Your tag (“What sisters aren’t weird?”) cracked me up. The photo’s wonderful — mysterious, and just slightly worrisome. It doesn’t look like blood in that beaker, but on the other hand, anyone with the skills to keep an apothecary could do who knows what after the customers have been sent home and the door locked.
At Cooperstown Farmers Museum, they had live leeches in a glass jar – -the apothecary (a really great reenactor) told me they were shipped in from France! I know hospitals still use them, and they used to call certain doctors “leeches” and not in a financial/negative way. But I could not take a decent photo.
Shipped from France? Someone ought to tell them about Leech Lake, in Minnesota — or any of those lakes. We used to vacation there when I was a kid, and picking leeches off after swimming was just part of the deal. They still use leeches for bait up there, and last spring leech dealers were concerned about a late ice out. I wonder what’s so special about French leeches? You can get nice, plump ones in Minnesota; I wonder if they’re around Wisconsin, too?
Yikes! Wasn’t sure if you were serious about “Leech Lake,” but I see that you are! I can’t remember why they had them shipped in, but the guide was adamant that they were the best for medical purposes. I just read that doctors never use wild-caught ones, to make sure they’re not carrying parasites, germs, etc. so maybe the snail-raising farms in France breed leeches too, in the off-season.
Ah. That makes sense. There’s no telling what the lake leeches might be carrying in the way of disease and such, so they probably are farming them: like lab rats.
Thanks, Mick. I think they should make those colored glass “show globe” things mandatory for drugstores, I love ’em. I tried to take a picture of a jar I saw at a historical village, that had live leeches, but couldn’t get it to work.
I think Campari, and some other French & Italian aperitivos, but I’ve never sampled any of them. I’ve seen Cracker Barrel restaurants sell some sort of soda pop called “Cheerwine” that’s a great red color, but again, haven’t tried it yet.
Campari’s wonderful. I developed a taste for Campari and soda overseas, and still like it on a summer evening. And, yes: the color’s close, although Campari’s a little rosier. I don’t think I could be persuaded to try Cheerwine. I suspect a resemblance to every overly-sweet red soda ever made.
Oh, marvelous! My mom used to tell of trips to Leech Lake. She and her pals were great swimmers. She didn’t know until after they’d been swimming why it was called that…
Wow, I’m gonna check again on why they’re called the Finger Lakes. Nature is so wonderful except for the really creepy parts! This is being a good Halloween, so far this morning – rat skeletons, slimy fungus, and leeches! đ
Very quiet. My apt building has a a couple of families with babies, but otherwise all adults, no kids. I’m getting psyched for Thanksgiving though, which I love!
Yes to the big feast, everyone in my family cooks, my sister makes breads & pies, usually with visiting family, and/or stray foreign kids from the college my mother works at, but this year, it’s looking like just immediate family, I’m going to fly in for 3 days.
Thanks, Melissa, hoping the weather is clear so we can see the lakes on the flight. I hope you have a wonderful holiday, too! We do a traditional turkey dinner, but a few years ago, I brought a college friend home with me, who was vegetarian, and we made “panzanella” (a roasted veggie salad) for him, and now that’s my contribution to the feast, so I’ll start chopping the minute I get in the door! đ
That sounds interesting~what goes into it? I’ve developed a real love for roasted vegetables. This house does not have an oven large enough for a turkey, and the dining room is my studio, so traditional thanksgiving has never worked here. Usually my ex-husband would take our kids down to his mom’s, but she has just passed away so I am wondering what we are going to do. My mother never did traditional thanksgiving either. If my parents were in the country we would go out to eat, or they would farm me out to neighbors. I don’t have good memories and generally would prefer to ignore the whole thing. I’m sorry~that all just sort of poured out!
So I donât forget, first, panzanella in the summer is a great way to use up stale bread and too many tomatoes. But the fall version is from the NY Times âPanzanella of Plenty.â Very adaptable, use what fall veggies youâve got, and you donât have to make a massive amount. Just take one beet, some Brussels sprouts, squash if you have it, etc. and cut them up in cubes, and put them under the broiler or bake âem. You donât have to put in all the stuff in the recipe, chestnuts are usually pricey, black walnuts work great, and a lot of folks are glad if you’ll pick them up off their lawns, if you can deal with the mess of cracking them, etc. they’re delicious roasted. But definitely use a roasted beet (I donât like beets unless theyâre roasted or pickled) and some cranberries, I use the dried ones in a foil pouch, it gives it great color and looks festive. I’m sorry it has bad associations for you, T-bird day is a very American thing, like Xmas, and can be overhyped and make people feel sidelined somehow, the symbol of overeating, and also, itâs November and the weather is often crappy. We should do it when the Canadians do, also usually Sukkot, the Jewish harvest festival. I like the kidâs fable version with the native & Pilgrims, but I donât like Black Friday, football coming out of every TV, and all that. If the ovenâs small, can you do roasted chicken instead? Which I prefer. Were your parents in the service overseas?
My dad was a civil engineer and his company does hydroelectric projects all over the world. He used to joke that it would be nice to be sent to someplace North of the equator for a change. They sent him to Alaska. In Winter. LOL! He would be gone for years at a time and my mother was often with him. A couple of times I went along too. I was always so happy to get back home. All that travel was wasted on me, I’m afraid. I’m a confirmed homebody.
The recipe sounds wonderful. Thank you for sharing it. I’m with you on beets but I do like their color and cranberries would add a nice zing along with color. Can’t wait to try it. We did talk about Thanksgiving and I think we have menu that will work. I hadn’t thought about roasted chicken. I’d prefer that as well.
i think I’d like to hang out with the waywards for a bit….
UpState & Away - - - - Waterlooseneca.com 
Your tag (“What sisters aren’t weird?”) cracked me up. The photo’s wonderful — mysterious, and just slightly worrisome. It doesn’t look like blood in that beaker, but on the other hand, anyone with the skills to keep an apothecary could do who knows what after the customers have been sent home and the door locked.
At Cooperstown Farmers Museum, they had live leeches in a glass jar – -the apothecary (a really great reenactor) told me they were shipped in from France! I know hospitals still use them, and they used to call certain doctors “leeches” and not in a financial/negative way. But I could not take a decent photo.
Shipped from France? Someone ought to tell them about Leech Lake, in Minnesota — or any of those lakes. We used to vacation there when I was a kid, and picking leeches off after swimming was just part of the deal. They still use leeches for bait up there, and last spring leech dealers were concerned about a late ice out. I wonder what’s so special about French leeches? You can get nice, plump ones in Minnesota; I wonder if they’re around Wisconsin, too?
Yikes! Wasn’t sure if you were serious about “Leech Lake,” but I see that you are! I can’t remember why they had them shipped in, but the guide was adamant that they were the best for medical purposes. I just read that doctors never use wild-caught ones, to make sure they’re not carrying parasites, germs, etc. so maybe the snail-raising farms in France breed leeches too, in the off-season.
Ah. That makes sense. There’s no telling what the lake leeches might be carrying in the way of disease and such, so they probably are farming them: like lab rats.
This is a great Halloween discussion! And a great name for another shop: “Phileas T. Sponger, Esq., Purveyor of Leeches & Rats”
Now that I think about it, leeches and rats often are found together in human communities, too.
I can’t decide whether I like the photo or the shop name the best!
Thanks, Mick. I think they should make those colored glass “show globe” things mandatory for drugstores, I love ’em. I tried to take a picture of a jar I saw at a historical village, that had live leeches, but couldn’t get it to work.
I’d steer clear of the leeches if I were you, Robert!
Do they need an apothecary table? Here is some information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwW47wuFJRg …. only one and fifty dollars! from White Plains!!
đ
With the many kinds of liqueurs out there in the world, I wonder if one matches the color of what’s in the beaker.
I think Campari, and some other French & Italian aperitivos, but I’ve never sampled any of them. I’ve seen Cracker Barrel restaurants sell some sort of soda pop called “Cheerwine” that’s a great red color, but again, haven’t tried it yet.
Campari’s wonderful. I developed a taste for Campari and soda overseas, and still like it on a summer evening. And, yes: the color’s close, although Campari’s a little rosier. I don’t think I could be persuaded to try Cheerwine. I suspect a resemblance to every overly-sweet red soda ever made.
I see what you mean about Campari, which isn’t alone in its redness:
https://tinyurl.com/ya6zbbob
Oh, marvelous! My mom used to tell of trips to Leech Lake. She and her pals were great swimmers. She didn’t know until after they’d been swimming why it was called that…
Wow, I’m gonna check again on why they’re called the Finger Lakes. Nature is so wonderful except for the really creepy parts! This is being a good Halloween, so far this morning – rat skeletons, slimy fungus, and leeches! đ
đ I was amazed how many people dressed up this year. Of course, they did it a week early, which is confusing.
đ I love how your mind works! Only you could make the Finger Lakes creepy đ
Even chicken fingers would be creepy, if you imagine them swimming around
I think chicken fingers are creepy anyway! đ Did you have a nice Halloween?
Very quiet. My apt building has a a couple of families with babies, but otherwise all adults, no kids. I’m getting psyched for Thanksgiving though, which I love!
Really? That sounds fun. Do you cook up a big feast and get together with lots of family?
Yes to the big feast, everyone in my family cooks, my sister makes breads & pies, usually with visiting family, and/or stray foreign kids from the college my mother works at, but this year, it’s looking like just immediate family, I’m going to fly in for 3 days.
Have a wonderful time. As much as you like Milwaukee, I’ll bet it will be good to be home for those 3 days.
Thanks, Melissa, hoping the weather is clear so we can see the lakes on the flight. I hope you have a wonderful holiday, too! We do a traditional turkey dinner, but a few years ago, I brought a college friend home with me, who was vegetarian, and we made “panzanella” (a roasted veggie salad) for him, and now that’s my contribution to the feast, so I’ll start chopping the minute I get in the door! đ
That sounds interesting~what goes into it? I’ve developed a real love for roasted vegetables. This house does not have an oven large enough for a turkey, and the dining room is my studio, so traditional thanksgiving has never worked here. Usually my ex-husband would take our kids down to his mom’s, but she has just passed away so I am wondering what we are going to do. My mother never did traditional thanksgiving either. If my parents were in the country we would go out to eat, or they would farm me out to neighbors. I don’t have good memories and generally would prefer to ignore the whole thing. I’m sorry~that all just sort of poured out!
So I donât forget, first, panzanella in the summer is a great way to use up stale bread and too many tomatoes. But the fall version is from the NY Times âPanzanella of Plenty.â Very adaptable, use what fall veggies youâve got, and you donât have to make a massive amount. Just take one beet, some Brussels sprouts, squash if you have it, etc. and cut them up in cubes, and put them under the broiler or bake âem. You donât have to put in all the stuff in the recipe, chestnuts are usually pricey, black walnuts work great, and a lot of folks are glad if you’ll pick them up off their lawns, if you can deal with the mess of cracking them, etc. they’re delicious roasted. But definitely use a roasted beet (I donât like beets unless theyâre roasted or pickled) and some cranberries, I use the dried ones in a foil pouch, it gives it great color and looks festive. I’m sorry it has bad associations for you, T-bird day is a very American thing, like Xmas, and can be overhyped and make people feel sidelined somehow, the symbol of overeating, and also, itâs November and the weather is often crappy. We should do it when the Canadians do, also usually Sukkot, the Jewish harvest festival. I like the kidâs fable version with the native & Pilgrims, but I donât like Black Friday, football coming out of every TV, and all that. If the ovenâs small, can you do roasted chicken instead? Which I prefer. Were your parents in the service overseas?
My dad was a civil engineer and his company does hydroelectric projects all over the world. He used to joke that it would be nice to be sent to someplace North of the equator for a change. They sent him to Alaska. In Winter. LOL! He would be gone for years at a time and my mother was often with him. A couple of times I went along too. I was always so happy to get back home. All that travel was wasted on me, I’m afraid. I’m a confirmed homebody.
The recipe sounds wonderful. Thank you for sharing it. I’m with you on beets but I do like their color and cranberries would add a nice zing along with color. Can’t wait to try it. We did talk about Thanksgiving and I think we have menu that will work. I hadn’t thought about roasted chicken. I’d prefer that as well.
i think I’d like to hang out with the waywards for a bit….
Absolutely, wayward ho, as long as no newts are harmed in the making of spells.
Absolutely.