The Sound of Fast Food

January 11, 2024

...ickly coming to a close. There was a day when cellphones, cordless phones, baby monitors and all kinds of other radio transmissions were accessible to anyone with a cheap scanner. Even police and fire departments are starting to encrypt transmissions. This particular In and Out got so popular that they switched to having an employee in the parking lot with a tablet to take orders which brought an end to our office fun. I invite any musicians in th...

Read…

Meet the Amazing Sierra Newt

Mrs. Homegrown

March 22, 2016

Animals, Nature Awareness

12 Comments

...e’s the best part–he was breathing through his skin. The gills he had as a baby are long gone, traded for fledgling lungs when he left his birth pool. But once back in the water, he dispenses with those clumsy organs altogether and draws oxygen out of the water straight through his skin, in a process called diffusion. That’s right. This handsome orange show-off breathes in three different ways over the course of his life: by gills, by lungs and, c...

Read…

In Praise of Turkish Towels

Mrs. Homegrown

August 16, 2016

Domesticus

12 Comments

...me right, really.). Meanwhile, I have as exhibits of quality textiles one baby blue towel Erik brought into our relationship and which was a hand-me-down from his mother’s house. I know it must date from the 60’s or 70’s, due to its un-ironic raised paisley pattern. It reminds me very much of my childhood. And while it is worn around the edges, it is still strong and whole. I also have the bath towel my mom bought me to take to college, and while...

Read…

The problem with polar fleece: it’s in the ocean, it’s in sea creatures, it’s on our plates

Mrs. Homegrown

August 17, 2016

Domesticus

24 Comments

...ap fleece goods have become ubiquitous at chain stores, in everything from baby clothing to home decoration. As a result, at this point, only the most militant lentil eating do-gooder, the most pure of the pure, do not have at least one polar fleece (polyester fleece) pullover in their wardrobe or blanket on their bed. I have a few polar fleece items, and as with all artificial fibers, I knew when I bought them that these things will never decompo...

Read…

Saturday Tweets: Passover/Holy Saturday Edition

Mr. Homegrown

March 31, 2018

Saturday Linkages

3 Comments

...tive to North America. Just like the offspring of kangaroos and wallabies, baby opossums are called joeys. pic.twitter.com/pKOwZbbzz3 — NHMLA (@NHMLA) March 30, 2018 An advertising scheme launched in the 1930s is the reason so many American families‘ Seder tables include a Haggadah made by Maxwell House—yes, the coffee company. This is so interesting! https://t.co/0q9vMAR1de — Laura J. Nelson (@laura_nelson) March 31, 2018 The Balls pic.twitter.co...

Read…