And then my foot falls off

Ciro is returned from Rome/Milan/elsewhere, and brought me a vial of violet ink.

I have noticed that a small sore on my leg (smaller than half a pencil eraser) has not healed in at least 8 months. This shows you how much attention I pay to my ankles. I could conclude that given how little attention I pay to my ankles, I have a minor infection that has stopped the sore from healing. Alternately, I could panic and decide I have skin cancer that does not meet any of the "warning sign" conditions for skin cancer. I am currently taking the middle route of procrastination, since I couldn't possibly get in to see a dermatologist until next month and in the meantime I might as well apply ointment and see if that does anything.

And so it begins anew, the battle for supremacy

Red spider mites have appeared near my strawberry plant. I have noticed them before they have done any damage, because I am On Alert concerning the strawberry plant. Having looked up mite control strategies online and found them wanting (mainly a throwing up of hands) I have resumed my status as the Most Dangerous Predator, using my time-consuming but eventually effective "ants in the kitchen" strategy: kill anything that moves. Then kill anything that isn't moving in case it tries to move later.

Many pest control blogs do not seem to understand what it means to be an arcade game junkie. I suppose if you word it a certain way, it doesn't seem like a person would jab a finger down over and over again for hours, to kill wave after wave of hundreds of scrambling bugs. But for some of us, this is entertainment.