Have you seen the enormous selection of bread that fills an entire row of the big grocery stores these days? The beautiful loaves of organic fat-free, gluten-free, free range, whole-wheat, flax, chia, nut, and seed bread, carefully wrapped in thin layers of plastic by loving machines? We used to buy that stuff… until an accidental discovery that an open loaf was still as fresh as spring rain, weeks after it was opened. Closer examination of the long list of ingredients revealed a long list of preservatives and chemicals
Next stop: the farmer’s market. The beautiful loaves of organic fat-free, gluten-free, free range, whole-wheat, flax, chia, nut, and seed bread smelled wonderful, fresh baked that morning. The owner of the family owned bakery would give us samples and chat amiably while we browsed his wares. And why wouldn’t he be happy, when a loaf of bread cost $6 – $8. But it was delicious and we knew what was in it
Winnie was working her way through a series of world-renowned cook books, and decided to take on a new challenge: home baked bread. She ordered the best selling bread baking book on Amazon, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread. Used, of course :)
Like a school girl waking up to Christmas morning, she danced with glee when it finally arrived. The book carefully lays out the delicate art of traditional bread making. All 12 stages, in exacting detail. 8 hours later, exhausted and covered in flour, we enjoyed the output of our own little sweatshop. Without question, it was quite good. But also something no sane person would choose to do on a daily or even weekly basis. Those $8 loaves of bread from the farmer’s market were starting to call us once again. A few weeks later, another unsuspecting patron bought an used book on Amazon (more…)
We’ve shown every month how much we spend on dining out, but what does it really mean? How do you use that information to budget for your own world travels? To help, this is the first of a series of posts where we share 3 meals we’ve enjoyed in different budget classes. Welcome to food voyeurism at its best
Budget Meal
Carnitas is a traditional Mexican pork dish, cooked in a large copper pot with herbs and spices for hours and hours until the meat is so tender that it falls off the bone and can be shredded by hand. Stuff some of this in a hot off the comal hand made gordita with some fresh salsa, and you have one of our favorite lunches
A bit off the beaten path in the Allende neighborhood, the wonderful Bautista family runs Carnitas Bautista. Since they don’t have a website, the address is Guadiana #2, Colonia Allende, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. We recently brought a friend there for lunch, and he said, “I didn’t know anything existed in the world that tastes this good!” The reviews don’t get much more glowing than that. And since the place is always packed and we are the only foreigners we see, you know it is good
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. All Dressed Up and Ready to Celebrate
El Día de Muertos, the day of the dead, is a Mexican holiday honoring the lives of friends and family members who have died. It is a time to gather with loved ones, build altars to the deceased, and visit graves with gifts and offerings. It is not a time of mourning, but a grand celebration of life
(This post may be of interest only to musicians, especially those that roam)
A few years ago, if a guy wanted to travel the world with a guitar he had few options: Carry around a ton of gear, or get a dedicated miniature travel guitar. Now there is another choice
While consumer items don’t bring long term happiness, I am excited about my new Apogee JAM. It is going to revolutionize my guitar playing. The 15W practice amp I picked up last month for $92 is now up for sale, replaced with this wonderful electronic gizmo. At $84*, it is superior to the practice amp in every way
In the days before early retirement and world travel we lived in the best apartment in all of Seattle. We were a block from a weekly farmer’s market, a block from a Safeway grocery store, 8 blocks from a public library, 9 blocks from a Trader Joe’s, and 5 blocks from a large city park with walking trails along a stream in old growth forest.
Home was also a block away from a main commercial street and the main neighborhood bus artery. We had our choice of a number of coffee shops, restaurants, and bars, along with easy access to every part of town just one short bus ride away. The owner of the quaint coffee shop just across the street would often give us free coffee and vegan chocolate chip cookies, due to our generous tipping and frequent gifts of home cooking.
The commute into the office was quite nice as well. I could walk downstairs, cross the street, and get on a bus that dropped me off 1 block from the building where I worked. According to the bus schedule, this trip required only 26 minutes, enough time to sit back and relax with a good book. Winnie’s commute was even better. She had to walk only 2 blocks to the University of Washington, where she was taking photography classes
Often I would ride my bicycle to work, to get some exercise and fresh air. It was also a great way to work off the stresses of unrealistic schedules and office politics. Depending on mood and weather, I had a choice of riding 8 miles, partially on city streets, or riding either 21 or 23 miles primarily on dedicated bike trails. Sometimes I would ride to and from work, and other days I might ride one way and then utilize the bike racks on thecity buses in the other direction.
“Wow, that sounds great, no wonder you didn’t need a car. You guys were so lucky! Where we live we could never do what you do.”
Absolutely, we were incredibly lucky. You know, because we have absolutely no choice where we live, kind of like we have no choice where we were born.
Below are all of the details and tools we used to find our great Seattle apartment. Perhaps it will help others become lucky too
. It is going to revolutionize my guitar playing. The 15W practice amp I picked up last month for $92 is now up for sale, replaced with this wonderful electronic gizmo. At $84*, it is superior to the practice amp in every way
