Seven out of the last 8 rain/thunderstorms have passed without raining, and the neighborhood looks like a drought region. Since nobody on my street really waters their lawn, we all have dying patches of grass or at least yellow-looking, suffering grass. Normally, this should be an extremely rainy period, even more than the spring. But this year, the climate for the region has sort of reversed, and we’ve gotten drought. This next week and a half promises (on longer-range forecasts) to go back to usual — but we will just see.


Trying lately to improve my diet. My morning shake now has spinach, kale, grapes, blueberries, alfalfa sprouts, banana, walnuts, and a teaspoon of arame seaweed which Mike talked me into buying. This seaweed is said to have anti-cancer properties, and can help regulate blood sugar, lower blood pressure, and lower one's cholesterol.

The seaweed is the brown kind, rather expensive because it’s imported from Japanese growers and they sell it in big dried quantities. Then you have enough for about a year. It has so much iodine in it you’re not supposed to have more than 1.5 teaspoons of it (ground up or crumbled) a day. When I got the package I just laughed. It was like a big bag of stuff you’d use for shock absorber for shipping. I’ve filled baggies and jars and a special airtight container. I’ll see if my sisters would like some.