diary of a man housebound

1. We received a check of some size from the feds. It was labeled as a tax refund, but contained no further explanation. I called our accountant, who was also puzzled but suggested it had something to do with changes in the tax laws regarding unemployment insurance. A few days later we had a form letter from the IRS saying exactly that. Would it had come earlier.
By then I had deposited the check, despite all the ATMs at my local branch being unfunctional.

2. Several years ago, when I was last in Ontario, I picked up at a store a bottle of Manitoulin Island brand chili-mango hot sauce. Manitoulin Island is a large island in Lake Huron, where I've never been; but distribution of their sauce goes a little further than that, though not far enough. The sauce was really good and I've been using it, sparingly, ever since. But the bottle's finally close to empty, so I located their website and ordered some more. Or tried to; when I got to the checkout page it said they won't ship to my address. Is that because I'm in the US? I don't know. They don't answer their phone, or their e-mail either.

3. Also in the consumables department, at Galco's - the retro-obscure-sodapop store in LA - I found a bottle labeled MacFuddy's pepper elixir. Curious as to what that might be like, I bought it and have now finally opened it. I should have paid more attention to the name. It tasted like Dr. Pepper, a concoction I have no use for. Others may disdain Moxie, or New Coke: I disdain Dr. Pepper.

4. The three-episode "mini-series" - I don't think the name applies, as it's really a 3-hour movie in 3 parts, but that's what they call it - seems to be a British specialty. I found "A Very English Scandal" a splendidly-made show, and now the same applies to "The Pursuit of Love," much superior to a couple earlier adaptations of the Nancy Mitford novel that I've tried to watch. In particular, Dominic West really gets into the cold blustery heart of the terrifying Uncle Matthew.
It's the story of a young woman (Lily James) in the 1930s, a bit younger than and a bit like Mitford herself, who is unable to connect spontaneous lust with lasting romantic attraction and is consequently doomed to have mad affairs that end disastrously. It's told from the perspective of her cousin (Emily Beecham), who is comfortably but drearily married and wonders what she's missing. The cousin's name is Fanny. I thought that was a Really Naughty Word in Britain, so how is it also a respectable name for girls? Maybe it's in the same category as Dick.

5. I dreamed that Lyndon Johnson served me doughnuts. No, really, he was the man behind the counter. But he kept getting my order wrong. I asked for "the chocolate one over there" and he gave me a maple bar. Turned out he couldn't see the chocolate one from where he was standing, and when he finally reached for it he fell over and dropped the doughnut on the floor. At that point I just left.