From my yard, I can sometimes hear the traffic from the Mid-Cape. It sounds like the wind. This morning it was the wind.

Today is overcast. Notice the change of adjectives. Variety is the spice of life. Yes, I did write that. It came from my fingers unbidden. All this lack of human contact now has me talking in cliches.

Yesterday in the paper I noticed you can contact a sommelier who will choose your wine pairings for your dinner then send them to you.

I didn’t know you could still buy corned beef in a can with a key. Well, you can (UGH!!). It is made by Libby’s. My friend Peg and I were talking about buying it in Ghana but not often. It was expensive. I had to go very slowly using that metal key or the metal would break off. I learned to put more metal in the hole of the key at the start of it. My father’s can of Spam always had a key. I cut myself a few times on sharp covers. I bought some Spam before Christmas. I gave my sister some in her stocking and bought some for myself. I bought Hot and Spicy Spam, Spam Chorizo and Spam Tocino, a limited edition Filipino flavor. I just thought there was Spam, plain old ordinary Spam. It is perfect for every cupboard. I found out an unopened tin of Spam can last in the pantry for between two and five years. Once the tin is opened, it will last in the refrigerator for seven to ten days. How serendipitous of me to buy it.

Peg and I talked about dawadawa, a Ghanaian condiment. I love the name of it. Dawadawa is melodious, and you get to say it twice. Kelewele is another. Banku has a British English sound with the opening Ban but ku may be more Ghanaian. It is a forceful word, but it’s only a dough or a paste which comes in a plastic wrap. You eat it with soup. I never liked it. Maybe it is the consistency.

I think I have eaten the equivalent of a hot dog in just about every country I’ve visited. Most of the time I bought the food from stands along the sides of the roads. Sometimes chopped meat was wrapped around a stick and cooked over coals. I felt like like a cartoon character who nose pulled the character along to the fire and the food. I always bought a stick or two. My nose has not been wrong.

MSNBC was talking to maybe a senator or maybe a rep, I don’t remember, but I do remember the line he used to answer a question. He said there was, “No magic fairy dust.” I know the reference. At what age does it have no meaning beyond the words?

I got a few packages yesterday. I haven’t opened them yet. I thought I’d heighten the surprise for myself. I know the where, but I don’t remember the what, and I’m not looking. I’ll open the boxes when I finish here. It will be a fun afternoon, one different than the other afternoons so far.