The mighty bougainvillea

In the fall, when I lived in NYC, I would plant various bulbs (before the first freeze) and in the spring I was always pleased to see the first vestiges of a variety of flowering plants including crocus, hyacinths, daffodils and tulips.  The chill was still in the air, the life-span of these plants was very short and it wasn’t until a lot later that I was blessed with the blossoms of a spectacular weeping cherry tree.

In Florida I am greeted with something similar to this photo on almost every street corner.  Talk about a true harbinger of spring!  It’s the mighty bougainvillea and it is practically a weed it grows so well in what is, for all intents and purposes, the tropics.  Although beautiful when in bloom it is a major problem to control.  The thorns this beauty sports is legion!  Gardeners here look like they own a herd of hostile cats after cutting back their bougainvillea.  They are a special treat to the eye…just don’t get too close; they don’t like to be petted.

Where's my sock?

Have you seen this sock?  A couple of weeks ago I bought three pairs of these socks on-line from Zkano Socks (http://zkano.com).  I gave one pair away (a relatively cheap birthday present, right? but nice nonetheless).  Today I laundered the other two according to instructions, that is, inside-out in warm (not hot) water and low temp dryer.  Subsequently, upon sorting the laundry, one of these socks is missing.  I made a futile search in and around the washers/dryers and carefully inspected the sheets/towels, etc., to check if the sock got caught in a random fold or in the woof and warp of some other garment.  Not to be.  How does this happen?  It happens to everybody and it is one of the unexplained phenomenonae of the modern world.  Or maybe, for all I know, ancient worlds.

Torbin's trophy

In early April my nephew achieved, and was celebrated for, his 20th anniversary as an employee of Pixar Animation Studios.  This personalized statue is one of his rewards.  He claims it is solid bronze.  I think it also represents veins of molten silver and a heart of gold.  Whatever it’s made of it is way cool.  When I retired many moons ago I got a pretty nice table clock, which was timely but the total opposite of cool.

Over the years he has served Pixar in various technical capacities but, in some miraculous circumstance, he is currently voicing Becky, “an offbeat, kooky loon” in Pixar’s June release of “Finding Dory.”  I can’t wait for the spin-off products which will inevitably follow.  I want the plush toy and the beach towel.

Low Hanging Fruit

My darling sister has a favorite saying when one is starting the task of divesting oneself of a lifetime of detritus.  It is way too daunting to tackle everything at once so what you do is just go through everything and throw out all of the “low hanging fruit.”  Stuff that is unfixably broken; stuff that is just stupid and embarrassing that you even saved it in the first place; stuff that you have zero sentimental attachment to and, finally, other people’s (including family) stuff that somehow ended up in your closet, attic, or basement.  Things, in other words, you have no compunction about relegating to the trash bin.

The second step is to go through it all again and winnow out stuff you can donate to charity; give to friends/family; put on the curb for passersby and, again, fill up another bag or two of perhaps, this time, recyclables.

The third step is more difficult because, now, sentiment enters the picture.  But this third low hanging fruit processing is the most important.  You must ask yourself deeper questions.  Do you really want to keep this?  Have you worn it or used it or, even more important, looked at it over the last two-three years?  Would any of this be important to anyone that might have to take over when you have escaped this mortal coil?  Further to this is the fact that this person would be starting from scratch with your low hanging fruit.  It would be a first step to them even though you are well into your third.  What would they do with your lava lamp?

If you are true to your quest and have made some good progress and are proud of this fact and feel you can breathe easier and have done the right thing, you will hit a brick wall.  Your will-to-purge will freeze up and making even one more decision is impossible.  This is the time to box it all up and put it back in the closet.  Address it again at the same time next year.  Merry Christmas!

Toaster Roast



My new toaster sucks.  When buying it I got sucked in by the low price, the 20%-off coupon and the brand name.  Yes, you would think the word Cuisinart would guarantee a quality product, wouldn’t you?  It’s made of the thinnest plastic; the thinnest tin and the thinnest resemblance to a functioning toaster you can imagine.  And the “bagel” setting doesn’t mean it toasts on only one side like my lately discarded (and now lamented) Black & Decker; it just means it toasts longer.  Since it has a knob that controls the length of toasting this button is totally redundant.  I know, I know, you get what you pay for.  I’ll probably trade it in for a toaster oven

Puzzle Punk't

I was successfully punk’t today by, of all things, The New York Times.  Within the crossword puzzle’s answers is secreted this:  DUE TO BUDGET CUTS THE NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE WILL END TOMORROW (17; 34; 40; 60 across).

Once I solved the puzzle and was outraged by the thought of the puzzle’s theme I looked at the paper’s date and realized I had been made a fool of on this first very fine day of April.  However, before I realized my foolishness I rationally considered just how important the NY Times crossword is to me.

If the crossword was actually dropped what would I do?  At first I thought I would just cancel my subscription all together.  Then I thought, well, I can subscribe to a limited number of issues weekly; settling on Friday, Saturday and Sunday since those days of the week are the most difficult.  When sanity returned I had to admit the puzzle is at least important enough to me to consider cutting back on this budgeted item since it’s a fairly expensive proposition.

I have to confess the NY Times is as much a prescription as it is a subscription because of its beneficial qualities to my mental, educational and emotional well-being; not to mention the snob appeal.  No puzzle there.