#Grateful

Languid Heat

When I first left, the air was still cool and fresh as dew on my skin. As the sun climbed languidly into the sky, the earth began to steam, slowly at first. I myself began to steam with the passing miles and the effort of climbing hills that I am not accustomed to. Soon my sweat and the earth's were the same, heavy and moist.

The air, which had started fragrant with the smell of a thousand flowers like an omnipresent perfume, blended with the smell of sweat and a mildew that is inescapable here. Although I came from an arid climate, my clothes already smell as if they have been damp for a long period of time, unable to fully dry out.

The birds that were so excited in pre-dawn in anticipation of the new day have settled into their quieter daytime routines,  their vocalizations less urgent.

I am less urgent too, enjoying a gentle breeze in the shade knowing full well that only steps away it is hot in the full sunlight.

Nothing is urgent here. Life moves slowly as if swimming in an ocean except the swimming is effortless and lazy, buoyed by saltwater. 

Toast

It's easy to take things for granted. Take toast, for example. Bread in, toast out. A little butter or jam and there you go.

I've been making my toast the same way all my life. And by "all my life," I mean I've been using the same toaster for 60 years. Literally.

My mom probably made it for me when I was little but it's the same toaster. I think it was a wedding present long ago. I don't remember when she decided it was time to get a new toaster but I can understand why. It didn't make good toast.

Maybe it did 60 years ago but now, I can tell you, it burns one side of the bread while only gently warming the other side. The knob that is supposed to adjust these things is sticky so the best you can do is dial it down to just warm bread on both sides of the bread.

But that's the way it's always been (as far as I can remember anyway) and while my husband reasons we have gotten the most of this toaster - more than anyone can reasonably expect - I still refuse to replace it.

So, I won't tell him that the toast we had this morning in our vacation rental was probably the best toast I've ever had. It's funny that he didn't say anything, come to think of it. I guess he just knows that it's futile to suggest getting a new toaster.

I guess he just takes it for granted.

What You Should Know About the Latest Apple OS Update and Data Encryption

Mon, Sep 16, 4:28 PM (3 days ago)

From: IT

To: Me

Got all the new software installed. It does have a few nice tweaks — especially a password manager app that picks up passwords stored in the keychain and makes it all easier to use. And they must have done some serious optimizing, because everything feels a little livelier (although a lot of housekeeping gets done during an upgrade).

Most of the AI stuff, however. Is “still in beta” and expected to be released “soon.” All said, the new OS is worth the trouble but nothing you need to be in a rush to get.



To: IT

From: ME

So this was the software update on the MacBook? 

From: IT

To: Me

The update was everything — MacBook, iPhone, iPad, watch, speakers, and a saucepan in the kitchen. Or maybe the pan was something else. Seems different, somehow.

They weren’t very specific about when the ai stuff is scheduled to arrive, but said “this fall.” 

To: IT

From: ME

As long as your saucepan doesn't have your social security number, you should be ok.

From: IT

To: Me

All my pans are encrypted.

[H/T IT Department]

In the dumps.

 Have you ever been so efficient as to go backwards?

I always think about this when I see someone speeding. If he gets a ticket, did he really get there any faster?

Trying to be efficient one day, I grabbed a load of items destined for the recycle bin. I also grabbed a small lock that needed to be placed on an outdoor gate and a little plastic bag that need to go back in my trunk to be reused the next time I went shopping. It seemed logical to grab all these things at once since I would pass the car and the recycle bin in close proximity on my way to the gate. It would save me the trip of having to come back into the house before going back out in over-110 degree weather.

Car trunk ✔️ - I dropped the plastic bag onto the lid of the trunk. My arms were overflowing with recycling material. I would put the bag in the trunk on my way back in.

Recycle ✔️✔️ -  I managed to get the lid of the bin open and dumped my armload of recyclables in. Along with the lock.

Crap.

The bin is a large one which was useful three years ago when we first moved in and had lots of cardboard boxes to recycle. Now, my recycling lays at the bottom beyond the reach of my outstretched arm. 

Did I mention it was a small lock? It, like car keys in my purse, dove immediately to the bottom, out of sight. The only way to get at it was to tip the whole thing over and to crawl in.

I was already showered and dressed for the day. I was wearing a skirt and a white shirt. I squatted down and reached for the larger items within reach in the sweltering heat: wine bottles to be sure, Sunday's newspaper, loose junk mail items but I could see no lock. 

I was now crouched on the open lid of the bin with everything I was able to reach now at my feet. I sifted through the items again more carefully. Surely, the lock had to be there. I had only just tossed it in.

But, no, I could not find it which only meant one thing. It was still in the bin at the very bottom. Was I really going to have to crawl in on my hands and knees?

I went back to the garage and put the plastic bag in the trunk while I tried to think of something long enough to reach the bottom of the bin. I had a push broom but that was too unwieldy. And then I spotted it. Something one might not think to have in the desert: An umbrella. 

Back inside the bin, it worked brilliantly. I pushed away the remaining debris at the bottom of the recycle bin and used the tip of the umbrella to fish the lock out. All that was left was to put all the recycling back into the bin and stand it back up.

But first, I put the lock in my pocket.

Speaking of pages ...

 I used to have a page called "WUV" which stood for What's Up Vancouver. It was subtitled:

Fun Stuff to Do Around Town

With the following explanation:

This is in no way an exhaustive list of things to do. This just represents the things that appeal to me. And, frankly, it's all about me anyway.

I still keep it up in a manner of speaking only now the events are those that take place in and around Coachella Valley and there's no link to the page from Chocolate Chip Mint (other than this one). One thing remains the same: it's still about me. 

I'm thinking about revitalizing the page, changing the name, and updating the links. I love to explore what the valley has to offer in the way of restaurants, events, things to do. People often ask, "How do you know all this stuff?" I guess because that's what interests me, that's what I look for on websites, in the newspaper, and on social media. These are the things I put on my own calendar. That doesn't necessarily mean I go to all these things but I like to know what's going on and I like to have that at my fingertips for when the inevitable question come up, "What should we do tonight (or this weekend)?"

Let me know if you have an idea for the name. CV Happenings? That might lead you to the Community Calendar for Coachella Valley Chapter of the Community Associations Institute (which is an interesting website if you're interested in the workings of an HOA). 

How about "S'up CV?" for What's up Coachella Valley? 

I tried searching for "Around CV" and got a lot of information about constant velocity axle boots and I've had enough of that this year!

Maybe a take on the words "desert" or "cactus" or "hot." 

What do you think?

Did you know...?

 There are 77 instances of the word "chicken" on my Eat Me page. I only discovered this when I wanted to  find a recipe that I posted some time ago - like years ago - but couldn't remember the title of it. All I could remember was that it had chicken and olives in it. ("Olive" is mentioned only 22 times but most often in relation to "oil.") After sifting through several recipes that utilized chicken, I decided it must have been the Chicken, Quinoa, and Green-Olive Stew that I was looking for.

Or maybe it was Moroccan Chicken with Green Olives and Lemon.

I guess I'll just have to make both.