La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
I WALKED INTO SAN GERALDO’S office the other night to tell him I was going to bed. The close-up image on his large computer screen made me gasp. He heard me and excitedly began, “I didn’t realize there were these parasites on shrimp…” Mid-sentence, I quickly turned and left the room. “I’m going to bed,” I muttered.
I suppose it wasn’t as bad as the pimple-popping videos I’ve walked in on. The other day, he was telling friends, over dinner, about the beetle eggs that are common in sealed containers of dried paprika. He discovered that delectable fact when he was about to use an old jar of smoked paprika. He unscrewed the lid to find it half-filled with beetles. I’m grateful I wasn’t home at the time. He went online and learned it’s very common. SG is a veritable fount of information. I wish he wouldn’t spew some of it.
On my walk to the gym this morning, I wore a thermal sweatshirt, scarf, and knit cap. The sky was filled with clouds and the wind was gusting. On my walk home from the gym an hour later, the sweatshirt, scarf, and cap were in my gym bag. The wind had ceased and the sun was shining. Half-way home, I was getting sand-blasted as I walked along the beach. The dark clouds have now swirled around us from the mountains.
My own clouds are not quite so dark anymore. However, the anxiety (especially the dreams) and low boiling point continue. Still, a great improvement over last week, as long as I don’t think about windborne parasites.
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ENTRÉ A LA OFICINA DE San Geraldo la otra noche para decirle que me iba a la cama. La imagen de primer plano en la gran pantalla de su computadora me hizo jadear. Me escuchó y comenzó con entusiasmo: “No me di cuenta de que había estos parásitos en los camarones…”. A mitad de la oración, rápidamente me di la vuelta y salí de la habitación. “Me voy a la cama”, murmuré.
Supongo que no fue tan malo como los videos que mostraban estallidos de granos en los que había entrado. El otro día, les contaba a nuestros amigos, durante la cena, sobre los huevos de escarabajo que son comunes en recipientes sellados de pimentón seco. Descubrió ese delicioso hecho cuando estaba a punto de usar un viejo frasco de pimentón ahumado. Desenroscó la tapa para encontrarla medio llena de escarabajos. Estoy agradecido de no estar en casa en ese momento. Se conectó y aprendió que es muy común. SG es una verdadera fuente de información. Desearía que no arroja algo de eso.
En mi camino al gimnasio esta mañana, usé una sudadera térmica, una bufanda, y un gorro tejido. El cielo estaba lleno de nubes y el viento era racheado. En mi camino a casa desde el gimnasio una hora más tarde, la sudadera, la bufanda y la gorra estaban en mi bolsa de deporte. El viento había cesado y el sol brillaba. A mitad de camino a casa, me estaba chorreando arena mientras caminaba por la playa. Las nubes oscuras se han arremolinado a nuestro alrededor desde las montañas.
Mis propias nubes ya no son tan oscuras. Sin embargo, la ansiedad (especialmente los sueños) y el bajo punto de ebullición continúan. Aún así, una gran mejora con respecto a la semana pasada, siempre y cuando no piense en los parásitos transportados por el viento.
• Miércoles. La única forma de distinguirlos es cómo usan sus pantalones cortos.
Happy I had my breakfast before I read this! lol
And, yes, I am going to check my paprika!
I wish we were in some kind of seasonal transition like you are…….bundling up at first and then shedding the clothes later.
Happy to hear your are getting some reprieve with the new meds.
Jim:
The mood is SO much better. SG doesn’t think twice about sharing this info any time of day, anywhere. Glad I caught you at the right time. We bundle, shed, and bundle again. But the shedding is SO nice. (And the bundling is nothing like yours.)
There are many things in life, we just don’t want to know, and most of them are only a few clicks away. Time for you to become the official beach volleyball photographer for the summer.
David:
I DO have a ball catching volleyball action shots. This one was a fluke. All I was aiming at was the shorts in the middle. Didn’t even realize there were similar shorts and shorter at right. The ball in the air was just luck. SG wants to know everything — and he keeps clicking!
Here we have a problem with pantry moths. They come into the house in the food. To deal with this we put all food into plastic containers to contain them. Believe it or not I once found an infestation in a jar of chilli powder!!!
Oh… what a can of worms you have started with this post.
“can of worms” How perfectly appropriate! Wish I’d thought of that.
wickedhamster:
I’m sure you would have, given another minute.
Karen:
Oh, I remember pantry moths… but I can’t remember where I lived at the time. Can of worms, you’re so clever. And I’m now trying to get THAT cubboard image out of my head!
The best I can muster on the beasties is a profound “Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!”
wickedhamster:
Exactly! I can’t even look at those jars of paprika now without imagining the worst.
What? No photos of paprika beetles!
Frank:
You’re on your own!
Like Karen, we put all our food in sealed containers. The moths that get into cereals, pasta, etc. can be a real pain if you get a general infestation.
Beautiful windblown clouds. Hope your new medication soon blows all your anxiety, etc away!
Wilma:
The thought of the bugs is making me a bit uneasy. And the paprika is already sealed (maybe with bugs or eggs inside), so that makes it worse. The clouds yesterday were incredible. I start the anxiety medication in 5 days. So for now, I just have to deal with the dreams. Uff!
Ha! I remember reading many years ago, in one of those “Book of Lists” (remember those?) that the FDA had standards for how many insects or insect parts could legally appear in certain quantities of food. You’d think the answer would be NONE, but no! I specifically remember fig paste being a food that was permitted to contain a certain quantity of insect bits.
I must admit those pimple-popping videos are a guilty pleasure of mine! LOL
Steve:
I remember that tidbit about the FDA, as well. Blech! Apparently many people enjoy those pimple-popping videos — as we learn whenever SG mentions them. Ew. Ew. EWWWW!
Oh, I hate disgusting information like that too! Makes me want to shut my eyes, stick my fingers in my ears and go “lalalalalalalala, can’t hear you!”
Debra:
I put my hands over my ears, sing something, and tap my head with my fingers. That blocks everything out (that SG has to say). And I have to do it often.
The sun glistening on the water is heavenly!
Judy C:
And it’s at it again this morning. Glorious.
In my opinion, those guys are way overdressed!
If San Geraldo doesn’t stop looking up this stuff, he’ll never eat anything again. Now I off to inspect my paprika……
Mistress G Borghese:
I agree about the guys. As for SG, if he doesn’t stop looking up this stuff, I’m the one who’ll never eat anything again. It has no effect on him.
I think most of my spices are so old even the insects don’t want them…at least, I hope so.
Here’s to no bugs in your food or in your mind. Cheers!
Mary:
Our friend said if the paprika is left too long, we’ll open it and find no paprika. Just dead beetles.
Life’s a funny thing. We turn our noses up at the thought of dead beetles in our food, yet cochineal food colouring is actually made from dead bugs – and a fig can’t become a fig unless it becomes host to a nest of microscopic wasps…
And, yes! Even vegans area actually eating them, as most flour, dried spices and herbs, qiunoa, oats, rice and so on come with such tiny passengers on board. Jx
Jon:
Oh, thanks for that reassuring information. Excuse me while I switch to an entirely chemical diet.
I simply MUST add one more bit of “disgusting” information to your list. I used to get bugs of some sort in my rice, till a Chinese friend told me what to do. Spread the rice out on a sheet of newspaper on a hot patio in the sun. The critters will race to the outside of the pile in order to get away from the overheated rice. Brilliant!
Margaret Butterworth:
And then you scoop up the rice again? Oh dear god!!!
I learned the hard way to seal things in plastic. Our problem was mice. They chew through cardboard containers. So everything went into sealed jars and plastic storage bins. So far, so good. But I’m nervous about the paprika…
Walt the Fourth:
One thing I’ve never had to deal with is mice in the kitchen. Although I love the idea of having everything sealed in visually appealing glass containers. Yes, the paprika completely creeps me out.
Fortunately, our mice were in the pantry, which is on the ground floor, not in the kitchen, which is one floor above.
I read years go that you need to check your best by dates. Seems a lady was cooking some stew and wanted to add some spice and opened the cap and just poured some in and as she looks down the stew starts to move. Seems she had not used it for a long time and it has bugs in it. Since then I always check my spices.
I have no stomach for such Trivia. I’m easily grossed out.
I’ll have to stare at those three for awhile to see if i can spot any other differences 🙂
Sassybear:
I’m easily grossed out, too. I don’t know how I’ve survived all these years.
I’m sorry they’re so difficult to tell apart. I hope it’s not too much trouble for you to spend extra time studying them.
I’ll never use paprika again without opening the jar and looking at it closely.
Carole:
The bugs are common in a number of spices but they’re especially fond of paprika and cayenne. They like spices derived from dried sweet peppers, chiles, and red pepper products. Bland is sounding pretty good to me!
Bland is sounding better to me also.