The issue is caused by the periodical cicadas that emerged from the ground in May. They mated, then the females scraped a channel in a small branch to lay their eggs. If too many females used the same branch the twig gets damaged, which causes the leaves to die.
The cicada eggs will hatch in the next few weeks, and the nymphs will fall to
the ground and burrow underground until the reappear 13 years from now.
Even though our walking route has a lot of shade, I know from past experience that at the end I will be sweaty, so in addition to my suit, pool shoes, and towel I bring fresh clothes to change into post-pool. At the gym I left my bag in the car, then headed to the bank and the post office before returning to the car for my things.
This branch of the Y normally has four locker rooms-one for women, girls, men,
and boys. However, this summer they're renovating the adult ones and the youth
locker rooms now serve all ages by sex. Except for the fact that the lockers
themselves are smaller it's not much of an issue during the times I'm in
there. Everyone is my age or older.
In the locker room I took my things out of the bag and realized I had forgotten to bring a beach towel. Before putting on my suit I took a second to figure out exactly what that meant. I could use my dirty clothes to dry off. The pool area is through the shower room and down a flight of stairs. Getting there would not be an issue but afterwards getting from the shower to the locker area could be a little problematic.
The showers are communal, with a row of heads lined up along one wall of the
room. (Twenty-year old me would have had an issue with this, but past-middle
aged me has no problem showering with a bunch of women my age.) My routine is
to adjust the water correct temperature, stand under it, take my suit off and
let it hang to drip. When I'm finished showering I squeeze as much water out
of the suit as possible, dry off, then wrap the towel around me to walk
through the wet area to the lockers.
Today I used my hands to try and squeegee as much water off my body as possible, then hustled my damp, bare bottomed self over to my locker. It took both my damp tank top and cotton knit shorts to dry my body enough to put the new clothes on.
Then I realized that in addition to drying my body, the beach towel also
serves as a layer in the bottom of my bag to sop up water from the wet suit.
Even though I put those clothes in the bag first, they didn't sop up much
liquid. I think I might have left a small trail of water drops as I walked
down the stairs and out of the dressing room.
Five years ago today: Almost Healthy
After blogging for 15 years there are a lot of activities I come back to time and time again. Today was a good example.
The first thing on my To Do list was a trip to the chiropractor (mentioned in approximately two dozen posts). Once again I walked in with a sore lower back and an achy left shoulder. I came out without either of those two pains. However, I know that when I return six weeks from now for my next appointment he will again be addressing those two issues and whatever else crops up.
Next, Hubby Tony and I set out on a road trip to Alton, Illinois (the subject of a dozen posts). Approximately once a year we head across the Mississippi River to replenish our supply of good balsamic vinegar (seven posts).
The store didn't open until 11 am, so we headed to an antique mall and looked around. On the way back towards the river I happened to mention that we would drive right by Fast Eddie's Bonair, a legendary bar and restaurant. If it was open it would be a great place for lunch.
The place is still cash only, and there was a large sign that said it would take a minimum of 20 minutes to receive a food order. I suspect that's to get people to drink more. While we waited we helped ourselves to free popcorn. It was a little on the salty side-again probably to keep people drinking. The food itself was fabulous. I walked out stuffed.
At the vinegar store I got refills for four 375 ml bottles, and I was entitled to a free sample size bottle because I had told them my birthday was in June. On the way out of the store we asked the owner if she could recommend any coffee shops (innumerable blog mentions). She said there was a local company with a branch about five miles away so we headed there. They had already stopped making drip coffee for the day, but I ordered an Americano, which is just espresso with extra water. It did the trick.
Five years ago: Puzzling Non-Parity
Today was my last Sunday cooking shift. The clergyman with the egg issue asked for the recipe, so as I was printing it out for him I decided to share it with you.
Five years ago: The Onset Of The Season
(If you follow professional sports in the United States or Canada, you probably know that the Florida Panthers are part of the National Hockey League, and the Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team. Boston won their league championship two days ago. The Panthers have a one game lead in their 7-game series.)
Five years ago today: Sounds Like A Pretty Impressive Place
The National Day Calendar says that June 18th is National Splurge Day, which "encourages us to break out the rainy day funds and spend a little".
I tried to think about what that meant for me today. A decadent meal? A new outfit? A pedicure? An outing to a place I've always wanted to go to? Sadly, thanks to my schedule none of them happened. However, when I was at the grocery store I walked by the magazine section and inspiration hit.
I enjoy completing paper-and-pencil word puzzles in the afternoon when I have a cup of coffee and a snack. Back when we got the daily newspaper there was an entire page devoted to puzzles of all types. Four years ago we changed to receiving the paper electronically every day but Sunday (so that meant only one day's worth of paper puzzles). A couple of years ago the paper downsized, and now instead of two Sunday crosswords there are only one.
Our community newspaper includes a crossword puzzle in every issue, so I have
two to complete every week. That's usually enough, because on the weekdays I work at the church I don't stop for a break once I get home, but in a little over a week those commitments will drop off the calendar. I looked through the selection of puzzle books and chose one to purchase.
The puzzles in the book aren't as complex as the newspaper ones, and I couldn't believe how much the book cost, but I'm calling it a worthwhile splurge.
Five years ago: Nothing New Under The Fashion Sun
It's turned into a joke that Donald always requests fried rice for his birthday meal. I am always happy to oblige with such an easy entree, but this year I also added a big bowl of stir fried Napa cabbage with oyster sauce. Tony bought a cake from a local bakery for dessert.
Donald showed up early to help us cook. So as to not make his friend feel bad we gave Donald his present before Friend arrived, and he gave one to Tony. However, there was also an after-dinner surprise for both young men.
Earlier in the week Tony and I were out shopping. In a local chocolatier we found a basket of large molded milk chocolate cicadas. Each four-inch piece was covered in edible iridescent glitter (except for the eyes, which sported a coat of red).
The big periodical cicada infestation is just about over, but we decided to buy one for Donald and Friend as a joke. As Tony served dessert he included the cellophane wrapped chocolates.
As a group, we decided that these insects were much better than the real thing.
Five years ago today: Happy Fathers DayIt's been almost two months since Pimento the foster cat came to live with Hubby Tony and me.
Before being taken in by the shelter a little over two years ago Pimento was found wandering the streets, so I can't imagine what kind of life he led. He was at his first foster house for a year, where he went from hiding to eventually sitting on the couch next to his 'mom'. When her work schedule changed and she felt she couldn't give him enough socialization time we stepped in.
Pimento's social skills reverted back to Step One. For weeks he only came out when we weren't there. In the morning the food bowl was empty, the litter box was full, and there was evidence that he had been sitting on the cedar chest in the living room to look out the window. One day I came in from running errands and saw him in the kitchen. The poor cat was in such a hurry to leave the room that he skidded across the floor.
But then we would start seeing Pimento sitting in the middle of the office floor. It was just a short distance from his hidey hole behind the bed or underneath the bedspread, but sometimes he would wait a few seconds before darting away. One day I reached under the bedspread and started petting him. Instead of shrinking away he leaned into the physical contact and actually purred!
We started giving Pimento a nightly bit of tuna cat food, putting the bowl further and further away from his hiding space so he would have to come out. He eventually became comfortable with Tony and me being in the room with him. After eating he would saunter down the hall to Tony's office and hang out for a couple of minutes before retreating to his safe place.
This morning I was petting Pimento behind the bed and he actually came out. His
personality was completely different; it was like someone had flipped a
switch. I pulled out my phone to capture the moment:
Once the moment ended Pimento had 'peopled' enough and headed back to his quiet space. I'm hopeful that his affection is the start of real change.
The day started out normally, but in the late morning some nearby construction led to a broken water main and all of a sudden water to the building was off. An hour later our internet went down. Tony and I soldiered on for a while, but eventually decided to leave the house early and run some errands before going to dinner and the game.
Dinner was at Michael's Bar and Grill. The restaurant has been around for decades, but we had never been before. Tony and I both got the Greek Sampler platter-a choice of moussaka (Tony) or pastitio (me), along with dolmades and spanakopita.
We entered the stadium during the string of ceremonial first pitches and made our way up to our seats on the right field side. That section was still in the sun, so we went back out to the concourse and found a bench in the shade. The announcer introduced the lineups for the Pirates and the Cardinals, then asked everyone to rise for the singing of God Bless America and the National Anthem.
In the concourse many people ignored the first song, which was performed by an elementary school choir. However, I was proud to see that right before the Star Spangled Banner the vast majority of people stood up, or stood still if they were walking, and took their hats off for the duration of the song. The elementary school band did a good job of performing. At the end of the song everyone went back to their previous activity.
(And Tony I ended up finding empty seats on the shady side of the stadium. Given the Cardinal's poor performance so far this season there were plenty to pick from. The first eight innings were scoreless, but the Pirates got two runs in their half of the ninth and the Cardinals only managed to get one run for yet another loss.)
Five years ago today: Blues Win!
Starting in July both of us will have more flexible schedules, which will give us the ability to plan more joint activities (and also find interesting things to do on our own).
I gave the pastor a little over a month notice so he could be looking for someone else that might be interested in cooking for the church. In the meantime I've been planning my menus with an eye to using ingredients I had stashed in the freezer and pantry. That way a new person can start fresh.
Five years ago today: LGB!
