“Please, please, please, we’re begging you here, just put an end to it immediately."

From The Onion:
EVERYWHERE—Claiming that they just couldn’t stand this bullshit anymore, Americans across the country confirmed Friday that someone, anyone needs to please, just make it stop. “Please, please, please, we’re begging you here, just put an end to it immediately,” said sources, noting that it had all gone way, way too far and they would do almost anything for even a few glorious minutes of respite. “We’re on our hands and knees, pleading with you to make it all go away once and for all. What’s it going to take? Jesus Christ, just stop it! Stop it right now!” At press time, sources confirmed that they knew deep down it was never going to stop.

Friday

I just decided to fast today. Or at least to eat very little. So a baby-fast. I put on my "go out shopping" pants and they are too tight. Now is the time to do something. I'll report back if I succeed, or not.
Meanwhile I found this at the library. A must read! Or at least it's worth a try. Not today but soon.

Hot peppers

I grew these

So I'm going to try this recipe:

Homemade Louisiana Hot Sauce with Fresh Peppers

Ingredients

• 1 pound red chili peppers use cayenne, tabasco, red jalapeno or others
• 3 tablespoons salt
• ½-1 cup white wine vinegar to your preference

Instructions

1. Roughly chop the chili peppers and add them to a pot with the salt and vinegar.
2. Bring to a quick boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Cool, then add to a food processor. Process until smooth.
4. Strain the solids out through a strainer and discard (or keep them for dehydrating – they make great seasonings).
5. Pour into bottles and use as desired.

Recipe Notes

Makes about 2 cups of sauce or so.
For storage: Vinegar affects acidity levels. Homemade sauces should be kept at 4.0 ph or below to keep longer term. If your hot sauce is not acidic enough, add more vinegar or citrus to bring the ph down. Keep in the fridge for freshness and longer keeping. You can also bottle your sauces with proper procedures.
Heat Level: Medium, though you can up the heat factor with hotter peppers.

From: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/chili-pepper-recipes/hot-sauces/homemade-louisiana-hot-sauce/

Question: how do you know if the sauce has a pH of 4.0?

A small dilemma

For several years I've been a volunteer at a big, old, beautiful Catholic monastery-church in DC. This came about because of my interest in beekeeping. The Monastery has a robust beehive operation and I volunteered to be a helper. When I got a call back from the volunteer people at the Monastery I was asked if I was interested in any other kind of volunteer work and I said "sure, what do you have in mind?" They had in mind minor office work, which is right up my alley -- I like the busywork of office work. So I've been going to the Monastery once a week for years, and have enjoyed it immensely. Some good friendships have resulted, and I'm particularly close to the friar who runs the business office.

I'm not at all religious and if I had to check off a box I would have to check "agnostic, with an admiration for most, but not all, Buddhist thought."

The most recent scandal in the Catholic Church has made me question why I'm devoting my time and effort to this particular volunteer job. My work there has never been about religion or about god or about any particular belief. No one there has ever even asked if I'm religious and they do zero proselytizing. But suddenly I'm very self-conscious about just walking into the building. Does working there, or even visiting there, suggest that I'm OK with the scandal that seems to touch many corners of this religion?

What to do....

This book! Making me nuts. False pride is involved, I believe.

I skimmed this book because a neighbor recommended it to me. It's causing me to fret way, way, way more than it should, and for all the wrong reasons. I'm not going to tell the whole story right now--because I seem incapable of blogging a short story (see, for example, yesterday's overly long story about a micro dog bite). But friends and family will get a sense of why I'm wringing my hands over the book when I reveal that the neighbor who suggested it is my Tea Party/Trump Supporter/Conspiracy Theorist Neighbor, with whom I have a love-hate relationship.

Skimming the book led me to this article, which is also why my brain is so muddled right now.

A scene from my very uneventful life

The other night I was walking to a neighbor’s house at 11 pm to feed her cats when two dogs from another house across the street rushed over to me, in the dark, barking, and not in a friendly way. I barely know these dogs—the neighbor, Cari, is new to the neighborhood. I tried talking to the dogs but in a split second I felt the smaller dog bite my ankle. Not hard, and the skin didn’t even break. But what a shock! I yelped, I think. Cari was right behind the dogs trying to get them under control, which she did, and then profusely apologized. I laughed it off and went on my way. She didn't know the dog bit me.

I confess that it shook me up a little. I have no experience with dog bites. When I walked home 15 minutes later I was nervous and hoped the dogs—there are three of them—were back inside or at least on leashes. I told Doug about it and he was annoyed to say the least. In the 2 months she's lived here, Cari has often let her dogs off their leashes while outside her house. It's not unusual for people to do that around here since we live next to a large park.

The next day Doug ran into Cari in the park. He told her he wasn’t happy and gave her a little lecture on the dangers of unleashed dogs. He even told her that the previous owners of her house were threatened with a lawsuit after their two part-pit bulls raced off their property and into the park where they encountered someone walking a single dog. Something ugly happened but I'm not sure exactly what. We do know that there was a financial settlement. Cari assured Doug that she would be more careful in the future and he replied “you’d better be!” And then he apparently repeated it as he walked away: "you’d better be!”

Doug has a very high boiling point for anger, but once it's reached it's not usually a pretty scene. He felt sorry almost immediately and we agreed that he would apologize when he had a chance.

The next morning we found this quartet of goodies on the front porch, with a very nice note from Cari apologizing again. So both Doug and I wrote notes back to her, with thanks and more apologies. Tough way to get some chocolate but there's no bad way to get chocolate, right?

A little art from my friends

San Fran Margo, my good friend of many years, has become a great water-colorist. She recently sent this lovely card depicting a B&B Doug and I visit at Bethany Beach, Delaware.

PS: I swore in January 2017 that I wouldn't blog about that maniac in the WH. Believe me, it's hard! But every time I post without mentioning him I feel a little stronger.

Hi Kathy! I don't save the bee balm seeds but I'll start if you want them. Sorry about the deer and your purple hyacinth beans. They love mine too.

My unruly but zero maintenance front porch

It gets harder and harder, as the summer rolls on, to find our front steps. Most of these plants/flowers/weeds show up each spring and summer with no help from me. I'm going to start blogging again, but I don't know why. Hello out there!

Plant ID request—never mind. It’s wineberry.

Anyone know what this is? It's a berry, I'm pretty sure. And it's wild because I didn't plant it. Reverse Google images tells me it's lobelia but I think that's wrong. Any ideas?

Useful and Timely (sad!) Public Service Announcements

These might come in handy. I swore not to post Trump comments and these are of course directly about that POS. But I can't stop myself. You can skip the first half of each to get to the "funny" parts. Last week I thought they were funny. Today, not so much.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NId2BHU6_b0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jIs-Lwh6U0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGPetxZ3iMM

Animals. And sugar.

This Christmas card from a dear friend shows most* of the critters that roam through our property. From left: tufted titmouse (I think), cardinal, chipmunk, fawn (deer), squirrel, blue jay, raccoon, snail, fox, and another cardinal.

Speaking of deer, the Park Service is holding another hunt, or managed kill, in the park next door. The hunt happened last year too and we saw a difference -- the number of deer that sleep, roam, and give birth in our neighborhood went way down. They're still around but not nearly as many of them. Which makes you wonder why they're having the hunt again. Maybe on the theory that they must stay one step ahead of the deer because they are nearly impossible to control around here.

The article under the card about sugar was good too.

*To be complete the picture would need a groundhog, a rabbit, a cat, and a opossum. We got 'em all in our deep suburban abode.

The last of my political thoughts until 2020.

From the mouth of Kellyanne Conway:

“Why is everything taken at face value?” she asked. “You can’t give him the benefit of the doubt on this and he’s telling you what was in his heart, you always want to go with what’s come out of his mouth...."

This explains everything. It's the new world order. We aren't supposed to listen to what our next prez says or believe our lying eyes when he acts. Kellyanne will tell us, for the next 4 years, what our prez really means and thinks. I see. If I could block him from my thoughts and off the pages of the news I follow I would do it.

Since I seem to be blogging again -- but only in the early (this is early to me) morning when I first read the news -- I wonder if I can restrain myself from posting about politics. I'm gonna give it a try.

The picture is some impromptu wall art that my daughter made on New Year's Eve at a small party. She's not taking this whole election sitting down. She's mad as hell and not getting over it.

Exactly. I'm still not over "it."

Thanks to my sister for passing this along to me. Unfortunately I have one "friend" who I can no longer look in the eyes without thinking about who she voted for. In a brave and honest moment this is what I would like to say to her. But I almost certainly won't. I will carry the script with me just in case.

Recipes in novels

 

I'm going to try this recipe tonight. From the novel Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. Enjoying the book; plan to enjoy the eggs too.

Oh come on..

Ivanka Trump — who’s supposed to be running her dad’s “blind trust” — wants to move to Washington D.C.

 

As Elaine Benes would say,"that's a big coincidence."

The cover of the latest New Yorker, on the right, is obvious in its meaning. The cover on the left is from the week before (dated April 25 but we all know that magazine cover dates and, what's the term? drop dates? are different).  The adoring-fans-in-red-and-blue-with-guitar-in-foreground issue arrived in my mailbox after Prince died on April 21. I remember thinking, very briefly, wow, that was fast. I even thought, oh that's clever, they used red and blue, which of course together makes purple. The title of that cover art is Closing Set, appropriate title for a farewell to Prince, who was a great guitarist, something I didn't appreciate until after he died. 

Today the Purple Rain issue arrived so I checked on Google just to be sure I was right about the magazine devoting two covers to his death. I mean I get that he was beloved, talented, and successful but two covers? In the New Yorker? 

No, they didn't devote two covers to him. The left cover is by artist R. Kikuo Johnson and is described by him in the New Yorker this way:

“Everyone in Brooklyn is a d.j., so I rely on my much cooler friends to take me out,” the artist R. Kikuo Johnson says. “I have been taken to many one-night-only warehouse parties—I love dancing—but this was my first time at the Palisades,” he continues, referencing the underground venue in Bushwick that was the model for his cover of this week’s issue.

I say R. Kikuo should be credited with some unconscious foreknowledge. 

-------------------

**From "The Statue," Seinfeld, April 11, 1991:

RAVA: Yes, that's all, a coincidence!

ELAINE: A big coincidence.
RAVA: Not a big coincidence. A coincidence!
ELAINE: No, that's a big coincidence.
RAVA: That's what a coincidence is! There are no small coincidences and big coincidences!
ELAINE: No, there are degrees of coincidences.

Sad Beautiful Tree.

My neighbor has trained a wisteria plant, or plants, to create this tree -- picture taken in May 2015.

Here's what it looks like today, April 22, 2016.

It's getting very late in the wisteria season...I've seen wisteria shrubs and overgrown vines in full bloom nearby. But this guy has only a few emerging leaves. My neighbor is worried. I'm worried too, mostly for her mental health. This lady is very attached to that tree and will mourn grievously if it dies. I suspect, but really don't know, that it might need a serious pruning, now rather than later. Any opinions?

A frost we had a few weeks ago got to it for sure, although there wasn't much visible spring growth at the time. But much of the emerging greenery got fried by that frost -- it just didn't seem like enough damage to make the entire tree stop producing leaves and blooms.

I know wisteria is a wildly invasive plant, scorned by true gardeners. But with care you can prevent it from spreading.  

Arthur and Anne. And Rebecca.

A good friend, and lapsed blogger at The Complaint Department, gave me this print in honor of my love of crows (and a convenient birthday). I loved it from the moment I saw it. It now hangs in my dining room so I can see it every time I eat at the dinner table. Which is most nights of the week. The artist is Colette Davis. Thanks again Anne!

I named the crow Arthur, and of course the lady is Anne. She asked if I thought the lady in the painting looks a little like my daughter. I think she does!

A Worthy project.

Every Wednesday I spend a few hours volunteering at my local library. This is my all-time favorite volunteer activity -- shelving books, recovering books, moving books. I even get to push one of those library carts around like a big shot.

Recently the head librarian asked me to take on a special project (!!). Mr. Worthy, a daily library patron I've never met, leaves little slips of paper with quotations he's found in books he's reading. The librarians, not knowing exactly what to do with all these slips of paper, have kept them in an envelope waiting for an idea to emerge. Now I have the slips of paper and I'm typing them up, cutting them into strips, and they'll be folded and placed in a basket so other patrons can pick one up as they leave the library. Sort of like fortune cookies without the cookie. 

When I'm working on this project, I always think of my good friend San Francisco Margo. She makes adorable book marks and sends me a supply every couple of years. She often uses old Christmas cards or other greeting cards to find a nice image. Then she laminates the pithy quotation on the back and viola! a sweet bookmark. They are well used in this house. 

Most of Mr. Worthy's quotations are sweet thoughts about how to love and live happily. This, however, is my favorite so far:

When you criticize someone you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them you are a mile away from them and  you have their shoes.

                                                                                                           Author Unknown

Again with the crows.

There are a lot of nice books about crows. I've read some, but not all, of these. Doug got this whole crow thing started by reading Gifts of the Crows -- we think I brought a copy home from the library. That led to us paying more attention to our own local flock, and to reading more about crows. As Margaret pointed out in a comment to the previous crow post, crows are said to recognize faces, bring gifts, and generally interact with humans in a way unlike other birds. 

My lovely crows.

Look closely and you'll see six kitty ears pointed toward four crow friends. We've been feeding the crows a little, almost every day, for months. We really like having them around. They're talkative in a pleasing way. We only give them a couple of slices of bread each day, usually in the late morning. I think they are quite pretty. In fact, I'm smitten with them.

pictures obviously taken before the January snow storm

We visited the Montrose Crossing shopping center at Randolph Road and Rockville Pike late one Sunday afternoon in December. Thousand and thousands of crows arrived just after sundown. They came in waves. Many stopped on the buildings around us. It was amazing to watch. I took this little video, which may or may not be viewable. During the winter for 80 years at least crows have been coming to this exact spot, even though the area has become heavily developed. Doug and I remember the crows congregating back in the 70s/80s. One writer (Lisa Courturier) wonders if this particular piece of real estate has been home to crows for a very long time, even longer than the 80 years she can vouch for. If they were coming here 80 years ago, why not 280 or 580? We can build all the parking lots and grocery stores we want but they are coming home to roost. There are just enough tall trees scattered here and there, not to mention tall buildings, that thousands obviously find it acceptable for staying overnight for months, year after year.

Jazzed-up eggs

A new food addiction. Hard-boiled eggs marinated in soy sauce and sherry. No need to add salt to these babies. And they're good on a salad too. 

Life in the slow lane

As requested by a friend I'm adding a new post ("may I request a new post, if for no other reason than to bump down the image of that buffoon, Mr. Donald “They-tell-me-I-could-shoot-someone-and-still-win” Trump ?")

Yes, we got snow. Over 2 feet of it. This picture was taken 24 hours ago and the road is still not plowed. 

This is my first attempt to blog from my phone. Hope it works!

"too vicious...too nasty, too horrible," according to his wife

From an interview (Wash Post, 12/10/15) with D. Trump. In his own words....

I think I'm a very nice person who gets along very well with people. I'm very loyal, to a fault. My wife said, "You're too nice too long and then when you go bad, then you're too bad. You get too vicious and you never forgive. You put up with too much too long. You get screwed by somebody. You're too nice and then you flip, it's too long, too nasty, too horrible.

Everyone needs a hobby.

Some people watch TV or read books or talk to friends. Others check Facebook several times a day, or more. Me? I keep track of the GOP poll numbers, especially the numbers for Donald Trump and Ben Carson. I'm rooting for them both, although I must confess that I'm mostly rooting for Donald. [Disclaimer: I'll vote, as always, for whatever Democrat is running.] 

This is the way they look today (Donald in blue, Ben in red). Whew. Three days ago -- see second graph below -- I was sad because Ben was, for the first time, creeping up on Donald.

 

 From 3 days ago:

Tonight Donald will be hosting SNL, as many people know. Not everyone of course; many people have rich and full lives and don't need RealClearPolitics.com to bring them entertainment. 

Oh, and while I'm confessing. Today I finished reading "Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorized Biography" by Kitty Kelley. Loved every word of it!  In writing about Nancy's superstitious nature, Kelley wrote: "[Nancy] slept with her head and feet facing north and frequently knocked on wood." There's an image I won't soon forget -- Nancy in her bed with her feet AND her head facing north. 

It's junk food for the brain day and night around here.

Maryland gets no respect.

 

The caption reads "Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and an unidentified man backstage at the Iowa Jefferson-Jackson Dinner. Photo: Associated Press." 

Alert to AP: That unidentified man is Martin O'Malley, former governor of my small, modest, ignored, but grand state of Maryland. He's running for President. I admit he's bland. I couldn't pick him out of a lineup. But come on, AP!

What's Liz looking at?

Looks to me like she's getting ready to steal something from President Xi's plate.

A very small rant.

The Washington Post recently ran a short news item about the health benefits of fidgeting. This subject always interests me because I am, or at least I was, a very fidgety person. The headline ("Fidgeting might be good for your health, new study suggests") didn't exactly match the conclusions of the study; that didn't surprise me -- news, especially online news, frequently has bait-and-switch headlines. What did surprise and irritate me a bit was that the quote from the co-lead author of the study makes absolutely no sense to me. Maybe one of my readers can explain it to me. Here's the quote:

"While further research is needed, the findings raise questions about whether the negative associations with fidgeting, such as rudeness or lack of concentration, should persist if such simple movements are beneficial for our health," study co-lead Janet Cade of the University of Leeds said in a statement. 

What? I get the part about "negative associations," and it's probably true that all these years while I've been fidgeting I've been distracted and, more important, I've been rude to anyone nearby (sorry). But what does "...raise questions about whether the negative associations...should persist if such simple movements are beneficial for our health" mean? Is Dr. Cade saying that if fidgeting leads to better health, and therefore longer life, it should also lead to reduced rudeness and better concentration? That's the best I can do. Opinions?

Oh, one more thing. The Post article links to the study and gets the name of the journal wrong. They call it the American Journal of Preventative Medicine while the real name is the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. I've long hated the word "preventative" and I always edit out that errant "ta."

I guess I'm done. I'm going to stand up now and go fidget since that seems to be the only exercise I get these days. Unless complaining counts as exercise.