the super mask, fish sauce, books, and nutmeg

Today I learned that I can go out with a hepa filter strapped to my face and trim trees for three hours in otherwise unbreathable air, and afterward, the world is a much better place. My husband used to take me out of town for the day when the air was bad, and even after I got home I would feel much better. Apparently getting out of stuff for a while is a thing, and I'm sure the exercise didn't hurt.

In other news,

• Thai fish sauce is made of anchovies and salt and fermented for a year or a year and a half. I don't think I need to try to make that at home.
• Simon & Shuster will ship books for a flat rate of $5, but their Groupon coupon is not good for mass market paperbacks, and I'm too cheap to buy hardbacks for more than the price of a paperback even with a coupon.
• Kids these days are trying to get high on nutmeg. Commenters on Fark tried getting high on nutmeg back in the '80s, and they report that that is not a good way to get high. If only there were some medium through which teenagers could learn things from candidly speaking adults.

Also, that blanket we picked up as a souvenir in Tijuana is no longer allowed in the house because even my husband can detect it. It had been sitting folded up with the other blankets waiting to be tolerated, which it now clearly never will be. I am stunned that it didn't kill us years ago.