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I was out shopping early today. The weather looked fine. I went to the bank. Went to the pet store for kitty litter. Drove to the grocery store to pick up a few things. All fine. I walked out of the grocery store into a dust storm. It was not one of the bigger ones at least where I was. (I didn't think it would make the national news, but I just saw it there.) But the wind was fierce, there was dirt in the air and it was no fun walking to my car. I'm pretty well committed to go forward and not back in the store. I cover my eyes knowing I'm going to get dirt in my contacts anyway. Sure enough by the time I get in my car there is some grit in both eyes. Luckily it didn't stick and some blinking got it out. I got home after a short drive. The wind was still blowing, but the air was less dirty. The first thing I saw was that one of my agaves in front had been blown over and destroyed. The good news is that there are a couple sprouts at the spot. It will take years to get back where it was. But I didn't have to do anything but pick up the broken plant. I don't have a great photo, but this is the type, an Agave Americana, better known as a century plant:
At the store, I bought a couple more of the new Lay's chip flavors today. Bad news! The gyro flavor is awful. I said the other day the reuben tastes like rye bread. The gyro flavor takes mostly like bad pita bread with a little random seasoning. It doesn't even taste at all like potato. Almost no hint of the gyro filling. I'd heard people describe the truffle fries flavor as like the usual sour cream & onion flavor. They look like a greasy version of that kind of chip that's long out of date. They are edible and taste mostly like sour cream & onion chips, but aren't as good. There is a faint after taste of something like a cross between liver and mud which I presume is supposed to be the truffle oil. I'm not going to try the gravy and biscuit flavor. it may be fine. Over all the flavors this year are not as good as last year's.
Completely OT: I am upset at what happened to the Animas River in Colorado over the weekend. (A government environmental clean-up crew, of all people, accidentally released 3 million gallons of mine waste water turning the river bright yellow in the beautiful canyon between Silvertown and Durango.) The worst of the visible toxic mess has gone downstream toward Lake Powell and the Grand Canyon. Nobody knows yet how bad the lasting damage is to the Animas River. But it didn't look like anything in the water could have survived. I've white water rafted on the river and taken the narrow gauge train up the canyon along its banks. Very sad.
At the store, I bought a couple more of the new Lay's chip flavors today. Bad news! The gyro flavor is awful. I said the other day the reuben tastes like rye bread. The gyro flavor takes mostly like bad pita bread with a little random seasoning. It doesn't even taste at all like potato. Almost no hint of the gyro filling. I'd heard people describe the truffle fries flavor as like the usual sour cream & onion flavor. They look like a greasy version of that kind of chip that's long out of date. They are edible and taste mostly like sour cream & onion chips, but aren't as good. There is a faint after taste of something like a cross between liver and mud which I presume is supposed to be the truffle oil. I'm not going to try the gravy and biscuit flavor. it may be fine. Over all the flavors this year are not as good as last year's.
Completely OT: I am upset at what happened to the Animas River in Colorado over the weekend. (A government environmental clean-up crew, of all people, accidentally released 3 million gallons of mine waste water turning the river bright yellow in the beautiful canyon between Silvertown and Durango.) The worst of the visible toxic mess has gone downstream toward Lake Powell and the Grand Canyon. Nobody knows yet how bad the lasting damage is to the Animas River. But it didn't look like anything in the water could have survived. I've white water rafted on the river and taken the narrow gauge train up the canyon along its banks. Very sad.