Aggravation
The iMac is back from the shop and working perfectly, thank goodness. I’m trying to mark the things that are NOT annoyances, today. I’m working on the laptop at the moment, but I’ll try to do pictures and blogging on the Mac soon.
The weather has been muggy/clammy and windy today, with 100% chance of mosquitoes. The windy weather makes our Internet connection “intermittent”. That is irritating, but really no cause for grief.
The real aggravation of the day was finally receiving the lab results for my jam and the invoice at the same time. Before last week’s Farmer’s Market in McBride, I finally got a call back from the Health Inspector to say that my jam sample had “passed”. What I wasn’t prepared for, after the Inspector had said I’d be billed for the analysis (probably only about $6 said he), was an invoice for $48.75!
Evidently, the pH determination on the jam costs $6 and tax, and the “Water Activity” analysis costs $40 and tax. Samples for sale to the public have to pass only one or the other, so I would think that the laboratory should test for pH first, and if the sample “fails”, then perform the expensive second test. The health inspector concurs, but didn’t say he was sympathetic. I phoned his office so that he might be better informed when he travels, confiscates samples, and tells people that the ministry pays for the “shipping (picking up of) and the analysis”.
The rest of my conversation with the inspector went ’round and ’round the issues. It’s too complex to rehash in my weblog, and the more I replay it in my mind, the more confused I get. In one conversation we were talking about botulism being the prime concern, and another time we were talking about molds. One time we were talking about sticking to recipes and methods on the packaging of the pectins (being reliable) and another time he was saying that those were safe for families but not necessarily for the public.
I’m sick of this issue and tired of hearing myself whine. I’m disappointed that the person who commented on this issue in my blog didn’t speak to me in person about it. At any rate, the public protection is in place, as if we all need saving from each other’s pot luck dishes and jams, so I don’t have much choice other than to comply.
I’ve been annoyed by a bunch of things today that I can’t write about here. This made me feel sorry for myself and tears of anger didn’t help. Eventually, I went out picking saskatoonberries, which was relaxing; the berries on our tree in the yard were pathetic, but I crossed a field to find an almost-forgotten “wild” Saskatoon bush, and the fruit was plump and juicy and easy to pick. I’ve settled down quite a bit. The small irritations of the day added up to more than the sum of them, and tomorrow is another day.
~ Ann
