Final Post, At Least For A While

I haven't written anything in several weeks.  Life has become busier than I want, and it has left little time for blogging, which I love.  I have been blogging on a regular basis for over 11 years, and it may be ending.  At least for now, I have no time to plan, research and write.  Here's what's happening.

My mom is turning 100 in a few months.  We are planning a big family getaway to celebrate the event, but are having a hard time putting it together, with several teenagers, and some younger children too, who all have busy schedules.  Planning is taking up a lot of my time.

My twin grandsons who live in L.A. are having their bar mitzvah in June.  I will am so excited about the event, and will be with lots of family for a long weekend.

I just got back from two fabulous trips.  One was an Oceania 12 cruise in the Carribbean with my mom.  The other was an 8 day trip to San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuanto, in Mexico, with friends Meena, Ginger and Kevin.  Both were trips to remember, but now I am home for a while.

I'm home helping my mom, who has decided it is time to sell her house in Los Angeles, and move to Ocean Hills Country Club.  We are both so excited, but there is much work to be done.  She has lived in her house for 70 years, so there's a lot of stuff to go through.  She will buy a smaller house in this community.  Here's hoping it all goes well.

So, you can see I'm pretty busy.  To top it off, I will soon have carpel tunnel surgery to eliminate the numbness in my hand, the result of my broken wrist last year.  Also, I have a consulation with the cataract doctor in two weeks, and I will most likely have cataract surgery soon.  My vision has become very blury lately, and I think it's time.

So, no time to blog.  Perhaps I will be back at it in July.  We'll see.  Until then, it's been so much fun sharing recipes, restaurants, travel and information with all of you over the years.  Stay curious.  I will too, and I will hope to revive this blog in July.  Susie 

Make Your Own Mango Salsa

 Food is expensive these days, so every time I get a chance to make something at home rather than buy it, it choose to make it.  I recently bought a mango for 79cents and turned it in to a delicious salsa, which I use on chicken or fish, or just plain!

Here's what's in it.  The fact that it took less than 10 minutes to make, and the total cost for a big container of salsa, was about $1.50.

                                                    Mango Salsa

1 mango, ripe, peeled and cut into small cubes

1/4 red pepper, diced

1/4 red onion, diced

1/4 bunch of cilantro, diced

1/4 jalapeno, seed removed, diced (more if you like it hotter)

lime juice

salt (to taste)

Combine all ingredients.  Use enough lime juice, about 1/4 cup or maybe a little more, to coat all ingredients and have it the consistency of tomato salsa.  Salt to taste.  It gets better with age, so make it and put in the refrigerator overnight before using.  It's a great condiment for chicken or fish, or just toss it in a salad or use on fish taco.  So many ways to use it.  Enjoy

Hutchinson Internment Camp

 I learned about Hutchinson Internment Camp while reading  the fascinating book, "The Island of Extraordinary Captives,"  About the people imprisoned at Hutchinson, on The Isle of Man, during World War 11.  I just had to know more.

Hutchinson Internment Camp was a WW 11 internment camp in Douglas, Isle of Man, particulary noted as "the artists" camp due to the thriving artistic and intellectual life of its internees.  The camp housed enemy aliens, civilians who the government believed to be a potential threat and have sympathy with the enemies war objectives.  Almost all of the internees were German or Austrians, living in Britain.  

The internees were not treated as prisoners, and after some initial mistrust, they were allowed to apply to work outside of the camp, predominantly on local farms.  Additionally they carried out professional activities within the camp, tailors, barbers, a Viennese baker and many artists and intellectuals.

At it's height, there were over 1,000 enemy aliens in captivity.  Always want to learn, the internees set up a camp university, holding lectures, and utilizing the talent of scientists, mathematicians, lawyers, philosophers, writes and artists.  This was in addition to the artists and musicians who offered lesson to individual students.  A camp newspaper was produced, written in English, by the internees.  It contained reviews and stories, as well as editorial pieces.  

Hutchinson was renowned for its thriving artistic life.  The art created in the camp ranged from figurative sculpture, graphic art, expressionism, Dadism, engraving, and other styles of art that were being suprpressed within the Third Reich.  Kurt Schwitters, perhaps the most significant artist in the camp, produced over 200 works during his 16 months of internment.  In the field of music, a camp orchestra was formed, led by Professon Kastner, nephew of Thomas Mann.

The camp was closed in March, 1944, and ended an ugly chapter in British history.

New Medications For Weight Loss

Everyone wants to lose weight.  The old fashioned way, reducing your caloric intake and increasing your exercise do work, but many people can't stick with it.  Over the decades, weight loss fads have come and gone, and we now have another diet tool. 

Ozempic and Wegovy are the two new drugs that are touted as a way to lose and control weight.  It's a once a week injection, like an epi-pen, that mimicks a hormone called GLP-1 that taragets areas of the brain that regulate appetite and food intake.  The medication is increased gradually over 16-20 weeks to reduce gastrointestinal side effects.

Ozempic and Wegovy lower your appetite.  Many  doctors prescribe the injections along with intermitant fasting, also a fairly new weight loss tool.  Doctors also encourage a healthy diet along with exercise.

Because of supply chain issues and the fact that many prescription plans do not pay for the medication, losing weight using one of these medications can be very costly.  It's not a rapid loss plan, like gastric bypass, but a slow, steady weight loss. 

If you are overweight the best thing to do for your body is to shed the excess weight.  Easier said than done.  It took me decades to figure out what works for me.  Whatever plan you decide on, stick with it.  Your heart, lungs, blood pressure, and muscles will thank you.   

New Labor Laws in California

Every January brings a slew of new state laws, too many to enumerate here.  I will tell you about a few of the new labor laws, meant to protect workers.

1.  Senate Bill 62, The Garment Worker Protection Act. This law addresses the proper payment of employees n the garment industry in some very important ways.

2.  Assembly Bill 701.  Warehouse workers in California are protected from quotas that violate labor laws.  Employers must provide information about quotas that employees have to meet while working.

3.  Senate Bill 93 Recall Rights.  Employees of certain hospitality industry employers who were laid off during Covid-19 must be notified of job openings for the same or similar positions as the the ones they last held.  They must be offered jobs with priority.

4.  Senate Bill 3.  Minimum wage $15 an hour.  this bill has been phasing in since 2017.  The increase in minimum wage is different for large employers (26+) and small employers.  If local city or county has adoped a higher minimum wage, employees must be paid the local wage.

5.  Assembly Bill 1066.  Overtime for agriculture workers.  In 2016 agricultural workers started to receive overtime pay on the same basis as workers in most other industries after 40 hours per week.  Larger companies (26+) must pay overtime after 40 hours, smaller companies pay overtime after 55 hours.

So there you have it.  Several of these laws actually took affect in January 2022, but are being gradually phased in.  I hope they help protect workers as they are meant to.

One Of My Favorite Appetizers Ever

 When I was growing up, my parents entertained quite a lot.  Every dinner party began with drinks and hors d'oeuvres in the living room, followed by a delicious  dinner.  When I was young, I would help pass the hors d'oeuvres, and one of my favorites was a mayonnaise, parmesean cheese and onion mixture that was spread on tiny bread rounds and placed under the broiler.  I liked to pass them to her guests, because when they cooled off, I would eat the leftovers, before getting some hot hors d'oeuvres for the guests.  I have remembered this specific hors d'oeuvres all these years, 60 years, yet I have never made it, until now.

Why now?  Well, that's a funny story.  The hors d'oeuvres are made on tiny rounds of very thin sliced bread.  The bread is from Pepperidge Farms, and is extremely hard to find in Southern California, so I ordered a loaf on Amazon, and paid $13.99 for one loaf!

Here's the recipe for these delicious hors d'oeuvres that you won't be able to stop eating.

                                    Mayonnaise, Parmesean Cheese, Onion Rounds

White bread (very thin) Pepperidge Farm bread

1 cup mayonnaise (I used light mayonnaise)

3/4 cup parmesean cheese (use a little more cheese if desired)

1/3 cup finely diced onion

Cut each piece of bread into 4 small rounds (I used a cookie cutter)  You could also use a small water glass to cut rounds)

Spread each round with the mayo mixture.  Place on cookie sheet and place under broiler until golden brown.  Remove and eat!!  They are delicious!!!

This recipe is more than 60 years old but still one of the best hors d'oeuvres ever.

Helpful Household Tips

 I had just gotten my new all electric Chevy Bolt (my second one) back in the rainstorms in January, and my charger wasn't working.  I'd never had a problem before, so at first I thought there was something wrong with the charger.  When I discovered a hissing sound, I thought perhaps water had gotten into the outlet.  I mentioned this to Regina who told me to take my hair dryer out to the garage, plug it into a 110 outlet, and dry the the 240 volt outlet for a few minutes.  Wouldn't you know it worked!!  I was astounded, since I had an electrician out the day before and his thoughts were to have me spend $1000 for an adapter.  Thank you Regina.

That got me thinking about all the household problems and how to solve them.  Here are just a few helpful household tips.(not all of these have been tested by me)

1.  Hold a piece of bread between your teeth while peeling an onion.  It will prevent tears.

2.  Add a few tablespoons of white vinegar to your dishwasher.  Regardless of what kind of soap you use, your dishes will come out shiny and spotless.  (it works, I use vinegar all the time)

3.  Place candles in the freezer for three hours before burning.  They will burn much longer.

4. To remove cooking oil stains from clothes, was with regular shampoo.

5.  Plant mint around your house to prevent mice, rats, ants and fleas.