Sale spin

If you wondered where those business-promoting sign-spinners get their start, look no further than the neighborhood yard sale.

Grandma was holding the sale, which consisted mainly of about 200 souvenir ashtrays. I didn't take a photo, and now I regret it.

My Mac is back, as you can see. As I can, too. It had a bad cable that was causing the backlight to go out randomly so I couldn't see the screen. The enterprising Apple genius fixed it himself instead of sending it off for a week. "It was scary!" he said.

I'm glad he was brave.

Kids love breakfast

Sick Mac

Probably a bad cable. Nothing too serious, and I did get the extended warranty.

(Edit: But I have to leave it overnight and cross my fingers they can get it fixed by tomorrow. *sigh*)

What is it? No. 22

If you've been to Denver, you can guess this one. Even if you haven't, I think it's fairly obvious. But I was trying to be artsy.

Click on the photo to find out if you're right.

Picky, picky

Amazon emailed me to say I might be interested in this rock pick on sale, based on my previous purchases. The only connection I can see in my purchase history is a pair of Estwing safety goggles that I bought, oh, 10 years ago?

I'd never looked at my entire Amazon purchase list before (you can find the whole list under "Improve your recommendations"). It totals 57 items over 12 years. I guess if I'd bought more stuff, they'd have a better idea of what I might want.

What's your Amazon tally?

Just because the covention's over ...

... doesn't mean the protests have to stop.
But the question remains: Will there even be a debate?

Another one bites the dust

This one was a fairly substantial brick bungalow.

Hidden gem

Much of the coastline south of Fort Bragg is sheer cliffs. We stopped at a lighthouse and checked out some tidal pools (more on that later) but we also wanted to walk on the beach. We learned that signs for "coastal access" don't necessarily mean "beach access." But north of Jenner we could see one secluded cove that from the highway above looked accessible.
I pulled a satellite picture so you can see what it was like. There's a little parking lot and a trail through the woods down to the streambed and from there to the beach.
The sound of the waves crashing up and then shushing back over the rocky shore was both invigorating and soothing.
Farther south there are more beaches, but the sun was about to set, so we enjoyed this last little stroll along the waves before heading home.

Benign neglect

A watched pot never boils, and a garden full of produce monitored daily never ripens. But go away for a few days and voilà.

Remember those "preemie beans," as Rooie called them? They grew up! I ate this handful raw as a snack at work. The tomatoes will be a salad, and some will probably be frozen. The cellini beans are starting to dry out on their vines. I'll have lots of beans for winter stews. And one fat green pepper that was actually sweet and not bitter. There are more baby peppers out there.

And yes, those raspberry canes are still providing my desserts.

Maybe I should take more vacations.

Thanks but no thanks, TSA

When I got to California, I discovered I had a couple of forks in my purse (I had brought them home from work to wash them, then tossed them in my purse to take back). I put them in my checked bag for the return trip.

I only discovered this morning while rummaging around for my keys on the way to shuttle parking that a steak knife was in there, too. It had slipped through two security scans.

Gee, I'm glad I didn't have to deal with whatever hassle might have ensued had airport security found it. But it doesn't say much for air safety now, does it?

A row to myself

Beginning with the end

I have lots of photos from our drive down the Pacific Coast Highway, and it will take me a while to go through them. But here's a nice one from the end of the day.
Tomorrow it's back to reality.

Silly kitchen gadget No. 22

Whoops! Suddenly it's Tuesday night and I forgot to do a Silly Gadget post! (I try to do them on Monday morning.) Luckily, Vicki from A Work in Progress came to my rescue and sent me a link to the Squeezy Tea Bag Squeezer. As Vicki said, "I've always heard that you shouldn't squeeze your teabags because that'll make it bitter ... So not only a uni-tasker, but it makes your tea yucky."

Thanks, Vicki! Couldn't have said it any better myself.

Anyone out there a tea drinker? Would you be tempted by this $6.50 gadget? (Down from $13!)

One person's trash

We thought about driving up to the big redwoods in Humboldt County, but decided it was too far. We washed up in Fort Bragg instead, in Mendocino County. We checked into the homey and friendly Glass Beach Inn. There was still enough day left to wander down to the beach, where the tide was coming in.

It took a bit of cliff scrambling to find a sheltered cove that held what we had come for.
I thought of doing a What is it? post with this photo, but really, you couldn't guess what this is if you haven't been here. Fort Bragg's residents from the early 1900s until 1967 used to throw all their trash off a cliff. Bottles, plates, car parts ... and lots more bottles. In the 40 intervening years, it has all been tumbled and broken and smoothed by the relentless surf.
It truly is a glass beach. There are no sharp edges; people were walking barefoot in the surf. It's a beachcomber's paradise, if you like tumbled glass. Mostly clear, white, brown and green. Blue and true red seem the rarest. I also found bits of tile and metal.

The sun was low, though, and we were hungry, so we wandered back to town, the setting sun behind us.
We'll go back tomorrow.

Dinner at King of Thai Noodlein Alameda, Calif.

	On Saturday night we checked out the new King of Thai Noodle on Park Street. It's been open a month, in a spot that used to be a Bulgarian bakery and then a Mexican restaurant.

Alameda's King of Thai Noodle is the newest in a chain of 13 restaurants in the Bay Area. The space is bright and clean and was filled with customers. (When we were looking at the window menu earlier in the day, a woman going in stopped and said "This place is great. You won't be disappointed.")

We started with Som Tum, a green papaya salad with long beans, tomatoes, peanuts and dried shrimp in a tangy lime dressing. Wrapped up in the accompanying cabbage leaves, it was very tasty.
The Sergeant ordered the chef's special, pumpkin curry. He asked for it spicy, but I think they dialed it back a notch because I asked for my dish not so spicy. He enjoyed it nevertheless.
I had the shrimp choo chee on the server's recommendation: deep-fried shrimp topped with red curry paste, bell peppers, serrano peppers and crispy basil. It was also quite tasty, though for me the very rich, distinct flavor became cloying after a while.
I walked over to the chest-high wall blocking off the food prep area to shoot some pictures of the chef in action. The staff started making a big ruckus and I took a couple of shots before turning to see if they were making "No picture! No picture!" noises or what. They were grinning and laughing. The ruckus was to get the chef to turn around for me.
Way to go, Chef! You're No. 1!

King of Thai Noodle
1635 Park St.
(between Buena Vista Ave & Pacific Ave)
Alameda, CA 94501
(510) 522-8200