Blog/tech, Los Angeles

Placeholder for Ed’s clever post title

In January, I got an invitation from the blogger behind Eastside Scene to have coffee, tea and just chat about blogging. He invited other local bloggers. The first meeting was small. Just me, Eastside Scene and P3000. The next meeting in February was much better attended. I skipped out on the March meeting because I was touring Texas.

I left work on time to make sure I wouldn’t arrive at El Gallo Café the site of our monthly meetings too late. Eastside Scene was the only one there for a while and we chatted about art and blogging over smoothies. Soon we were joined by Ed from View From A Loft.

Ed’s great. Not only does he have some cool photos of major LA events posted on his blog, but he also comes up with some witty headlines. Well, more like blog titles. He complimented my writing, and I mentioned that I’d like to have his ability to write succinct titles.

“You know, you should re-name some of my posts,” I suggested.

Ed pulled up my blog and looked for recent posts. Ed, Eastside Scene and I came up with some titles for my simply-titled Nopalitos post:

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Comida, Cultura, Familia

Nopalitos

nopales

For a long time, I thought all Mexicans in the LA-area had nopales (cactus) in their backyard. Of course, my sample size was small. All my relatives had nopales growing in their backyard. We did too.

The nopales, spread out in a corner of the backyard against a brick wall, were a nuisance to us kids who had to be extra careful while playing. On the plus side, I’m sure they deterred a thief or two from climbing the wall and we were never burglarized.

For Mamá Toní, a native of Zacatecas where nopales grew on every cerro (hillside), nopales are meant to be eaten. They’re for ensaladas and guisos. They go excellent with tortas de camarón during Lent and are an excellent side dish with carne asada. (I won’t even get in to the tasty tunas, or cactus pears.)

Nopales are not only on our frentes, they’re in our tummies too.
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Blog/tech

Dear Readers, I appreciate you

A few months ago, K posted a list of simple pleasures, those little things that make you happy. I replied with my own list, which had a lot in common with hers.

One of those things was comments on my blog. I love getting emails announcing a response to the latest post. I don’t even mind the critical and snarky comments all that much.

Of course, I would have no comments without wonderful readers. I think it’s pretty cool that you all find my tales and questions interesting enough to return. I’ve been doing this since 2001 because I like interacting with readers, which also comes from reading your blog (if you have one). I still love writing in notebooks, but it’s not the same. There’s no one there to reassure me that I’m still cool. Hah.

¡Gracias!

I wouldn’t have know about this if not for MsAbcMom, who got the idea from The Other Mother

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