What's wrong with this picture?

I happened into a Starbucks today (imagine that) and saw this Flourless Chewy Chocolate Cookie in their case. Scanning the little signs that contain nutritional information that are placed in front of all their foods, it appeared this choice offered the fewest calories of everything in there. At 170 calories, could this be good for you?

This cookie has fewer calories than their Hearty Blueberry Whole Grain Oatmeal (220 calories) their Michigan Cherry Oat Bar (240 calories), their Wheat Spinach Savory Foldover (250 calories), and their Chicken & Hummus Bistro Box (270 calories).

It has far fewer calories than their healthy sounding Edamame Hummus Wrap (490 calories) and smokes the Double-Smoked Bacon, Cheddar & Egg Sandwich (540 calories) which offers the most calories on their food menu.

The only items on their food menu that have few calories are any items that are roughly the size of a silver dollar (Petite Vanilla Bean Scone at 120 calories or the Chocolate Cake Pop at 140) or their Classic Whole-Grain Oatmeal (160 calories before adding the brown sugar, dried fruit, and nut medley toppings which could add up to 250 additional calories ).

This makes me feel a whole lot better about my 130 calorie Double Tall Soy Latte habit. Just saying.

Good for you might be a stretch but it has 2g of fiber, 2g protein, and 15% of your recommended daily allowance of iron. (I'm definitely going to eat one of these babies before my next blood donation!) And, chocolate which, as you know, is definitely good for you.

So let this be a lesson to you: Things are not always as they appear. And, when in doubt, eat cookies for breakfast. (I guess that's two lessons but what the heck. The second one is one the house.)

(More information here.)

CVG

This Side To Curb

Curb is on the left.

"Vancouver's effective and efficient wastewater collection system . . . "
City of Vancouver

As long as it still works, I guess it doesn't really matter. But this installation looks like it might actually funnel the water away from the drain rather than into it.

Woo hoo! An extra long tax season for 2016!

April 15, 2016 is on a Friday but because Emancipation Day, observed in Washington DC is that day, most people* will have until the following Monday (4/18/16) to file their tax returns. (Yippee! Another weekend wasted by work! Go ahead and buy Starbucks shares now!)

But it gets better! Folks in Maine and Massachusetts will have until April 19th to file their tax returns so they can observe Patriot's Day on Monday, April 18th. (I know we're talking about different Patriot's here, but I heard Roger Goodell was suspending that holiday.)

I can't wait!

*I don't know who "most people" are.

Hmm

I have almost as many fans in South Korea as in the United States.

What's that about?

What do May flowers bring?

Tax returns.

No kidding. People who couldn't get their tax returns done in April (for any variety of reasons) want them done in May.

Where did May go, by the way? It's nearly June already.

I have a bunch of tax returns crowding my calendar - I haven't counted how many - that are leftover from April's rush. Somehow, they're not getting done and I'm not sure why. Part of the reason is I don't want to do them. Not at the same pace as April, anyway.

Another reason is May has simply gotten away from me. Don't ask me how. It was April a moment ago and now it's nearly June (as I previously mentioned).

A good number of them need to be done - or at least looked at - by June 15th when estimated tax payments are due. I have very good intentions of getting to that. Really, I do. Besides, Howard Schultz has been calling me ever since April 15th, wondering where I've been. I guess it's time to reload my Starbucks card and get serious about getting some work done.

But that sounds a lot like work.

I've never been good at gardening.

We have a nice window box in the kitchen where we decided we would try to grow some small, edible plants: tomatoes, spinach, cilantro, basil, some sort of lettuce, and something I can't identify yet. (We threw away the instructions as soon as they were planted and we can't remember what, exactly, was planted.)

The tomato plants are growing like mad and are huge water hogs. Since we are growing them indoors we don't, as of yet, have any kind of cages for them. (Chickens are cage free. Why not tomatoes?) But they got droopy so in order to prop them up a little I stuck some forks in the dirt and leaned their tender stalks upon the tines.

The lettuce has totally freaked out and may require psychiatric help and the spinach, I swear, is un-growing back into the dirt.

G

Shocked

Makes me wonder what the unsafe methods of removing static electricity are. Setting fire to your skirt?

And then . . .

. . . on Sunday, we pedaled into town on folding bikes only acquired the day before. To celebrate the brilliant weather as well as our new ride, we rode to dinner at a favorite Italian restaurant.

As we arrived at the restaurant, we could hear a loud, rhythmic beat as if the tavern down the street had all their windows open. After dinner, the beat was louder and it sounded exactly like the kind of thing we needed to check out.

We only had to travel a couple blocks to see it wasn't the tavern at all. It was the Full Moon Community Drum Circle hosted by the restaurant Mint Tea.

What else would it be?

Professional street performer.

Every seat on the patio was occupied by someone beating whatever percussion instrument they had brought along or borrowed. People of any (or no) ability were encourage to join in the drumming, dancing, or flame throwing in the streets. (What??)

Do not attempt at home.

And to think we almost missed it! Before we got to La Bottega, we had seriously considered watching the belly dancers at the Greek restaurant A Touch of Athens at Hidden House.

Well, if you need to know when the next full moon is, you can check the Community Drum Circle web page and plan your next bike ride accordingly.

I think I'll get the bell installed on my handlebars before the next one.

And on it goes.

Last Friday, while we were watching the sailboat races, a man wearing a bright green body stocking ran by. While we were contemplating this bizarre scene, Santa Claus trotted by. Within minutes, there was a steady stream of superheroes (and one villiain). Later I learned there’s a group called Runs, Grubs, and Chugs that organizes such events which generally end in drinking beer.

I’m seriously thinking about joining except I’m not sure if this will motivate me to run as much as it might motivate me to drink beer.

May the Fourth be with you.

Purple car!

In an effort to keep us kids quiet in the car, my grandmother suggested we look for purple cars. The trick worked only too well. Forty years later, we're still on the lookout for purple cars.

Hubby spotted this beauty today. He's been marred to a C Dot long enough to know that he had to call out, "Purple car!" or it wouldn't count. (For what, I don't know, but them's the rules.)

Another rule is if you can't follow the first rule, then I have to declare, "Chuck, chuck, bus to London!" which means I win and you don't.

Basically, I can evoke the Bus to London rule whenever I want and I always win.

The Hand Man. No Job Too Small.

Maybe Charlie Brown should start with painting his truck.