Volcanoes

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photo of mt st helens volcano erupting

Do you like volcanoes?

I mentioned earlier this year that I had started working with some kindergarten students. One of the things we have been doing recently is learning about opinions — what you like (or don’t) — and figuring out ways to discover other people’s opinions and accept those opinions without yucking on anyone else’s Yum.

As part of this learning process, students did an activity where they asked each other questions.

Most of the questions were along the lines of, Do you like cupcakes? or Do you like playing outside? (Yes and Yes were my answers when asked!)

One rather scientifically-minded young one, however, asked: Do you like volcanoes?

And y’know…

That’s a hard question! (I told him so, too.)

I decided that my answer – for the purposes of the opinion exercise – was YES.

“Volcanoes are dangerous,” I said when giving him my answer, “but they are very interesting. So I will say yes.”

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Universal

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Universal Experiences

There are some experiences in life that are universal. We all, at one time or another, experience events at opposite ends of a spectrum: joy and grief, success and failure, love and hate.

But *how* we experience those things is NOT universal.

Grief is one that strikes me, time and again, as a universal experience that is NOT universally experienced.

For some, the stages of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance — are ‘steps’; they go in order, one progresses to the next, and in the end (with ‘acceptance’) life goes back to ‘normal’.

For others, the stages of grief are not so much ‘steps’ as they are a faulty escalator ride: being angry is followed by being depressed; depression leads to denial; denial makes other people angry, which makes us try bargaining. And getting off this wonky ride is often a long time coming. (If it comes at all. ‘Acceptance’ is not necessarily going to happen for some folks.)

There is also the experience of grief as a cycle. Rather than progressing toward a ‘finish’ step by step, the steps perhaps are completed in a circular manner. And when ‘acceptance’ circles around again to ‘denial’ or ‘anger’, it’s often something new (or old — I know that I, for one, am sometimes still taken unawares by past grief) that we are cycling about.

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Tea

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cup of tea sitting on a wooden surface, via Pixabay
cup-of-tea image via Pixabay

There is just something delightfully cozy about tea.

It warms (when served hot), it soothes, it calms, and it quenches a unique kind of thirst — for me, it is a thirst for tranquility.

I am sure my British readers will be scandalized by my improper tea-ing, but — just as I’m particular about my coffee — there are a few specific ways I like my tea:

  • It must be hot. Not burning-the-roof-of-your-mouth hot, but still: it must be hot.
  • If it has mint as an ingredient, I prefer a cupful to be served with a spoonful of honey.
  • If it is a ‘red’ tea or any kind of tea containing cardamom or cinnamon: one teaspoon of sugar and a splash of milk, please.
  • There is an Herbal Essences blend that I probably shouldn’t like, but I do. It’s called Sleepytime.
  • I will not drink tea with the bags still in the cup. (I know, I know: proper brewing does not require bags to be in the cup. What can I say? I’m American.) I let them steep for approximately two minutes, then meticulously squeeze all the water from the bag against the side of the cup.
  • Never ask me to re-use a tea bag. Get me a new one please.
  • If I’m drinking tea at home, I like it in a comfy space: in my reading chair or in bed are good options; while sitting at the dining table on a Zoom meeting, not so much.
  • If I’m drinking tea in a tea shop, I like little finger sandwiches and/or scones to accompany it. (And I like a loved one to accompany me.)
  • Tea is not to be drunk in the morning. Unless by ‘morning’ you mean 11:00am.
  • Chai tea is an acceptable substitute for coffee. Just barely.
  • And iced tea is a whole ‘nother cup of tea!

Tea is one of my favorite things to drink while reading (and I am particularly fond of the “tea and scandal” gatherings held by Miss Marple and company in Agatha Christie novels), and is particularly soothing to the throat when sick. I delight in its many flavors and origins; herbals are A ThingTM where I live, but I am somewhat wary of them — too much lemon and not enough lavender combined with too-strong orange and too-weak tea leaf, too many times, have made me careful about what I’m willing to try. I am not a tea snob – indeed, I could not tell you anything about the subtle differences in flavor that depend upon growing regions or even name the specific ingredients that make up the flavors I like best (Madagascar Vanilla Red… means what, exactly?) – but my lack of sophistication in tea-ery suits me.

What kind{s} of tea{s} suit you?

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Saguaro

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Saguaro Cactus

One of the great delights of last year’s (2021’s) strict-budget travels for me was discovering cacti.

Previously — throughout most of my life, really — I thought cactus were just small prickly plants that were difficult to kill and that could be bought at the supermarket for $5. I saw no particular beauty in them and did not find them interesting. I killed one once (quite by accident!) when I tried my hand at “having plants” as a college freshmen, and ever since then have not given them much thought at all. (Unless, perhaps, to think “meh.”)

And then I went to Arizona.

In December, my husband and I used our canceled-cruise airfare voucher1 and took a week’s vacation. As part of that vacation, we visited Saguaro Lake — which, apropos of its name, is surrounded by a forest of saguaro cacti — and it was there that I changed my mind about genus: cactus.

For one thing, saguaros are HUGE. Like… It’s hard to get a sense of dimension from the photo above, but that one is almost three stories tall.

For another: they are ANCIENT. They regularly live to be 200 years old, and their very existence is traceable to thousands of years past.

They are also a keystone species.2

And maybe it’s just one of those things you have to see to appreciate, but I found the saguaros to be amazing.

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