I don’t know when we last had a thunderstorm, but there was one early yesterday morning which woke me up, and then again in the afternoon the water poured down and lightning flashed and thunder cracked.

I made some honey mustard for the honey-themed brunch I’m hosting tomorrow for bee people. From Bittman’s cookbook. From the same source, I’m going to do an eggplant dish with honey and onions, and make some homemade cheese as well, to serve drizzled with honey and walnuts. Others are bringing baked goods, chicken wings, honey-glazed ham, and salad. Looked for a pot-lucker to volunteer to bring mead but had no takers; not an easy task, I’m thinking. But I’ve got some peach pulp that will go good with a bit of honey and bottle of prosecco.

You know that Lewis and Clark nickel of 05, with the quote “Ocean in View! O! The Joy!” It’s from Clark, only he, operating under the wild and wooly orthography of the day, spelled it “Ocian.” Minters should left if like that.

Sweeny Todd last night. There will be blood, indeed. But gotta love those meat pies, Mrs. Lovett! In truth, where can you go after that all that nihilism? The only survivors declare they’ll never escape the nightmares. Has anybody else noticed that Depp, who displays one expression during the movie, lately seems to model his characters on iconic women (Anna Wintour, Susan Sontag)? A fateful blow, OHS and I agreed, that the "Ballad of Sweeny Todd" was not on the soundtrack. "Attend the tale...!"

At the Adventures in Travel Expo, where I was volunteering for the AMC this afternoon, I was amazed by the people who showed up at the site, which was at the Piers, way western Manhattan, 12th Avenue and 54th Street, by taxi or chartered bus. What kind of adventure are they looking for if they can’t walk from 8th Avenue? Among the swag, I scored great maps of Greece and Newfoundland/Labrador. They share a boarder, Greece and Newfoundland, you know, like Paris and China. (Extra points for that literary reference. Wikipedia is cheating.)