Signage Conundrum

As a conundrum, I offer this set of signs from here in Corvallis. The situation is not as impossible as it may seem. One can actually exit the one-way, dead-end street, which is only half a block long, through an intersecting alleyway or an adjacent parking lot, but I suppose neither are considered thoroughfares in the circumscribed world of traffic signage.

Sprouted Chocolate

In January I attended a sprouting workshop held by Susan, one of our cohousing neighbors. During the introduction, she informed us about the amazing variety of things that can be sprouted. The workshop was spread over two consecutive Saturdays. In between we were to sprout some things on our own. Thinking about her initial claim that many things one might not suspect could indeed be sprouted, I got the idea for sprouted chocolate. I enlisted Leela's help. We bought some Hershey Kisses (dark chocolate variety). I picked off some little rosemary leaves. Leela heated up a hot pin and poked a melted hole in the top of each kiss while I stuck a perky sprig in each one. I took a plate full of the sprouted chocolate kisses to the class, and it was a hit.

Yesterday, Susan was head chef for the communal dinner. She decided the menu would be predominantly sprouted fare: tortilla wraps (with sprouted grain flours), sprouted corn tortillas, hummus (with sprouted chickpeas), sprouted lentil spread, sunflower seed spread, alfalfa sprout salad with oranges, dates, and sprouted walnuts, extra green sprouts, sprouted beverage. She asked me to bring my sprouted chocolate specialty. Here's what it looked like:

SKY FULL OF DREAMS Now Published

For the past five years, I've been working on an aviation biography of my late father, Bruce K. Hallock. Now I'm happy to report that SKY FULL OF DREAMS is finally published and for sale on line. My publishing Web site, ElevonBooks.com, contains a direct link to the Amazon sales page plus some additional information about the book, including a photo gallery.

Maybe the matter-of-fact way I've stated this makes it sound like no big deal. Well it is -- to me, anyway. Writing the book was only half the job. In order to publish this book, I formed my own publishing company, learned about print-on-demand publishing, and set up the distribution scheme. Each of these tasks involved myriad subtasks and lots of learning. I'm very happy with the result -- the book as well as the publishing company, which I can now use as an outlet for other projects.