Many Returns

                                            Scotland Out The Window, 2018

I have been gone, as surely I have been gone before, and surely gone again.  We have been sheltering in place, only going to the grocery store for necessities, and even then masked and gloved with clorox wipes in a zip-loc baggie in my pocket.  My mother was with us for two months.  She talks incessantly when she's stressed or nervous.  As soon as was allowed, I sent her home.  Her county was/is very low risk for exposure to covid-19.  Rural with a high rate of diabetes and other underlying issues, those people self isolated and masked up right away.  But now, we are free again.  Freed from quarantine, able to go to the liquor store and buy more than one bottle at a time.  Interestingly, toilet paper is still being rationed, one package per customer.  I don't need it.  Before the pandemic hit, I was at Costco and bought enough tp to last a year.  Why not?  I was at Costco and that's what that place is for.  Disaster prepping for the price conscious dwindling middle class.

The Mother and the Wren

Buffeted on all sides by streaming code, the mother mourned the wren.  Later, as she laid her head down to rest, she thought, We are the wren.

Dried Magnolia Bud Tea

Magnolia Tree In Bud, Pittsburgh, 2020

The magnolia tree in our front yard is richly budding out, but when it comes time to bloom, some of those buds

will be missing.  I'm harvesting the buds and drying them for tea and extract.  It's supposed to be good for allergies and sinus inflammations - the latter of which I get yearly.  In fact, I discovered upon a visit to MedExpress 28 April 2019, that I had also been there 28 April 2018.  There was some confusion over whether my insurance deductible had been paid already, as I was using the same credit card.  It wasn't until an eagle-eyed office manager spotted the year that it was resolved.

Anyway, here's what Chineseteaculture.com has to say about magnolia bud tea.  I can't say how effective it is, but it's gotta be better than nothing.  Yeah, I set a pretty low bar.

Name: Magnolia Bud Tea
Health Benefits May Help:
• Nosebleeds
• Prevent & Treat Allergic Conditions
• Reduce Nose Inflammation Due to Allergies
• Relieve Headaches
• Reduce Body Fats & Toxins
• Reduce Inflammation
• Remove Phlegm from Throats
• Keep the Liver & Lung Healthy
• Treat Rhinitis and Sinusitis
• Treat Stuffy Nose and Runny Nose
• Treat Pollen Allergies
• Lighten Facial Dark Spots

* Decaffeinated - Import from China

* Ingredient - Magnolia Bud

* NOT For Pregnancy

Preparation:
• Bring water to a boil;
• Use 1 TABLESPOON per 8oz of water;
• Pour boiling water over the tea;
• Steep 15 minutes;
• 1oz tea makes approx 6 cups.

* Recommended: For best results, drink at least 2 cups a day. One cup in the morning and one cup in the evening. Drink as needed. Once health effect is achieved discontinue use.

* Best if Used By 12 Months

Dollar Store Barbie Pop Art

Dollar Store Barbie + Lobster Bisque, Pittsburgh, 2020

Dollar Store Pop Art 2020

Dollar Tree had condensed lobster bisque on their shelves.  I thought I'd try it.  It was not good, and is indeed lobster bisque in name only, not in any sort of reality - even a trumpian reality.  I did save the can, though.  It is the absolute height of plumping the depths of pop art as envisioned by Andy Warhol.

Blizzard!

Blizzard of 2010, Pittsburgh

Yes, ten years ago today, a snow squall sat over western Pennsylvania, and dumped three feet (1 meter) of snow on us.  Good times.  In the last few years we've barely gotten any snow in this area.  Now it's all rain.

We Are The Ghouls

Horseshoe Crab, Primehook Beach, DE 2011


I collect their discarded molts and dead remains while the tide retreats and the sun bleeds across the bay.  Some mornings the beach is littered with horseshoe crabs stuck on their backs, their pointed tails trying to gain purchase in the sand so that they can right themselves, their 8 legs blindly stabbing at a distant sky.  We flip them over.  But others gather them up and they are drained of their copper-based, blue blood.  Not drained until death, at least not intentionally, but drained to sate medical research needs.  It's ghoulish and cruel, with no international standards.