Round-up of the last month

Time for another post! Hard to believe it’s been another month. We’re coming up on the six-month marker of this shelter-in-place thing and… well… just like everyone’s been saying I guess, this has become the “new normal.” My company announced that we are officially work-from-home at least through June 2021, so… well… yup, settled in for the long haul.

First up, two new book reviews! One on La Belle France, a sweeping history of France from its early days right up through the modern day. The second is for a book titled The Power of Meaning, which is about pretty much what its title says its about — meaning and how we can bring it into our lives. Both were great reads, and I go into more detail about why in both of those reviews.

The month has been full of some fun things. I got my hands on a few of the punch cards used for old IBM computers, which I’m really happy about. My grandfather had a bunch when I was growing up that he used as bookmarks and such, but unfortunately water damage ruined all the remaining ones the family had a few years back. I have really fond memories of him, and since my professional life is all about computers — descendants of those old punch-card machines — I thought it was appropriate to get some into my life. Some rummaging around on eBay, and I finally found exactly the sort of cards that he’d had, and even unpunched ones!

Another thing I’m really proud of is that I made a Louisiana Shrimp Boil. It came out incredibly well — I’m going to be quite sad when we run out! Of course I’ll be able to make it again down the line, but acquiring all the ingredients again is going to take some effort.

I ordered more David’s Tea again too! Still have some Blackberry Jasmine Blast (a green) and Vanilla Orchid (an oolong), both very good by the way, so I didn’t order any more caffeinated teas. Oh — but, the reason I ordered online instead of going to the store (an excursion which I’ve always enjoyed) — the chain closed all of their U.S. locations :(. I understand; everyone is hard up these days, and retail chains really have it rough. But fortunately their online options are still around, so I just got a shipment of Tie-Dye Butterfly, Berries and Cream, and Mango Fruit Punch. The Mango is delicious, and I’m looking forward to the other two.

I guess that’s enough for now, cherri-o! Until next time!

That shrimp boil — meals for days!