Hey, Hey, What Do *You* Say

All right, kids, it's time to discuss some of the thoughts and questions that have come up recently, before I get to bed early for once (I was up late last night for the trivia, and I was up late Monday for having no willpower when faced with a book I want to read [no, not Harry Potter, actually, I just have no willpower generally], and man do I need sleep). So what do we have?

From my recent trivia experience, the idea was raised of learning from the missed question (" Do you remember the question? Do you now know the answer to it?"), and I do agree with the pursuit of knowledge, wholeheartedly. However, I always learned best when I understood the reason or heard the story behind something, and that we don't get at trivia, so unless I go off and do the research, I'm rather left hanging, saying, "But why...?" As for the prize, I feel like that's a pretty large prize, and for there to be no second prize at all, well ouch, so thanks for the sympathy. Poor team Dunk Tank. So close. As we used to say here in Boston, "That and sixty cents will get you on the T." (Now, of course, it's more like two dollars to ride the T; I feel old.)

As for the cuke, I eat them plain, or with a little salt. They are pickling cukes, but I don't pickle them. I had it with lunch, and I picked the next one this afternoon, to eat tomorrow! It's exciting stuff, and I'll be watching the vines to see if the next ones grow as fast. I also found a recipe for a potato salad that calls for basil, so perhaps I will try that soon. The critter may have eaten most of my garden, but not all! In fact, it seems to have stopped (knock on wood), so perhaps the work they did on the gate and fence has helped, or perhaps the vermin ate so much he can no longer fit through the holes! Annalea, I did use fertilizer when I planted; next year, if you like, I would be happy to get your advice on Things To Do Before Planting. For this year, I think I have what I have, and right now it's going okay.

You also said, "You'll have to take another photo of the "probably a weed" flower once it opens fully. It looks like it's related to Nigella or Queen Anne's Lace, but it's hard to tell right now. I'm really curious to know what it is." Unfortunately for us, the landscapers decided to weedwack along the driveway, and that flower was a casualty. If I see another similar, I'll snap its photo. Thanks for all the identifications of my random photographs, by the way: between us, we know so much about these things! (Just kidding...)

Monica, I've considered your input on my scarf and I'm pondering the problem. I thought I might just live with it, but as the scarf lengthens, it's curling in on itself to the point where I'm afraid it may eventually resemble a long tube: not the look I was going for. I shall continue to ponder.

A follow-up to the Fat post: is everyone familiar with Chico's? I actually quite like some of their clothing for work or dress occasions, and their acetate clothing is great (cram it in a bag, shake it out, it's fine), but their sizing system is hilarious: size 1, 2, and 3 (I'm a three, of course). Now, in some things they have a zero, and even a .5 which I find funnier still ("I'm looking for the size half, do you know if you're out of it?"). Who dreams these things up?

I think that will do it, or I won't be getting to bed early after all. I'll end with the words of someone totally random, with some sound advice (this was a quote of the day somewhere):

"Don't borrow someone else's spectacles to view yourself with."— Simon Travaglia