Succulent Cafe Carlsbad

 Next time you want a relaxing, quiet place for coffee and pastry, try the Succulent Cafe on Oak St. in Carlsbad.  It's a coffee house and succulent garden all in one.  It is relaxing, with small tables scattered throughout the hundreds and hundreds of succulent plants.  

It's just coffee and cold drinks and pastries, but oh, the succulents are beautiful.  It's amazing to see the variety of containers they use as planters.  Old shoes, boxes, tires, bird cages, you name it.  There is soft music in the background, and a fountain, so the atmosphere is so calming.  It's just  south of Carlsbad Village Drive, away from the hustle bustle of old Carlsbad.  I think you will like it.

My Mistake Turns Into Something Meaningful

 After years of walking together on Saturday mornings, Fran and I are always looking for new ways to get in our 10,000 steps.  We heard there was a Village Art Walk in Carlsbad, so decided to go there.  Coffee at The Succulent Garden (I'll tell you about that another time) and then a walk around Carlsbad, sounded perfect for a beautiful Saturday morning.  The only trouble was, the art walk was on Sunday.  So, we never had our coffee at the Succulent Garden, but instead started on a nice walk around down Carlsbad Village Drive.

We were minutes into our walk, when we noticed a large group gathered in an empty lot next to Senor Grubby's restaurant.  I knew they weren't in line for that restaurant, so we went to find out what was going on.  At the Carlsbad Art Wall a very special mural was being painted in memory of Jack Munday.  Jack was a 16 year old Carlsbad resident that was killed in a roll-over car accident on Carlsbad Village Drive on June 27, 2020.  7 other teens were injured in the crash.  

The wall mural was designed by Bryan Snyder, founder of the Carlsbad Art Wall.  According to Bryan, the wall mural design was influenced by Jack's love of skateboarding, baseball, family and surfing, the art work he left behind as a youth, and Bryan's conversations with the family.  What a touching tribute to a young man who died so tragically.  I was lucky enough to talk to Jack Munday's younger brother for a few minutes.  He was tell me and Fran about his brother's love of surfing and music, and was so excited about the mural being erected in his memory.  

The outline of the mural was drawn ahead of time, and at 10:00am on a Saturday morning, the painting began.  Old, young, friends, strangers and family, all participated in the painting of the mural.  What a wonderful tribute to this young Carlsbad resident.

Next time you drive (or walk) down Carlsbad Village Drive, notice the mural on the side of the Senor Grubby's building.  I'm so happy that I had the date of the Village Art Walk wrong.  Otherwise, I never would have learned about the history behind this mural and young man memorialized in it.  I LOVE murals and knowing what's behind the mural makes it ever so much more interesting.

The Need For The Human Touch

 During the pandemic, most of us were quite isolated, especially those of us living alone.  If you live with a family, you still got hugs and kisses, but that didn't exist for those of us living alone.  I'm a hugger, so that was something I greatly missed.

I was walking to pickleball one afternoon, when a car pulled up to drop off an elderly man.  The man got out of the car using a cane, and he seemed to be having trouble with his balance.  I looked at him, could see that he was having trouble, and asked him if he needed help getting into the clubhouse, which was just about 20 feet away.  He smiled and said, "No, I think I can make it.  I just wanted to hold your hand for a few minutes."  That was so touching!  I took his arm, and helped him walk into the clubhouse.  

He was so happy.  I could see a big smile on his face.  I, too, was happy.  To do something so simple that means so much to someone makes my day.  In Hebrew we call it a Mitzvah.  

Did You Know Donkeys Are Endangered?

 The sweet, gentle, hardworking donkey is in jeopardy of becoming extinct.  It doesn't seem possible.  What is it that donkeys have that has led to the appalling suffering that they have endured?  Donkey-hide gelatin is what they want.

In China, it's call ejiao.  It's the donkey skin and the gelatin under the skin that are used in Chinese medicine that the slaughterhouses want.  Around the world, donkeys are being killed at an alarming rate.  Multiple African countries have banned the export of donkey gelatin to China, including Niger, Uganda and Burkina Faso.  The donkey population in China fell from 11 million in 1992 to 2.6 million in 2019.  More than 10% of the global population (44 million) are killed every year. 

Demand for ejiao has increased to the level that diseased animals, pregnant mares and young foals have all been harvested.  The slow reproductive cycle of the donkey (one year) has made replenishing their population difficult.  Donkeys have long served as pack animals in many parts of the developing world, and owning one has often lead a family out of poverty.  But the demand for slaughtered animals has made acquiring them more difficult.  The price of a donkey in Kenya, for example, has more than doubled in the last few years.  

It seems that Chinese medicine has led to the destruction of millions of animals, causing so many to become close to extinct.  Elephants, rhinos, monkeys, and now donkeys come to mind.  The shame of it is that most of the Chinese remedies that these animals are poached or slaughtered for, don't do a damn thing!

It breaks my heart to read of the inhumane ways donkeys are treated on the way to the slaughterhouse.  Fortunately some countries are passing laws prohibiting the trafficking of donkey skins and gelatin, and punishing offenders.  There is so much to do to protect the donkey, and so many other endangered animals, from vanishing from this earth.

We Should All Learn About Ranked Voting

 Ranked voting is used in about  10 cities around our country, most recently used in the Democratic Primary for mayor.  Many think it is a fairer way of determining the outcome of an election.  Here's how it works.

Let's say there are 10 people running for the nomination for a particular office.  When you vote, you vote for your 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice, 4th choice and 5th choice.  The votes are tabulated, and the 10th place finisher is removed from competition.  The votes for him or her are then given to the person that was the second choice.  The votes are retabulated and the person in last place (now only 9 people), is eliminated.  Those that voted for #9 are now allotted to their number 2 choice.  It goes on like this until two candidates are left, and there is a runoff between the two candidates.  This is all assuming no one gets 50%.  If someone does get 50%, he or she is automatically the candidate.

It's a little difficult to understand, and even more difficult to explain, but it does seem to be fairer.  We'll see how New York likes it.  It is also done in San Francisco, Berkeley and several other cities around the country.

The negative is that you may not have the results of the election for weeks.  We'll see how it goes.  Voting and fairness is certainly a hot topic these days.  Unfortunately most of the voting efforts are geared at trying to get people not to vote.  

Easy and Elegant: Italian Florentine Cookies

 I was watching the Food Network one morning, and Michael Symon's show was on outdoor grilling.  He made some fabulous looking pizzas and calzones, but he also grilled some delicious Italian Florentine cookies.  They're the lacy, delicate cookies that almost fall apart, but melt in your mouth.  They are so easy to make.  The hardest part is getting the cooking time right.  They have to be watched or they will burn.

My recipe is similar to Michael's, but I cooked them in the oven.  If you don't eat them all right away, sore them in an airtight container in the freezer.  They absorb moisture if not stored this way and become limp and soggy.

                                                  Italian Florentine Cookies

3/4cup granulated sugar

1/2unsalted butter

1/3cup heavy cream

2T. honey

2cups sliced almonds, crushed (I took whole almonds and crushed them in a food processor)

3T. all-purpose flour

1/4tsp kosher salt

zest of one orange

Add the first four ingredients together in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil.  Whisk until all the sugar is dissolved.

Stir crushed almonds, flour, salt and orange zest in a large bowl, then add to the sugar mixture.  Cool for an hour (or overnight).

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and make teaspoon size rounds.  Separate them on the cookie sheet as they spread like crazy!  Only 6 cookies per cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, until they bubble and caramelize.  It took me several tries to get the cooking right.  If you let them go too long, they burn.  If you don't let them caramelize enough, they are underdone.

Remove from oven and let cook completely before peeling off the foil or paper.  Let them cool even more before storing in an airtight container.

You will love these cookies and impress your guests.

The Most Endangered Mammal You Never Heard Of

 I like to listen to Jane Goodall's podcast about hope.  She is still hopeful about the world, the climate, and it's animals.  Recently she talked about the pangolin, a mammal that looks similar to an anteater, that is the most endangered mammal on the planet.  There are 8 pangolin species, living mostly in Asia and Africa.  

Their only real enemy is man.  The 1,000 scales on their body protect them from most predators, but not man.  They curl up in a ball to protect themselves.  But poachers and traffickers in mammal body parts have hunted them almost to extinction.  In the last decade, 1million pangolins have been hunted and killed.  They are thought to have medicinal benefits.  Their scales are ground into a powder or made into a paste.  The scales are used in Chinese medicine to help with ailments ranging from lactation difficulties to arthritis.  Actually, the scales are made of keratin, the same material that makes up fingernails, and have no proven benefits. In 2017 20,000 pounds of pangolin scales were confiscated.  Pangolin fetuses are served in soup in China.  This is supposed to give men more vitality.  Pangolin meat is also eaten in China.

One of the reasons pangolins have been hunted almost to extinction is that they only have one baby at a time.  Hopefully more protection of this endangered species will grow their population.  Poachers and traffickers of mammal parts, like rhino and elephant tusks, must be stopped.  Jane Goodall is a lot more hopeful about the future than I am.

Santa Monica Seafood Has Been Around A Long Time

 If you are ever in LA and want a casual, yet top quality seafood lunch or dinner, go to Santa Monica Seafood at 10th St. and Wilshire.  You will enjoy a delicious meal, from a fish dinner cooked to perfection, to fish and chips, crab cakes, ahi tuna, poke bowls and great clam or lobster chowder.  In the center of the building is a magnificent display of 54 different types of fish and shellfish.  You have never seen anything so gorgeous.  The side of the store has lots of specialty items to accompany fish, like sauces, cheeses, oils and crackers.  The restaurant has only been around a few years, but the Santa Monica Seafood Company has been around for almost a century.

It was officially founded in 1939, but the real story began in 1898 when John Deluca arrived in San Pedro from Naples, Italy, and needed to make a living.  He looked to the sea, and with his son Jack, began building a company into one of the top distributors of seafood in Southern California.  Cousins and children of cousins came together to turn Santa Monica Seafood into an empire.  

In 2002 Santa Monica Seafood made two strategic decisions.  One was to move to a state of the art climate controlled facility in Rancho Dominguez.  (They used to be just a storefront in Santa Monica).  Next, they professionalized their management team with outside experts.  They bought up Fish Warehouse, Central Coast Seafood, American Seafood, Chesapeake Fish, LA Fish Company, Long Beach Seafood, and Seattle Fish New Mexico in the next 10 years.  They were smart enough to know what they didn't know, and brought in experts that helped make them what they are today.

While at the restaurant, I asked one of the fishmongers what they do at the end of the day with all the leftover fish.  The answer was they sell it to other markets and fish markets.  So, the fish you get at your local market may have originally come from Santa Monica Seafood!  Try it if you're in LA in the Santa Monica area.

My First Visit To The Venice Canal Historic District

I lived in Los Angeles for 55 years and NEVER took one of the prettiest walks in the city.  It's the Venice canal historic district walk.  Embedded in the residential Venice suburb of Los Angeles, it is noteworthy for possessing man-made wetland canals.  The area was developed by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as part of his Venice of America.  Kinney sought to recreate the appearance and feel of Venice, Italy, in coastal Los Angeles.  In all, 13 canals were built.  Over time and as cars gained in popularity, the canals were viewed by many as outdated.  Some were filled in to make room for paved roads.  The remaining 6 canals fell into disrepair for decades.  In 1982 the residential area surrounding the remaining canals was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  It has taken decades more to restore the area to the beautiful, expensive area it is today.  

Homes in this small area are expensive, to say the least.  They are built on narrow lots, usually on three levels, and have very little front or back yard.  They range in price from $3million for an old tear down (if you can find one) to around $10million.  

The area is around Washington Street and 2nd Street.  It is just blocks from the beach and the trendy Abbott Kinney restaurant/shopping area.  I urge you to check it out if you're ever in Venice.  If you google Venice Canal Historic District you will get the exact location.  Parking is almost impossible in the area, so go early to get a space, or pay $20  and park in a lot.  It is well worth the time to see this historic area.  We went on a sunny 72 degree day, and thoroughly enjoyed our visit.  

Las Vegas Post Pandemic

 Las Vegas has never been my favorite vacation spot, but my short trip in June just as things were opening up after the pandemic, cinched it for me.  I was there for a few days with family, and here's what I surmised.  

It's more trouble than it's worth!  Everything you do requires preplanning, and even then, things are likely to go awry.  Let's start with check in.  I arrived in the early afternoon at Mandalay Bay.  The line at the front desk was about 20 people long, with one person checking people in.  I was told the wait time was about 1hour 15 minutes!!!  Not acceptable.  Instead, I could download the MGM app on my phone and check in that way.  That only took me about 10 minutes.  My room key was a QR code (like menus) on my phone.  It was ok, except for the fact that every time you got in the elevator you had to scan your phone to get to the proper phone. Several times internet service was sketchy and it wouldn't work.  Then you either wait for service to come back, or walk all the way to the front key and get a key card.

Service everywhere was slow.  There were not enough workers.  Many restaurants and stores in the hotel were not open.  There was no entertainment.  Usually as you walk through the casino you hear a singer or a band at a lounge.  Not now.  Many gaming tables were not open.  I would ask where to get something, someone would tell me, and when I got there the place I went to was not open.  Very frustrating.

At the pool, there was a QR code on every lounge chair to order pool service.  The only problem was it didn't work, and you had to walk to the snack bar, far away, and carry back food.  $34 for a tall pina colada?  Are they kidding?  If you want to use an inner tube to go down "lazy river" at the pool, you have to purchase a $28 tube.  You cannot just rent the tube for the day.

Prices are sky high.  Breakfast for three was $100.  Starbucks prices in the hotel were about double, and that was cheap.  $8.50 for a milk shake at Johnny Rockets.  There is now a charge for all parking, which is new.  $15 for self parking, $26 for valet.  This is a big change, and really adds up.

I heard but cannot confirm that when entertainment returns, tickets will start at around $400 for concerts. For these prices I will stay close to home and visit one of the many wonderful Indian casinos we have.  Great entertainment, friendly service, fair prices.  

Keep Learning No Matter How Old You Are

 Ever since I moved to Ocean Hills, I've been involved in some sort of discussion group.  First, I organized a group of about 6 like minded women who wanted to discuss the problems we face.  We discussed everything from Universal Health Care to White Privilege, to Immigration.  When the pandemic struck, the group fell apart, but hopefully we will be back.

Next, Ocean Hills has a larger weekly discussion group, 20-30 individuals from all political perspectives, which I also enjoy.  We discuss politics and local community problems and it is always lively.

I was with my mom in L.A. one weekend, and she invited me to stay for her Monday morning Schmooze Group.  This is her discussion group which meets once a month to discuss relevant topics both local and international.  The group consists of 10 women, aged 80-98, all well versed in events of the day and so well spoken.

The hostess selects a few relevant topics to discuss, and has some background information to present to the group.  We discussed the new form of voting being done in the New York mayor primary that may catch on around the country.  We also discussed the critical problems that are taking place in the justice department.

I wasn't shocked at the depth of knowledge these women had, but I was surprised at how current they were on everything.  I was so impressed.  Of the 10 women that attend, most are on walkers or canes, and two of them are extremely hard of hearing.  It's a challenge of each of them to get up and get to the  Schmooze Group meeting every week.  Only two of the women still drive, so they all have either caregivers that accompany them, or they come by Uber.  It is extremely important to each of them that they come to the group each month.  They are all ready to learn and contribute to what is always an informative discussion.

These women are such a great example of what we should all do.  Listen and learn every day, and share our knowledge with  friends and family.  Anyone that's been around for more than 9 decades has a lot to contribute to any discussion.

What's In Your Shopping Cart?

 You can tell a lot about a person from what you see in their shopping cart.  I always look at what others have in their cart while waiting in line.  My mom had a box of food from Instacart delivered to her by accident one day.  The driver was gone by the time she answered the door, and there is no way to find out who had actually ordered the food, so she kept it.

In the box was the following:  4 loaves of Milton's bread, several pounds of sliced turkey, several half gallons of Silk Almond Milk, and 2 large watermelons.  She determined someone was having a party!.

Have you ever looked at the shopping cart of two college men, stocking their refrigerator?  Sugary cereals, chips, dips, puffs, crackers, frozen pizza, ramen, beer and soda, are just some of the more popular items they might have in their cart.

A health food nut is going to have a very different group of items.  He or she may have fiber bars, fresh fruit, yogurt, nuts and raisins, fresh vegetables and hummus dip, fat free crackers, bottled water.  

The coupon freak is going to have a huge variety of items.  He or she will buy anything that she has a coupon for, whether she wants it or not.  

Then there's the basic family shopper.  Her basket is loaded with just about everything, from orange juice and ice cream, to chicken, beef, pasta and sauce, to soft drinks and chips.  

Then there's me.  Since I'm shopping for one, I don't usually buy much.  (unless I'm at Costco).  I will buy 4 apples, a few oranges, a quart of milk, a dozen eggs, a few potatoes, a head of lettuce and some veggies (many of which go bad because there are too many), cottage cheese, sour cream, yogurt and salsa.  There's not much incentive to make a nice dinner for one, so I rarely buy meat.  Cooking for one is another topic for another day.  

In any event, I think you can tell a lot about a person by what's in their cart.  How big is their family?  Do they have a pet?  Do they have children?  Do they follow a healthy diet?  All this information and more from just a few items in a shopping cart.

FDA Approves New Drug For Alzheimer's

Approval for Aducanumab came just months after a scathing assessment by a panel of outside neurological experts voted "no" to a series of questions on whether the drug was effective.  The FDA review of the drug has become a flashpoint in longstanding debates over the standards used to evaluate therapies for hard to treat conditions.  On one side, Alzheimer's patients and their families are willing to try anything, even if it has a small benefit.  On the other side, many experts warn that greenlighting the drug could set a dangerous precedent, approving a drug that is proven to have questionable benefits.

Aducanumab is the first new drug for Alzheimer's in almost 20 years.  The new drug was developed by Biogen and Japan's Eisal Company.  The drug did not reverse mental decline, only slowing it in one study.  The drug will be given as an infusion every four weeks.  "The FDA gets the respect that it does because it has regulatory standards that are based on firm evidence.  In this case, I think they gave the product a pass," said Alexander, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University.

Many questions regarding the drug remain unanswered.  How long do patients benefit?  How do physicians determine when to discontinue the drug?  Does the drug benefit more advanced dementia?  The drug will likely be covered by virtually all insurers, including Medicare.  Time will tell whether the drug will warrant the high price tag it will cost.