A Great Cook Gets Even Better!

Poppina knows her way around the kitchen better than most. She's no slouch when it comes to sophisticated recipes and exquisite tasting chow. Those of us fortunate to eat at her table on a regular basis always marvel at her skill and artistry.

Like an artist in any medium, Pina keeps working on her game. So when she heard about this new cookbook from the New York Times, she figured it was a must-have addition to her culinary library. On to the Christmas list it went, and Santa got the word and came through on 12/25.

Actually, it was Sky, Charlie and Hugo who came though for chef La Nancita. And by means of this photo, and posting on the blog, she (and her hungry family) say: merci!

CA Heritage Museum, Santa Monica.

Museum volunteers Barbara and Ethyl took Jason, Poppina and me on a fab tour of the impressive little history museum on Main Street in Santa Monica.

It may have been pouring rain outside on 12/23 when we leaned about art, architecture, furniture of the post-victorian period in CA, but inside the Heritage Museum smiles were ear-to-ear, as the lore and history came alive at the telling by our former school teachers turned docents.

This is a must-see place in Southern California. Ad it to your destination list. And be sure to ask the ladies about their personal histories -- as fascinating and relevant as most anything you'll learn about the house itself!

Curbside Art Takes Hassle out of Parking.

736 Raymond Street is an average kind of house and lot for this part of Santa Monica. Nice place to live, not too big, not too small. It's a quiet street, in a respectful and responsive neighborhood. And art is everywhere in bloom on Raymond, including the street kerb.

The combo of stenciled house numbers, palm trees in vibrant green, and a sun that shines all day long -- what car wouldn't be at home here?

Somebody's Wearing a SunBody Sombrero!

Ben's Saddlery in Wickenburg features cowboy hats of many descriptions, but one of the most unusual is the SunBody brand, made by busy craftsmen down in El Paso, TX.

The straw is more thickly woven than lots of other sombreros this cowpoke has tried, and the SunBody weighs a lot more than other hats of the same size.

The price is good, to: maybe $26? Not bad. Full disclosure here: I've been trying to persuade Jimmy Pryor from SunBody to run an ad or two in Wild West magazine.

So far? A proposal at his request. Maybe if I buy one of his hats he'll buy one of my ads?

Holy Snow Day!

12" of the white stuff. Driveway clear and the walkway is next. Doesn't look as bad as the last snowfall we had a few weeks back. And, as for this one, the communities to the east of Minneapolis, and into Wisconsin, really got clobbered.

IKEA Comes to Vietnam.

Intrepid Cyclo-travelers Carolyn and James Terman from Boulder just returned from Southeast Asia. James snapped the pic above of a massive new armoire being delivered by bike from the atelier of its craftsman-maker to the living room of its new owner. Asks Terman rhetorically, "How can this guy see where he's going, let alone steer the bike? And what about the brakes? And balancing?"

These Boots were Made for Looking!

Check these babies. Now, here's a pair of boots!

On display, and under glass at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, OK, a pair of limited edition commemorative Luchese's that you can have for, oh, maybe, $5000?

The idea is to order a pair -- "End of the Trail" iconic sculpture has been recreated in hand-stictched leather on the boot front -- and a portion of the proceeds will go back to the museum in a highly original development idea.

Poppina and I paid a visit to the Museum on our "Western Heritage Road Trip" over the weekend. Loved what we saw, and will definitely go back for more. I don't think the boots will make it into our closet, though we plan to ask Santa to see if his elves can come through for us with something a little more modest!

Cambodian Bike Repair Shop.

The Termans just got back to Boulder from a bike trip through S.E. Asia. This once-in-a-lifetime pedalthon took James and Carolyn through Viet Nam and Cambodia, big cities and small towns.

James T. said the people could not have been nicer, warmer, and more inviting and accepting. The locals were curious why gringos would come all the way from the USA and ride bikes along Asian highways and byways.

There was a flat tire episode with Carolyn's machine, and some local tech entrepreneur took care of it, on the spot. The price was fair and the work came with a 100% money-back guarantee.

How cool is that?! More pictures from James in the near future, no doubt.