or a satellite phone, nor a first aid kit not that the latter would have helped considering the way the lions were killing off the people.

The guide dropped his keys in the grass and the step-daughter used her camera's zoom to verify that the bright shiny thing is one of the keys so they know it's worth leaving the vehicle which may put them at risk of being attacked by the lions that kept them in the vehicle on the afternoon of the first day and all night.

Why didn't they use the camera to check for lions before leaving the vehicle to get the keys?

Why didn't they have binoculars with them in the first place? It wasn't a visit to a zoo where the animals are sure to be closer than they are in the great outdoors of Africa. The guide didn't have any, either.

Unbelievable. No water and no binoculars.

Yes, they had a little water with them that quickly ran out, but when the girl went to get water, she didn't take any containers with her. Surely, she wasn't planning to carry water back in her palms, was she?

I don't mind when what goes on is plausible such as when the woman panicked driving away from the attacking lion, got them lost, and damaged the vehicle by driving too fast off-road.

I didn't mind so much that they didn't have whistles or red bandannas to signal for help or didn't think to gather enough grass from around the vehicle to make a fire on the roof of the vehicle to signal the helicopter or use a mirror from the vehicle or a compact, if either the woman or teen step-daughter had one.

I didn't mind that no one thought to take inventory of what was available to them until the third day...except they waited until the THIRD day.

However, I did mind that they didn't think to even try to collect rain water during the first night so they'd have something to quench their thirst.

Come on movie people, especially the writer(s). In the WILDERNESS, in AFRICA, without enough WATER to last them through the first afternoon.

Puh-leeze, gimme a break.

Contemplating Boobquake

Over the past month, I've been contemplating the concept that women's immodest attire contributes to earthquakes and wondering how Muslim women got such power. Evidently, Western women don't have it as shown by the results of Boobquake.

The Iranian senior cleric, Kazem Sedighi, who first preached, "Many women who do not dress modestly ... lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes," later explained in a lame attempt to wipe out any notion of observable cause and effect for this first Boobquake that earthquakes didn't hit the immorality-filled Western world because God may be waiting for us to sin more so He can send us "to the bottom of Hell."

I'm laughing because Sedighi leaped from immodest attire to promiscuity to earthquakes, but is blind to how the promiscuity of the Western culture is the same as his Shia Islam religion's allowing polygamous marriage with up to four permanent wives PLUS multiple temporary wives.

The only differences between our version of promiscuity and Iran's Shia version, called Nikah al-Mut'ah in Arabic or sigheh in Persian, are the contract and that the concubines are paid an agreed-upon price, mahr, without which payment, the contract for a temporary marriage is void (Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Articles 1075, 1076, and 1095).

At best, their promiscuity is legalized which doesn't make it less ungodly.

At worst, the temporary wives are legal prostitutes albeit for longer periods of time than the illegal prostitutes.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! At least, Western culture isn't so hypocritical as to go through the sham of instituting a legal code to support fornication.

The sad part is that the immodest attire to which Sedighi was referring is about the women who are letting some of their hair show by wearing a scarf instead of a hijab.

Yes, he calls them immodest because of their HAIR, that millions of women around the world for thousands of years have, without recrimination much less earthquakes, worn uncovered or partially covered as some Iranian women have started to do. How do extremists get so perverted?!

Ignoring Sedighi's later explanation of the reason Boobquake didn't have the expected result because I don't want to thump the Bible over his statement's gross inaccuracies, my question is, "Does the Qur'an say Muslim women must cover themselves completely when in public or is that something the extremist Islamic religious leaders made up?"

I'm asking because I read somewhere that the burqa and hijab are cultural, not religious, and that the veil applied only to Muhammad's wives because they were in close view of many strangers who visited the mosque next to their home; it was to provide privacy from prying eyes as they held a degree of celebrity status being wives of Muhammad like celebrities today wear hats, scarves, and sunglasses.

Also, I don't recall Hebrew women ever having to cover their faces nor completely hide their hair in the books I've read.

While I don't know the Qur'an, it's logical that if their god is the same God of the Jews and Christians as some people believe, the Qur'an would teach the same things as the Old and New Testaments: that we are imperfect, unable to follow each and every point in God's Law, sinners who need a Savior, and that Savior comes from the house of David.

What's scary is that the U.N. has given Iran a four-year (2011-2015) seat on the Commission on the Status of Women, which is "dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women."

HAH! Yes, Iran. The country that set a nearly impossible standard for proof of rape and severely punishes women for not being able to meet it with the result that most rapes are not reported.

Iran, the country which legal standards include "the testimony of two women is equal to that of one man" and "a woman has the right to divorce only if her husband signs a contract granting that right" even though a husband is "not required to cite a reason for divorcing his wife" and mandates that a man inherits twice that of a woman's share (Civil Code of the IRI, Articles 1133, 892-1, 899-1, 900-2, 906, 911, 913, 920, 923-925, 931-932, 935, and 938-948).

[NOTE: For the U.N. document at the following link, see page 27, section G, paragraph 82, and section H, paragraph 83. If the link doesn't work, verify that a cookie for un.org is allowed.]

Iran, the country that has a law allowing a father or paternal grandfather to make his 9-year-old girl marry any man he chooses upon payment of a sum of money (Civil Code of the IRI, Article 1041).

Iran, the country that prohibits executing a condemned female virgin but gets around it by having the condemned virgin, too often between the ages of only 9 to 17 years old, "married" to a prison guard on the eve of her execution for the purpose of legally raping her in the outrageous belief started by the Ayatollah Khomeini that rape prevents such a virgin from entering heaven and consigns her to hell.

Execution isn't punishment enough? They have to go to hell, too, as if anyone on earth has the power to designate who goes to hell? Doesn't the Qur'an say that only Allah knows who will go to heaven and who will go to hell?

(Spousal rape is not illegal in Iran because a wife is required by law to service her husband as he desires as long as she is able, i.e. if she's not menstruating, or he may deprive her of her bed, food, clothing, and shelter. It's how a husband can coerce his wife into submitting to rape - Civil Code of the IRI, Article 1108).

The U.N. is letting a hungry wolf guard the lambs.

What I learned from Sedighi is that he believes Islamic men are so weak, so unable to control their impulses and passions, that Islamic women have to cover themselves completely. I know it isn't true because there are many Muslim women in other countries who have adopted Western attire, the men around them are quite stable, and the earth beneath them isn't threatening to rumble with earthquakes like what is threatening Tehran.

Therefore, behind Sedighi's insult to Muslim men about their inability to control themselves is his goal to continue the subjugation, repression, and oppression of Irani women.

Think about it, if women's indecent attire causes earthquakes, it would be a simple matter for Iranian women to go outside, remove their hijabs, roll up their sleeves, raise their skirts to show their calves if they're comfortable going that far, stay clear of the falling walls, and take control after the earthquakes having proved irrefutably that they've got the power Sedighi says they have.

The problem with that idea is if earthquakes don't happen right away as I doubt they would, the participants are likely to be arrested.

Maybe what they could say is, "If you don't treat us right, we'll bring the walls down around your ears and then, you'll answer to us!"

God may do it for them, anyway, if the fault lines threatening Tehran somehow manage to kill the extremist Mullahs since the Bible has an example of an earthquake swallowing up the wicked (Numbers 16:28-33). And it didn't happen because of immodest attire, either!

(I need to report that Muslim men also have a dress code. Not as restricted as women as might be expected for that culture, men are supposed to be covered from their waists to below their knees.)

Indeed, after doing a word search, I can't say that women or men showing skin has any scriptural bearing on earthquakes.

Does that mean God doesn't disapprove of immodest attire?

Were Adam and Eve naked in the Garden of Eden?

Did Isaiah wear a thong?

To be fair to Mr. Sedighi, we need to acknowledge that Boobquake is an incomplete experiment because he said immodest attire leads to the corruption of men's chastity and adultery that then result in increased earthquakes.

Therefore, without a way to evaluate the effect of immodest attire on sexual misconduct and the effect of sexual misconduct on earthquakes, we'll never know which stance is correct, Sedighi's or the participants of Boobquake, if either.

Unfortunately for Mr. Sedighi, his perception of sexual misconduct is idiotic because it means only that the couples didn't bother with the sham of a temporary marriage that is so shallow it need consist merely of the couple agreeing on the length of time they will be together which may be extended or shortened as circumstances or desire dictates, their saying to each other "I marry you," and the payment of the mahr.

In conclusion, please pray for the people of Iran. The women, especially, need our support. Perhaps you'll feel led to additional means of support such as contacting the U.N. to protest Iran having a seat on the Commission on the Status of Women and demand that Iran be removed.

Isaiah 20:

1. In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;
2. At the same time spake the Lord by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
3. And the Lord said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;
4. So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.

Lesson 7

Hallelujah!

I finally made it past Lesson 7 which has eight measures of the "Ode to Joy," the theme of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, that was hanging me up.

Indeed, playing it on the tin whistle is soooo much easier than on a recorder!

Now, I'm on Lesson 10, the last lesson of the book that came with my recorder, having skipped Lesson 8 because I have no idea how the songs are supposed to sound, and am looking forward to my next tutorial that I'm expecting to be delivered tomorrow.

Using a tutorial with a CD is important for me since I don't read music well enough to play by the timing indicated on the sheet music. I play along with the song running through my head, and if I don't know a song, I can't play it.

For Lesson 7, because there's more music running through my mind than there are notes on the page, I searched this afternoon and found the rest of the sheet music. By the looks of it, I'm not intimidated although I still have to learn how to play it. That's okay for now because while I can play the eight measures smoothly, I'm still learning since I'm not yet able to keep up with the music in my mind. I'm sure I'll get better with practice and when I can do it all, I'll be able to play along with my CD of Symphony No. 9.

Just imagine - me, playing Beethoven on my tin whistle backed by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt!

Whoo-hoo!

Score! (Meg)

I decided to learn how to play a tin whistle as being more practical than learning to play an ocarina because I can change to different whistles, if I want, without having to learn new fingerings.

Selecting the Clarke Sweetone because it sounds close to the Clarke Original tin whistle, which breathy sound I like, but is reputed to be easier to play with a comfortable plastic mouthpiece designed by Michael Copeland instead of the metal mouthpiece with wooden block on the Original, I then modified my choice to the lower-priced Meg, also by Clarke, because of a review that included an mp3 comparison between the Sweetone and the Meg that's supposed to sound nearly like the Sweetone except I couldn't tell any difference.

I looked at a few websites to check the range of prices.

Calling a couple of music stores in my local area, thinking to get my whistle right away plus save on shipping, I found one store with the Clarke Original in D for over $15 more than the highest-priced Sweetone and another that had the Clarke Original in the key of C for a similar price. Neither have the Sweetone and only one store would be able to order it - for more than the lowest price online including shipping. Neither have the Meg nor would be able to order it.

That's definitely not cost-effective for me, a rank beginner who doesn't yet know how far she'll go with this endeavor.

Considering that some websites sell the Meg for the same price as the Sweetone (talk about profit margin!), and finding prices too good not to share at The Whistle Shop, I had some Megs sent to a musical friend with children in another town. Thom Larson's excellent service is so fast with Priority Mail (2-3 days) that is also the least expensive method to ship, that they've already received their Megs and started playing.

I received mine as well and started playing by using the book that came with my recorder. Fingerings for the beginning notes (B A G F# E D) on the whistle are the same as for my recorder and a fingering chart with a song sheet was included, so I'll be occupied for a while learning the fingerings for the notes that are different on the whistle. One thing for certain is that a whistle sounds a WHOLE lot better than a recorder. Let's see if I can finally get past Lesson 7!

You'll have noticed by now that I haven't quoted exact prices and if you've read my other "Score!" posts, you know this is where I normally state the price of the item I scored. However, because my above-mentioned friend is a faithful reader of my blog, I'm not doing it this time because that would be like leaving a price tag on a gift.

So, sorry to inconvenience you, but you'll have to look it up yourself, if you really want to know the price. Besides, if you intend to buy a tin whistle, or anything else for that matter, you should check out websites yourself to comparison shop with the stores in your town to see if you can come up with something better.

More importantly, your satisfaction with any whistle you may choose will depend a lot on whether or not you like how it sounds which is entirely subjective.

In conclusion, I'll merely state that I'm extremely pleased with my find and shout...

SCORE!

The Downside of Learning to Play a Musical Instrument

Ever since I was a child, I've wanted to learn how to play a musical instrument. Back then, it was the organ. My parents enrolled me in a package of ten piano group lessons that I complained about because I was too young to appreciate having to wait around for 40 minutes of the hour-long lessons while the two other students received their 20 minutes apiece.

(Not that I'd appreciate waiting around for 40 minutes now, either.)

It was too boring for words and the little electric piano the teacher had us using sounded terrible. There was absolutely no joy in the experience that I had eagerly anticipated and my parents never tried it again.

In my teens, I got myself an acoustic guitar, some instructional material, and tried to teach myself to play. I thought I was doing fairly well and enjoyed the sounds I was making but quit because I didn't know it was normal for fingers to hurt like crazy until calluses built up on tender skin.

I'll spare you other painful details with more instruments in the intervening years because those two examples should suffice for you to get the big picture.

During my road trip in 2007, I bought an instructional book by David Harp that came with a CD and harmonica from the REI store near San Diego. It was different because it didn't have songs like other music books but taught riffs for blues and rock songs. They were very easy to learn and I was imitating a train with whistle the first night. Maybe it wasn't music in the sense of playing a melody, but it sounded good to me and, most of all, it was fun!

Until I misplaced the book and CD.

Last year, I bought a book and recorder from the Wal-Mart children's toy section for about US$10. Being adult about it, I refrained from buying one of the translucent bright red or blue or purple recorders and settled on a solid, sedate, ivory; not that I wasn't tempted to get one that was more colorful.

Several times last month, I watched "Australia" on HBO thinking more and more, "I can do that" whenever the boy played "Over The Rainbow" on his harmonica. So, I got my harmonica and copied the tabs for the song off the Internet.

Except the song doesn't sound right.

Getting another copy that doesn't sound right either, but in different places, I spent over three and a half hours one Thursday night with them and my harmonica making a third set of tabs that sound right to me.

My lips still hurt on Saturday.

This time, I know not to give up entirely as I did with the guitar, but what do I do in the meantime? I still want to make music and even my sporadic, paltry attempts are deeply satisfying.

Another thought that crossed my mind was, "What if I get another episode of Bell's Palsy?" although I've been at least 95% free of it since Christmas. With a minor sense of not being 100% okay, I decided that I need something else that's travel-sized to alternate with the harmonica. That way, should I lose control of one side of my mouth again, I could stick the mouthpiece into the other side and still be able to play.

I went back to the recorder and played through the lessons to see why I quit. Ah, yes, I remember. Lesson 7 introduces a note that requires me to uncover the thumb hole. That was the show-stopper.

You see, my thumb has a mind of its own.

When I tell it to cover the hole, by golly it's going to keep that hole covered no matter what. As a result, when I tell it to uncover the hole, it yields only with intense reluctance after much earnest protesting. When I tell it to cover the hole again, it yells at me to make up my [blinking] mind. There's no point to switching hands because both thumbs are in cahoots.

I hate being chewed out by my own body.

After a week of fighting over that single note, I'm thinking there's got to be something better for me.

My remaining options appear to be an ocarina or a tin whistle, also called a penny whistle although many are no longer made of tin and none cost only a penny anymore.

The ocarina is an old South American wind instrument that was made popular by Giuseppe Donati, an Italian brickmaker circa 1850. Issued to soldiers during World War I and II, ocarinas are having a revival because of "The Legend of Zelda" game series by Nintendo. Ocarinas are available in different styles, materials, colors, and prices starting at US$5 with the number of holes ranging from four to twelve.

The ocarinas with four finger holes that don't have thumb holes sound like they'd be the best for me. Those that have six or more holes may instigate more arguments with my thumbs.

Researching tin whistles is encouraging because they are reputed to be the easiest instrument to learn, don't have thumb holes (Hallelujah!), sound better than recorders, and are available in a wide range of prices. Since even professional musicians use whistles that cost US$25 or less, there's no snob appeal in having an expensive whistle. The thing that matters is whether or not you enjoy the way your whistle sounds.

The sole negative is that since the increased popularity of Celtic music that started back in the 1970s and because the majority of Celtic music is in the key of D, it's hard to find instructional material in the key of C even when it isn't Celtic music.

The good part about the soprano or high D whistles that beginners typically use is that they're easier to play than those in the key of C because they require less air. Because the holes are closer together, it's less of a stretch which may be a determining factor for the small hands of children.

Another good thing is that tin whistles all use the same fingering to produce the notes. Once learned, what one has to do to play in a different key is merely get a whistle in that key and get used to the whistle's different length and spacing of the holes which isn't that easy when it's something like a low D.

Learning on a whistle in a key other than D results in the student not sounding right only when playing along with an instructional CD or with other people unless they're also using instruments in the same or a complementary key.

Hannah Kate Kinnersley wrote in her Wall Street Journal article, "Music Lessons: Learning To Play The Tin Whistle," that learning to play a musical instrument is good for children because "Studies say that children who play an instrument score higher on math tests and show improved concentration. Adults who play score better in memory tests."

The advantages of getting an inexpensive, travel-sized, musical instrument is that you'll have something to entertain yourself and others during overly long waits, car and bus rides, hiking rest stops, or evenings by the camp fire; you'll be able to cheer and comfort yourself when you're lonely, and it won't cost much to replace if lost.

In addition to these advantages, it's ideal for your preparedness Grab & Go bag because it doesn't require batteries.

Even if you don't count relaxation or the sense of accomplishment that comes from making your own music, it's all upside. There is no downside to learning how to play a musical instrument.

All you have to do is select an appropriate instrument and find the method of learning that works best for you.

Score! (Risë Stevens)

A side benefit of looking for "Amazing Grace" done by Janis Joplin was that it reminded me of my wanting to find "Risë Stevens in Songs of Jerome Kern" because her "Smoke Gets In My Eyes" is the best I've ever heard along with "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man."

In case you don't know, Risë Stevens is a retired NY Met opera mezzo soprano, famous during the 40s and 50s, who successfully crossed over to pop.

Mom had the album and I hoped to inherit it one day, but it got ruined a long time ago.

Checking Amazon, I found a CD called "The Pop Side" that has those two songs plus a few others I recognized from Mom's album, so I ordered it (used) for only $5.23 including shipping. It arrived in only three days, in great condition, and the songs are just as good as I remembered.

Score!

Janis Joplin

A long time ago, a former neighbor said that the best version of "Amazing Grace" that he'd ever heard was done by Janis Joplin. I listened to it (on vinyl LP) and didn't like it, but decided to give it a second chance recently.

Looking around, the only versions I found are the medleys "Amazing Grace/Hi Heel Sneakers" and "Amazing Grace/Psychedelic Preacher." If the "Amazing Grace" parts of the medleys are any indication, I probably still wouldn't like her singing "Amazing Grace" by itself in its entirety just like back when my friend let me hear it.

However, the search did acquaint me with other songs of hers and there's no denying her raw power, emotion, and bluesy vocalizations.

If you've yet to hear Janis Joplin or haven't listened for a while, here's a sampling, courtesy of the folks at YouTube:

1. "Summertime" by DuBose Heyward, George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin.

2. "Turtle Blues" by Janis Joplin.

3. "Little Girl Blue" by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers from the stage musical and movie, "Billy Rose's Jumbo," sung by Doris Day.

4. "Me and Bobby McGee" by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster.

Just for fun, compare "Piece of My Heart" written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns that was originally done by Erma Franklin, Aretha Franklin's older sister, to Janis Joplin's cover and to Faith Hill's version of which Wikipedia reports that her first version was the closest to what the song writers had in mind.

Personally, I like Joplin's and Franklin's versions better.

Review: Cascade II Rain Poncho

A poncho is a poncho, right? All you have to do is slip a poncho over your head and slough through the rain.

Wrong.

It's all about the material and the hood.

Although my first rain poncho served well in keeping me dry, the hood was terrible, sliding back whenever it could which was whenever I wasn't holding onto it. Plus, even when I did hold on, it couldn't be pulled forward enough to shield my face.

The next poncho was too heavy and hot. The hood was better, though. I could wear a ball cap to have the visor shield my eyes and the hood would stay on even when I turned my face from side to side.

That's why I'm happy to review the Cascade II poncho that I got from Campmor two years ago. It's made of polyurethane-coated, mini-ripstop nylon with a DWR finish that's lightweight, comfortable because of the breathability, keeps me dry, drip-dries quickly when hung over the tub, and folds up small to be stored in the included envelope. I selected the Backpacker model because the extension would cover my hiking pack and travel pack when worn as a backpack without decreasing the amount of coverage for the back of my legs.

Fortunately, I've yet to have the opportunity to try out the extension.

As for the rest of the poncho, in very windy conditions, I felt the fabric was flapping more than I was used to with my other, heavier, ponchos and rectified it by attaching 5/8" (15mm) Velcro® adhesive-backed coin sets along the sides. I sewed them on with a few stitches in the center of each coin using thread matching the color of the poncho because I wanted to be sure they stayed in place.

One coin set went about 7" above the snap on the left side because I felt the arm spaces were too generous for me. (The sturdy snaps are located midway between the shoulder and bottom edge.) Another coin set went onto the same position on the right side. Enough space remains for me to pull my arms inside the poncho, like a turtle pulls in its legs, without needing to unfasten the Velcro® which permits me to carry items like my purse and another article under the protection of the poncho.

The third coin set went about 9" below the snap on the left side. Another set went on the right.

The next two sets went near my knees on the left and right sides of the poncho. I thought they might have to be unfastened to allow me to walk, but they never hindered me.

[Updated July 9, 2011 - During one heavy thunderstorm when I probably should have been indoors, the driving wind separated the Velcro coin sets near my knees making the poncho flap uncontrollably. As a result, I decided to put eyelets in so the sides can be tied together.]

In perhaps what was a fit of overkill because I had the rest of the pack of coin sets left over and nothing else to do that evening, I then stitched a couple of pairs equidistantly between the snaps holding up the extension flap.

(Tip: I laid the poncho on a flat surface and ensured the sides were straight and even before peeling off the protective film and attaching one side of the Velcro® adhesive coin. Next, I put the opposite side of the coin onto its mate. After double-checking that everything was still even, I removed the backing film, and pressed the poncho onto the adhesive back. Then, I separated the coins and stitched them into place.)

The best part of the Cascade II poncho is the hood. First, it has a zipper to close up the neck opening with a storm flap that has Velcro® closures to keep the storm flap secure.

Second, there is an adjustable Velcro® tab in the back of the hood to customize the fit of the hood.

Third, there is a visor on the hood.

Last, there are drawstrings to snug up the face opening so that only my eyes show, protected by the visor, of course.

These features have kept me completely dry inside this poncho that is the best I've ever used. After two years, it still is in excellent condition and looks only lightly used.

In addition to those features, perhaps more for preparedness and hikers/backpackers than for travelers, there are 3/4" wide loops at the corners to help create a groundcover, tent, lean-to, or roof over a hammock.

[Updated July 9, 2011 - On the regular poncho, these loops can be used to tie the edges together instead of using Velcro or installing eyelets to keep the poncho front and back from flapping in the wind. Using the loops isn't practical on the backpacker version because the loops on the back are at a different level than are the loops on the front.]

The care instructions are:

"Machine wash cold
Gentle cycle
Mild detergent
Tumble dry no heat
Do not iron
Do not bleach
Do not dry clean."

The Cascade II ponchos are available in two sizes, Regular and Long, and in two models, Regular and Backpacker:

Regular poncho, item #77704, measures 52" x 80"

Long poncho, item #77705, measures 52" x 104"

Regular Backpacker poncho, item #77706, measures 52" x 92"

Long Backpacker poncho, item #77707, measures 52" x 118".

Highly recommended.

Too Good Not to Share #3

Harmonica like I've never heard it before:

1. E. Matthew Shelton performing "Oh, Shenandoah" on harmonica and guitar.

(Scroll down. It's the second demo that's below the lyrics and tabs.).

2. Larry Adler and Itzhak Perlman performing Gershwin's "Summertime" on harmonica and violin.

Enjoy!