Breaking Carmel News

Carmel-by-the-Sea: Person reported that while driving within the business area on Dolores Street, he was sprayed with a liquid substance — either water or spit. At the time, a delivery van passed him. The person believed that he was sprayed in the neck through the use of a squirt gun or by someone spitting on him. The driver of the delivery van stated that he did not spit or squirt water. He remembered using the windshield washer fluid and activated the wiper blades. No merit.

WTF is that?

Well I know that I promised you a video today, but it isn't going to happen just yet. I meant to get a panoramic video while we were at Carmel Belle this morning, but when we got the food we were so hungry we were half way finished before I thought of it. Make a note, Saturdays at the Belle can be quite busy. The line was about six guests deep (partly due to a neophyte cashier). It's probably a good sign that they are adding staff. Rex ordered a special. Pulled pork smothered in gravy served on a small brioches. OMG!!!

Now to the picture. No it's not my delicate complextion. No it's not something the dogs made. It is my "artisinal" cashew brittle that I made for a party tomorrow ( our friend James fiftieth). This brittle is a very special recipe that my dad's girl friend taught me. It always seems to be well liked. Unfortunately it is not a recipe that can be shared. The ingredients aren't anything special, it's the process. Unlike most candy recipes that use a thermometer to determine the final stage, this is done solely by sight and smell. This is cooked well past the lava stage and must be made with a mettle spoon (a wooden spoon would turn turn to ash). I actually burnt my thumb making it.

What makes it artisinal, you ask? It's artisinal because no batch is exactly the same. Sometimes it is divine and other times it's almost divine. I'm letting this one cool, so I don't know how divine it is yet. It's a different stove and pan.

WTF?

Me and Jeannie

Shit happens

Well I had promised a story about a sewer. Here it is.

Our friend Mary Lee (known to her friends as ML) uses the same gardener that we use (Dianne Woods). Well, Dianne was over at ML's the other day and notices that she has a big wet spot in her yard. ML immediately rings up the plumber. ML is one to take charge immediately. Her home is her castle, although admission to the castle is very limited and rare. The plumber comes over and says that her septic system has backed up. ML is in shock because she thought she was on the sewer system. Her house is sixty years old and she knew it had been built with a septic but thought it was no longer in use. She knew this because last year, with her approval, the plumber had filled in the septic tank with CONCRETE. Talk about a f'up!!! Now ML has to put in a new five thousand dollar septic tank (at first they wanted to also dig up the old one). She's meeting with the permitting authorities on Mon. I'm sure it will be an Oscar winning performance. Isn't this just the shits!

Today we worked out and I walked a mile! That was a big goal for me. Yeah!

We had happy hour at Pastry and Petals. Yummy appetizers. Jeannie even sent home a To go of leftovers.

I think I have learned how I can embed video in the blog. Tomorrow I'll give it a try,

Sister?

Last night we went for a walk along Scenic Drive. The clouds had cleared earlier in the day and the sun was starting it's slow descent. The walking path that follows the street is probably forty feet from the beach below, making the view exceptional. It was a buy night on the beach. People out with a variety of dogs. We saw labs, a bull dog and even a small dog with a wheel carriage under its back legs. It was just flying down the beach with it wheels a spinning. It's owner actually had to run a little bit to catch up. Many people were building fires and preparing there dinners for a night at the beach.

We had parked the car around 8th Street and walked to 13th. Sat on the bench and took in the sights. This is were I took the pic below. You probably can't tell, but it was a great view all the way to Pebble Beach. By the time we walked back to the car, we were both thinking about dinner (go figure).

We drove up the main drag (Ocean Ave) about eight blocks to Mission and found a place to park. The place we were heading to has no sign-age and is tucked down a path between buildings. Tommy's Wok is the only Chinese restaurant in town (as far as I know). It seats about twenty and was at capacity. Fortunately Rex and I found a table near the wall. Directly to my right was a most unusual pair. It was a very elderly wheel chair bound Asian women and another Asian women that was probably in her sixties. The younger of the two was helping the elderly woman eat (as we noticed that she was blind).

In another setting this couple would not appear so out of place. After all this is a Chinese restaurant. But this is downtown Carmel which is probably eighty percent tourists and the streets are very difficult to maneuver a wheel chair around.

A conversation ensued with the women of what she liked on the menu and discussion of what we had ordered (Sea Bass with black bean was her favorite since the elderly woman can't chew). It turns out the younger caretaker's name was Sister Ashi. And Yes, Sister, like in nun. Sister Ashi was a nun in the order that Mother Teresa was part of. She has, however, taken a leave to care for her 98 year old mother. Her mother owns the China Art Center on Dolores and 7th. Her parents had moved here many years ago (I assume her father has passed). Sister Ashi was full of information about obtaining the best seafood - where to go and what to buy. It ended up being dinner with a side of entertainment. We will have to stop at the store, which I've been by many times.

Then we headed home to watch the latest Fabulous Beekman Boys and to bed. With all this going on we missed the movie finale at the Forest Theater (an outdoor theater about a block and a half from our house). Last night was the end of their summer film season. It was going to be Michael Jackson's = This Is It. All attendees were strongly encouraged to wear a white glove on their left hand. I can just picture it: a bunch of rich old f'ers, sitting on pillows, eating from their picnic baskets, their left hands in white gloves while watching Michael shake his stuff. All this under the stars. You can't make this shit up.

Later

Walking on the beach last night

We made it to ACME

Octapussy!

Okay, I am getting a little behind here. So this is going to wrap up last nights events.

We had a date with Pam Finnerman from Houston. Pam and her delightful husband Phil (I have to say that because he might read this) are from Houston, but also own an estate jewelry store in Carmel (connected to the Clint Eastwood building, Clint is his landlord). Phil and Pam have been rotating their time between their store in Houston and the store in Carmel. They see each other during the "flip". Like to ships that pass in the night!

Pam is a doll! We took her to the Monterey Fish House. A great little restaurant that was started by a family of fisherman. The food is fresh, delicious and very reasonable. Pam had salmon, I had snapper and Rex had halibut. Fabu! A great evening of camaraderie. Pam leaves this coming Sunday and we will miss her.

This is the place with great baby octopus. We didn't opt for it last night, so I had to post an old picture of Lori Jones.

Sorry that this post was about food, but my next post will have a story about septic tanks and a nun we met from Sister Teresa's order (at a Chinese restaurant of course).

More later hope you like the pics.

Octapussy!

Old pic, but Lori says yum

Babalu was a new binky

Dinner with Pam

In the Garden

In the Garden

Put that in you blog and smoke it!

The sun is out and it is full throttle, but don't think that warms things up. While the sun is strong the breeze is cool.

I have ruffled a few feathers because we chose to go to East Village Coffee yesterday rather than the anti-culture biker coffee of ACME. Let me first say that East Village is no corporate establishment beholding to "the man". And secondly, ACME ain't got no pottie place. After a long workout and a bottle of water, a pottie place is a must. And we will be back to ACME (but not today either).

Today we hit Carmel Valley Roasting Company in the barnyard. Not only do they have a pottie place, they are next to the dry cleaners. Chip-chop-suey at dry cleaner doesn't work too fast - drop off before noon on Tuesday and you get back after 5PM on Friday. These are no descendants of the builders of the Great Wall of China. If they were, it would have been two feet tall.

I'm going to take a minute to get on a jag about Carmel Valley Roasting at the Barnyard Shopping Center. It has gone down hill! Understaffed, no quiche (our favorite, which they get from Bechler's bakery), no cream, and they manager ignored Rex's question. Let me tell you - Nobody puts baby in a corner! I have sent a scathing email to the management. I'll let you know if they have the courtesy to respond. For now, they are off our list!

By now you may be wondering about the title of this blog. Well, as you may know, Cali has legalized medical marijuana. I don't know where the dispensary is, but I want you to know that I am going to research this and let you know the 411. So you will have to wait, the title was just a teaser.

Lori Jones just called and it sounds like she had a crazy weekend in Corpus Christi with her sister. GIRLS GONE WILD CORPUS should be out soon, so keep an eye out for them.

I'm off to shower. Dinner tonight with Pam, a friend from Houston. I'll let you know the details tomorrow.

Time Warp

Well, it is day three and it feels like we have been here for weeks. Could this be the sequel to LOST? All our normal daily Houston activities are gone. Our normal routine is amiss and we are feeling our way through the day. I feel like Helen Keller after she's been taken to a new room in the house.

For example, last night we decided to go to a movie (something we rarely do in Houston). If we had tried to be late, we would have ended up early. We left at 5:15 for a 6:05PM movie. Needless to say, we were waiting for the theater cleaning crew to finish at 5:25PM. It took us less time to get to the theater than it would have been for us to get across 610 in Houston. By the time we get this figured out we will be back in Houston in total shock.

As for the movie, Inception, it was very good. A very dense and complicated plot with an explosive soundtrack. The cast was exceptional. My goodness Leonardo has aged. We would recommend it with the note that it is pretty complicated. So you'll have to pay attention.

This morning we hit the gym, Garden Fitness. This will be start of a new routine. For those of you residing in the sub-tropics, please be aware that Garden Fitness has no air conditioning. Just open windows. You'll have to work to even break a sweat. Then it was off to coffee, another future routine. We hit East Village. A funky little cafe in an old bank building.

After a few more errands of dis' and 'dat. It is massage time.

It is looking like we have got Mondays figured out.

More later, gotta get the dog beds out of the drier.

East Village Coffee in Monterey

Baby Bangers

Baby Bangers

All right now, I know by the title that your minds a going to naughty places, but pull yourself out of the gutter. It's not going to be about midget porn. I'm sure you all have your own private collections hidden in the closet behind your Spanx.

The topic this morning is once again food. I know that you are probably thinking - food and weather, is there anything else? Yes there is, but, I've got to get these two topics covered. In the first 36 hours I've consumed 10,000 calories. And believe me, it is going to have to stop (or at least slow down).

If you haven't guessed, we headed out to breakfast first thing this morning. The first choice had a line out of the door. Who knew "The Little Swiss" cafe was so popular. It doesn't take many patrons to create a backlog. The entire place probably seats about 15. It's good traditional breakfast fare served up by a feisty waitress name Carol. Carol runs hot or cold depending on her prior evening activities. We tend to prefer her on the spicy side, like after the night she was on an all night binge at a heavy metal concert or the time her cocaine snorting neighbor kept her up all night. Nothing like a side of sarcasm with your benedict. Anyway, we headed to our second choice, "The Cottage".

The Cottage is on the other side of Ocean Ave. and isn't much bigger than Little Swiss. We had no problem getting a table. The Cottage was "the" favorite restaurant of Jennifer Anniston and Brad Pitt when they were an item and had a house on Scenic Drive. For me, The Cottage has two over the top items: baby bangers and Kathy cakes. The Baby Bangers are small sausages cooked with a crusty browned casing. Very English. I'm sure the Queen is wolfing down a plate as we speak. Queens love the sausage (did I say that?). The Kathy cakes are basically a version of pancakes that can have fresh berries in them. They are "too die for". Named after Kathy, the widowed owner of the restaurant. She's been running the place for seventeen years. Rex and I split an order of turkey and avocado benedict. Eat your hearts out.

After breakfast as we took a drive down Scenic, we got the call that the car had arrived (packed with the last of the items we will need to make it through the next three months).

As I write this, Rex is off getting the car washed, inside and out. Then he'll be back at Brinton's. I'm not sure what for, so it will be a surprise.

Then I am going down for a nap.

Later gators.

Pastries and Petals Carrot Cake

Day Two

Well it has been our first twenty four hours. A lot has happened, but time moves in a different dimension here. I don't know quite how to describe it. When I look back on the day, so many things have happened. But unlike Houston, everything is a five minute adventure, so you can knock out many items in a relatively short amount of time (with the exception of lunch, which I'll get to in a moment). We are all settling in.

Everybody slept well, including the dogs. After getting up and everyone taking a poopie (myself excluded) we headed to the Carmel Belle for breakfast. It's always a favorite. Poached eggs on country french bread toast with sides of sauteed mushrooms and asparagus. Plus roasted local tomatos. Yum!!! They are all about the fresh, the local and the organic. Then a quick trip to the Crossroads shopping center for a stop at the UPS store, the pet store and Brintons (Carmel's version of Houstons Berings Hardware store).

We met Mary Lee Singer (a local) and went to lunch at Patries and Petals (PP). PP has been open for just two months and it doing a great business. PP is owned by Jeannie J. a close friend of Mary Lee's. Let's just say it was a leisurely lunch with ample pourings of Flowers Chardonnay (not that I had any). I had an eggplant rolled up in cheese and baked in a marinera served with a garlic toast crostini. Sorta like an eggplant lasagne. Desert followed with double cherry pie and carrot cake. All of their deserts are accompanied with a miniature rose. Too cute. I'll try to post a picture. (Rex just piped in to make sure that I say, "he is NOT drunk").

You may get the impression that the food here is over the top. Well it is! There are so many great places, and they don't even have to be big places. The appreciation of food is at a different level. Hopefully you'll get to experience it, if you haven't already. You will get to be hearing more about our eating adventures in future blogs.

We've made it home the dogs are fed and we are ready for a nap. More later.

Hugs

Carmel Belle breakfast

Desilu and the gang made it

Looking good

Fwd: What Will I Do. 11am CDT

Subject: What Will I Do

What Will I Do.       11am CDT

Well this is going to be my first blog entry. I have never blogged before but thought what the hell. I've got to get into the 21st century and it seems to be the thing to do. I'll be just like the Beekman Boys (for those of you not familiar with the Beekman Boys you can check them out at www.Beekman1802.com or watch their show on Planet Green. Rex is so Brent and I am so Josh).  Love the show and the book.

We are on Continental making our way to San Jose.  Rex is watching the Jennifer Anniston movie Bounty Hunter while I opted to play with my iPad and listen to a Chris Botti Cd that I ripped from the house we rented last June in Carmel.  Rex will let out a laugh or say something every now and again, forgetting he has headphones on!

We had a nice send off at the airport from a gym friend, Linda, who had just arrived from visiting her son. We should be out in Cali around noon. The last text message from the dog's drivers was that they should be early and arrive about an hour after we get to the house. I hope their great cross country adventure went well. Desilu will actually be returning to Cali since she was born in Tahoe.

Not a lot to report now. This may have all been a little dry, but things will get more exciting as I get better at blogging. I didn't want to start by talking about the flight attendant with five foot legs and a Doris Day hairdo. There Rex goes again, something he found funny must have just happened.  

Oh, in case you wonder about the title of this entry, this album's track of "What Will I Do" got me stated:

What'll I Do
When you are far away
And I'm so blue
What'll I do
With just a photograph
To tell my troubles to
When I'm alone with only dreams of you
What'll I do

While we will miss all are friends we hope to hear from you often!



Sent from my iPad