elainegrey

 lj-tags: observe, night watch, morning watch, sky, household

Written on Friday, Dec 22

Happy Solstice (a bit after). I'm hoping for health top return and for lots of yard work before the sun returns in full force.

Last night the moon shone so bright, i could see shadows. Jupiter dazzled close by. Coming home from the restaurant Kanki i gazed at the moon through the car's sun roof. When we passed by street lights i could see our entwined hands reflected in the glass. Moon, hands, moon, hands, as we drove the bypass around Chapel Hill. We had a party to celebrate our engagement 33 years and a few days ago at the Kanki in Raleigh. My family was living in Florida at the time and many of the people i had known had moved away (including me - -i was living in Philly), so most of the people were from Christine's radio life. I barely remember the event.

We now have matching  winter nightgowns from Lands End in a starry print with a cow jumping over the moon. Also not in my memory or in Christine's was the little rhyme about that.

This morning Arcturus shone through the clouds, but Venus was dimmed.

Today a plumber comes. I am 50% sure i could fix what's wrong with the toilet but it would be really nice to have it back soon. After the very long saga of the light above the stove, buying the wrong bulb and the jammed screw, I am ok with paying someone else deal with the clay coated tank and resolve the issue promptly. I suspect the company Christine picked is backed by private equity[1], with their shiny fleet of well branded vans and their excellent customer service. It's not just some single plumber with their cousin tasked to answer phones. I have mixed feelings about it -- about private equity buying up little independent companies like this -- but the professionalism is nice.

[1] https://www.themiddlemarket.com/news-analysis/why-private-equity-is-chasing-plumbers-and-lumber-yards

Christine's daily haiku/imagery/composition for Dec 19 has a bit of the season to it: https://17sounds.substack.com/p/the-ends-of-the-world A bit of bells in the soundtrack?

Last night, the first quarter moon sparkled through the trees to the south west. Today is the last cloudless day in the forecast -- tonight i will try and give the moon a bit more time since its likely the waxing moon will be behind clouds for the rest of the week. Cassiopea high during my evening moments under the night sky, the big dipper during the early morning moments.

--== ∞ ==--

The AbleTo Resilience program has an exercise of journaling several times a week "To express and narrate your experience, your fears and hopes for the future, and your values." There are some prompts, one of which is,  "The main internal strengths I have are... The main external strengths I have are..."

I am not really sure what internal and external strengths are? Searching a bit turns up SWOT (Strength - Weakness - Opportunity -Threat) analysis, which i don't think is the point?    Unless i interpret "external strength" as an opportunity?  Finally,  the article cited below describes the researchers classifying the "strengths" narrated by the people with chronic illness as external when it wasn't intrinsic or learned, such as being financially well off.

Kristjansdottir, Olöf Birna, Una Stenberg, Jelena Mirkovic, Tonje Krogseth, Tone Marte Ljoså, Kurt C. Stange, and Cornelia M. Ruland. “Personal Strengths Reported by People with Chronic Illness: A Qualitative Study.” /Health Expectations : An International Journal of Public Participation in Health Care and Health Policy/ 21, no. 4 (August 2018): 787–95. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.12674.

I spent much time taking some "skills inventory" tests and reading about why focusing on strengths is apparently Good For You.

--== ∞ ==--

I am getting better, i think. Still coughing, still sinus drainage.  My physical activity has ground to a halt as i've saved energy for work. But last night i did (most of) the NY Times' Joy workout.  I hope that the next three workdays are not as crowded as the previous two, and that i can get in my quick walk down the hill.

Now that i've invested in resistance bands and tubes, i need to find ways to use them. I am happy that,having both found the bands uncomfortable for some moves and then found there was yet something else i could buy, i used toweling (of which i have a surplus) and "industrial" velcro to make my own padding.

--== ∞ ==--

Wow. Hmm. That is a long gap between writing.

We've gone from the crescent waning moon to the first quarter waxing moon. I've spent some lovely early evenings watching bats flit in the twilight sky across the waxing crescent. And, oh, the mesmerizing dance of the Spring Tree-Top Flasher (Pyractomena borealis) a firefly that seems to delight in our tall trees on the weekend evenings that were over 50°F. Just delightful to watch.

All the plants in pots are in the ground. I have transplants i would like to do before the surgery -- gladiolas, daffodils, and alliums from various places to a little bed that had the parasite dodder in it last year. Apparently, starving the dodder is a reasonable form of control. I assume i got it in that patch last year when i scattered a collection of random seed to see what would take; the dodder seemed to like the zinnias that came up. Moving poorly sited bulbs seems like a reasonable approach.

Dogwoods are opening their flowers. A few branches are offering the white bracted flowers to view from across the yard. The redbuds are fading. On Sunday i picked a bunch of redbud blooms from the one tree that has any in my reach. I assume deer nibble anything lower. The redbud blooms with violets and dandelions garnished the mixed green salad with smoked salad: a pretty dinner, but maybe there's some antioxidants of some sort in those petals that make them attractive to me to eat. Or maybe it's all in my eyes.

I've a kilogram of onion greens fermenting in two quart jars, since i like the first batch so much. It smells strong, and i ran across https://foragerchef.com/cheremsha-siberian-style-fermented-ramp-leaves-%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BC%D1%88%D0%B0/ describing fermenting ramps as "weaponized garlic". If i understand correctly, ramps are far more garlicy than my walking onion greens. My first batch went straight to the dehydrator, with no rinse, so the result after grinding to a powder, is a salty savory seasoning. It has an addictive quality i associate with processed foods, which is probably the salt. This next batch i will rinse before dehydrating in order to reduce the salt. I may try some freshly fermented in sour cream as a spread: adding the powder to sour cream has been decadently lovely. On top of a baked potato, on top of roasted sweet potato and brocollini (both from the garden)

Onion scapes are appearing and i know this year that i can pick them before they become woody and quick pickle them for a pleasurable treat. I've had the onion scape pickles in my packed travel lunches next to boiled eggs with delight. There's a jar in the kitchen acting as a vase to the first batch i picked on Saturday, the green curling tops lovely. If i don't pickle them, i will have enjoyed them visually. Another cooking project is doing SOMETHING with all the chicory that has made it. I saw a dandelion-cabbage sauerkraut i might try.

I am pondering the reading i do lately. I read a long list of comics and the New York Times, and yet i wonder where what i read goes in my head. Admittedly, when i slurp up novels they also go into my head and get forgotten very quickly. I would guess i am reading this short form because they are like a bag of potato chips and maybe i can just have one or two for a pleasurable distraction, and next thing i know i am reading the crumb articles about things i will never really care about.

I had a flare of cankers that are still causing discomfort, but after days of bland soft meals i'm craving more flavor. I did make a "cream sauce" with pureed cauliflower and nutritional yeast. Carrie and Luigi both thought it was yummy.

Christine is having another round of migraines. Work is being intense.

Last night i stepped out into the fresh night air in time to see a meteor. What a delight! And after many nights filled with frog song after the brief cold in October, it was once again silent. Most of the leaves have fallen that will (except the invasive Autumn Olive which is still green), so not even the crunching sound of falling leaves broke the stillness.

I got the pecan trees planted this weekend: i hope they did not suffer too much hanging around a month. If you should dig a twenty dollar hole for a ten dollar tree, I dug two $130 holes this weekend. Three foot diameter, and at least a foot deep - although yesterday's hole was in a place i was a little more worried about so i dug a moat around the platform on which the root ball sat. I could have probably dug smaller holes, but with the clay i worried about creating a standing water well.

I also saw my niece play Lady Marion in a rather silly retelling of Robin Hood (The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood By Mary Lynn Dobson) that had a fairly entertaining use of a narrator and "Mr Technical Director" to solve problems ("fade out and segue to next scene"). There was an amount of screaming that might have been impressive except it overwhelmed me. My niece, however, played her role with excellent timing. I think she starts high school soon. I am almost eleven years older than my sister so i was off on my own life when my sister was this age. I find myself experiencing odd time displacement confusing my niece with my sister (who still looks quite trim and young).

https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Somewhat_True_Tale_of_Robin_Hood/vV4Z-D2P5MEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=robin+hood+%22mr+technical+director%22+fade&pg=PA39&printsec=frontcover

Woebot encouraged me to try a half smile experiment which i am making use of: https://cogbtherapy.com/cbt-blog/2013/07/turn-that-mood-upside-down-with.html It goes along with mindfully savoring things. I have a wonderful life, but i don't FEEL it. I certainly learned from my parents a "everything is a chore" framing of anything and everything. Remembering to add the small half smile gentles my face and helps me recognize where i can be.

Sunday and Monday night i saw fireflies in the early dusk in the yard. I think they may be the last. I do wonder about the different species: the low flying early dusk ones versus the ones i could see long after dark high in the trees. I haven't seen those since earlier in September, and fitfully -- a single one flashing around. I haven't really tracked when i stop seeing them. I know i was surprised how early i saw them this year.

Last night the storm line that moved through was very dramatic. Temperatures fell over ten degrees in thirty minutes. Buckets of rain as night fell. This morning the skies were sparkling -- Venus to the east and Mars to the west blazing through the tree tops. Orion and Cassiopeia.

As i sat in bed sending emails for Meeting, i saw a doe and fawn walk west along the fence line at the back of the orchard (orchard may present a sense of scale that is unwarranted...) The doe was paying close attention to Marlowe, i think, who was ensconced in the low crook of the twinned tulip poplar. (The first main trunk of this tree was knocked over at a forty-five degree angle many years ago. That trunk has long disintegrated but three new stems grew from the toppled tree, one at it's old base, and two, fused together in the years of growth, a foot or two up the old trunk. From many angles it looks like two trunks with a low crook between them. From other angles you can observe the third stem.)

Dad is back from Tampa and Mom is reunited with him as of 6:46 pm last night. I spent a little time at my sister's home with Mom and younger nibling E while L conveyed rising freshman nibling W to Siler City to pick up his school materials. Nibling W will be attending Chatham School of Science & Engineering and will graduate high school with a two year degree.

Hurricane Isiais left us with 3.42" of rain. That might be the highest i've ever measured. I went out yesterday morning to check and startled three deer into departure from under the black walnut.

Last night's sky was clear with some high clouds. I couldn't see the moon -- too thick growth between me and twenty degrees above the horizon. Two planes flew over but no observed satellites. A firefly still danced high in the trees.

Despite the number of litter boxes out and some of them being new, i've had to clean up after the cats twice. Once was in front of the box by the garage door. I suspect Marlowe there. Christine was in the watercloset with the door closed (like a civilized person) when Edward went into the bathroom this morning. I called to her to open, but Edward observed the closed door and did his wet business against the sink cabinet. Well, can't blame Marlowe for everything. He also seemed to want to avoid his insulin shot this morning. I hope i am being gentle enough.

Today is The Vacation Dinner. I have a fresh Black Umbrian Summer Truffle from Caputo's. They note, regarding the mold growing on it:

The white film on the truffle is natural, healthy mold that is found on most of the truffles we carry. The amount found on truffles ranges, but after reviewing the photograph you provided, it appears that the amount on the one you received is minor.

The mold can be removed by cleaning the truffle and will be safe to consume after. You can use a soft brush (a new toothbrush it typically recommended if available) to clean it, or a damp cold paper towel to brush it off. As long as the mold is removed and the truffle is firm, there will be no issues with consuming it. However, if the truffle is soft or damaged in any other way, please let us know and we'll be happy to look into what more we can do.

Another site says, "All truffles hate dampness, and will develop mold if moisture is present. If mold develops, simply shave the affected area." Various web sites advise different things for preparing Tuber aestivum aka "tartufo nero estivo," but i am going to go with the advice to gently warm it in a butter sauce.

We also have a Francis Coppola 2013 Claret Diamond Collection Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon (California) (which probably sounds more fancy than it is). I've bought cheeses that are supposed to go well with cabs, and the truffle partly inspired by advice for what should vegetarians eat with bold red wines. We bought the wine just before moving to here, and it's been sitting on the counter waiting for an appropriate time. Hopefully this is a good match. The cheeses are

Caputo's Cheese Cave Grotte Caputo: imagine a hybrid of piquant Asiago and a sweet, nutty 4 year old Gouda. To accomplish this marriage of Southern and Northern Europe cheese, we age it anaerobically in Caputo's Cheese Caves for 16 months. After about 12 months, the Asiago starter cultures die off, and more Gouda-like cultures take over.

and Christine's choice

Beehive Cheese Company's award-winning Barely Buzzed is a bold cheddar flavored with lavender and espresso. Made lovingly in Utah from pasteurized cow's milk, Barely Buzzed is the cheese that put Beehive Cheese and Utah cheddars on the map. The deep purple rind makes this a striking addition to your cheese plate.

I've lined up a walk with Carrie and my sister L for tomorrow morning.

Monday night's observations included two satellites passing south to north overhead, one flashing infrequently, the other with long stretches where the brightness grew to Venus-like intensity. I've no idea what i saw, as it appears the Iridium satellites -- most known for flares -- have almost all been retired. A few fireflies were high in the trees. Eventually i noticed strange lights near the road, almost as if people had powerful flashlights and were waving them around. I went through the house (just as my Dad called at 21:17) and out the front into the dark. As i was talking to Dad, so less sensitive to what was going around me -- when i startled a deer that went crashing off, i didn't miss it though. Turned out two sherrif's cars were pulled up down the road with their lights on.

Last night i was out later and noticed a firefly high in the pines with a pattern of four flashes, faster than one a second, then a pause, and then the four flashes. The pause seemed more like four seconds than fourteen, which doesn't match anything in particular (although if there were two males....)

I wrote up my identification here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/24832286 . I wondered if my write up would get any attention. Since it's the first observation for the species recorded in iNat (gasp) maybe i'll get some feedback?

In personal news, i find myself posting more privately these days about angsty stuff. There's one pile that is work related insecurities and procrastination, another pile about elephants where "elephants" is insufficient.

The Weather Underground: i have fond memories of pre "world wide web" interaction with the weather underground data, adding chron jobs (a unix scheduling system) to automatically retrieve satellite images for my desktop images on the SGI irises in the lab. I've a sudden sense of the noisy equipment the industrial drab greens, tans, and greys, the fluorescent lighting, the grime everywhere. Fond memories! Although this retrospect does point to some conditions that aggravated my depression, but my memory of Philly, on the whole, has a grimy layer over much of it, probably from all the processing plants near the airport.

I've apparently been paying the Weather Underground since 2006 for their reporting, and i've been delighted with it. They've since been bought by The Weather Channel, circa 2012, and i really didn't notice anything disappointing there. What i hadn't realized is that The Weather Company has been bought by IBM in April 2015. https://www.ibm.com/weather

Hrmph, so that's even less encouraging since i was reminiscing because lately the website has become so flaky.

I went to look, because i was wondering about when the precise time of full moon will be. Last night, i looked up and thought the moon looked like a pearl in a nacreous shell, as it glowed through a low scrim of clouds, creating hints of pinks and purples. A few stars were visible as well, and i heard the first cricket in the night. Frogs have been singing for a long while: there have only been a few nights in March when the woods were silent.