Slug Nun Blue!

So I served a mission in Spain years ago.  When you spend all day, every day, walking the streets of Spain you find ways to entertain yourself.  Some missionaries would challenge each other to incorporate some random word in the next conversation they had with someone. (For example, let's say you're challenged to use the word "alligator."  The next person you talk to you need to find a way to make the word alligator fit into the conversation.  You can't just say:  Alligator!  You have to say something like, "I have a pet alligator at home.")

One thing that I did was play "Slug Nun." It's just like "Slug Bug" but instead of slugging your neighbor when you see a VW Bug (I don't think I saw a single VW Bug while in Spain) you slug your neighbor when you see a nun.  You also have to name the color of the nun.  In this case it would be 2 "Slug Nun Blue"s.  Also, this is the first time I've seen a nun since moving to Washington.  It was super cool.  Their habits were gorgeous.

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.

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.  

At work-ish

 

So the other morning, I went to put my lunch in the fridge at work and found this:  Someone's yogurt.  Opened.  No lid.  With a spoon sticking out of it.  Eeewww!  Who does that?  Some of that food has been in there for months. 

 

Then another day I went to do some usability testing and met Erin for lunch.  We went to Lunchbox Laboratory in Bellevue.  They had a rice crispy treat milk shake.  I HAD to try it.  Because what if it was almost as good as the FANTASTIC shake I had at Shake Shack in NYC?  It wasn't.  Not even close.  And the marshmallows were old and dry and yucky.  I think every time I go to any burger place I think it will be as good as Shake Shack.  It never is.  But that doesn't keep me from trying every once in a while.  I need to find a reason to go to New York City or DC 

 

And these?  These are brown butter cream cheese red velvet cupcakes from Dahlia Bakery.  There was a bit of a mix up with my order and Dahlia Bakery and I experienced, quite possibly the BEST customer service I've ever encountered.  They not only made it right for me, they went above and beyond and delivered the replacement order to the East side from Seattle for me AND they got me to speak very highly about them to everyone at our event.  And the even better part...the red velvet cupcakes were delicious and a hit.  Also:  The coconut macaroons and the ginger snaps were yummy.  I will be back for those, for sure.  Thanks Dahlia Bakery.

Hogs and Cubans

 


There was a HUGE food truck round up at the Harley Davidson dealership in Renton, WA a few weeks ago.  

 


Kellye, her husband and I visited.  I saw more chaps than I've ever seen outside of a Western movie.  And more black leather than I've EVER seen.  AND a ton of Harleys, which goes without saying, I suppose.

 


I split a Cuban with Kellye's husband, from Snout & Co.  It was delicious.  I went back and got their Seattle variation to go for dinner.  It was good too, but since I had to have them leave off the onion relish, I suspect it could have been better.  

 


Ken and I also split the mushroom tacos from Contigo.  They were not delicious.  They were very "one note" as Ken said.  The could have used some cilantro or something else to give it a bit more depth of flavor.

 


Kellye and I split the Jamaican patties at The Jerk Station.  The pork was spicy and yummy and tasted a bit like a samosa - which surprised both of us. It was good but not something I'd search out in the future. 

 


And right here is, quite possibly, the best thing I had (though I've been craving that Cuban since I had it).  Handmade vanilla bean ice cream between two snicker doodles.  TERRIFIC!


There's another food truck round up/rally thing at Seattle Center on Saturday.  I'll be heading there for sure.

Seattle Center Fun

 


I've been spending quite a bit of time at Seattle Center recently.

 


I'm not exactly sure why now, but it's just happened.  
When I went there with Dad & Katherine we saw an Angry Bird being launched at the Space Needle with a T-Mobile magenta slingshot.  

 

And they were installing a Chihuly installation that I am SUPER excited to see completed.

A few weeks ago I went to see this play at one of the theaters at Seattle Center.  I'd seen it several years ago at BYU and thought it was the most hilarious play I'd ever seen.  I hurt from all the laughing.  I said if I ever saw that the play was being performed anywhere I was again I would go see it.  And so I did.  It was a tiny, itty bitty theater.  Very cozy.  And the actors did a great job.  It wasn't as funny as it was the first time I saw it, but it was still pretty good.

Flowering Trees

 

There are some things I can't help but photograph.  Food and flowers.  

 

I absolutely love all of the flowering trees that have bloomed recently.

 

The cherry blossoms are breathtaking.

 

And around every corner there seems to be several trees in bloom.

 


The contrast of the flowering trees against the evergreens is just breathtaking sometimes.

 

These are from trees I encountered on my way home from work the other day.

Also:  I obsessively take photos of my family, just ask them.

NYR - Pi Day

 

In March I went to Duvall as my friend's Craigslist buddy.  She wanted to look at a piece of furniture. And, you know, a woman can't be traipsing out to a complete stranger's house alone.  

 

For the past few years I'd been operating under the assumption that Duvall was the middle of nowhere.  Of course this was all based on what people that have lived in the Seattle area for 30 years or longer.  And 30 years ago Duvall was probably a sleepy farm town but now it's a town with strip malls and housing developments.  The neighborhoods just pop up out of nowhere.  You're driving through fields and fields like the ones above and suddenly:  McMansions!

 

We stopped here for me to take some fotos.

 

The aforementioned piece of furniture in the back of the car. 

 

And as it was Pi Day (3/14) we stopped at one of the strip malls for some pizza.  I would have preferred some actual pie, but, being unfamiliar with the area we had to make do with what we could find.

of the cherry variety

I don't eat as many Slurpees as I used to. However, the other day someone I know spent about an hour sending me photos of Slurpees and discussing Slurpees with me. Which then caused me to crave a cherry Slurpee for days and days. So on my way back to the Eastside from visiting Magnolia I stopped at the 7 Eleven on Nickerson and got my fix. I think they put an addictive chemical in it that makes me crave it fortnightly.


Also, my phone/camera/camera phone has this cool feature where you can take a photo that looks like a slide that's been shuffling around at the bottom of a file cabinet for 30 years.

Snowmageddon

It's been snowing since Sunday...well, the snow took a break for a while on Tuesday.  I was able to go to work for most of the day on Tuesday.  But Wednesday and today?  Crazy!  If I could get to the main road, I'm sure I'd be fine.  See? The roads are pretty clear.  No real ice, just dry slush.  But to get to the road I would have to leave my parking lot.  Which would be impossible.  All of the cars are frozen in place.  And the parking lot is covered in a foot of ice.

I ventured out to the grocery store today.  Not a lot of people out and about.  And the snow was crunchy.  As we don't tend to get snow here, there's not a lot one can do but wait until it melts.  Especially those of us on hills or on side streets.


The areas to the South and East of me don't have power.  I'm very glad that so far I still do.  When I first moved here I purchased a bunch of flashlights and lights but I've failed to check the batteries recently.  So fingers crossed that the power stays on.

My neighbor has a snowman on top of her bug.  It's super cute.  

Not a fan

Cranes...I don't like cranes.  The mechanical ones.  I see them and I start to get nervous.  I think they are going to fall on me.  They just don't seem stable.  It's not as bad as it used to be.  I used to hyperventilate when I saw them.  I'd ask my companions if we could change our route on the way to wherever we were going so as to avoid walking under or near a crane.

Snow in the Seattle area.  People here can't drive in the rain.  They slow to a crawl.  Can you imagine what they do in the snow?  They are completely inept.  I followed a lady down a hill that had an immediate uphill after the downhill.  She was going 10 miles per hour.  I told her that snow does not change the law of physics.  That she still needed momentum to get up the hill.  She, of course, didn't hear me and slid down the up hill.  Thank goodness I was no longer behind her, but beside her.  It snows an inch and I'm confined to where I can walk because I don't want to die and, more importantly, I don't want my car to get hurt.  I'd really like a change to be made to snow.  I'd like it to only snow on trees and grass and dirt.  I'd like snow to not fall on roads or sidewalks.  Country roads are o.k. I guess, mostly cause I very rarely drive on them.  Can someone get on making that happen?  Thank you ever so.