Taste of Torrance, Nana's Bakery, Old Torrance

I wondered how a bakery could compete with a stalwart like Torrance Bakery - heck, I shop at Torrance Bakery. Bechamel's (sadly) closed, and those people could bake circles around TB.

I hope Nana's fares better. Let me put it this way - if you want typical and predictable, go to Torrance Bakery. If you want pastries for people who appreciate fine food, go to Nana's.

My Italian in-laws swear by this place. Nana's is a regular stop on their Sunday morning dog walk. My mo and fa in law just recently celebrated their 60th anniversary, and Nana's baked goodies were a hit at the party.

Who could ask for anything more?

Nana's is located at 2081 Torrance Blvd., Torrance, CA 90501

Buster, the serious dog, is camera shy

He takes one look at the camera, stares for a moment, and leaves. I tried over the course of the day to get some good footage. The peanut butter ploy worked, as did chasing his ball, which I might post later.

Sticky Situation

My dog doesn't like being stared at. Or photographed. Or taped. It took some peanut butter to convince him otherwise.

Knights of Columbus raise money for STAR houses in Torrance, CA

The Gewgaw, Egg cup

I don't know anyone who eats soft boiled eggs anymore. We used to eat them pretty regularly at our house - tap tap tap the top of the egg, peel away the tip, salt, pepper, dig in. Toast to dip.

The egg in this one is a jumbo egg, so it barely fits.

My gift to Jesus is...

My son attended a parochial school up until the 6th grade. This note hails from the first or second grade when he was learning to write. The assignment was given to them around Christmas time, and all the children were asked to write what their gift to Jesus would be. Most of the kids wrote things like, " My gift to Jesus is to go to church" or "My gift to Jesus is to hug my mom and dad" or "My gift to Jesus is to be good to my little sister".

My son's teacher said his message was clearly the most original.

The Gewgaw, Money Box

My $100,000 Money Box hasn't a dime, secret papers or U.S. Government Bonds, and was originally the property of one Chuck Kabis. It's also missing its handle and the lock. It was made by the Ohio Art Company, also known for the Etch-A-Sketch. Lesser known is the fact that Ohio Art also made a heck of a lot of tin toys like sand buckets and mini world globes that doubled as banks.

If I were boss of the world...