H-Mart’s fish counter is a thing of beauty. When I first went to one, I stood there and stared at the fish counter for several minutes, my jaw dragging the floor. I was in awe of all that stuff. 

I have always wondered if there was a difference or just high-falutin’ companies using fancy terms to sound impressive. (OK, probably some of that as well, but still....)

May I add....Help out when you can?

Vivaldi rocks. It’s my default, although I plan on checking out Brave as well, just to see.

At the Woodrow Wilson House in DC (now a museum) they have a great passive AC system. There’s a big open shaft in the center of the house, with a cupola at the top and a cellar door at the bottom. The idea was to open a window in the cupola, open the cellar door, and let cool air from the cellar waft upward as heat…

To be honest, I find Aldi to be a mixed bag. I’m fine with depositing a quarter and all that. I keep tote bags in the trunk. But some products there haven’t thrilled me. I don’t buy beef there, although I’m fine with the pork or chicken. Their frozen salmon fillets are great for poaching. Produce is pretty good…

And in autumn and winter, they sell their Maple Cream Cookies, which are almost indecently delicious.

In Baltimore, we have Artscape, which at its best is a fun weekend of outdoor and indoor performances, art sales, music, what have you. Cool bands performing, all that jazz. However....it’s held in July (20-22 this year) and is generally also fiendishly hot and humid. Last year the festival was rained out as well, a…

I’m reading an old etiquette book from 1945 (with discussions of the ins and outs of hasty wartime weddings) and one of the rules given is that if your wedding is to be in an out-of-the-way spot, then the wedding hosts (normally the bride’s parents) are responsible for getting them there, often by chartering a private…

I started making my own jam last summer, once bitten by the preserving bug. It’s made for popular gift-giving, and yes, while it’s easier (and possibly in the long run cheaper) to buy jam, it’s great to put some effort into making stuff you can’t get easily. I have some blueberry/raspberry freezer jam that’s…

This is something I just had to deal with. I recently underwent training to be a first-aid responder at my job, which consists mostly of keeping things under control while one person calls 911 and the other calls corporate security. OSHA requires we have documentation of Hep B vaccination...I was vaccinated close to…

I landed my last job because I sent thank-you notes. They said I was the only one who did and that impressed them. I did that for my current job although I’m not sure it made any difference, as I later stumbled on their review of my interview and saw that while I didn’t have the education they would have preferred,…

Ditto to this. I’ve dealing with PF right now after being too enthusiastic with some calf raises back in December. I’ve been taped up, had steroid shots, and I’m saving up for orthotics thanks to my untouched deductible, but my regular doc recommended the night splint for me and it seems to be helping. There’s been a…

And for the love of heaven, don’t poke fun at your children. If you’re going to hide behind the old “I’m not laughing at you, I’m laughing WITH you” trope, at least be sure the kid is actually laughing. And if they don’t find your joke funny, accept the possibility that your joke just wasn’t funny, and don’t shout…

And I just walked in from the liquor store with the lager I need for making beer-braised chicken thighs. Tonight. In the Instant-Pot.

I was once in a restaurant with friends where we sat for almost an hour after placing our orders, and only had water. People who came in after us were already served and paying their bills. One friend got up to ask the waiter who then proceeded to tell us to “get the (bleep) out,” so we did and never went back. The…

Been in therapy twice and both times I more or less blundered into good ones. My first was very efficient and sympathetic, and while I wasn’t sure at first if he was the best choice, my friends all said they started noticing differences after the first few months, so I stuck with him and am glad I did. Saw him on and…

I was fired from my last job, for complete BS reasons, but anyway....when I was asked about it while job-hunting, I usually put it down to new leadership and a reorganization, but later adjusted to “the nature of the position changed to where it was no longer a good fit for me” which was kind of true...they took an…

Head out to Silver Spring for Burmese food at Mandalay....there aren’t that many Burmese restaurants around and there needs to be more.

Good point. I’m not much of a sportsball fan, so I’m a poor judge.