Huckle

Photo taken November 26th

La Crema

So after an adventurous morning at Walmart (a man jumped out of a car,  assaulted his girlfriend,  intentionally tipped over her cart *with their baby inside* then fled) Lisa treated me to breakfast at La Crema in Cudahy.  

It's primarily a breakfast place,  although they do have a lunch menu.  

Lisa ordered avocado toast

As my norm,  if I see it on a menu, I'm gonna test out their egg Benedict.

The verdict was mixed.  It was all good,  but I would not grade any of it as exceptional.  The avocado toast is merely a smashed avocado, without garnish or flair.  The Benedict was tasty but unimpressive, and the American potatoes lacked seasoning.  

It was my first visit,  but Lisa has had several positive experiences there, so maybe this meal was an outlier.

I would try the place again,  but I am in no rush to do so. 

Why?

Restaurants will give you a basket of bread for free but charge you for a slice of toast.  Make it make sense 

Sawyer

Junie's St. Nick's

Every year for a long time now Junie has been celebrating St. Nick's by giving presents to her friends.  This year she was a little strapped for cash, but she still put a ton of effort into the project. 

Each friend got a candy cane, chocolate,   toy recorder (a nod to their arts school), individualized stickers,  a homemade cookie,  pencils,  hand warmers, and yummy homemade bread. 

She was up until almost 2am baking!

Now I did help by putting tissue in each of the seven bags,  and donating the pencils,  but the rest was all Junie!

What a friend!

St Nick's 2024

Here in Milwaukee we celebrate St. Nick's every Dec 6th, although we go a little beyond the tradition and have the kids open a full stocking. 

Caveats: 

This year, rather than take down the stocking display,  we used gift bags and left the stockings up.

Because of wildly divergent schedules,  we allowed them to open them individually, and on the night prior. 

And my photos SUCKED.

Back to our regularly scheduled post:

Alex came by to pick up YaYa's bag and opened his with us.

Lisa bought this "missle toad" - mistletoe,  get it? - for YaYa.

Junie opened hers next. 

Then LuLu

And finally Smiley, which is when I finally managed to get a couple decent shots.

The kids easily identified what Lisa bought: candy,  bath scents, engraved compacts,  candy,  girl scout nuts.  And what *I* included: a survival blanket,   cleaning slime for a car interior, and cleaning wipes. LOL

Happy St. Nick's!

Tacos El Norte

For lunch today at work we tried Tacos El Norte. 

Located in one of the crappiest strip malls you've ever seen,  we were surprised by the well appointed, clean,  and spacious interior. 

Chips and salsa were complimentary, with the salsa having just enough kick to keep you interested. The guacamole was an upcharge.

Eladio was slumming it elsewhere,  so we were down one of the crew. 

My choice was a beef chimichanga with rice, beans, and guacamole, hold the sour cream. It was quite good and well worth the menu price.  (Note from the picture the size of the drink cups!)

This place was a winner and will get our business again in the future. 

Day 12

The December 5th Curse?

If you believe my Mom,  who in the same breath says she's not superstitious,  December 5th is a day my Dad dreads, for fear of his own mortality.  His Mother and Grandfather died on that day in different years,  as did some other family members that may or may not be phantoms created to prop up the tale.

Now, in 50 years,  I *can* remember my Dad expressing his dislike of the day once or twice, and stating he did,  indeed,  have greater concern for his own health when that date pops up. To me,  that seems like a reasonable reaction to the anniversary of a loved one's death,  much less two or more,  and he just enjoys adding a twinge of mystique and drama to the retelling - he's my father after all. 

But you never know.

Free

any swifties with a birthday coming up? i have basically the same exact style headband as this one to give! 🙂  

or any birthday girl i suppose but that’s why i bought it ☺️

Goodbye, Smooth Jazz 102.5

Well, I knew it. Nothing good lasts forever. 

For the better part of a year I've enjoyed listening to 102.5, a Smooth Jazz station here in Milwaukee. Ask the kids - I'll spend many days with the station playing on my radio at home, providing a backdrop for my evening.  They even sponsered the jazz festival LuLu and I attended. 

It's a great staion. 

WAS a great station.

A few days ago I tuned in and heard Christian music. Ok, there's a Chrstian station on a similar bandwith that sometimes inteferes with the signal if you drive too far south of Milwaukee. Maybe my radio was just picking that up at home? 

Then too, they kept sprinkling in Christmas music, confusing me even more. 

Then finally, the death knell. It has become a Christan music station, and my radio will be going silent. 

Farewell Smooth Jazz 102.5. You were loved. 

Biden Pardons His Son

 

Yesterday President Biden decided to give his son Hunter a full, blanket Presidential pardon, despite repeated statements in the past that he would never do so. 

I get it, it's his kid. By all accounts, a scummy individual who expolited his Dad's postiion for profit, at times with this nation's enemies, sired and abandoned a child; illegally purchased a gun,  etc. Character wise, he was as far removed from Biden's late son Beau as siblings can be. 

But it's his kid, and morally I can't fault him for pulling him out of the fire. 

Politically tho', what a blunder. 

A - He swore up and down he would never do it, so now it's just one more lie for the public to swallow,  Right now the Democrats have a lot of bad behavior that is excused by "Well, at least he/she isn't Trump." and then tossed aside. That garbage pile is starting to acculumulate some height, and its getting harder to ignore.

B - He did it with six weeks left in office, giving the press and his opponents six weeks to talk about it. Why not have snuck it in at the eleventh hour, as has been the case with many pardons? 

 C - Man, he just handed Trump the Golden Goose. 

Not that Trump *wouldn't* do whatever he felt was best, opinions and correctness be damned, but now he can go ahead and use pardons at will. Who's going to criticize it? The Democrats whose President just gave his POS son a get out of jail card? The media who bought and repeated Biden's lie?  The precedent has been set, and good luck finding a moral soap box to stand on when/if Trump pardons the January 6th participants, his family, or anyone. 

What a Christmas gift to Donald Trump. He should mail Joe a thank you note. 

Hollywood Story

+

I watched this 1951 noir thriller the other day. In 1929 a silent movie director is killed in his home, and the murder goes unsolved. Twenty-one years later a Hollywood producer decides to do a film about it, and inadvertently stirs up trouble. 

Richard Conte is the lead - you'd know him best, as I do, as Barzini in The Godfather, and I've got no complaints about his performance. Julie Adams, three years shy of starring in Creature from the Black Lagoon, plays one of the suspects/romantic interest for Conte, and Jim Backus (Mr. Howell from Gilligan's Island) has a bit role as comic relief and gives a pointless, but thankfully nominal, narration to the film.

Overall I liked the film quite a bit, although no part of it rises beyond the scope of a "made for basic cable" production. 

I will say, applause applause applause for black and white film. This picture is 73 years old and looks crisp and sharp. Now go watch a film from the '80's, where the colors are washed out and the appearance is decayed. 

I grade this a solid B