Sweet Tooth Haven

Brown Widow Egg Sac

Well, I went to see if the brown widow was still under the leaf and look what I found.

Move Over Oreos

I usually purchase Joes Joes chocolate and vanilla sandwich cookies from Trader Joe's when I have an Oreo craving.  (I love the vanilla Joe Joes as well!)  The other day I was in Whole Foods and was looking for something sweet when these Late July Vanilla Bean with Green Tea cookies caught my eye.  I purchased an individual snack pack to try them.  I actually bought a whole box today.  They are a bit pricey, but worth it.  Organic cookies that include whole grains and green tea.  At least you get something good for you when you're satisfying a cookie urge.   The Decadent Dark Chocolate are  probably worth trying as well. 

Beware the Brown Widow

Brown widow spiders are fairly new arrivals in California.  For creatures that are supposed to be reclusive, I've been seeing quite a few.   I first became aware of them at the end of August when cleaning my classroom.   I saw some round, white, spiky egg sacs attached to the window and a coworker told me they were from brown widows.  Never having heard about brown widows, I looked them up and she was right.  I wish I had taken pictures.  Now I found a large brown widow that lives behind a leaf on my back wall.  There are babies as well.  It's a speedy spider and I have not been able to get a good picture of the orange marking on the belly, but it's there. 

You can just about see the orange marking through the blurriness.

My Mutant Feijoa Leaf

I noticed this strange double-leaf on my feijoa tree today while I was watering.  Not sure if I should be worried. Is it a harbinger of mutant fruit?

My Mystery Worm

Since we moved into our house several years ago we keep finding these little critters.  One will be scooting across the floor like pictured, or hanging on the wall in our garage.  At first we just found a case/covering every once in a while, then one day I saw one moving and noticed the worm.  I've never seen anything like it and have no idea what it could be or where it comes from.   Maybe it's some sort of larva? 

The case is tough and gritty and looks made of sand.  The one pictured also seems to have some type of fuzz stuck to it.  The little worm pulls the case along like a snail with a shell.  Since I have no clue what it could be, I don't know whether it is harmful or not.  We find them more often in the summer and even then only about once a week.  Strange.

40 Years Ago

The Best BeachBooks

Thousands of NPR listeners voted and chose the 100 Best Beach Reads. I'm sure this means different things to different people.  Some readers might prefer an easy, breezy read while kicking back on the beach, other enjoy a good thriller, fantasy, or something that requires even more concentration.  Whatever your choice, check out the final list.  I printed a copy, highlighted the books I've read, and added others to my reading wishlist.

There are many terrific books on the NPR list.  Some of my favorites from the list:

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
• The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
• The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkein
• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
• Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice
• Dune by Frank Herbert
• Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Favorites of mine that didn't make it:

• Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear
• Mistress of the Art of Death series by Ariana Franklin
• The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
• Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler
• The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Our President in Pictures

The Boston Globe's Big Picture has a photographic look at President Obama's first 167 days.  There's 38 photographs, so have a look. 

Spare Change?

We have a coin jar where we dump our change at the end of the day to make pockets and purses lighter.  It was getting a bit full and since our credit union has a coin machine that counts the change for you for no fee, providing you're a member, I decided to cash in our coins.

Coins are heavy.  I somehow managed to lift that jar just enough to pour the coins into 3 quart-size zip top bags.  It was about half the coins, but that's all I wanted to carry at once.

      

In all, I cashed in about $200 in coins.  Not bad!  That spare change really adds up.

Feijoa - Pineapple Guava

Whenever I find feijoas (AKA pineapple guavas) in the markets around here they are priced $2 or $3 each.  Crazy.  They are delicious eaten raw, and baked into bread, but the price is just too high.  These fruit are supposed to be easy to grow in the southern California climate, so I finally decided to plant my own.  I placed a special order at a local nursery, but when it finally arrived months later, I found they had several at Lowe's for a lower price.

I picked a 19-inch plastic pot and drilled a few holes in the bottom to allow good drainage.  Then planted it with a mix of potting soil and soil for citrus trees that is supposed to be quick-draining.  I planted 3 nasturtium seedlings in the pot to keep it company.

I hope it blooms next spring so I can have some fruit in the fall!  If so, I might share my recipe for feijoa bread.

If you want to plant your own feijoa, look for a named variety that will bear fruit.  The common one around here is Coolidge.

The Bird in the Garage

I went to get the mail and when I got back there was a little bird flying around in my garage.  I've left the door open for 10 minutes now, but it hasn't found its way out.  It keeps flying up.  Perhaps the reflection off our cars is confusing the poor thing.  If I hadn't left my camera at work I'd show you a picture of it.

Waiting for Part Two

Currently I'm awaiting the release of two books.  Both are the second in a trilogy.  If you like fantasy or crime/mystery novels, I recommend both of these books.  However, pick them up at your own peril, soon you'll be wanting more and left waiting like me.

Two years ago I read the wonderful fantasy novel, The Name of the Wind by first-time author Patrick Rothfuss.  I read it knowing it was the first in a trilogy and as soon as I was finished I found myself ready for the next part.  Last April I ordered The Wise Man's Fear (Part 2) for myself and my brother-in-law and reread Name of the Wind while I waited for it to arrive. It never did, and even though I checked Amazon everyday, it took me about a week to realized the release date was indeed April, but of 2010. Oh well, at least I've had something to look forward to for the past year. 

***UPDATE 4/9/2009***  I just read Patrick Rothfuss's blog and it doesn't look like Wise Man's Fear will be out anytime soon. 

Just last week I finished reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larson.  This was the first time I read a novel set entirely in Sweden and I was intrigued.  A disgraced financial reporter, Mikael Blomkvist, is hired by a wealthy octogenarian to look into the mysterious disappearance of a beloved family member.  The trouble is the disappearance happened decades ago and every lead seems to have already been followed to the end.  The narrative switches between Mikael's story and that of the title character until their paths cross.  All three novels are released in the author's native Sweden.  The translated version of the second book,The Girl Who Played With Fire, is already out in England, and while I could purchase it from amazon.co.uk, I'll wait until July.  It's always nice to have a good book to read during the summer.

         

Customer Service, Defined

I would like to thank the good folks at Anchor Hocking for renewing my faith in Customer Service.  Here's my story:

I have been using ramekins covered with plastic wrap as little individual fruit bowls for at least a year.  I knew there had to be a better way, and during a recent shopping trip I found a set of Anchor Hocking glass storage bowls with plastic lids.  No more plastic wrap, Horray! 

After about a week, I was frustrated that two of the lids would not remained shut, no matter what.  Before I tried returning the entire set without any packaging or receipt, I decided (with very little hope) to try and contact Anchor Hocking for a replacement.  I looked up their website and found the Customer Service - Consumer Affairs email link. 

Here's my email dated 2/17/09:

Hello,

I recently purchased a set of glass storage containers at Target.  It was an 8 piece set containing 4 glass bowls and 4 lids.  Are there replacement lids available?   Two of the lids fit perfectly and stay on, but 2 lids keep popping off.

Thank you,
M

And the reply dated 2/20/09

Dear M:

Thank you for taking the time to contact Anchor Hocking regarding the
problem you have experienced with your glassware product offering.

Anchor Hocking strives to maintain high quality standards to produce the
finest glassware available. Therefore it is important for us to hear of
any problems that you experience with our product.

If you will provide the capacity size of the bowls or the UPC code we
will send replacement covers with our compliments. Please include your
last name and address (NO PO BOX).

We look forwarding to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

ANCHOR HOCKING COMPANY

Amy (last name removed)
Consumer Affairs


Quite surprising, right.  After I sent my last name and address I got an immediate reply that the lids would be arriving in 4-6 weeks.

And so, the lesson is, there are still some American companies that provide good, old fashioned customer service.  Thank you.

An Ode to Trader Joe's

I haven't been around for awhile, but not because I don't care.  When things are hectic at work, my baking and cooking, and generally anything fun suffers.  Enough about me, I saw this today and I just had to share.  If you have a Trader Joe's in your area, you'll know they don't advertise, so this guy created a commercial for them.  If you are not blessed with a TJ's near you, you can email a location request (just choose location request from the drop down menu). 

Happy Holiday

"Six to Eight Black Men" by David Sedaris is my favorite story to listen to or read on Christmas.  Here it is in 3 parts from the CD Live at Carnegie Hall.  David Sedaris recently published an updated version of Holidays on Ice that includes this story.  You can also get the book version.  However, for me, the stories are always so much funnier when I listen to him read them.  Enjoy.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Want more? NPR always has a story about David Sedaris's "Santaland Diaries" where he recounts his time as an elf at Macy's.  There is a link to listen to the story.  Link