When I first moved to El Cerrito, the El Cerrito Plaza Mall was a sad place. There was a Waldenbooks that I would sometimes visit, and there was a farmer's market on the weekends, but those were really the high points. There was a place where you could get coffee and doughnuts, but it looked sufficiently frightening that I never went in.

Then the renovations began. There's a Barnes and Noble outlet, an Albertson's grocery store, several good restaurants, and now a Trader Joe's. I bought a tub of animal-shaped ginger cookies there this evening, and they're great. Strong ginger flavor meets camels and cats; how could they be anything but great?

I ate dinner with Heidi at Yammi Sushi. It is very likely the last time I'll get to eat dinner with her, which is sad. But it was a good dinner at least.