Friday's Spending Spree (Whee!)

First we went to the Farmer's Market and Richie bought flowers, radishes, strawberries and corn. I dread corn season; he'd eat it four nights of the week if I didn't scream like a deranged banshee.

Then we went to Border's, the bookstore off of Hawthorne. Everybody got the memo that the store was closing because Border's was bankrupt.

Take this, Kindl readers! The parking lot was jammed with cars circling like sharks for a parking space and so was the store, once we got into it. We stood in line for 40 minutes to pay and there were six or seven cashiers! A lot of us - more than you might imagine - still love the heft of a book, the expectation of a good read and that wonderful curiosity the first time you open a new book.

Some great bargains - "The Complete Book of New Yorker Cartoons" which is approximately 24 by 34 inches, weighing in at a ton. It was miserable lugging it around, even in a basket. It is the coffee table book from hell for portability. It was $20, not the list price of $60.

Then we went to Trader Joe's. The only remarkable purchase there was a jar of "Fleur de Sel Caramel" sauce. I've been dying to tast this combo and too cheap to spend $8 for a box of caramels made of it.

Once home, purchases unpacked, I got myself a dish of vanilla ice cream and poured -- tried to pour -- this sauce over it. It is so thick that I almost needed a knife to cut myself out a chunk for the ice cream. Next time, I'll nuke it first. It was very, very good but I did not taste "salt." Apparently very little is required (which is true of all sea salts) to give depth to the caramel flavoring.

All in all, profitable day -- for the merchants.