Food Truck Tuesday

Zach and I are in Irvine dining from the Gourmet Food Trucks. Good Times!

Don't know if you have Food Trucks in your town, but these Gourmet Traveling Diners are really fun.  I lived in Portland, Oregon for a Summer - one of the first places in America to relax their laws enough to permit such things on a permanent basis - and loved these little gems.  But while in Portland, the truck sit on the same downtown block all the time, in other places, Orange County included, they travel to a different parking lot every night.  Even after checking the Internet to see who will be there, there are still some surprises.   Last night there was a Lobster Truck and a Cupcake Truck, which were new to us, and seven other which weren't. 

Now I Officially Feel Old

Do you remember M C Hammer - inventor of Hammer-time and those odd pants that I can't remember the name of. Well, for some sad reason he was arrested at a mall in Northern California. And the NBC news anchor did not know how to properly pronounce his name. She called him "Mac Hammer" as if he was a special at Mc Donald's. I had to run the tape back and listen to her three times, refusing to believe that a news anchor at a major network in one of the top markets in America had never heard of M C Hammer. Oh well, at least she was young and attractive. As to M C, innocent until proven guilty.

Chicken & Waffles

Afternoon snack - Chicken & Waffles Lays Potato Chips. (Or Potatoe Chips, as former VP Dan Quayle would spell it.). Whenever I went to Canada I would check out the foods shops - teas and chocolate and jams and crisps. The flavors used for chips (crisps in the Queen's English) were often quite foreign. Steak and Ale was a favorite. Well, here we are in the US, having run out of any reasonable flavor choice, taking a clue from the British. They aren't horrible, but the aftertaste of Maple Syrup is very odd.
Computer is still unhappy, so I am trying to learn to post from my phone. Printer has joined in on the strike. Now if I could only get my email.

Similar But Oh So Different!

As seen in an Orange County Walmart. Downton Abbey and Duck Dynasty, side by side.

If You Are An American College Cricket Player, You Already Know Who Nick Mancino Is - Oh, And All Is Well With Me, But My Netbook Is Sick (With Jealousy)

I'd rather be anyplace with John than the best places alone.  But he is off on business trips that don't include me for most of next month, and it's Tornado season in Oklahoma right now, so I cashed in some of those (considerable) air miles and have flown off to California.  (My mother's 90th birthday is the beginning of next month, so I was going to have to be here pretty soon anyway.)  I sat next to
Nick Mancini on the plane and had the best conversation.  We are both fascinated with Cricket; I just want to be educated enough to enjoy watching, but he (being close in age and in the same perfect physical shape as my son Nick) went out for the team at Penn.  And won an award for Newcomer of the Year.  Especially nice to have someone so interesting to chat with, since this flight had way more turbulence than usual.  And what a great name.
Do you think computers have more intelligence than we credit them for?  Well, my little old worn out Netbook that I got free when signing up for a data plan is just too small for what I want to do, so I started researching what type of new computer to buy.  And I have gotten no cooperation from the Netbook.  It hides my pictures from me in some hidden file that I have to search for - although this may be the result of using my new camera that my Sweetie got me for Christmas.  It shuts down and stalls, and in the worst betrayal, when I was checking an online shopping site where I have an account, (QVC), it actually ordered a Dell for me!  No, seriously!  I have the lazy habit of finding something interesting and putting it in the shopping cart to figure out the real cost of the item - the shipping and tax can be a deal breaker.  I know what button not to push.  And as a failsafe, I have an expired credit card as the card on file, so there is no way that I can charge anything without actually putting in a my actual debit card number.  (Because anyone who knows me knows that I don't use credit cards.)  So how could this have happened?  I know the "why" - it's because my little Netbook knew that as soon as I started checking out a new computer in person, I would love that Netbook more.  I don't like Windows 8 and am getting tired of how heavy a regular size computer is.  It makes me log over an over again.  You get the picture?  Well. you will get a picture as soon as I figure out where my photos are being hidden this week.

But Granny, It's Not Real Grass

Astro Turf - It's not just for ball games anymore!

Do They Even Make Glasses For The Shower?

When I drive to California, I do a lot of shopping at Trader Joe's, filling the car with those things that are too heavy or too liquid to bring back in luggage when I fly.  One of my favorites is the Tea Tree Tingle Conditioner.  This time I decide to try the Body Wash too.  So I bought one bottle of each and put the bottle of the Conditioner in the bag I take with me to the pool.  (With my chlorine removing shampoo.)  And have been using the Body Wash at home in the shower - because this is Winter in Tulsa, and unless you have the oiliest skin in the world, you have to use body wash in the shower.  It's that dry here!  I thought it should be , oh I don't know, foamier - or clean a little better.  Well, it turns out that I bought two bottles of Conditioner and have been using one as Body Wash for a few weeks.  But my point, and I do have one, is that I (and lots of other people) can't read very well in the shower, because we don't wear our glasses in the shower.  So if the bottles look the same, I'm just guessing whether it's Shampoo, Conditioner, or Body Wash.  Maybe they should use different colors for each.     

 John made this terrific breakfast for Sunday morning.  Perfect bacon and eggs with his first ever Pumpkin Waffles.  They were really good.  He used a mix from Trader Joe's that he picked up at Christmas in California but never used.

 Usually I make Pumpkin Pancakes on Thanksgiving morning, using fresh pumpkin that I bake and mash.  They are really spectacular(no kidding), but too much work to make very often.  Wish I bought more of this mix.  Have to wait until next Fall, since this is a seasonal item.  Like Aldi's Winter Squash Pasta Sauce - delicious, but I found out that they are serious about it being seasonal, when I returned to buy more.