The declining real estate market is a window of opportunity for many first-time buyers  who have been waiting for the proper time to invest. However, some of them are doing it very differently than expected. Rather than finding the perfect home and stretching their finances to purchase and live in it it, they are staying in their WEHO apartments, especially those who are lucky enough to live in rent controlled units, and purchasing distressed properties in surrounding areas to use as rentals. This way, by putting 10-20% down and securing a 30 year fixed low interest loan, they can buy the property at a low enough price that their renters will build their equities for them. They will come out, eventually, with a solid real estate portfolio that they can use in later years to finally purchase that dream home. I would suggest a meeting with a good accountant before embarking on a venture such as this, to be sure that you are clear about how much you can invest, tax issues, and what kind of reserves you should have.

With more short sales and foreclosures happening every day, a quick search of the MLS this morning yielded these amazing figures for areas within a 1-1/2 hour drive from LA.

Canyon Country: 170 condos listed between $159,900 - $489,000, with 48 one-three BR units listed for less than $225,000. Upland: 68 two and three BR condos listed between $129,000 - $559,000. San Bernardino: 110 one-three BR condos listed between $79,900 - $349,900, and Riverside: 163 one-three BR condos listed between $99,000 - $449,000. That is only four cities. There are dozens of areas that have many foreclosures and short sales.

Prices like this, especially on the low side, make buying one or several condos a great option for a buyer with a little cash and the patience and daring to make lowball offers. Some will be rejected, but others will be accepted. Distressed sellers have to get out of those bad loans, and banks just cannot carry this much inventory for long, so they are motivated to make deals. Ask your Realtor for assistance.

So here it is. Opportunity is knocking, just not the way we all thought it would.

Since home-made gifts are always more personal, (and usually less expensive than store-bought items), I like to concentrate on giving such gifts to as many friends as I can. Here are a few more recipes for your adult friends to enjoy, lifted from The Bitter Queen Cookbook, a soon-to-be-published cookbook that I am co-authoring with my friend, President Ford's ex-chef, William Spurgeon. Enjoy!

Home-Infused Vodkas 

Every holiday season I used to go through the agony of trying to shop for my affluent friends, usually ending up buying them stupid gifts that I am sure hit the trash can moments after they opened them. Until one year, short of funds as usual, a roommate and I took a cheap weekend vacation in San Francisco and spied a bar that made homemade vodka infusions. The light bulb lit and we spent an afternoon sampling the different flavors and blatantly stealing every recipe that we could weasel out of the bartender. We were amazed to find that the recipes were simple and these vodkas are unbelievably easy to make. My roommate stayed a couple of more days for some rest and frolic. I went home, bought a case of Absolut, and went to work.

Please remember that infusions take time. You should start Christmas infusions at least three weeks in advance. The longer they infuse, the better the flavor.

The only thing that you really must remember, when you peel the skins off of your citrus fruits, is be absolutely sure that you only remove the zest or colored part of the peel, not the white part underneath it. The white part, if added to your vodka, becomes bitterer than I ever thought I would become.

Shop the markets for specials on good vodka and buy a case or two. I always look for Absolut or Smirnoff on sale. Haunt the Farmer's Market or the produce section of a good store and select good quality citrus fruits, pears, and kiwis. Get half a dozen of each, more of the smaller fruits like tangerines and limes. Cruise the frozen foods section for bags of whole blueberries, strawberries, cranberries, and raspberries. Also look for sliced frozen peaches if you can't find fresh ones. You can buy whole vanilla beans and other spices in bulk from Penzey's Spices online or look for them in the spice section of your market.  

Here are some of the infusions that I make:

Grapefruit, Lemon, Lime, Orange, Tangerine, Kiwi, Peach, Pear, Jalapeno, Blueberry, Strawberry, Raspberry, Vanilla, Earl Grey Tea. I want to try experimenting with Bay Leaves, Coriander, and Green Peppercorns next.

Use a potato peeler or a very sharp paring knife to remove long curls of zest from the citrus fruit. Take your time. Scrape away any white pith. Empty a bottle of vodka into a pitcher and put the curls of zest inside the empty bottle, using the peels of three lemons per bottle as a rule of thumb. More is OK. The oil in the zest gives the flavor. Replace the vodka and screw the lid on the bottle. Choose a different fruit and do it again.

Put six vanilla beans in a bottle of vodka and seal it shut. Viola, vanilla flavored vodka. If you leave it long enough, you can cook with it.

Fill an empty bottle 1/3 full of frozen blueberries, raspberries, cranberries or strawberries. Fill with vodka and seal it shut. You may want to strain these infusions through coffee filters later if they get cloudy. Also, the fruit skins lose color to the surrounding vodka. You may wish to replace the old fruit with new after a week or two.

Peel kiwis, peaches, pears, or other skinned fruit, section into small pieces, and fill empty bottles 1/3 full. Add vodka to the top, and seal.

Slice four jalapenos into a bottle, seeds and all. Add vodka to the top, and seal. If you want it hotter, add more peppers.

Place four teabags of Earl Grey Tea or sprinkle several tablespoons of loose Earl Grey Tea into a bottle of vodka. Let it steep for three weeks or so, then strain the vodka through a coffee filter if necessary.

I line all the filled bottles up on my kitchen counter, side by side. The developing colors look neat, and my friends start being real nice to me, as soon as they find out what I'm making. The holiday baskets that I make are getting kinda popular, I guess.

Fill the weeks that your vodkas are infusing by shopping for assorted sizes and shapes of cutesy bottles and stoppers at Cost Plus or Pier One that are large enough to re-package the infusions in. Look for small, unusual baskets or other containers also and Christmas grass to line them with. Find several rolls of wide, colored or iridescent cellophane and some cool ribbon. Design fun labels on your computer to glue on the bottles.

Taste the infusions every week or so. It's a cheap high, and also a way to decide if you need to add more fruit or peel.

The week before the holidays, instead of bashing your way through the malls, spend a couple of quiet days at home straining the infusions through coffee filters into the cutesy bottles and adding fresh twists of fruit rind or a few pieces of appropriate fresh fruit to each bottle.  Stopper the bottles, sealing them closed with wax if you feel artsy. Glue on the fun labels. I arrange two or three bottles of infusion in a small basket or other funky container on a bed of Christmas grass, add a mini loaf of banana bread and a bag of mixed nut brittle, wrap the whole shebang in iridescent cellophane and ribbons, and deliver each gift to a lucky friend.

These infusions last a long time. I usually make more than I need and save several bottles for birthdays and other gift occasions throughout the year.

I make and keep several decanters of my favorite infusions on the bar year-round.

Home-Made Limoncello Liquor 

Limoncello is traditional Italian liquor made from sugar, vodka, and the zest of lemons. A small glass is usually served, ice-cold, at the end of a meal as a palate-cleansing after dinner drink. Rumor has it that a special variety of lemon is grown in the hills of Corsica that was used to make the first and finest Limoncello liquor. I have not found any of these elusive Corsican lemons yet, but if I do, I will most certainly experiment with them. Until that happens, any plump, brilliant yellow, absolutely fresh lemon will do. Yields 68 ounces of liquor.

• 12 lemons
• 1 liter Absolut vodka
• 3 cups white sugar
• 4 cups water     

Zest the lemons into a large glass jar. Be careful not to include any of the white pith, just the colored zest. I use a fine grater and go slowly. I don't mind taking my time, since I have no life and am too old to dance anymore; I have to do something to fill the idle hours like putter around in the kitchen. (Sob).

Anyway, when all the lemons are zested, add the vodka, cover loosely, and infuse at room temperature for one week. Now go shopping for unusual bottles or decanters with stoppers or corks to put the liquor in when it is finished. Try Cost Plus or Pier One. Get on the computer and design a cutesy label for the bottles.When the week is up, make a simple syrup by combining the sugar and water in a medium saucepan and bringing it to a boil. DO NOT STIR. Boil the syrup for 15 minutes and then allow it to cool to room temperature. When the simple syrup is cool, stir the vodka infusion into it, then strain the liquor through coffee filters into the new decanters or bottles. Seal them with corks or tight stoppers. Use sealing wax and a wax seal if you feel grand. Glue on the cutesy labels.

The Limoncello should age at least two weeks at room temperature in the bottles before you use it.To serve, place the bottle in the freezer. When icy cold, serve in chilled liquor or shot glasses. (Do not store the bottle in the freezer, as the liquor will expand with the cold and come out the top of the bottle as a Popsicle.)

This liquor makes a great Holiday gift also. Eat your heart out, Martha!

Home-Made Pomegranate Liquor 

Last year as I was whupping up some Limoncello liquor, my best friend William mentioned that he would like to try a different flavor, like pomegranate. I had just seen a big display of fresh pomegranates at the local market, so, just to be a fashion forward shopper, I put on my tight jeans, my best Gap tee, and some cute loafers (without socks, of course), and sashayed down to the store. Besides the display of fresh pomegranates, I found a brand-new product, bottled pomegranate juice. The God of Booze slurred in my ears, "thish should be delishious." I whipped out the trusty charge card and loaded up my cart. Yields 68 ounces of liquor.

• 6 fresh pomegranates
• 1 liter Absolut vodka
<li class="MsoNormal">2 cups pomegranate juice
• 2 cups water
• 3 cups white sugar 

Crack the pomegranates open and dig the seeds out. Put the seeds into a large glass jar. This will be messy and take some time; you will get covered with the red juice. When I finished, it looked like I had just killed the cat.

Pour in the liter of Absolut and let everything infuse for a week.While the liquor is infusing, go back to the Cost Plus or the Pier One and buy what's left of their cutesy decanters with appropriate corks or stoppers. (two or three will do, according to size.) Crank up the computer again and design a cool label. You should be getting good at it by now.

When the week is up, combine the pomegranate juice, water, and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil. DO NOT STIR. Boil for 15 minutes, then cool the syrup to room temperature.

When the simple syrup is cool, stir in the pomegranate and vodka infusion, then strain the liquor through coffee filters into the new decanters or bottles. Stopper or cork the bottles tightly and seal them shut with wax and a wax seal if you feel grand. (My seal looks like a Queenly crown). Glue on the cool labels that you just made.Store the Pomegranate Liquor at room temperature for at least two weeks before serving.

Yes, this is another great Holiday gift. Martha is going to put a contract out on me.    

With a successful, but hectic Halloween behind us, and Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other Holiday Celebrations looming, now is the time for those of us who will join others for holiday meals to think about the memorable dish that we can contribute to make the event even more special. Below are listed several items and their recipes that make pleasant and welcome additions to any holiday feast.

Home-Made Port Wine Cranberry Sauce

• 1-12oz bag fresh cranberries
• ¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 large navel orange, zested and juiced
• ½ cup good ruby port wine
• ½ cup toasted pecan pieces
• 1-pint clean Mason jar
• 6" X 6" square of holiday fabric

Candied Yams with Marshmallows and Pecans

This Trailer Park dish is still a guilty favorite.

• 3 pounds yams
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• ¼ cup orange juice
• 1 tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. ground ginger
• ¼ tsp. nutmeg
• ¼ cup butter
• 2 cups miniature marshmallows
• ½ cup toasted pecan pieces

Peel and cut the yams into approx. 2" X 2" pieces. Boil until soft. Drain and whip with the heavy cream, butter, brown sugar, orange juice, salt, and spices until the yams are fluffy and smooth. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish, leaving about 2 inches of room at the top. Pile on the marshmallows. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until the marshmallows are golden brown. Check frequently to be sure the marshmallows don't burn.

For more free holiday recipes, go to http://www.robertjonez.com and click on Holiday Recipes on the Info. Center page.

This year's Aids Walk Los Angeles held in West Hollywood on Sunday, October 21 was an unprecedented success, with over 30,000 participants raising a record total of $3,905,723.00. Of this amount, total online donations were $2,153,599.00. The grand total is subject to upward revision, as the deadline for donations and to turn in cash for incentive rewards to be credited to team totals is November 14, 2007.

Check with the Aids Walk Los Angeles website for information as to when to register for next year's event, how to make a donation, search job and internship opportunities, or volunteer.

Amazing job, all! Everyone involved should be very proud!

Once again, this coming Sunday, October 21, West Hollywood will host the Aids Walk Los Angeles. The AIDS Walk begins and ends in West Hollywood Park at San Vicente Boulevard, between Melrose Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard, and follows a 10 kilometer (6.2 mile) course that takes roughly 2-3 hours to complete.

The Sign-In Area opens at 8:30 a.m. At 9:15 a.m., the Aerobic Warm-up begins, followed by the Opening Ceremony at 9:30 a.m. The actual Walk begins at 10:00 a.m.

The money raised by AIDS Walk Los Angeles supports the services provided by the AIDS Project Los Angeles in addition to other benefiting organizations representing the entire spectrum of HIV/AIDS services. Walkers should enter the venue at the intersection of San Vicente Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard to turn in their funds.

Entertainment for the event will be provided by Anika Noni Rose, who played Lorell in Dreamgirls and is a Tony® Award Winner for the Broadway musical, Caroline, or Change. Also featured will be Jenifer Lewis, from TV's Strong Medicine and the hit CW series Girlfriends .

Other notables scheduled to attend will be Michelle Bonilla, from the NBC series ER; Andrea Bowen, from ABC's Desperate Housewives; Kelly Carlson, from the popular FX series Nip/Tuck; Michelle Clunie, from  Showtime's groundbreaking series Queer As Folk; Wilson Cruz, from Noah's Arc, Rick and Steve (animated series) & currently filming He's Just Not That Into You; Faith Ford, from the hit shows Murphy Brown, Hope & Faith; and new ABC series, Car Poolers; Thea Gill from Showtime's groundbreaking series Queer As Folk and here! TV's Dante's Cove; Scott Grimes, from the NBC series ER; TR Knight, from the hit ABC drama, Grey's Anatomy; Holly Madison, from the hit E! reality series The Girls Next Door; Ana Ortiz, "Betty's" sister Hilda on ABC's Ugly Betty; Sara Ramirez, from the hit ABC drama, Grey's Anatomy; and Kirsten Vangsness, from the CBS drama Criminal Minds.

Special mention to these celebrities who are walking and need additional sponsors: Kimberly McCullough from ABC's General Hospital and SOAPnet's General Hospital: Night Shift; Jai Rodriguez, the "Culture Vulture" from Bravo's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy; Darryl Stephens, the titular character on the hit LOGO series, Noah's Arc; and Jason Thompson from ABC's General Hospital and SOAPnet's General Hospital: Night Shift.

As of the time I am writing this article, Thursday morning, October 18, 2007, 1:22AM, the total online donations are $1,639,597 and counting!

Please be aware that San Vicente Blvd will be closed for the event at Santa Monica Blvd. Check the City of West Hollywood website for parking information.

This is definitely a good cause, and a great way to spend an October Sunday. There is still time to sign up to walk at the Aids Project Los Angeles website. If you don't plan to walk, please bring some friends, make a donation or sponsor a walker or team, and enjoy the festivities.

Ah, the wonders of computers!

By the way, thanks Big Bro Ray, for the info!

A fairly new "geek" art form, called "mashups", in which coders combine Google and another program to make a new application, is fun, useful, and informative. These "mashups" allow you to zoom from space to street level instantly and then pan or jump from place to place, city to city, even country to country. In the practical world, they can be used to find a restaurant for lunch, locate spas, clubs, and nightlife, and even search for rental apartments, homes, and condos. You just enter the city or zip code, and the category you want to see, and the program takes you to where you want to go and displays your results on either a regular map, a satellite view, or a hybrid of both. If you don't already have it in your computer, you might want to download and install Google Earth (Free) also.  Have Fun!