Chinese Food

I went out for Chinese food yesterday with my friend Gayle, and it was fun. I ate too much egg fu yung, and it was yummy. I got to bring a little home to enjoy for breakfast this morning, and it was good as a leftover, too.

Guess what, though? The server boxed it up, placed it in a paper bag, and put that bag in a PLASTIC BAG. THAT I DIDN'T NOTICE UNTIL I GOT HOME. Oh, my first plastic shopping bag of the year. Darn it!

This makes me more determined than ever to pay attention to the things I bring home. I would have done fine with just the paper bag, or even the nice little Chinese box without any bag. What a waste, and how irritating.

How about all of you? How are your goals for the new year going?

1. I Brought the Book Back 2. Bay Leaves

On its due date. I just sucked it up and did it. It was a cool, blustery day, but I decided to have a nice time, and I simply gave the book back on the day it was due and that I agreed to when it was checked out. End of story; thanks for the comments.

Something fun happened on the way back to the ferry, though. I had 25 minutes before the ferry was to leave, so when I spotted a sign for a small nursery around a corner I hurried over there, hoping to find a little something to commemorate my trip.

What I hoped to find was a small bay tree (Laurus nobilis). I had seen one about 15 years ago at a nursery that no longer exists at Pike Place Market. I still kick myself for not buying it--it was a small house plant and I have looked for one ever since.

I asked the nursery man out back if he had such a thing, but he didn't. He said he had a huge bay tree even farther out back that he would cut me a few branches from. He said he strips off the nicest leaves and rinses them, pats them dry, and freezes them. I declined, but he pressed me. "I have the clippers right here, let me just go cut you some." I couldn't help but change my mind, and I finished my walk to the ferry the proud owner of 3 small branches full of bay leaves. They smelled really good.

When I got home I stripped the leaves from their branches, discarded the blemished ones, and put them in the freezer. [I used one tonight in our soup, it was the best ever.] Then I had an idea. What if I could make little bay trees like the one at Pike Place out of the branches?? I am having great luck propagating some kiwis, grapes, and red twig dogwood from branches, why not this?

So now, all over the yard, sort of, I have mini bay hopefuls popping out of the ground. All this fun as a result of returning my library book on time!

Thank you desertorganics.com for the photo.

Moral Dilemma!

I don't watch much television these days, but I do tune in to Private Practice weekly online, and fold my laundry while I watch and listen. This show is a spinoff of Gray's Anatomy, which I don't watch. The plot lines are sometimes ridiculous, and I have been known to lose patience with them, especially the interpersonal relationships of the regulars on the show. The thing that keeps me watching is that on each episode there is a singular moral dilemma. (It's a medical show with heavy emphasis on women's health and fetuses.) I love seeing how the writers and actors approach the problems and work them out. It keeps me coming back week after week.

Now, this next part may not SEEM to be related to my semi-addiction to Private Practice, but keep reading, and you'll see how it is. Here goes: I have been diligent about staying on top of my library checkouts and due dates. I haven't had an overdue book since January, and I am feeling totally happy and proud of myself for keeping my bargain with myself to not have any overdue books. I just looked up my goals for this year, and technically my goal was to not have any library fines. And I don't. But I will have an overdue book if I don't do something drastic; I won't have a fine, however.

All right, now I will digress. I heard an NPR report about a book called "Grow Your Own Drugs," by James Wong. Wong had a series in Great Britain about using herbs from your backyard to make folk remedies to help with all sorts of health and other issues. Now he has a book out with many recipes and information on herbs and healing. The book came out last year. It sounded wonderful, and I totally wanted to read it. I am in the habit of checking a book out of the library before purchasing it, so that I am able to make sure it's something I need to own and that's worth my money. In this case, it's not a book I may buy used, since it's new, and I knew I would want to look at it before I could make a decision. I went to the local library's website, but the book wasn't even ordered. Sheesh! Then I went to the website for the library system in the county where I used to live, one library of which I visited often when Silas and I had our Wednesday visits when he lived with his dad. My card is still active there, and it's legal for me to have one. It's within walking distance of the Edmonds ferry. Lo and behold, they had a copy in their system! I put it on hold, and waited for it to turn up at the Edmonds library.

Thankfully, my son Zach lives not far from that branch, and said he would pick up the book if I needed him to do so. On the last day before the book was to go back on the shelves, Zach went over to the library to check it out for me. Unfortunately, the power was out when he got to the library. Fortunately, the librarian was happy to take down my number and allowed Zach to take out the book. (He said, "I felt like a pot-head, needing to take out a book called Grow Your Own Drugs!")

Zach brought the book over to me the following week, and it was beautiful and informative. It is a book I would like to own, and I probably will, before too long. It is due tomorrow, and I haven't had the time to make any of the recipes, even though I am coming down with a cold. Keep reading for the moral dilemma.

The library system from which I (er, Zach) borrowed the book has a fabulous policy with regard to overdue books. They don't have fines! If you have an overdue book they put a hold on your card after a couple weeks, and if you don't bring the book back they make you pay for it before you can check out books again. Or simply bring it back. Isn't that a great policy??

My book is due tomorrow, and I am not sure I will be able to get it back to the library. It takes a ride to Kingston (40 minutes), parking, a ferry trip to Edmonds, (30 minutes), a walk up the hill (20 minutes), a walk down the hill (20 minutes), ferry back (30 minutes), ride home (40 minutes), and any wait time for ferry, along with weather considerations. And parking fee and ferry fee. That's a lot. Or I could wait until Zach comes for a visit and he can drop it off when he gets back to his side of the water. This will probably be in the next couple weeks. Remember, there's actually no penalty for returning the book late.

So, here's the dilemma. Am I bound by my personal goal and integrity to return the book on time?? Or, since I can't renew it because someone else is waiting for it, am I bound to return it and get it back to the library for that other person to check it out? (Note: It's the only copy in the system.) (Another note: You all can guess that I am often waiting for someone to return a book so that I can check it out. And I get really irritated when people keep their books past their due dates. This is actually happening with a book I am waiting for. I hope that person pays their whopping fine!)

Feedback welcome and appreciated. Though I think I have actually made my decision.