Emily Bloss

Birthdays tend to bring about thoughts of time (I’m turning 40… my life may be half over… etc.) so I thought it was very appropriate that I found this article today:

Time May Not Exist

I love thinking about questions like where did the universe come from? Where is it expanding to…? It boggles the mind. Fun to think about, though. If you believe this article, then questions about the universe don’t really apply, because if there is no time, there’s no beginning and no end, right? It has always been and always will be.

This site also led me to another, very fascinating site which sucked up a lot of my “time” today. I should have been working, but hey, it was my birthday! So I only feel a little guilty…

LiveScience.com

I found the various Top 10 lists very interesting. Oh and now I’ve discovered they have quizzes so I’m off to see how smart I am. Enjoy!

I’ve always had it in my head that the world might go to total crap one day (nuclear bomb or some other major destructive disaster) and I want to be prepared. So, I’ve been collecting different things I think will help in that situation. For instance, this year for my birthday, I asked for and received a slingshot. I figure if we were desperate for food, we could get a rabbit or squirrel or something. We go out and shoot small rocks at a paper target, and a lot of times I have to say… “We’re gonna starve!!!” But we’re getting better with practice. Now if the targets would just stay still like the excellent paper rabbits and turkeys Trav draws, we’re all set!

Today I acquired another tool - how to navigate by the stars. This site has a really great tutorial on identifying important constellations and how to tell which way is north.

http://www.quietbay.net/Science/astronomy/nightsky/

It only takes a few minutes to complete and it’s really fun. And potentially useful for when you want to make those midnight trips to Georgia. On foot. Because you heard there’s critters up there you can get with your slingshot.

I love to cook, but sometimes it does get to be a chore… all the prep work, the actual cooking, and then the cleanup. So I was delighted to find this list the other day…

101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less

Some of the ideas are great and I can’t wait to try them. I’m thinking these will be good for lunches, too. Often I just take a quick break in the middle of the day to have a bite to eat. One of my favorite quick lunches is “Cheesy Rice Stuff”. I heat some coconut oil in a pan and throw in a bit of garlic and onion. When that’s soft, I add some brown rice and a handful of mozzarella cheese and stir it until the cheese melts. Drop in some chopped parsley, roasted red pepper and salt, and it’s lunch! Mmmmm.

I love to travel, and found this site which could be very useful on the road… The Bathroom Diaries. They have a great database of bathrooms around the world - rated for cleanliness, safety, and handicap access. This would be great on a cell phone (if I had one hehe) but also nice if you’re able to plan ahead. They even list the bathrooms in Antarctica!

Happy Independence Day! Today is the day we celebrate our independence from Britain and her king. I propose we get rid of another King George. But we shouldn’t wait until December… we should do it now. I could go on and on about the illegal and just plain strange things our king has done but I won’t in this post. It’s a day to appreciate our great country - it’s the best in the world! I’m lucky to live here and I show my appreciation by paying my taxes and especially by voting. Voting is a very important civic duty every citizen should fulfill. I think things would be different, and better, if citizens paid more attention to what our leaders are doing. Anyways, Happy 4th of July!! Hope you had a wonderful day.

To keep life interesting, I like to try all kinds of food. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t! This week’s adventure is a package of Mamoncillo fruit from the produce department. As I was checking out, the cashier asked me, “What is that? I never heard of that before.” I shrugged and said I didn’t know, but I was dying to find out. So right there at the checkout, I poked a hole in the saran wrap, took one out and tore open the skin to reveal what looked like a lychee fruit (it turns out they are related). I popped it in my mouth to have a taste, which I would describe as very mild and kind of like an orange. There’s not much pulp in there - it’s mostly seed.

I did some research to see what I could do with them, and found that most people eat the pulp and then toast the seeds, like sunflower or pumpkin seeds. So I’ve been diligently sucking the pulp off, scraping off every last bit with my teeth and fingernails, and saving them so I can toast a batch to see what that part tastes like. I tasted a raw seed and it was mealy and kind of woody. Here’s my seed collection so far (I’m about halfway through):

Also in the picture is my rock collection and a picture taken of Trav and I a few months after we got together. Anyways, I’ll report on the toasted seeds when I make them.

Oh and the subject of this post is due to the legend that girls in the Caribbean learn to kiss by eating this fruit! hehehe