Some say it’s April showers that get the flowers going, but here in sunny, rainfall-challenged California, things pop out about a month (or more) earlier. Even though March had its typical paucity of precipitation, the single hailstorm — complete with rain and wind — had occurred right at the peak of apricot blossoms. (Indeed, I […]
Category Archives: Places
Macworld Expo SF 2009
Friday, 9 January 2009
I went to this year’s Macworld Expo in San Francisco with low expectations. None of the Apple hardware or software announcements were things I had been waiting for. Not to downplay them, of course. I’m simply not a large laptop user, for example. While I do use applications from iLife and iWork, I do not […]
Young Scrub Jays in the garden
Sunday, 31 August 2008
We have a scrawny fig tree that bears fruit annually, but we rarely get more than a taste. I’ve often suspected birds as the culprits. WENK. Wenk wenk wenk! Now I have proof: young Western Scrub Jay bossing over backyard fig tree! Okay, only indirect proof, since none of the pictures actually showed the bird’s […]
Summer in the garden
Friday, 20 June 2008
Here’s a garden update as of this year’s summer solstice. Presently on my mind are the apricots: not as many as last year, although not as paltry as 2006. However small the crop, they shall be imminently pickable. For the botanically inclined, I submit vegetable porn involving burgundy and green filet beans. Basically haricots verts […]
Food and loathing
Wednesday, 21 May 2008
Mediocre restaurants are unavoidable. But some of the baddies, ah, how they stick in my mind. Some of these are favorites for some of my friends. Oh well! To each their own (1).
Local Ethiopian restaurants
Sunday, 4 May 2008
I love eating with my hands. Considering my hand-washing compulsion, it’s ironic yet compatible. Combine that with spicy food, and Ethiopian cuisine can winningly satisfy me. Some standbys and favorites: Injera, a teff based flatbread that’s sour, spongey and soft. A good collection of vegetarian dishes, such as kik alicha (yellow split peas), atakilt wot […]
Local Salvadoran restaurants, pupuserÃas
Monday, 7 April 2008
Oh, how I love pupusas: The creaminess of cheese and masa, with tidbits of chicken if I’m lucky. A fine reason to seek out eateries that focus on food from El Salvador. Not quite as well-known as Mexican food, Salvadoran cuisine tends towards the mild. The Salvadoran version of horchata is the next-most-important thing. I […]
Hot bird action
Friday, 28 March 2008
Unfortunately, the title of this entry is quite literal: Last week a hawk died in our neighborhood. As the poor thing expired, it managed to take out a transformer and blow a power line —rendering our block powerless until dinnertime. It had (the remains of) a squirrel, so one theory was that as the squirrel […]
Bathroom remodel from… a couple years ago
Thursday, 6 March 2008
For years we lived with a bathroom that I called the Pink Horror. No ventilation (other than the window and door), a rotten (literally) paint job done by the house seller, and pink tiles. I hate the color pink, and Pepto-Bismo Pink just ain’t gonna be an exception. Before bathroom remodel.
Neighborhood bird watching list
Monday, 3 March 2008
I know I’ll continue my habit of writing lists on bits of paper, but I thought it’d be useful to maintain an online list of the birds I’ve seen in our neighborhood. I’ve limited this to visitors to our yards and the nearby park. “Birders, are ye?” Well, I prefer the term bird watching, mainly […]