That Time Gilligan's Island Saved Our Lives...

 

“Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should.” 

~Hanya Yanagihara,

  A Little Life

 

What you are looking at is the, Amanita phalloides, aka, the Death Cap mushroom, commonly found in parks throughout California. You don't want to eat these... THEY WILL KILL YOU! Every single year it will be on the news... a story about folks venturing out to their favorite park in search of wild mushrooms, to prep and serve in some amazing culinary dish passed down from family member to family member. Probably something with turkey. Unfortunately, sometimes the chef gets it wrong, and they return from their pleasant day of park shopping, with a deadly mushroom. Like Maryanne did in Gilligan's Island. You know... the professor told her the bad mushrooms would result in a case of, Roomus igloomas. Not a real condition, but wild mushroom poisoning is very real and deadly.

 

 The San Francisco Chronicle featured a story, from last summer, about the deadly fungus and issued warnings, but the harvesting continues. A lady in Australia is suspected of poisoning her in-laws with poisonous mushrooms, but she contends that she got them at two different local stores. She has not yet been arrested, but she is still under suspicion by the Australian authorities. But back to sunny California. Because of this year's El Nino conditions in California, the bloom should be even greater than last year. Just don't do it! Mushrooms aren't that expensive, if you want yummy and organic, let Whole Foods or Trader Joe's do the work for you. A liver transplant is not what you want to give your Uncle Bob for Christmas!

 

Personally, since my bout with Covid-19 (Omicron) in the winter of 2021, I can't eat mushrooms. They taste nothing like I remember them tasting. In fact, they have no scent, and taste like old garbage, so I will be fine, but I think about all those well meaning adults in the world, who don't know any better than to eat mushrooms out of a park. I mean... what else are they deciding to take home and eat? Oleander? Castor Beans? And it's not just we dense humans that have to worry, did you know that cats are highly allergic to common holiday plant, the poinsettia? Look friends... just be careful, and keep the phone number for the poison control center and emergency animal shelter handy. Okay?

 

San Francisco Chronicle

August 17th, 2023 

 

A dinner party ended with 3 dead.

 The culprit could be a mushroom infamous in California.

 

9 Dangerous Plants In California You Should Never Touch

 

Recipes

 

Mushroom Risotto

 

Our 40 Best Mushroom Recipes

(Food & Wine) 

CDC 

Food Safety

 

ASPCA

Animal Poison Control Center

 

 

 

Well, That Was A Shocking Turn Of Events!

"If bad decorating was a hang-able offense, 

there would be decorators hanging from trees."

~Sylvester Stallone

As you might remember from my previous post, I was planning to put myself on a blogging schedule. I have been having problems with my hands going numb from carpal tunnel syndrome and it had become really uncomfortable to type. I had a good plan to continue with the activities I enjoy, one being blogging, but it was all going to depend on how much rest, and by rest, I mean how much stress I could manage to reduce for myself. HA HA HA... hee hee. Well, shit happens... right?

During the first part of my journey of rest and rehabilitation, in fact the week following my last blog post, Alan and I decided to finally paint the big white wall in the living room. We chose a gorgeous color, Rusty Gate, by Behr. It's in the photo above. I had been dreaming of decorating with warm earthy tones, and despite how bright it seems in the photo, it is really quite deep, and warm. I will post a photo in different lighting soon so you can see it at it's best. 

All went well. It only took a half a day, and I now have a gorgeous statement wall that we are both head over heels in love with. All was right with the world. I finished up the final touches of putting away the brushes, and jumped in the shower before turning in for the night. But then, about an hour later, I woke up with the chills. BIG BAD chills. Then the Vomiting started. By the next day it hurt to go to the bathroom. My doctor ran some tests and behold... I had a Urinary Tract Infection, and food poisoning from E.Coli! Yep... a genuine double whammy! And on Valentine's Day no less!

At first I thought it was one for the other. I knew UTI's are sometimes caused by E.Coli, but no, I had two things at ones. And they both pretty much knocked me out for close to 14 days. I felt like death was imminent, but I recovered. I felt weak, but I was on the mend, then about a month after the illness began, I got a milder case of food poisoning again! Not E. Coli this time, just something not great. That round only lasted a couple days. Now, as I sit here, I feel okay, but I am wondering if I will ever eat out again? Yeah, I probably will, but it might be a while!

I think I got sick because I had the audacity to put my proposed blogging schedule online for all to see. You know, good old Murphy's Law and all that! Never say out loud what your plans are, there is always some invisible entity listening, ready to put the whammy on you! SO, I will say this, I will be posting again, so check back once in a while. Also, check my Twitter, Instagram and Flickr. I tend to go more microblogging than actual blogging these days. There is still more painting to be done. Up next, the fireplace and after that the bedroom! I have a can of Cornflower Blue paint just waiting to meet a boring white wall! It's going to be gorgeous!

Stay Tuned. 

No, I am going to think positively!

See you next Monday!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Happy New Year... Hello And Goodbye... And A Look Back At December 2015

"Who wants to live with one foot in Hell

 just for the sake of nostalgia? 

Our time is forever now!

~Alice Childress

Well... here we are at the start of a brand new year! 2016 is going to be a wild ride. We have a national election coming up in the autumn. The Super Bowl will be played in San Francisco in February, and between those events all kinds of possibilities! I hope to do a lot more photography in 2016! 2015 was a very strange year, with the move and all, but I am settled in now, so the adventure is rip for the taking! I am beginning this year in better health. As you might have noticed I have posted to this blog in about a week because of a nasty head cold that Alan and I gave each other for Christmas. LOL. Funny, I began 2015 with food poisoning, and ended it with a head cold. Bah HUMBUG! LOL.

 I will not look back on 2015 very fondly, but it wasn't a total loss either. We have a nice house, and every single day I come to appreciate a love it more. I still don't know if we will swing it, but for now the future, in this house, seems viable and more than possible. I am learning to let go of what happen, I am even trying to forgive, but it can't be rushed. I have to let it all come around to a conclusion in it's own time. Sigh. Forgiveness is possible, and in fact healthy, but not if it is rushed. Time. Now. In the moment. I can't look back. The past can't be changed. Moving On.

But first, let's look back at December, 2015, in pictures!

I have some amazing news to share about Christmas, so be sure to comeback tomorrow. Just a hint for now... I got the most amazing Christmas present ever! And the best part is, you can't buy it in any store!

Mood: Happy/Grateful

~Me :)

A Look Back At January 2015

Page One

January 2015

 

"Photography is not something you retire from."

~Annie Leibovitz

She's right. Annie Leibovitz is absolutely right. I take my camera everywhere. I photograph something every single day... if possible. I admit, I have had stretches where I wasn't feeling particularly inspired to photograph something, especially if it was just anything, for the sake of taking a photo, but I did it all the same. I photograph something, every single day. And lately, as I have been tiptoeing through my archives, to look at photos which never made it to postings on my blog, I am sometimes caught off guard by things that are catching my eye now, as opposed to when I snapped the photo. I learn a lot by looking back, sometimes realizing the solutions to great mysteries going on for me when I took the photo. Was I tired that day? Was I obsessing on a certain color or pattern? Was I sticking with the safe shot, the kind of shot a untalented monkey could have achieved?

As I look back at January 2005, I can see the effect that bout of food poisoning had on me. I see the quiet, homey subjects, and the photos grouped together tell the story of how my energy was low, and I was feeling scattered in my thoughts. February will be a different story, I can already feel it, and imagine it. I do know this, I was ill for several weeks with the food poisoning, and then the beat down of the Fibromyalgia, and I am pretty sure, if I ever get really, really ill, and I am told I have little time left on earth, the last action I will do will be to take a photograph of what I am looking at. I hope the photo comes good. One kind of wants their last act on earth, to come out good.

 

A Look Back At January 2015

 

Page Two

 Page Three

Page Four

Page Five

Page Six

On To February...

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Sometimes They Come Back

"I got food poisoning today. But I am not sure when I am going to use it."

~Steven Wright

I am very pleased to say that I have never given myself, nor anyone else, food poisoning. I have a fairly mild case of the food meanies right now, caught from some uniquely bad food I purchased at a Mexican restaurant on Friday night. OH MY GOD. Never again. When I read to Yelp review several months ago, the place seemed okay. Most folks liked the cheap prices, and apparently they are well known for their "Orange Sauce." Let me tell you... BLECH. Salty, separated and strange tasting. Nothing about it to like. I ordered the cheese enchiladas plate, that came with the rice and beans on the side. I figured meatless and mild was the way to go, boy was I wrong. While the enchiladas were nice and cheesy, as they should be, something just didn't taste right about them. The beans were really tasty... but cold. No heat at all. Like they came from a can. And the rice was, again tasty, and again cold. Cold as the air outside.

 About half way through the meal, I stopped eating. Half way through my meal I had apparently formed two large bricks in my stomach. LARGE BRICKS WITH SPICE ON THEM. I was pretty much in pain the rest of the night. Well, pain, and trips to the bathroom. Sigh. I should probably go write a lengthy Yelp review, detailing vividly how the food came back on me, but why? Other folks who have been to this establishment are split down the middle. This is one of those places that either one loves or they hate, but the people who hated it, ended up with the same circumstances as I did. So, rather that engage in online bashing, I am going to call the Health Department on Monday and suggest they have a look see for themselves. Too many folks have become ill in the same way I did, for it to be a mere coincidence. I am pretty sure what got me was the improper handling of cheese.

Damn shame. I used to love Mexican food, in fact it was my favorite cuisine.

It  really, really was. 

And the thing is, I am still liking 2015 better than 2014

Mood: None

~Me :)

Tortilla Chips (Archived Photo)

Photographed October 31st 2013

1:58 PM

Kodak Easy Share

Sunsets, Cell Phones And Food Poisoning Oh My

"You know, a cell phone's like a guy; if you don't plug him in every night, charge him good, you got nothing at all."

~Catherine Coulter, Tail Spin

 

Above you see the last of the early February sunset photos that I photographed from Grizzly Peak Boulevard. I think it's appropriate to post now, in that we have just seen the sun set on yet another football season. Oh my, and what a game Super Bowl XLVII was! There was winners (Ravens 34)  and losers (49ERS 31) Beyonce didn't lip sync, and no one would have noticed if she had. There was a blackout in one half of the stadium, courtesy of bad infrastructure, the hotness of Beyonce or perhaps it was... maybe... Al Gore producing the show? Nah. You know Al Gore wasn't producing the show, that was something I said off the cuff to Keith Olbermann that made him laugh. Yep, Keith Olbermann saw my tiny joke and laughed. My work on earth is done! LOL.

 

Life is funny that way sometimes.

As fun as it was to know that the awesome Keith Olbermann saw my who-ville Tweet, I actually also made contact with another awesome person, and hopefully brought a smile to her face. One of my favorite actresses from the now defunct, but about to rise like a Phoenix back to life, One Life To Live, Farah Fath, who played GiGi Morasco. It seems that she is experiencing a bout of food poisoning, and asked how long it could last. I responded that in my case it was 6 hours. Then I offered the advice of... Never eat Thanksgiving in June, or date a guy who has a serial poisoner for a mother. Honestly, a life experienced based on a true story. Well, she favorited that Tweet, and it made me feel good to think I may have brought her a grin. LOL. I like to make people smile. But just think, if I hadn't been poisoned by my boyfriend's mom, I couldn't have brought her that little grin!

 

Life is funny that way sometimes.

I have a big package coming to me later today. It's a brand new cell phone. My former cell phone is on it's last legs, after having served me well for 3 years. I loved my HTC Aria, but it was time. But I am not crying too much, as the Aria and I will remain close, as it will live on as a back-up camera and video device. I can't let go. I never could. I have found a new use for all my old cell phones. I just can't let go. Each phone has a memory attached to it. The last conversation with someone I loved dearly. A great email with a friend that I have stored in the memory. I am way too sentimental I suppose, but I come by it honestly! My birthday is June 29th, and that makes me a hopelessly romantic Cancer the Crab! What can I do, it's written in the stars!

Life is funny that way sometimes.

All Most The Cells Of My Life...
(Not including my slide phone and my basic 1998 model Nokia Archaic :)




Life is funny that way sometimes.

I like being one small tweet in the Universe. I don't need the whole world, just a camera, a really good sunset, and my sense of humor and my thumbs. That last part will make sense to anyone who was a fan of the Dick Van Dyke show. Humor... know it... use it!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 125~ I See You

"Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others."

~Jonathan Swift

Here we have a coin operated binocular doohickey machine. I find this machine... well... creepy. Every time I see one, I can't help but wonder if the last user might have walked up to it, put their shiney new coin in it, and immediately sneezed.

Dumb, I know.

But sometimes I also wonder what I would see if I got up the courage to actually look into it's creepy eyes. In this case, if all went well, I would see Marin County and the Golden Gate Bridge. But what if I looked inside and instead saw... A GHOST?

Well, as nifty as that would be, I would rather see a ghost when I am looking for a ghost. Not when I am all happy and not creeped out and just interested in seeing Marin.

Another not fun sight would be... oh... say... the mother of the ex-boyfriend of mine that gave me food poisoning on purpose! Why she would be standing on the side of a cliff in Marin is beyond me, but can you imagine wasting your shiney new coin on the person who gave you food poisoning on purpose?

Other stupid sights could include... A GOP hootenanny, a giant squid, a sumo wrestler losing his diaper bottom, a giant octopus attacking the Golden Gate Bridge, hey... it was in a movie and everything! It Came From Beneath The Sea.

Dumb, I know.

Maybe it's silly to feel this way, but for whatever reason, I can't bring myself to look through that gadget, but I love photographing them. I really like looking at them, but not up close. I wonder if there is such a thing as BinocularPHOBIA. Hmmm... . Is that a thing?


~Me :)

And now here is our link for today. Enjoy!

JR
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talladega_National_Forest