I took Friday off from work and I am glad that I did because Michigan State lost in the NCAA basketball tournaments.

Now, I don’t follow sports per se, but there are a lot of avid Spartan fans in my office and they take their games very seriously.  So, if past losses are any predictor of the future, I imagine that Friday was a pretty glum day in the office.

While I understand that nobody likes to loose, loosing is a risk that every team takes each time that they play.  So, I am sorry that you lost, now get over it.

A woman recently set the worlds record for the longest bridal train.  It was two miles long.

Now, I can appreciate a bride wanting to have something special on that special day.  But a two mile train is not only impractical, it is down right dysfunctional.  Where do you put a two mile train?  And where do you get married with a two mile train?

But more to the point, what is it going to be like being married to such a woman?

Well, I guess it is spring.  The Peepers (tree toad) are out.  And, as a first, I had one in my house.

It was only the size of a quarter, but it could jump.  It was captured and returned to the outside.

The cats will never be the same.

It seems that about every other time that I use the “self scanners” at Meijer (regional grocery chain) it cheats me.  Either it is a coin that doesn’t register or it short  changes me.

Today, it stole a dime.  I put in the dime but it didn’t register.  When I pushed the coin return, it didn’t return.  It just vanished into the machine.

Some times, if I am really annoyed by the machines, I will protest.  Other times, if the amount is small, I will just let it pass.

These machine must be real money makers since the overhead is lower and they can bilk money from their customers.  And, I have never been given too much change.  That always seems to work right.

So, it is a “win win” for Meijer.  The best that the customer can hope for is to come out “even” in the transaction.

The other day, I was using the “self scannners” at Home Depot.  When I cashed out, I was expecting to get two dimes back in change.  Instead, I received a dime and a penny.

As I picked up the penny, I noticed that it looked rather strange.  So, when I looked closer, I realized that it was a 1897 Indian Head penny!  WOW!

First of all, I was surprised to get a penny instead of a dime.  But, secondly, I was surprised to see an Indian Head penny still in circulation.

I had to wonder how in got into the change machine and how it had escaped the eyes of so many people. Well, I don’t care about being short changed this time.  The penny is much more interesting.

I was so pleased with my new Shun knife, that I decided to visit Sonoma Williams so that I could see what other knives are available.

When I got to the display case, a sales clerk came right over to help me.  When I noticed that her thumb was bandaged,  she told me that she cut herself with a Shun knife and didn’t even feel it.

Now, that is sharp!

I just purchased a 6.5 inch cleaver.  It has a razor sharp edge and reminds me of a straight edge razor.  I named it “Beaver”, “Beaver cleaver”.  It was hand made in Japan.

Since the knife is Asian, I guess I should have named it “Beavasawn”.

Since I was tired of trying to do Chinese vegetables with my French Chef knife, I decided it was time to buy a cleaver.  Cleavers were designed by the Chinese for doing Chinese cooking.

Since I didn’t know which brand to buy, I checked with my Cooks Illustrated to see what they recommended.  Their choice, with out a doubt was, Shun.  So, I  checked with Bed Bath and Beyond.  They carried it but it was special order so I ordered one.  5 days later, it arrived.

It was beautiful!  It was well balanced and horrible sharp.  It reminded me of a straight razor.  The blade was hand crafted with a “water fall” style and 16 layers of Damascus stainless steel.  The handle was hand crafted from wood and designed to fit the hand.  Very nice.

I have found a new knife manufacture for my kitchen.  YES!!

Spring has arrived.  This has been  confirmed by my flowers and my tree toads.  But, the biggest indication of spring is the ice cream shop which is now open.

YES!!!

A few years ago, we bought a couple of Cutco knives.  Our daughter was selling them at the time and we really felt like we should buy some.

The knives were sharp and expensive but there was nothing special about them.  Plus, they never needed to be sharpened.  But when they did need to be sharpened, a Cutco representative would do it for free.

While the sharpening was free, you had to sit through another sales presentation.  And, unless you were very strong willed, you ended up buying another knife just to get rid of the sales person. (no longer my daughter.)

In our particular case, we ended up buy a cheese knife that we would never let just anyone use for fear of injury.

But, I am glad to say that our Cutco days are behind us.  I have found a new knife manufacturer that I absolutely love.  They are made by Shun.

Hello Shun, good bye Cutco.