Friday evening before Thanksgiving Day 2024

 

Just a Friday evening thought meander. This will suffice for Saturday morning blogpost, eh?

For years at this beginning of the holiday season, I've wanted to order something from Zingerman's, a Jewish vendor in Ann Arbor, Michigan. IDK, maybe because of my UM history and attachment, maybe because of continuing family there decades later, IDK, no matter. Maybe because their catalog and other publicity makes things seem so intriguing. At some point early this week a question floats in the bubble over my head, "Hey, Bub, you're eighty-nine: if not now, when?" and I go ahead and place a minimal order with Zingerman's. After whittling a large order down to reasonableness, three kinds of cheese and, with Malinda in mind, a package of Rugelach, eight raspberry and eight chocolate, though on tasting them it's pretty obvious that she wouldn't like them. The box arrived during Friday afternoon nap Time. Waking, I sampled two of the cheeses. The Italian cheese is tasty, but the raw milk Stilton-type blue cheese from England is beyond superb, I need some crunchy French bread to eat with it. Touch of butter holds the cheese to the bread.

Another Time I ordered food items from a Jewish deli, Katz's Delicatessen in New York City. The pastrami was excellent, as was the green pea soup. The rye bread was right with the pastrami, however I did commit the abomination of mayonnaise instead of mustard. I like mustard, especially German mustard and English mustard, but on sausage buns like an ambitious hot dog; otherwise the mustard takes charge. From Katz's the Swiss style cheese was okay, and the chopped liver. I'd do the pastrami again for sure but not the chopped liver; I know someone whose chopped liver is exquisite, so I don't need Katz or anyone else.

Between visitations of chopped liver from her, I buy Field's liver loaf from Bill's, Food Outlet here in St Andrews. And I've discovered that Piggly Wiggly at the 15th Street and Lisenby Avenue location has fried chicken livers in their - - you can't really call it a deli, namesane? but it's good especially now that Golden Corral seems to have removed fried chicken livers from their offerings. 

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This morning a medical appointment for Linda, then later to the Greek Orthodox Church on Baldwin, in a long line for their annual sale of baked goods. We bought too much, but, again, some of it mindful of Malinda, who's a baklava fan, so we'll take her some next visit. Two slices each of three kinds of cakes, one with a custard filling, light sweet with honey, scrumptious. Spanakopita spinach and another with cheese. While in the line we met their priest, who was outside greeting folks. He told us he was an Episcopalian for a while before becoming captivated by Orthodoxy. In our retirement of mixing it up here and there, maybe we could visit them at worship Time one of these Sundays? Their church building was originally the church building we grew up in, St Andrew's Episcopal Church on Beach Drive. At some point, my understanding, the building was deeded to the Greek parish and moved out to Baldwin Road.

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Friday evening in Smithsonian Magazine online I read a fascinating article about earwigs. You don't read much about earwigs. Flies, roaches, mice, mosquitos and gnats, yes, but this is the first article I've ever read about earwigs. They are social, their reproductive practices are either interesting or disgusting, depending on your viewpoint. The females are protective about the eggs, and then close maternal attention while the hatchlings grow; males like to visit the nests and eat the eggs, and many a male earwig has been cut in two by the protective female with her pincers. There are people who have devoted their productive years to the study of earwigs. I do wonder how you get that funded?

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The evening hour has advanced to just after eight o'clock. Notwithstanding that I had a three hour afternoon nap, I'm feeling sleepy, so signing off and heading for bed. 

Life is Good. Use it up, wear it out, make it last, it's a privilege and a blessing.

RSF&PTL

T89&c