Looking for a great turkey burger (or regular beef burger) in LA? Here’s your stop: Astro Burger at 7475 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. The fries are also excellent, hand-cut and fried to perfection. Here is the turkey burger I had a few days back. Pardon those bite marks. I was so hungry, I forgot…
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Two Comfort Foods
I went to Trader Joe’s today to stock up on various foodstuffs. As I sat problem-solving what to write about tonight on my blog, it occurred to me to throw in a plug for two Trader Joe’s products that I think are especially good. Clearly, TJ’s has many other products that are great, but these two add…
A Chronicle of My Day
I am sitting with my student, Oona. We are doing a quick write. I am tired today. Ray and I sat up until almost 2 am watching the last episodes of Orange is the New Black. This was Season 2. It is a new experience for me watching episodic television in this free-form approach –…
Favorite Cartoon Characters from My Youth
My favorite cartoon growing up was Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends. I loved watching Rocky, the flying squirrel and Bullwinkle, the moose, as they matched their wits against their archenemies, Boris and Natasha. As I recall, there was always a Dudley Do-Right cartoon immediately after Rocky and Bullwinkle, and there was usually one of Mr….
Labor Day “Fun”
I have spent today, Labor Day, doing some much-needed labor in my kitchen. Here is what I did: 1) Cleared out the refrigerator and got rid of all those bottles of extras that have been there way too long. I then cleaned the shelves and drawers for a fresh start. I threw away cough syrup…
The Moon, Planets and Labor Day Weekend
I can hear the crickets chirping outside. The waxing crescent moon has two planets clearly visible below it: Saturn and Mars. Ray and I walked around the block with the dogs and got a great view of the moon and the two planets as we walked. I noted that many of the house we passed…
Five Items I’d Grab if My House Were On Fire
If my house were on fire, then here are the things that I would grab as long as I knew all people and animals were safe: 1) My family photographs. I am calling that one item, though there are hundreds of photos. This reminds me to put them in one box that could be easily grabbed….
Something Most People Don’t Know About Me…
One thing that most people don’t know about me is that I hate seeing food go to waste. That doesn’t mean that I never let vegetables get too far gone in my crisper, but generally speaking, I am going to make every effort to effectively use every piece of food that is in my kitchen…
Running Behind…
Ray and I have been busy handling two estates, which means that we have been researching, then selling items on eBay. This is a slow and meticulous process and takes lots of time. Today, I was photographing various pieces of vintage pottery while Ray was researching their origin. We got more pieces listed, but it…
My First Job: McKnight’s Drug, 1968
When I was a sophomore in high school circa 1968, my friend and fellow cornet (or was it French horn player?), Cathy Wait, mentioned one day in band practice that she was working at McKnight’s Drug Store in the pharmacy department. “I love working there,” Cathy said, “and they have an opening at the soda…
20 Minutes a Day 