It should have been easy. Two screws and five color-coded wires. At least, that's what I thought on Monday when I decided, just before breakfast, to upgrade the old thermostat for one of those new fancy "smart" devices. You know, the kind of gizmo that displays a beautiful HD screen, which, of course, you don't …
Let me tell you ‘bout the birds and the bees
THE STREETS OF DOWNTOWN Los Angeles are empty. The stores are closed. The museums are quiet. The tourists have disappeared. But the wildlife, for the most part, seem quite content to be the only hustle and bustle around. Each morning, when the sun peaks above the skyscrapers to illuminate our little window garden, the bees …
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Foolproof crackers
ABOUT A YEAR ago, Sherry and I were in a small town in Minnesota staying at a Residence Inn. It was your typical chain hotel with nondescript rooms. But this place had quite the happy hour. It wasn't the friendly service or copious amounts of alcohol that impressed us the most, though. It was the …
Let the chips fall where they may
When you have lemons, the saying goes, you make lemonade. And when you have potatoes -- and lots of them due to a clerical error in ordering online (5 bags vs. 5 potatoes) -- you start to get creative. Potato chips -- or crisps if you are British -- had always been on my bucket …
Christmas Horn Cookies
The recipe came from the “old country” and according to family legend, it was top secret and to be guarded. We knew them as Christmas Horns, a confection of almonds, flour, eggs, vanilla and sugar. Right after Thanksgiving, the kitchen would turn into a factory, as the kids helped Mom crank out the dough for …
Stuff about the staff of life
A few years ago, I was given a bread maker as a present. It's something of a beast: the top-of-the-line Zojirushi machine. I call it the 3D printer for bread, since it requires nothing more than dumping the measured ingredients into the pan, shutting the lid and pressing a button. As lovely and easy as …
A Different Kind of Birthday
Things were not going according to plan. Three of our party of six were down for the count. The three happened to be the male members of the group. They were suffering from a food-borne illness easily traceable to fish tacos the night before. The women in the party (where did that term "fairer sex" …
Brotherly love
I had to make a decision involving one of the most basic of human needs: use the bathroom now or chance a long ride? We -- my siblings and our respective spouses -- were on the upper northwest side of the island of Oahu, about to make our return to our vacation rental, a fair …
City of Fallen Angels
Los Angeles is a city of contrasts. It’s where the arid desert meets the rolling ocean waves. There is incredible wealth, and absolute poverty. The superficial vs. the serious. As the heat waves roll up from the pavement of a nondescript strip mall near LAX, the pristine San Gabriel mountains, blessed with a crown of …
