Where's The Bubbler?

I'm Back.....

2010-04-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

well, sort of. I was getting tired of the comment spam that I finally had to install a captcha thing-a-ma-jig.
Hopefully it will deter the spammers and not irritate my blog readers.
If I ever start posting again. I'm trying, really.

Merry Something To You!

2009-12-21T18:52:00.001-08:00

Another post beginning with an apology....! I cannot seem to get it together to write posts lately. Lots of stuff happening to share but I just never get around to writing it all down. I think that may be one of my things to do in 2010....more posts.

The image here is from the cover of the 1958 edition of the Cookie Book, which has been put out for the last 80 years or so by Wisconsin Electric Power Company--now called WEnergies. My mom had this one I remember. I got a .pdf copy of this year's edition.

I did make a few batches of Christmas cookies, not as much as years past and in fact, I had one cookie failure. I was trying to make soft, cake-like molasses cookies and followed the suggested substitutions and ended up with a big mess. I made Ribbon Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, Sugar Cut-Outs and Apricot Rugelach.

Tomorrow I'm traveling to Austin to have Christmas with my Dad, sister and niece. If all goes well, I may get to see Brave Combo while I'm there.

Wishing everyone a peaceful and warm Christmas...or like the boys from Devo say: Merry Something To You!

Here's a little something to get you in a festive mood!

Halloween 2009 Review

2009-11-12T16:49:00.000-08:00

It's about time I posted a recap of The Legend of Real Spooky Place--2009.

This year's haunt was another success. About 270 souls passed through the gates of Fartwood Cemetery on Halloween night. Even though the weather was great and the holiday fell on a Saturday, we didn't see the numbers we thought we would. Our friends in other neighborhoods said they weren't very busy either. It doesn't make sense to blame the economy--I would think more people would be out trying to score free candy--but who knows?

As usual, we had a "dress-rehearsal" on Friday night in order to make sure the foggers were OK and to fine-tune the lighting and other things. A few friends stopped by and I made some goodies to munch on.

Meringue Bones

Cat Cookies
Green Slime and Cyanide Cider
Hazmat Chili
Braaaaiiiiinnns!

(actually lemon panna cotta and raspberry coulis!)

Dale has more and much better photos and video on his site. Click here to check it out

Black Sunday

2009-11-01T07:21:00.001-08:00

Remember that guy or girl in ninth grade who dumped you for your best friend? It's kinda like that.

Or what about that nice guy you worked with for ten years who turns out to be selling secrets to the Chinese? Kinda like that, too.

Mr. Crip doing a little drive-by in Mr. Blood's 'hood? ....yeah like that.

The prodigal returns...except not in a good way. Not to repair the damaged relationship, but instead to break it some more.

What ever way you look at it--Brett Favre returning to Lambeau Field in a purple jersey is just wrong, wrong, wrong. You know it has to be a wrong of epic proportion if Bob Harlan isn't even going to WATCH the game.

The greatest player ever, the storied Green Bay franchise, the amazing 16 year road, with all its twists and turns....should be adding up to a fairy tale ending, not a bubbling cauldron of hurt and animosity. It didn't have to be this way and there is plenty of blame to go around on all sides. I don't think we'll ever sort out the "who did/said what to whom" part of this drama. The reality is that the NFL is a business--a high-stakes one--run by human beings with big egos, agendas, and plain-old human failings. It is just sad that this is what it has come to.

So, is Brett going to be cheered then boo'ed when he comes out of the tunnel? Boo'ed only? It will be interesting to see what happens. My primary care physician tells the story of when he was a student at Michigan and Bush the Elder came to speak....all the students stood and turned their backs to him. I kind of like that expression of displeasure.

Let's hope the Bad Brett shows up--the one that throws all those interceptions, and not the Good Brett that seems to pull something out at the very last second to save the day.

Getting in the Halloween Mood

2009-10-27T18:44:00.001-07:00

A scene from Fartwood Cemetery.

This is totally embarrassing.....my last post was over a month ago! I swear there is some cosmic phenomena that is deleting hours from the day.

The haunt is complete--everything is out and set up and waiting for Friday when Dale will fire up the foggers at the pre-Halloween party. We have held off carving the pumpkins and will do that tomorrow and Thursday in the hope they won't completely rot and disintegrate before Friday night.

To get you into the Halloween mood, here's the podcast I made last year. It still works!
This is the scene in the front window--the pumpkin totem with spiders.

The Return of "The Legend of Real Spooky Place"

2009-09-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

September is almost over and October is just around the corner. To most people that means back to school, a heavier blanket on the bed at night, colorful leaves to rake, wild fires and football.

Here at Fartwood Manor it means that we've (well, mostly Dale) been fast at work on the yard haunt: The Legend of Real Spooky Place.

This year we are sticking with the Fartwood Cemetery theme and there won't be anything majorly new.....just a lot of tweaking of the existing props. Right now Dale is changing the fence from wrought iron to be more rusty and crusty. The Wailing Tree from last year needs a little patch job from when it blew off the roof where it had been stored over the summer.

We're expecting a big night since Halloween is on a Saturday this year.

If you would like to keep an eye on the progress of the haunt, check out Dale's site, The Gate.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

2009-09-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

It's football time again! Yahoo! A lot less drama this year compared to last, that's for sure. This season will be extra special at Fartwood Manor since we finally joined the 21st century and got an HDTV. I have to admit is pretty incredible for watching sports.

This season I have also joined a fantasy football league for the first time--that should be interesting. I'm not too sure how it works, but I hope I can figure it out before I get too far behind.

The little guy pictured above has graced the top of the tee-vee set every fall at my parents' house for something like 45 years. If there is anything like the "family jewels" in my family...this is it.

Imagine my delight when I spotted these shoes in the window of the Vans store! I had to have them. The weird thing is that even though I've lived in SoCal for 29 years...this is my first pair of Vans.

GO PACK GO!!

Chile Today...Chile Tomorrow...Chile Everyday!

2009-09-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

It's Hatch chile time! I haven't been this excited about a food item for a while. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know I use chiles in lots of stuff. The more, the hotter, the better--that's what it's all about here at Fartwood Manor.

It wasn't until our trip to Santa Fe a couple of years ago that we really discovered the awesomeness of green chile. I swear we ate green chile at The Plaza Cafe three of four times while we were there. Sure, we like the chile verde at El Burrito Jr., but there's nothing quite like a bowl of green chile made with Hatch chiles.

Hatch chiles are basically Anaheim chiles (with a little of hybridization over the years) that have been grown in Doña Ana county in New Mexico. Hatch is a town about 40 miles north of Las Cruces and is said to have the best chiles. It is sort of like the appellation of grapes used in wines in France: this grape grown in this area makes this type of wine. And like in France, it is the terrior that provides the magic that makes Hatch-grown chiles the best. So when I saw a post on Chowhound about Hatch chiles being available in SoCal I knew I had to get me some.

A few weeks ago, Bristol Farms had a big Hatch chile promotion sponsored by Melissa's, the specialty produce distributor. They were going to be selling and roasting chiles at the Manhattan Beach store. I know, I know....it doesn't get any more gringo than getting chiles at Bristol Farm in Manhattan Beach, but you do what you have to do....how bad could it be?

The roasting time was from 4-9 pm, so I got there right around 4 and there were a few people already in line. There was an area in front of the store set up with the roasters and tables where they offered some pre-roasted chiles. Melissa's also gave out CDs and recipe cards. Just before I got there, they had fired up the roasters and promptly set off the sprinkler system....DOH! So they had to move the roasters out from under the patio cover and because of that were running a little behind. That was OK with me, it gave me a chance to chit chat with the ladies in front of me who were originally from New Mexico.

The deal was if you wanted to have the fresh-roasted chiles...you had to buy the whole case--which was about 30 pounds. I think it cost around $35. That's a lot of chiles, but what the heck....

The roasters were smaller than I thought they would be, but this way one case fit perfectly, so everyone got just what they paid for.
It took about 10 minutes total to roast the chiles. The air smelled so awesome! Kind of made your nose tingle a little bit too. On the way home, the aroma in my car was almost overpowering and lingered about 4 days.
OK...so I have 30 pounds of roasted chiles....now what?!?! "Who will help me peel these chiles said Mary-Wary?" Time to enlist Sous Chef Dale and get on with peeling and seeding. It took us about an hour to get it done. Rubber gloves are a MUST. Oh and don't rub your eyes, nose or ANYTHING--or you will be sorry!
After they were all peeled and seeded (for the most part!) I packed them into recipe-sized portions in Ziplocs and stuck them in the freezer.
We had a little green chile frenzy that weekend. First, I made chicken enchiladas with green chile sauce.
Next was a really great breakfast dish of eggs, chiles, sausage and cheese. Super easy to make and it just gets baked in the oven and voila! Instant yummyness. I love to cook, but I really hate to make breakfast stuff--this one was so good I am definitely going to make it again.

I made some green chile cheeseburgers too, but they got scarfed down so fast I didn't have a chance to take a picture. Somehow, I have a feeling there will be another photo op soon. Once cooler weather arrives I will try to perfect my chile verde recipe and I would like to make a sauce of some kind. I will definitely be exploring some of these links I found on Chowhound: links A links B.

I also found this amusing report of another Hatch chile safari from my go-to-guy for all things Mexican, Gustavo Arellano. I guess it sometimes pays off to be gabacho.

I've Got Hang-Ups

2009-08-22T07:46:00.001-07:00

One of the things I'd had my eye on for a long time is this Hang-It-All coat rack which was designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller in 1953. Its whimsical design fits perfectly in the studio, where we will use it to hang our coats and stuff. Dale's already got his Irish caps and cane up there. I wish the wall color came out better--it really is a beautiful aqua-y shade of blue.

On another note, I've noticed that the blog is getting a lot of hits lately. Wow...do I really have a following? What's up with that??!?! Of course I immediately fretted over the fact that I haven't been posting nearly as much as I want to. I still haven't posted about my trip to SanFrancisco in June! Yikes.

It has mostly been because of the work thing, which I thought was beginning to get under control, but the projects keep on coming in. I'm definitely not going to complain about these problems of abundance--but it sure would be nice to go back to 8-hour days. And back to the gym.

And I now have Facebook. I sort of resisted for a while, but after my niece's wedding it was a logical decision as a place for posting photos and stuff that was accessible to many people. Sad to say it really fits my short-attention span lifestyle of late. It is just less time-consuming to quickly put up a photo or write a few sentences about what crazy-ass thing happened that day than it is to write a cleverly-written post.

Anyway, thank you readers for continuing to read this 'lil blog....I'm still having fun!

Peaches

2009-08-15T14:37:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty good lately on hitting the farmers market for the majority of my produce purchases. I have been going to the market in Palos Verdes rather than Torrance because the PV market is on Sunday morning and that has been more convenient for me. It is smaller, but I can usually get what I need.

I know its supposed to be about supporting the small farmer and all that. But sometimes it freaks me out on the prices. For instance, right now is the height of the peach season. Lots and lots of peaches are out there. Peaches are selling at the farmers market for around $3/lb. These two peaches were $3.10. That's $1.55 per. Ouch.

I just ate one and I will say it was excellent.....perfectly sweet, not sour at all. A beautiful treat. Comparatively speaking....probably worth it. I don't think I would complain about paying that much for some ice cream or a pastry. But something is just weird about paying $1.55 for a peach.

Maybe that's really how much it costs to produce a good peach.

Solving California's Money Crisis

2009-07-30T19:02:00.000-07:00

You have probably heard by now that California is in a world of hurt due to a budget crisis. I don't want to get into a long story about the why or how it happened, but it pretty much boils down to: more money is going out than is coming in. When that happens, you gotta start spending less money.

Last week the Governator OK'd the budget and there are big cuts all over the place in addition to the cuts already made. Furlough Fridays for state workers, less hours at the DMV, programs and funding cuts--you name it.

California State Parks were one of the areas that didn't fare well in the budget cuts. So much so, that some State Parks will probably be closing. Only 13 of 279 of the parks are self-sustaining, the rest rely on the state for funding.

One of the things being suggested is partnering with industry as a way to regain the necessary funding. With that in mind, those two clever guys--Dale and John--put on their thinking caps and came up with these possible partners for some of the California State Parks. They included some National Parks too just in case Uncle Sam tries to do the same thing.

Terminator billboard on Half Dome

White and Day Death Valley

Fresh Step Kitty Litter presents Will Rogers State Beach

Red-Bull-Wood National Park

Banana Boat Aloe Vera Gel presents Joshua Tree National Monument

The Devil's Post-Fruity-Pebbles-Pile

Zales' Colma Gold Discovery Site at Marshall's Mill

Sucrets Mono Lake

The Southern California Edison Reddy-KiloWatts Towers

McDonner's Lake

Yoplait-semite National Park

Shasta State Park (no name change necessary!)

Morton Salton Sea

Burger King's Canyon National Park

KCBS-TV Channel 2 Islands

Kraft Catalina Salad Dressing Island

Manzanar, presented by Toyota

Rio Honda Park (no name change necessary)

Malibu Barbie State Beach presented by Mattel

San Onofre State Beach presented by the NRC

Noodlin'

2009-07-29T20:22:00.000-07:00

Here's another summer staple at Fartwood Manor: Cold Soba with Chicken. I could eat this every day. Rather than the traditional way to eat cold soba--in which the chilled noodles are presented on a little bamboo mat and served with a soy/ginger dipping sauce--this is a one-dish affair that includes spinach and grilled chicken that was briefly marinated in a little of the sauce, then everything gets tossed together with a little more of the soy/ginger sauce.

The original recipe calls for udon noodles, but I'm not a big fan of cold udon--to me those are soup noodles. Most of the time I grill the chicken, but today I cooked it in a grill pan.

Salad Days

2009-07-28T17:03:00.001-07:00

It's finally summer here and the heat is on--not like Portland, but just about right for me. So that means I'm in a salad sort of mood, but I wanted something more substantial than just some mixed greens. Chicken was on sale too, so I knew that would be an ingredient.

This is a Vietnamese salad called Goi Ga. It has poached chicken, cabbage, carrots, onions and herbs tossed with a dressing made with chiles, garlic, lime juice and fish sauce.

I used two recipes for inspiration. One is from Leite's Culinaria called Poached Chicken and Cabbage Salad with Vietnamese Coriander. I also consulted Wandering Chopsticks to get her Goi Ga recipe. Both recipes were different, yet basically the same. I used the salted cabbage from the Leite's, but I liked the way Wandering Chopsticks soaked her onions in vinegar first. I also followed WC's technique of using the mortar and pestle to make the chile-garlic paste for the dressing. Both recipes called for the Vietnamese herb rau ram, but I wussed out and used mint and cilantro. Even though it is a pain in the butt, I made the fried shallots. You wouldn't think so, but these pretty much make the dish. The contrast between the tangy, light salad and the smoky funk of the shallots is incredible.

A great salad for a warm summer night.

Beanerific!

2009-07-26T10:03:00.001-07:00

I really like beans and I'm always on the lookout for good ways to prepare them. I do use them in a few salads, but it seems that cooked beans are more of a dish for cooler weather. So when I came across Tuscan Beans in Summery Tomato Ragu I was excited to try it.

The dish is really easy to prepare--you just have to remember to soak your beans ahead of time--and uses ingredients that are almost always on hand. I will admit it is not a "cool kitchen" dish, since it does go in the oven at some point. I used Great Northern beans--but I would love to try cannelini beans sometime

The mellowness of the beans offsets the tangy tomatoes well, and the cheese that is sprinkled on top adds a wonderful undertone. I served this as a side for some grilled steak and garlic-sauteed wild arugula, but I think the beans with a big salad or a pile of sauteed greens would be more than enough to make a nice meat-free dinner.

July 20, 1969

2009-07-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

Forty years ago today, I sat at a picnic table at Potawatomi State Park in Wisconsin and watched as Neil Armstrong left the lunar module and made the first human footprint on the moon's surface.
My family left Milwaukee that morning on a two-week camping trip around Wisconsin. My folks felt it was too important of an event to miss, so we brought along our portable tee-vee so we could watch the moon walk.
I grew up in a pretty "Space Race/New Frontier" sort of atmosphere: my birth year coincided with Sputnik's launch. The silver-y snow suit I wore as a toddler was a "space suit". I remember watching John Glenn's orbit and asking my mom a typical six-year-old's question: "How do they go to the bathroom?" (Answer: "They take a pill"....good one, Mom!). Many years later, I remember sneaking out of work, to a co-worker's van, in order to watch the first Space Shuttle liftoff. Even now, I find it exciting to hear the sonic boom of the Shuttle when it makes a landing at Edwards AFB.
Dale grew up in a aerospace family--his dad was on the team that designed and built the AESEP and ALSEP modules for the Apollo program, as well as taking part in the development of the Lunar Rover used in later Apollo missions.

Here are a few of the mementoes of his:

How exciting that must have been, to be involved in such an historic endeavor? The South Bay (that's what the area where I live is called) is home to a number of aerospace companies. Sunday's Daily Breeze had a good article on what it was like back then, working on these early space programs. Everyone felt such a sense of duty and excitement.

Times are different now, so many things have shadowed the space program. Sure, our country has too many problems and not enough money, but I really do think we need to have something like this lofty goal--not just to be "the first"-- but something to capture the imagination and inspire people and now that the Shuttle is winding down I hope that we find again that compelling sense of purpose to pursue the exploration of space.

Crazy Carrots

2009-07-19T09:28:00.001-07:00

Check out these awesome carrots I got at the Torrance Farmers' Market! I was so excited to get them home and prepare them. I thought it would be best to keep it simple, so I would be able to tell if there was any flavor difference between the three colors. All I did was toss them with olive oil, sea salt and some avocado honey (dark and robust) and roast them in the oven for 30 minutes. If you've never roasted carrots--please try it. You will love the deep, sweet, carrot-y flavor.
They were pretty good as carrots go, but I couldn't really taste any difference between the colors. The red carrot was only red at the surface--the inside was a dark orange.

Bonne Fete Nationale!

2009-07-14T07:16:00.000-07:00

It's Bastille Day in France....here's a little video of the big military parade.

On The BBQ Trail

2009-07-12T11:41:00.000-07:00

After all the wedding vows were taken, all the dances danced, all the bratwursts grilled (and eaten), and honeymooners sent on their way.... Dad joined Dale and me on a mini road trip down to San Antonio-- about an hour's drive south from Austin. That is if you don't stop for Texas BBQ. We stopped. Often.

The area between Austin and San Antonio is one of Texas' prime BBQ zones. I've been to Texas a few times, but so far never had a chance to really explore all the famous places I'd been hearing about. For the trip down, we took highway 183 to our first stop: Lockhart, BBQ Capital of Texas and home to Smitty's, Black's and Kreutz Market. Since it was pretty early and my companions were not looking too favorably on having BBQ for breakfast, I narrowed the choice for this stop to Black's, which claims to the the oldest BBQ restaurant in Texas owned by the same family.

We parked the car near the main square and followed our noses.

Instructions on how they do things down in Lockhart. Pretty easy to follow.

Since the meats are all sold by the pound, you can just order what you want, in the quantities you want. I chose a pork rib, some brisket and a sausage. Since this was stop number one, I didn't want to get too overloaded. Rounded out with a little coleslaw and a devilled egg.

Everything was really good. The sausage was not fatty at all. Texas BBQ differs from other types of BBQ like Carolina or St. Louis style in that it is not served with a sauce. Most places have some sauce, but you have to add it yourself. It is all about the smoke and the meat in Texas.

Yes, Virginia, there really IS a jackalope.

Lockhart is the county seat of Caldwell County and boasts this ornate courthouse on the square in the heart of the city.

Next stop--Luling, home of the world-famous Watermelon Thump as well as home to City Market, another great stop on the BBQ trail.

City Market was a little different than Black's in that you actually entered the smokehouse to order your meat. Not as many side dishes either. No frills....the food comes on butcher paper and I had to go ask for a fork. Again, I had pork ribs and brisket--both good.

My dining companions finally perked up and had some good looking pork ribs too.

A local Luling artist transforms these pump jacks into works of art. There are something like 20 of them throughout the town. This one honors the Watermelon Thump.

This jack was in the back of a Dairy Queen.

Next stop--San Antonio....and The Alamo!

I've been a big fan of "King of the Hill" for many years. One of the recurring themes is that of The Alamo and how important it is to Texans. One episode, Hank Hill did an Battle of the Alamo re-enactment, and last season, Hank even made a backyard bar in the shape of the Alamo.

San Antonio's big event is called "Fiesta" and it was going on while we were there. That meant there were many events going on around town, including one that afternoon at The Alamo put on by The Daughters of the Republic of Texas. Because of this the visiting hours were shortened and we only got to spend a short time inside. Dang...I really wanted to see if there was a basement! We met one of the Sons of the Republic of Texas and chit-chatted with him for awhile. He sure knew everything there was to know about The Alamo and Texas in general. When we came back later that evening, we saw they had presented these wreaths, which were still on display.

The Riverwalk was pretty neat, but it too was the site of a Fiesta event, so we couldn't really experience it like we wanted to. That evening was one of the main Fiesta events--a Boat Parade-- and all the walkways were lined with reserved seating. One restaurant was selling a seat at a table for $75! We came by later and got to see a little of the parade from atop a bridge.

Since we couldn't hang out on The Riverwalk, we hopped a bus and went to El Mercado. This was another open air place with restaurants and shops and here too, was another Fiesta event...there were three stages with live music going on and the place was packed. We were pretty hungry by this time so we stopped at Mi Tierra Cafe. This place looked like a total tourist trap and I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised with the nice dinner we had. This photo is only a tiny glimpse of the over-the-top decor going on inside.

When I go travelling, I like to stay in historic hotels, if I can. We chose The Menger for our stay in San Antonio. It has a great location-- "across the alley from The Alamo" and it was built in 1859. The lobby is gorgeous.

Here is a neat sign.

We had to head out back to Austin the next morning and we were all just too "touristed-out" to make any stops along the way. I had planned on stopping in New Braunfels for more BBQ and I guess Barney Smith's Toilet Seat Art Museum will have to wait for my next trip. San Antonio has a lot more to explore--we only scratched the surface.

We kept hearing "Y'all come back" and I'm sure we will!

Austin Wedding Limits

2009-07-05T11:03:00.000-07:00

Finally!--as promised--a post about my April trip to Austin.

Dale and I went for our second visit to Austin, this time to attend the wedding of my niece (and godchild) Margaux. In addition to all the wedding-related festivities, we also had the opportunity to do a little more exploring than last time we were here.

A cool old sign in South Austin.

I don't know if it is an absence of zoning rules or just typical Austin weirdness, but roadside trailers selling stuff is really popular, especially in South Austin. Vacant lots are transformed into funky food places.
South Austin Trailer Park is home to a number of vendors, one of which is Torchy's Tacos. I've had more than my fair share of tacos, but Torchy's were the best I've had yet. Not only were the fillings awesome (I think this is one beef and one green chile pork) but the tortillas were unbelievably good. We loved it so much we ate there twice during our visit.
This "canned ham"-style trailer sells s'mores! How cool is that? They sell you the fixins and you DIY it at the small fire pit near by.

These cool Airstreams are parked on South Congress.
We also visited the saddest.fun fair.ever. OK...it was early and a little rainy, but this was one sad fun fair. Even the carnies were sad.

I'd been looking forward to checking out the Austin bat colony that resides under the Congress Avenue bridge. This is the largest urban colony of Mexican free-tailed bats in the world. The bridge is over a widening of the Colorado River called Lady Bird Lake. Luckily for us, the wedding reception was right on the shore of the river/lake and we were able to see the whole thing. I expected a couple of bats to fly around, but this was unbelievable! Once they started coming out, they kept on coming and coming and coming......for about 20 minutes! Constantly. They sort of made a sinuous, helix shape and sometimes there were even two columns of bats. It was crazy!

Driving around town, I'd noticed that Austin has a lot of neon. Now I know why. We stopped and talked to Todd, the super-friendly owner/artist of Roadhouse Relics, who's responsible for many of the signs I'd seen around town.
I know--not so awsome during the day...but this is a great example of the styles Todd designs. Last time we were in Austin, we went to Jovita's to see Brave Combo play.
Another highlight of the trip was the chance to eat some kolaches. There are many outlets of The Kolache Factory around town.
Frozen custard in Austin? You betcha! This place has been in business since the 40's. Started up by transplants from Ohio.
It was sort of weird to travel to Texas to learn about California style--but this was a great exhibit. Austin has a thriving modern community and we saw some cool architecture as we explored the city.
We got to meet Maya--cutest, friendliest pup ever.
The entire visit was a blast. Not only did I do touristy things like these photos show, the wedding events were the highlights of the trip.

Since the bride is from Wisconsin, there was a large contingent of Cheeseheads that traveled down to Texas for the event. I had a great time catching up with friends and family as well as meeting more of Aaron's family.

Here's a pic of the happy newlyweds!

Happy Independence Day!

2009-07-04T07:30:00.000-07:00

Lest my blog readers think I'm unAmerican....here's my tribute to America's Birthday.

On tap for today is some much-needed house cleaning in the AM and then go hit the fireworks show at Wilson Park around 7. The sun is already up and shining--I guess June gloom is over.

Bonne Fete Nationale du Quebec!

2009-06-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Today is the anniversary of the birth of Saint Jean-Baptiste, the patron saint of the Province of Quebec.

Food From Another Planet?

2009-06-13T09:52:00.000-07:00

It was a brave (or really, really hungry) person who took a look at this and said, "MMMM that looks like it would be something good to eat!" I saw it and said, "WOW look at that freaky-ass vegetable--I gotta get that on my blog!"

The young man that sold it to me said it is an Indian Bitter Melon and (surprisingly) it is very bitter. And apparently it is good for ya too.

I'll have to check around and find a recipe that uses it and if I survive I'll post about it.

Meet Charlie

2009-06-08T20:20:00.001-07:00

This is Charlie, one of the stray cats that has been hanging around Fartwood Manor for the last six months or so. FatCat is still around passing the time between the three houses on my street. MomCat--not preggers as originally thought--just fat-- is still camped out under the deck, but getting bolder (and not in a good way). Black Irish must have found a better gig, since I haven't seen him for a few months.

Charlie is such a cutie that we were hoping he'd calm down a bit and be a little more accepting of us. Lately, he's come up to the back patio door but retreats once I go there to dish out the food. The other night I accidentally left the slider open and was in the next room at the computer. I looked up an there was Charlie in the tee-vee room checking out the Laker game. I kept still and he wandered around the house for about 30 minutes. He just quietly sat there looking at me sitting at my desk. I had to take this photo so Dale would believe me that he had actually come into the house.

Last night when we got home, Charlie and MomCat were eagerly waiting for some food. Dale left the door open and eventually Charlie came in again. Dale found some catnip left over from HellCat and put that out and Charlie rolled around in it and had a good time, but eventually got spooked and ran out.

I hope he gets mellowed out and wants to stay with us.

It's Donut Day!

2009-06-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

First, it is Accordion Month and today it is Donut Day! Life is good.

Life is going to get even better this afternoon--I'm going for a weekend in SanFrancisco! Dale has been up there all week and I will join him for the weekend. Hard to believe we've never been there together, so it will be fun to do some exploring. Saturday's agenda includes a trip to Alcatraz. I hope to check out the Ferry Building Farmers' Market too.

But first, I think I'll have a donut.

UPDATE: Turns out this Donut Day thing is a real deal not just some crazy idea made up by some marketing guy at Dunkin Donuts. It is a time to honor the Doughboys of WWI and the Salvation Army Lassies who provided these sweet treats during the dark days of wartime. Thank goodness we don't have to make donuts in Army helmets anymore!

It's Accordion Awareness Month!

2009-06-01T20:43:00.000-07:00

It is always Accordion Awareness Month at my house, but this month it is official. So, in honor of Accordion Awareness Month, I have put together a little podcast showcasing just a tiny bit of the diverse music styles that feature accordions. It's not your grandfather's accordion music anymore! Sure, everybody thinks accordions equal polka music...but pretty much all cultures have some sort of squeezy-box. The rising popularity of world music is bringing all this good stuff to more ears.

Click here to check out the podcast. Here's a little bit of info about the songs that are included:

The ever-awesome (and Grammy award-winning!) Brave Combo gives an old standard polka a totally new sound.

Nortec Collective from Mexico brings the traditional sound of accordion to the alternative beats.

Cajuns like Bruce Daigrepont are famous for using accordions.

Texas is home to a huge Czech population that brought the polka music with them from the old country and morphed it with the twangy country music.

Chicha music is a freaky psychedelic mix of Peruvian, Columbian, Andean sounds that began in the late 70's. Chicha Libre is a contemporary band from the US that re-introduced this genre.

Gogol Bordello kicks ass with their over-the-top Gypsy punk.

The rest of the list are the kinds of traditional polkas that I grew up listening to.

And of course I had to put some Weird Al in here!

This is by no means a complete list of accordion music...just some of the bands and songs I like. If you want to explore the wonderful world of accordions, check out Let's Polka, a treasure trove of all things accordion.

My cousin Kathleen took this awesome photo of her husband Mark and his accordion. He serenades her (and sometimes the squirrels) every day.

Apricot Clafouti

2009-05-31T14:32:00.000-07:00

All week I've been trying to make this Apricot Clafouti. I got the apricots last Saturday at the Farmers' Market and I was hoping they wouldn't get too overripe by the time I got to use them. This is my only complaint about using the Farmers' Market: sometimes I end up over-buying. I have such noble ideas for what I want to make for the week's meals--I plan my meals ahead of time and make a shopping list that I am good at sticking to, but it seems something always comes up--like staying late at work and then I end up blowing off the meal plans and making a frozen pizza. As tempting as it is to sign up for a CSA box--I could never make that kind of a commitment right now. I would sure hate to have to throw stuff away. I wish there was some kind of a way to have the market every day!

Thankfully, the apricots hung in there and I made this yesterday. Clafouti is usually made with cherries, but really, any fruit would be good. I have made it with pears too. This particular recipe is purportedly on the "healthy" side as it does not use the usual dose of melted butter and skimps on the eggs. But I think the healthy tag comes from the fact that this recipe was to serve 12. WHAT?!?! Who are they trying to kid? Dale and I ate half for our dessert and I'll probably polish off the rest tonight.

First Grill-Out of the Season

2009-05-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

The grill saw a lot of action last weekend. First of which was a long-overdue wash job. (Anybody know where to get some "Simpsons Yellow" touch-up paint?) After that it was just the difficult job to decide what to cook.

Saturday, I started off the 2009 grilling season with Johnsonville Hot Italians and some grill-wokked asparagus. What? You've never had grilled asparagus? One of the best foods ever. It is really easy in one of these grill woks--just toss the asparagus with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and toss it in the wok. Move it around to cook and in 5 minutes or so, it is done.

Sunday, it was the grill-wok again. This time with shrimp that eventually ended up in my Southwest Salad. The corn also gets a little time on the grill, then gets cut off the cob.

Monday I did double time on the grill. Chicken was on sale this week so I made a ton of Jujeh Kabob that we ate for dinner and that I used during the week in my lunches.

Beverages Du Jour

2009-05-24T17:26:00.001-07:00

Here's what we're drinking today--

Mojitos are always nice! I was talking to my sis yesterday--she mentioned she was planting mint to use in mojitos. That got me in the mood.

I use the Minty Lime Cooler recipe from Border Grill and add rum. This is totally great with no rum!

Nothing better than vanilla and strawberries--so why not make 'em into a drink? A great way to use up the 1/2 flat of berries I got yesterday. I also got to use some of the Meyer lemons from my tree.

What's To Eat?

2009-05-23T15:50:00.000-07:00

This is my haul from this morning's trip to the Torrance Farmers' Market. Everything looked so good I went a little crazy. I haven't been cooking very much due to my work schedule and I thought with an extra day this weekend I would have time to cook AND relax, not to mention get some of the chores out of the way.

On the menu this week at Fartwood Manor: Apricot Clafoutis, Nicoise Salad, Panzanella, Strawberry Lemonade, Corn & Shrimp salad. I'm even going to try to make daikon pickles and cucumber kimchi.

Not A Crime.......

2009-05-22T08:01:00.000-07:00

to stay up waaaay past my bedtime and drive an hour each way to go see the awesome Gogol Bordello! And that's just what I did last night. Great show....more later!

Relax.....

2009-05-18T05:36:00.000-07:00

.......it was only a 4.7. But it sure felt stronger! Dale and I were settled down watching the season (and possibly series--does anyone know?) finale of King of the Hill and things started to rock and roll. We jumped up and ran to the patio door, clinging to each other. It was actually sort of hard to stand up, the movement was so strong. The shaking seemed to last pretty long. All I could think of was that the ceiling was going to collapse on top of us.

Finally the movement stopped and we began to access the damage. I had heard a lot of crashing and was hoping it wasn't any of the computers, and thankfully it was only a box of cassette tapes that fell off a shelf. Dale checked the gas line and then we went and checked on the neighbors. When we went to bed, Dale made sure the flashlights, scanner and our shoes were right next to the bed.

In the post-event assessment, I give us a bad score for not doing the "duck and cover" like we should have, although Dale did have the genius reaction to hit record on the DVR. I think I gave myself whiplash jumping up from the chair--my neck was killing me. Dale said he twisted his knee.

J'Ville In Da 'Hood

2009-05-16T09:16:00.000-07:00

The world's second-finest brats are getting a little exposure here on the corner of Crip and Blood. Ok, so it's really Torrance Boulevard and Western Avenue. I say...."put down those guns and grab a brat!" Maybe the world would be a kinder, gentler place if people ate more brats.

The irony of this is that we were here because we were picking up some carne asada meat from our local favorite Mexican restaurant/carneceria for the evening's grill-out.

I wasn't in too much of a bratwurst mood....I had my "fix" of the world's finest brats while I was visiting Austin.

Note---sorry for the lack of posts lately. Work pretty much exploded (yay!!..I'm not complaining) and it is really hard to sit and formulate coherent posts when I get home. I promise to do better soon!

Waiting For Taco

2009-05-08T20:47:00.000-07:00

Finally, the famous Kogi taco truck comes to Torrance! Actually, I think it might have been here before, but this was my first time to check it out. I'd been hearing about the truck--which serves tacos with a Korean twist--on local food blogs and other places for a while and I was anxious to see for myself what the buzz was all about. Dale signed up a while back for their Twitter feed, so he was alerted that they would be making a stop in Torrance from 6-9pm.
We headed over to the location--next to the Toyota plant--at 5:30. We were about 10th in line. After a bit, someone got an alert that said they would be there by 6:45. People just kept coming and coming. The location is sort of in an industrial park, not on a busy street--so you'd have to know it was there. By the time the truck arrived, there were easily one hundred people in line.
After waiting for an hour.....the truck est arrive!

Once the truck stopped, it was another 20 minutes or so until the doors opened.
A simple menu with good taco choices.

After you pay, you get to wait some more. Everybody was cool and in a good mood.
We were soooooo hungry! We got Korean BBQ rib (on the right), chicken and pork (on the left).

The rib and chicken meat was a typical Korean BBQ-style, the pork more of a Mexican style. All were topped with a salsa of sorts made from napa cabbage, sesame oil, green onions, cilantro.

Each one was really good and for two bucks apiece...worth it.

On the way home, we stopped at Foster's Freeze for a Twister and ran into one of the people that had been waiting in line with us.

Fire Season Already?!

2009-05-06T20:10:00.001-07:00

Wisps of smoky clouds in tonight's sunset from the fire in Santa Barbara, which is about 100 miles north.

Most People Call 'Em Green Onions......

2009-04-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

.......but they're really scallions.

I picked up these monsters up at the Rolling Hills farmers' market today. They might be negi--a Japanese form of green onion--those are super long too, but those usually have more white part.

Check out the antique yard stick....might be a real collector's item if GM does fold.

P.S. Texas was awesome and I hope to get some stuff up soon!

Texas Bound

2009-04-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

This will be my last post for a while because I'm going to Austin! Yee Haw!

The main event is my niece's wedding, but there will be plenty of time before and after to party and explore. On Monday we will take a side trip down to San Antonio to visit the Alamo and have a look-see. Oh yeah, did I mention BBQ? And kolaches?

You Know It's Spring When...

2009-04-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

....there are lots of yummy strawberries.

Something else that makes me realize that spring is here is the *ting* of the aluminum bats being used at the park on the next block.

B-17 in Torrance

2009-04-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend Torrance Airport hosted the B-17 Flying Fortress tour. This restored aircraft travels the US during the spring and summer, offering tours and for those with the big bucks...an opportunity to actually fly in it.

Since we'd taken the on-board tour two years ago, we just went for a quick look-see on Saturday. It is pretty awesome to see it take off and land.

This aircraft is nicknamed "Aluminum Overcast" and Dale gave this tour guide the nickname "Abdominal Overcast".
I spotted Torrance's favorite son, Louis Zamperini, at the show. The Torrance airport is named in his honor. Louis is a former Olympian and WWII POW.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

Once the cats and squirrels had their morning nosh, I could go into the backyard and get this pic of the eggs we colored yesterday.

I don't have any special dinner planned for the day--we're sort of busy in "vacation preparation mode" due to our upcoming trip to Austin on Wednesday. You know....like researching all the kolache and BBQ places we are going to try, getting the iPods set up with tunes and movies and finding all the local radio frequencies (just in case we need to monitor any wild weather). Yeehaw!

First Class D'Oh!

2009-04-09T06:22:00.000-07:00

It is just incredible to realize that America's favorite family, The Simpsons, are going to have their own STAMPS! In 1989 who would have ever imagined this happening?!?!
I'm a nerd for commemmorative stamps anyway--and the chance to use The Simpsons stamps is fantastic! I almost feel like getting my old stamp collection out of the attic. Say what you will about the USPS--but they definitely scored a HOMER with this one.
Go visit the US Postal Service to get details and to order the stamps and lots of other goodies.

Rescue Me--Season 5

2009-04-07T06:02:00.000-07:00

FI-NA-LLY! After what seems like FOREVER, season 5 of Rescue Me begins tonight on FX.
I don't know what the delay was all about..writers' strike, Tatum O'Neal's drug bust...who knows? What I DO know is that I'll be watching. And then having a tummy ache afterwards because this show is just so 'effing disturbing. I can't wait to see one of my most favorite actors ever--Michael J. Fox--as he joins the cast of this awesome show. Enjoy!

You can thank me later

2009-03-28T08:04:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to not let this blog become a link dump, but today I'm too uninspired and pressed for time to make a brilliant, original post of my own.....and frankly, this one was to eefin awesome to not share. This came from WFMU's Beware of the Blog, which is a daily wonderland of cool stuff. Read the article, then conduct your own exploration of this unique musical form. There is TONS of stuff out there to check out.
Enjoy! You'll be glad you did!

Wisconsin Trip Part Two--Food and Stuff

2009-03-25T20:06:00.000-07:00

Like I wrote in my last post....it was really cold when I arrived in Milwaukee. This is the temperature at 7am on Thursday morning. President Carter would be really proud of us keeping the thermostat below 72 degrees!
The frozen tundra of my sister's back yard. Even though this is all dead-looking, she showed me the teeny-tiny shoots of tulips that were starting to come up.
After working all day Friday prepping the shower food, we--my sister, dad and I went to church and worked at the Fish Fry. They really do a good job and this is one of the most popular church fish frys in town. There was even smelt on the menu! They served close to 500 dinners.
Sunday we went to the Iron Horse hotel for brunch. It is a new hotel that was made by converting an old wherehouse. It is located near the new Harley-Davidson Museum. We ate in the bar area. It was a beautiful room with huge windows. Keeping with the wherehouse motif--they used old workbenches and stools. The chair I sat on was just like my old drafting stool from the old days when I worked at a drafting table. Ahhh....comfy nostalgia.

The food was excellent. There were about ten of us at the table and it was split between breakfast items and lunch items. No complaints.

The best thing about this burger was that they ran the cheese under the broiler and made it all bubbly...nice touch. The buns were house-made too.
Of course, I had to have a brat. It was pretty good.
Bubblers!
Here's a great example of a ghost sign--
I made my Dad take me to Leon's on Sunday afternoon. It was the first nice day for about a week and everyone was out getting some custard. This was about 5 in the afternoon.
I got the smallest hot fudge sundae possible. Heaven in a cup.
On Monday we went driving around. Still a few chunks of ice in the lake.
The is the Wisconsin Gas Company Building. Sadly, it seems to be in need of an occupant. Back in the day, the "flame" on the top of the building would be illuminated at night with a color code for the weather. Now, I think it is only lit on special occasions, if ever. Sad.
Here's is a poster I have that tells what the colors mean--

I seldom go east down Wisconsin Avenue. Wow--what a great view! I usually come from the south so I never get to see this angle. Somebody really got this one right.

Wisconsin Trip Part One--Bridal Shower

2009-03-21T21:14:00.000-07:00

My trip to Milwaukee was short, cold and tons of fun. It was mostly a working vacation--I co-hosted a bridal shower for my niece--so the first three days were spent preparing for the party. The plan was that I would make the food for the party and the other co-hostesses (my other niece and the MOH) would do desserts and decorate and all the rest of the party planning tasks.
I arrived Wednesday morning on the red-eye, and after a nice breakfast my dad and I hit the stores and bought all the provisions I'd be needing. I'm sure glad I dressed warmly--it was cold (in the 20's) and super windy. At least we didn't have to worry about the food getting too warm as we went from store to store.
With the pantry stocked, Thursday and Friday were spent prepping the food. Sous chef Dad helped out on Thursday and on Friday my sister played hooky from work and helped me.

I had looked forward to using some great Wisconsin cheeses--this one was used in the Prosciutto and Gruyere Pinwheels.
I needed to grill these peppers and give the sates some grill marks (they would finish cooking in the oven at the venue). It was about 40 degrees outside. Hey--at least the sun was out, and if I stayed close to the grill, it wasn't all that bad.

The theme of the shower was "Martini Party", so I wanted to make things that were finger foods and easy to eat.

Marinated Mozzarella, Roasted Red Pepper and Olive Brochettes

Pecan and Goat Cheese Marbles
Smoked Salmon, Avocado and Horseradish Spirals
I hit the West Allis Cheese and Sausage Shoppe and got this nice assortment--Stravecchio (a Parmesan-type), aged Gouda, smoked Cheddar, and Buttermilk Blue. I brought the dried fruits with me from California.
Spanakopita
Crudite with Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Dip
Everybody loves shrimp cocktail
In addition to these items, I also made curried chicken sates with peanut sauce and teriyaki beef sates.

My niece Allyson was in charge of desserts. She made these awesome strawberry shortcakes.
She also made plain cheesecake and turtle cheesecake. MMMM
In honor of the bride, a recent UT grad, she made these longhorn cookies.
Everyone had a great time. We laughed, played games, opened gifts, and of course--drank some martinis! Later that evening, we went out for the bachelorette party. This had an 80's theme, so we all wore our best leg warmers and had a blast.

(if anyone wants the recipe for the sates or spanakopitas.....let me know)

Space Junk!

2009-03-21T17:37:00.000-07:00

Is this where they put the space junk?!?

(Now I got that Devo song playing in my head!)

Hi Mr. President!

2009-03-18T17:38:00.000-07:00

Did you see me waving?
Today President Obama visited California for the first time since he became president. Had I not just taken off some days for vacation, I would have seriously considered trying to get a ticket for the town hall meeting.
I work in Huntington Beach which is about midway between Long Beach, where the president landed in AirForce One and Costa Mesa, where the town hall meeting was held.
Today, I kind of spaced on the fact he was coming--I could have been listening to the radio or streamed video of the event.
Shortly after 3pm, we heard some heavy-duty aircraft noise (we're close to a Naval Weapons Station too) and my co-worker called out--Hey I bet that's the President! We all ran outside to check it out. I grabbed my camera and attempted to take a few shots.
There were five helicopters--two in the front, one in the middle and two in the rear. That was pretty cool.
I was a little worried that there would be a traffic jam on the way home on the 405--it runs right past Long Beach Airport--but things were clear when I went past at 4:15 or so. As I passed by I searched the runway and sure enough, I saw AirForce One parked way down at the north end of the runway! Yeah!
The Q&A part of the meeting started while I was driving home and when I reached home I rushed into the house and went to turn on the tee-vee but the DV-R red light was on! Oh no! What was recording?!?! Big Joe! Damn...what to do?!?!?
I quickly turned on my computer and finally got a video stream going on KNX.
I thought the questions asked were pretty thoughtful and covered a lot of the issues that are in the forefront today and I thought the answers were good and as detailed as they could have been considering it was all off-the-cuff.
When the program was over I stayed at the computer and tried to catch up on my blog reading. It is a beautiful spring day and the door is open next to me and I hear a familiar sound--more helicopters! I looked to the north just in time to see three military helicopters travelling northwest towards LAX. I think Mr. Obama is following me!

I wonder where he will spend the night? Vandenberg AFB? The guy on the tee-vee said those details were not made available. I can't wait to see how he does on Leno tomorrow.

There's no place like home

2009-03-16T07:43:00.000-07:00

But where is home? I'm happy to have two awesome places to hang my hat.
I've been so busy on this trip I haven't really had a chance to get email, much less think of things to write about.
The flight back to California tonight will give me a chance to decompress and write some stuff. Lots of photos and fun activities.
It's kind of weird to be sitting at my Gramma's desk in my old bedroom (now the computer room) typing this on my dad's laptop!

Radio Silence

2009-03-09T16:24:00.000-07:00

No....I wasn't in the hospital, or in jail, or dead. The absence of posts this last week was due to a general lack of inspiration combined with being busy with work and stuff. When I get busy at work, the longer hours spent there cut into the time I have to sit and think of junk to write about. Not to mention that I'm usually brain-dead when I do get home and that really puts the kibosh on any type of creative thinking.
Last week was Dale's birthday, which we celebrated by going to the movies--we saw Milk. Totally awesome. Not only was Sean Penn spectacular, but I hadn't known another of my favorite actors, James Franco, was also in the film.
Thursday night I spent baking a cake--German chocolate--and finally finishing the tomato soup I started on Sunday when I roasted the tomatoes. I was worried I wasn't going to get to finish with the soup. But I did and it was so yummy and worth waiting for.
Friday we had a little party to celebrate both Dale and his daughter's birthdays--pizza, cake and polka dancing with his 2 month old grandson. Gotta start 'em young!

I spent the weekend preparing for my upcoming trip to Milwaukee. The weather forecast does not look too promising for Wednesday and Thursday, with highs predicted in the 30's....brrrrr! Luckily, I have some cold weather clothes, so no worries there, except for their lack of style. It is the shoe situation that is giving me a problem. I don't have the same shoe dilemma as fellow blogger GoldenRail, since I have only one pair of shoes to chose from, but they are clogs, so I'm worried my poor little feet are going to be cold. I do have UGGS, but I'm not looking forward to the derision the Milwaukee people heap on us UGG-wearing Coasties.

I'll be co-hosting a bridal shower for my older niece while I'm there. My task is food preparation, so I'll have a few days to do that before the party on Saturday. I'm really looking forward to seeing friends and family and having a great time visiting with everyone. Hopefully I will have time to go to a fish fry and get to Leon's as well. Not too sure I'll be able to post while I'm gone, but I'll try.

Tweaking History

2009-02-28T14:07:00.000-08:00

Why can't I be clever enough to think of this stuff?

Vietnamese Pomelo Salad With Shrimp

2009-02-26T08:26:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite recipe sources is Wandering Chopsticks' blog. She has tons of recipes for
Vietnamese dishes, as well as Italian, French, and American. The other week she posted a recipe for Goi Buoi Tom--Vietnamese Pomelo Salad With Shrimp. The photos looked so good I just had to try it.
Wow! This was so awesome! I'd never eaten a pomelo before, but I like grapefruit, so I was curious to use it. The pomelo was sitting on the table for a few days before making the dish and it gave off a really nice citrusy aroma. The skin is really thick, the membranes are tough, and the flavor is not as sour as a grapefruit. It just has this nice tang to it. I noticed that her pomelo was white--mine was pink.
Wandering Chopsticks used rau ram--Vietnamese coriander--in her salad; I used mint and cilantro. The nouc mam cham sauce is exactly the same as I make for my steak salad. Since I was out of shallots, I fried up some thin red onion slices. I'd never used fried onions in this way before, and it totally made the dish. Next time, I'm going to try the rau ram.
The salad is so light and fresh tasting--not to mention easy--it is definitely going to be on the menu board at Fartwood Manor.

Happy Birthday Abe Vigoda!

2009-02-24T09:25:00.000-08:00

I thought you were dead! Turns out old Detective Fish is a very alive 88 years old today!
You can watch on-demand episodes of Barney Miller at my newest favorite place on the Internet: HULU.COM

We Have A Winner!

2009-02-22T14:32:00.000-08:00

Hey....everybody's a winner here! Loyal blog reader Doc Rocks sent me this image the other day. Looks like he hit the Where's The Bubbler jackpot! Sorry, this is Torrance and not LasVegas, and the prizes aren't as nice, so I'll buy you a beer next time I see ya Doc.

This also gives me the opportunity to say THANKS to ALL my readers. I really appreciate you stopping by to read my nonsense and leave such nice comments.

Wild Kingdom

2009-02-19T18:45:00.000-08:00

Maybe Torrance has potential as a tourist destination after all! Dale made this sign a few years ago when things were really getting crazy in the back yard. It hangs on the patio with all the other doo-dads.

I can see it now....something along the lines of those mom-n-pop roadside attractions that dotted the highways in places like The Everglades in the '40s and '50s: "Feed the wild alligators!", "Land of 10,000 Snakes", "Home of Bubba the Dancing Bear". I could sell lemonade and cookies.

There are three more additions to the Wild Animal Park. Right around Christmas we noticed a very pregnant cat was hanging out under our deck. It was super timid, but would come out and eat the food we put out. Then another cat appeared a few days later. We call this one Charlie. When I came home from work about two weeks ago I saw a cat across the street near where the Irish guys live in the corner house. About a half hour later he was on the patio eating the food I had just put out for Charlie and MomCat! This guy is black with white paws and whiskers--I named him Black Irish. So now we have three cats hanging around plus FatCat.

What's up with all these cats? They are all in really good shape but very timid. I heard that there is an upturn in abandoned animals due to the bad times and foreclosures. I asked the animal control guy if he noticed that happening in Torrance, but he said thankfully no. And also said that there's a limit of 3 animals of one species allowed per household--and that by feeding these strays we are the de-facto owners! Doh!

Destination: Torrance

2009-02-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

While we are on the subject of civic boosterism, there is talk that Torrance wants to pump up its image a bit and make a bid as a tourist destination. Or at least as a cheaper place for tourists to stay on their way to actual tourist destinations. The city and chamber of commerce are thinking of establishing a visitor center and convention bureau in hopes of snagging some tourism dollars.

Now, don't get me wrong.....I love Torrance. It is a great place to live. But seriously, there's not all that much here that would appeal to a tourist--at least not as a final destination. No theme park, no movie studio, no sporting venue. I'm a fan of the quirky and the weird when I travel, and Torrance doesn't even have a big ball of twine or giant fiberglass statue to call its own.

Let's see what we have in Torrance that maybe someone else would like to see.......

--Fans of urban planning (and un-planning) might like to check out Old Torrance--the first planned city west of the Mississippi. What's left of it anyway.
--Movie buffs might like to visit the locations of films and tee-vee shows shot in Torrance: Jackie Brown, Bad Santa, Boogie Nights, Buffy, and 90210 to name a few.
--We got a big mall! (with crummy stores)
--Wilson Park is really nice.
--Torrance Beach, all 300 feet of it.
--The Farmers Market is awesome.
--You can play "what's that smell?" at the Mobil Refinery.
--Train buffs would enjoy all the trains passing though town. All the time. With really loud horns.

Torrance--it's on the way to where you're going!

Showing Some MKE Luv

2009-02-17T18:40:00.000-08:00

Recently I discovered a really neat-o blog: Accidental Wisconsinite. Blogger Meghan is a transplant from Portland who fell in love with Milwaukee. Portland is a pretty dang cool city itself, so that is saying a lot. She writes about Milwaukee with the zeal of a convert and appears to have a fun and interesting life.
A recent post--I Heart Milwaukee--is actually an entry for a contest by National Geographic's Traveler magazine. The website will be featuring the favorite entries.
The questionnaire is the usual fill in the blanks list of "best place to do X", favorite foods, and points of interest unique to that city. I totally agree with Meghan's picks of the Third Ward, the Art Museum, the magnificent lakefront, farmers markets and all the cool festivals. The best one was "You can tell if someone is from my city if_____". The answer she gave was "....if they are ridiculously nice and can drink you under the table."
Yeah, that pretty much says it all.
Now if they can just do something about that weather........

Tonight--New Simpsons Title Sequence!

2009-02-15T13:50:00.000-08:00

Since we're on a Simpsons sort of thang.....Tonight's episode will be in HD (how much def does a 2-dimension show really need?!?!) and will also debut the first change to the title sequence in twenty years.

Also...I'm embarrassed that I hadn't made THIS connection before.......Apu and Manjula had octuplets WAY before octo-mom did!
That was a really good episode, come to think of it!

Happy Birthday Matt!

2009-02-15T07:36:00.000-08:00

Today is Matt Groening's birthday. He probably would hate to hear it , but through his "Life in Hell" strip and later "The Simpsons" he's been a huge influence in my life. I started reading reading the Life in Hell strip in 1980 when I moved to SoCal--it was new, I was new....I could totally relate to the angst.

You know the old one...."If I could have dinner with three famous people....who would they be?" For me, Matt would be one. The other two people would be Julia Child and Brett Favre, although I think I might be on the lookout for a replacement for Brett.

Bonus Valentine Post

2009-02-14T12:12:00.000-08:00

My Hunny, AKA Facestabbio, surprised me this morning with a Singing Valentine! He's so sweet!

Our friend John is in a harmony singing group that does (among other things) singing valentines.

If you are in the South Bay and need some singers...let me know and I'll hook you up!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!

I got these cute retro Valentine's cards at Urban Outfitters. They are just like the ones I had in grade school.

The best.Valentine's.Card.ever award goes to this gem from The Simpsons. Lisa gave Ralph Wiggum this card and he thought she really liked him. Broke the kid's heart.

Happy Friday the 13th!

2009-02-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

Break a mirror under a ladder today.

Beginning last week, we've been having some big winter storms. The basin gets rain and the higher elevations get snow. This photo was taken in Huntington Beach on Monday after the storm passed. That storm brought the snow level down to 4000 feet. Mt. SanAntonio, AKA Mt. Baldy, the tallest peak in the photo is just a hair over 10,000 feet. (Yes, I have been to the top.)
Tomorrow another cold storm moves in and is expected to hang around until Monday.
I think my weekend plans will include some soup making!

Uh-Oh!

2009-02-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

So...the other day I got this notice attached to my grocery receipt. Sure enough, I checked the cupboard and there was ONE bar left from the pack of six I bought a few weeks ago. I already threw the box out, so it wasn't like I could go get my money back.

Since I already ate five bars without a problem, I spun the wheel and had half a bar before going to the gym this morning.

Healthy and Yummy Too

2009-02-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of trying to make healthier meals, I came up with this mixed plate the other day. I scored some health points on the veggies, but I did use butter on the carrots and squash.

Sauteed kale and garlic--sweat some sliced garlic in olive oil, throw in some chopped kale, a teeny bit of water and cover the pan. Let it wilt for 6-7 minutes or so.

Orange Carrots--blanch carrots until almost done and drain. Return the carrots to the pan, add a bit of butter, some orange zest, a sprinkle of brown sugar, salt and pepper. Saute until the carrots are cooked through.

Baked Acorn Squash--Bake squash halves cut side down at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or so. Turn them over, sprinkle with brown sugar, salt, pepper and dot with butter. Put them back in the oven for another 15 minutes, until the sugar is melted and caramelizing.

I had some of the gruyere pinwheels left, so I baked them up too.

Ticketmaster H8RS Unite!

2009-02-10T12:26:00.000-08:00

I'm not the only one that thinks Ticketmaster's fees are out of line. This video comment was in today's LosAngeles Times . In Canada, a class-action lawsuit has been filed against Ticketmaster and it's subsidary TicketsNow. The two have been accused of conspiring to jack up the prices of tickets. Last week, New Jersey Springsteen fans complained that when they tried to purchase concert tickets they were immediately directed to the TicketsNow site. TicketsNow is a "legal" scalper and charges many times face value. I don't have a problem with scalpers per se, (how else would I be able to see a Packer game?!) I have a problem with entities being able to corner a whole ton of tickets. Let them have 5% of the venue and leave the rest to us little guys.

NOTE--I had to take down the video.....it annoyingly played every time the blog was viewed. If you are interested, you can see it here

Remember...you heard it on "the bubbler" first!

Good and Fast

2009-02-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

I've been in a bit of a cooking funk lately. Sometimes I'm busy and don't have the time to make something nice but mostly I just don't feel like making the effort. So it's been frozen pizzas and Trader Joe's stuff. Even going out to eat sometimes seems a chore.
Tonight was one of those nights. I had to stop at the store to pick up some firewood. It's been really cold and stormy the last few days and we were out of wood. I wandered around the store wondering what to get for dinner. We had pizza last night, so that was out. I decided to give this frozen Bertolli pasta dinner a try. It was on sale for $6.99--a fair price for a meal for two people I thought.
All you have to do is open the package, pour it in a pan and heat it up. Ten minutes and dinner is on the table. And you know what? It was really good! Oh sure the sodium and fat content is really high, but this is definitely something to keep in the freezer for the times you just don't want to bother making dinner.

Field Trip: The Petersen Automotive Museum

2009-02-08T18:08:00.000-08:00

We went to see a neat-o exhibit at The Petersen Automotive Museum. It was called From Autocamps to Airstreams and was all about the history of the travel trailer.

Almost as soon as the automobile came on the scene, Americans wanted to DO something and GO someplace in their new-fangled machines. And a whole industry and lifestyle was born.

It was really interesting to see the evolution from this 1921 model
to this 1936 cute little trailer--
Some were built on bus chassis....
And others were one-of-a-kind masterpieces....
After touring the featured exhibit, we checked out the rest of the museum. Since the museum's founder was also the publisher of Hot Rod Magazine, there were some cool hot rods to see. Dale remembered this one from when he was a kid.

There was a Hot Wheels exhibit, a Hollywood vehicle display and a nice section of alternative fuel cars. The main permanent exhibit is titled The Streetscape: The Car and the City in Southern California. This exhibit took us from the first automobile built in Los Angeles all the way through to the suburban lifestyle it made possible. We saw an old gas station, a early strip mall, a Googie drive-in, and even a restaurant that looked like a dog! Somehow tamale ice cream does not sound appealing!
This was our first time at this museum and it was really great. The exhibits were very well done and informative. I will definitely go again.

Of course all this exploring made us hungry, so we went "walking in LA"....a few blocks to the world-famous Farmers Market. We had some awesome Mexican food at La Loteria and some really awful (and expensive) ice cream somewhere else. It was just a really beautiful day to be out and about.

Party Food Trial #1

2009-02-06T19:34:00.000-08:00

Next month I'm co-hosting a bridal shower for my niece and I've been busy collecting recipes and making lists in preparation. The party will take place in Wisconsin, so I have to be EXTRA prepared, I don't want anything left to chance.

I figured I should make a trial run of some of the new recipes before hand, so I don't have any surprises on party day.

These Proscuitto and Gruyere Pinwheels are awesome! I think this is going to be a new party food at Fartwood Manor too. They are extremely easy to make, but look and taste like you spent a lot of time doing them. All you do is layer frozen puff pastry dough with proscuitto and gruyere and roll it up, slice and bake. I forgot to add the chopped sage leaves and it was totally fine without.

A glass of wine with a few of these=easy, instant cocktail party.

Octuplet Mom's Minivan

2009-02-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

Oh, where to begin.....a woman with psychological issues decides to have eight children.....all at once. Even though she had six already.
The story gets weirder every day. I understand that some people have large families, and that's cool. But this isn't the way. A lot of people dropped the ball on this one and now there are 14 kids that are going to pay the price. That's sad.
A big thank you to Dale for the excellent graphics work!

All Raccoons Must Die!

2009-02-01T08:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I repotted some plants and set them out on the patio to "rest up" a bit before I put them in the rock garden.
This is what I found this morning! Those damn raccoons aren't happy with stealing my oranges and avocadoes...oh no, they have to go mess up my plants too!
I know it is raccoons because they messed up the cat's dishes that were nearby.
To all raccoons: Say hello to my little friend.

Ticketmaster--I Hate You!

2009-01-31T06:00:00.000-08:00

Have you ever noticed that Ticketmaster charges EXORBITANT fees? For the last ten years or so, they have been adding fees to the ticket prices, so that now the fees are close to the price of the ticket!
Yesterday, I purchased tickets online (for Stereo-Total) and the fees came out to $13.27 PER TICKET!!! For a $19 ticket. That's usurious!

Here's the breakdown:
Building/Facility Fee = $1 x 2
Convenience Charge = $8.35 x 2 Can you even go buy tickets in a store anymore?!
Order Processing = $5.35 per order Shouldn't this just be rolled into the cost?
Ticket Fast = $.250 per order So I can use MY OWN printer and paper to print the tickets?!?!

Will I stop buying tickets? Probably not, but it really makes me mad.

A Beer By Any Other Name.....

2009-01-30T18:05:00.000-08:00

Did you ever get that feeling that something is askew in the cosmic unconsciousness? A little hiccup in the time-space continuum? A tear in the fabric of the universe? The feeling that something just ain't right???
I got that feeling yesterday when I found out that Schlitz will now be brewed by MillerCoors in Milwaukee under contract from Pabst! Talk about an incestuous relationship! (I'm still having a hard time getting my head around the whole MillerCoors thing.) And not just any old Schlitz either--this will be Schlitz classic, the old recipe from the '60s. Apparently in the '70s somebody tinkered with the recipe which in turn made the beer taste like crap so then no one bought it and the company folded. Pabst now owns the brand and decided to go back to the old formula and re-introduce Schlitz to the low-brow hipster generation. (I always have to laugh when I see PBR for sale at "hip" bars.)
I realize the many beers--and foods--are produced under contract, but this particular arrangement is just plain weird. Three princes of the Milwaukee brewing dynasty--plus one cowboy interloper--combining together to produce one beer.......it just ain't right! Might as well put it in a can that just says BEER, like the old Ralph's plain-wrap brand.

Rabbit Is Dead!

2009-01-27T18:20:00.001-08:00

John Updike, one of my favorite writers, died today. Lung cancer. That is definitely not a good way to go. I think he'd just had a speaking engagement at UCLA recently too.
I began reading his work when I was a young adult. The suburban world he wrote about intrigued me to no end. The people and situations he wrote of were so far removed from what I knew--Cocktail parties, adultery, money, lies--it was all so exotic!

Happy Birthday Mac!

2009-01-24T20:14:00.000-08:00

It's your birthday.....It's your birthday! A big twenty-five years old.

Unfortunately, tomorrow I get to go to the Genius Bar at the Apple Store to see about a lil problemo I'm having with my iMac. Maybe they will have some left over birthday cake.

Double Bubble(r)

2009-01-24T08:37:00.001-08:00

My Dad sent me this image of an awesome DOUBLE bubbler he saw in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Way to go Dad!

I've never seen one with the extension arm for the auxiliary bubbler before. The interesting thing is that the height differential between the two bowls is not all that great. It doesn't seem like one of those adult/kid setups. Maybe this one is set for some ADA requirement? If you look closely, there seems to be a little "sandy feet washing" spout at the bottom.

Shrimp in Black Bean Sauce

2009-01-21T20:31:00.000-08:00

The original plan was to have seared ahi for dinner tonight, but the only ahi at Mitsuwa was the really super-expensive sashimi grade, so I picked up some lowly shrimp instead. I really like black bean anything and haven't had any for a while, so I'm kinda happy I made this.

Sorry no recipe link--I used one of my cookbooks for this one. I'm sure there are plenty of recipes online. I used fermented black beans here, just be careful if you use the sauce that comes in a jar--it is pretty salty.

Our New President

2009-01-20T10:00:00.000-08:00

Words can't express how happy I am.

Adios Dubya!

2009-01-19T14:19:00.001-08:00

Good riddance to bad rubbish--thanks for nuttin'. Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out. Go find yourself a nice spider hole somewhere.

Best. 20 Years. Ever!

2009-01-18T08:25:00.000-08:00

Fox is celebrating 20 years of our favorite family with a poster contest called "Unleash Your Yellow". The grand prize is a trip to L.A.! Wow!
Even if you aren't planning on entering the contest, check out the site anyway. They have provided a ton of .jpg images to download. You never know when you will be needing an image of a pink donut or a Duff beer can.
FYI--January 25 is a new episode.
Dale was poking around and found this interesting 2007 interview with Matt.

We're Number Four, We're Number Four!

2009-01-16T08:01:00.000-08:00

Fourth-safest city in LosAngeles County, that is. Torrance also ranked as 23rd safest city in the
country for cities with populations over 100,000.
Part of the Torrance Police Department's success is due to its use of Focus Based Policing, which
empowers the whole chain of command to act on policing issues, rather than relying on a top-down way of doing things. The thinking is that the cop on the street is more in touch with what's really happening in the community and is aware of what is needed to make Torrance a better place for everyone. One program they use is the Community Lead Officer Detail. These four units (one for each section of the city) are responsible for quality of life issues in the city and because they are community-based, they are able to develop strategies for that particular area.
Related to the CLO program are the Department's numerous outreach programs for the citizens. Getting people to be knowlegeable and involved about crime and safety is a big part of making the city safer for everyone. I've gone through the Partners In Policing program and it was fascinating.
Sometimes TPD gets a bad rap for maybe being a little over-vigilant. The message they want to tell is don't come to Torrance to do crimes. Sounds good to me. My own experiences with the TPD have been nothing but excellent--every officer I've met with is professional, courteous and obviously takes pride in the job they do.
Way to go TPD! Thanks!

Whaaa? Indie Goes Digital

2009-01-15T20:09:00.000-08:00

Imagine my surprise driving home this afternoon when I switched the car radio from KNX1070 (I listen for the traffic reports) to Indie103.1 and heard this announcement:

This is an important message for the Indie 103.1 Radio Audience -

Indie 103.1 will cease broadcasting over this frequency effective immediately. Because of changes in the radio industry and the way radio audiences are measured, stations in this market are being forced to play too much Britney, Puffy and alternative music that is neither new nor cutting edge. Due to these challenges, Indie 103.1 was recently faced with only one option --- to play the corporate radio game.

We have decided not to play that game any longer. Rather than changing the sound, spirit, and soul of what has made Indie 103.1 great Indie 103.1 will bid farewell to the terrestrial airwaves and take an alternative course.

This could only be done on the Internet, a place where rules do not apply and where new music thrives; be it grunge, punk, or alternative - simply put, only the best music.

For those of you with a computer at home or at work, log on to www.indie1031.com and listen to the new Indie 103.1 - which is really the old Indie 103.1, not the version of Indie 103.1 we are removing from the broadcast airwaves.

We thank our listeners and advertisers for their support of the greatest radio station ever conceived, and look forward to continuing to deliver the famed Indie 103.1 music and spirit over the Internet to passionate music listeners around the world.

WTF?!?! The best damn station in the country just went digital! How can that be? They just celebrated five years on the air just a few weeks ago! Remember how we were all pinching ourselves back then? Hearing cool music on the radio for the first time in 20 years was sure great. They strayed a little in the last few years, but overall I had no complaints.

This totally screws me since I pretty much only listen to it when I'm driving--at home I tend to listen to CDs, but I guess that can change. Actually, I'm doubly screwed since I don't have a CD player or MP3 player in the car, I'll have no choice BUT the radio for tunes. KROQ pretty much blows now so make that no choices for tunes in the car. Because I only have a iPod shuffle I can't hook it to an iTrip. So it is just the car radio for me--if KNX changes to a talk format like it is rumored it will, just shoot me, OK?

Enough about my sad story and back to the REAL ISSUE of corporate effing bean counters screwing up yet another good thing. The corporate doosh in this case is Arbitron and its new Portable People Meter (wasn't that a Sheb Wooley song?) method of measuring listeners. Instead of keeping handwritten diaries, the statistically selected listeners are now monitored electronically in their homes, cars and workplaces. Wow, talk about Big Brother! This means that the data is now more detailed and the stations are using that data to retain and gain audience share.

For instance at KROQ, The Kevin and Bean Show used to be on from 5:30am until 10am. By using the PPM data they found that many people tuned out at 9am, so now the morning show ends at 9 and that last hour is moved to the 5pm slot. We listen to the Kevin and Bean Show at work and when it ends at 10 we turn off the radio and everyone listens to their own choices--iPod, streaming or sometimes nothing. So this change at KROQ just lost four listeners for one hour.

So, I guess Indie had a similar data reckoning and realized they were no longer able to remain viable in a broadcast format and still maintain the musical integrity that they started with. What is next for them--I don't know. Apparently this is day one of the new format. I've been streaming it for the last few hours and haven't heard anything but music--no commercials, DJ's or anything. They better not get rid of Steve Jones that's all I can say.

My Tax Dollars (Finally) At Work

2009-01-13T13:17:00.001-08:00

Yay!...Finally--after more than 13 years--two rough sections of the 405 have been repaired!
When I started driving this route in 1996, this stretch--between Alameda and SantaFe--was a big threat to my teeny-tiny GeoMetro tires. Not exactly a pothole, it was more like a missing section of pavement. It wasn't very big either, it was pretty much in one lane and only 10 feet or so long. Over the years I developed a technique of sliding to the left of my lane to avoid getting my tire caught.
Thanks CalTrans!

MMMM...Octopus Wang

2009-01-11T19:23:00.000-08:00

and on sale too! Life is good.

Torrance is Hip...Sort Of

2009-01-10T17:56:00.000-08:00

Four years after the original insane hype surrounding its LosAngeles stores, Pinkberry has landed in Torrance. The store is located in the Albertson's shopping center at the intersection of Torrance and Hawthorne Boulevards. Remember the little bagel place next to the video store where Mary, the homeless lady hung out? That is now the Pinkberry location.

Pinkberry burst onto the scene in 2005 as a little frozen yogurt shop and developed this white-hot insane buzz that started parking wars, copy-cat competitors, and allegations that it wasn't yogurt at all! Turns out that it doesn't have the live cultures so technically it isn't yogurt. It is "swirly goodness"! Devotees called it crackberry. They have three flavors: plain, green tea and pomegranate and the optional toppings include fresh fruit, Cap'n Crunch and Cocoa Pebbles.

The shops are beautifully designed--all modern and looking like a "Design Out of Reach" showroom. The "swirly goodness", while good, it's not THAT good. It is pretty expensive too: two medium cups with one topping each is over nine bucks.

On the other end of the swirly goodness spectrum is Leon's Frozen Custard. The real deal. It doesn't get better than that.

R.I.P. Gaston Lenôtre

2009-01-08T19:57:00.000-08:00

The world is now a little less sweet--Gaston Lenôtre, god of patisserie, died today. He was 88.

Helvetica--The Movie!

2009-01-05T17:37:00.000-08:00

If you can see this, typography is a part of your life. Typography is probably something most people don't think about, but some people think about all the time. Like me. So when I heard that someone had made a movie about a typeface, I was excited and intrigued.

Helvetica, a movie by Gary Hustwit, explores the history and impact of what is undoubtedly the most ubiquitous typeface ever.

My background was in the graphic arts--that's what I studied in school. Even though I never pursued it as a career, design--especially typography--is something that really interests me. (You'd never guess that based on this train wreck of a blog though!) I like Helvetica. Dale, on the other hand, IS a card-carrying member of the graphics industry. And he hates Helvetica. Which is why I got him this DVD for Christmas last year. The film is awesome.

Helvetica will have its television debut tomorrow night on PBS. They even have a mini-site with lots of background info on the movie, filmmaker and the history of type. The site even has a game "What Font Are You?" I took the challenge and guess what?!? I'm Helvetica!

I wish everyone could see this movie and get interested in typography. Especially those guys that think it is cool to write stuff in ALL CAPS "Olde English". Lame.

Gary has a new film coming out--Objectified. It is all about design and the people who make it.

Photo Safari--Wilmington

2009-01-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

Dale and I were out driving aimlessly this afternoon (love those low, low gas prices!) and we ended up in Wilmington. Now, I'm sure there are some fine folks that live in Wilmington, but it's not really the kind of place for aimless driving-around, if you know what I mean. However, it is the location of not only a National Historical Monument, but a California State Landmark as well.

Banning Park is the site of the Banning Residence--home of Phineas Banning, a state senator and early transportation mogul. Unfortunately, closed today. The stately home is surrounded with this cool corn-inspired wrought-iron fence.

Next we drove down the street to The Drum Barracks--a real part of The Civil War. It is now a National Historical Monument. It is kind of weird to see such an historical thing set in the shadow of the port and alongside vacant lots and run-down apartment buildings. It was closed too.

As we turned the corner, we saw this building and couldn't figure out what it was.

My guess was that it was an ice house, judging from the thick walls. I Googled its location when I got home and discovered that it was The Powder Magazine for the Drum Barracks. So here was another thing from the Civil War era just sitting across from a factory of some kind, right next to a regular house. I think the graffiti is new though.

We'll have to come back when these sites are open.

Torrance Float Entry--1914

2009-01-02T11:03:00.000-08:00

Here's the Torrance entry for the 1914 Tournament of Roses. The city was two years old in 1914, and probably served as a promotion for the city. Hmmm...two servicemen, two elegant ladies and a flower-covered oil derrick.

2009

2009-01-01T16:19:00.000-08:00

The new year started on an unexpected, awesome note--Stephanie Edwards was back co-hosting the KTLA presentation of the Tournament of Roses! After being unceremoniously dumped from the broadcasting booth in 2006 she was back with co-host "That would be in the butt" Bob Eubanks. What made their previous broadcasts so special was the sort of testy banter they had--it was always good for a laugh and raised eyebrow--"did she/he really say THAT?!?!" They were pretty civil to each other today and only once did I hear a reference to 2006, when she had to sit out in the pouring rain.

I woke up about a minute before the show started, quickly made some hot chocolate and settled in to watch the parade. Another bright blue California day to get all the Midwest viewers in a lather. (We were fogged in here closer to the beach until 10am or so.)

My highlights:

the RFD-TV's float was a salute to "Hee-Haw". Yes!

Greg Louganis!

the Torrance float was awesome and won a prize

B2 bomber fly-over (no matter what you think about war stuff, you have to admit this is

a pretty spectacular sight to see)

The Prairie View, TX marching band, which appeared to be mostly Black kids, had a

dance troupe named "The Black Foxes". Wow.

Missing this year were the stealth anti-Bush signs that I saw last year in the shrubbery near the Norton Simon. I guess why bother anymore, huh?

Hopefully Saturday we can take a ride out to Pasadena and check out the floats. I've never done that before, but I think it would be awesome to see them up close.

Last night was pretty quiet. We had a roaring fire and sat around watching Twilight Zone and listening to the scanner. Got stuffed on all our snacky things. The neighborhood was really quiet this year. I heard one little crackle of firecrackers at midnight and that was it.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T15:49:00.000-08:00

One pill makes you larger........

Go ask Alice.........

"Mad Hatter's Tea Party" is the title of the City of Torrance's entry in the 2009 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade. I think it is pretty cool looking.

I missed out on being a float decorator again this year. The day of the orientation was the same day as the dry run of "Legend of Real Spooky Place" back in October, so I wasn't able to make it. When I spoke to the coordinator in December she said they had all the volunteers they needed. Apparently this is a popular event. PLUS they make you pay THEM 10 bucks! Oh well....next year for sure! Jared Sidney Torrance, the founder of Torrance, lived in Pasadena and was a mover and shaker in the origins of the Tournament of Roses, so our city has pretty much always participated in the parade. They usually win some sort of award each year.

I only worked until 1:30pm today and driving home I could tell already that the madness was beginning. We've been listening to the scanner on and off since I got home and things are definitely hopping. The last thing I heard was someone found part of a human spine on the beach just south of Redondo Beach Pier. YIKES!!!

Tonight is amateur night and we stay home. Dale laid in a whole bunch of wood, so we will be having a nice fire. He also picked up some sushi at Mitsuwa and I stopped and got some ceviche at Los Paisas. We also picked up some Kyo-Chon chicken. I finally found some chestnuts too. We like to graze all night. Whoo-hoo!!! Dale just informed me there is a "Twilight Zone" marathon tonight! ........Next stop Willoughby.......

Since it was rainy on Christmas, we didn't get to put out our luminaries, so we will do that tonight.

Wishing everyone a healthy, happy and prosperous 2009!

Winter at the Beach

2008-12-28T20:15:00.000-08:00

Winter time is a great time to go to the beach. Not as many people as in the summer for sure, but the views are more dramatic in winter. The winter storm blew out of here on Friday, so Saturday was a good time to check out the beach. The storm washes all the particulate matter from the skies, so we get some pretty incredible views all over the Southland.
We started in Hermosa Beach. This view is looking SW. The Redondo Beach/King Harbor area is the dark line. The darker landmass is the Palos Verdes Peninsula, and way off in the distance is Catalina Island. From where I was standing to the PV Peninsula is about 8 miles or so, as the crow flies.

Next we stopped in Redondo Beach and watched the sun set and listened to an episode of Dragnet. Sunsets here are usually cloud-free so it was cool that there were these wispy clouds to make things more dramatic.

Check out Dale's photos--his camera is way more bitchin' than mine!

The Best Gadget Ever?!?!? NOT!

2008-12-27T08:51:00.000-08:00

What potential! What promise! What an utter disappointment!

Imagine my delight when I spotted this item in the 50% off aisle at Target. Just think of the possibilities!
This would be so cool--finally I would be able to communicate my innermost feelings with my fellow drivers.
What would I like to say to those wonderful people that share the 405 with me?
Hmmm......"hey asshole" comes to mind pretty quickly. "you idiot" would be useful.
"Hang up and drive" would work too, but I'm not sure if the targeted driver could talk, drive AND read at the same time.
Actually, I had an idea for this sort of thing over 20 years ago--one of our engineering interns and I had toyed with this idea, but of course never did anything with it.
Seriously though, I really wanted to use this in the house or at work as a sort of "digital sculpture" that I could have on my desk and display pithy comments. (I saw something like that in a museum once, and I'll give 10 bonus points to anyone that can tell me the artist's name.)
So I started reading the instructions and found out that the device has a "built-in PROFANITY FILTER"!!!! WTF?!?!? I guess the manufacturer wanted to cover his ass in case some idiot programmed in "HEY ASSHOLE, YOU DRIVE LIKE A DICK" and then got capped in some road-rage incident.
The device came with some really lame pre-programmed messages such as:
"If you can read this, I can hit my brakes and sue you."
"Out of my mind, back in ten minutes."
"I brake for no apparent reason."
You get the picture. I don't know about you but those are lame enough to make me want to run that driver off the road just for being such a doofus.
Another problem is that it only has a 12V plug like for a cigarette lighter, so I wouldn't be able to use it at home anyway. I'm going to get a second opinion on if I can modify it to work the way I want.

I wonder if I will see any of these signs in use on the road and what the genius messages will be.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

2008-12-27T08:29:00.000-08:00

This is the roof of Dale's car at 7:30am. That's frost. On the car. In SoCal.

The weather widget on The Daily Breeze site says 36 degrees, but our backyard thermometer was 40 degrees. I knew we should have lit the tiki torches under our citrus "grove" last night to keep the fruit from freezing!

So then I click over to JSOnline and their weather widget says it is 48 degrees! And raining! The snowTrizzles are melting!

Will one of you global-warming doubters please tell me why, on a December day, it is warmer in Milwaukee than in Torrance??

Meyer Lemons

2008-12-26T07:47:00.000-08:00

The Meyer lemon tree is full of lemons. In years past, the crop yield has supplied me with enough lemons for baking and vinaigrette making. This year however, I think I am going to have to get creative in order to make use of the abundance. One thing I am planning is to make limoncello, the Italian digestif. But that uses just the zest, so I need to figure out what do do with all the juice. I guess lemonade will be the house beverage at Fartwood Manor for a while.

Yesterday I made these totally awesome Meyer Lemon Cranberry Scones. They don't look too scone-like and the texture is more cake-y than what traditionally passes for a scone. Not too sweet and full of lemony zest and a nice tang from the cranberries. Be warned--the dough is REALLY wet, so make sure to have your board and hands covered in flour when you pat it out. It will be a mess, but totally worth it. Remember not to work the dough too much or else you will end up with tough scones. I used the leftover egg white to glaze the tops and next time I make these I will sprinkle a little sanding sugar on top for a little sweet crunch.

I also made some devilled eggs.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T11:51:00.000-08:00

Warm wishes for a joy-filled Christmas.

Christmas Eve Grab-Bag

2008-12-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

I have too many random items today that would be pretty much impossible to coherently tie together, so this post is going to be a Christmas grab-bag. Consider it my gift to you.

Fortieth anniversary of Apollo8. Remember listening to that on Christmas Eve?!

Dale grew up in AnnArbor, MI, so we follow the news in that area almost as much as we do our local news. Detroit is in a world of hurt right now, so this story is pretty cool.

I hope you have enjoyed my podcasts from the other day--I just came across this song and had to share it too.

Here is a link to another blog with some pretty freaky Christmas song offerings. I've only listened to half of them, so be warned if they turn out crappy!

Fellow blogger Another Monkey turned me on to this AWESOME "spin" on the dreidel song.

AWWWWW Who is this cute kid?!?!
Dang, Santa looks like he's gonna eat me for lunch!
YIKES!!!
Merry Christmas
Happy Hanukkah

OK People.......

2008-12-23T18:09:00.000-08:00

It's nice to be in the Christmas spirit and all, but NO ANTLERS! This is lame. You are lame. In fact, this makes you SO LAME that Santa will pass your house by.

I never saw the antlers before, but today I saw them two times!

Even the wreaths.....maybe OK on a semi. But on your AstroVan...not so much.

Christmas Old Time Radio Shows

2008-12-22T08:56:00.000-08:00

Old time radio is a favorite at Fartwood Manor. In fact, many of my posts have been written with an OTR show playing in the background. My favorite is Dragnet. Love that sexy Jack Webb. Dale has amassed a large collection of shows and there are also some good sites that have streaming broadcasts.

WGN will be broadcasting a bunch of classic Christmas radio shows on Christmas Eve--on the tee-vee. Apparently they will show an HD image of a flaming fireplace and the audio will be the radio programs. I'm a little unhappy with the scheduled time slot, but hey.....I guess you can TIVO it to watch/listen at a better time. It boggles the mind, doesn't it?

Our Christmas night tradition is to listen to Dylan Thomas' "A Child's Christmas in Wales", while watching the flames in our REAL fireplace. After that, it is time for the police scanner. Always a Christmas treat!

WGN Presents ‘Yule Log’ Set To Classic Radio Shows

Holiday Special Premieres Dec. 24

By Linda Moss -- Multichannel News, 12/3/2008 12:16:00 PM

WGN America will air Yule Log: The Golden Age Of Christmas, nine hours of holiday memories from the Golden Age of Radio, starting Dec. 24, officials said Wednesday.

The network, part of Tribune Broadcasting, will usher in Christmas by offering holiday programming from 9 p.m. Dec. 24 through 6 a.m. Dec. 25 using authentic presentations of classic radio programs set to the visual of the Yule Log hearth.

With new Yule Log footage (shot in HD) using the fireplace in Col. McCormick's (former Tribune president and editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune) office at Tribune Tower in Chicago, WGN America claims it will offer an alternative to the traditional Yule Log. While the flames burn, viewers will be hear timeless shows from the Golden Age of Radio.

Also on Wednesday, iN Demand Networks said it would be offering three Yule Log programs for Comcast, Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks to offer to their subscribers on-demand.

Classic programs which will air during WGN America’s Yule Log: The Golden Age Of Christmas include:

-- It’s a Wonderful Life (from the Lux Radio Theater 1947) A staple of Christmas television, an angel helps a compassionate but despondent businessman by showing what life would have been like if he never existed and stars Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed.

-- A Christmas Carol (Campbell Playhouse 1939) A holiday classic featuring miserly Ebenezer Scrooge who learns the error of his ways when visited by ghosts on Christmas Eve in this adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel.

-- Burns & Allen (1942) Featuring the comedy duo of George Burns and Gracie Allen.

-- Fibber McGee & Molly (1949) Fibber McGee and Molly were played by husband and wife team, Jim and Marian Jordan, with Fibber a brash, loudmouth while his ever-suffering wife, Molly, kept the peace with her sense of humor.

-- The Great Gildersleeve (1942) A spin-off from "Fibber McGee and Molly" featuring a pompous bachelor (Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve played by Harold Peary, and later Willard Waterman) who takes domestic charge of his young niece and nephew.

-- Jack Benny Show (1952) Jack Benny stars in this sketch comedy variety show, one of the longest running and most successful comedies in the history of radio.

-- Miracle on 34^thStreet (from the Lux Radio Theater 1947) Six year old Susan has doubts about Santa Claus, but after meeting a special department store Santa, Susan is given the most precious gift of all, something to believe in. Maureen O'Hara and Edmund Gwenn star in this heart-warming Christmas classic.

These classic radio programs were provided by radiospirits.com and edited for WGN America by Victor Lisle at WGN Radio. Yule Log: The Golden Age Of Christmas will be presented in 60-minute blocks without commercial interruption.

“Yule Log: The Golden Age Of Christmas allows families to resurrect the innocence of a golden era and offers a nostalgic experience for viewers as they listen to memorable radio programs while opening presents, having dinner, and spending the holiday together,” Sean Compton, Tribune Broadcasting senior vice president of programming and development, said in a prepared statement.

A Merry Fartwood Xmas Podcast

2008-12-21T16:53:00.000-08:00

Here's a fun Christmas mix I put together. It contains some old favorites of mine from when I was a kid. Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians are pretty much THE soundtrack to my childhood Christmases. These tracks were recorded from ancient vinyl, so you will hear the tell-tale "hiss and pops" that make vinyl so special. I have also included old songs that are new favorites--I call it "The Dale Influence"--like the selections from The Beach Boys, The Mills Brothers, The Ventures, and The Swingle Singers. The rest are just songs I like...some sweet and some irreverent.

One of my favorites is "Jingle Bells" from Fred Waring. It is so clever how the song keeps repeating with different song styles--hot jazz, glee club, player piano.
Another Fred Waring song, "Trepak", adds lyrics to the classic Tchaikovsky song from "The Nutcracker Suite". One of the lines is "have another vodka, have another vodka..vodka always makes things right". Kind of weird to have on a children's album, dontcha think?
Every time I listen to Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree", I always hear another word in place of "pumpkin" pie. Do you hear it too?
The French tune, "La Tourtiere", sings the praises of the tasty French-Canadian meat pie that is traditionally eaten at Christmas time.
It is only fitting that the children of the University of Michigan's Children's Psychiatric Hospital chose to sing "Do You Hear What I Hear?".
It wouldn't be Christmas without Mr. Garrison from South Park singing the xenophobic ditty "Merry F*cking Christmas", would it? EXPLICIT AND OFFENSIVE LYRICS--you've been warned!
I end the musical part of the show with the.best.Christmas.song.ever: "X-Mess Medley" by Dale's band Lunch--featuring the drummer boy himself singing the unforgettable (what else?!) "Little Drummer Boy". Make sure to listen closely at the end for the flying drumsticks!
At the very end of the podcast are two spoken word entries. The first is from the always festive Esquivel! followed by a audio file of The Beatles, recorded in 1964 for their fan club members. Those boys ain't right.
I hope these selections get you in the mood for a Merry Fartwood Xmas.

Part One Part Two

New Ornaments for 2008

2008-12-21T12:07:00.001-08:00

Whenever Dale and I take a trip, we try to pick up an ornament as a souvenir. This one is from our trip to Austin, Texas.

Dale picked this one up in Arizona, when he visited the Grand Canyon with his kids in June.

I got a whole pack of these in Wisconsin. Cute, eh?

Nightmares of Christmases (Almost) Past

2008-12-20T14:15:00.000-08:00

I guess I'll have to retire these gems after the holidays. Or maybe I should keep them around as a reminder of what NOT to do.
I can't remember where I got them, but they've been a part of the Fartwood Xmas decor for a few years now.

WTF?!?

2008-12-18T18:43:00.000-08:00

Orange Snow (LA Times)
Southern California got more than a little dusting of snow yesterday. My Midwestern readers can stop snickering now. This storm was pretty impressive by all standards. I've seen it snow plenty of times in the mountains and even the high desert, but this time was biggest I've ever seen here. One place in the Antelope Valley got 22 inches of snow!
The three highways that connect SoCal with NoCal were shut down for about 24 hours. Can you imagine I-94 being closed for a day? These highways do get closed periodically during the winter months--they are all mountain passes which are pretty dangerous in inclement weather. Not too good for a big rig to be coming down the snow-covered mountain, not to mention the jack-ass drivers that don't know how to drive in snow.

All the women sporting the oh-so-fashionable UGGs are going to find what a miserable failure they are in REAL SNOW.
No snow in Torrance or Huntington Beach, thank goodness--just LOTS of cold rain. I hope my citrus didn't get damaged. I have a bumper crop of lemons on the tree and the oranges are just about ready.

This photo from The Daily Breeze is looking north to the San Gabriel Mountains. I took my camera to work today hoping to get a shot like this myself, but the mountains were still a little hazy when I looked.

Blizzard Joshua (LATimes)

This guy has it all figured out....screw shoveling!