When Granddaughter #1 (Lianna) stays with us, the breakfast I make for her is either french toast, an omelet, a buttered roll, or cereal. Of the cereals we have, she always asks for Rice Krispies. But when I gave her the Rice Krispies the other day, I asked her if that was her favorite cereal overall and she said No, it’s Lucky Charms (which her mom keeps on hand). So being the good grandfather that I am, I ran out to pick some up. Incredibly, they were on sale: just $4 for two big boxes! That made my day. But then I realized I shouldn’t have been too surprised — after all, they are “lucky” charms. In any event, the next time she stayed over I poured a bowl for her to surprise her with when she came downstairs, and was impressed by how beautiful it looked. She enjoyed them! This is the actual bowl, pre-milk.
Yesterday’s puzzle was a bruiser. Even Rex rated it Medium-Challenging. There were Z’s all over the place for no apparent reason. They would make sense in one direction, e.g., “Polo competitor” was IZOD, but the Z made no sense in the crossing word. I couldn’t get any regions nailed down and just tried filling in as many answers as I could. Then I reached the “revealer.” “Accommodation for a long train trip … or a hint to entering a certain letter 14 times in this puzzle.” It turned out to be SLEEPING CAR and I realized the answer I, CLZZZZUS, had to be I, CLAUDIUS — the Z’s (sleeping) converted to a “car” — an AUDI. That happened three other times and I managed to finish: upFOR Debate; sKI Area; and iBM Watson.
At 63D, the clue was “The Devil’s Lettuce,” and the answer was POT. It confused some because pot looks nothing like lettuce. So I did a little digging and was able to post: On “Devil’s Lettuce,” one theory is the name arose from an anti-pot government film that was called The Devil’s Harvest. Another is that it was confused with a plant that marijuana looks like called Amsinckia tessellata, a species of fiddleneck which has several nicknames including devil’s lettuce.
In any event, I cautioned the gang not to confuse it with Trey Cabbage, a ballplayer for the Angels who made his MLB debut this year.
Owl Chatter’s first day in Baltimore was excellent. It started with a nice picnic lunch on the Bay in Havre de Grace on the way down. Phil took this shot from the “promenade.”
After checking in at the inn, we found a nice coffee place (Dooby’s) to get some reading done and went for a short stroll. Baltimore’s a tough town. Look at the name of this cafe/record shop. Ouch!
Dinner was at a place recommended by our host, Joe Squared (that’s the place), and it was spectacular. Great music and art, real young vibe, terrific local beer and one of the best pizzas we’ve ever had: clam, bacon, and onion. Amazing smoky crust. If you are ever within 200 miles of Baltimore, it’s worth a stop.
Art-guy-friend Bob recommended the Baltimore Museum of Art and it’s open late on Thursdays (and always free!), so we shot over there after dinner. Terrific collection including this one by Matisse.
Whatever Phil did in getting that shot apparently broke some ridiculous rule, because he ended up being chased through the building by some of the guards. He’s quick but his equipment slowed him down and they caught up with him. We’ll have to see about bail. Maybe after lunch.
Today’s puzzle was by everyone’s favorite constructor Robyn Weintraub, and it was universally loved, although some thought it was a little too easy for a Friday. Examples of her clever cluing: 22D “One who’s out and about?” SLEEPWALKER. 21D “Exchange rings?” PLAY PHONE TAG. And did you know that ALLIGATORS can regrow a lost tooth up to 50 times? That was 57A.
Gotta go have breakfast! Another museum today (Visionary Art) and a walk around Fells Point. See you later!
The Wellington Files 