Memorial Day – People in the US will celebrate all military veterans tomorrow. It’s a solemn holiday but as we do, we will have fun with barbeques, patriotic concerts and festivals. Happy holiday to all and a special thanks to all military people.
Could it be summer? – This holiday always marked the start of summer here. It was the start of wearing white shoes (I know, so archaic) and using straw purses. This year (again) spring dallied in the Bahamas preferring not to visit for any length of time. Next week’s temperatures are looking warm while this past week was very cool. My laundry looks like a mix of an arctic expedition and a day at the beach.
The crazies are out – This week it happened to me twice. A driver had the wrong turn signal on. Sounds like a simple mistake but it created chaos as people were trying to pass them on the same side they were turning. Both were seniors, not that crazy driving is specific to seniors. Just when I thought it was over a lost driver chose to (kind of) pull over so they were half in a driving lane and half on a shoulder of a very busy road. I wanted to go home and not go out! Summer driving is always a little different.
What a difference – Prior to Easter (early April) I posted a photo of a local flower tent with a bank of snow around it. Here it is today. Beautiful!
Are you a germaphobe? — I found this slide show on food handling. Yikes! Did you know apples are full of pesticides? So are strawberries! I love grabbing one and eating it before washing them. If you want to make yourself crazy, here is the link.
So how was your week?
I’m a germaphobe at restaurants buffets. Ewww.
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Me too!
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If you want to feel better . . . read Eat Dirt:
“In Eat Dirt, Dr. Josh Axe explains that what we regard as modern “improvements” to our food supply—including refrigeration, sanitation, and modified grains—have damaged our intestinal health. In fact, the same organisms in soil that allow plants and animals to flourish are the ones we need for gut health. In Eat Dirt, Dr. Axe explains that it’s essential to get a little “dirty” in our daily lives in order to support our gut bacteria and prevent leaky gut syndrome. Dr. Axe offers simple ways to get these needed microbes, from incorporating local honey and bee pollen into your diet to forgoing hand sanitizers and even ingesting a little probiotic-rich soil.”
But I still want to avoid pesticides. 😀
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I agree with him. I never wash my garden vegetables because the soil isn’t polluted. If there is a little insect poop so be it. Ok, if a bird does a big flop, I do wash that off. that’s just disgusting!
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Yes, the crazies are out. Twice in the last week I’ve seen cars go through red lights crossing over four lane highways after stopping for 30-45 seconds. Crazy that no one got hurt.
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Sometimes I think there are miracles on the road everyday.
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I don’t know that I’m as much a germaphobe as deeply concerned about pesticides. I even buy organic strawberries. For the few cents more I feel reassured. Some people think it’s a waste, but I’m not taking chances. On the other hand, it’s much more likely I will have a dreadful collision in Los Angeles traffic where the crazies are continually out in full force! I guess we live with what we can! 😀
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It is the pesticides. When I was young the fields in back of my home were sprayed with DDT during the 50s. (I often wondered why we had no squirrels or chipmunks.) Many of the people who lived in that area (which also had a cement quarry) have died of various lung disorders including cancer. Also, one of the kids at the time died of leukemia (which was rare then). I am vigilant and if I can get nice organic produce, I’m for it. For many years, the organic didn’t turn over enough to be fresh because of the increased price. That’s changing now.
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Needless to say, I will NOT be showing that link to my wife. We have endless arguments about washing produce (one we had on mushrooms has never officially ended), and I’m sure this one would only provoke further ones. And don’t even get me started on our discussions about kitchen sink sponges. It can drive you mad. Mad, I tell you! 🙂 – Marty
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She’s a definite germaphobe! I never wash mushrooms. Makes them wet and soggy. I usually wipe celery with a damp paper towel and now I find that’s one with a lot of pesticides too. No wonder there are diseases around that we didn’t see as a kid.
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Hi Ms. Kate. Enjoyed your post and ditto on the crazies being out…not even my relatives!
Been too long away from the WP keyboard…saw your gracious comment in response to Ft. Firewood …and then without even realizing it…deleted same. How’s that for graceful? Ha!
In any event, it is good to be back and I appreciate your best wishes…good study habits, lots of flash cards and a dash of luck? I like the recipe. Goes down smooth and packs a wallop!
Until then,
Your Friend in Chicago.
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Deleted me? 🙂 Stuff happens.
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For the record…you are undeletable. 😉
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I tend to peel my apples (dumb, I know). Even scrubbed, I tend not to like the thick skins!
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I peel too these days. The skin upsets my stomach. Once in a while, I may eat one in hand on the way home. Maybe next time I’ll wait.
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Buy organic and read this: https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty_dozen_list.php
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I’ve seen that before but I’m still always amazed that apples with a thick skin are on it. Organic fruits are getting easier to find. It wasn’t that long ago that they were never in their prime, always old and wrinkled. The place I buy produce from only carries organic in some vegetables because they say both are the same price.
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My supermarket carries organic frozen fruit, which I buy when the fruit is out of season. When the fruit is in season, I buy it at the Farmers Market, and I always wash or rinse it. But I am lucky to live near a lot of farms.
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I have to check frozen fruit. Haven’t done that yet.
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I blamed a medical problem for the state of my face. Now I see it must be the pesticides on strawberries that make me look like one. Can’t wait for fall. I’ll eat apples and look seedy.
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Or you can blame it on your childhood.
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Great idea! Thanks.
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Love your line about how your laundry looks like a mixture of the arctic expedition and a day at the beach. So true for me as well!
Drivers: Guess you have lots of “Miss.Daisy drivers, eh?” 🙂
Germaphobe – Nope! I do take the proper precautions but I don’t go overboard.
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Getting dressed is complicated these days. First I have to check the weather, then the temps.
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If apples are full of pesticides…then so am I. Happy Memorial Day Kate.
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It’s on the skin. Depends if you wash them or not.
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I do sometimes but no all the time. I often buy from vendors on the street as I sail by. I’m a New Yorker, even in regards to my fruit…:)
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I’m not perfect that way either. I bought sweet cherries earlier this week and half of them eaten before I got home.
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Just remember you could have been eating donuts that have god knows what in them. I love cherries. They’re so good for you. I may just go get some.
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Hmmmm…donuts….I can go either way! 🙂
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You said it sista….:)
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Crazy drivers are everywhere but more so in larger cities. But then parking lots are the worse even in our small town. Summer temps have already arrived but Memorial Day weekend makes it official. Thanks for the recent visit to my blog! Cheers
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Hope you will be able to post once in a while.
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The flower tent is fabulous, Kate! Have a safe and happy Memorial Day.
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It really is. It’s in the middle of a mall parking lot but it makes everything so summery.
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What a beautiful flower market! I have a list of the “dirty dozen” fruits and veggies that have so much pesticides on them that we only buy organics – and apples and strawberries are on it. Even washing them when you get home isn’t enough to remove the poison. Yikes.
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Right. How do you scrub a strawberry without bruising?
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There are crazy drivers all over it seems. We are taking a trip to Reno (about 4 hours away) this weekend and I’m driving since my husband a) has trouble sitting still for that long with his back issues and b) has a bit of road rage issues when coming across people he thinks are stupid (most every other driver). I enjoy driving so I have no problems. Beautiful flowers!
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I’m afraid I’m more like your husband. I have to control myself so I don’t rage when I’m a passenger.
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Yes indeed I am a germaphobe. . . so I am happy that I didn’t find the link. And also – there are a fleet of crazy drivers in my neck of the woods now too. One fellow is in jail for going 65 mph in a 45 mile zone leading the police on a merry chase and ending with a collision with a deputy. Most of our crazies are now tourists though – people gawking at things and maybe turned around and lost.
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Gosh, I would think your neck of the woods would be peaceful.
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This is generally true that life in the boonies is peaceful, but one good car chase makes the front page. 🙂
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How nice to see the flower tent in full bloom! I would have to go visit there just for the happy feeling BUT I would wait till after this weekend and go during the week!
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Definitely during the week! They have beautiful pots.
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I’ll never eat anything again! Crazy drivers. I think our state trains the demolition derby drivers. They seem to train everywhere and all day long. Oh yea, our city is full of “instant idiots”, just add water.
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I like that, “just add water.” It used to take alcohol but not any more.
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Oh, I hear you on the dangerous drivers. My least favorite driving season is Christmas. Many of the drivers still heading to the mall are those that predate the internet by decades. They rarely drive and their turn signals might as well be Morse code. The other categories of Awful Holiday Drivers in LA are 1) Confused Tourists, 2) Immigrant who didn’t grow up driving and is terrified of going over 25 mph, 3) Very Important Person In Their Own Mind who just HAS to answer a text while making a left turn.
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You could turn this into a post! I don’t live in an area as hectic as LA. I used to live in northern New Jersey. That’s where I really learned how to drive. Jersey drivers are crazy but then I was one of them. When I moved back here (which after that seemed like a third world country) it took me a while to ease off and get more laid back. Since then texting was invented and seniors got older. As soon as I win the big lottery, I’m getting a driver.
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Andy says there is no point in getting a driver because I will just sit up front and tell the driver which short cuts to take. This might be true.
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How odd! My husband says that too. Still…I’m getting a driver.
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