La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
I learned some interesting things yesterday. Did you know that luffa (loofah), the natural sponge, comes from the pumpkin, squash, and gourd family? I always thought it was a sea sponge. How could I have lived this long without knowing that? I also learned luffa sponges are not a good idea because they retain all the bacteria from your body and allow it to multiply in all the nooks and crannies (of the sponge), creating potential for serious infections.
There have been many ships named Titan Uranus over the centuries, including HMS Titan Uranus. Say the name aloud and you’ll get it.
My orchids have been malingering, growing but ever so slowly ever since I forgot them on the terrace and left them for a day in the heat and sun. Isabel couldn’t stand it anymore, so she removed them from their clay outer pots (which she washed) and told me they’d be much happier in the basic plastic inner pots. She said the roots like the sun and fresh air. It’s been a week and a half and it’s clear Isabel was right. In all my reading about the care of orchids, I never came across this information until now when I search for it specifically.
When San Geraldo and I were at Primavera for dinner the other night, we both ordered Pepsi Max. Apparently it’s no longer bottled as Pepsi Max and hasn’t been for many years. Even more surprising, at first glance one bottle looked much smaller than the other (both 200 ml).
Whenever we leave a restaurant we check with each other to ensure we’re not leaving anything behind. Do you have your wallet (billfold in SG’s terminology), your glasses, phone, etc.? As I repeatedly said yes, I told SG I had my sunglasses if he needed them. It was 11 p.m. He peered outside to see how bright it was.
There are major infrastructure repairs occurring on the Paseo for the next few months to correct drainage and flooding problems in the neighborhood of Carvajal (two neighborhoods away from us). The works began near us, thankfully not directly in front, and will continue until they reach Carvajal. It can get quite loud. This morning, there was a huge crash of steel. San Geraldo called out, “Are you OK?” “Yeah, why?” I asked. “I thought you dropped something.”
Ayer aprendí algunas cosas interesantes. ¿Sabías que la luffa (lufa), la esponja natural, proviene de la familia de las calabazas y los calabacines? Siempre pensé que era una esponja de mar. ¿Cómo pude haber vivido tanto tiempo sin saberlo? También aprendí que las esponjas de luffa no son una buena idea porque retienen todas las bacterias del cuerpo y permiten que se multipliquen en todos los rincones (de la esponja), creando posibilidades de infecciones graves.
Ha habido muchos barcos llamados Titan Uranus a lo largo de los siglos, incluido el HMS Titan Uranus. Di el nombre en voz alta y lo entenderás. Nota: En inglés, eso suena como “apriete el ano”.
Mis orquídeas han estado fingiendo, creciendo pero muy lentamente desde que las olvidé en la terraza y las dejé por un día al calor y al sol. Isabel no pudo soportarlo más, así que los sacó de sus macetas exteriores de barro (que ella lavó) y me dijo que serían mucho más felices en las macetas interiores básicas de plástico. Dijo que a las raíces les gusta el sol y el aire fresco. Ha pasado semana y media y está claro que Isabel tenía razón. En todas mis lecturas sobre el cuidado de las orquídeas, nunca encontré esta información hasta ahora cuando la busqué específicamente.
Cuando San Geraldo y yo estuvimos cenando en Primavera la otra noche, ambos pedimos Pepsi Max. Aparentemente ya no se embotella como Pepsi Max y no lo ha sido en muchos años. Sin embargo, lo más sorprendente es que las dos botellas, ambas de 200 ml, parecían de diferentes tamaños.
Cada vez que salimos de un restaurante, nos aseguramos de no dejar nada atrás. ¿Tienes tu cartera (billetera en la terminología de SG), tus gafas, teléfono, etc.? Como dije que sí repetidamente, le dije a SG que tenía mis gafas de sol si las necesitaba. Eran las 23:00. Miró hacia afuera para ver cuán brillante era.
Se están realizando importantes reparaciones de infraestructura en el Paseo durante los próximos meses para corregir problemas de drenaje e inundaciones en el barrio de Carvajal (a dos barrios de nosotros). Las obras comenzaron cerca de nosotros, afortunadamente no justo enfrente, y continuarán hasta llegar a Carvajal. Puede ser bastante ruidoso. Esta mañana se ha producido un enorme choque de acero. San Geraldo gritó: “¿Estás bien?” “¿Sí, por qué?” yo pregunté. “Pensé que se te había caído algo.”
• La vista de la construcción de nuestra terraza.
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Bonito post.
Hace algún tiempo que sigo su blog. Espero que también sigas el mío y así crecemos juntos.
Un cordial saludo 🫂
Good to know about loofahs…….will be more mindful now.
Your orchids will forgive you now…….
LOL……..”I thought you dropped something.”
Jim:
SG’s catastrophic imagination and my regular catastrophes.
LOL @ Titan Uranus! I’d say “GROAN” but that just adds another layer of unintended bad humour!
Debra:
It astounds me that this name is actually seriously used.
Now I’m sickened that i ever used a loofah. Ick.
As for the Uranus joke, what are you? Seven years old? I am, because I said it, and chuckled.
Carlos forgets something every time we leave the house and remembers it just as I’m backing out of the garage. Even if it’s something I ask him about, he forgets it. Oy, mi madre.
That is quite the undertaking on the paseo. Glad that it’s not right in front of your building.
Bob:
Some of the construction sounds have been awful even at that distance. Right in front of the building would have been a nightmare. We both tend to walk out of the house missing something. I wouldn’t have understood Uranus when I was 7.
SG is sweet to check on you…. not just, “What was that?” or “What made that noise?” but, “Are you okay?”
I love that you two have each other.
And Isabel, to help save your orchids when needed 🙂
Crazy about the Pepsi bottles! Ha!
Judy C:
The recent noise was not one I could have made (unless I had pulled down a bookcase), so it was hilarious to hear him call out “Are you OK?” He did immediately come walking out of his office, too… maybe to lift the bookcase off me.
One more : https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6vzC4lK9_uT_lCOulV6klFaw61yL9_ev5DxxQ2Dlaf358mP-m0qjj90DOQcVoImK5cDLX1B8ov6Vk9-Cs93PnSgup_EqFxys5IXGCvAvwaHyMnasVV620v8tn4oh0LDmmCtQ6D3mwTQYHlUMtX9PuXymVP212E8joHiXdQ9VMVMPIcZuTbdBvf6ct6us/s556/23D6008A-006C-496C-8CA2-F9A5B096C146.png
sillygirl:
Oh my god, that’s Dudo at this very moment!
I’ve been told that any kind of sponge, even though those synthetic kinds that comes in different colors, you should throw away after a single use, as they immediately collect bacteria. Planned obsolescence, maybe?
Kirk:
I go through kitchen sponges very quickly, but not after only one use. I think my mother kept hers for decades. I wouldn’t even touch them.
I think it’s nice SG checked to see if you were alright. Many years ago, I slipped on our wet wooden deck and fell down the steps, hitting the edge of each one directly on the left side of my butt as I went down. (My husband later called it “Death by Birkenstock.”) I crawled upstairs to where he was brushing his teeth and showed him the (already purple) damage. He said “I heard that, but I thought you just dropped some books.”
TexasTrailerParkTrash:
Ow! That fall sounds awful. SG comes running at any suspicious sound. A woman I know here was married to her husband for more than 60 miserable years. He wasn’t kind, to put it mildly. She was once serving him in the kitchen, turned awkwardly, fell, and broke her hip. As she lay on the floor crying in pain, he turned from his chair and yelled. “You’ve spilled my tea!”
Those orchids certainly do look very happy! I imagine you’ll be seeing flower stems this Spring… Jx
PS I laughed at the “Titan Uranus” name as well.
Jon:
From your mother to the goddesses’ ears regarding the orchids. Can you imagine being a sailor and being asked what ship you’re on.
“Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounc’d it to you, trippingly on the tongue.” – William Shakespeare
I had to look up that phrase about mothers and goddesses and ears. I’m not familiar with Yiddish… Jx
Jon:
Except for the goddess variation, that was a common expression I heard growing up. It was never said in an encouraging way. It was usually said with an eye-roll when someone said something hopeful (or pie in the sky). For example: “I just know I’m going to get that job!” “From your mouth to God’s ears.”
Well I never !!!!!!
finlaygray:
Oh, sure you have.
Construction can be so annoying sometimes. We are having a major road renewal paving +++ here. Three summers of it! 1st year is over now, then next year is number 2 which will be in front of our property. 3rd will be 2025. We will be ab le to bike and walk on the road fairly safely! This only took 33 years, LOL!!
Ron:
This is a 3-phase construction project. About a month in each phase. Not really too bad, but we’re very lucky it doesn’t get that close to us. There are and will be residents that can’t access their parking during construction.
A British friend taught me this mnemonic to recite before leaving the house:
Wallet, watch, spectacles, testicles.
That covers just about everything. Except keys.
Walt the Fourth:
I remember that mnemonic. I also remember the hand movements. Like singing The 12 Days of Christmas.
Hi Mitchell, fully understand the checking to make sure you have everything. Every morning when Chuck leaves for work I make sure he has eight things. I count every morning. Wallet, watch, puffer, keys, phone, security pass, lunch and water bottle. If I don’t he invariably leaves something behind.
I did not know that about luffa’s. Haven’t used one since the 1980’s!
Also can understand about crashing noises. I am a bit of a klutz so crashing noises are pretty common around here.
Take care.❤️
Robin:
Even with going through our lists every day, something is forgotten that we THOUGHT we had. Yeah, crashing noises at our house most often mean I dropped something or walked into something. Those sounds are usually followed by “I’m OK!” Still, the sound of a pile driver is not a sound I’ve been known to make.
Will Chucky get the jokes?
David:
Well, Titan Uranus would be way over his head and, if I tried to explain it to him, he’d be mortified.
I did see that about loofahs on “Gardener’s World” on the BBC. It was a surprise to me too!
Your orchids look very healthy. Isabel is right about the roots — I have several orchids that I’ve repotted in clay pots, but the happiest ones seem to be those still in their original clear plastic. Decorative clay planters are risky because it’s easy to let water sit in them and orchids HATE that.
Steve:
Shocked about loofas. Can’t remember where I just saw it. I had the orchids still in their original plastic but hidden inside decorative clay pots. So it was an easy change. Can’t believe how quickly it made a difference. Maybe they’ll even bloom again.
No, you Titan Uranus.
Love,
Janie
Janiejunebug,
Mine doesn’t need tightening!