Phoenix Cheery Lynn District and Sunday Happy Hour

We got out for a little exploratory drive on Saturday and discovered the Cheery Lynn historical district in Central Phoenix.  Not far off a main road, Thomas, sits this adorable neighborhood.  The homes are Tudor and English cottage and not at all what you might expect to see in Phoenix.   It is one of the first planned communities in Phoenix started in 1928.  The builders made it through the depression and then, after World War II, the architecture changed to French provincial ranch style. 

I was so charmed by all the adorable homes and just by the name itself.  We stopped at one home and took a bag of free grapefruit they were offering.

What I’m Reading

I downloaded a YA novel this week, Beautiful Demons, not so much that I am interested in the series, but the author has a really compelling self-publishing YouTube channel and I wanted to see some of her end result.  This young woman has sold over ½ million books.  Impressive.

On audio I am listening to narrator Mark Bramhall, who I always rave about, read Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner.  It’s an old book written in 1970, but I’m not one bit sorry to be listening to it. It is a Pulitzer Prize winner which generally means it has some literary teeth behind it, which it does.  The other compelling thing is that it is partially based on a true story about a mining family in the late 1800s taking place in areas I visited as a child and lived near as an adult.  Leadville, Grass Valley, Santa Cruz.  It’s full of historical people whose names are familiar from my Colorado childhood.  Those gold and silver mines did a lot of permanent damage to the land and the tailings are evident today.  It feels like that history isn’t so far in the past for some reason.

What I’m Eating

Sunday I decided to make a small happy hour spread and skip dinner.  First things, first, and I drank up the leftover champagne from Easter.  How can champagne be saved?  Why, the proper stopper, of course.  I am not an affiliate of Crate and Barrel, but they have the best dang kitchen gadgets.  Their stoppers are the easiest to use and least expensive I’ve found.  This stopper is less than $6, ships free, and easily keeps champagne bubbly for a week.  I never hesitate in opening a bottle of champagne just because I won’t be able to finish it.

I made steak fries in our Dash air fryer as sort of the main dish of happy hour and complimented with crudités and nuts. I’ve talked before how much I like my air fryer and believe it makes “fried” foods seem a little healthier. For a little change of scenery, I served our snacks at our bar.

Air Fryer Easy Steak Fries

• 2 potatoes cut lengthwise
• Himalaya sea salt
• Olive oil spray
• Shredded cheddar, green onion tops, crumbled bacon, sour cream (optional)

Uniformly slice potatoes, clean and pat dry with a paper towel.  Spray with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Place ½ the potatoes in the air fryer on high for about 10 minutes, shake and cook another 5 minutes or until tender inside and desired crispiness on the outside.  Repeat with the second batch.  Garnish with your favorite toppings and enjoy! 

What I’m Doing

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We are playing a lot of games here.  At least three times a week.  John always beats me, but I think it keeps him happy and I’m not terribly competitive, so I don’t care.  Last night we played Five Crowns and Dominoes similar here.  I’ve mentioned before we ordered a manual card shuffler and, boy, have we gotten a lot of use from that.  I linked the game to Target because they are much cheaper than what Amazon is now charging.  Again, I am not a Target affiliate, just linking for convenience.

Praying that this week finds you safe and sane.