Green banannas

At my age, I don't even buy green bananas. I think it was Betty Ford who reported that Nancy Regan said that. My Mom had a weird lamp that took a very different bulb. I managed to find a replacement and ordered three. She, then 80, pitched a fit. How they hell long do you think I'm going to last???

Hilariously, I started that about something I purchased or didn't and now, I can't for the life of me remember what it was. Getting old is nothing if not full of hilarity.

So yesterday, in passing, my brother mentioned watch iZombie. I had never heard of this show but the title alone gave me the perfect opportunity for haughty disdain. But, he insisted it was worth a look. And so last night I got sucked down the rabbit hole of iZombie. I think the whole zombie thing is just stupid and I have zero interest. I tried that zombie show with Drew Barrymore and hardly lasted 1 episode.) But, there's something very charming about this show and compelling. I do not get it. But I've got now 3 seasons to figure it out.

And speaking of new shows, Kathy Bates has a new one on Netflix - Disjointed. It's horrible. I tried hard - 2 episodes - to like it but it's just miss after miss after miss. Sigh.

I swam all by myself today. There was one old guy in the spa for a while but otherwise, the pool was mine. And it was a fun swim. I decided that if I had all the money in the world (won that big lottery), I'd likely give it all away after I bought a few fun things like a second condo in this building. I figured I'd buy the one next door and then fix them both up but probably not connect them. But I'd get a second parking spot and finally could have a walk in shower without giving up a bathtub. I spent a lot of laps designing the space in my brain. And then I planned my next sewing project.

The baseball game is this morning. I think I'll do the cut out of that sewing project while I watch.

So Susan, What do you consider to be your culture, and how do you feel about it?

The Internet says culture is: the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time.

Defining my culture is pretty squishy. But I do understand it in terms of what makes me comfortable. I recognized it the minute I got to Seattle. I lived in a lot of places with a lot of different cultures. I saw great things in all of them and really irritating stuff, too.

But, when I got to Seattle, all of a sudden everything clicked. It was just the smallest things, like conversations overheard on the bus, or casual conversations between people who aren't fast friends.

When you met someone in the South, you introduced yourself by explaining what church you belonged to (or at least what denomination of Christianity you were) and who your Daddy was (or family).

In the Northeast it was more where you lived and what you did for a living.

In the Midwest, they were back to family, heritage, with a small side of religion.

In Seattle, they just want to know about you. Who are you. What makes you happy. What makes you a good person. What makes you. Where you work, where you live, who your family is, what your religious are spiritual beliefs are... all that is fodder for far more intimate conversations than casual.

And people are, generally, far more respectful of differences and peculiarities. In a lot of Seattle situations those peculiarities and differences are celebrated and cherished.

Probably the most defining moment of my culture happened when I had lived here only a year. A friend was visiting and we had been touring the Seattle Center the park where the Space Needle is. We were sitting on a grassy area next to a sidewalk just resting and chatting. A very unkept, slovenly guy ambled by. I'd say he was early 20's and looked like if he had any money on him, it was a dirty crumpled one dollar bill.

We saw him spy a $20 bill on the sidewalk. He picked it up and looked at it and looked at us and asked 'Did either of you drop this?' We said no, it wasn't ours. He stopped and thought and then said 'oh, ok. I guess I'll go find someone who needs it.' And off he went - the bill in hand, ready to be gifted.

When someone asks me what I like about Seattle, the first answer is the weather. But after that it's the culture. It's the mores. What is important to the people around here is the same stuff that is important to me.

Genius = me

So the latest trick my broken ear is pulling is getting clogged up and staying clogged up. After swimming and after putting in the drops, it clogs and won't unclog. Bouncing on my foot with my ear parallel to the ground does nothing. Hand suction doesn't work. None of my tricks works. This morning, it finally cleared.

But, just now, I put the drops in my ears and then clog. Stopped up. And nothing I could do to fix it. It was driving me nuts. Then I remembered seeing this gadget in my internet research. It's a vibrator for your ear that removes the water.

So I went and got my vibrating toothbrush and put the end just where the ear opening meets my jaw and held it there vibrating. Took less than 10 seconds to fix the problem. I put my spare toothbrush into my swim bag. Gadget costs $40. Toothbrush costs $3.

I win.