Two years gone

My mom died two years ago tonight.

I still miss her every day.

Strange tales: The rocket

I got to thinking about an event from September 24, 2022. I realized I never recorded it here. I was able to track it down on Facebook, but there's a lot more to the story:

I was standing outside talking to a friend about 7:40 tonight when we noticed a glowing thing moving across the southern sky from west to east at the speed of a slow plane , but with tails like a comet (but pointing towards the sun) or an outgassing rocket. Cold war nuclear jitters are back, so that seemed like a possibility, too. Turns out it was a Space X launch from Cape Canaveral (to release more Starlink satellites.) I got lousy video of it, with me breathing heavily and saying "WHAT THE F**K IS THAT?!" Here are some excellent photos NOT TAKEN BY ME that I collected from Twitter, taken by people from all over the Northeast.

reactions:

The story actually began a few months earlier. A friend's cat had gone missing. She was fairly sure it was still somewhere in or around her apartment. I happened to know where she lived - it was a building where I had gone to poetry readings back in the before-times. I hadn't been there in a few years, and more importantly, I hadn't seen this friend in many years. I have a large Havahart trap that I have used to catch groundhogs, one mystery animal that might have been a skunk, and numerous cats, and I volunteered to bring it up to her. It was one of my first major outings since getting vaccinated against COVID-19. I made the hour-plus trip up, showed her how to set and open the trap, chose a likely-looking location to place it, and then spent about another hour catching up - all while standing ten feet apart. We eventually made our goodbyes, and, after a false alarm when we heard something moving in the dark, I began the hour-plus trip home.

The cat randomly showed up at her apartment door later that night.

For one reason or another, I wasn't able to make it back up to retrieve the trap for several months. Eventually we made plans for me to come up. I was late getting out of the house, as usual, and arrived right around sunset. My friend handed over the trap. I put it in the car, and then we stood around talking and catching up. The night got darker and the stars came out. We were looking at the night sky and talking when suddenly something came into view. 

I didn't know what it was. It looked like a comet with multiple tails, but it was moving so fast across the sky - about as fast as a distant airplane - that if it really were a comet, it would be so close that we would be in big trouble. As I noted on Facebook, I also thought it might be a rocket - or maybe a missile. Being a Gen X Cold War Kid, the terrifying thought of seeing ICBMs crossing the sky has never left me. I had not heard anything about rocket launches that day, and I hadn't heard any rumors of war. I tried to capture it with my phone, but failed, badly. 

My friend lived in a dead zone for my cell phone. I wasn't able to access the Internet to check the news, and I wasn't able to call out to see if anyone else knew what was going on. I made my goodbyes to my friend, hopped in the car, and headed home. After about twenty minutes I was in a position where I could call home, call my mother. (Back then, that was still an option.) She hadn't heard anything on the news, but would call my sister to see if she had heard anything. I continued on my drive home. 

By the time I got home my mom had gotten in touch with my sister, who confirmed that what I had seen was a planned Space X launch from Cape Canaveral. It had traveled up the eastern seaboard and been seen and photographed by many people, none of whom had been aware of the launch. Even my cousin had seen it and had gotten some excellent photos.

Three months and three days later, my mom's leg would break as she was heading out to meet some friends with my sister. That would be the first in a series of events that would result in her death on February 24, 2023 - five months after I had seen a mysterious rocket crossing the sky.

Update, 3/22/2025: So Facebook did the Facebook thing, as expected.

NOTE: Apparently, the photos above are displaying as live links to Facebook. which means that if Facebook ever changes their file structure (again), the links will be broken. Here's a screen grab of the linked content:

 

Another Monket Consumer Price Index, 2/21/2025

Yet another one. This time, with eggs.

Groceries purchased at Weis, 1 Weis Plaza, Nanticoke PA, 2/21/2025

Weis Quality All-Purpose Flour, 5 lb bag: $2.49 (up 10 cents since 1/25/2025)

Indian Head Yellow Cornmeal, 2 lb bag: $1.79

Celery, bunch: $1.99

White Potatoes, 5 lb bag: $4.99

McIntosh apples, 3 lb bag: $4.99

Red Seedless Grapes: $3.49/lb

Weis Quality Cottage Cheese, 1 lb: $2.19 (24 oz. out of stock)

Weis Quality Butter, 1 lb: $3.99

Weis Quality 2% milk, gallon: $4.39

EGGS

Dozen: $7.49 (did not purchase)

Carton of 18: $11.19 (purchased for $2.99 with 100 Weis Club Reward Points)

Gas prices as of 2/21/2025

Sam's Club, Wilkes-Barre: $3.09/gallon

Food Express, Sans Souci Parkway, Hanover Township (nearest): $3.159/gallon (Cash price; credit is $3.259/gallon) 

My mom and the legal weed store

Ever since my mom's car was t-boned at an intersection as she was driving to church back in 2000, she had suffered from chronic pain. She sought help with it from many sources, including chiropractors, nerve blocks, and regular visits to pain specialists. When medicinal marijuana was legalized in Pennsylvania, her pain specialist suggested that she consider giving it a try.

It took some doing, but eventually we got her a medical marijuana license. We went to the store recommended by her pain specialist. It was a little storefront in a strip mall that I had never noticed before. The store itself consisted of a small waiting room, a receptionist, a tiny consultation room, and a larger back room. I was with her for the consultation, making sure she wasn't getting ripped off or otherwise taken advantage of. The place seemed adequately legitimate. Only she was allowed into the back room to be presented with the available product, so I waited in the waiting room, perusing the printed catalogue with product names that sounded straight out of a drug dealer's vocabulary (the one I remember was "Birthday Cake," though another one I remember involved a gorilla.) I watched a television loop through presentations on issues facing today's marijuana enthusiast community hosted by two likely-looking guys, and learned how to make hemp milk with hemp seeds. I flipped through the stack of marijuana-related magazines. Eventually my mom emerged from the back room with a medicine bottle containing a few gelatin capsules with what was purported to be just the right ratio of THC to CBD.

She wasn't especially happy with the results, which made her feel spaced out but didn't particularly address her pain issues. We went back a few more times to try different formulations. It was always a bit of an outing for us: somewhere new and strange, different from anywhere we usually went. I tried to observe and absorb as much of the environment as I could. Eventually the catalogue went away, and then the TV, and then the magazines that had articles about artistic macrophotography of marijuana buds and the science of terpenoids and aromatic terpenes, the pungent scents associated with unburned marijuana and some other things, including citrus fruits. (I have learned that some marijuana preparations include artificially adding citrus terpenes to give them a characteristic scent.) In the end - I think this was before I had a smart phone - it was just me and my thoughts, and the other people in the waiting room.

I remember the last visit pretty clearly. It was a cool and rainy day. The waiting area was fairly crowded as I waited for my mom to emerge from the back room. I listened to the conversations around me - the burly motorcyclist with chronic back pain, the 20-something woman who announced how wonderful the smell of marijuana hanging in the air was as she entered - but eventually I heard the tap-tap-tap of my mother's cane as she prepared to exit from the back room. I rose up out of my tiny cramped plastic chair, stretched out my spine to my full height, and squared my shoulders. The door opened and my mom came out, a little old lady in her mid-80s, immaculately dressed, tapping along with her cane. The room was filled with murmured "Awww"s and a "How cute!" from the 20-something as I approached my mom and gave her my arm to walk her out of the shop.

Her license expired soon after that and we didn't renew it. She was never happy with any of the formulations she tried, and we decided that the bother and expense were not worth it. Still, I have my own fond memories of the place, and the smell of marijuana-associated terpenes - even from a peeled grapefruit - remind me of my mom.

(This post was inspired by a Twitter post by Dr. Ally Louks, Ph.D. about the scent-associations of cigarette smoke, and a response regarding the particular smell of marijuana smoke.)

Another Monkey Consumer Price Index, 1/25/2025

(Yes, I realize I just did one of these for a shopping trip two weeks later. But this one has some items that I want to start tracking - produce and, most especially, eggs. We're currently in the early stages of an Avian Flu pandemic, and egg-laying chickens are being culled by the millions, so egg prices are rising dramatically.)

Groceries purchased at Weis, 1 Weis Plaza, Nanticoke PA, 1/25/2025

Weis Quality Flour, All-Purpose, 5 lb bag: $2.39

Sunkist Navel Oranges, 8 lb bag: $9.99

McIntosh Apples, 3 lb bag: $4.99

Celery, bunch: $1.99

Red Seedless Grapes: $3.49/lb

Onions, 3 lb bag: $2.99

Iceberg Lettuce, head: $2.49

Dozen Large Eggs, Weis: $6.59

Gas prices for 2/16/2025, 87 octane unleaded:

Sam's Club, Wilkes-Barre: $3.09/gallon

Food Express, Sans Souci Parkway, Hanover Township (nearest): $3.16/gallon (Cash price; credit is $3.26/gallon) 

Recipe: English Muffin Bread

I don't particularly like English  Muffins. But a while back I remembered I do like English Muffin bread. I had only ever had one type: Cholmondley's.

I don't remember how old I was the first time I had this. It's a heavier sort of bread, full of holes that recreate the "nooks and crannies" of Thomas's English Muffins, and it has a unique taste. I last had it a few years ago, probably before the COVID-19 pandemic began. I looked for it again in my local supermarket recently and simply couldn't find it. I tried looking it up online and found it available from a few scattered shops, but the price plus shipping was ridiculously high. So then I decided to look for some recipes online. I found one that looked easy enough and used only a few ingredients. I tried it out - I haven't tried making bread in about 30 years - and the end result was delicious. I've made it every weekend since then, gradually refining my process, and it has never failed to please.

Last week's loaves

The recipe is from Restless Chipotle. She expresses a personal preference for glass loaf pans, but I have found that my nonstick aluminum pans work best for me - the loaves pop right out and cleanup is simple.

The end result of this recipe is more a batter than a dough - she describes it as "goopy." It should be beaten by hand with a wooden spoon to the point that the dough drips off with some initial reluctance. Today I think I beat it a little too long and the dough began to toughen a bit. All the rising takes place in the pans.

English Muffin Bread (from Restless Chipotle)

Makes two loaves

Ingredients:

1/4 cup water at 110 degrees F

2 Tablespoons active dry yeast

1 Tablespoon honey

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/4 cups milk at 110 degrees F

butter (for greasing pans)

cornmeal (for dusting pans and sprinkling on top)

loaf pans

instant-read thermometer

small, medium, and large mixing bowls

medium ceramic or glass bowl

wooden spoon

regular teaspoon

cookie sheet

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F

2. Put warm water in small bowl. Sprinkle on active dry yeast. Add honey and mix together.  Set aside bowl in warm location for about 10 minutes while you follow the next steps. (I put it on the stovetop as the oven preheated.)

3. Grease loaf pans with butter. Sprinkle in cornmeal and tilt and tap to spread evenly around bottom and sides of the pans.

4. Scoop flour into medium bowl. Add salt and baking soda. Sift, whisk, or mix to combine evenly. 

5. Heat milk to 110 degrees F. For me, the easiest way is to put it in a medium ceramic bowl and heat in microwave 1:45 - 2:00. Check temperature and heat or allow to cool.

6. By now the yeast mixture from step 2 should be foamy and at least doubled in volume. Pour into large bowl. Add warm milk and mix. Mix in one cup of the flour.

7. Add the remainder of the flour gradually. Mix gently by hand with a wooden spoon. The goal was described by the author as a "goopy" dough. It should really be a lumpy batter that drips reluctantly off the wooden spoon. (Her page includes links to an illustrative video.) If you beat it too much, to the point where the lumps are all gone, the bread will have a finer texture without the "nooks and crannies" you are looking for and may not rise properly.

8. Add the dough/batter evenly to the loaf pans. Set aside in a warm location (I used the stovetop again) and allow the dough to rise for about 30-40 minutes, until it fills or is slightly higher than the top of the loaf pans.

9. Dust the risen loaves with cornmeal and place in 425 degree oven for 15 - 25 minutes. Longer bake times will result in a browner crust. Put cookie sheet on lower rack to catch anything that spills over.

10. Allow to cool before slicing.

I have not yet made a loaf that rose significantly above the top of the loaf pan. My first attempt rose on the edges but collapsed in the center. When I sliced it open it had large pores and some very large voids at the top. In this case I had begun preheating the oven only after the dough had risen in the pans, following the directions in the original recipe. This meant that the dough had extra rise time. It also meant that the kitchen temperature where the dough was rising was only about 70 degrees F - it is currently Winter and quite cold outside. I had also allowed my yeast to "proof" a lot, probably tripling in volume. The second time I started the proofing step later and began the preheat a little earlier. Those loaves had smaller pores but still had voids at the top, suggesting the dough had risen faster at one point than others. (The voids cause slices to fall apart inside the toaster.) This third time I started the proofing early, but only after I had begun pre-heating the oven. This way the proofing and rising would be in a warmer environment. Unfortunately I think I over-mixed the dough, resulting in a smoother, stickier dough. The pores on these loves are smaller than ever, but there were no large voids. The slices hold together well in the toaster, and the end results had crisp toasted crust and soft centers with crisp highlights.

Overall - and I hope my grandmother will forgive me for saying this! -  this is the best bread I've ever had.

Another Monkey Consumer Price Index, 2/8/2025

I may start doing these more often. My last one was in June of 2024.

This wasn't a big shopping trip, so I'm listing everything here.

Groceries purchased at Weis, 1 Weis Plaza, Nanticoke PA

Weis Quality Whole Bran Flakes (17.3 ounces): $2.50

Maier's Seeded Italian Bread: $3.49

McIntosh apples, 3 lb. bag: $4.99

Red Seedless Grapes: $3.49/lb

White Potatoes, 5 lb. bag: $4.99

Turkey Hill Ice Cream, 1.44 quarts: $3.99

Weis Quality Cottage Cheese, 24 oz: $2.89

Weis Quality Whipped Butter, 8 oz: $2.79

Weis Quality 2% milk, gallon: $4.39

Fancy Feast dry cat food, chicken & turkey, 7 lbs: $9.99

Large plain pizza purchased at Antonio's, Nanticoke 2/9/2025: $16.32 (cash price)

Gas prices as of 2/11/2025

Sam's Club, Wilkes-Barre: $3.08/gallon

Food Express, Sans Souci Parkway, Hanover Township (nearest): $3.16/gallon (Cash price; credit is $3.26/gallon) 

Exchange rates for 2/11/2025 from xe.com

$1.00 =

• 0.96642477 Euros
• 0.80473 GBP (Great Britain pounds)
• 1.43047 CAD (Canadian dollars)
• 1.58922 AUD (Australian dollars)
• 152.348 JPY (Japanese yen)
• 7.30753 CNY (Chinese yuan)
• 11.1973 NOK (Norwegian krone)
• 20.5648 MXN (Mexican peso)
• 95.8292 RUB (Russian ruble)