Now Norma Knits

181. Black and Blue

Holy cow.  Black raspberries from my yard. And I've got the scratches to prove it.

It's only a few, but it's only the first day, and there are thousands more to come.  Make no mistake:  These are not blackberries, and don't taste anything like blackberries. They don't taste or feel in the mouth anything like red raspberries, either.  They are tart and sweet and have a flavor all their own.  Is an atheist allowed to speculate about Heaven?  If so, this is one of the things I imagine Heaven might be. 

That's the black part of the program.  Now about the blue:

I have eaten about four ripe blueberries from our bushes.  There are many more to come. 

I stopped in at Gardener's Supply on Saturday and found that fruit plants were 20% off.  I got two new blueberry bushes (already loaded with fruit) and stuck them in the ground over the weekend. Then I looked out the window last night and saw a robin swooping down to peck off a blueberry.  NO SHARING!  So I ran out and braved the mosquitoes to put on the bird netting. 

Life is good. It would be better if I'd made it to yoga yesterday, and didn't have to defrost the goddamn piece-of-crap refrigerator and cook lots of food so it wouldn't spoil in the 90-degree heat, but still.  And now we have lots of good leftovers to eat all week.  So yeah, life is good.

180. Sunday's Blog -- PEAS!

Let there be peas on earth.....and let it begin with meeeeeeeee......

I'm feeling rather perky (and quirky) today, for I've got PEAS!

My first pea harvest provided enough for a generous lunch serving for me and David, and about a quart of peas-in-the-pod to share with my mother.  She also got some baby beets and beet greens, and some onions.  She was tickled. It's become a regular Saturday-morning routine for me to call her and say, "Are you ready for your vegetable shipment of the week?" Then I tell her to come pick it up, so it's not really a shipment, per se, but she's not complaining. She's pretty jazzed that I have a garden.  She lives a few blocks away, and she hustles on up here as fast as she can to haul away her take.

These are Amish Snap peas from Seed Savers Exchange. These are from the second planting of peas I made this spring.  As I figured out afterward, the first planting was of a mid-season variety (and they are coming along beautifully, by the way).  These are an early-season variety.  So even with a later planting date, you just can't fool that foxy Mother Nature.  She knows exactly what's up and what's down, that woman. 

The way my mother and grandmother always cooked the first peas of the season was to cook (boil, steam, whatever) them slightly til tender and bright green, add them to boiled baby potatoes, then finish them with milk and butter, salt and pepper, heated up to just below the boiling point.  I didn't plant potatoes this year, but I think I might have to go search for some so I can make that treat from my childhood. This is the very first year I've had success growing peas...I think it's worth a bit of an indulgence, don't you? 

179. Saturday's Blog: Work Love

First a Public Service Announcement:  Did you know that my sweet yarn-haired Dogs Steal Yarn Cari is no longer at her old blog address, but has moved to Dispatches From Utopia?  Please update your feedreaders.  She's starting to feel a bit lonely over there in Utopia, and a person shouldn't be lonely in Utopia.  That's just not riiiiiight. 

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When I got in my car to go to work Thursday, all I could think was, "I love my work.  And loving your work has got to be right up there in the top three things in life."

This has been a very, very good week. I have a new graduate student's summer school classes to cover.  I love the subject matter, I love my new student, I love the other students in the class, I love the professor.  We're watching Bergman and Antonioni films and (they) are discussing them (but oh, how I would like to join in on the discussion!) as they relate to readings by Kierkegaard, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Kant, Hegel, et al. 

On the first day of class, when people were introducing themselves and telling a little bit about why they were there, my student ended her introduction by saying, "And I have a hearing loss, so this person will be here to assist me," and introduced me.  The professor asked me to talk about myself a little bit and what it is that I do. 

This was handled so well.  In so many of my classes previously, nobody knew why I was there.  The entire semester would be over, and a student would ask me if I was there for the professor, or would finally get up the nerve to ask what I was doing and why.  In the present case, all the strangeness was taken away immediately.  Everybody knows why I'm there now, and I'm getting to be a more and more familiar face around campus. 

On Thursday, I had an extra-long day because in addition to the four-hour class, I had orientation events to cover before and after the class.  At each of these large events, more and more people are noticing what it is that I do -- noticing that it's a person sitting there doing it, and are being very open about expressing their admiration (though the questions still keep coming about "is that voice recognition software?"). 

I am only human -- I mean who can deny that it is one of the best feelings ever to be admired for what one does?  A dad of one of the new students came up and asked me about how long I've been doing this, said he was so impressed with it, and went on to say that he is wondering about this as a career for his middle daughter. I gave him my card and said his daughter can write to me if she wants to know about what to do to get started and where to go to school, etc.

I never did meet the person for whom the CART was being done and demonstrated that day, because she did not identify herself to me.  One of the reasons for putting the captions up on the big screen is so the person who needs it can remain anonymous.  However, by the end of the evening, the coordinator of the ACCESS program for the deaf and hard of hearing came up to my elbow and said, "E.... says she wants CART for her classes." I guess I made a good impression. 

The exposure of the service and the reaction of the rest of the audience members, as I'll tell you about, probably had a lot to do with her feeling comfortable enough to ask for the service.  So many undergrads don't want it, because they don't want to stand out and, as I often say jokingly to them when I meet them, "Who wants to be stuck to a middle-aged woman all day?" (Though I hasten to add, I am not yet at the middle of my expected life span. Heh.)

During the evening presentation, which was a very engaging speech by a very engaging speaker who comes frequently and travels around the country to give these diversity and inclusion speeches, my work turned out to be the source of some entertainment.  Maura was talking about someone whose frustrations have built up and built up and she finally "blows" and says, in response to something seemingly innocuous (dropping a napkin on her foot), "Why'd you have to go and drop shit on my foot?!"  All the students in the audience loved the fact that "shit" appeared on the screen in the captions, so Maura ran with it.  We have worked these events before together, so she looked at me and I waved to her.  She waved back and then said to the students that they needed to get out more. She said, "Shit shit shit shit shit shit," and everyone looked to see if it came up on the screen, which of course it did.  They loved it.  Then Maura and several students in the audience participation part of the program continued to play around and push the envelope to say things like "balls" and "dyke" and "hornymoon" (heh) to see if they would appear on the screen.  Much over-the-top anticipation, dramatically looking at the screen, and laughter all around. 

Each time this happens with a new group of students means that an entire new class has seen me and knows WTF it is I'm doing around there.  This is good.  Very, very good. 

I am starting to worry about being TOO BUSY for this fall semester.  Good thing I'm eating my greens and going to yoga and the gym, eh?  I need to keep healthy and fit or I won't be able to cope with it all.

I'm not complaining. I'm rejoicing and hoping it doesn't end. 

And to top it all off, I've got radishes.

Harvest Photo of the Day

The impending rain forced me to take a very quick and slightly out-of-focus (so what's new, you might be asking) shot of these babies I harvested yesterday.  We've got red radishes, purple radishes, and my personal favorite:  French Breakfast radishes (those are the elongated ones with the red tops and white tips)

178. Friday's Blog

It's Friday, and you know what that means, right?  It's garden-along reporting time.  So let's hear it.

Me?  I've got boatloads of pea pods on both rows of peas.  The Amish ones look close to being ready to pick, but I wish they were a bit more green -- I sense a yellowish cast to them, or maybe I'm just imagining it.  They don't seem to be the same shade of green that my nana's peas used to be.  Still, as is true with the spinach this year, I've finally gotten peas to grow after years and years of trying with no success, so it's a big step in the right direction. 

I've harvested two of the eight heads of Romaine lettuce in the large square pot and left the remaining six to get bigger.  I had a most excellent salad with it yesterday.  (with arugula, salmon, and dijon-honey vinaigrette)

The summer salad mix and red Romaine and red ruffly lettuce (I can't remember the actual name of it) are all doing well, as is the stir fry mix.

The asparagus seems to have a new lease on life!  I fed it bone meal and watered it, and then we had a nice cool spell while I was gone, I guess.  It's more productive now than it has been all spring! It sure does love that bone meal, I guess.  It took me 15 years to realize that the gardening book was wrong, all wrong, about "just put the asparagus crowns in the ground and forget about them."  Turns out, asparagus loves to eat just like every other plant on the planet. Why are the "experts" always such idiots, and why do I follow their advice even if my intuition tells me they're wrong?   

The summer squash and zucchini (second sowing after the first one succumbed to the beetles) are up and doing well.  I just couldn't feel right about the white fabric over them, so I took it off.  They don't seem to thrive that way -- they don't get enough light, and they look a bit anemic to me.  I'm too natural a girl for that, I guess.  But then, I've resorted to being quite vigilant with sprays of Pyola.  I don't like to use anything at all, even if it's supposed to be organic, but desperate times call for desperate measures.  The beetles are exhibiting signs of clinical depression now, and are confused.  I find them hanging out on things like the lettuce, which is to say their GPS is seriously malfunctioning.  There aren't very many of them left at the moment, and they don't seem to be eating or mating. Yay. If there's one thing I can't STAND, it's the squash-beetle (and Japanese beetle) orgies. Not on my watch, you bastards. 

Now they're leaving my cucumbers and squash alone, mostly.  At least I'm keeping ahead of them, I think.  I'll have to stop with the spraying once the plants flower, though, because it's also toxic to my beloved bees.   And now it's the uphill battle against the moth that will lay the eggs that will become the squash vine borers.  It's always something, I tell ya.

The pears look like they're doing great, and the black raspberries are in the red stage.  Black and ripe will be next.  I can't wait!

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I've got a Swiss chard recipe for you. 

Swiss Chard With An Italian Flair

1 large bunch Swiss chard, coarsely chopped or shredded

1 or 2 T. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

3 or 4 large fresh basil leaves, chopped

Salt & pepper

Gently heat the olive oil 'til hot but not TOO hot.  Add the garlic and stir 'til it's aromatic and starts to get tender. Careful not to burn it! Then add the basil and gently cook. 

Toss in the Swiss chard and cook 'til just tender.  Add salt & pepper to taste.

I served sliced Vermont hydroponic tomatoes on the side, and they were delicious, but I wondered how much more delicious it would be to have turned them, chopped, into the Swiss chard mixture until the tomatoes were just warm.  The flavors side by side were delicious, and I think together they would have been even more so. 

We had this with local grass-fed beef burgers and fresh local mozzarella with more fresh basil and olive oil.  Really gooooooood. 

Pinch me. Am I awake? It's not even July 4th yet, and I'm eating copious amounts of basil and Swiss chard from my garden. 

Harvest Photo of the Day

Swiss chard, Five-Color Silverbeet

177. Thursday's Blog - A Washington Pee Break

This edition of Pee Break is brought to you by the Newseum.  I had a couple of hours to fill on Friday, and I did it at the Newseum. It was a great place.  I thoroughly enjoyed the way it's put together.  It's very thoughtfully done, and it's recommended that you work your way from the top down. There are enough well-placed benches to be able to sit down and rest frequently, a feature I find essential in a museum. I enjoyed the content and the atmosphere of the place.  And I was pleased that there weren't too many (that day) of that thing I hate most of all -- people. (Aren't I terrible?) The cafeteria was tempting to try -- it's a Wolfgang Puck establishment.  But I was between a big and lovely lunch with Wendy and dinner with Lara. I thought I should stay away from the cafeteria!

Though I took in a lot of the serious bits, I'm sure it won't surprise you to learn that my favorite parts were the comedic ones.  There was a running loop of comedy bits about the news from old Saturday Night Live skits, various other comedy shows, and of course Stephen Colbert's take on the Newseum.  I watched the entire loop at least twice.

Then I stopped in the 3rd-floor bathroom.

I was all alone!  The place is new, so it's all clean and nice.  See my nice new batik bag I got at a kiosk in Union Station?  It's just right for my BlackBerry.  Want a better look at how sweet it is? 

And it matches just about everything I own.

Sorry.  I got sidetracked.  This is supposed to be about the pee place, right?

Don't pay no never-mind to the toilet paper strewn around the floor.  (I didn't do it!) I'm sure someone was going to be in soon to neaten up a bit. The staff at this place was amazingly cheerful and helpful.

Here's what I loved about this bathroom and why I thought to make this a Pee Break feature:

(click all these photos to make them bigger)

So a private, quiet, clean pee with several chuckles.  What more can you hope for?

176. Wednesday's Blog: Hope For The Future

So you might have gleaned that I was in D.C. for a few days.  One reason I went, as many of you guessed, is for more Red Scarf/Orphan Foundation fun. 

What can I say about this organization and association that I haven't already said? I just can't stop enthusing. How I stumbled upon this and got involved in it I can hardly remember, but now it just seems like it's a part of me -- a part of my family, a part of my being. Gah, now I'm getting sappy. All right, Norma.  Focus. 

*stopping to pull myself together*

Doug Sprei couldn't ferry me around personally because his daughter had a basketball tournament, but that did not stop him from hooking me up, big-time. Lynn Davis, Manager of Partnership Development and a perfect match for me (a real pistol), took over the job.  Did we have FUN!  She picked me up at my hotel and brought me to Georgetown where we met up with five Ohio teens in the program.  They are spending the summer in internships on Capitol Hill, and they are fantastic! 

Laura Adkins, who is the Ohio shepherd (Her official title is the Ohio ETV Coordinator.  I don't know what ETV means, so I'm going to call her "Shepherd Queen Laura.") for the interns and the aged-out-of-the-system foster kids, was on hand to take us all out to lunch at a French restaurant she knew from her days going to college in Georgetown.  What a wonderful, fun, and engaging woman she is!  Such a force! And her daughter and son-in-law joined us, as well.  Total.wonderful.fun.  Keep in mind that I hate kids.  Really. 

But when Laura introduced me to the interns, she said, "And this is Norma.  She is the blogger who..." and several of them interrupted and said, "The scarves?!  Wow!" They of course had me in the palms of their hands from that point forward.  Come on: I can only hate kids to a point, ya know.

None of the interns had ever been to a French restaurant before.  After we got seated, Laura said to them, "Now, I want to hear what you are going to order for an appetizer." 

Several of them protested, "Appetizers!  But it's so expensive!"

Laura said, "No. I want to hear how many of you are going to join me for escargot.  This is the day when you don't restrict yourself to living like you used to live.  Today you live like you are going to live in the future. Now, think about your appetizers.  How many are ordering escargot?"

I could have plotzed.  She was frickin' awesome!

I overheard in the conversation that Laura was responsible for having sent them all to an etiquette course before their internships so presumably they would know how to conduct themselves properly with the hoity-toity Capitol Hill folks. Of course, as we all know, and as a couple of the interns pointed out, nobody has any manners anymore, even those who were raised with all the advantages in life.  A couple of the interns were savvy enough to have observed that in many of the situations they'd been in where they were following all the rules of etiquette, the very hoity-toities that they were meant to impress were breaking all the rules.  Don't you just love it?!

This is Ralph, who sat opposite me, taking his first bite of escargot.

William is next to him going, "Dude!" when he takes a bite.  Actually, he didn't say "Dude," but I could tell he wanted to.  I love Will.  He apologized to me for wearing his do-cap. Love.him. 

Ralph asked me to help him choose what to order, and he wanted me to make sure he ordered things that were authentically French. He wanted me to describe quiche to him.  (He ordered it.  He said it was delicious, but not what he expected.)

I ordered brie and apples for my appetizer. 

All the interns tried some and loved it.  We all tried stuff off each other's plates. "Like a family," as Ralph observed. *sniff*  (hatekids, hatekids, hatekids)

After our entrees were finished, Laura urged that we all order dessert.  Who could pass that up?  I mean, really, in a French restaurant?  You nuts? 

Then something interesting happened.  The dessert was served to the five interns with candles lit, and Happy Birthday was being played in a recording in the background.  Laura said, "I never get to actually celebrate your birthdays with you, so this is my chance to be able to say happy birthday to you all." 

The smiles and genuine glee were so sweet.

This is Samuel Jackson.  No, really, it is.  With his "birthday" dessert:

That's Laura next to him (sorry it's blurry), and Laura's lovely daughter Megan, farther down the table.

Across the table from Samuel is his biological sister, Candace.

Both amazingly high achievers, gorgeous kids. 

Devon is behind her.

After we parted from the rest of the folks -- the boys were heading out to a kayak trip and the girls were heading back to their places of abode, Lynn and I later went on a fun shopping trip for makeup with Devon.  She needed to find a MAC cosmetics shop, and we found one for her nearby.  She bought her stuff.  Then next door was a Sephora, so I had to drag everyone in there.  They sell Philosophy cosmetics, my usual since Sandy turned me on to it, and it's always good to save on shipping charges, since there is no Sephora in Vermont. That's where I bought my Hope In A Jar.  I explained to them that since I started using it, I have not needed to bother with foundation makeup, and I reminded them I'm staring 49 in the face.  Lynn cracked me up.  She said, "Like that famous scene in When Harry Met Sally, 'I'll have what she's having!'" and Devon followed suit as well. 

As we were walking down the street to Lynn's car, Devon said, "And any time I feel a bit down, I'll remember that I have a little hope -- right in this jar." 

Excuse me. I need a moment. 

Bye-bye, Cafe La Ruche!  (That's Lynn Davis on the left with the bigggg orange bag.  See?  Told you she was a perfect match for me.)

P.S.  Doug informs me that our little Red Scarf Fund and the Network for Good initiative have raised nearly $40,000.  Our little fund that we started last August.  I could burst with happiness. 

Maybe we can even do better than that; what do you think?

My Sandy has pledged to me that she will donate 10% of her auction proceeds from the sale of her Starmore book.  w00t!  Click here for her auction.

More about the Red Scarf timetable to come very soon.

175. Tuesday's Blog

Perhaps this will be a week of days.  Days-of-the-week blog!  (Better than underwear.)  I keep trying to write something, and I can't keep my focus. I have a lot to think about right now:  My summer school class with my new graduate student (I haven't even met her yet) starts today.

My return trip was indeed a bit of a debacle, including being given the SSSS designation on my replacement flight because the first flight was so delayed it might never have happened.  The SSSS designation required all the wonderful extra security measures we have all become so fond of.  I had bought a 4-ounce jar of Hope in a Jar and tried to smuggle it in my luggage (always living on the edge, that's me) and got caught the second time around through security.  The new technology is quite impressive. I got to see it from the other side of the screen:  They can see everything in your stuff, even in color, now.  Unbelievable, actually.  Like the stuff of science fiction movies. The TSA peeps were polite and good-natured and kind and joked with me -- all FOUR times I had to go through because of 1) the original go-through for the first flight, 2) the flight getting changed and getting caught with the contraband and having to go check my luggage and 3) repeat the performance through security, and 4) having my gate changed twice more, requiring a final rinse-and-repeat with much walking from gate to gate and much waiting around.  I had so many red marks on my ticket by the time I went to board the plane, I'm surprised they let me on.

The 8-ounce bag of Neti pot salt I was carrying was a source of mirth.  "Ah," with a chuckle from the young man.  "That's what I was looking for."  Imagine an 8-ounce bag of cocaine, which is what it apparently looked like on the screen.  I mean!  This woman is smuggling in 4 ounces of Hope in a Jar*!  Why NOT 8 ounces of cocaine?!  Oddly, he seemed to know what Neti pot salt was, or maybe it was just enough that it did not, upon close inspection, look anything like cocaine.   

*Oh, the price I am willing to pay for good skin.

I got in about 1 a.m. and I will probably be tired for the rest of the week.

I took a few returning-to-the-garden photos.  Amazing how things change in four days!  I know I keep saying this, but I am astounded at how well the garden is doing this year, and very sorry to troll around the blogs and read that some people who live in areas (Pacific Northwest?! Hello?!) that usually have the perfect gardening conditions are struggling this year.

I've got a lot to say about the garden changes I came home to, but I'm just too tired and everything feels like such an effort that it falls flat.  So I'll give you the harvest photo of the day, plus a little bonus photo and explanation about this harvest.  And that's all I've got energy for at the moment. 

Harvest Photo of the Day

This is from the second planting of spinach I made this spring, on the day that I learned about germination temperatures for spinach.  I planted it densely -- about one seed per inch or inch and a half, in a small space of a raised bed, approximately 1 foot by 3 feet. I kept it well watered, but I didn't expect all that much from it.  I thought I'd get enough for some garnish or a small salad. Was I wrong!  It might be hard to appreciate from this photo how much spinach I've got in this basket, but it's a lot.  I estimate it would cost me $10 or more at a Whole Foods kind of store or even the farmer's stand down the road, if they even had any.

Immediately after picking it, I had lunch:  A giant salad of spinach, roast beef slices, sunflower seeds, walnuts and Asiago cheese with balsamic vinaigrette.  I bagged up a bunch of it to send to Cindy the wonderful physical therapist, and we had big servings of delicious cooked spinach for dinner.  I also sent Cindy a big bag of gorgeous basil leaves. It's weird how well warmth-loving plants are doing right alongside the cool-lovers in my garden this year, but there you have it. 

Here's the spot all that lovely spinach came from, next to the parsley. 

Rather than try to have it "come again," which doesn't seem to be all that successful with me and spinach, I pulled it up and put the fresh stems and roots inside one of the bean towers for the "live composting/mulching" that seems to be working out so well for the beans.  I've already put in some seeds for more Parris Island Cos (Romaine) lettuce to fill the spot.

THIS JUST IN:  Sandy is selling her copy of Aran Knitting on eBay.  Here's your chance to buy it if you've been waiting for it.

174. Monday's Blog

It's Monday, right?  I seem to have lost track of time somewhat. I'm just returning from a nice weekend trip that I'll tell you some things about after I get some rest. 

Here's the trailer: Thursday was a bit of a travel headache that involved lots of delays and a big rip in one of my beloved Travelsmith dresses (it's only in a seam and can easily be repaired but required me to go into the - ugh - restroom in Newark airport to change into my, you guessed it, Travelsmith skirt and a top -- thank goodness for Travelsmith clothes and small carry-on luggage!), but Friday was a blast. I had a leisurely and delicious lunch with Wendy, a very cool museum visit that unexpectedly provided fodder for a future Pee Place post, and then an evening bite to eat with Lara and Five Guys. I didn't manage to pull out the camera for either of the meetups with friends. Imagine!  The longer we blog, the more it turns out to be literally about the people and less about the blogging, eh?  Funny how that happens.  Evolution of the life of the blog, we might call it: 

• Start blog, know nobody, hope someone's reading, hope to meet some and develop meaningful relationships with some
• Meet some bloggers and readers, photograph every single one
• Become friends with many
• Have meetups with these friends whenever possible, forget to take out camera
• New word "camnesia" is coined by one of these friends
• Blog about camnesia, rather than showing off photos of friends

Saturday was all about the Orphan Foundation. There was escargot involved! And brie! I did manage to take a handful of photos to record that fun event.  I forgot my camera cable, though, so those photos will have to wait 'til I get back and settled in. 

I managed the separation anxiety from my garden quite well.  I'm very interested to see the changes I've come home to.  I'm writing this before I begin my travel debacle home, so it's anybody's guess what time I'll get in. 

173. Smoothie for a Sunday

Inspired by Jessica's healthy green-and-fruit smoothies, I made one for myself the other day. 

Inside: 

1 container of Vermont buffalo milk blueberry yogurt
3/4 cup sliced strawberries from my garden
3 large broccoli leaves from the plant I rescued from overcrowding in my garden, chopped
1/2 banana
1/4 cup unsweetened blueberry juice

4 ice cubes
2 probiotic capsules

Blended 'til smooth.  Delicious! 

It's so filled with healthful nutrients, I can at least fool myself into believing that it undoes the damage of the Diet Pepsi I have every day at breakfast time.

Right?

172. Oops, I Did It Again

Harvest Photo of the Day, of a different kind.

I have another pair almost like this one.   

I bought the black, and loved it so much I went back and got the bronze.  Love.  These are Clarks!  Who says Clarks only makes granny shoes? These are sweet. I'll be wearing these to death all summer, I predict.

Cute side story:  I went for a mammo the other day and wore the bronze pair.  The mammo technician (is that what they're called?) noticed them immediately and said she adored them.  (They were especially fetching under my hospital gown, I am sure!) She said she has the black ones, but the bronze ones are awesome.  I told her my story, and that I had got them at 50% off at Penney's.  How much you wanna bet she went over after work and has two pairs to match my two pairs?

I'm very impressed with JCPenney lately.  What gives? They've really got their shit together, it seems.

And you know what else?  This is my very-first-ever professional pedicure.  And what you don't see is my hands, which are sporting their third-ever-in-my-lifetime (I think) professional manicure.  It's not too exciting, because my nails are short and the poor girl did the best she could with my cuticles that have been ravaged by poor care and constant battering in the garden.  And, when I was paying her, I grabbed my credit card and ruined the polish on the index finger of my right hand.  I noticed it when I got out to my car.  I know I could have gone in right then and there and had her fix it, but honestly, I'm a menace to a manicure and never should have bothered with it in the first place.  Later after I got home from yoga class, I noticed that my middle finger on the right hand had lost some of its polish, too. I don't even know how I did that. 

Still, it was a nice little treat to myself for getting ready for the busy-busy summer school schedule on which I am about to embark. (Graduate-level Humanities. Kierkegaard, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Antonioni, Bergman.... Piece of cake. Ha.) What the hell -- why not sniff some nail polish fumes, be sort of pampered for half an hour, spend the money, and immediately ruin it?  Life is short.