Jellyfish Ward

Initially, being a firm believer in hardwood floors, I had some misgivings about the blue wall-to-wall carpet in my new house. I’m still a firm believer in hardwood floors, but it’s amazing how much a shelf full of books can warm up a room. I’m slowly coming to terms with the carpet; three or four more bookcases in the living room should do it. The unpacking is now limited by lack of furniture, some of which needs to be painted so as not to offend the carpet, some of which needs to be conjured up from thin air. There’s an IKEA in Burbank and it’s calling my name.

For the health of the cement front porch I have bought a sprightly miniature pine tree, not at all related to any normal pine tree. In its native land, the miniature pine tree is used to ease jellyfish stings, and so it will be a useful medicinal addition to my nascent garden. Giant stinging jellyfish are a scourge upon the San Gabriel foothills.