hymn2000 asked: hey, I don't suppose you've got a gif of that bit in the episode where they go to brazil and homer gets kidnapped, where marge is like "I'll worry and dance" and like dances all happy for a second and then stops and starts looking round all scared? (I hope this makes sense - it's a little hard to explain!)
This is by far the most abundant ink I have in my house is that of inks made from flowers. This is the easiest and fastest inks to be made and require the least amount of materials to produce brilliant and soft colors. The inks from flowers can be either stunning and dark, or a lighter and more pale like one would expect from watercolor. Flower inks don’t last as long as inks produced from berries or nuts, and being left in the sunlight will fade their colors faster, but since this ink is so fast and easy to make, it can always be in supply. The shelf life of this ink is about a month if kept in the dark, but this is dependent on the color itself.
Materials:
Glass containers (preferably mason jars or drinking cups)
A pestle or other wooden tool (to crush the flowers with)
Boiling water
Cheese cloth
Rubbing Alcohol or 100 Proof Vodka
Glass storage container
Optional: Gum Arabic
Steps:
First, gather the flower petals of choice for the color desired (note some flower ink isn’t the same color as the flower petals).
Take these petals and crush them into the glass container, stuffing as many as you can in 1/3rd of the container as possible. The more crushed the petals, the more color will come out.
Fill the container with just enough boiling water to barely cover the flower petals. Do not fill the container, as this will dull the ink.
Set this container aside to brew overnight (I actually leave mine in the window to brew for 24 hours).
Strain the flower petals from the liquid, pouring the colored ink into a clean glass storage container.
Add 1 part alcohol to the container and shake gently (do not shake hard enough to form bubbles).
Optional: You may add Gum Arabic to give the ink a thicker consistency.
A recommendations on flowers, I have found that roses and other soft petaled flowers make a stronger ink.
In
the next few days and weeks you’ll see issues with Royal Mail in the
news. You’ll see the union are preparing for a strike. You’ll see the
news try and put the union in a bad light and make them out to be the
bad guys. They couldn’t be more wrong. We’ve had an agreement in place
for over a year and all we are asking for, is for this agreement to be
honoured. Instead the CEO is trying to bleed the company dry and destroy our service, and we are simply trying to protect it.
Many postal staff wake up at 4am every day, working in all weather
conditions facing all sorts of hazards with a busy workload that
dictates what time we get home to our families, all to provide you with
the service you deserve. We may strike for a day, we may strike for
two but compared to what would happen if we didn’t it’s minimal
disruption. Don’t fall for the media lies. Instead of asking why we
would strike close to Christmas or a general election which we didn’t
even know the dates for, ask yourself why Royal Mail aren’t honouring
their agreement. They’ve had months to sit down and talk with the CWU
National Officers, but have treated the mediation talks with very little
respect. You have to ask yourself why would RM do that? All we ask the British Public to do is back your Postman and Women and show them your support, they deserve it.
