Refresh(ing)
Friday, 13 February 2026
Proof I can get mandarins in focus. Yup, we got another bag today.
Musings
Early spring diets
Monday, 9 February 2026
We went out to do an errand and discovered that a squirrel had been feeding on the camellia bud hearts above the car. Is that the floral equivalent of maple sap-syrup?
Eating better in 2026
Wednesday, 4 February 2026
I’ve been trying to cook/eat lower on the food chain, as in more plant protein. My go-to these days includes a veggie bean stew, which has endless variants. When I heat leftovers, lately I’ve been microwaving some fresh spinach in the bowl first, then adding the stew and heating it all again. This bowl has bonus cheddar.
Plus, I recently found out that since the beans (and this is true of cooked grains, too) have been chilled, their grams of resistant starch have somehow increased—and that’s also good for the gut. Apparently, in some chemical magic, the chilling reorders the starch molecules in a process technically called retrogradation (and that’s enough science for today).
Blueberry extras
Thursday, 22 January 2026
You may have heard about this nasty storm system—2K miles plus wide. We’ve been hearing about it for at least a week, along with warnings to Prepare. I got these household must-haves on Tuesday. Tuesday, mind you. Yes, we’re Prepared.
Yesterday, I visited the drug store for non-groc items. I did not buy one of these. The coming storm is a rain-becoming-ice storm, so snow shovels not effective.
However, the storm coming after this one, yup, it may snow on us. Let’s get through this weekend first, though. I am not looking forward to it At All.
Slow downs
Thursday, 1 January 2026
Getting clean…a fine idea for beginning the new year.
Traditional Southern New Year’s meal, also a fine idea.
As to the title, we were driving back to ATL from our tasty luncheon in the late afternoon. It turned out that we were driving into the sun, which on several stretches was directly in our eyes. This was additionally tricky because we were on a two-lane relatively rural road with no extra space between the pavement and the ditch. Tricky. The technical term is a sunshine slow-down.
A bit further along, we happened on lines of cars pulled off the road (just barely: narrow road, remember) and parked almost in the ditch, with people standing next to road or walking in the lanes to join clusters of loiterers. Very strange. We eased our way along, passing dozens more vehicles. Increasingly strange. Then, coming at us, driving slowly, we encountered a police car with flashing lights. And around another curve, we found a line of walking Buddhist monks, maybe a dozen, with a dog on a leash, following the police car.
I’m taking all this as good omens for our 2026.
Collective action
Saturday, 27 December 2025
We had a potluck dinner this evening, and these sage leaves were part of a fabulous salad that others contributed. I brought a big pot of veggie bean stew that some people might call chili, and many others would never call chili.
Stupendous
Thursday, 25 December 2025
Once again I began the day enjoying the early-day sky.
We jaunted to a nearby neighborhood to partake of a small family brunch that ended with an offering of an assortment of kooooo-keys. Throughout we laughed and laughed.
Short-changed again
Friday, 12 December 2025
Grocery shopping almost always tops the chore list after a trip, as it did this morning. I looked in the fruit fridge display and thought, hmm, blueberry prices are cheaper, just a bit, but cheaper. Then, it hit me: the packages are the same, but now they have 11 oz, not 12. I’m still hot about it. [I tried to include the “flames” emoji, but my software won’t post it.]