Apples

It's 52 degrees Farenheit here, projected to break 60 before the day is out.  Christmas Eve in the Northeastern United States. Just another normal day in the 21st century.

There's a pandemic going on.  Been going on since March, though some people don't believe it.  I've been careful, mostly, because it's not about me, it's about taking care of elderly relatives without poisoning them with a virus.  So you find things to do.  Some people took up hobbies or learned to play an instrument or painted.  Me?  I got really good at keeping the dish rack empty.  Mind you, I'm generally opposed to drying dishes with a towel, so it's a matter of knowing how quikcly they'll dry on their own.  As Alton Brown noted, you're just putting whatever bacteria is on that towel back onto the dishes you just washed.  Let 'em air dry.  He was a sensible type, then he went and had a social media meltdown and disappeared.  He's supposed to reappear in 2021, I hope that's true, and in the meantime I hope he's doing OK.  Doing OK is the top bar for people who aren't delusional about what's happening now, but it should get better relatively soon.  

The other thing I've done is I've taken up eating apples.  Usually one a day, usually sometime between 11am and 12pm.  I choose an apple, take it to the cutting board, cut out the core by slicing off one side, then a second, then a third, and then the fourth which, depending on the size of the apple, might be serving-size for me, or I might have to cut it in half.  Then I place each piece cut side down on the board and slice into smaller pieces (two-bite size at most).  I chop the core into four pieces and toss it into the back yard.  Then I take my share of the apple to the table, put it next to my laptop and depending on how busy I am I either get to work or I grab a few pieces and chew while watching the squirrels come down and take the core slices.  If it's a bird-counting day (we participate in this), I count birds and note it on paper to be input later.  

My favorite apples so far are Winesaps and Honeycrisps, which is weird because my tastes don't generally skew sweet, though sweet relative to apples is not sweet relative to say, candy.  I had a Fuji apple this morning and it was just OK.  Snapdragons are pretty good.  Red Delicious apples are boring.  I haven't eaten a Granny Smith since I became apple-varietal-aware but maybe that's next week's new apple.  

It's gone up to 55 degrees since I started this post.  Merry Christmas in the 21st century.