Weird Wednesday: Tubers, Blisters, and the Messiah in Da House

 It’s time again for more wackiness:

I've been noticing the last few years that the cashiers at the grocer I frequent often have no idea what a zucchini is. Or a mango. But now, it seems that the supplier doesn't know an acorn squash from a sweet potato. I suppose I was ripped off by the cost per pound difference, as I didn't notice until I got home. Sigh . . . we are living in ignorant times.


Imagine my fright when this large postcard appeared in my mail. I honestly don't know what a lot of it is even talking about and I prefer to keep it that way. I can't even with these conspiracy theorists.


So, my husband and I have both been noticing the sudden appearance of biracial squirrels in our neighborhood. LOL! It looks like a black squirrel got friendly with a fox squirrel, but who knows? This is the first year we've ever seen them.

I no sooner got over Covid when I had the worst allergic reaction of my life. It started as a single bump on my arm that itched. Within three days, I had pus-filled blisters all over one arm, one leg, and random areas on my torso. Of course, it all blew up over July 4th weekend, so I had to wait until Tuesday to see a dermatologist. He thought poison ivy, though I have no idea when or how I came across any. He put me on a steroid ointment and I'm fine now, though my arm is covered in scars. Very bizarre.


Guess what, kids? I'm a descendent of Jesus, according to Familysearch.org. For the uninitiated, Familysearch is the free alternative to Ancestry.com. It is run by the Church of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons). The reason they are so interested in genealogy is because they baptize their dead ancestors by proxy. From my experience on the site, it's common for them to try to link famous historical figures to their tree without sources. If you use the site with that in mind, it can still be useful for research. But please don't pray to me.


This past weekend, I was able to fulfill a dream of seeing The Psychedelic Furs in concert. They are one of my very favorite bands of the '80's. The show was AMAZING! Richard Butler's voice has not changed at all in 40 years. What's weird? Well, the fact that we saw a number of fellow concert-goers using walkers!!!! Talk about feeling OLD!


Comments

  1. I'm glad you mentioned about cashiers ringing up the correct produce because I purchase sweet potatoes A LOT, and I've never checked my receipt to see if they were rung up correctly. But I think that's odd, because on all the produce I get from Trader Joe's or Mom's Organic Market, each piece is labeled. So they must not be looking at the label. Oh that's right, it because they're too busy texting on their phones while they're supposed to be working. LOL!

    And OMG, that image on that postcard is soooooooooo creepy. And me too, I honestly don't know what a lot of it is even talking about?!

    I've never seen a black squirrel, but I would love to. I understand they are very rare. And it's funny that you posted about squirrels today because yesterday I spent the afternoon in my favorite park, feeding them. It was the only day that hadn't been close to 100 degrees, so I was able to stay outside all afternoon and run a lot of errands.

    And WOW, the photo of your arm!!!! Glad you were able to get to the dermatologist and it's now clearing up. I had poison ivy several times when I was a kid, but I can't remember what it looked like. All I know is that it ITCHED like hell.

    " But please don't pray to me." OMG, that cracked me up!!! And thanks for sharing the website because I'm going to try it today.

    So happy to hear that you were able to fulfill your dream to see The Psychedelic Furs in concert!!! I clearly remember listening to them in the 80s. They had such a unique sound.

    Thanks for your post today, my friend. Have a faaaaaaabulous rest of your week!

    X

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    1. Yes, I’ve noticed cashiers at the grocery on their cell phones between customers. Meanwhile, one lane over, I’m bagging my own groceries because there’s not enough ‘help.’ That always kills me.

      We have three types of squirrels here: black, fox (reddish brown), and Eastern grey. Where I grew up, I only ever saw the fox squirrels. They are less trouble to us than the chipmunks, who eat flowers and everything in the garden.

      Yeah! You know the Furs! I couldn’t believe that none of my current friends know who they are. I’m assuming they’ve just forgotten. Let me know how you like Familysearch. It’s nice when you can find so much info in one place. Enjoy your Wednesday!

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  2. Well that postcard is rather a weird way to get a point across! I think it probably had the opposite effect and most people threw it away without reading! I have never seen a black squirrel with a red tail! Interesting! That does look like a nasty reaction and unless you were tromping in the woods where would you pick up poison ivy? Don't worry about the walkers at the concert. Those people probably went because they loved their children's music!

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    1. I saved the postcard for my son because he loves ridiculous stuff as much as I do. The poison ivy was odd and I actually suspect it was a bad reaction to something else. I had cut a few calla lilies that week and it could have been from that, but who knows? We do have poison ivy on our property, but I was nowhere near it. Good thoughts on the children’s music! Ha!

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  3. Supposedly, black squirrels originated right here at Michigan State, back in days of yore. I never saw a black squirrel until I came to school here in the 70s. They always seemed to stay distinct from the more familiar red and gray squirrels, but just in the past year or two, I've started to se the black squirrels with brown tails just like you show here. Weird. . .

    To be fair, that's kind of an odd-looking sweet potato, but I don't know how they got to acorn squash; supposed to look like an acorn, right?

    That is one nasty-ass rash. . . I got into some poison ivy back in my college days that wound up covering both legs, and took almost a month to completely heal. I hate poison ivy. . .

    Years ago, before there was an internet, a lot of genealogical research took place in the libraries of local Mormon churches. I'd find Mormon church documents where one or another of my ancestors were 'baptized for the dead', and it always provoked a reaction of, "You guys leave my ancestors alone!" I'm just as happy to pay for Ancestry. . .

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    1. That’s interesting that you’ve seen the black and brown tailed squirrels just now, as well. Acorn squash are round and green; it’s really odd that the supplier marked them wrong, but good help is hard to find. I’ve only had poison ivy once before, maybe 8 years ago, but a much milder case and just one spot.

      Back in the ‘90’s, when I first became interested in genealogy, I visited the only Mormon church library in Cleveland. It wasn’t that helpful without the internet. Our library system did a free Ancestry.com during Covid, so I did use it some then.

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  4. That is one creepy post card. And the topic seems dated. Is he saying Wal- of- Mart is evil but powerful and didn't get closed down during the pandemic, but small businesses did?

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    1. The postcard was received earlier this year. I honestly have no idea what the veiled point is. Seems like the usual conspiracy theory crap to me.

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  5. I swear the cashiers and even the stockers who stock the produce in the store have no idea what some of the stuff is or how one kind of chili differs from another.

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    1. Nope, they really don’t! It really makes you wonder how many people have never eaten fresh fruits or vegetables if they can’t identify them!

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  6. Too cute about the squirrels! I hadn't even heard of black squirrels before. I haven't heard of the Psychedelic Furs but glad you got to see a concert of theirs :) Ick on the rash! Did the doctor do a skin scraping or anything to try to figure it out? I wonder if the scarring will eventually go away?

    betty

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    1. We have three varieties (species?) of squirrels here,which may be unusual. I’m surprised more people don’t know the Psychedelic Furs. They had a good number of hits. They did the theme song to the movie, Pretty In Pink. The dermatologist took one look and said it looked just like poison ivy, but they call everything that’s a reaction to something that touched your skin ‘contact dermatitis.’ I don’t think they can determine the cause by doing anything as the oil/sap would be long gone.

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  7. How could anyone confuse an acorn squash with a sweet potato? As you say, we're living in ignorant times.

    That allergic reaction looks dreadful. Glad to hear you're on the mend.

    I'm not familiar with the Psychedelic Furs. I see they're an English band and have been around since 1977, but they're not well-known over here.

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    1. People are certainly clueless in the produce section these days! I’m surprised you don’t know the Psychedelic Furs either. Always been a favorite of mine.

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  8. checking receipts before leaving the store/counter is a practice that i follow when I found many errors in my bill.

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  9. Wow. That is quite the reaction. Hope you are feeling better. And glad you got to see the concert. A podcast I listen to raves about Richard Butler and his voice. And I guess he has a lot of great stories.

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    1. My arm is much better now, thanks. Richard Butler’s voice is quite unique and has not changed a bit in 40 years. I never tire of his songs.

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  10. When my daughter worked at a supermarket, they had to pass the test that they knew every bit of produce and each of the numbers. Seems like they are getting lazy these days if they don't even know what a zucchini is.

    Ouch to the blistery rash. Glad you are better now!

    Jason has been working my business for me lately and is seeing first hand how freakin stupid some people are. Just yesterday he came home and said "got my second person this month want to lecture me about the government controlling the weather." I guess Mother Nature isn't in charge anymore.

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    1. That must have been a much higher class grocer than the one I shop! Lol! I always see cashiers looking up the numbers, which is why they have to ask me what it is I’m buying.

      Ugh. The fact that they feel the need to lecture others on their conspiracies is just another level of insanity.

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    2. Ok guys, I got one for you. I had to travel last week for work and was sooo excited when my boss volunteered to drive me. On the way back, he spent the 4 hour car ride trying to convince me that the earth is flat. By the time I got home, my brain was soup! He brought up flight patterns, some world wide ice wall pact, line of sight videos. It was like he spent his life researching this. I know the earth is round, but I must admit that his lecture makes my brain now ask "But, IS IT?!".. LOL Passionate conspiracy theorists really can be convincing.

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    3. O.M.G……I cannot believe these people are for real! I would have lost my mind!

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  11. Lots of things going on. A couple years ago I had a terrible case of poison ivy. I have to be very careful around it (and there is a lot around here). I wear long pants/shirts when using a weed eater around the barn or the ditch banks. As for Jesus, I'm just an adopted child :)

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    1. I really don’t know what I rubbed up against. I had cut some calla lilies two days prior to my first blister, so it may have been that. Adopted child, yes!

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  12. OMG. I love these posts.
    I had a cashier ask me what my fruit was the other day....they were plums. It happens too often.

    Funny/weird about the bi colored squirrels. I wonder if this new breed has an aversion to bird feeders?

    Who in their right mind would take the time to make that flyer/postcard? Oh, wait. That person IS not in their right mind.

    YIKES on the rash. That looks SO painful. I'm glad you are on the mend.

    I love the Psychedelic Furs too; how funny about the walkers. We are getting old!

    So, you won't Baptize me?

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    1. Plums!!! Yes, a very exotic fruit that most people haven’t had 🤣 We gave up on bird feeders a few years ago, but it’s a good question. THANK YOU! Finally, someone who knows the Psychedelic Furs! Their new album is surprisingly as good as the old ones. Look up the song, Wrong Train. You won’t be disappointed!

      I can’t baptize you, but I can offer you some wine and bread.

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  13. Thanks for the heads up to check produce labels, Bijoux, because that tuber was definitely nothing like an acorn squash, unless variants are growing. Speaking of variants, that was a very strange card and in the mail too! We have received odd adverts, but yours beats any in our mail.

    Glad the reaction to whatever it was has been clearing up. I once had a terrible case of poison ivy but it was an all over rash and not blistering as in your photo. Hopefully, the scars will go away in time.

    I will admit to never having heard of The Psychedelic Furs or any of their music, but then my music is from the 60s era. Glad to read that you fulfilled a dream, as we should whenever possible.

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    1. I’m definitely going to double check produce labels now. The dermatologist did say my case was a really bad one. I’m hoping the scars fade with time. Many of the artists I would like to see have sadly passed away. We are going to take advantage of any concerts that come our way.

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  14. Hopefully the produce label was just someone not paying attention instead of someone who can't tell the difference between a sweet potato and an acorn squash. That's annoying, though, since there's usually such a big price difference between those.

    That postcard is strange! I can't imagine wasting the time and money to print and mail something that insane!

    So sorry about your poison ivy! I have that kind of reaction to it, too, and I know it's miserable. Every time I do any work in the yard, I come in and take a cold shower and take Benadryl before I go to bed, just in case I came into contact with poison ivy. It took months, but the scars/marks from when I had it like that finally did go away. Just FYI, some people with severe poison ivy allergies like that can develop a pretty severe cashew allergy, even if they've never reacted to them before. I found that out the hard way.

    I guess you're in charge of providing wine for all holiday dinners and events now. :-)

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    1. I’m glad to hear the scars will eventually disappear. People probably think I had monkey pox! Bad timing for me! Oh my, I love cashews. Thank you for letting me know that risk. I had a bad reaction to Bactrim a few years ago when I had never had issues with that drug or its class in the past. Allergies are weird. Lol on the wine!

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  15. Totally agree about the store. Particularly if the cashier is young, they don't seem to know the difference between veggies. Sad, means the stores aren't doing a good job training people. Can't really see the squirrels or fox, but them being together is weird. Sorry to hear you had Covid. Hope it wasn't a bad case. And your rash, infection etc looks nasty and very uncomfortable. Glad you got to the dermatologist and hope you heal up nicely from it. You can get poisin ivy from the air if you're highly allergic. My Mom's Mom had that problem.
    Sandy's Space

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    1. You’re right, stores are not training people anymore. My photo above is a black squirrel with a red tail on the sidewalk. We have 3 kinds of squirrels here (black, grey, and red) so I’m wondering if they are inter-breeding (or whatever you could call it)? I’ve heard to never burn poison ivy because of the air thing.

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  16. Like Haddock, I always check my receipt now before leaving the supermarket. Once I was charged for four bottles of wine instead of two - quite an expensive error. I had to go back to the shop to complain. Fortunately they took my word for it, as I couldn't prove I'd only bought two bottles.

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    1. That’s been happening to me, too. Frustrating as there’s no way to prove it.

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  17. You got quite a few chuckles out of me today! LOL I feel like whenever I go out of state, zucchini magically becomes squash in the stores and restaurants. This confuses me b/c then what is squash? lol I busted out laughing at your prayer disclaimer. Too much pressure for us to pray to you?? lol That rash looks nasty! I was getting terrible topical allergic reactions that would only subside with steroid shots. After a few months of them, we finally discovered that I was allergic to Nylon. Hopefully it really just is poison ivy and doesn't come back any time soon.

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    1. You’re back! I can’t wait for you to start blogging again! I’m thinking squash is a general term and that there are varieties under that term (yellow, butternut, acorn, zucchini, pattypan)? But yeah, if I’m in a restaurant, I want to know what I’ll be eating. Can you believe the craziness on that Mormon site? I didn’t know they believed that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. Weird. Well, nylon is a random thing to me allergic to. I’m really starting to think it was the calla lilies I cut a few days prior.

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  18. Oh my that looks like a seriously painful arm! I hope it's healing nicely now.

    I have never seen a squirrel look like that, how amazing!

    I have to admit I'm not sure I'd have a clue about what vegetable is what either. Well I recognise a potato of course. :D

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    1. Just a few scars left that should fade with time. You need to start eating more veggies, Joey :)

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  19. Ugh! Cashiers! If you can even find one, haaahaha! Yes we are living in strange and ignorant times. Ugh! That postcard! What a nut! I would burn that thing. Ugh! Your ARM! I bet it was poison ivy. Erica had it a few months ago and I have NEVER seen anything like that. Oh how she suffered! I'm glad yours has resolved but UGH -- scars???? I can top that, though ... I have vitiligo. Yes! VITILIGO. No cure; it's not going away. Ever. Huge white blotches on my arms, hands, and legs. I look like a freak. Cheers! xoxo

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    1. Oh my! Isn’t that what Michael Jackson had? Is it considered genetic? I’ve not noticed it in any of your photos, so good work on hiding it!

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  20. Squirrels look so cute. I saw couple of black squirrels in Bristol RI. But Our quide said that "they are so unusual here". So sorry about your poison ivy issue and i hope it's healing nicely now. Happy and healthy week. Greetings.

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    1. I only have a few pink scars left from the poison ivy. Glad it’s in the past!

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  21. oooh that postcard is a bit creepy. I don't subscribe to conspiracies, but it does make me wonder. I think our price rises are largely due to greed, a few people are making a HUGE amount of money on the backs of covid/Brexit/the war in Ukrain. Your arm looked very painful, I'm glad it healed ok.

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    1. Only a few faint scars left on my arm, but boy was it awful.

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  22. I have the same exact problem here. The cashier asks me what is this? on almost all produce. It's scary that they not only do not probably eat it but obviously know nothing about cooking it.
    Glad you're on the mend. That looks like a painful rash.

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    1. It’s scary to think about the poor diets that so many people have! I’m fully recovered, except for a few scars. Thank you!

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