I caught a Lyft ride up to the Carmel farmer’s market this morning to get my chef’s knives sharpened. There is a professional knife sharpener (two actually most days) who can sharpen my good knives without voiding my warranty. They even give me the industry rate, which is good because it usually is seven or so knives.
While I waited, I shopped as there are several vendors there I like. I did eat a bit as well, as seen with the deep-fried (I think) bacon-on-a-stick above. There’s a local charcuterie place that honestly is as good as some I’ve had in Europe; a farm that has amazing eggs and good meats; lots of other meat, veggie, and even mushroom vendors; lots of ethnic food; and even a local mead maker is there.
I tried to be good, but did come away with eggs, meat, a huge thing of fresh basil (plan to make pesto Monday or Tuesday for freezing), fresh garlic, local goat cheese, and a few other delights. I also had good coffee and enjoyed an arepa filled with shredded chicken and avocado (cold).
Sadly, was starting to overheat and dehydrate a bit so did not get back to a favorite: a Vietnamese lady who does Vietnamese egg rolls. She doesn’t seem to speak a lot of English, but that’s okay as she has help that handles that while she makes and fries some amazing traditional egg rolls.
A good way to spend a morning, and now most of my knives are ready for a “new year” of cooking. Want to find someone at the Church to tag-team with so I can do some chicken souvlakia, salad, and a blueberry moz dessert. If I can get a good recipe (and maybe some native guidance), hoping also to do some Pho this fall. I can do cooking on Friday and Saturday, but need someone to reheat and/or get things out on Sunday as I really can’t leave during the service to do that. Besides, if they have a car and can get me to Restaurant Depot or other, all the better.
Home now, dealing with package delivery issues (have one package lost in the purgatory-or-worse that is the new USPS center that is a black hole for mail, that needs to be a column). I did get my new driver’s license today, sans donor status. Now in my wallet. I’m also imbibing water and electrolytes, and enjoying the cool. I’ve been using LYTEshow electrolytes with biking and other activities, and really like them. No sugar or artificial sweeteners or flavors, just electrolytes. Tangy, but tastes pretty good and works.
More soon. Hope you all have a good weekend.
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. If you want to know some of what it is going for, read here. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.
Re: USPS follies.
We live in a county in S. Central Oregon, east of the Cascades. We used to get mail delivered in bulk to the main post office in the county’s main city, but that was taken away. (Thanks, Obama.) The first step was a city west of the Cascades, about 100 road miles away (air miles, a lot shorter, but mountains).
Now, after the Biden regime got its grubby hands in the works, all mail gets sorted in Portland, some 300 miles away. The ladies at our mail drop (we’re a good ways out of town; using a drop solves a lot of shipping problems, no matter who the shipper is) say that even local mail gets sent up to Portland before coming back, so what might be a 4 mile trip has an additional 600 miles on it.
This gives ample opportunity for shenanigans, plus Murphy gets his licks in. OTOH, USPS is slightly less unreliable than the delivery contractors used by Amazon. Not all of the delivery people read or understand English, or the concept that leaving packages at the front door of a business closed on Sunday is a really bad idea. (Walmart has the same issues here, too, I’m told.)
Ugh on the delivery drivers on Sundays! The USPS idea of doing all sorting at hubs, even local, is one of many decisions that have me questioning the competence of upper management and various politicians. Part of our problem here is a new distribution center that either they can’t get enough people to work at; or, they won’t get enough people to staff it properly. Then again, USPS management here got the bright idea of taking all tax returns for the state and the IRS and instead of delivering them to the proper P.O. Box, dumped everything into one pile at one box including certified, etc. This was done without talking to the employees, who were not happy with it. So unhappy that while I didn’t get a name, I got a call from an employee informing me of what had been done “by management” after I had filed a complaint over my certified mail state return disappearing from the system. Oh, and seems “management” failed to mention this (or possibly lied) to Congresscritters when questions started getting asked. Something needs to be done to reform the USPS, up to and including amending the Constitution to all partial or full privatization.
I wish I could find a good knife sharpener!! I only have a couple of santokus that I like to use, and when he was alive, my dad was the knife sharpener wizard for the whole family. But I haven’t found anyone since he’s gone. I’ve got a friend who will do it for me, but I’d still rather find whoever it is in this area who sharpens knives for local chefs, and pay him to do it.
Where are you located? If you need to, drop me a line at the addy in the Bards Jar in the upper right.