San Francisco Date Ideas – Visit Iconic Movie Locations
UNITED STATES—When it comes to dating in San Francisco, there is an abundance of potential destinations that will make for a memorable experience, from wonderful restaurants to wineries, concert venues to scenic parks. But if you're looking for a more unusual activity, how about using the movies as a backdrop to your date? San Francisco has been used as...
A Touch Antisocial
UNITED STATES—It was the longest elevator ride I have ever spent, creeping from one floor to the next.
We boarded the elevator garage level at the Avalon Trader Joe’s. An alarm was ringing as we slipped in the open elevator, where a sour-faced man and woman flanked an empty grocery cart.
My daughter looked over at them and said, “Is the...
Think Outside The Nursery Pot
UNITED STATES—A dressed turkey that is packaged for retail sale in a supermarket is not ready to be eaten right away. If frozen, it must be thawed slowly. It must then be unwrapped; and little bag of giblets must be removed from inside, before the turkey gets stuffed and finally cooked. Although the inexperienced sometimes cook, a turkey with...
Choosing To Eat Healthy
UNITED STATES—Eating healthy is not easy America. I try and I try, but we all have weaknesses and we do our best to battle them. A recent trip to the doctor made me realize that I have to do a bit more to put my health in a better light. For starters, I have completely eliminated pop/soda/soft drinks, whatever...
Cacti Are Notorious For Nonconformity
UNITED STATES—Almost everyone thinks of cacti as tough plants that live out in the hottest and driest parts of the deserts, where few other plants can survive. They are the sorts of plants that we threaten to plant out in the most inhospitable or neglected parts of the garden. We never actually do so, just because we do not...
Less Cooking For Summer
UNITED STATES—We talked a few months ago about summer cooking and how you can utilize the outdoors and the grill to get out of that hot and steamy kitchen. Well, after having a conversation with a few family members and friends, you’re not expected to cook a meal every day during the week. Whew, what a relief because I...
Birding
UNITED STATES—When the sun falls and the thermometer goes down a decade, then the time for big game hunting begins. I am the driver, but my daughter has the knowhow and savvy to be both guide and hunter. We troll around the streets of a desert town called Hollywood in the dusty red Rav, and the streets are all...
Summer Weather Can Scorch Foliage
UNITED STATES—Severe summer weather is something that we think that we do not need to contend with. It only rarely gets as unbearably hot here as it does elsewhere, and when it does, it usually gets breezy by evening, and somewhat cooler overnight. Aridity, or the lack of humidity, is another advantage, at least for us. The plants in...
Schadenfreude (More Adventures Of Giselle)
UNITED STATES—I’m keeping my eyes on my clothes tumbling in the laundromat dryer. What do you think about separating clothes? I really don’t believe in segregation for fabrics unless there’s one T-shirt that’s bleeding all over the place and will make your whites look like they were marinated in iodine. What’s with that, China? Me, Giselle, would like to...
Weed Seeds Can Hurt Pets
UNITED STATES—Plants are quite ingenious with their technology of exploitation of animals and people. Many get insects, birds, bats, spiders and anyone who is animated within their environment to disperse the plants' pollen for them. Plants who prefer to not rely on wind, water or gravity to disperse their seed exploit a different range of animals to do so....