Tony Brewer

Guest post from: Natalie Walter

We checked into wireless internet plans and ended up switching. Now, I can get on all of the sites that I love quickly, without having to wait a long time for things to load up. I love to cook, I would say that it is my hobby. I have a few favorite cooking websites that have great recipes, product reviews, and presentation ideas. My favorite website is Cooks.com. They are the ones who produce the Cook’s Illustrated magazine monthly. It is my favorite magazine because they always have a section that educates you on what they are featuring that month. For example, a few months ago, they featured eggplants. They show you how to cook, cut, and the many different types. I honestly didn’t know that there were so many different types of eggplant! You have to pay a fee to access the website, but it is definitely worth it. You have access to all of the recipes and also the product reviews from past issues. If you join a cooking website, make sure that this is the one, because it is definitely the best. It will take you from mediocre cooking to great cooking!

Teri tells me that our toaster oven died last night when she was cooking some dinner rolls in it.  That was discouraging, now we need a new toaster oven!  We use our toaster oven a lot – just being the two of us it is the perfect size to cook small meals without having to “fire up” the “big oven.”  I’m going to have to do some Internet research on toaster oven comparison to figure out which one I want to buy to replace this one.  Since we use it a lot, I want to make sure to get one with the all of the features that we need.

Teri and I have decided to do next Thanksgiving in New York City. Yesterday’s holiday dinner with the two families went well, but we have had to split our holidays, not only Thanksgiving but Christmas as well, between her folks and mine for too many years. No wonder we both put on so many extra pounds each year during the holidays seasons. And with all the other opportunities to eat all the holiday goodies that are everywhere that you turn and look, it is hard to really make a pig out myself.

I have done the New York City holiday experience back when I was a kid, while Teri never has, so this will be a great time to experience all of the festivities that are taking place all over that city. We will dine at various well known Restaurants right in the heart of the city that are simply fabulous and we will make sure we stay at one of the Hotels that are dedicated to the whole adventures that New York City are so well known for. We want the whole package with all the holiday trimmings, good thing we have a year to plan and to save up for it.

A few days ago a new friend Teri made came over to the house for a visit. Teri offered her a cup of tea or coffee and she asked for tea. After the tea had brewed it was time for milk and sugar (or lemon) and I asked her preference. She said milk and sugar. I asked her if she wanted “real sugar” or “sugar substitute” and she said that she always uses “real sugar.” She said that she thinks that the sugar substitutes are worse for your health than real sugar. What do YOU think? For example, if someone is a diabetic, is artificial sweetener the better choice, or real sugar? I’ve been using sugar substitute, trying to cut down on my calories!

This morning Teri and I went grocery shopping early to avoid the crowds. We try to get in and out of the store before 9am if it is at all possible. Today we had an extra long list so we split it in half and each took a cart and our own list and agreed to meet at the exit after we finished shopping. Surprisingly the timing was just about perfect! If I hadn’t stopped to look at the digital cameras (thinking about buying one) we would have made it to the doors exactly at the same time.

Anyway, I was surprised to see a young woman walking up and down the store aisles leading a whippet on a leash. The dog was wearing a vest stating it was a therapy dog. As it happened, I was walking down an aisle the same time she was approaching the other direction. I love dogs, so I stopped to chat with her for a moment. She told me that the dog was in training to become a therapy dog and that they were going to a local nursing home a little bit later that morning. I think therapy dogs are a wonderful idea; they bring so much joy into the day of people who are confined in nursing homes or hospitals. I wished her luck after a few minutes, and we moved on. Come to think of it, if I hadn’t stopped to chat with her I would have met Teri at the doors at the right time! Oh well, it was only a couple of minutes, so it was no big deal. Splitting the list and taking separate carts worked out really well, I think we’ll continue to do that in the future!