Bill bought a used Ford Taurus station wagon on eBay a few years ago. The catch: we’re in Virginia and the car was in Akron, Ohio. Well, it wasn’t much of a catch, because we enjoyed driving out to Akron to get it. The dealer said it had only a few miles on it because it had been owned by a little old lady in Florida (heh, heh), who drove it up to her kids’ place in Akron and went to live with them. I think he was telling the truth, because it’s been a great car.

     On our way back we stopped at an old-fashioned diner, the kind where the waitresses call you “honey.” We congratulated ourselves on being back in the good old days, and I ordered their stuffed cabbage special. I love stuffed cabbage, and this had the right ingredients, the rice and hamburger and tomato sauce. But it didn’t taste all that good. And then I remembered: back in the good old days, most restaurant food didn’t taste all that good. And now, in the bad new days, it tastes a lot better.

     Which leads me to a Washington area restaurant called Ardeo, which has on its menu “pan-roasted Kurobuta pork loin with kumquat marmalade, carrot risotto, and ancho-rhubarb essence.” Don’t know if that description tickles your funny bone, but it tickles mine. In a few years we’re going to giggle at some of this, so why not start now?

     Now, I’m sure this dish -- including the “ancho-rhubarb essence” – is absolutely delicious. If I lived near Ardeo and could afford its prices, I’d order it with joy and congratulate the chef on it. Or I might praise him for his halibut, “enhanced with a sweet-spicy crust of ground cloves, star anise and fennel, and poised on a minty ‘pancake’ of English peas and treated to a delicate scallop veloute.” All of which information comes from the Washington Post food section, which I devour each week, getting much innocent pleasure and no usable recipes at all.

     Just thought I’d share the fun.

     And below I’m sharing more food fun, in items 4 through 8. Also, please don’t miss Starry Starry Night, item 14. It’s NOT about food, and it is special.

     Janette

----Table of Contents----

1. Never Feel Tired Again
2. Life Without TV
3. What Should I Read Next?
4. Not Your Usual Food Site
5. “Heaven In Your Mouth”
6. The Highest Caliber Of Italian Food
7. Can’t Find A Wonderful Old Recipe?
8. Fast Food Mania: The Cure
9. Online Travel Maps
10. Put Your Mail On Hold Online
11. Check Gas Prices Online
12. 868 Things For Your Kids To Do This Summer
13. New Wonders Of The World
14. Starry Starry Night
15. Peonies For A Lifetime

1. NEVER FEEL TIRED AGAIN

     That’s what the article promises, and obviously it’s an exaggeration. All the same, if you click below, you’ll find good ideas for preventing that tired feeling. The article comes from WEB MD, one of the most reliable health websites, which is the only kind of health site I list. I think they picked a winner.

http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/your-guide-to-never-feeling-tired-again?print=true

2. LIFE WITHOUT TV

     “Darlin’," she said, "you can’t live life without TV."

     Well, actually you can, as the author of this article proves. You may find it an enticing thought, especially while the summer reruns are on TV. Personally, I favor that wonderful institution, the neighborhood library. It provides a much higher quality of entertainment than TV, and you have thousands of choices instead of the pitiful number dished out on the tube. (And, yes, the choice is still pitiful, compared to a good library, even if you have cable or satellite TV.)

     Just a thought.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/westley/westley17.html

3. WHAT SHOULD I READ NEXT?

     The following site says, “Enter a book you like and the site will analyse our database of real readers’ favourite books (over 32,000 and growing) to suggest what you could read next.”

     On their site I put in I, Roger Williams, by Mary Lee Settle, the best novel I’ve read lately. The site then gave me ten historical novels with one big thing wrong: they were titles only, and library books are shelved by author. They seemed to think I was going to go to Amazon and buy those stupid titles. Good grief! I go through a book every two days. I could never afford to buy them all.

http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/books/search

     But there’s another site that recommends books, and with it I hit the jackpot: GNOOKS asked me to list three favorite authors, then gave me a number of authors whose books I should like. You notice we’re talking authors here, not titles.

http://www.gnooks.com/trip.php

     But that’s not all, folks. This site has a companion feature: LITERATURE MAP. I entered Mary Lee Settle, and the author of this site hadn’t heard of her. The GNOOKS/LITERATURE MAP site is the project of one person, Marek Gibney, whose first language is apparently German. And though he’s read, in English, an amazing number of books, of course he hasn’t read 32,000 like the group on the first reading site. So instead I typed in Joyce Carol Oates, a better known author, and this neat swirling map came up and gave me a bunch of authors I might like.

     If you like to read, this is a fun toy you can play with over and over.

http://www.literature-map.com/

4. NOT YOUR USUAL FOOD SITE

     Absolutely not your usual food site. But if you wonder why you should build a POMPEII OVEN in your back yard this summer, remember that, as the site says, “65 million Italians couldn't be wrong.” Now could they?

http://www.fornobravo.com/pompeii_oven/pompeii_oven.html

5. “HEAVEN IN YOUR MOUTH”

     I have some great memories of great food, but this fellow’s description of tiramisu exceeds them all. Find it, plus a recipe for the dish he raves about, at:

http://www.heavenlytiramisu.com/rave.htm

     But there’s more. Legend has it that this glorious Italian dessert of tiramisu has been around for hundreds of years – since the Italian Renaissance, in fact. Jane Black did some sleuthing and decided it was invented more recently. And by “recently” she means that the baker who invented it is still alive. And baking in Baltimore.

     Lest Italians feel their cultural history is being sideswiped, I will add that the baker is Italian, and he was in Italy at the time he says he invented this dessert.

     Read all about it, and get an authentic recipe, at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/10/AR2007071000327.html

6. THE HIGHEST CALIBER OF ITALIAN FOOD

     La Lama Mountain Ovens posts two new “family secret” recipes every month. These are Italian recipes of the highest caliber. They may sound like ordinary recipes, but when you take a close look you’ll see the little extra touches that turn an ordinary dish into a great one. This site is a true treasure.

http://www.parshift.com/ovens/home.htm

7. CAN’T FIND A WONDERFUL OLD RECIPE?

     Have I got an answer for you! RECIPELAND has a whole section given over to recipe searches. And the recipes people request are the ones close to their hearts. (The stomach is exceedingly close to the heart; I’m sure you’ve noticed.) People are looking for: Blueberry Batter Cake, Fudgy Brownie Pie, Deviled Chicken, Kate Smith Banana Cake. And I’d better quit this, because I’m getting hungry. I’ll have to go eat some of the healthy stuff I eat these days instead of Fudgy Brownie Pie. But, first, you can find the recipe requests and recipes here, and insert your own:

http://www.recipeland.com/talk/view/?id=1

8. FAST FOOD MANIA: THE CURE

     Okay, sometimes we yearn for something greasy, something that makes a solid lump in our stomachs and, eventually, on them. Click below for the cure:

http://www.hungry-girl.com/externalink.php?frameurl=http://www.thewvsr.com/adsvsreality.htm

     HUNGRY GIRL has more good things on her site, such as a delicious cookie dough ice cream with only a fraction of the fat and calories of most. Good stuff like that. She’s worth a thorough inspection.

     FAT FOOD, FAST FOOD: Want to buy healthy fast food? Come here to learn how:

http://www.ehow.com/how_108891_buy-healthy-fast.html

     But let’s say you’re traveling, and you want to take with you a guide to fast-food fat and calories. CHOWBABY has one. To purchase, for $8.95, a Chowbaby fast-food guide, click below:

https://www.chowbaby.com/cbstore/productdetail.asp?productID=101

9. ONLINE TRAVEL MAPS

     You probably have an online mapping service you like. But, before you take off on a trip, do read about the latest advances in 3-D mapping technology – advances which have made Yahoo Maps and MapQuest look really out of date. Do the 3-D wonders actually improve your map search? Rob Pegoraro tells his experience:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/30/AR2007053002392.html

10. PUT YOUR MAIL ON HOLD ONLINE

     Yes, the U.S. Postal Service is ready to help you, online, to put your mail on hold before you leave for your vacation.

https://dunsapp.usps.gov/HoldMail.jsp

11. CHECK GAS PRICES ONLINE

     You don’t have to guess whether gas will be cheaper at home or where you’re headed. MSN says, “Every night MSN Autos receives pricing data from over 90,000 gas stations across the nation.” Find it here:

http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx

12. 868 THINGS FOR YOUR KIDS TO DO THIS SUMMER

     Of course you’re a conscientious parent and want your kids to get outdoors and do the things you did when you were growing up. But it does rain and the sun does go down. Here are some computer things they can do then. Scroll down and be amazed at how much is on this site.

http://www.coloringpage.org/

13. NEW WONDERS OF THE WORLD

     We’ve all heard of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Now we’ve got 7 NEW WONDERS OF THE WORLD, and they’re as official as “the first ever global election,” can make them. Find the results of that election, and have a chance to vote on the “7 Wonders of Nature,” at:

http://www.new7wonders.com/

     But that’s not all. The following site, 100 WONDERS OF THE MODERN WORLD, allows the public to post videos of wonders of the world they’ve visited themselves. Which results in some fascinating selections, and you can add your own videos. The list includes both natural wonders and manmade wonders.

     The good news is that there are a number of videos of each sight, and some are really interesting. The bad news is that the videos are all taken by amateurs, and sometimes I want to shriek, “Quit panning around! Let me take a good look at that.” Well, putting the most interesting things on “pause” does help, and I guess this experience encapsulates the pluses and minuses of YouTube.com.

http://www.wereldwonderen.tv/default.aspx?TaalID=2

14. STARRY STARRY NIGHT

     Many people consider Vincent Van Gogh their favorite artist. If he’s a favorite of yours, you’ll love this video, which lets you look at many of his works, including ones seldom seen. I loved being able to hit “pause” and take a good look at the ones I liked best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkvLq0TYiwI

15. PEONIES FOR A LIFETIME

     When you get back from your summer vacation, your garden will still be there. A bit weedy, but there for a lifetime, especially if you plant peonies, which will last your lifetime, your children’s lifetimes, your children’s children’s lifetimes, etc.

     Peonies are planted in the fall. So, if you’d like to grow these wonderful flowers, this is the time to get a peony catalog and select some. If you pay a visit to Cyndi’s Catalog of Garden Catalogs and click on peonies, you’ll soon own some beauties.

http://gardenlist.com/

MISSED SOME ISSUES?

     Have I got a solution for you! Now that we are using a frame for each issue, you can just look over to your left and find all the back issues nicely set out. Simply click on the ones you missed. That means too that if your e-mail service provider gets sticky and decides that Tour the Sites is spam (it is NOT spam), you can foil it and find the newsletter at this address.

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WARNING!

     If your e-mail box sometimes gets full, you are in danger of falling off the subscription list of Tour the Sites. Not because I want to lose you, but because, if your box is full when I send out a newsletter, you are automatically kicked off the list. I don't like that policy, but I don't have any say. If you change your e-mail address or get a new kind of spam filter, you may also fall off. So do keep an eye on your newsletters, which should arrive around the first and fifteenth of each month. If you haven't gotten one for a month, let me know and I'll be happy to put you back on the mailing list. Because I'd really hate to lose you.

Janette
Newsletter@tourthesites.com

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© Copyright 2007 Janette G. Blackwell. All rights reserved. You may copy and use portions of this newsletter for noncommercial, personal use only. You may forward a copy to someone else as long as the copyright notice is included. Any other use of the materials in this newsletter without prior written permission is prohibited.