A Literal Candy Bar

The first meeting of my NYC book club met last night, and Jannette chose a wonderful location: Dylan's Candy Bar.

The basement and first floor are filled with all types of chocolates and sweets imaginable, in addition to gift baskets and clothing stamped with Dylan's logo. The second floor is a large cafe with ice cream, brownies, malts and other goodies.

All of the tables had glass tops with big bright gumballs underneath, and Jannette said the wallpaper looked like the lickable kind from Willy Wonka. The speakers blasted songs only with lyrics that had something to do with sugar, candy or sweets.

After much deliberation, I settled on a Smores cupcake- a chocolate cupcake as large as my fist, with chocolate frosting on top and filled with vanilla frosting in the middle. I'm already craving another.

After I left, I realized I forgot to take photos. Next time.

The book we discussed was "Manchild in the Promised Land." It's an account of the author's childhood in Harlem in the '50s and '60s and mostly about gangs and drugs. I think we couldn't have found a topic further from lollipops!

My First Visit to Ikea

Yes, I took a photo inside what is essentially a department store.

But I wasn't the only one with a camera at the new Ikea Brooklyn. It opened about six weeks ago, and I was eager to see what all the fuss was about.

Paul liked the kitchenware, I like the lighting displays, and we both enjoyed walking through the mock rooms. Ikea actually makes living in a 375-square-foot studio look doable. But I would prefer not to try.

I especially found the bookcases amusing. They were filled with Swedish books. No fear of anyone stealing them, I guess.

The store also has a restaurant with Swedish food, and a mini-store near the exit sells Swedish jam, juice, chocolate, coffee and desserts. We didn't buy any food there, but Paul did make Swedish meatballs for supper last night.

We left with more than simply a craving for Scandinavian food. We also left with a dutch oven.

At Least They're Not Bird Droppings

Around here, you should probably carry an umbrella not only when it's pouring rain but also when it's burning hot.

Ancient apartment buildings = No central air.

No central air = Air conditioners in every third window.

Walking to and from the subway stop four blocks away, I see many a sidewalk puddle on a 90-degree day. That means watch your step. Walk through the puddle and your head will probably feel a few drops of condensation from the air conditioner above.

New York experienced another heat wave last weekend, so the a/c was obviously in high demand. Early Sunday morning someone with a loudspeaker drove through the streets asking everyone to turn off all non-essential electrical appliances because of a power outage in the neighborhood. Luckily it didn't affect us.

And my air conditioner is essential. We didn't turn it off.