Reading the current talking points from Republicans, here in the form of a question -- "Do you support shutting down the federal government to provide illegal immigrants taxpayer-subsidized health care?' -- makes me so angry. I am acknowledging the feeling. Hi anger! And part of the anger is that i believe that there is an abundance in this world and we should be able to provide health care to all. I don't think there are any elected congress critters trying to make that happen.

Yesterday was the first day my hands got cold outside while sitting on the deck before work. (Saturday morning i spent with inside with Bruno, as he hid under the bed. Sunday was complicated.)

I think the remaining chestnuts on the tree are poorly pollinated burrs. So, that was a quick abundance that came in but it's done. The figs' abundance seems over, and i seem unmotivated to hunt the late ripening fruit. Next harvests, lemongrass and persimmons.

Don't know what to do with the lemongrass. For Saturday's lunch i harvested some and some of my walking onions (which are related to shallots), both are very small compared to commercial things. Both have the same challenge of peeling back the less tender bits and trying to not peel back too much. Since they aren't large, it just feels like so much work for not so much food. I fried in butter, added some old white wine, and then left over rice. Yummy!

I think one thing: maybe instead of harvesting the biggest stalks, pot them up and give them another year. If i can remember to use the other stalks in broths, just flavor like bay leaves, that might be the easiest way to enjoy them. I think i've dried leaves in the past but i don't drink enough herbal teas to really use it up yet.

Today (Sunday) we had some good socialization time with Bruno with a variety of interactions. Carrie is a very good dog and has behaved well. I recalled how she used to  try to keep Marlowe and Edward from fighting and had a wave of missing Edward.  I am much more optimistic about how the three will get along, but Bruno does seem so very skittish and needs safe places.

We are welcoming Bruno, a young charcoal grey cat, in our home. He was a kitten rescued during Helene last year, and we are his third placement. It seems that children and a tumultuous household may stress him, and he has some sort of GI/urinary tract issue.

Christine had reached out to Cat Tales Cat Cafe (cattalescatcafe.com) on Thursday -- i think because her sister is likely to adopt from there -- to discuss our outdoor space as they only adopt for indoor cats. I overheard her chatting, explaining our past, acknowledging their boundaries, and concluding that they could keep us in mind if there were any cats who came through them who would be exceptions.

Thursday night she received an email:

 Thank you for your application for a cat in our rescue.... And we usually require that the cats adopted through our rescue are indoor only cats with a few exceptions. And I wanted to discuss one of those exceptions. Let me tell you a little about Bruno.

Bruno was found during the heavy rainstorms we got in our area from hurricane Helene last year. He was found with 3 siblings, all of whom have been adopted. Bruno was adopted as well but he was returned to us when he had inappropriate urinary issues when he never had those issues before. Bruno was a fairly shy guy and had been adopted into a very busy household with a bunch of kids. We believe it was just too much for him and the inappropriate peeing is stress related in addition to crystals being present in his urine. We had another person adopt Bruno and they were aware of his issues and told us they wanted to work on it with him. They also have young kids and they told us that Bruno only peed inappropriately when the children were around. So we feel strongly that Bruno could be a good indoor/outdoor cat in a low stress household without children. He loves people and other cats but has never been around a dog so that's an unknown factor. ....

 I personally fostered Bruno for a couple of months before he went to the second adopter and he never had a peeing incident unless a young person or a stranger was around. Would you be willing to give this very handsome, sweet and affectionate guy a try? He needs a special place that's not easy to find. He really is a gem and deserves to have a happy home.

Bruno was returned to the fosterer on Thursday evening. By end of work Friday we had chatted with my sister (who has a cat with crystal and kidney issues) to see what her experience was, and made plans to check him out. We brought him home last night. It's been OK so far, although i probably rushed taking him from the bathroom to the front room where there is a bed he can disappear under. He did get up to see me, but when i pulled a kleneex out to address a dingleberry he disappeared again.

He has a higher pitched meow. He was apparently named according to a pixar theme, and Bruno of Encanto is his eponym. (Haven't seen the movie; listened to the song, and read about the character last night.)

I hope he foresees peace and quiet with us.

Meanwhile, Christine is in a migraine cluster. My labile moods remain.