Deck Extension

After having the hot tub removed, we had to do something with the deck.  We could have just had a railing installed, but instead opted to add the 4'x8' extension you see below.  A friend suggested calling Ryan Struve at Broken 9 Design, and he and his crew did a great job making it look seamless.  Not seen is the third red umbrella that provides shade from the afternoon on.  It's amazing how much bigger the deck looks, and it's more functional.  Yeah!

https://www.instagram.com/broken_9_design

The Little Things

The checkout lane you see below is from an H.E.B. (named after Howard E. Butt) grocery store in College Station, Texas.  Did you notice that the plastic separators are located on the side closest to the customer?  It makes it a bit easier for the customer to grab one, but it's a little more difficult for the cashier.   While just a little thing, it typifies how H.E.B. runs their stores; the customer first.  That attention to detail was a stunner.

https://www.heb.com

Using AI To Explain Ritz Crackers

Gourmet Chef Elaine has always loved Ritz crackers, but recently noticed they didn't seem the same.  I turned to the Google Gemini chatbot to find out if others had noticed changes.  The AI answer you see below shows lots of people have noticed and several of the reasons why.  Then she threw the rest of the box in the trash.

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Yes, consumers have widely reported and noted quiet recipe and ingredient adjustments in Ritz crackers over recent years, leading to noticeable changes in taste and texture.

Key Ingredient and Recipe Shifts

Fats and Oils: The most substantial long-term shift involves replacing older shortening components—following the 2018 FDA ban on partially hydrogenated oils—with modern vegetable oil blends containing soybean, canola, and palm oil.

Texture and Taste Complaints: Consumers note that the crackers feel drier, crumble more easily, and lack the distinct flaky, buttery richness they historically had. 

Subtle Adjustments: Shoppers and food observers report minor adjustments over time, such as changes to sugar prominence, adjustments to salt content, and the inclusion of additives like rosemary extract for preservation.

Shrinkflation: Alongside these recipe murmurs, parent company Mondelez reduced package sizes by roughly 30% while keeping prices steady, increasing consumer scrutiny on overall product quality.

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https://gemini.google.com

Avocado Toast

Gourmet Chef Elaine and I eat lunch out about once a month, and one of our favorite spots is First Watch.  On our last visit, I had decided to have something really different and selected the masterpiece you see below.  It's fresh-smashed avocado on whole grain toast, two eggs cooked completely, and smoked salmon.  Oh yeah, and some green, leafy things that I left behind.  

https://firstwatch.com/menu/avocado-toast

Bag Of Nuts

The unopened bag of salted cashews you see below came home with us from the Austin airport.  We decided to have a Bloody Mary since we were at our gate with plenty of time to spare.  We found a seat at the bar where we were told they didn't serve alcohol until 10:00 am on Sunday mornings.  A short wait wasn't a bother, but then when we went to order, we found out about the strange Texas law that you had to order food with your drink from 10:00 am to noon.  The kitchen didn't open until 10:30 am, but the workaround was to order one of three snacks, and we opted for the nuts.  Texas law doesn't say you have to eat that food while you drink, and being that we were not hungry, we just packed it away for another day.  Sigh.

Driving Away

I took the picture below in a recent car we rented, which had a feature I've never seen before.  If you're stopped and the car in front of you begins to move forward, a chime rings and the message "Leading vehicle is driving away" is displayed.  It would probably be more accurate to display "Get your eyes off your bleeping smartphone and back on the road where they belong."  

I believe that if you make it easier to be a Distracted Driver, you'll be more of a Distracted Driver.  You can't fix stupid.

Texas Roads

On our way to visit our grandkids in Texas, I noticed road signs like the one below that had the unfamiliar "FM" designation.  Researching what that meant led to an interesting history lesson.

"FM" stands for "Farm to Market" and began in Texas in 1936, and was designed to help farmers get their goods to market.  It was immediately popular, grew quickly, and there are now 3,370 FM roads in Texas.  You will see some signs using "FM" and others labeled "Farm Road".  Same thing.

Soon the ranchers wanted to get in on a good thing, and in 1943 the first "RM", "Ranch to Market" road was completed.  Other designations you might encounter are "SH" (State Highway), "RR" (Ranch Road, a subset of Ranch to Market Roads), "PA" (Principal Artery), "BU" (Business Route), and "SL" (State Loop).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farm-to-market_road

Getting A Photo From A Video

I wanted to capture an image from a video I had of our grandchildren in their pool.  I asked AI how to do this, and it presented several options.  The easiest was to bring up the video, go into Edit mode, slide over to the frame I wanted, and take a screenshot.  Since the image had the entire screen, not just the part I wanted, I needed to crop it.  Easy peasy.  Just tap on the image, and some editing options appear, including cropping.  Adjust the borders and save the image.  

On an iPad/iPhone, the image ends up in your Photos.  On Android, it's in the Screenshots folder.  Other than that, the procedure is identical, and you can find it in greater detail at the link below.

https://www.trustedreviews.com/how-to/get-still-photos-from-iphone-videos-4400675

Mamma DiSalvo's

Gourmet Chef Elaine and I hadn't been to Mamma DiSalvo's restaurant in ages, and while looking for a vegetarian-friendly venue for my family to have dinner, I found they fit our needs perfectly.  I opted for the Shrimp Al Romano shown below and was amazed at the size of the shrimp.  They were huge, and the four were almost more than I could eat, but I wasn't leaving any behind.  If you're up for some great Italian, you can check out their menu at the link below.

https://mammadisalvo.com

Hat Trick

A great perk at the swimming pool at Walnut Grove Country Club is the pitcher of ice water they bring you right after you've picked your lounge chairs.  We used to keep the pitcher out of the sun's rays by putting it under a table, extending the time before all the ice melted.  Recently, Gourmet Chef Elaine wore a hat to the pool, and I repurposed that into the shade device you see below.  We now bring the hat every time we go.