I am now dealing with this danged canning lid shortage, so I tried to buy some lids from an "Amazon Marketplace" seller a couple weeks ago about, which have supposedly been shipped, but are also shown as still being IN CHINA. (Note: Headquarters and a major manufacturing plant for the company in question were in this city until the 90s when that division was sold, so this feels extra ridiculous.)
I am now assuming they're not coming, but I guess I'll just report it and get a refund. I have enough for right now, and I just ordered a batch of reusable canning lids that should be here in a couple weeks. And I'll also see if I can stock up this winter after the growing season is over here.
I just want it on record that I was making sourdough and fermenting and canning and all that before the virus came, if only by a little; so I am a basic bitch, but I am an OBB, and I need that noted in my obituary. thanks.
Another thing that probably should go in my obituary:
Yesterday, I thawed and opened up a stick o' my cultured butter, from a particularly problematic batch, and it was just a section of clumped up cheesecloth I had formed into a stick shape, then wrapped and froze.
I am almost positive I didn't give away any of the other butter from that batch, but please trust I spent some sleepless moments considering the possibility.
Been in town four times in the last two weeks. Four!! It almost felt like normal times.
Besides the grocery run - at 7 am, in the dark again, like when we started - The Other One had long delayed blood-test done, then we had to pick up meds, and I finally got the tooth fixed that broke on March 15th. My big red smile mask was a hit with the dental staff.
Also, I hadn't realized how despondent I was until the preview trailer for the next season of my favourite show dropped yesterday and I now have motivation to go on until January at least.
Discovered that bloody amazon prime does have the next series [Where do they get off calling four or six episodes "a season", anyway??] of The Good Fight, but only on the 'premium' channel that I'm not prepared to subscribe to. I love that outrageous show, but hate bait-and-switch tactics! Only reason we stay on Prime at all is the free delivery. Just got new cushions for our [much occupied] office chairs.
The coco coir for the greenhouse hasn't arrived yet. I'm going to try a more ambitious season for the hydroponics. Last winter, kale and chard did very well; lettuce and bok choy were okay. This year, I'm attempting tomato and cucumber plants, which need deeper nutrient tanks and better support for the roots. I have three experimental seedlings thriving in coffee cans: I'm ready to go bigger.
As soon as we get the greenhouse roof fixed, now that it's stopped raining for a couple of days, we're installing the tanks and lights in a new configuration.
This evening I went into the office and picked up the mechanical keyboard (with rainbow LED backlighting) that I bought to use at work and hadn't been able to use for several months because the office has been closed. Now I'll get to use it at home.
On the way back, son and I stopped at DZ Akins (NY-style Jewish deli here in San Diego) for dinner. He had a roast beef sandwich; I had a lox-and-cream cheese omelet. It was very good.
the mechanical keyboard (with rainbow LED backlighting)
If only there were some way of sharing what you can see.
I mean, I've seen pictures of such devices. Need to see your actual keyboard!
Just for you, JoeP
NOBODY ELSE LOOK!
The camera on my S8 doesn't do justice to the richness of the colors (especially to the red, which is not nearly as orange as it looks in this picture).
This is the week (week 42!) we were supposed to be hosting our friends from Redmond, Washington, at our timeshare just north of Escondido. COVID-19 put paid to that. Instead, we're letting our daughter use the space. (She's been living with us since mid-March; we can each use a small break from the other.)
We drove up to get her in on Saturday; on Sunday morning she called to ask if the (shitty) public wi-fi was the only option. (She planned to work this week, and needs a reliable connection for her work meetings.) We decided to drive back up and drop off the MiFi I have for work, which I have not needed these past seven months. Then we continued to Canoga Park (northwest of downtown LA), where two of my oldest friends (we met when I was 20, and we were all spending our junior year at the University of Madrid) now live. E, married to H, has just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and has finished her first round of chemo. (They caught it fairly early, and are hopeful that the chemo will shrink the tumor to the point where it can be removed surgically). Today is E's birthday, and Mrs. S had crocheted her a lap blanket that she really wanted to get to E for her birthday.
We didn't stay--both Mrs. S and E are immunologically compromised, and E, just off her chemo, was pretty exhausted. Dropped off the gift, turned around, and drove back home. Six-and-half-hour road trip.
Just now, Mrs. S and I are watching David Byrne's "American Utopia," directed by Spike Lee, on HBO Max. It's very good--and includes a fair sampling of some Talking Heads classics from "Stop Making Sense," as well as more recent compositions. Definitely worth checking out, if you have access.
Last edited by ShottleBop; 10-20-2020 at 01:37 PM.