open the windows

Why is it that a house always has an odd smell when it's been empty and closed up for a week or more? Not a putrid smell nor one of decay, but some kind of stale unpleasant smell that only goes away after airing the house out for quite a while. There was no smelly trash left in the house that I'm aware of, nor dirty unwashed dishes. This used to happen at FF's old house, and happens at this house too.

It smells somewhat like a full vacuum cleaner bag. So maybe it's the concentrated smell of dust and dead skin cells and such.

trippy

Qiao and I drove to Massachusetts to visit family last week.

The HappyCow App was very useful in helping me find nearby vegan/vegetarian restaurants to stop at for lunch&dinner on the way there and back. I'd highly recommend the app and website for other traveling vegans. (However, the app starts automatically in the background when I turn on my phone, and apparently tries to connect to the internet right away. Why? I don't know. In case you don't like it doing that, you may want to search via the happycow.net website instead of installing the app.)

One highway rest area, in Virgina I believe, had a nice big building. One of the vending machines had oranges in it!

You know how the motels have little soaps and bottles of shampoo and such? One motel also had a packet labeled "Deluxe Vanity Kit". Curious, I opened it. It contained 2 cotton swabs, a cotton ball, and a tiny emery board. Deluxe, indeed.

Another motel had a cute rubber ducky in the bathroom to greet us.

Lately, I've acquired a taste for this "Synergy" line of kombucha drinks. They have a slightly sour flavor like apple cider vinegar, but are also slightly sweet, and naturally effervescent!