Ambergris

I've had some orange mints that didn't do much for me, and others that were delightful. I just pulled out the weak ones (mostly) for today's tea or fish or whatever and encouraged the strong ones. I kept buying new ones when I'd pinch one at a nursery and find a great, strong scent. The plants would grow wild through my yard and get weaker or stronger here and there. The only mints I've found locally are what was called apple-mint, which didn't have much of a minty or apple aroma for me, and another spearmint and a peppermint, the last two of which I was given starts of but accidentally gave to PM when I thought I was giving her half--and she gave them to someone else. Oh well. Since my 2020 illnesses (that my medical records say was not Covid) although much of my sense of smell is back, it's not evenly back. The dog poop smell that turned my housekeeper's stomach is something I only noticed when she mentioned it, and I barely caught any raw-meat aroma around the pig yesterday. People sometimes exclaim over mint aromas that I find quite vague. I used to have one of those "extra" senses of smell, so I don't know what to say anymore. I have made a lot of sun tea and will again when I get the right jar for it, but here I mostly either simmer a potful of ingredients until the aroma is right (for me, which is different now) and filter it into a heat-safe little pitcher or for leaves and blossoms I bring the kettle to boil and pour it over, then steep that until I remember and circle back to check the color and all for intensity. I don't worry about keeping it hot. Once it's steeped enough, I can add hot water to bring it up to drinking temperature.

I always dried mint in hanging bundles on the back porch, or on paper plates in the attic crawlspace. Does any chocolate flavor actually come through for you? It always disappointed me--unlike orange mint.

Hope the stone is gone. Today was a pig-cook that started at 7 (when they slit the pig's throat). I left after it had been going for ten hours and only about ten people were still hanging out. Today was also the blessing of vehicles day at the church, and the priest was nice enough to come by after mass and bless the housekeeper's car, her son in law's truck (both magnets for trouble) and a relative's car even though these were all people who skipped the mass to eat pig and drink traditional beverages. The blessing included opening the hood to sprinkle the engine, although I was not close enough to hear what was said. A large chunk of cake was sent out to the priest, which he divided between his two altar girls.

Found the phone. Then went to a three hour, forty-five minute high mass in which some thirty-five or forty tenth graders renounced Satan and all his works and otherwise confirmed their baptismal vows, with their godparents flanking them. I sat in the back with the bioparents, who were basically along for the ride. It was interesting, as the guy on one side of me was responding in Spanish, the great-grandmother on the other side was responding in Latin (loudly--I think she was making a point) and I was going from English to Latin to Spanish depending on how off-guard the need to talk caught me, and one of us (I pray not me) smelled strongly of cat urine. This is the first mass I've seen where the offerings included bread, in the form of a loaf (possibly a "chonta" loaf and what looked like cookies, carried up the aisle by one couple, followed by another couple carrying a bottle of wine and a basket of fat purple grapes, then another couple carrying a large basket of local tropical fruits, then another couple carrying "viveras" or "vivendas" which appeared to be boxed groceries or dry goods in a laundry basket, then another couple carrying another kind of food I forget. I was wondering if these go to the priest or the visiting priest, or if there would be a raffle later (not that I saw) or if they would be distributed to the poor. It's still a mystery. I was interested to see that the passing of the plate in this case consisted of the passing of a deep cloth bag (held open by a wire hoop) so that no one could see what anyone else dropped in. This pleased me, especially in a congregation where some people seemed to be wearing the only clothes they had and others were rather comfortably off. And the place was packed.

I put my phone down somewhere other than its "place" and am waiting for someone to call me--hopefully before the battery dies.

I have wanted one of the electric pressure canners since I saw it on Rose Red, partly because it has the smaller capacity. I figured I might be able to lift and maneuver it without help, while I need a helper to use a manual canner--unless I want a big chance of damaging my back and shoulders, and probably dropping the thing.

I have a puppy. He's ten weeks old. His mama is pretty much a redbone hound, and his papa must be something with a thick coat of curly black hair and maybe a white face and chest star. He's going to be a reasonably good size for a guard dog. The landlord gave him to me today. He has some respect for chickens, but needs to learn not to mess with them at all. Pics to come after daylight.

New batch of corn bread in the rice cooker now. Black eyed peas (also made in the rice cooker, on a day when I was mostly not home) in the fridge.

Letting go can make you feel so free. Yes, you will think back later on about how much you could use that item right now, but...you will make do.

...four locally acquired cases of Plasmodium vivax malaria in Sarasota County, FL and one case in Cameron County, TX. There is no evidence to suggest that the cases in the two states are related. All patients were promptly treated at area hospitals and are recovering. Most malaria cases diagnosed in the United States are imported, usually by persons who travel to countries where malaria is endemic. However, locally acquired mosquito-transmitted malaria cases can occur, as Anopheles mosquito vectors exist throughout the United States. In 2003 there were 8 cases of locally acquired P. vivax malaria identified in Palm Beach County, FL.

I first heard of derechos on this site, about ten years ago. Have barely ever heard the word anywhere else. The photo of corn I saw on Facebook (flat, as far as the eye could see) said straight wind but not derecho. I knew it was a derecho from learning about them here.

Chicago gets the brunt of everything, doesn't it? Heat, cold, windstorms, creeping ice, earthquakes, now smoke? A young man here wants to go to Chicago to work. I was trying to describe it as the city of big shoulders, city on the edge of the prairie, windy city, third coast/great lakes city, and so on. They'd heard of the great lake "every picture has the water in it." Eventually I figured out I was saying the city of big hungers (hambres) instead of big shoulders (hombros), and corrected it to city of big female livestock (hembras) before grabbing my shoulders and asking "what are these?" All in all, though, I don't think I was wrong with any of those.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed four locally acquired cases of malaria in Florida and one in Texas, marking the first time in 20 years that the potentially fatal disease has been contracted from mosquitoes in the U.S. - For the first time in 20 years, the US has detected multiple cases of malaria in Florida and Texas. What's interesting is that the cases were locally acquired, meaning the five people who were infected got it from local mosquitoes, not from traveling abroad. The disease has claimed over 691,000 deaths in 2021 with most of the cases occurring in Africa. Luckily, it's not contagious between humans, so it can't be spread like a cold. But the CDC recommends everyone avoid getting bit by a mosquito by wearing loose fitting clothes and using insect repellents that contain these ingredients. You should know that DEET isn't recommended for children under two months old, and lemon eucalyptus oil isn't recommended for children under three.

The reason those bank robbers were folk heroes is because a lot of them burned mortgages when they went into banks. Insurance companies are for-profit corporations. So are banks. They are not there to help you.

Ask BOA if they need the help of the Banking Commission to find your check?

Writing, or rather tweaking things already written. Texted a call for a taxi to take me to my class this afternoon, but that was half an hour ago and the message has not yet been received. Internet has been off and on, for a couple or a few hours at a time, and cell phones that use internet have been crazy unreliable for the past two weeks. Businesses are suffering, and people are speculating in increasingly colorful ways. The wind is often blamed, too. I need to set the yogurt tonight. update: took message 49 minutes to get delivered. This is why I sent it two hours ahead of when I needed the ride.

I love it

I went raspberry picking today

https://tornadopaths.engin.umich.edu/

Woke up chilly, rainy day. Snuggled in with the cats, knowing I had no place to be and nothing to do except feed critters today. This is kind of nice, once in a while.

When my house burned, I was out of it for eleven months, if I recall correctly. Such madness. I keep wondering if things would have gone differently with the husband and his drinking, and with the boys and their problems, but for all that. That's why I said to get a lawyer first off. The insurance companies exist for reasons other than helping you.

From a friend on Facebook

I have black eyed peas on the stove, my first try at dried peas at this elevation (6000 feet). I'm using a traditional clay pot I bought from a women's pottery co-op northwest of here. Don't plan to start the cornbread for a good long while, but they already smell good. They soaked all day yesterday and all night.

Sigh. The cats continue their pattern of one disappearing when the other turns up. For a couple of days, the little cat was staying in the barn, in a stall where we'd piled all the boxes from the move. Problem is, she's not come out for food or to get pettings for three days now, as far as I can tell. I've been leaving a door open for her, and a window open for her, when I'm home in the daylight, but the house is shut up tight when I'm not home and most of the time after dark. Which has been most of the past three days. I saw her through the screen window of the barn day before yesterday, but I have been in that stall in and out all morning (five hours) and neither seen nor smelled any sign of her. I have opened cans of food today and yesterday, with no response. She's not that interested in canned food, but she does like to lick the fluid off it, and she is a pig for affection. I know she doesn't like being shut up in the house, but I really just don's see how she would choose to become a full-time barn cat instead.