June 10th brings us National Herbs & Spices Day. It has been around since about 2015 and nobody knows how it began or who started it.

The day strikes me as being about herbs and spices in the kitchen as well as those used for medicinal purposes.

Being a lover of good food I like the idea of spicing up my dishes and have been known to keep a good stockpile of things with which to add to my cooking.

Few things are worse than bland food in my humble opinion.

Salt and Pepper are great enhancements ... but it's nice to consider broadening our taste horizons with spices such as cinnamon, oregano, basil and so forth to complement the inherent flavor of that which we eat.
 

Low salt diets in particular benefit from the spices available on today's market.

I frequent the Chef's Store on Jamil Rd in Columbia and they sport one of the finest spice racks I've ever encountered ! A wall of various spices and mixtures in different sizes.

The health aspects of spices likewise should not be underrated.

Nothing is more healthy than a dose of cinamon, tumeric, garlic, or ginger.

I am a big fan of parsley juice for many years now.

I like mine with an apple juiced in it. I have been known to consume it by the pyrex quart measuring cup to the point that I become tanned looking though I never venture out into the sunshine for long.
 

I used to be a big fan of donuts. Much more than I am nowadays. The cruller in particular.

Then Mr Donut left the area. It was my absolute favorite place for donuts. They turned the building into a video poker rip off joint; but that was the era in which the city of Cayce devolved.

Then my "second" choice, Dunkin Donuts, reduced their number of locations, began doing the convenience store thing, and were said to be going out of business though they still remain. I find in my old age that I have an aversion to "frozen" donut products being sold as "fresh" anyway.
 

This left Krispy Kreme which ceased being a place I frequented because they abandoned the cake donut in favor of the glazed yeast donuts and their inferior taste, texture, and nutrition.

So, now I'm left with pretty much a single place I'd just as soon avoid. In their defense they do make a fine raspberry jelly filled donut that remains a personal favorite.

Yes, it is still terrible nutrition but the flavor is there to overcome that detriment in my mind. I will sometimes buy a six pack of raspberry jelly filled donuts to placate my need for delectable though lousy calorie dense foodstuffs with which to stuff my face.

I've been known to devour the raspberry jelly donut with wild abandon and great gusto — and will likely continue to do so. In my feeble mind they taste THAT good.

Yummy!
 

I live in an area with quite a few cats roaming around. My neighbor across the street is particularly fond of them with several large aged ones she coddles and over which she dotes.

The existing leash laws are unenforced and totally ignored and have no effect on them.

My personal preference in cats surrounds Berkeley Breathed's Opus comic strip and of course, Bill the Cat.

Today is Hug Your Cat Day, aka National Hug Your Cat Day, and is an unofficial holiday celebrated each June 4th.

It provides that opportunity for cat owners to express a some love to their feline companion animals if it floats their boat.

So grab that cat by it's neck and give it a good hard squeeze for about 5 full minutes.

You'll recognize that adequate love has been administered by the glassy fixed stare and protruding tongue.

No, I am not really a cat lover in case you haven't guessed.
 

but if we get off on the wrong foot from the perspective of agreement, so be it