Twisted, Rotten, Warped, and Just Plain Silly

These days we try to stay positive and look forward to harvesting our various peppers, both hot and sweet. The spicy gong bao is loaded with green fruit. I can hardly wait for them to turn red. Check out this curly one...

Gong Bao Gone Wild!

With our prolific miniature roma tomatoes I mixed up salsa including home-grown jalapeño, plus store-bought onion and cilantro. Sad to say, one white onion in our pantry went bad. I've never seen anything quite like this centralized mildew. We decided not to take chances and bought another.

Would you have tried to use this onion?

Another vegetable oddity came in the form of a harvested eggplant wedged between stems. We have never eaten so much of this stuff. It's tasty breaded and fried Italian style or baked and seared with a white Japanese miso based marinade.

Reminds me of a slug sporting an old
'emo' hairstyle from this angle...

Can't you just imagine a face peering
out from within those 'bangs'?

Last but not least we have Jezebel. I ran for my camera after my husband entered the bathroom and saw this...

"What? I'm saving you from
the evil shower."

She did relinquish the space after I brought out some treats. She moved to the corner, oddly, right beside my camera case.

"Fine. You can have the bathroom."

Do you like eggplant? What about pickles? We have plenty of both. Heh...

-

Good News Times Two (!) - err... Three Now

On Saturday I checked online and discovered that the YMCA is open again, even the natatoriums. However, clubs outside my specific region are closed to me, which means I cannot swim where I've been going for the last few years.

Oh, well. I only switched because my local Y scheduled too many group classes, kids' lessons, and team practices. Some weekends they closed the pool entirely to members for swim meets. When four of us lap swimmers were forced to share a single lane, enough was enough.

In an ironic twist, members must now reserve a time slot, so I'll practically have the place to myself tomorrow morning (I just reserved a spot moments ago). Also, this Greater Dayton club is in Warren County where Ohioans are not obligated to wear a mask unlike folks visiting Montgomery County, though I probably will.

Later on Saturday I received a voice mail message from our health insurance provider. That ridiculous bill for an out-of-network ER doctor will be reimbursed - with interest! We are so happy. That was quite a chunk of money.

Last but not least, we received a long overdue rainfall last night. It might not have been enough to end the drought but was better than nothing. I all but danced through the storm retrieving items that might have otherwise have blown away (we almost always see high winds here).

Any good news in your part of the world? Are you required to wear a face mask in public?

-

He's Back!

Though eight years older than me, my husband shares a lot of my interests and experiences. A perfect example is the comedy of Gary Larson's 'Far Side'.

On his website Mr. Larson admits he dreaded the act of drawing (!), hence his 1995 retirement. Thank heaven making people gives him pleasure.

And hurray for digital drawing tools inspiring his comeback. Not all his jokes make sense to me. But sometimes I just burst out laughing.

Are you familiar with his work? Can you imagine returning to something after two-and-a-half decades on hiatus?

-

Final Destination

After reading the kind comments on my last post, I found Pradeep Nair's triggering a funny memory. He essentially noted that weather forecasting is an inexact science. Truer words could not be said.

GPS guidance can be inaccurate, as well. My husband and I learned that fact in the early 2000's on our way to an out-of-state Marilyn Manson concert.

An early handheld device led us a hundred or so miles, whereupon its guidance ended in the expected city. Dumbfounded, I parked the car not in front of our downtown hotel but outside some old cemetery gates.

"You have reached your destination," the mechanical voice cheerfully announced.

"Yeah. Our final destination," my husband stated, naming the horror movie franchise which kicked off mere months before. We still chuckle about it today.

I hope you enjoyed this silly tale. There are a few more surrealistic little anecdotes I'd like to share.

Do you think other hotel patrons experienced this? Would this have made you nervous?

-

What? - A Mystery Trip? - And/Or - All I Got was This lousy Forecast

The other day my husband showed me a seven day forecast that looked bleak. It showed zero chance of rain and super high temperatures.

As a result, I spent almost twenty minutes soaking our small vegetable and flower patches. Upon returning inside I saw a 60% chance of thunderstorms from another source.

Huh?

I informed him, at which point he pulled up the smart phone app again. His presumed location made no sense - a city in California.

Are you suffering drought conditions? Does nature ever produce the ideal amount of rain where you live?

-

Teamwork - & - Getting My (Sound)Freaq On

When it comes to technology, I've admitted my reticence to change. Our nineties era flat screen behemoth of a television is no exception. My husband just shakes his head and humors me.

After all, this saves us money, especially considering products often don't last long anymore. And our old unit lacks high definition but the video quality remains fine. We have noticed developing issues with the Bose speaker system. Some Youtube channels we like cause our sub woofer to buzz. It's annoying.

On Sunday he presented me with a simple workaround. Playing audio through his smart phone bypasses that entire issue. However, I found his solution disappointing. The creators' voices sound sort of tinny with the small speaker and his handheld device created a jarring disembodied impression.

Then it occurred to me we could utilize my Soundfreaq bluetooth speaker. The results are quite satisfactory.

Old Meets New

Don't you just love when some minor irritant is easily solved with teamwork? Did you know that Bose technicians design state-of-the-art sound systems for Chevrolet Corvettes? And as a bonus fact, (thanks to website Behind the Name) the automotive corporation is named for co-founder Louis Chevrolet, whose surname is a diminutive of chèvre meaning "goat", indicating a person who cultivated goats.

-

A Special Treat

Right now I am holed up with my computer while my husband watches some of his favorite Youtube content down the hall. Since today is a longtime friend's birthday, my cell phone is nearby in case she calls following my simple text message.

To my surprise, it rang but turned out to be my husband calling. Upon my answering, he spoke in a super soft voice.

I just want you to know I have a kitty on my lap," he said, "so please be cautious when you enter the room."

The warning is appreciated as Jezebel can be flighty. I would love to take a photo. Unfortunately that is sure to make her bolt.

One of My Rarer Jezzy Moments
March of 2018

Can someone explain why some cats seem to distrust cameras? Do you think it is because something that blocks the human face can be confusing?

-