May Wrap-up, one day late

This post would have been much earlier -- except for the fact that I was refusing to bow to the inevitable, that of logging out of the two e-mail accounts I keep tabs on during the work day in order to log in to write a blog post.  I finally gave up, and offer unseen apologies to those who will have to wait an extra 30 minutes for me to see their e-mail requesting a password reset.  

In other technological challenges, I went to sell some books on Amazon and got an error message

 

After resetting my password, sending an e-mail to seller support (and having it bounce back), restarting my computer, clearing my cache, clearing cookies, and letting the computer think about the error of its ways, I tried again.  And again.  The end result is that, because I had not sold anything for 6 months, my account was deactivated.  It cannot be reactivated, but I can sign up anew with a different e-mail.  The kicker is -- in the e-mail summarizing that, there are two links (for checking up on the help status and follow-up questions) and a 'was this answer helpful?'  with Yes and No as options to click.  Anything I click leads me to the same error screen.  Most Unhelpful.  

And, really?  Individual sellers have to sell something every 6 months to stay active?  Sigh.  I will probably surrender and set up another account, since I do have a few boxes of books with at least a few list-worthy items in them.  Unless -- is anyone interested in Dive Science Biology (unopened) or Oerberg's Lingua Latina (2001ish, used) ?

Now that my techy son is home for the summer, photos from my iPad are finding their way to my Desktop PC. 

Dog in Springtime Over Chipmunk Hole

Made with love for me, by my Dear Mom

TRIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And for my wonderful blog reader-who-comments, we have a photo of Dear Mom's kitchen garden.  it is so called because on the other side of the siding is her kitchen.  It has, alas, been taken over by weeds.  But weeds by another name are herbs, and the saw-toothed weed in this photo is the wonderful Stinging Nettle.  A bit mature for picking and eating, but still a nice representative of the type.  In mom's yard, they'll grow to 5 ft tall or so.  As their name implies, they have some defenses.  Namely, stinging.  Wee little glass-like hairs (possibly with toxins) that break off in one's skin and raise small welts and sting.  For a day or two. 

 

This stinging phenomenon vanishes when they are dried, or cooked.  Or, according to some, allowed to wilt a bit.  I haven't thoroughly tested that one.  The young leaves are delicious sauteed in butter or coconut oil, and the tea is said to be good for allergies.  I haven't done double-blind testing or anything particularly rigorous, but it does seem like the days when I had sniffles in the morning and drank nettle tea (and then ate the leaves) resulted in fewer days of prolonged sniffling.  Good enough for me!  

What else did May hold?  My leg still holds a bump from my fall.  It's not painful, and didn't interfere in the least with my 13 mile bike ride this morning, so that's a nice thing.  The garden is growing nicely, and my 'out-front-by-the-new-street' flower bed is lovely.  I should get a picture, for comparison with last year's.  Daylilies, Purple Coneflowers, Lupine, Comfrey, and Iris are thriving.  Calendula, this year's addition, has at least not been gobbled up by voracious chipmunks.  Yet.  I have Calendula in four places in the yard, with the hopes that at least some will escape the rodents.  I'm especially hopeful about the planting behind chicken wire.  

May held a lot of knitting.  I started and finished a test knit, and am now working on a shawlette for a friend.  I'm back to experimenting with fermented foods since the kitchen is warm enough to allow for fermentation (rather than cold storage).  The fridge holds fermented carrot sticks (ginger, and spicy), fermented rhubarb sticks (star anise, and spicy), Cortido (aka Latin American Sauerkraut), and of course, homemade yogurt.  No one else in the family is as enthused about them as I am, but that's okay.  I'll take care of them when they succumb to illness which my body laughs off. 

Until next time!