Mushrooms From Irene

Archive for the ‘misc’ Category

Mushrooms From Irene

Thursday, September 15th, 2011

A few weeks ago, Hurricane Irene — downgraded to a Tropical Storm — tore through the Northeast well inland, hitting New Hampshire and even Vermont. Not something we see often in these parts. Ice storms on the other hand… pretty common.

The result? Flooding, downed trees, busted dams, torrential rain, and a couple days without power (not nearly so daunting as in the middle of winter!).

And, there was another result, noticeable a couple days after the soaking rains had moved on: a bumper crop of new and varied mushrooms all around my property. Check these beauties out!

Anyone good at identification? Just curious; don’t worry, they’re not getting anywhere near a dinner plate! LOL. I just think they’re spectacular. Always been a fan of mushrooms.

Posted in environment, misc | No Comments »

Dastardly Dropsies

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

A couple weeks ago, I had an unfortunate bout of the “dropsies.” No, not dropsy as in the old word once commonly used for edema (swelling), rather the colloquial kind whereupon you clumsily drop everything you touch. Sadly, two of my favorite pieces of kitchenware met their fate in as many days.

The first to swim among its brethren was my beloved Pisces coffee cup from, heck, at least my teenage years. The next day, my garlic dish for grating fresh garlic with no risk to the knuckles and easy-peasy cleanup. Both, gifts from Mom.

The front of the mug says “The Fishes” on the top piece, Pisces at the base. Here’s what the back reads:

Pisces, February 19 – March 20
Jupiter – Planet
Water – Element
Virgo – Complement
Generous, Sensitive and kind, You are an imaginative person
- i.e., Elizabeth Taylor, Caruso & Jackie Gleason,
Gem – Aquamarine
Flower – Jonquil
Color – Azure
Numbers – 9, 12, 33

What’s kitchen item have you broken that made you the saddest? What’s its story?

Posted in food, misc | 1 Comment »

Carded at 36

Monday, July 12th, 2010

Please excuse me while I revel in a meaningless triviality and pretend it’s of consequence. Just this weekend, I was asked for my license (“carded”) at the grocery store for the 12-pack of non-alcoholic beer among my foodstuffs. OK, I know, you’re probably saying woop-de-doo, but I’m saying, woohoo! Hey, gotta celebrate the small things, right?

I wasn’t even wearing a baseball cap, my balding, almost shaved head serving as a billboard of sorts for the fifteen years since the privilege of imbibing certain fermented beverages had been governmentally granted me.

Better yet, the teller was a young man who himself appeared quite shy of the state sanctioned 21 years of age. Only if the questioner had been of the opposite sex could I have been more pleased. LOL.

Of course, it’s not the first time since entering my third decade of life that I’ve been carded, nor the latter half of those ten, but it’s still something I choose to take as a minor compliment despite the fear of employer reprimand that may have prompted it.

Leave A Comment: What’s the oldest at which you’ve been asked for proof of age… so far? (Senior discounts don’t count!)

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Life Is Short – Lifespan In Perspective

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

I have created an interesting little toy. Depending on your point of view, you’ll either find this morbid or motivating (or both). I call it the “Lifespan Viewer.”

What it does is show — given your age and life expectancy (years total, not remaining) as inputs — how many weeks you’ve lived and approximately how many you may have left. The latter are presented as unfilled boxes, so you could mark them off as the weeks pass since printing it out. It really puts things in perspective and as such serves as the ultimate prioritization tool.