So, We had a 2-hour Delay on Twosday 2/22/22...

But then, 2 hours later, school was cancelled. 

Favorite Strip Joints

Strip Mall - "A long, usually one-story building or group of buildings housing several adjacent retail stores or service establishments." - Merriam-Webster

In a recent episode of Samantha Brown's Places to Love, Samantha said, "Whenever I travel in the United States, I always seek out and want to eat at a strip mall restaurant.  I love them. Even though the strip mall themselves, the appearance of, leave a lot to be desired, the restaurants that are usually in them are exceptional. They are unique. They are family-owned, and they make the best home cooking."

I questioned that idea at first, but then I quickly realized that Samatha is right. Some of our favorite places to eat are in strip malls. I just hadn't thought of it that way. 

Both the Wisco Grub and Pub and Louie's Wine Dive are located next to a grocery store.

 Tasty Tacos and Flame the Taqueria are both next to a chiropractic office.

The La Mie Bakery is next to a tattoo parlor. 

ShortE's BBQ is next to a martial arts school, and Monterrey Mexican Restaurant also near one. 

The Waterfront Seafood Market is next to a beauty supply store. On the other side is the Ohana Steakhouse.

Daphne remined me that Tsing Tsao West, Palmer's and Hurts Donut Co. are also in strip malls. 

These businesses take a lot pride in the food they serve. I overheard an owner at Wisco proudly tell a new customer, "We put a lot of love into our food."  

The service can also be more personal. When Tally's was open (sandwiched between a Beaverdale music store and a yoga studio), a year-and-a-half-old Charlotte got really fussy, and a waitress went out to her car to get a few of her son's toys for Char to play with. That's not going to happen at an Applebee's.

Daphne and I hope to do some traveling in 2022. I'll still research the "Best Of" lists for the cities we visit, but I'll be checking out their strip malls, too. 

Fill In the Blanks fo the "First Roadtrip of 2021"

Let's write a blogpost together. Consider this the blog equivalent of a madlib.

First we need an introduction: ________________________________________________________

Where we are: ____________________________________________________________________

Explain the expression: _______________________________________________________

Explain this close-up: __________________________________________________________

Describe what Char has:________________________________________________________

What and where: _____________________________________________________________

Comment on Daphne's sweatshirt: _______________________________________________

Explain: ____________________________________________________________________

Describe the reaction: _________________________________________________________

Describe the meal: ____________________________________________________________

Make a comparison: __________________________________________________________

 Mic drop comment: __________________________________________________________

You did it! Great job. Now you're a blogger, too!

My Tenth Year Anniversary...

... for the blog is March 27, 2022. 

Charlotte was only 19 months old when I started this blog. A lot of life has happened since then.  I could make an event list, but I guess I don't have to. The events are all here on the blog. Well, not "all." I left out the ugly bits. Life can be messy. 

I've published 1,136 little stories here (including this one). I also have 151 "draft" stories that I didn't finish or chose not to share for one reason or another. But I'll admit that lately I have been slowing down. 

The repetitions of 2020 took some wind out of my blogging sails. I'm still writing posts, but some days it feels more like a chore. I've actually begun to leave my phone in my pocket when we're out and about. Charlotte and I recently had two daddy-daughter thrifting days, and I didn't take one picture. It didn't even occur to me. Somebody take my temperature. 

I do take pictures, though. Charlotte was in her first middle school play last week. She had two parts in 15 Reasons to Not be in a Play. The drama club couldn't afford streaming rights, so the performance wasn't available to watch online, and I can't post videos.

When the play was over, Char proudly shouted at Daphne and I, "I didn't stutter once!" We knew. We had been holding our breath in the audience for last 40 minutes. That's real drama. 

I was hoping that we all could got home right afterwards, but there was a cast party at Culver's. I tried to console myself with an order of onion rings, but they arrived stone cold. 

Oh well, you can't win them all.

Recycled Audio (Part 1)

One of my favorite places to visit with my dad when I was growing up was Lems Auto Recyclers in nearby Doon, Iowa. Dad would go to Lems if he needed snow tires or if he wanted to replace a broken mirror. 

You would walk into the office, tell the man behind the counter what you were looking for, and then someone else would either go into an adjacent building or out into the yard to see if they had what you wanted. This was before they had computers, so I would have time to wander around the garages and between the rows of wrecked cars. Inside, the garages reeked of cigarette smoke, oil, and gas. The country music leaking out of an old radio was inaudible over the cacophony of clanking metal, power tools, and men swearing. So cool. 

Before I was old enough to drive, I took a few trips to Lems with my friends on our ten-speed bikes. Most of the time you could travel the eight miles and only encounter a few cars.

Allowing kids to run around an auto yard unsupervised would never fly today, but this was the '80s. Times were different. We jumped from car roof to car roof to car roof, and no one said boo.  

I vividly remember sitting in a rolled '70s Monte Carlo SS that had no doors or a hood. There were keys in the ignition, and the dirty 350 engine looked solid. Curious, we moved a car battery from a Ford that had been rear-ended into the Monte Carlo, and the engine slowly turned over until it roared to life. We drove it 50 yards before a guy in a skidloader cut us off. "What in the hell do you think you doing?" he yelled. 

I was sure we had gone too far this time. We nervously jumped out of the Monte, and I explained what we had done. He took a long look at the car and then turned to us with a grin, "I didn't know that motor ran. Hell, the tranny might be good, too. Put it over by the gravel hill, and I get it across the street later to look at it." We drove it over there and that was that.

When I could drive myself to Lems, it was usually to get another tape player for my car. Cassettes ruled at that time, and I had learned that quality contol was pretty low for affordable, aftermarket car audio. It wasn't long before the tape players would either break or start "eating" all of your cassette tapes. It was cheaper to get a used stereo from a wrecked car than it was to get your current player repaired.  

I had figured out that the cheapest tape players were usually the most reliable by the time I was in college. The less functions the stereo had, the less there was to break. A garden-variety Kraco tape player like this one cost about $15 at Lems and would usually last for a year or two.

There was only a fast-forward button. To rewind the tape, you had to eject it, flip it over, insert it, and then press fast-forward. That was a hassle, but it worked. I'm not sure why you would need a "muting" button next to the volume knob, though.

I'm thankful for modern stereos, but I still have a soft spot for for bare-bones equipment that works well.

Recycled Audio (Part 2)

I think my appreciation for bare-bones audio equipment drew me to the YouTube video "The cheapest CD player ever made is surprisingly good."

I was intrigued with how VWestlife described this JC Penny CD player from 1988 as, "One of the first CD players to cost less than $100. It lacks many features, but actually has several things in common with much more expensive CD players."

I really enjoyed this video. VWestlife made fun of the player while also praising it. He pointed out that it was built in Japan, and most of the chips on the circuit board were actually made by Sony. When the music played by this unit is analyzed on a spectrum analysis graft on a computer (shown at the12:30 mark), you can see how the sound is de-blurred to allow for a much more "analog-like characteristic."  

Yes, it's a very simple player that is big and clunky. There are only six buttons that perform ten functions (including eject and power). That's not much, but then there's not much to go wrong, either. 

Each day was basically the same for us during the summer of 2020. Videos like this gave me something new to think about / obsess over. In short, I really wanted to play with one of these CD players. I checked all of the internet hideouts that I could think of (eBay, Etsy, Craiglist, ect..), but I came up empty-handed... until last month. 

While browsing shopgoodwill.com, I spotted this:

It's almost embarrassing to admit how excited I was. That's it! That's the player from that video! I can't believe I found one for sale! I dug around to find that "old" YouTube video to comfirm that I was right. Not only was this player the same model in the video, it was even manufactured in the same month of '88!

I suspected that this was going to be a revival project, though. I didn't believe the item's description: "Tested for power only, no further testing." Give me a break. You can't tell me that the people working at a Goodwill store couldn't find a CD to test in this unit. 🤥 Still, I went for it and won the auction.

The player didn't work when it arrived, of course. The player would spin the CD, but it couldn't produce music. The laser mech was stuck in place because the worm drive (long threaded piece at the top of the picture) and the rails (parallel silver poles in the middle) were gunked up with dried grease. A little nudge with my finger got it going, but the player had to be cleaned.

I cleaned the drive, the rails, and the laser lens with isopropyl alcohol and Q-tips. I then added too much white lithium grease to the rails and the drive, and had to clean all that off, too. Everything is a learning process... 

The rewind button didn't work, and the play button needed a lot pf pressure to operate. I sprayed each button's contacts with DeoxIT D5, pressed the button 50 times, and now they all work with a light touch.

CDs play all the way through, but I'd rate this project at 98% complete. Once in awhile the laser mech hesitates and fails to return all the way back to the "home" position by a millimeter or two. Then it requires an encouraging, light tap. I'm betting that the problem is mechanical: it's either unseen gunk or the belt needs to be replaced. Or it might just fix itself with some more use - you might be surprised how often that works with vintage equipment. Who knows how long this has sat dormant?

The CD player sounds really good, and it's currently pulling duty in my classroom. I appreciate how its design has become unique. There's not too many players out there that are the size and shape of a shoebox. (But there's also a reason for that...)

I like how the front-loading window allows you to see Jack and Meg hanging out in there.

Action shot: watching the CD spin is an added bonus.

The player does fine with burned CD-Rs, and it also played my scratched-up copy of The White Stripes' De Stijl without missing a beat.

Is this really the cheapest CD player ever made? That's doubtful. But it might have been one of the cheapest CD players sold in 1988.

Handwritten on the back masonite panel, presumably by a store clerk, in descending order is: O - 199.95, N - 99.95, 69.99, and 49.99. I assume those are prices.

Since the last price was not crossed out, I also assume someone bought this player for $49.99. That would be quite a deal for a brand-new CD player back then. 

Even I paid $2.89 more than that.

Try to Not Spend It All at Once

I received an unexpected check in the mail yesterday. I was unknowingly part of class action settlement: Jette v Bank of America. Whoo hoo! 

I'll have to hurry to the bank. The check is only valid for 180 days. 

Make. It. Rain!

Let's zoom in:

I had mixed emotions when I saw that amount. On one hand I was disappointed, but on the other I was excited to show it to the girls and watch them laugh. And they did. Daphne was the one who noticed that the postage cost more than my check is worth.  

Anyway, I'm still going to deposit this. It's a matter of principal. 

Testing the Finals

Cityview is central Iowa' independent newsmagazine. Cityview holds a food contest to see who serves the ultimate version of a popular food item each fall. As you can see from the August cover, 2021 was the year for the chicken wing contest. 

The contest started with 64 entries, winnowed that number to 32, and then moved to the "Final 8." (If you're curious, Sakari Sushi Lounge won.) 

I think this question should be, "Where are Des Moines' Ultimate Wings?"

I like this list of eight businesses because it feels like they are solid endorsements from people who know what they are talking about. People take pride in their favorite spots for food, and most won't make these remommendations lightly. I've been using this list to help Daphne and me find some new places to test out. We haven't been disappointed with any of their wings.

Wednesdays are Wisco days for us because Char has confirmation from 6 -7:30 pm. Wisco Grub & Pub is only three minutes from our church, so we can drop off Char (who had dinner earlier) and have a leisurely dinner of wings, ruben rolls, and Wheel of Fortune. We go with their in-house made medium sauce.

I typically only take Charlotte to Gameday so she can play in the arcade, but we stopped by on Saturday for a late lunch. That's buffalo sauce on the left and Asian sauce on the right. 

ShortE's BBQ is a fun Saturday spot, too. These wings have Texas sauce and honey buffalo sauce. Our go-to side is the bacon jalapeño wontons. 

Jethro's BBQ wings aren't in the final eight this year, but they smoke their wings before they fry them, and they are always impressive. The sweet sauce of the month on the left wasn't doing much for me, but it turned out to be a great compliment to the hot Sriracha dry rub on the right.

Side bar: Taco Bell sold Crispy Chicken Wings for one week, and I actually put that in my Google calendar so I wouldn't forget. I wasn't disappointed with these wings because I didn't expect them to be good. They were okay, but they're never going to be in anyone's Final 8.

Cactus Bob's BBQ Corral is less than two miles from our house, so their wings are next on our list to try. But part of me (and I don't mean my waist) thinks I should maybe stop ordering wings for awhile. 

My dad's depression forced him into repeptitions where he'd only want to eat the same meal over and over again. I sometimes worry about falling into similar ruts, but I think I'm okay.

Char has book club for an hour tonight at the library, and when Daphne asked if I wanted to change our plans and go to Catctus Bob's instead of Flame, I said, "Are you kidding? I'm not missing dinner at Flame." I order something different everytime we're there. It's all good.

Scenes From 2020

I wrote this in January of 2021, but I didn't post it because it didn't feel right. Now, I can see that it isn't bragging to say that you are lucky that you can count your blessings. 

I can't say that 2020 was worth celebrating, but I don't want to forget some of the things that we were able to do.

We started the year off with a bang at Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

We now know how lucky we were to have gone to Florida right after Christmas. If we had waited to go during spring break, then the trip would not have happened.

Planning for our June trip to Nova Scotia began in February. Thematically, we ate breakfast poutine at the BeerStyles Taproom while we booked houses through Airbnb. 

We were lucky that all the places we booked refunded our deposit money when the border to Canada closed. 

Charlotte attended her first piano festival in March. Here a nervous pianist gets some support from Mom. 

It was lucky that the festival was on the 7th. Things began to shut down a few days later.

Charlotte made this Easter wreath for our front door in April. 

We were lucky that she was able to roll with the punches and not just sit around and complaining all day about missing her friends.

We brought Ellie home in May. Our two girls bonded quickly, and they are now best friends.

We were lucky to get a dog with such nice disposition. 

We enjoy walking down to the Johnston library during the summer, and we were pumped when we discovered that you could pick a private browsing time. We did this more than once for books and movies. 

I don't think you can book a browsing time now, so it was lucky we got in when we could.

We lost power for 18 hours, but other than that, we weren't really affected by the derecho in August. But in mid-July, we believe a small funnel cloud ripped through our neighborhood. 

Quite a few trees were left with a "V"-shaped bite taken out of them. 

You can see another tree like that standing behind the wood-chipper.

We were thankful that no one was hurt, and we were lucky and grateful that our house and property were okay.

On August 25, Urbandale schools opened their buildings in a hybrid model, and Char was able to return to class in person.

She had to wear a mask, and only half of her class attends on "J-Hawk" days, but Char was just as excited and nervous as she was on the other first-days-of-school.  I asked her when she got home, "How did it go today?"

 

Charlotte quickly replied, "It was great! We... and then we... our teacher... then we played... Ha! I love school!" 

Daphne and I gave each other a high-five. We had been telling Char, "No, we can't do that," all summer long. We kept reminding her that our major goal was to keep ourselves as healthy as we could so she could go back to Karen Acres and see her friends again. We were lucky that it worked out for her for almost three months.

I was almost as excited when Flix Brewhouse reopened two days later. We were only going to stop by for some takeout on a Saturday afternoon, but the rest of the tables were empty, and the precautions Flix had taken were well thought out. 

When they brought us our boxed lunch, we surprised ourselves by sitting down and eating there. 

We only removed our masks to eat (and read).

The menu was limited, but I had them add tomatoes to their meat lovers pizza to approximate a supreme.

They did have Daphne's favorite salad. 

Daphne and I each took our first bites and then looked at each other. I don't know who teared-up first, but it was Daphne who said, "This is how life is supposed to be." It was the first time we had eaten outside of our car or home in 165 days. I suppose it isn't too surprising that we got a little emotional.

I felt so lucky to be able to enjoy the atmosphere at Flix again. We went back for lunch several more times. The deal was if the dining area was busy, we'd get takeout. If the area was empty, we'd stay. 

Sadly for Flix, it was almost always empty. The Urbandale Schools District moved to online learning the same week in November that Flix was forced to close their theaters again. 

We are now back in our school buildings, so I am hopeful Flix can also reopen again sometime in 2021.

We reopened up the garage theater during Thanksgiving break. It was cool out there, but we were lucky to have Grandpa's propane heater to warm the space up before the movie started.

Here's where I taught school while UHS was confined to online learning only. I didn't enjoy working with students this way, but we did okay. I never thought I would get out of bed in the morning and walk past my school desk on the way to the bathroom.

We were lucky our internet held out, and we had enough data for three computers running Zoom all day.

We had a small gathering at Christmas, and Char was exited with her gifts.

It's lucky she likes to read so much. That will serve her well in the years to come.

For New Year's Eve, Char invited us to her movie party. Her goal was to stay up until midnight. She wanted to be there when 2020 finally said goodbye.

It's lucky we made it until 12:00. I mean that in more ways than one. 

In this post I used the word "lucky" 13 times. That isn't because I do not have a thesaurus. Lucky is the word I have used all year to keep my spirits up. 

I had to keep reminding myself that we were lucky to stay healthy. Not everybody did. We were lucky to have each other. Not everybody did. We were lucky to alway have food on the table. Not everyone did. We are lucky we stayed together. Not everyone did.

I know it's too early to celebrate the end of the pandemic, but it's never too early to count my blessings.