Friday Randomness

We generally have a couple of very hot days in late September or early October. I remember moving to San Francisco back in ’87, and it hitting 100 that October. Indian Summer, they call it. So this weekend was Indian Summer, hitting the 90s after a few weeks of cooler weather. Hot weather requires a bit more water for the plants, water I’m hesitant to give in a drought year. Saturday morning I was watering the plants around our little patio garden, in preparation for a hot summer day, watching a fat black bumblebee buzz around the purple flowers of our potato plant, when I am sure I saw said bee poop. Yes, I said poop. You know how when a bird poops, there’s a stream of liquid that drops down? That’s what it was. A tiny drop of liquid dropping from the bee. Very strange.

I may have mentioned that I gave up my beloved and somewhat dangerous (who knows, I like to think of it as dangerous…gives me a little street cred) diet coke addiction last year. Well, since then I’ve started drinking tea most days. A cup of PGTips, an English black tea, with some milk and sugar. Sometimes I enjoy it, and sometimes it’s quite bitter. I read something on Facebook about tea, and it turns out that perhaps I’ve been (sometimes) steeping my tea for too long. So I looked around and found that the right time for black tea is 3 – 5 minutes. I’ve not timed it before, so what do I know. Anyway, I started timing the steeping of the tea, and lo and behold, no more bitter tea. Lovely.

We’re watching a new TV show (new to us, not new), “Call the Midwife”. It’s a PBS show. I like it a lot. Comparing it to some other shows that we have watched on Netflix, this one is not so bingy. The stories are compelling, the characters well acted, and the writing smart. It’s not bingy (or binge worthy) because the stories (thus far) seem to wrap up at the end of each episode. So you’re not pulled into one episode from the next. ‘we watch one or two episodes a night. I like it quite a bit.

Last Saturday, Ted and I went into the city to try a newish Thai restaurant that opened in the Parc 55 hotel, the hotel where I worked during my college years. It was written up in the NYTimes magazine. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but we got there and it was closed. They don’t serve lunch on weekends. Dumb. So we ended up eating at a restaurant across the street, the name of which I don’t even remember. Ted had a delicious burger. I had a mediocre egg dish that I wanted to be better than it was. The woman at the table next to me had a yummy looking crab and egg thing, which I didn’t order because it’s not crab season, but perhaps I should have. I had a (virgin) Bloody Mary that was different than any other Bloody Mary that I’ve ever had. A traditional Bloody Mary is kind of thick, with Worcestershire and maybe Tabasco. This was thin, like maybe it was squeezed from tomatoes that day. It didn’t have a kick. It was tasty, so I didn’t send it back. But I wouldn’t suggest it.

I then went to a movie while Ted went to work. I went to see “Gone Girl”, which I really enjoyed. It was a fun movie about bad people. I won’t say more, though Ted reviewed it here.

Fun new fact, one of the medications I’m now on for my arthritis crap has a nice side effect, which is that I’m much more susceptible to sun exposure. We walked from Ted’s work to the hotel on Saturday, which was about 20 minutes on a hot day (I think it hit 94 later that day). I got sunburned. Not just pink, but burned where it hurt and was itchy, and sometimes it feels and looks more like a rash. Blech. Looked online, and the side effects are….susceptible to sun exposure. Rats. And this one I need to be on for quite awhile. My doctor is talking years. I wonder if the susceptibility goes away after awhile? I hate drugs. Except when I love them (because they help me with whatever problem I’m facing). UPDATE: Turns out it’s not just a sunburn. It’s a rash, which was maybe exacerbated by sunburn, but now is on my legs as well, which were not sunburned, or even exposed to the sun. So I’m allergic to the long term medication that was supposed to help me with my arthritis. Solution, short term, is no more of that drug, up the Prednisone for a few days, then see where we are next week. SO MUCH FUN.

I’ve had two friends that don’t know each other suggest that I might enjoy reading ‘Outlander’, so I’m giving that a try. I think I’m maybe 40% of the way into a very long book. I like it, and I think I’ll watch the show when I’m finished. The thought that pops into my head, though, is, “Do I want to read ALL of the books, or maybe just the one?” I think I’ll read the one, then watch the first season of the show, and see where we are at that point. Some books are so different, and so much better, than the TV shows that come after. Others, not so much. I find this story compelling, but the writing isn’t F. Scott Fitzgerald or anything. I might do just as well watching on TV. We’ll see.

If I say “Ebola”, will that freak you out? I know that it’s not airborne, but still, it’s a scary disease. My friend V-Grrrl’s husband was on the flight with the poor man who died in Texas, from Brussels to the U.S. Her husband is fine, thankfully, but still…it’s scary, and easy to say things about proper safety precautions and so on when you’re a thousand miles away. Not so easy to be nonchalant when the unfortunately infected person is squeezing past you with their luggage.

Anyway, it’s October, and I’m looking forward to cooler weather, maybe making some split pea soup soon. Hope you’re enjoying and it’s not too hot (or too cold) where you are.