Great Song, Surprising Songstress

Most Saturday mornings I take a cycling class at the gym. I enjoy this instructor's choice of music, which is mostly a combination of rock with an occasional disco, country, or techno song thrown in. I know the vast majority of them, and can even sing along in my head, which helps me forget I'm working hard.

This morning she used a rap song that was new to me. I don't listen to Top 40 hits so I didn't recognize the male voice (which turned out to be Pitbull), but the female one was unmistakable-Dolly Parton!

What do you think?

Personally, I wouldn't be at all annoyed if this song ended up in the regular cycling class rotation.

Five years ago: Given With Love

A Bevy Of Brood Bugs

I won't be breaking off branches during my walks any time soon, because the periodical cicadas have taken most of those branches over.

Exoskeletons

Cicadas are insects. There are two types--annual (which can be found worldwide) and periodical (which live only in the eastern and central parts of the United States). The latter are divided into two groups. There's a set that comes out every 13 years and another that comes out every 17 years. Both types emerge in broods, which are labeled with Roman numerals.

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

In some parts of the country two broods are emerging in 2024. Not here, though. We're 'lucky' to have just the Brood XIX 13-year insects. That's more than enough for me, as there are millions in the Brood. When the nymphs emerge from the ground they climb up onto a vertical surface, shed their exoskeleton, and fly off in search of a mate. 

They are horrible flyers, and often run into things. Adult cicadas are somewhere between 1 1/2 inches and 2 inches long, so when they run into you you can definitely feel it. They're also noisy! To attract mates male cicadas buzz loudly, and large groups of them turn into a loud droning sound. Fortunately, our condo building is close enough to a connector road and the traffic sounds mitigate some of the drone.

Fortunately, the cicada event will only last a couple of weeks before all the mating and egg-laying is completed and the nymphs burrow down into the ground...until their next awakening.

Half Staff

Did you know that this week is National Police Week, and May 15th is Peace Officers Memorial Day? I didn't.

According to Wikipedia, Peace Officers Memorial Day is a United States observance that "pays tribute to the local, state, and federal peace officers who have died, or who have been disabled, in the line of duty".

The Day and Week were created by Congress in October of 1961, and President John F. Kennedy signed the bill into law. In 1994 President Bill Clinton directed that the flag of the United States be flown at half staff on May 15, one of two days which requires American flags be lowered to half-staff by federal law. (The other is Memorial Day.)

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Five years ago today: My Warm Weather Treat

Making My Gut Happy

This afternoon I was leafing through the latest issue of the AARP Bulletin and found an article about gut health and how it can affect health in general. I learned that a healthy gut can help control your weight, reduce the risk of Alzheimer's, help you live longer, and increase happiness.

The article went on to say that the first step in a healthy gut microbiome is to feed it whole (instead of processed) foods. A satisfied gut likes a wide variety of whole food plant based items. The people with the healthiest microbiomes ate at least 30 different types of plants every week, which includes vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts, seeds, and legumes. The article also said some people strive to eat at least 20 different plants every single day!

For grins, I decided to see how my diet today had stacked up. The article just said different items, not how much of each, so I figured that small amounts would count.

• Breakfast was a bowl of cereal with blueberries (1) and walnuts (2). 

• Lunch was baked tofu (3), a container of vegetables with carrots (4), celery (5), colored peppers (6), cauliflower (7), zucchini (8), and grape tomatoes (9), a homemade muffin that included oatmeal (10) and whole wheat flour (11), and a pear (12).

• Mid-afternoon I nuked some spinach (13) and mushrooms (14), then added a handful of wasabi peas (15). 

At this point I realized that hitting the 20 different plants goal was actually doable, and really leaned into the project.

• Dinner was already going to include lettuce (16) that needed to be used up. The meal turned into a main dish salad with chopped tomatoes and carrots (not counted, because that would be double dipping), pickled watermelon rind (17), green onion (18), roasted chickpeas (19), and sunflower seeds (20). On the side there was some good sourdough bread. Dessert was strawberries (21).

Lest you think I had a perfect eating day, ten minutes after dinner was cleaned up I also had a couple of truffles from my Mother's Day present box.

With no expectations, I'm going to try to find ten more plants to consume before a week has passed.

Easy-Peasy.AI

A Trio Of Mother's Day Pleasures

This has been the best Mother's Day in a long time.

On Wednesday afternoon Son Tony flew into town for business, and Hubby Tony and I were able to meet him for lunch. It was great to see him and catch up. As we were leaving the restaurant he got an envelope out of his car and handed it to me. When I got home I opened the envelope and found a pop-up card with a heartfelt inscription from DIL Ie and some type of drawings from each of the three grands.

Friday afternoon Tony and I were getting ready to leave the condo and discovered a box outside of our door. The box held a package of chocolate truffles from Son Brian and DIL Nicole. On Saturday Brian called. It had been several weeks since we had talked and we had a nice long catch-up conversation.

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Tony always cooks dinner on Sunday, but in honor of Mother's Day he made portable picnic food. We packed it up and drove to Son Donald's house, where he and his two Chihuahua-mix dogs joined us for a short ride to Forest Park. We found a table to eat, then the three of us took the dogs for a walk.

Dogs and 'dog grandparents'

Five years ago today: The Mom Song

Pimento's Big Day

Today Hubby Tony and I took our foster cat Pimento to the vet for annual shots.

In the three weeks Pimento has lived with us, he's settled into a predictable pattern. Most of the day he shelters under the daybed cover in the office. When Tony and I go to bed, the cat has moved to stage himself behind the trundle bed mattress (probably so he can get a fast start on eating and using the litter box after we turn out the lights).

Given that Pimento is already somewhat secured under the cover I figured it would be relatively easy to get him into a carrier for the trip. The plan was to close the office door and have Tony to sit on one end of the bed to lift up the cover so I could grab him. However, in the morning we discovered Pimento had mixed his routine up and was hunkered down behind the bed.

Putting him into the carrier turned into a five-minute slapstick of pulling out the bed frame, Pimento sliding underneath the trundle, and scampering around the room in an effort to elude us. He even jumped into an open window and tried to climb up the screen in the gap between the glass and the screen before I was able to extricate his claws from the screen mesh and grab him.

The animal hospital the shelter uses was a thirty minute drive from the condo. The arrangement is for the vet to do shelter work during breaks or any free time, so we dropped Pimento off at 8 am. The receptionist said to expect a notification sometime between 12 and 2 pm letting us know to come pick him up, but to call if we hadn't heard anything by 3 pm.

After leaving the clinic, the next stop was at his previous foster's house to return a sweat shirt she had left in his cage when we made the transfer. We chatted with her for a few minutes and learned some interesting tidbits that explained a lot. She told us that Pimento has a small tip of his right ear gone, which indicated he had gone through a Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR) process. Along the way someone recognized he had the possibility to be someone's pet and contacted the shelter. She had done her part to help socialize Pimento, but when her work schedule changed she realized he would benefit from someone who was around the house more and turned him over to us.

The pickup went smoothly. In addition to his shots Pimento had his nails clipped. After his rough day he fell asleep in the carrier on the ride home. Tony set the carrier down in the office and opened the door. Pimento was thrilled to be back home.  

At bedtime we couldn't find Pimento in any of his usual spots. Tony discovered him under our bed, scrunched up against the headboard wall and as close to the middle of the queen sized mattress as he could get. I'm sure he felt safer there, but I was excited to see he knew enough about other parts of the house to choose a new place.

A Win For The City And A Win For Our Pocketbook

Tonight Hubby Tony and I had tickets to a Cardinals baseball game.  Even though they haven't been doing well this year we optimistically thought that this would be the night their luck would change. (We were wrong. The team started strong in the first inning, scoring three runs. But they ended up losing the game 7-5. And to add insult to injury Willson Contreras, one of the most productive players on the team, broke his arm in a freak on-field accident and will probably miss the rest of the season.)

We got downtown a couple of hours before the game to grab some dinner. Instead of paying for a spot in a garage or parking lot Tony snagged an on-street parking space halfway between the restaurant and the stadium. 

As he got ready to pay we noticed that the meter was set up for event pricing. Instead of the usual $1.50 hourly rate that is only enforced until 7 pm (with a total cost of $3.00), the flat rate event pricing cost was $5.00. However, it was still a good deal, as that was still substantially lower than the $15 the nearest lot was charging. 

So the city got more revenue out of us and we got to keep more money in our wallet.

A Farmer Funny

Farmer Joe decided his injuries from an accident were serious enough to take the trucking company who was responsible to court. During the trial the trucking company's lawyer was questioning Farmer Joe by saying, "Didn't you say at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine'?"

Farmer Joe responded, "Well, I'll tell you what happened. I had just loaded my favorite mule Bessie into the......."

"I didn't ask for any details," the lawyer interrupted, "just answer the question. Did you not say at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine?'"

Farmer Joe said, "Well, I had just got Bessie into the trailer and I was driving down the road..."

The lawyer interrupted again and said, "Judge, I am trying to establish the fact that at the scene of the accident this man told the Highway Patrolman on the scene that he was just fine. Now several weeks after the accident he is trying to sue my client. I believe he is a fraud. Please tell him to simply answer the question."

By this time the Judge was interested in Farmer Joe's answer and said to the lawyer, "I'd like to hear what he has to say about his favorite mule Bessie."

Joe thanked the Judge and proceeded, "Well, as I was saying, I had just loaded Bessie, my favorite mule, into the trailer and was driving her down the highway when this huge semi-truck and trailer ran the stop sign and hit my truck on the side. I was thrown into one ditch and Bessie was thrown into the other. I was hurting real bad and didn't want to move. However, I could hear ole Bessie moaning and groaning. I knew she was in terrible shape just by her groans."

"Shortly after the accident a Highway Patrolman came on the scene. He could hear Bessie moaning and groaning so he went over to her. After he looked at her he took out his gun and put her out of her misery."

"Then the Patrolman came across the road with his gun in his hand and looked at me. He said, 'Your mule was in such bad shape I had to shoot her - how are you feeling?'"

Five years ago: Let's Go Blues!

What Does My Phone Know That I Don't?

This weekend I will be attending an organization business meeting in the Lake of the Ozarks area. I was trying to figure out what to pack, so I opened my weather app in my condo in Kirkwood, MO to find out.

For some reason my phone had a different idea of where I was standing.

Does it have old information cached, or does it really want to go back to Hawaii? (For what it's worth, this is the first time I've had the issue. And some of the locations it picked up I have no recollection of searching for. For others, the search would have been a couple of years ago.)

Yet Another Reason Why I Like Condo Living

Yesterday Hubby Tony and I noticed some large bees lazily buzzing around outside my office window. This morning I was putting my suit and towel out on the deck to dry after a water class at the gym. I looked up, noticed a series of holes in the wood window header, and realized we probably had carpenter bees. 

But instead of quarterbacking the problem like we would have if we were homeowners, all I had to do is snap a photo and send it off to the condo management office. They responded, saying they would have a pest control company look into it. 

Just like that the issue was out of our court.

Five years ago:John Wayne's Five Rules to Remember in Life

Dried Grapes

There is a 'day' for everything! Today it was raisin's turn

Cultures have been dehydrating grapes for centuries, but National Raisin Day has been celebrated since 1909. The event was promoted by growers of California, which produces all of the raisins in the United States. 

The ironic thing is that just before I learned about Raisin Day I had gone to the pantry and grabbed a handful of them to snack on. I find that when I'm craving something sweet sometimes they will do the trick.

Sometimes.

Five years ago today: Amazing Occasions

Not Yet Approachable

Tomorrow will be two weeks since our foster cat Pimento came to live at our house. Unfortunately, he hasn't made much progress toward integrating himself into the family.

Every morning the food bowl is empty and the litter box is full. He still spends the day burrowed under the daybed spread. His previous foster parent had told us he was on the shy side when he first arrived at her house, so Hubby Tony and I aren't completely surprised by his actions, but I am looking forward to the day when Pimento is more than just a faceless lump. 

During the last email communication with his previous foster parent she suggested we try a Feliway diffuser, which plugs into an outlet in the office and emits a feline pheromone that is supposed to be calming. The internet was full of positive reviews for the product, but Pimento must not have read the reviews because it doesn't seem to have had much effect.

Stockvault

Organize And Prioritize

I try to keep things straightened around the house, but today I was tackling yet more clutter that had managed to accumulate since my last reorganization. As I sorted the stuff into piles to keep, recycle, and toss there were some I thought about keeping 'just in case' I needed them down the line.

Then I remembered some wisdom I learned from The Minimalists, who promote a lifestyle without stuff. They have what they call the 20/20 Rule-two questions to ask yourself when you are tempted to hang onto something. The first question is “Could I replace the item for less than $20?” The second is “Could I replace it in less than 20 minutes?” If the answer to the questions is “yes,” you can afford to get rid of the thing.

So out went the glass tart pans I got from a free box at a garage sale, some florist vases, handful of plastic utensils from carry out meals, a nice plastic storage bag with a zipper from a set of sheets, and stack of boxes I've been stockpiling just in case I need to mail something.

I felt good about the clean spaces in my kitchen, dining room, and office. Will that keep me from accumulating more things to take the place of the ones I got rid of? Probably not, but I can try.

Five years ago: The Joys Of Modern Air Travel (NOT)

Benumbed

The last time I went to the dentist for a routine six-month cleaning she examined my teeth and gums and suggested I schedule a deep cleaning, which involved going below the gum line to remove additional plaque. The procedure is done on one half of the mouth at a time, so I scheduled two appointments-one for the right side and one for the left side. The first appointment was today. 

I didn't realize until I got there that the procedure involved local anesthesia. I guessed that's why there were two appointments; in addition to possible discomfort it wouldn't be a good thing to have both sides of my mouth numb at the same time.

After a little chit chat in the procedure room the dentist and assistant got to work--topical gel where the needle would go, then anesthesia injections in both the top and bottom inside cheek. It didn't take long for both to take effect.

The procedure started with an ultrasonic scaler, followed by a water spray, and then a manual scaler. The assistant wielded the suction tube as needed. Thanks to the numbing none of it hurt, but it was humorous. My lips were so numb that when the assistant asked me to close my mouth so she could suction out water I had to manually move my lower right lip with my hand.

On the way out of the treatment room I asked the dentist how long until things were back to normal. She said the effects of anesthesia typically lasted between two to five hours. On the way home I stopped by Starbucks to treat myself to an iced espresso drink and had trouble making my lips and tongue work to tell the barista my order.

Back at home, I realized that there was no way I could drink without dribbling coffee down the front of my shirt. I got out a straw, but could only use it on the left side of my mouth and if I used my fingers to close my lip around it.

As it got closer to dinner time with only a slight reduction in numbness I took to the internet to see if there were any methods to make the issue go away faster. I learned that I could massage my lips and cheeks, wiggle my jaw, and move my tongue so I spent the next ten minutes massaging and wiggling as fast as I could. 

I don't know if it was psychological or an actual effect of the movement, but shortly before it was time to eat I realized the numbness was almost all the way gone. That meant I was able to eat dinner normally.

I have a second appointment next week for the second side of my mouth. Now that I've been through the process once I'll be able to plan a little better.

It's Not You, It's My Computer

For the past few days, there are a couple of blogs in my reader that all of a sudden won't let me access them. Instead, I get an error message that says something about a secure connection failure and data authenticity failure. (For what it's worth, that error message went so far over my head it could have been written in Ancient Greek.)

I normally use the Firefox browser, but I also have the problem with Safari. The suggestions I found on the internet were no help. So the moral of the story is that if I normally comment on your posts and you haven't seen me lately it's not that I don't want to. It's that I can't.

I hope like so many of the internet issues I've encountered I hope this one will go away soon.

Five years ago today: Did You Know?

Doing My "Smell" Part

Less than a week after I signed up for a Parkinson's Disease smell test the materials were delivered via a UPS bubble envelope. Inside that envelope there was a page with directions as well as a sealed standard envelope. That envelope had everything I needed to complete the test-an identification code, four test booklets, and a sharpened pencil.

The test instructions were easy to follow. Starting with the first book I was to use the tip of the pencil to scratch the sample on each page, smell it, then fill in the circle that corresponded to one of the four scent answers. If what I thought I smelled wasn't one of the choices I was to pick the closest answer, and if I couldn't smell anything I should guess.

Each book took five minutes to get through. However, I found that by the time a book was finished my nose needed an additional five minute break. When all the books were completed I entered the answers online. After I finished entering the information the website thanked me for my time and said I could discard the test. My tiny part of the research was finished.

Five years ago today: Happy Easter 2019

Settling In

Debra at She Who Seeks left a comment asking what our foster cat's name was. I can't believe I didn't formally introduce Pimento (which is the moniker given to him by the shelter) !

It's now been three days since Pimento left his last foster home and came to ours. The first thing Hubby Tony and I did when we set the cage in the office was to open the door. Pimento spent the rest of the day hugging its far back wall. At bedtime we closed the office door. During the night we heard some noises from the room. The next morning the water and food bowls had been tipped over and the cage was empty.

There weren't too many places an adult cat could go. The room has a day bed with a trundle underneath it, and we found Pimento hiding in a six-inch gap behind the trundle. He spent the rest of Wednesday and the daylight hours on Thursday there. Each morning there was evidence that he had eaten/drank/used the litter box.

If I'm quiet maybe they won't find me

Not only did he officially set up shop behind the trundle bed, somehow he managed to move the hefty metal frame three additional inches from the wall so the hidey hole was a little bigger.

Yesterday morning Tony left for the weekend. When I went to bed last night I left the office door open. This morning Pimento wasn't in his cage or the spot behind the bed. I walked around the condo looking for him in obvious places, then not so obvious places. When I checked out the office a third time I noticed a lump on the bed. Guess what the lump was?

Found you!

I Thought It Was Pretty Thoughtful

The other day I received an email with the subject line of Avoid Unwanted Mother’s Day Emails. It went on to say that the company understood that Mother's Day can be difficult for some people, and if I didn't want to receive any marketing messages related to the day I could opt out by clicking on a link.

I have no problem with quickly deleting messages that don't apply to me but I guess not everyone is, and a topic could be a trigger.

Five years ago today: To Put It Another Way...

Caring For A Kitty

At the beginning of February Hubby Tony and I said goodbye to our beloved cat Jackson. We told each other that we travel too much to adopt another cat, but we both agreed it was sad not to have a feline to greet us when we got home and to snuggle up with us on the couch.

We thought about fostering at a local cat rescue organization, but didn't know if the size of our condo and our lengthy trips to visit the kids would be an issue. Tony called the organization and talked to one of the fostering people, who answered all of our questions. After pondering the topic for a few days we decided to apply to be fosters.

Twenty four hours after submitting the application I received an email offering a FaceTime call so the organization could get to know us and get a sense of our space. At the end of the call the operations manager said she had a cat in mind that would be a good fit for us-the current foster's work schedule had changed and she realized the cat wasn't getting the attention he deserved. Later that day we received some paperwork to read and sign off on.

Coordinating with the current foster took almost a week. Today Tony and I went to pick up our new temporary feline at the rescue organization office. We came home with a cat in a kennel, a box of litter, a bag of food, a cat tree given to us by his 'mom', and one of her sweat shirts that the cat liked to sit on. 

 When we got home we placed the kennel in the office and opened the door. We filled the litter box, food, and water bowls, assembled the cat tree and set it in the corner of the office, then closed the door to the room so the cat could adjust to the new surroundings in his own time. 

We've checked on him a few times, but so far he hasn't felt the need to leave the cage

Our new friend is a handsome six-year old grey and white tabby with lovely green eyes. As fosters, our job is to provide a house, nourishment, and affection, medical attention as needed, and coordinate any visits with possible adopters. Tony and I are looking forward to the challenge.

Doing My Small Part

According to the Parkinson's Foundation, nearly 90,000 people are diagnosed with the disease every year in the United States. I've had friends and parents of friends succumb to Parkinson's, and know several others who are currently fighting. When I saw a Facebook ad looking for volunteers to participate in a smell test sponsored by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research it seemed like an easy way to do my part to help.

The test is officially called the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI). It tracks people with and without Parkinson's over time to learn more about the disease. Smell loss is linked to a higher risk of Parkinson's, but not everyone with smell loss will develop the disease.

It only took a few minutes to create an account, read and accept a consent form, and add some general information. Next I filled out a short screening questionnaire. When I finished, I found out the smell test would be mailed to my house. After I complete the test I will upload the information to a website. At that point I'll learn what the next step will be.

Because the test is for research they won't tell me how I did, but that's not why I'm participating. I'll just be happy if my data can help.

Five years ago today: I Wish It Could Be This Easy

A Tastebud Adventure

 A little over a year ago I wrote about the pop-up restaurants at the mall close to my house. For a couple of months the location was filled every week, but all of a sudden the location went dark. Last week I was thrilled to see that the counter's lights were back on. This pop-up operator, the Maize and Wheat Colombian Cafe, had been there last year, and the food was very good. Today Hubby Tony and went there for lunch.

The Cafe started out as a food truck, then opened a brick and mortar restaurant in a location about 20 minutes from the mall. The pop-up offered a smaller menu than the restaurant, but it looked like there was something for everyone, including empanadas (fried cornmeal dough turnovers), arepas (stuffed corn cakes), salads, and even a hamburger.

I was looking for something unique, and decided to order a Canoa de Maduro, described as a stuffed ripe yellow plantain with shredded beef, chicken (or both) topped with mozzarella cheese. Tony got plantain soup and an empanada. The associate who took our order said it would be ready in seven minutes. He was right.

My stuffed plantain mixed the sweetness of the fruit with savoriness of the beef and chicken and the smoothness of the melted cheese. Tony offered me samples of his items, and I reciprocated. The empanda was hot and the pastry wasn't greasy at all. His soup was a delicious mixture of broth with chunks of green plantain, carrots, and peas. It tasted like it had simmered for a long time, but the other dishes were freshly prepared.

Tony got a small container of salsa  to go with the empanda. I received a container of something that looked and tasted like mayo ketchup. It didn't take us long to finish everything.

Breaking Off Branches

Bush honeysuckle is a non-native invasive plant. There are several places along my regular walking routes where thickets of the weed bushes have popped up. I can ignore them except when the plant encroaches onto the sidewalk and makes it hard to get through.

I've figured out that the branches are so thin and weak that I can break them off as I walk by without even breaking stride. Most of the clumps are in common ground (not someone's yard), but even if they belonged to someone I figure that anything that's in my way is fair game. It's really satisfying to tear off the pieces so I don't have to duck under or weave around them, then throw a whole handful back into the thicket.

Five years ago today: Veggie Dog

Almost Total 2024

Last week Margaret (Peggy or Peg too) of Straight Up - No Chaser wrote about how she was not going to be participating in today's eclipse viewing. I commented, saying:

I saw the one that passed just over our area in 2017. We volunteered for a viewing event at a local retreat center, which was a lot of fun, but one totality was enough for me.

The eclipse totality was just a couple of hours south of us. In St. Louis it was 99 percent. For the past week every media outlet has had stories about the event. Over the weekend it seemed like every other post on my Buy Nothing group was a request for eclipse glasses. I ignored the stories and scrolled by the requests.

This morning Hubby Tony said he was going to buy a pair of eclipse glasses and asked if I wanted some. I work on Monday, but decided to have him get me a pair. They were only a dollar, and that way if everyone else in the parish office was going outside to see the eclipse I could be sociable and join them.

In anticipation of my Monday night meal I spent some time thinking about how I could come up with a themed dinner. I even went to the grocery store to see if I could find a good inspiration ingredient but came away empty handed. 

That turned out to be a good thing, because mid-morning I got a text from the pastor. He had decided to drive down to the totality zone and would not be there for dinner. The associate priest said he would fend for himself. Just like that I had a free day.

Tony and I talked about what that meant. The McDonnell Planetarium in Forest Park (a 20-minute drive east of the house) was offering activities, so we decided to head there after our class at the gym. However, just before it was time to leave for the gym I ended up smacking my toe into the bed frame. I quickly determined it wasn't broken, but it was painful to walk.

On the drive to and from the gym and again on the way to the park we heard stories on the radio of gridlocked highways and roads on the way south to totality. One man said a normal half hour drive had taken him three hours, and we were thankful we weren't in the mess. We stopped at Comet Coffee for a cup (an appropriate store name for spending time looking at the sky, don't you think?), then drove to the park and followed the signs to the Planetarium.

There were quite a few cars already parked along the street, and I didn't want to walk far, so we modified our plans and found a spot on the grass to spread our towel. The eclipse was in its initial stage. I ate the apple I had brought (a Cosmic Crisp), then placed the eclipse glasses over my regular glasses and laid on the ground to watch the moon cover more and more of the sun. It was very peaceful. By the time the skies darkened and we saw 99 percent totality there were quite a few groups doing the same thing as us.

After the moon started to move away from the sun Tony and I decided to leave. It turned out to be not too far to the Planetarium so I limped there to use the bathroom. They were live streaming totality from different places. We watched the event from Cleveland and Niagara Falls before heading home.

Now You Can Know, Too

When I was driving to work today I passed a house that had a HAPPY UNICORN DAY banner. There were also some colorful lumps on the grass next to the sign. They didn't look like trash, so I wondered if they might be deflated inflatables.

I had no idea there was a unicorn day, but my interest was piqued. Later I did a Google search and found out it is coming up on April 9th. (There's a day for everything!) After I satisfied my curiosity about the day I started clicking through on some of the People Also Ask questions and found out these additional random facts:

• If you call someone or something a unicorn it means it is rare and highly valued.

• The unicorn is the national animal of Scotland.

• A unicorn birther is a woman who reaches near complete dilation with infrequent contractions and little discomfort.

• In the business world, a purple unicorn describes a candidate that completely meets all the requirements for a job. They are rare and almost mythical.

• In myths the unicorn is portrayed as male. In the modern times, it is depicted as a female. The gender fluidity makes it a symbol of the LGBT community.

• In the dating world a unicorn is an individual who joins a couple as their third partner.

• In the Renaissance a unicorn was a symbol of virginity and purity.

• Unicorn milk refers to something that doesn't actually exist.

Do you know of any more?

Wikimedia

Five years ago: The Fix

Baseball And Carpets

Yesterday was an unofficial holiday in the St. Louis area...the home opener for the Cardinals baseball team.

Hubby Tony and I went our separate ways in the morning, but after lunch we walked to the grocery store together to get items for a dinner that would be easy to eat in front of the television. We left with deli chicken sandwich meat, baked beans, potato salad, and raw sliced peppers with onions-all from the discounted food section. The only preparation was to stir fry the vegetables, which I did before sitting down to watch the pregame festivities.

There are a whole slew of events that take place before the first pitch is thrown. It starts with a wagon pulled by a team of Budweiser Clydesdales circling the warning track. They introduce the team owners and management, which is followed by motorcades of the Cardinals Hall of Famers (riding in Mustang convertibles) and current players (each in the bed of a Ford pickup truck). Then comes the National Anthem, and finally a ceremonial first pitch.

The first part of the game wasn't the most exciting, but then the team got five runs in the seventh inning and won 8-5. Since they scored more than six runs Tony and I could take advantage of a drink promotion today at Mobil on the Run, a local gas station chain. 

This morning we had an appointment to have our carpets and living room loveseats cleaned. The technician finished up about 1:30 and Tony and I left just a couple of minutes after that. The closest Mobil on the Run is too far to get to on foot, so we drove a third of the way there, parked the car, and walked the rest of the way. After filling our cups we reversed our course and got back home about 90 minutes after we left.

Every time we've had the carpets cleaned it takes hours for them to dry, and this time seems to be no different. Tony and I walked around the condo with our feet encased in plastic shoe covers supplied by the cleaning company. Because the floor was too wet to replace the dining room chairs at the table we ate dinner outside on the deck. The upholstery in the living room was damp so after cleaning up dinner we sat on the day bed in the office. 

I hope that by tomorrow morning things will be dry enough to start move things back where they belong.

Five years ago: Get Pumping

It's That Time Of The Year...

When Mother Nature can't figure out if it should be Winter or Spring. 

Last weekend it was warm enough to open up the windows and wear short sleeved shirts with capri pants. My finicky feet like to have good arch support at all times, so around the house I wore house sandals-sometimes with athletic ankle socks and sometimes without. 

Monday night a cold front came through, causing the temperatures to drop all day yesterday. I started the morning with Spring clothes, but by dinner time I had swapped out the short sleeves for long and the jacket for a winter coat. By bedtime I had dug out my winter house shoes, a pair of shearling lined clogs.

This morning I dressed for cold weather in jeans, a sweat shirt, and wool socks with the clogs. But by the end of the week it will be back to Spring again. That's why for now both pairs of house shoes will have a predominant place in the closet, right next to each other, so I can decide each day which to use.

Five years ago today: Walk On

Random Collected Thoughts

A Double Observance Day

Easter isn't the only event on my calendar today. It's also the third anniversary of Hubby Tony's retirement.

In honor of the second event yesterday I went to the bakery and bought a loaf of bread. (There were a lot of good choices, but I decided on Peach Cinnamon Swirl. I brought it home and added a label that said Now that you're retired you have plenty of time to 'Loaf around'.

Before breakfast this morning I gave Tony his loaf and suggested it would be a great accompaniment to a breakfast of Easter eggs and fruit. As it turns out, it was. Tony cut thick slices of the bread and toasted it. I had never had this type before and wasn't sure what to expect, but the large pieces of peaches mixed in with the cinnamon/sugar filling were a perfect combination.

Five years ago today: Perspective

Easter Treats For All

Years ago when there were three youngsters in the house the week before Easter was a flurry of candy and trinket buying for their baskets. Now that there's just Hubby Tony and me we've scaled back, but in my opinion you can't celebrate Easter without at least some candy.

Last weekend we bought two dark chocolate rabbits from a local chocolatier. They were nicely packaged in cellophane bags, so we decided that instead of waiting till the last minute to set them out we would let our purchases also serve as decoration. I placed the bunnies on a crystal plate with some plastic grass and a few plastic eggs.

A couple of days later we went to Walgreens to get more candy. We left with some miniature chocolate bars, a few Cadbury eggs, a bag of jelly beans, and some Peeps. However, Son Donald is coming for dinner . He's more of a savory than a sweet guy, so Tony wanted to make sure there was something he would enjoy. For some reason it's really hard to find small savory snacks, but at the grocery store we bought some individual beef snack sticks.

With everything we brought home the plate was now too small, so Tony arranged everything nicely on a large lime green plastic tray. The tray has been there for two days and so far I've impressed myself by walking by all the temptation. Until tomorrow.

Fun With Drains

Hubby Tony was cleaning up after dinner tonight. Somehow, a small glass ramekin got stuck in the drain on the garbage disposal side of the double sink and was so firmly implanted that water couldn't go down the drain.

He tried to wedge the ramekin out with his fingers and then an ice tongs. No luck. Plunging the drain lifted the ramekin just enough for the excess water to go down but didn't do anything else.

I tried using the plunger on the opposite sink, thinking that forcing air through the trap would loosen the ramekin. It moved a little bit but then settled right back into place. I tried again with Tony waiting to grab the ramekin, but it didn't raise up enough to give him something to hold onto. We tried putting some water into the opposite drain, but that didn't make much difference.

Finally, we scooped out all of the excess water in the sink and filled the ramekin with ice. A couple of minutes later I added water on the opposite side and plunged. The cold had contracted the glass enough that the ramekin popped up! Tony was caught off guard, but when we repeated the process a second time he was able to catch it with both hands.

Five years ago today: The Best Thing Since Sliced...Bagels?

Making An Informed Decision

Next Tuesday I get to go to the polls. There are elections for the city council, mayor, school board, and a couple of sewer district issues.

Earlier this week I received a sample ballot in the mail. Tonight I decided to figure out which of the candidates would receive my vote. I started by reading their biographies in the voters guide published by the local newspaper. I checked out their websites to get their positions on issues, and searched through a couple of non-partisan sources.

Next I read a couple of sources of information on the issues. The sewer district wants to issue bonds to pay for mandated improvements to the wastewater system and proposes a property tax increase to establish a stormwater improvement program.

As I made my choices I filled out the sample ballot so the voting process will be easy and quick.

Five years ago today: Detergent Diversification

I Wish I Could Think On My Feet This Quickly

It was the final examination for an introductory English course at the local university. With over 300 students in the class, it was designed to weed out freshmen that didn't belong.

The examination was two hours long, and exam booklets were provided. The professor was very strict and told the class that any exam that was not on her desk in exactly two hours would not be accepted and the student would fail.

A half hour into the exam, a student came rushing in and asked the professor for an exam booklet.

"You're not going to have time to finish this," the professor stated sarcastically as she handed the student a booklet.

"Yes I will," replied the student. He took a seat and began writing.

After two hours, the professor called for the exams, and the students filed up and handed them in. All except the late student, who continued writing.

A half hour later, the late student came up to the professor who was sitting at his desk. He attempted to put his exam on the stack of exam booklets already there.

"No you don't, I'm not going to accept that. It's late."

The student looked incredulous and angry. "Do you know WHO I am?"

"No, as a matter of fact I don't," replied the professor with an air of sarcasm in her voice.

"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?" the student asked again.

"No, and I don't care." replied the professor with an air of superiority.

"Good," replied the student, who quickly lifted the stack of completed exams, stuffed his in the middle, and walked out of the room. 

Five years ago today: Boy-bys

A Delicious Duo

I received an email this morning from a fast casual chain Mexican restaurant that today was National Chip and Dip Day. Time to celebrate!

Tonight Hubby Tony and I had Guys and Dolls poker on the schedule. The men play cards, the women go out to dinner and gather at someone's house before meeting up with the men again at the end of the night. However, two of the women in the group are medically compromised so after explaining my residual cough issues we decided that I would pass this month and see them next time. All of a sudden my late afternoon and evening were free.

I can't remember the last time I had so many hours to myself with nothing to do. I ran some errands, added a little retail therapy, then decided to head to a branch of the restaurant that sent me the email.

I ordered a salad with chicken, a combination of black and pinto beans, fajita vegetables, cheese, and green salsa. At the cash register I added an order of chips and salsa. The restaurant was chilly, so after I paid for the food I decided to take it outside and eat in my car. The late afternoon sun was coming in the driver's side window and made the inside toasty.

Five years ago: A Parking Miracle

Efficient Air Expelling

I've now had a croupy cough for the better part of a week. As soon as I think it's getting better I'll get an itchy throat and spend five minutes hacking.

I've tried all the obvious suggestions (medicinal ones like decongestant tablets, cough drops, and Vicks VapoRub) and natural remedies (tea with honey and lemon, hot water straight up, gargling with salt water, steaming my sinuses with a pot of simmering water and a towel draped over my head). All provide just temporary solutions.

I know my symptoms are transient, but right now they're making me miserable. In an effort to come up with something else that might help I've learned that there are actually techniques for effective coughing. 

The first one is a “controlled deep cough”. You start by sitting up straight, with your feet on the floor. Take a deep breath through your nose, hold it for a few seconds, then lean forward slightly, cross your arms over your stomach and cough twice, using your abdominal muscles to expel the air out through your mouth.

The second one is "controlled huff coughing". Sit up straight with your feet on the floor and lift your chin. Exhale slowly, then take a deep breath through your nose. Hold it for several seconds then force the air out with three rapid huffs (like you're breathing to clean a pair of glasses).

The techniques are helping, but I really can't wait for the day when I'm not coughing any more!

Five years ago: First Day Of Spring Color

One Bowl, Three Meals

 This morning I decided to have steel cut oatmeal for breakfast. I added one serving of dry oatmeal and water to a six-cup Pyrex bowl and put it in the microwave. This bowl is tall enough that the oatmeal doesn't boil over (because the last thing I want to do before coffee is clean up a gunky mess from the turntable).

As I was eating I realized that the croupy cough I've had for a couple of days was much worse, my body felt like it had been run over by a big truck, and I should probably cancel my plans for the day and stay home.

I spent the morning napping on the couch, reading, and drinking hot tea with honey and lemon. At lunchtime I cut raw veggies and a mushroom into pieces, dumped them into the Pyrex bowl, then added a handful of spinach, water, and a spoonful of Tom Yum powder and microwaved . The spicy soup tasted great and as a bonus cleared up my nasal passages.

At this point I was feeling a little bit better, so I took the car to Sam's Club for gas and stopped by the grocery store for another jar of honey (masking up before I went in). I puttered away the rest of the afternoon with more reading and mindless social media scrolling.

Hubby Tony had a dinner meeting so I was on my own for dinner. I put together a dribs and drabs main dish salad with a serving of rice, leftover pork steak, red and yellow pepper pieces, caramelized onions, and chopped romaine lettuce. Everything went in the trusty Pyrex bowl, because why not?

Happy St. Paddy's

 

Five years ago: Incomparable

No Decimal Point

Most people know that March 14th, written as 3/14 in the United States, is also Pi Day. However, in the St. Louis metropolitan area the date has an additional meaning because the digits 314 happen to be the original area code for the metropolitan area. Around here March 14th is known as St. Louis Day. Hubby Tony and I decided to celebrate with some local activities and food.

There were a lot of organized options. One of the things that caught our attention were several self-guided 3.14 mile walks. It looked like today was going to be rainy, so yesterday after I got home from work Tony and I drove to the St. Vincent Greenway, a new to us trail.

After a great walk, we got back in the car and drove to Chuck-A-Burger, a local drive in that's been around since the 1950s.

The restaurant was close to Tony's teenage stomping grounds but I had never been there before. A friendly carhop took our order and brought it out to the car. (In a bag-no carhop tray.) I tried to take a photo with the food on my lap but couldn't properly capture the perfectly grilled double smashburger with crispy edges, crispy fries, and hand breaded onion rings. You'll have to take my word for how good it was. Tony took the scenic route home.

We went to bed thinking it was going to rain all day today and planned accordingly. However, this morning my phone app said that after an early morning storm the day would be dry until evening and we quickly modified our plans. We still went to the gym, but before my class stopped by Kaldi's Coffee for coffee to drink and a bag of their special 314 Day blend for later.

After the gym we walked to Mission Taco Joint, where as part of our lunch Tony and I each had a toasted ravioli taco-a crispy corn tortilla, Italian-seasoned meat filling, marinara sauce, and Provel and Parmesan cheeses.

After lunch we headed went home. Tony had a dinner meeting tonight, so later in the afternoon I headed to Schnucks, one of the areas two local grocery store chains, to pick up something "St. Louis" for my dinner. I ended up buying a pork steak from the prepared foods counter. Appropriate, as St. Louis is the home of the pork steak.