"A Problem Page For All!"

The mini party was cool, as usual. Jasper got some books, fudge from Nathan (he works at a chocolate house), the cake from me (a German chocolate cake with a sticky pecan-coconut-carmel filling and a kalhua-chocolate-whipped cream frosting. Whew!), umm...I can't remember what else. I think I was too busy looking at Nathan because we had been apart 5 days -- gasp! 5 whole days! -- and I was so overjoyed to see him.

Hey, it feels like your birthday to me, too! I mean, it feels like that time of year. I have to get cracking on your birthday present because knowing me and what with all this excitement going on around me I'll likely forget altogether if I don't start on it, like, today.

Rapadura, ohh, cool! That sounds like some trippy shamanistic brew! I like the fact that it has all its nutrients still in it. I wonder how it ranks on the glycemic index? Did you know that honey makes your blood sugar rise higher than plain white sugar? That kind of annoys me, since I like blaming white sugar for everything, but now here's honey which sends blood sugar levels soaring even more than refined stuff! Argh.

Do you use raw honey? We get it from our bees when we can, but this winter we're letting them keep it all since there isn't that much to share with we greedy humans. We did buy some honey from a beekeeper in Gualala recenty, though, and it's hard not to steal spoonfuls of it. It's so precious that we try not to use it too often.

Have you ever used honey on wounds and burns? Raw honey has something in it that protects against bacteria and infection and seals off open skin like nothing else. I can't believe how many times I've read, in professional medical books and such, that to treat a burn doctors recommend antiseptic and gauze! Honey is such a godsend and works way, way better than any chemicals.

I LOVE YOUR TAPE!!! I can't get "The Magdalene Laundries" out of my head. When I first heard it I was shocked that I was hearing Joni Mitchell, because her voice is almost unrecognizable from her older songs. I'm used to "California" and "Big Yellow Taxi" in which she sounds like a teenage fairy, flitting and giggling in her songs. I really like how she sounds now, though. Very grounding and powerful. I wonder if her song has to do with that movie that came out recently, called The Magdalene Sisters -- something about a place in Ireland where "bad" girls were sent?

I have lots more to say about your tape, but I'll save that for your letter. I'm impatient to reply to all the posts that keep cropping up on here!

"I've never had a humble opinion.
If you've got an opinion,
why be humble about it?"