Wednesday, August 13 11:56 pm
Things are good. Although, slug slime is actually quite gross. For those of you who have never picked up or moved a slug, I thought I should inform you! I went out tonight and Seymour must have been having a party. My favorite 7″ slug had several friends on the deck tonight – must be due to the moisture as we had rain today. I went to throw something into the garbage can and one big slug was on the handle and another was IN the can. I scooped him out advising him to stay OUT of the can or that he’d be garbage himself! I don’t think he’ll heed my advice, though, as he looked pretty happy sitting atop that cupcake wrapper. Slimy yes – stupid, no!
With all the walking I’ve been doing and all the missed meals (aside from cupcakes) and all the unpacking, I’ve noticed I’ve lost some weight. Yay! However, the only place I’ve noticed it is in my ear lobes. Yes, you heard me correctly, my ear lobes … they are smoother and less creased! I’m serious. So, I got on the scale tonight and yep, I’ve lost 5 pounds … and since I haven’t noticed any other areas that seem thinner on my body, I apparently have the fattest ear lobes on the planet! I mean really, since I have two ears that’s 2.5 pounds per ear lobe! That’s disgusting! Worse than slug slime!
I have now been here 40 days and 40 nights … time enough to sail around in an Ark or to be embalmed (according to ancient Egyptian practices) … but not time enough to be unpacked. I am still in disarray, without my bedroom or office set up and nothing yet put into the attic and though I know things are coming together – I’m just less patient this time around. Thankfully I have beautiful scenery to walk around in when I get a bit crazed with all the work! And it’s a good thing I’ve been needing those walks because I’m so happy with my new, slimmer ear lobes.
Seafood … I’ve always joked I’m on the Seafood Diet … except I spell it See-Food – as in “I see food, and I eat it”! However, I’ve been too busy for normal meal times and well, I just haven’t been doing much eating lately. But, I also haven’t had any (as in ANY) seafood since I’ve been here – which is really odd considering I am in the NW – with coastal waters and shorelines teeming with crab, mussels, clams, salmon and other edible creatures.
I thought maybe I’d say that the NW was the Seafood Capital of the U.S but that would be incorrect. I think. But who is to say what area holds that title? I’ve looked – I can’t find it. The folks in Maryland would beg that they do because they market 75% of the crabs in the states. However, in the early 1900’s Biloxi, MS was actually known as the Seafood Capital of the World due to its rich abundance of oysters and shrimp (but hurricane Camille in ’69 put an end to that). Needless to say, the entire Gulf area is known for its seafood. There’s lobster in Maine, the quahog is the official state shellfish of Rhode Island, and who can argue the abundance of Nemo and friends in Alaska or Hawaii? In any case, the NW has its fair share and all I’ve had since I’ve been here is some canned tuna! So, I need to up my seafood/shellfish/fish intake because not only is it tasty but it’s good for me and it’s plentiful. I read somewhere that (per person) Americans eat (sorry vegetarians) 112 pounds of red meat, 64 pounds of chicken and only 16 pounds of fish each year. I think it’s time to walk away from the cluck and moo (at least for a while).
Rain … today was the first (what I and most people would think of as) typical rainy NW day since I’ve moved here. It was glorious! I slept in – not completely understanding that the green glow and groaning sound I saw/heard when I was awakened at 3:30 am was not some swamp gas or spaceship landing but a nearby generator blowing due to the storm (which, in all honesty, was NOTHING) … but, apparently, this is quasi-common and so for 5 hours we were without power. Lovely. In any case, it allowed me to sleep in (due to no alarm going off) and because of the dark and rain the next door non-rooster (who really is a rooster) wasn’t doodling his morning song and no dogs wanted to go out and brave the raindrops – so, I snuggled in with Gert and enjoyed a cozy morning. I didn’t leave the house until early afternoon but even then there were traces of fog still lifting and in areas over the water by the bluffs it was still blankety-thick. Where I was in the forest it was just a puff here, a puff there … like driving through a bunch of baby Caspers.
In any case, I’m off to let the dogs out one last time for the night. It’s raining again and it sounds wonderfully musical as it plops down on my neighbor’s metal roof. I’ll check to see if I need to rescue any cupcake eating slugs from the garbage can and before snuggling into bed I’ll plan out a seafood dinner for tomorrow and, once again, admire my thin ear lobes. Things are good.