I haven't, Perkins. But I shall! It's the one right after Bed Bath & Beyond, right?

I think so, Allyson: [link]

Once you try something that actually tastes like it is supposed to, or tastes like anything really, it is so hard to eat otherwise.

Which might explain why I order things without tomatoes.

On a pendant note, it costs a fortune to get registered or declared or whatever as "organic" so at a farmer's market there are a lot of fruits and veggies grown without the pesticides and such that aren't labeled "Organic." It can be worth asking how things are grown, even without the signage. I have a thing for my farmer's market and the food and flowers I can get there. I end up talking to the people there sometimes even. Voluntarily.

I'm so glad I've never really had good apples or cherries or pears. Sadly, the bananas I buy from Ralph's taste like crap, the oranges are unremarkable, and the mangoes untouchable.

Maybe we should all go to the farmer's market on Sunday.

My folks bought a cottage in New Hampshire when I was about 8. It's a year-round house, though, so we used it summers (it's on a lake) and winters (for the skiing). And now they're retired and they stay there in the summer and in Florida in the winter.

And even though I'm on another coast I really miss having easy access to a weekend place where I can lounge on the back porch and read all day and watch the beavers swim around, and sit on the dock in the morning with a cup of tea and watch the dragonflies. ::sigh::

On the good side, I'm in a ski club with a lodge in the mountains that I can use any time I want in the summer, and I don't have to pay taxes on it. So, it works out.

I have conquered the CRT. I no longer have any tubes in use in my place. I just replace my last 17" monitor with a second 20" Apple Cinema Display. My studio Mac now has dual 20" Cinemas. I was going to buy a 23" one to go with the 20", but the 17" started to die and I didn't have the extra cash, so dual 20" it is. Damn this is nice looking.

Poking head to post that, according to the Buffista Calendar, today is Kat's birthday. Happy birthday, Kat! With lots of wishes for a great day and a wonderful year!

Happy birthday, Kat!!

So some forward-looking beach-lovers bought shore places long before the prices skyrocketed.

Friends of the family had bought a house up on Washington Island at the end of the Door County Peninsula in Wisconsin back in the late '50s/early '60s, long before it became fashionable. Since it's right on the water (Green Bay side), I'm sure it's worth a tidy sum now. As far as I know, they never did make it livable during the winter months, considering how isolated the island is during the off-season. They've been up there so long that they're considered islanders, even though they're only seasonal residents. Best story from Noreen was about the time that she went out to get the morning paper dressed in her robe and curlers just as the tourist-filled Cherry Train was driving past. The driver/guide said over the intercom, "And there's Noreen Murphy out for her morning constitutional. Everybody say 'Hi, Noreen!'" And they did, laughing uproariously. She had a few words for the guide the next time she ran into him in town.

Bzzzzt! Wrong! I've had Mondo Gelato and it's not even on the same tier as Ciao Bella

Ciao Bella's texture is off. It's weird on my tongue.