'Til then have some tea and tobacco

We had company for the first time in ages. Not just bunny_hugger's grad-school friend EJL, though he visited too. But someone from farther back, someone we did a serious cleaning of the house for. That house-cleaning was the source of a fair bit of anxious energy, about how to get it clean enough to be presentable in the dwindling number of hours available. But we got at least close to clean, closer than we've been since last Thanksgiving, and we're now enjoying the benefits of a house with more open stretches of space on horizontal surfaces than are usual for a house with me in it.

Her friend, someone she knew from high school days, had been out in Austin but moved back to Ann Arbor last year. bunny_hugger visited then, and it had been longer than either realized before they got together again. So it was a great deal of catching-up, with me mostly trying to not be obnoxious or weird in my contributions to the conversation, which were largely about whether anyone would like some more coffee.

A recurring theme over the night was the pandemic, of course. Her friend contracted Covid-19 very early on, and has suffered Long Covid since. bunny_hugger and I have never stopped taking the pandemic seriously, and feeling ever-more-lonely in doing so. To an extent it's comforting to be with someone else who is treating it as a massive disaster that nobody with power is doing anything to mitigate anymore. But there is also an element of three anxious people agreeing we should be more worried about this and I'm not sure that overall I feel better for talking with someone else who's offended by 'masks welcome but not required' signs.

Still, it was really good seeing someone, and on a really pleasant day even if it wasn't quite nice enough weather to spend the afternoon in the backyard. And to just hang out, drinking tea and having the fancy guest-style cookies and even take-out from the really really good Chinese place down the street. It's almost made all the worry in housecleaning worthwhile.

Enjoy a bit more of the Calhoun County Fair and discover how I almost met a grizzly end!

A turkey! bunny_hugger longs to pet one's head, but of course, these weren't a possibility.

Um ... OK, I think I might be in trouble here.

Yeah, I'm definitely in trouble.

Gang? I think I'm about to be destroyed by a pack of enraged turkeys.

Into the building, and safety! Here a chicken rests on their keeper's arm at an angle that can't be chosen for convenience.

Oh dear I'm in real trouble now.

Trivia: In the summer of 1939 A&P declared it would start manufacturing its own cereal unless Ralston-Purina --- which had invested a million dollars in a factory mostly to supply private-label A&P cereal --- lowered its prices. A&P estimated that Ralston's prices were inflated enough that the supermarket chain could invest $175,000 to expand an existing plant it used and earn a 73 percent annual return. Ralston ultimately agreed to various rebates and allowances on corn, bran, and wheat flakes. Source: The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America, Marc Levinson. (Ralston had, must be admitted, over-expanded its factory ahead of firm committments from buyers.)

Currently Reading: Meet Me By The Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall, Alexandra Lange.