Yuck
Sunday, 3 December 2023
New coffee shop in the neighborhood…. I don’t get how there’s the least bit favorable association between ash and either coffee or pastries.
Musings
Material culture mystery (meaning ignorance)
Friday, 1 December 2023
The other week, I read a novel set in 19th century London, by an author living at that time, in which a character asked another character if he wanted Indian, Chinese, or Sri Lankan tea. I’m guessing these elephant pots, if used among those characters, would indicate they contained Indian tea. I don’t know what the other shapes would be…dragons for Chinese? But what for Sri Lanka?
Quality time
Wednesday, 15 November 2023
My new shoes arrived yesterday in the late afternoon. They’re Salomons. I didn’t care about the brand so much, but these have a stiffer sole and are good for trails, and also not the squishy sole that a running shoe needs.
We had The Brother of Seattle here for a day, and we took a roam this afternoon, and I have now logged three miles in my New Shoes. And, en route, we found ladybugs of many hues on a crepe myrtle. Now he’s flying back to the Left Coast.
Change is…colorful
Monday, 13 November 2023
We entered the carwash that we usually use, but haven’t been to in a while, and found a sudsing ambiance of green! That was a surprise.
Then as the car was rolled along it switched back to the usual no color, and I thought maybe they were trying to suggest it was a “green” car wash.
But no, after that we had lilac, bright blue, and red, and so on. Maybe it’s a rainbow message?
Ob-vee
Sunday, 5 November 2023
Early Europeans recorded on the order of eighty names for sweet potatoes across Māori-land (now called Aotearoa New Zealand). Some referred to color or horticultural variation. Others were regional or dialectically different. Still, sweet potatoes were the primary calorie source year in and year out for pre-contact Māori.
I was surprised that our local Whole-Paycheck (several grocery chains receive this nickname) had four different kinds, each a different color. This was called purple sweet potato on the sign.
Which way’s north?
Saturday, 4 November 2023
The penchant for street names to include Peachtree in Atlanta is well-known. There are also assorted watercourses with Peachtree in the name. This is the South Fork of Peachtree Creek. View to north (ish).
And this is a wee tributary of the above, name unknown to me. South Fork of the South Fork, perhaps?
Sorted leaves
Wednesday, 1 November 2023
Leaf dunes? Alignments, anyway…why? So…unexpected.
Actually, I know part of why. The homeowner has laid a fine mesh fabric across the lawn, I assume to catch the leaves and acorns, to keep them from embedding in the grass and to make them easier to remove. Or?
Invasive species, etc.
Sunday, 29 October 2023
Meet creeping jenny, sometimes called moneywort for the leaf shape. I/we paid a landscaper to put it in our yard; now I discover it’s an invasive species (native to Europe; spreads especially easily in moist soils).
The country’s largest food company is PepsiCo; it owns Rice-A-Roni, Sabra, Rold Gold, Doritos, Gatorade, and Quaker Oats.
That’s from Daniel Immerwahr’s “Beyond the Myth of Rural America,” in the 16 October issue of The New Yorker.
I say that PepsiCo is equivalent to an invasive species in our USA and global food systems.
Go figure
Friday, 27 October 2023
How did I pick a picture with such story-imagining potential and not post it?
As to the story…short version…christening or elderly birthday?
Coming events
Thursday, 26 October 2023
We went to the park to stroll in the lovely sunshine, and discovered preparations underway to host a music-fest over the weekend. We saw many food trailers and whole zones of porta-potties, and two stages being assembled. This is the north one.
This was the main ingredient in the pile behind the mini-donut truck. Note that the open kettle recipe requires more water than automatic equipment. I cannot figure out why.