Flimsy Little Plastic Miracles

Book Review

Flimsy Little Plastic Miracles by Ron Currie, Jr.

I don't exactly remember how I ended up with this book.

I must have been in the library. I ended up with a library copy of the book.

I must have been standing in front of the New Releases shelf. I ended up with a copy labeled, "NEW".

But now, months (?) later, I can't remember.

Sometimes, I browse through a recent copy of Bookmarks magazine while at the library. Ah, at the library, check.

Sometimes, while browsing Bookmarks, I read snippets of reviews that point me to books to read. Maybe this was it. Check?

Sometimes, I browse the library website, looking at new releases.

Maybe it was just different enough that I had to try it out.

I just can't remember how I ended up with this book.

I haven't been paying very much attention to these things lately. Other matters have been pressing on my mind. For months now.

Now, it is time to get busy reviewing this book. It's never too late for that.

Flimsy Little Plastic Miracles

Eating Gluten-Free at Macky's Bayside Bar & Grill

Beach Towns

It seems that beach towns are pretty much the same everywhere. Traffic. People. Not enough parking.

Bumper to bumper traffic. Mobs of people. Not enough parking where you need it.

Is this a universal truth? Does it have to be a universal truth?

Could we get this un-universal-truthed? Please?

If we could, there would be benefits for us all. Because we all end up at the beach. Sooner or later. We do.

All that traffic proves it.

It's no different in Ocean City, MD. No, not Joisey. Maryland. On the peninsula. And they have beaches.

Beach. Shore. La playa. Whatever you call it. Everyone goes there. Eventually.

And eventually, all those people want to eat.

And us gluten-free want to eat too. Really, we do.

No funnel cakes. No deep-fried Oreos. No churros. No corn dogs. No soft pretzels.

Not for us. None of those things for us gluten-free eaters.

We need real food. Real, gluten-free food.

Luckily, we found a nice place that has a gluten-free menu and a kid's menu.

Macky's Bayside Bar & Grill

Glutino Gluten Free Bagel Chips - Parmesan and Garlic

Bagel Chips for Everyone

I have had to learn to look past pretzels and pita chips and bagel chips.

These all have been pushed in recent years as a healthy alternative to potato chips, presumably.

I look past all of them. I can't eat any of them. Not usually. Not the usual varieties.

And despite the intended health benefits of *not* eating potato chips, I can, in fact, usually eat baked potato chips. If I find some available. Any potato chips fried in shared vats of oil are still off limits for me. Of course, I never really know which potato chips come from shared vats of oil. I never know what else was fried in that same oil. Cross-contamination is a very real threat to me.

But back to pretzels and pita and bagels.

I can have these if they are gluten-free.

So, when I find gluten-free bagel chips, I want to try them. I don't find them very often. I don't get to try them very often.

This was one of those rare times that I got to try some gluten-free bagel chips.

Glutino Gluten Free Bagel Chips - Parmesan & Garlic

New Earth

Book Review

New Earth by Ben Bova.

I used to read science fiction quite often. And I liked it.

And during that time, I found my all around, favorite author, Lois McMaster Bujold. She was writing science fiction.

And before I knew it, I had read everything she had written to date. Then, I had to look for other authors.

But after reading her, I couldn't find any science fiction that I liked as much. Not as much as Bujold.

Not Asimov. Not Clarke. Not Brin. Not Herbert. Not Heinlein. Not Le Guin. Not Card. Not Bradbury. Not Robinson. Not McCaffrey.

And so I had to start reading other things. Other authors. Other genres.

It has been a long time since I have read much scifi. But I recently saw this book on the shelf of new releases.

And then I realized that I had never read any Bova. Well, it was time to fix that.

New Earth

Eating Gluten-Free at Cafe Poca Cosa

Mexican, but From Mexico

Not so recently while traveling, I ended up in Tucson, Arizona. By design.

The first dinner there, we had Mexican food.

When asked what kind of food we would like for dinner the second night, my response was "Mexican."

"Even though you just had some last night?"

Sure, why not.

"What better place is there to get Mexican food? I didn't come all this way looking for Italian. Or Indian. Or Greek. Besides, we might as well get it while we can, since it doesn't get any better anywhere else."

That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it's not far off. And certainly the quantity of viable Mexican cuisine options drops like a rock outside of the southwest. Not many are viable, out east. Not many.

So, we were off for more Mexican fare. And I wasn't the least bit sorry.

Cafe Poca Cosa

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownie Mix

Brownies for Picnics

It was time for our neighborhood picnic again. We just had to decide what dessert we were going to bring.

Trifle. We were all wanting trifle. Really, really wanting a trifle. We had been thinking and planning and expecting a trifle.

Expecting trifle for weeks.

But this month has been so busy for all of us that there just wasn't enough time to make a trifle. Not squeezed between everything else.

Something had to give. It was down to the wire, the last moment for a definitive decision. Sorry, trifle, but you... are out.

No one was thrilled. The faces were long and the room sagged. I couldn't take it. So I promised that we would make a trifle sometime, soonish, after the craziness has settled down a bit. Of course, I don't really know when that will be.

Yikes. Maybe for a family birthday? Maybe after the holidays?

In any case, we still needed something home-baked for our neighborhood picnic.

I wouldn't be caught dead bringing something from the store to our neighborhood picnic. I wouldn't be caught dead bringing something glutenated to our neighborhood picnic. No way. Not me.

I am now expected to bring something gluten-free. Or rather, my neighbors look forward to me bringing something gluten-free. That's it. Look forward to it.

As they should. There are more than a handful of gluten-free folks in the neighborhood. I couldn't possibly let them down. To the cupboard, I went.

Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Brownie Mix