Raise the Black Flag!

Yaar!

I'm invading and taking over Quarantown!

Have you ever had sazerac flavored coffee?

I have. This is from PJ's Coffee in New Orleans.

It's okay. Not too abrasive for you morning stimulation.

With that alcoholic segue, we see this bottle of tasty

Iowa-made bourbon. My favorite local supermarket is closing,

so I picked up this top-shelf bottle of niceness at a 25% discount!

The chicken is thrilled, as you can see.

As this is the "Year of the Opal" apparently, I treated myself to

two new stones.

The white stone in the middle was the first one from the beginning of this year.

I very much love it. So pretty. And the ring feels sturdy and well-polished.

After some web-surfing in the opal mines of the internet, I found the 

Australian doublet on the right. It is a doublet, which means there is a a thin layer

of glass or colourless stone attached to the opal. It is a nice piece.

Considering the price tag, it's of decent quality, the shinies are almost

certainly cubic zirconia. The band is 24K gold covered silver.

Kind of by accident, I found the Ethiopian beauty on the left.

A local rock and gem shop, that up to now I haven't really give much

thought to, has a nice selection of gemstones. The ring is a bit less

substantial than the other two, but the silver feels nice and the

stone is really lovely, and I feel that I paid a fair price for it.

The official gem of Quarantown is an opal, I suppose.

But I think I'm done with pricey-stone shopping for a bit.

I want to see the Neowise comet, but have had miserable luck.

Lots of clouds lately.

I thought I could escape the lights of the city and get a better view

by driving out to West Lake Park. 

West Lake, as it turns out, is drained for maintenance, or something.

So the part that looks like a field is actually former lake.

Also, former lake (I think it will be refilled eventually),

as the sun is going down.

Testing out binocular-picture taking.

It sort of works!

Though I was treated to a nice sunset, the clouds moved in when the stars came out

so I couldn't see the comet. I remember seeing Hale-Bopp in the 90s,

so I am not completely comet-less. I've also seen meteors blaze across the sky.

This cool candle arrived in the mail.

ForeverWick Candle Co.

Should be a diamond inside. And, though I'm not diamond mad 

(opals are where it's at, baby!) it's a neat gimmick.

And Unicorn Poop smells nice. Kind of vanilla cake-ish.

This tenacious green maniac stuck to my car, rode to work with me,

was still on my car when I drove home, and didn't get off the car until

I was back home. Sticky green fella!

Disney+ has The Simpsons!

Mick Jagger says "heeaay!"

Can't hear you over my shirt! 🦩🍃

Finished my 11th Bix7 race. Everything is virtual, so it

wasn't as much fun as usual. But, with my Momster and her friend Marsha, we finished our race.

From Maritime Supply Co. I picked up an anchor wrap bracelet, and this coin necklace.

Memento mori. Remember you will die.

So don't waste your time!

The chunk of selenite is from the same local gem shop I found the Ethiopian opal ring.

And that's been about it. 

Wash your hands. Wear your mask.

Let's get our lives back!