So Much for That Batch!

Moving is rarely fun, though it can be theraputic, in a Saturnian slap-in-the-face, pull-you-up-by-the-roots kind of way. But it's also good for getting moving certain things or aspects of life that have been still, for . . . well, too long. When something gets too still, to the point of becoming stagnant or decayed, it's time to clear it out.

The past few days I've been sorting, packing --- to what degree my poor lower back can handle, anyway --- and in general, preparing my space for potential buyers to view it. All stuff, old and new, has to be evaluated, stored, stashed, or at least made to look presentable. And in a month or so, after a sale is made, everything must go --- including me, and my housemate-friend Debbie. Most of my rudimentary "lab" has already been packed, minus a selection of herbs and books, which makes any potistry work on all but the smallest scale more difficult.

In the cleanout process, I've just opened a ginkgo tincture that had been going (macerating) for months. After cleaning the annoying labels off a spare booze bottle (one of my most hated tasks), I strained the tincture and decanted it in. Only then did I look at the inner surface of the macerating mason jar, and get a nasty surprise. The alcohol had broken down the sealer! It was flaking, sluffing off, and the lid's metal had begun corroding. Who knows what foul chemicals from the lid liner had seeped into the tincture over all those months.

I felt I had no choice. True to Snape's attitude of "only the best", I threw the tincture away. Down the drain with it!

"Not good enough, Mister Potter."

I didn't even get photos of my failed batch. Better luck next time --- or at least, better methods. In my opinion, it's preferable to keep standards high than to put a dubious product into your body and potentially reap the consequences. When next I settle in and set up a new laboratory, I can always obtain more ginkgo leaf . . . and, now that I've learned, a safer set of maceration equipment, at least for long-term steepings. Especially in business but also for private use, only the most stringent standards I can attain need apply.

I, and anyone to whom I give my creations, is worth nothing less than the best.