Unique Illumination

Recently an unexpected package showed up in the foyer of my building. The label had my name on it, but I didn't recognize the sender. When I opened the box a lovely nightlight was inside from Son Tony's family.

The acrylic slab has flower stickers attached to the back, and the a groove in the base has a strip of LED lights that shine up through the clear plastic. There's a convenient on/off switch. The cord ends in a USB connector, which is perfect because the USB hub on my desk had an empty slot.

What the photo doesn't show is what makes the gift extra special. The wood base is personalized with the words 'we love you' and everyone's first name.

Five years ago: Window Washing Workout

Tastes The Same But Saves Money

What passes for sweet cherry season has arrived in my city. The grocery stores are selling the fruit for $5-$6 a pound, which is more expensive than other fruit. I understand that's because cherries are labor intensive to harvest and the fruit has to be handled carefully or it will bruise. But Hubby Tony and I love their taste and buck up the extra money.

However, this year the Asian market by my house has been selling cherries for a third of the prices at the other stores. The first time I bought a bag I discovered there were quite a few fused ones mixed in.

A double cherry consists of two cherries fused together. Most of the time they each have a pit; sometimes one of the pits is on the small size. A small percentage of the doubles in my bag had one full size cherry and one small, raisin-like fruit stuck to its side (which is called spurring).

In our house the vast majority of the cherries are eaten out of hand and the doubles don't bother us at all.

A Beautiful Day For A Ceremony

Around here Memorial Day Weekend weather is pretty unpredictable. It can be chilly enough for long sleeves or hot enough for tank tops. Last night a storm with strong winds and large hail came through, but  today was perfect-sunny, nice temperatures, and low humidity.

Hubby Tony and I knew that we wanted to attend our city's Memorial Day program and decided to get there on bike. We left early and spent 45 minutes cycling through residential streets before ending up at the City Hall grounds.

The City had closed the major road at the train tracks, and a fire truck displaying a huge American flag was parked in the western lanes. A couple of hundred people were sitting in folding chairs on the grass, and more were standing around the perimeter of the area.

After some opening remarks, the Boy Scout Troop presented the colors. A Legion member sang the National Anthem and offered an invocation. 

There were two short presentations by Legion members. The first was about the history of the American Legion, (where I learned that the first caucus of the organization was held in St. Louis, and that Main Street in Kirkwood changed its name to Argonne to honor the the residents who died during that battle) and Legion Post 156. The second was about the history of Memorial Day. Then a bagpiper played Amazing Grace.

The second part of the program was by students from the local Catholic school. As part of their Faith in Action program the fourth graders concentrated on veterans, with an emphasis on learning about ones from Kirkwood. Several students read their short essays about a specific veteran. 

The audience sang God Bless America, the Scouts retired the colors, and a trumpeter played Taps. At the end of the ceremony the emcee thanked us for coming and invited everyone to the Post for hamburgers and hot dogs. That didn't start for 30 minutes, so Tony and I rode around some more. The sun was warmer, but it was still cool enough that I didn't break a sweat.

We arrived at the Post building and got in line for food. The small room was very crowded, and it seemed like most of the people there were members, family or friends. We ate and chatted briefly with the people sitting next to us, then left so someone else could have our seats.

Five years ago today: Vintage And Adjunct Vintage

Dive Bombing Displeasure

Are you tired of hearing about periodical cicadas yet? (I am!) However, their mating/egg laying cycle is only halfway over, with predictions of two more weeks before they disappear for another 13 years. Based on my informal observations, the past few days may be the peak of activity.

The forecast Hubby Tony heard right before we I went to bed last night today was for rain. That's what was happening when we woke up, but much to our surprise the sun came out mid-morning. My weather app said it would be dry until late afternoon.

With the unexpected nice weather we decided to go out to get some coffee (by taking advantage of the baseball Cardinals 6-run game promotion at Mobil on the Run). We chose a location that had an on-demand brew system. After procuring our caffeine, we decided to walk to a nearby grocery store to pick up a couple of items Tony needed for dinner.

Most of the walk was along a busy arterial road, but when we came to a nice-looking residential street I asked Tony if he wanted to turn. He agreed. The short lane was lined with cute bungalows and two-stories. All of them had large yards and mature landscaping. And more flying cicadas than I had ever seen. The quantity and noise was similar to this video:

Logically, I knew that the insects are renowned for their clumsy flying, and all they're doing is searching for a mate, but it was unnerving to  bob and weave to avoid them. After walking through the gauntlet of flying bugs we made it back to the main street and headed toward the grocery store. We saw fewer flying menaces, but quite a few cicadas were hanging out around a weed tree patch.

At the store Tony picked out a nice ripe avocado and a bunch of green onions. On the way out of the store I stopped at the stand of free publications. One of them had a cover story about free summer concerts, so I decided to bring one home to see if there were any I didn't know about. 

This magazine used to be bulk mailed to our old house, and I tend not to agree with their editorial positions. But the rolled up issue was great for swatting at the dive-bombing cicadas on the way back to the car.

Five years ago: Inoculation Anon

To-Do Tool

I was recently introduced to the concept of the 'needle list'--the everyday things I need to do, but put off doing, then feel bad about not getting them done. The term was coined by Serena Wolf, who says:

"...the Needle List is a running list of smaller tasks that I am prone to procrastinate—think returns, personal emails/texts, cleaning “the chair,” organizing a drawer, getting something repaired, making non-urgent medical appointments, sending thank you notes, etc. These little to-dos, which usually take only a few minutes to complete—live rent-free in the back of my mind and just NEEDLE me on a daily basis."

Serena says she blocks time off once a week to tackle the things on her list, which makes life less stressful. My schedule is pretty flexible, so I try to spend a 15 or 20 minutes each day, which keeps my list in check.

Five years ago: Don’t Fry Day!

Big Bug Buzz

I came across an article that talked about the current brood of periodical cicadas putting out potentially dangerous sound levels. The reporters used a decibel meter several places around town. At one park they had readings between the high 80s to mid-90s. At another location the insects were louder than a light rail system train, and at a third louder than a tanker truck driving on the interstate.

According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, sounds at 85 dB can lead to hearing loss if you listen for more than eight hours at a time, and higher loudness causes faster damage.

If you've never heard a cicada buzz, it's a rising and falling drone. I find the annual cicadas whirr pleasurable, but put millions of them together and it's downright unpleasant. A cool front came through the area last night, and today we opened up the windows, which meant that the cicada drone was even more obvious.

I was curious just how loud the din was at our house, so I used the online loudness meter at Youlean.co. The noise turned out not to be so bad. I Placed the laptop immediately next to the windows in each room and got values of 30-36dB (similar to leaves rustling or a study room). Outside on the deck, the meter showed a range of 54-60 dB (about the same as a normal conversation).  

We're halfway through this cicada cycle. In about two weeks the singing and mating should be wrapped up. Thank goodness!

Five years ago: Unconcerned

Fried Exotic Veggies

One Saturday night after church Hubby Tony and I had dinner at a strip mall restaurant that specialized in Vietnamese pho. The server was friendly and helpful, and the food freshly prepared. 

On the way back to the car we passed a nut and candy store, and decided to go in. The associate behind the counter greeted us immediately. It only took a few seconds for me to realize that most of the merchandise was from the Middle East. As soon as I started to look at the items behind the counter the associate asked if I wanted a sample. One of the bins held a colorful collection of what looked like vegetables. It turns out they were.

The veggie chips I sampled were a savory assortment of fried orange and purple sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, green beans, and taro. I decided to buy some to take home. The associate scooped some into a bag, weighed it, and printed out a price label. Tony chose several pieces of wrapped candy and handed them to the associate. It also was put in a bag, weighed, and labeled.

 The next day Son Donald came for dinner. I pulled out my veggie chips and we noshed on them before the real meal. I discovered that as part of the bagging process many of the vegetables broke into small pieces, but even the crumbs were tasty.

When I looked up the nutrition information for my snack I discovered that veggie chips had a little bit more fiber than potato chips, but otherwise the nutrition was about the same.

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.)

Rawpixel

Five years ago today: My Warm Weather Treat