Fine China and Murderous Star Fruit

So, I was reading about how to eat a Star Fruit the other day (I got one for my boy, and we'd forgotten how he divided and ate it last time) when I came across a rather important tidbit--I probably shouldn't eat Star Fruit.

It turns out, you see, that Star Fruit can be very dangerous to folks with disorders that might compromise kidney function.

Like diabetes?

Taking a look at the Star Fruit, you can see it has a sinister air:

And what's the risk to folks with messed up kidneys?  Well, death.  For a start.  Isn't that enough?

Here are a couple of articles:

Star Fruit's Effects on Folks with Impaired Kidney Function

Star Fruit's Sometimes Ill Effects on Folks with Previously Normal Renal Function

I don't think my kidneys are in trouble, but I am diabetic, so I'll just skip the Star Fruit, thank you very much.  I did let our boy eat it--he's had it before and suffered no ill effects.  But, truth be told, I'm not likely to grab this for him again.  There are other fruits he likes just as well that don't carry with them a neurotoxin warning.

I was thinking today about home decor.  About my dream home and the lovely countertops and bedstands I would love to have.  I looked around at where we live--it's just in-between, you know? It's in that place between poverty-stricken college student whose bed is on the floor and whose books rest in makeshift shelves crafted out of milk cartons and cinderblocks and lovely, warm, welcoming pulled-togetherness that my inner grown-up really craves.  And then I got to thinking how odd it is for such things to become important.  How funny it is to care about the form when all that really should matter is the function.  I mean, with a fridge, it matters whether or not it pumps ice and water out the front, because that's a functional thing.  But does it matter if it's stainless steel, fake stainless "satin" look, or just plain white?  

Why?

I dunno.  But what I do know is that I want a nice dining room table to match our lovely chairs so I can put my fancy Mikasa china on it and have it look pretty.  Which is incredibly stupid, because what matters is how the food tastes.

So, the joy of making palm wax candles is on shaky ground.  Turns out palm wax, like palm oil, is an environmental nightmare--deforestation, habitat destruction, etc.  Problem is, soy's no better--massively genetically modified, being grown on clear-cut land in South America, etc.  Paraffin is a petroleum product that makes, in my opinion, ugly candles.  And beeswax?  Expensive, not as good for throwing scent, and not really practical in large amounts.  Looking into Malaysian palm wax, which is reputed to be sustainable and closely controlled for environmental practices.  Will probably cost a lot more than we want to spend, too.  

Beautiful crystal look on a homemade palm oil candle

Woke up screaming last night.  I suffer from night paralysis, and while it's normally just scary (can't breathe), and occasionally a lot of fun (I can sometimes decide what to dream in that state), sometimes it's nightmarish.  Like last night.  My eyes were just open enough to see the mirror across the room and the flower vase in front of it.  But in the dream, it was the doorway, not the mirror, and the flowers were someone's crazy hair.  So there was some big, crazy, huge-haired monster standing in the door way.  It was very threatening.  I managed to wake up enough to reorient and put the mirror where it belongs in my head.  But then the mirror itself became sinister--yes, that was a flower vase in front, but the REFLECTION of the flowers was actually some malevolent someone INSIDE the mirror.  I went from the "trying to scream but only groaning" to full-out SCREAMING.  I swear, sometimes.

The evil mirror of my nightmares

No word from the guy who ditched me on Facebook, either he's an epic jerk or this is a tragic misunderstanding.  Either way, it's time to move on.  

Just watched the video of that hot air balloon that crashed in Egypt.  I never wanted to hot air balloon, and now I really don't want to.  Very sad--even sadder, hearing the folks in the filming balloon praying for the folks in the burning one.  No, I don't "believe," but that doesn't mean I don't feel for people who are doing the only thing they can think of to try to help.  In fact, it breaks my heart to hear people put their heart out like that.

And on that cheery note, I'm going to call it a night.  Just watched Justified, and hey, being on the east coast has its perks--THEY KILLED THE WHOLE CAST, REPLACED THEM ALL WITH ROBOTS!  IT WAS THE BIGGEST SECRET IN TELEVISION HISTORY!

Go on, be a jerk.  Ditch  me for putting out a spoiler. 

I double-dawg dare you.

Do not reprint without permission. © KAQ

Don't say "Anal"

Wow, lesson learned!  My blog takes "okay" hits.  A few comments here and there. Not a star (yet--share me!  Link folks up!).  I take respectable enough traffic, I suppose, but nothing spectacular, especially when it comes to folks leaving feedback.

With one notable exception.

Back in September of 2012, I wrote an entry titled "Anal Glands, Huh?"  About my dog's grooming experience.  That entry?  Has taken ten + times the hits most of my others have garnered, and has raked in dozens of spam messages.  Dozens.

So, I guess there's a lesson there.  Put the word "Anal" in my titles more often . . . and keep those comments moderated.  Laws, yes.

We watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on Blu-Ray last night.  Not the first time, of course.  In the lead-in, there is an advert for a remastered version of the The Wizard of Oz.  Hubby, who hates that show, was completely captured because Toto looks SO much like Charlie.  So  now he wants to rent it.  LOL!

Well, our boy tested for his yellow belt in Hapkido last night.  The only one of the white belts to be invited to do so.  The others?  One is much newer, and the others have pretty abysmal attendance and participation records.  So it was just our boy for the yellows (others were testing for yellow-black (degree), red, and brown.

I haven't seen him at Hapkido in months.  I've avoided it because I felt I was making him nervous.  I wanted this to be his to do without any perceived pressure or self-consciousness.

Needless to say, I was floored by him.  So much he has committed to memory, so much he is daring to do.  He made no mistakes, he was wonderful.  And he even broke a couple of boards, one with a hand strike, one with a kick.

I am super-proud of him.  He managed to memorize his Korean, and did an all-around fantastic job.  Even the husband of the new red belt took a moment to tell us how very well he was doing for a first belt test.

Of course, it's not his first belt test.  It's just his first REAL one.  This was so much more involved and serious and demanding than the self defense martial arts he loved so much so many years ago.  This was real.  Absolutely.

I wrote a review of my amazing, magical, wondrous new keyboard of joy and perfection.  Here it is:

Logitech K800

Making more candles tonight.  Blue, this time, with a wonderful mahogany/sandalwood scent in palm wax.  Figuring out the amazing crystal formations you see with the palm.  I'll post some pics when they're done.

Updated to say "they're done."

Loving the crystalline gig with the blue ones (palm wax)

Speaking of candles. we ordered from a company called Candlewic, based in Doylestown, PA (very close to the town of Perkasie we were eyeing when first looking to move back east).  Found them online, only to later discover they're the same company as "Country Lane Candle Supplies," which stocks most of the mega-craft stores around here.  The shipping charges are steep (as they seem to be with most of the candle places we've looked at), so we made sure to order everything we wanted.  When the order came, the shipping receipt stated that the patchouli scent was on back-order.  Okay, fair enough.  But then, a day after delivery, I get an email telling me that the patchouli was out of stock, is NOT on back-order, and I won't be receiving it when it comes back in stock--I can reorder then.  Translation?

They want to nail me for another 12 bucks or so in shipping on a $2.75 product.

I responded to their email, told them that wasn't okay--I want the patchouli, my packing receipt states it's on back-order, and I want it shipped.  They ignored my email, did not respond, did not do as I asked, and refunded my card.

No more orders through Candlewic.  Way to blow it, kids.  Not that they likely care--they appear to be a very large company, and very large companies tend to let customer service take back seat to making a few extra bucks.

So our next order--some soy wax, a few scents (including the patchouli), and a few molds--went to a smaller company.  When the order comes, I'll let you know how it went.

I promised some amazing bad paneling, and fully intend to deliver tonight!  A HUGE thanks to Leif, who has kindly given permission for me to search his archive of awful in search of prime examples bad paneling!

Perfectly awful--blond paneling AND dead fish!

And a quick little note, just for a special guy in my world--don't argue Australian crime statistics with me in support of weakening gun control laws and then quote the NCPA to my BMJ.  Like the Kochs and Carl Rove are going to give me a fair, unbiased analysis.  Goodness, no wonder you can't think.