Have you ever wondered how a microwave oven works? Or why some things explode faster than others in a microwave? I've been a little afraid of microwave ovens ever since I was in college when I accidentally caught mine on fire while attempting to make popcorn. You see, this was before prepackaged microwave popcorn existed. I had heard that you could pop popcorn in a microwave in a brown paper bag. What I didn't hear was that the bag could actually catch on fire if it got too hot.

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Tags: How To Melt A Microwave, microwave ovens, Robert L. Wolke, The Microwave Demystified

Many scenes from life go unnoticed or are easily forgotten, so I was delighted to capture this photo of Grandpa enjoying a cool glass of peach iced tea under the shade trees while watching the youngsters playing in the yard. It's so Norman Rockwellish, don't you think?

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Tags: peach black tea, peach iced tea, Stash Tea Company

Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach, Oregon

So what do you do when you live in Oregon, it's summertime and you've got relatives visiting? You head to the beach. I'm embarrassed to say that I don't take advantage of this often enough, considering we only live an hour or so from the coast. I really have no good excuses. Even the fact that I've got a busy life (but who doesn't?) sounds lame when you take into account that the driving time between my home and a scenic masterpiece  is about the length of a Top Chef show. So right now I pledge to take more outings to the beach with my family. Period. Life's just too short not to.

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Tags: Bruce's Candy Kitchen, Cannon Beach, Cannon Beach Bakery, Ecola Seafoods, Oregon coast, saltwater taffy, smoked albacore tuna, smoked salmon

I decided to stop at the farm stand today on my way back home from the gym. I love living in a suburban area that has access to multiple farm stands and farmer's markets. As you can see from the photo, I picked up a bounty of fruits and veggies. Corn, pickling cukes, lemon cukes, heirloom tomatoes, green beans, Italian plums, peaches, yellow squash, zucchini and Gala apples. All that for just $16. I love supporting my local farmers. I swing by this particular stand once or twice a week during the summer. It has the best tomatoes. I'm talking about REAL tomatoes– sweet and juicy. Not the sad, orangish-looking orbs labeled as tomatoes in most grocery stores.

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Tags: farm stand, fresh veggies