Rough Week

It's been a rough year at work.  This week has been especially difficult.   We'd been told a few months ago that there would be some restructuring at work.  And that restructuring was announced this week.  Everyone was all nerves and whispers at work.  I tried to keep my head down and my ears to myself but it was hard to avoid the anxiety that flowed through the office like a fog rolling through a scary movie set.  It was oppressive and overwhelming.  

Yesterday someone I work with brought me a grande ice water from Starbucks.  Out of the blue. Made my entire day.  Why?  Because Starbucks has FANTASTIC ice water.  And I LOVE water.  And because random acts of kindness are especially effective when your future seems uncertain.

My future isn't uncertain for the immediate future, but for several people, their future is.  I hope it isn't for very long.

And to drink...Peru!

 

You know when you get an idea and a craving?  

 

I had it in my head that Great Harvest's cinnamon chip bread would make incredible Fronch Toast.

 

It made o.k. French Toast.  But not at first.  It was better after it cooled down a bit and with the addition of powdered sugar and maple syrup.  If you like French toast, you should try it.  But you know what's better?  The caramelized French toast at Cafe Nola is oh so much better.  It may be time for a trip to Bainbridge soon, probably before tourist season starts up again.  

Also:  Gee, I'm real sorry your Mom blew up Ricky.

World Tour part 2

A few months ago I posted about one of my absolute favorite apps that shows me a different place somewhere in the world every hour.  Not only do I like the app because of all of the wonderful places I can go, but I also like that every time I see some of the pictures I think of people I care about and of memories.

This one is the Denver skyline.  And every time I see this I think of my BFF, Julia, who lives in Denver and what she and her little family might be doing at that moment.    

 

And this laundromat somewhere in Japan is empty more often than not...any time there is an actual person in the laundromat I get a little burst of joy that the laundromat is no longer empty and lonely.  And I text my friend Kellye, who also feels for this lonely laundromat as I do.

 

 

Positano and St. Peter's Square remind me of Steven and Karley and our trip to visit them.  About how much I loved seeing Steven speak Italian after just a few months there.  And how absolutely incredible the Vatican Museum was.  But also how I couldn't wait to get out of there because of all of the people.  There were SO many people that Hunter and I couldn't wait to get out of there and we were drained for the rest of the day.  And then there is the driving through the tiny roads on the way to Positano, stopping at the lemon stand, taking photos and eating pizza by the Mediterranean Sea.  

 

This nest makes me think of Kendra and how we both enjoyed checking the nest to see if the eggs had hatched.  And look...they have already this year.

 

And this is Times Square.  Debbie, Collin, Hunter and I stood outside the McDonald's and waived to Tyson and Kendra when we were there.  We also climbed those red stairs and counted how many large TV screens we could see.  I think it was over 17.  And just a few blocks over is the Shake Shack.  We enjoyed that place.  And I crave it fortnightly.  

When you're helping, you're happy

 

A few weeks ago I saw this flyer at church.  I took a picture of it and sent it to Erin and asked her if she wanted to go.  She did.  The day came and we went to get pedicures and some pizza before heading out to North Bend.  It's always a bit surprising to me to realize just how large my Stake is.  It extends from Mercer Island to North Bend (at least 25 miles).  It's a lot larger than my stakes in Boise and Utah but even more than the physical distance, the cultural difference just seems even larger.  It was like going from the city to the country.  Just a little disconcerting.  

 

Erin, not being Mormon, was not aware of Mormon Standard Time.  We arrived 15 minutes early.  We helped set up and then got assigned to be pill breakers.  Were you aware that by giving 1/2 a zinc pill to a child for 14 days gets rid of their diarrhea for a year three months?  There was someone at our table that told EVERYONE that stopped by about this amazing miracle.  Erin had to correct her about the length of time the zinc miracle effect has on diarrhea.  Both Erin and I paused our conversation each time the woman told the story, waiting to hear if she would get the time period right. 

 

We broke the pills in half and put 14 halves in these little bags that we had placed stickers on with dosage instructions.  We went through 6 - 8 bottles in the two hours we were there.  At 250 pills per bottle that's 3000 - 4000 pills and  214 - 285 dosage packs.  Which means some little kid is going to be diarrhea free for 53 years!  It was fun.  We chatted with the woman who is going to Kenya to distribute the health care packs to clinics in villages there with The Imani Project.  Soon the cultural hall was filled with people making dosage packs of ibuprofen, acetaminophen, band aids, chewable vitamins, etc.  

There was one interesting take away.  One of the ladies was talking to another woman, telling her that her 20 year old daughter is engaged to be married.  The other woman asked the first woman:  Do you like him?  The mom rattled off:  He's alright, he's done with school, he's got a job and he's never been to jail.  Erin took it as: My daughter got the last good man in the county.  And I took it as a Mother's reluctance to accept that her daughter was getting married so young.  I know I had some concern when the first two kids got married at 20-ish.  Being so close in age to my nephews and nieces, I would look at them and see all that they had yet to experience, that I had just experienced.  I knew how selfish I was in my early 20s and how much change I went through between 20 and 25.  I was very concerned for those two couples and the struggles I knew they were going to go through as they grew up together.  Loving them as I do, I wanted to protect them from that inevitable pain.  I'd always wanted to protect my sisters' kids from any and all pain.  Because pain hurts and I didn't want them to get hurt.  

What I've learned over the past few years is that I can't protect those I love from pain.  That there is going to be some kind of pain always.  All pain is inevitable.  And often times we learn best from the pain that we go through.  I've also learned to express myself better and to try to not give my opinion when my opinion truly doesn't matter.  Because though I want to protect the kids, I also want them to be happy.  And how can they be happy with an Aunt always telling them what to do?


Also:  14 year old-ish girl that was breaking zinc with us said that the people from the Capitol in the Hunger Games look as if anime and Sephora had a baby.  Brilliant!

More Food Truck Food

So my primary reason for visiting the whole Next Fifty thing at the Seattle Center was all of the food trucks.  There was a whole slew of them.  The previous trip to food trucks made me want to try even more of them.

This is the best burger I've had in quite a while.  And it's a peanut butter and jelly burger.  I know, sounds gross, huh?  It was divine.  The jelly is some kind of pepper jelly.  The bacon was crispy and the combo of the beefI really want to go visit Bistro Box again soon.  But the best thing from Bistro Box is their truffle fries.  I'm pretty sure truffle fries are to humans what catnip is to cats.  

We also got some sliced brisket and pulled pork from Big House BBQ.  The brisket was excellently smoked with just the right amount of crispy bits.  The pulled pork was tender and absolutely falling apart.  I had to eat it with a fork.  And it was great.  Turns out this truck spends a lot of time on the East side as well.  I'm going to have to find them again.  All of these delicious food trucks, I'm going to end up spending all of my travel money on food trucks. 

The good news is, I found a food truck food I didn't like.  The vanilla ice cream tasted like pipes and soap after about 6 bites.  Not a fan.  Rumor has it there's another food truck round up for Cinco de Mayo.  I may have to visit that one.

50 Years

 

It's the 50th Anniversary of the Seattle World's Fair.  

 

And Seattle is having a 6 month long celebration.

 

They've painted the top of the Space Needle the original Galaxy Gold (read: Orange) in honor of the Anniversary.  

 

We went the opening weekend and there was lots of hullabaloo.  These Asian girls were marching around in amazing costumes.  I have no idea why, they marched into a building that I did not go into.  But it was shiny to see their formation and the sun glint off of the sequins.  

 

And there is progress on the Chihuly garden thingy.  I think this will be a fantastic addition to Seattle Center.  

Salumi

I'd heard about this place a few years ago.  And what I'd heard about the most...

...was the line outside the little shop.  I'd heard that every day the line was out the door and around the block.  And with their funky hours I'd have to leave work before around 10:30 to get to Pioneer Square, find a parking spot and get in line.  I'd also heard there was very little seating, so I'd end up eating in my car - not looking forward to that.

But Kellye and I decided to brave the odds and give the deli a try.  And boy am I glad we did.  We arrived in Pioneer Square just before 11 and found a parking spot directly across the street.  At 10:55 am there was no one in line.  At 10:56 am there were 10 people in line.  We were 9 & 10.  

The women behind the counter were very helpful.  Kellye and I split our sandwiches.  I got the porchetta sandwich (above) and Kellye got a salami sandwich with fresh mozarella cheese.  (And I got some hot sopressata to go - it was like chorizo pamplona from Spain.  LOVED it.)  The porchetta half sandwich was so huge I couldn't eat more than just a bite of the salami sandwich.  It made a tasty dinner.  And the hot sopressata made a walk-down-memory-lane lunch for the next two days.  

The first picture is the line as we left.  If you go to Salumi Artisan Cured Meats, get there before 11 on a Wednesday or Thursday.  You won't have to wait in line for terribly long AND you'll get a seat at dinner table inside with all you can drink tasty water.  I can't vouch for the line during the summer high tourist season months, it may be long all 5 hours they are open.  And don't even try going on the weekend.  They are closed Saturday, Sunday and Monday.