What a fun weekend! Koko came to visit so we could go to a pasta class
Saturday night at Laguna Culinary Arts School in Laguna Beach.
Frankly, the class was disappointing (more on that in another thread),
but the weekend was a lot of fun. We spent Saturday running all over
the place. We went to our favorite thrift shop (for SoCal folks,
Laura's House in Lake Forest - great charity and a great little thrift
shop), then over to the Orange County Fairgrounds where they have a
swap meet every weekend. I'd never been to a swap meet before, so
didn't know what I was getting into! The place is gi-NOR-mous.
Hundreds of vendors selling everything from perfume to sofas and
(overpriced) salt slabs to Elvis on velvet I found some nice 100%
cotton dish towels for $1 each and a pretty cool spoon rest (thereby
being OB) and Koko found a really cute hat and a couple of tops.
Koko's been jonesin' for a salt slab for ages and we saw one at the
swap meet. The guy wanted $60. The guy was all bluster and said there
were only 2 distributors for salt slabs and he knew both of them and
blah blah blah. Koko hung tough and said she was pretty sure she could
get it at Sur le Table for less, whereupon the guy immediately started
backpedaling, yammering about, well, *sure* b/c SlT buys in
bulk...(sure enough, she found the same size salt slab at SlT for
$30).

A friend had mentioned that a spice shop had gone in across the
parking lot from Sur le Table in Newport Beach, where we were going,
anyway. OMG! That place was just amazing! Just walking in the door and
inhaling the wonderful scent of spices was intoxicating!

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=a2x6jk&s=5

Not a very good picture, as I took it with my iPhone from a bright
doorway, but you get the drift. I bought some smoked Spanish sweet
paprika, granulated roasted garlic, cajun blackening spices and black
onyx cocoa powder. I could have about bought myself into the poor
house if I hadn't exhibited some restraint. And they threw in a couple
of samples of their "Hudson Bay Beef Spice" (sea salt, black pepper,
white pepper, garlic, onion, coriander, rosemary and thyme). The shop
lady told us that this is the hottest pepper she can get in the U.S.

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=vo0dc2&s=5

We then went across the parking lot to Gulfstream restaurant and
porked out. We split a dozen oysters on the half shell and each had
the day's special: Idaho trout with steamed spinach and lemon. Oh, and
we couldn't just sit around and look at a barren table until the
oysters came, so we had a couple of Cosmopolitans. And then the trout
looked kind of lonely, so we had a glass of chardonnay.

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=9tnzhf&s=5

Which probably explains the spree at Sur le Table.

After that, we were too worn out to go by Williams Sonoma, so we
toddled on home to prepare for dinner with friends: goose pate and
smoked Scottish salmon to start, followed by barbecue ribs, Greek
salad, garlic bread and some pinto beans that had been cooking all day
with some ham hocks. Bourbon pecan pie and espresso to finish it all
off.

Gosh, what a great day!

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd

--

To reply, remove "spambot" and replace it with "cox"

I read the book 'KOKO' by Peter Straub. In the book he outlines a
game called 'Telephone.' Very sick. The book was about the best that
Straub has written. Most of his stuff is shit, but this is good.

On Sun, 26 Feb 2012 12:49:01 -0800 (PST), A Moose in Love wrote:

> I read the book 'KOKO' by Peter Straub. In the book he outlines a
> game called 'Telephone.' Very sick.

Beat the girl up and then shoot her.

--

-Jeff B.


"Freedom Through Vigilance"

On Feb 26, 4:32*pm, Yeff > wrote:
> On Sun, 26 Feb 2012 12:49:01 -0800 (PST), A Moose in Love wrote:
>
> > I read the book 'KOKO' by Peter Straub. *In the book he outlines a
> > game called 'Telephone.' *Very sick.
>
> Beat the girl up and then shoot her.
>

right on. quite a game.


> --
>
> -Jeff B.
>
>
> "Freedom Through Vigilance"