“Milk bread”. Gladys used to buy it on a panadería in Calle 12, a few blocks from her house. I can still smell it, so fresh, perhaps even warm from the oven. For Granny she bought pan de centeno, rye bread. It was dark and much less appealing. We ate the toasted bread with butter and strawberry jam with tea – it was so good.
My parents ought sliced bread, much cheaper and easier. I still remember the brand, Fargo, a little more expensive but softer. I sort of remember the plastic bag it came in – different from the ones now. I don’t remember how it tasted, but it was great in dulce de leche sandwiches. BTW, there are few things more delicious than bread with butter and dulce de leche – at least with Argentine butter.
I don’t remember if Gladys was still buying that bread when we visited her in 2003 and 2005-6. I don’t even remember going alone to the bakery to buy it – I barely remember the bakery at all. But the bread, that I remember.
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Mika, my 7.5 yo, is selling the first necklace she designed and made all by herself. It’s made of azurite and copper (I think) and it’s much nicer than the picture shows. Indeed, I wanted it for myself but she is “saving” to buy herself a DS, or a dog or a TV (it changes by the minute) and she seems to prefer the money to her mommy. The necklace is 22″ long and it’s quite well made for someone her age. As I said, I’d like it for myself. She wants $10 for it (plus shipping if you’re not in San Leandro).
If this doesn’t work I’ll probably try etsy, but then I’d have to create an account 🙁

newcampus@sanleandro.k12.ca.us.
I believe that we should name the 9th grade campus after Fred Korematsu, one of the very few true heroes that San Leandro has. Korematsu was a patriotic Japanese-American who volunteered to fight with the Navy during WWII but was turned down for health reasons. In 1942 the US government decided to intern all people of Japanese decent in its own concentration camps – lest they provide help to the Japanese. Interestingly they didn’t have the same concerns about citizens of Italian or German extraction.
Fred Korematsu refused to give up on his constitutional rights and heed the internment order – instead he went into hiding but was eventually arrested in San Leandro. He was tried and convicted. He appealed his conviction but the Supreme Court, in 1944, in one of its most shameful decisions since Plessy v. Ferguson, ruled that military necessity justified the detention of Japanese Americans. Korematsu did not give up, however, and in the 80’s he was finally vindicated in court. Through his life, he continued fighting for civil rights and against discrimination. You can read more about him in his wikipedia article.
Personally, I believe that there is no higher courage than to stand for your rights and beliefs in the face of oppression. It’s so much easier to give in to fear and rationalize your cowardice – something that I’ve done plenty of times myself. Korematsu, however, did what was right and I’m proud that he lived in our city. I cannot imagine a better name for a new school here. Let’s teach the new generations that true courage and true patriotism are best shown by dissent.
If you share these feelings, please e-mail the San Leandro School Board.
Along with beads, I’ve been buying some pendants on e-bay. Many of the cheaper ones are described as “Murano Lampwork Glass”. Apparently Murano glass is an exquisitely dedicated glass from the Venetian island of Murano. I’ve never seen a real sample myself, so I have no idea what it looks like. I do know that the real stuff sells for quite a lot of money. For example, this one sells for $43 at Amazon.
The ones on e-bay sell for much less and come from China. Though the description of the items might suggest they come from Murano, I think it’s pretty evident given the price and location of the sellers, that the pendants are made of Murano style glass.
I’ve bought a few of these and I’m really impressed by how beautiful they are. The colors are very vibrant and the designs quite nice. I’m particularly impressed by a blue coil-shaped one which I’m sure I’ll wear frequently. The picture to the left, which I took, just cannot do justice to the beautiful coloring.
I’m also planning to give some of these as presents (I’m thinking of giving one to my mail carrier who has brought a lot of little brown envelopes to my house in the last few weeks – I hope she doesn’t read my blog ;-)) and I’ll probably buy a couple of more for myself now that I know how pretty they are.
All these said, a word of caution. Not all the sellers on e-bay are trustworthy (I’ve bought mine from athena_lovly, they took about 20 days to arrive), but you can also buy the pendants on Amazon and the pendants are quite large and heavy, too big for a child. And indeed, coming from China you never know if there is lead in the glass, so I’m keeping my kids away form them, just in case.
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