Dual Alarms

After checking the battery-powered smoke detectors in our house, I found two that were more than 10 years old and needed replacing.  I opted for the model shown below, which has a 10-year battery, saving the time and expense of replacing the typical 9-volt battery every year.  For about $10 more, I ordered the combo Smoke + Carbon Monoxide model.  This alarm also speaks "Fire!" or "Warning! Carbon Monoxide!" so you know which it detected.  Since we have a gas furnace and a gas stovetop, having this dual-alarm model makes sense.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DDWB196S

Pantry Outlet

The picture below is from Gourmet Chef Elaine's son's house in Texas.  Instead of their toaster taking up counter space, it sits on a shelf in their pantry.  I've never seen a pantry with an electrical outlet, but it certainly adds flexibility to a kitchen.  Pretty clever idea!

Buc-ee's Red Lights

In the spacious and super-clean bathrooms at Buc-ee's, there are lights on top of each stall to indicate whether it's occupied or not.  With a quick glance, you can find a green light and "off you go" (pun intended).  That's way better than walking past doors looking for a little green on the lock.  This attention to detail is one of the many things I love about Buc-ee's.

https://buc-ees.com

Larriwood Avenue

We live on Larriwood Avenue in Kettering, Ohio.  I really didn't need to add the city or state to that since there is only one Larriwood Avenue in the entire United States.  I figured the name had something to do with someone back in the mid-1950s when the house was built.  I reviewed the original plat books, available at the link below, for an entry for Larriwood Avenue, which turned up these four names: George R. and Miriam E. Steller, Swango & Sons Construction, and C.W. Zimmerman.

George was a Registered Land Surveyor, and he surveyed, engineered, and certified dozens of residential and commercial plat maps across Montgomery and Butler counties from the 1920s through the 1950s.  He and Miriam were prominent local figures and philanthropists in the Dayton–Kettering area of Montgomery County, Ohio, and owned the land our plat is built on.  In 1962, George and Miriam donated 4.4 acres of land at the corner of David Road and Marshall Road to the Dayton YMCA (now called South YMCA).  Our plat is called Miriam Acres, and there is a Miriam Drive a few houses away.  I presume they were named after her.  But no connection was found to Larriwood Avenue.

Swango & Sons Construction, our home's builder, was owned by Stanley Sterling Swango Jr. Again, no connection could be found for Larriwood Avenue; however, it turns out that Stanley Jr. is Gourmet Chef Elaine's 14th cousin twice removed.  How weird is that?

C.W. (Carl) Zimmerman also signed our plat book entry, and his company was the general contractor that built Miriam Acres.  Searching his family tree in familysearch.org, I found he had a son, Lawrence Lee Zimmerman, who died in 1944 at the age of five months.  I believe our street is named after him.

https://www.mcohio.org/DocumentCenter/View/1737/Recorded-Plat-Books-PDF

BBQ Chicken Legs

The recipe at the link below calls for chicken thighs, but when our Dot's Market had chicken legs on sale for $1.49 a pound, we did the old switcharoo.  The legs were marinated in a sweet-and-spicy mixture, refrigerated, then brought back to room temperature before being put on the grill.  We didn't follow the cooking directions in the recipe, opting to cook the legs over indirect heat until their internal temperature reached 165 degrees, then move them to very hot direct heat to crisp them up, and finally cover them in BBQ sauce back on the indirect side.  

https://grilledcheesesocial.com/wprm_print/bbq-chicken-thigh-recipe-grilled-or-baked

Aggravation Off

Back in 2017, I blogged about Stop/Start Technology, the car feature that stops your car's engine when you're not moving and restarts it when you lift your foot off the brake.  I said back then that I was OK with it, but I've changed my mind.  Since neither of our cars has that feature, it continually startles me when the engine shuts off.  I also don't like the extra wear and tear on the starter, which would eventually cause an expensive repair.  

Fortunately, there is a button to turn that "feature" off.  It's the middle button in the picture below, the one with the "A" with an arc around it.  I'm sure the "A" stands for Aggravation.

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