I hear ya about Trader Joe's. I like TJs but shop at Whole Foods. They just have everything I eat.
You could always move [to a place where TJs needs to set up a new store] and open up a new TJs.

Do they have a TJs in Sebastopol? Maybe not. Santa Rosa probably.

Or check out the TJ locations and look to buy nearby http://www.traderjoes.com/

I crave to move back to north of S.F. but may not make it.

There are two in Santa Rosa and one in Petaluma, but none in Sebastopol. We do have a Whole Foods, but I never shop there.

NO TJ or Whole foods by me I do miss both of those! Not even a Costco unless I drive an hour each way. But we do have lots and lots of organic farms up here

I too went off a cliff on highway 17 near scotts valley. It terrified me and I still hate driving on hwy 17, or any mountain road after dark.

As for L.A. memories, I loved shopping at union station in L.S. with my mom as a kid. I remember there was some kind of flea market there and that where we always bought our moccasins. There was also a tortilla factory nearby where we bought salsa and tortillas. Very fun memories going to that market.

My nearest Costco is over 2 hours away. No TJ, Whole Foods is 3 hours away. All we have really is 2 small grocery stores in Gold Beach and then the big Fred Meyer in Brookings, that is not really big but the biggest thing we have. Before they came to get clothes or shoes you had to drive at least 2 hours. Poor Mishka judges the size of a place by if they have a Fred Meyer. We passed a small town and she commented, this is so small, Grandma, they don't even had a Fred Meyers. And we felt badly for them.

Got some more rain, I am so liking this rain.

I have a strong memory of Big Sur and stopping many times to throw up. I used to get car sick very easily, that is not the road to be on. I really love the small towns like Davenport on highway 1. Its a beautiful area. But I love the coast, for the views and the cool climate.

My hands are really hurting lately, I guess they are not liking the all day weeding I did yesterday. I will do other stuff today and try and let them rest.

Rebecca: I love the Davenport area, Big Sur, Carmel, Pacifica, even Salinas sounds good at this point! re your hands: try massaging your hands and each finger. At times I get a little sore in my knuckles, rarely but it happens. Massage REALLY helps. My yoga teacher/masseuse told me to do it and she's right!

Annmarie: Yea, I've driven over Hwy 17 countless times. You know it was "banked" for horse and wagon. The bank is opposite what a road built for automobiles. I had a flying saucer follow me home fro Scotts Valley to Menlo Park once. Very comforting. We you injured when your car left the road? RE: L.A. we used to go to a flea mkt. to buy moccasins too. I love moccasins. I've got to look for some. While living in Encino we often went to a Mexican shopping area near USC as I remember. It had a name (doh!) wish I could remember. Purchased the BEST tamales.

about massage.

The very best thing about Davenport? The Roadhouse! If you're in Davenport, I highly recommend it. the last time we were up there was to go to the annual Mother's Day plant / salvia sale at Cabrillo and we had breakfast at the Roadhouse. Wow! Loved the atmosphere, loved the food. Excellent, excellent omelet with wild mushrooms, red onions, spinach..oh, yum...great potatoes. Wish I were there now.

Union Station area...oh, yes! Olvera Street, Chinatown, Philippe. I want to leave today, want to go to Philippe and Olvera Street and Chinatown, then up the coast to Cambria, Monterey, Jenner, Mendo....sigh...I probably wouldn't come back. Or head up 395 and stop at Schat's. I really need to be on the road. There's just no way we can leave this time of year...too much watering to be done....sigh.

I think we're having omelets for dinner..lol....I got mushrooms, I got red onion, maybe some avocado.....potatoes...yes.

That's it! Olvera Street. That Mexican Market was great. We used to go when I was just a baby

Been to the Roadhouse... love the place, too. There used to be some great places on #1 from Pescadero, HMB, Princeton, but it went upscale when the area developed from rural farming to housing tracts. ugh. "You can't go home again". ... but, the ocean and weather stay much the same.

There's a shop in Olvera Street that I'd like to go take another look at.The last time I was there they had these really cool Dia de los Muertos tiles. I don't know exactly what I'd do with them. We'd have to do another house or change this one entirely to use them, but they were really fine. Chinatown...I love the smell of the shops in Chinatown, various incense scents blended together.
We haven't been able to get up to Cambria for awhile, but when we go I always stop at the gallery in Harmony to drool over the work of my favorite ceramists /potters. If I had money, I would collect their work. I've decided that maybe I can afford to collect their coffee mugs...lol.
http://campclimaxpottery.com/c...

Olvera Street! Yup that's the place! My fondest memory there is that I finally met my Aunt Ann there (whom I was named after) I only met her that one time and I think I was about 5 yrs old. She came in on a train all the way from KY just to meet me

I did go back to Olvera street once with my daughter. We were travelling all over the place on a train and the last stop was union station in L.A. We got to see the church where I was baptized, and the tortilla factory. Ate lunch there and bought all kinds of cheap purses and nick nacks at the flea market, then jumped back on the train to S.F. Fond memories

I did hear that about hwy 17 and it being banked the wrong way. I was told that they didnt want to change it because it deterred speeders We werent speeding when we went off that cliff We actually went off the road right next to a big blue sign that said...in case of emergency call 911....but no phone for miles around! We were really really lucky that none of us were injured (6 in the car) came to rest on a tiny tree about 30 feet from solid rock. Thats the day I began believing that God really did exist...have never doubted since then

Okay Susie, I guess no one is going to bite on the flying saucer comment. I waited and waited, but no. So now I am the one who is asking TELL ME MORE! I do not believe much in them and am ever so grateful that I have never seen one. It would put me in a bad position. But I do need to know more.

My hands have arthritis and I have carpal tunnel. So if I over use them they hurt and when the weather is cold and damp, they hurt. I do try rubbing them but it does not give me much relief. My gloves help and I have some wrist supports with splint that help but its just one of those things. I did too much weeding and now they are very sore.

Gypsy, I got some gluten free tortillas, very expensive, and then scrambled an egg and warmed the torilla on my grill. Put in some vintage sharp white cheddar cheese and it was really delicious. The tortilla was a nice chewy thing, really good. I think they were about 6 in the package and I cannot remember how much they cost, but a lot and now I think they were worth every penny.

Then I had to go to town and deliver 10 bags of heavy mulch, I had to load it and unload it, then go over to the new condo and plant some things in the rocky soil, one of those jobs you have to dig out the rocks first, slow and hard work. I topped it with bark mulch, then did my banking and delivery. This caused me to feel so sorry for myself I had to go to Dairy Queen and get a large Moolatta thing, carmel and I drank the whole thing. It was really good and nice and cold. Now my system is not so used to the strong coffee or the sugar or whatever but I have been throughly cleaned out. So I am thinking, what a nice way to do a "cleanse" that is so popular these days. And much cheaper, it was only about $4 or so and I am clean as a whistle. I may do one once in awhile for strictly medical reasons....lol.

Oh my, you all seduced me to speak up! I, too, developed a fear of heights, as an adult, as did my DH. Used to love roller coasters - no more for me! I hate driving on Hwy. 17 - spun out once in a VW bug, when it was wet. I was about 21 & made my friend promise not to tell her or my parents... luckily, we just grazed another car & they were really nice & let me pay for the damage out-of-pocket - $40, if memory serves! I used to drive the kids to the beach, but my DH commuted that way for almost 20 years, so now I let his experience take care of that drive. Fog coming over Crystal Springs - we see it on our after dinner walk! The back entrance to Edgewood Park is 3/4 mile up the hill on our street, and we walk up there & see the fog creeping over hill. We were just saying last night that it's amazing how you can drive in & out of the fog in a flash! Is JJ&F the butcher you refer to? Personally, I love liver & onions - never had it until I went to college, and I thought it was such a treat!

:-)

Rebecca, are you feeling better? The only time I had carpal tunnel issues was the first big planting I did in the xeriscape portion of my yard, about 3 years ago - lots of little 4" plants (cheaper & easier to dig small holes in the clay & rock). Hope your hands have a chance to rest & recup. I think I need a Moolatta - medicinal purposes only - and there's a Dairy Queen a couple of blocks from my work. Thanks goodness, I'm allergic to dairy. I'm pretty sure I've bought GF tortillas at Trader Joe, don't remember them being very good though - my son just eats corn tortillas with everything...

I too am curious about the UFO

Rebecca have you tried acupuncture for your arthritis? It worked on the arthritis in my back and neck...now dr is recommending for my hands because they have deteriorated quickly in the past 2 yrs

I meant to mention the UFO's that our entire neighborhood watched one night in Whittier back in about '65. I was dating a guy who lived across the street and we'd just gotten home from somewhere and all these people were standing out on the sidewalk looking up. We watched a bunch of UFO's being chased by what we assumed to have been our fighter jets. The jets would close in on these things and the 'saucers' would just zip away instantaneously in some odd direction like they were playing games with 'our' guys....never did see anything in the news or papers about this.

My DH & his (ex)wife say UFO's a couple of times, when they lived in the Santa Cruz mountains. His Dad saw one once too.

I think, for whatever reason, that I can eat the regular flour tortillas. Less gluten,different flour, less to a toritilla than bread? I found out several days ago when I made BBQ Chicken quesadillas and ate them for dinner and again the next day at lunch...yum. I no longer try Starbuck's mocha frappuccinos...mostly because I got tired of them again and also because sometimes it was a BIG mistake. Never have one when 'on the road'..lol..I suspect this may sometimes be due to how 'clean' they keep their equipment, also as Jer and I both had the same problem after getting yogurt at out place here in town.
lizzi...Trader Joe's GF... Ginger Snaps...great! Glutino's lemon wafer cookies at WM (cheaper), also Glutino's chocolate covered wafer cookies

My DH also claims to have seen them on several occasions... I guess I just dont look up at the sky often enough to notice them

Gotta go fix dinner......

Sherry, the last thing I need are recommendations for cookies! I'm a "eat the whole pack" type of person. Lately, I make cookies with healthier grains, sub protein powder for some of the flour, use Whey Low sugar (low glycemic, low cal sugar), then freeze individual cookies & cook a few at a time.... I have no self control! Currently, I can tolerate wheat flour, as long as I don't go overboard - have more problems with some of the whole grains. My son is more sensitive than I am.