Damn You Trader Joe's...Even If You Make Me A Better Cook!

I've tried not to fall in love with some of your products. Like Bath & Body, you're a fickle one when it comes to products I love. B&B discontinued my beloved Iced Pineapple line years ago and they lost a customer. Well, they probably would have lost me anyway - that store is an arsenal of over-eager employees and olfactory overload. No, I do not want a mesh tote or a spritz of Almond Cookie leads to Nookie (x3).

Now Joe's...ah Joe's. You've given the India Relish AND the Red Mole sauce the heave-ho. "Slow sales, not enough shelf space" you say. I say, Have you ever added that crack, er India Relish to stir fry? Hello???? So while I have yet try to duplicate the India Relish - I have tried my hand at the mole and phoooey on you. Mine rocks.

Here's a recipe for something like the India Relish....

1 tb mild vegetable oil
1/2 ts mustard seeds
1 1/2 tb slivered garlic
1/2 ts tumeric
1 t cayenne pepper
1/2 ts sea salt
5 medium ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled and chopped
1/4 c distilled white vinegar

Heat oil in a medium sized skillet over medium-high heat. Add mustard and garlic. Cook, stirring, until mixture starts to brown. About 4 minutes.

Add tumeric, cayenne, salt and tomatoes. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add vinegar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until thick. About 10 minutes. Spoon into clean jars and seal.

Makes 3/4 cup

**recipe courtesy of another India Relish fan on the TJ website.

As Fate Would Have It

Think you know all there is to know about your family? Does anyone? Secrets, scandal and the true origin of family lore? It took me practically 36 years to get around to asking about how my Grandma Lee and my grandfather met.

Flopped out on the grass in my parents backyard, their new puppy - Rocket pulling on the rope to take control of the Kong...I asked my mom this question as she flipped through a travel book. Somehow, the Solomon Islands were mentioned and mom commented that that's where Grandpa Bill had been during WWII. I asked if he had married Grandma Lee before, or after the war.

After.

So, how did they meet?

"Well your Grandpa Bill was playing in a honky tonk band and Grandma Lee's brother Jay introduced them. Jay played steel string guitar and he also played with Lefty Frizzell. So after 5 days, your Grandpa Bill said "I think enough of you to change your name' to which Grandma Lee replied 'So change it!".

Well that solves that. 5 days. 3 kids and over 3 decades of marriage before Grandpa Bill died in 1984.

The Science of Staying Put

To know me is to know that I move around. A Lot. There was a homeowner stint in there followed by feverish address hopping. Not couch surfing, mind you. Just moving around from house, to townhome, to cottage, to house, to studio, back to cottage. If the opportunity to live on a houseboat had presented itself, chances are good that I was your girl. I've got a long tail of addresses and great rental references.

Thank Goddess for Facebook or else I would have had a pack of frustrated friends tossing their address book pencils at me years ago.

When I get antsy, I move. And each move costs money. Money for deposits, more money for rent in some cases. My impetus for feverish moves has probably much to do with two things. The rest is probably diagnosable, and I'm not touching that. The first, is that I went from the den of my folks into an 8 year relationship. I never had my own place...but I dreamed about it. Soooo, I tried it all on (see above). The other, is my constant search for home. I'm rather amazing at making one. I just never settle in long enough. I actually rented a quaint little white stucco number (1930's era) with a veranda on the front...a walk up that could be seen from said veranda. Is Pretty Woman coming to mind? Don't laugh, it should.

I wait, I check my watch and I fill out another application.

Last year, I moved from California to Oregon. This was the healthiest move yet and true to form, I found the oldest apartment building in Hood River. Okay, that's all that was available below $1500 a month. So I hunkered down in my apartment, circa 1912. For a town that boasts big rents, this is the cheapest rent I have EVER paid...and right downtown AND in a safe area. Okay, so Hood River is practically crime free - save for the kayak, or other recreational equipment "gone missing".

And then summer came...

With my financial goal of being 100% debt free in reach...I answer a gorge.net post for a condo. I meet the guy. Guy likes me and wants to rent to me immediately. I say yes and arrange to drop the check by in the morning.

And then the Ghost of Old Addresses Past taps me on the shoulder (in the form of IM from dearest friend)..

I talk up the condo, the space, the normal size kitchen and 2 full bathrooms...and she replies "Why? I wouldn't do it." And damn it if she isn't right. I love to set up a new space...but I love my options to travel beyond new addresses and steals at IKEA even more. I have a clawfoot tub and plenty of hot water to fill it and can see the Columbia from my couch. Why spend that extra $200 a month? It all adds up. I always do this. 'Oh, it's only 200 more...it's only 50 more, or 100' and then the next thing you know, I'm out 100% of my disposable income.

So I took a pass. For the first time. I've made my share of mistakes in my journey through every zip code in Redding California. I don't want to fall into that familar pattern here. I once took a great place owned by a seemingly sweet Dutch couple. The woman used to teach dance in the space above the one I rented. Often, late at night I could hear her doing tumbling exercises...that, in addition to her standing probes into my personal life "Amber, when will you have babies? Amber, a pipe broke. Sorry, but there won't be any water for 3 days. Amber...(as she walked into my apartment through the unlocked door. No joke.

This time, I think I'll use some of that moving money for what I've always REALLY wanted to do. Not to worry, I'll write your postcard in pen.