November 13, 2005
November 12, 2005
END OF DAY ONE
First day in Vegas. Perhaps the longest day ever. Because the time zone didn't change, time seemed to stand still. Not at all that we weren't having a great time. But we kept checking the time thinking it was several hours later than it was. Even a two hour nap didn't help.
Stephanie and Dave picked us up from the airport and she had prepared a picnic basket for the ride home. Granted, it wasn't a long ride, but the treats were very welcomed. Fruit, cheese, candy, muffins, water. We tore into that. We eventually went to breakfast but Dave had to go to work. We girls went to Mimi's Cafe. Extremely yummy food and freshly made tomato juice! After several cups of coffee at Mimi's we hit a few stores then once home we sat by the pool and relaxed. I eventually crashed into a deep sleep for a couple of hours.
After the nap we took Lexi and Macy for a walk. Crazy mutts. There is a small patch of green within the development where they live and they had a good time pooping their way through it.
Back at home we headed for the hot tub. Though the evenings are quite cool, the hot tub and the pool are about 94 degrees. We eventually made our way into the pool and were well water-logged by the time we got out. Dave came home and we made dinner. I chopped some fresh tomatoes and basil and heaped it onto some sliced baguette with grated cheese for very tasty bruschetta. There was a veggie tray and fresh shrimp cocktail. I also whipped up a Washington Apple cocktail for Steph. This didn't stop her from conitnuing to drain Dave's drinks throughout the night. We introduced Dave and Steph to the card game Hand and Foot and they took to it right away. Julie and Dave had much better luck as a team than did Steph and I. But paybacks are a bitch so a re-match will probably be held tomorrow night.
Tomorrow Julie and I will hit the strip for some touristesque activity. Monday we head to Red Rock Canyon for a hike. Having fun!
Stephanie and Dave picked us up from the airport and she had prepared a picnic basket for the ride home. Granted, it wasn't a long ride, but the treats were very welcomed. Fruit, cheese, candy, muffins, water. We tore into that. We eventually went to breakfast but Dave had to go to work. We girls went to Mimi's Cafe. Extremely yummy food and freshly made tomato juice! After several cups of coffee at Mimi's we hit a few stores then once home we sat by the pool and relaxed. I eventually crashed into a deep sleep for a couple of hours.
After the nap we took Lexi and Macy for a walk. Crazy mutts. There is a small patch of green within the development where they live and they had a good time pooping their way through it.
Back at home we headed for the hot tub. Though the evenings are quite cool, the hot tub and the pool are about 94 degrees. We eventually made our way into the pool and were well water-logged by the time we got out. Dave came home and we made dinner. I chopped some fresh tomatoes and basil and heaped it onto some sliced baguette with grated cheese for very tasty bruschetta. There was a veggie tray and fresh shrimp cocktail. I also whipped up a Washington Apple cocktail for Steph. This didn't stop her from conitnuing to drain Dave's drinks throughout the night. We introduced Dave and Steph to the card game Hand and Foot and they took to it right away. Julie and Dave had much better luck as a team than did Steph and I. But paybacks are a bitch so a re-match will probably be held tomorrow night.
Tomorrow Julie and I will hit the strip for some touristesque activity. Monday we head to Red Rock Canyon for a hike. Having fun!
LEAVING (FOR) LAS VEGAS
That's right, it's 3:50 a.m. and the cab arrives at 4:15 a.m. to whisk us to Sea-Tac. We are headed to Las Vegas to visit Steph and Dave for four days. It's our first trip to LV. No doubt it will be fun.
It's one thing to stay up until all hours but it's completely another thing to be deeply sleeping and then have to get up in the middle of the night. I feel fine when I'm first awake but after a shower and getting dressed I just feel queasy. It will pass but it makes for a slow morning. But in 4 1/2 hours I will be where it is 70 degrees (later today) and sunny! Suppose to be 75 on Monday, the day we are to hike in Fern Canyon! I can't wait for the sun. Seattle has experienced a miserable last half of October and the first half of November isn't any better.
Back to preparation. Thanks to Diana for staying at our place while we are gone.
It's one thing to stay up until all hours but it's completely another thing to be deeply sleeping and then have to get up in the middle of the night. I feel fine when I'm first awake but after a shower and getting dressed I just feel queasy. It will pass but it makes for a slow morning. But in 4 1/2 hours I will be where it is 70 degrees (later today) and sunny! Suppose to be 75 on Monday, the day we are to hike in Fern Canyon! I can't wait for the sun. Seattle has experienced a miserable last half of October and the first half of November isn't any better.
Back to preparation. Thanks to Diana for staying at our place while we are gone.
November 07, 2005
WENT TO A SEDENTARY MARCHING BAND CONCERT JUST FOR THE HALIBUT
After a few too many cocktails, I had a slow go of it on Sunday morning. Fortunately, we were not due to the Town Hall Seattle until 2 p.m. for our first experience with the Ballard Sedentary Sousa Band (BSSB). My new favorite band, BSSB has been not marching while playing John Phillip Sousa favorites for 20 years. In fact, November 6 was their 20th anniversary in addition to being John Phillip Sousa's 151st birthday! A further distinction was bestowed upon BSSB when an official edict by the mayor was read to the audience proclaiming November 6, 2005 to be Ballard Sedentary Sousa Band Day. What a proud moment. And twice during the performance, BSSB members presented director and band leader (and clarinet player) Liz Driesbach with
Sousabilia in recognition for her years of hard work and for founding the BSSB. Liz is also the performance's MC and she's a riot in a flaky, unaffected way. She might be 2 seconds from counting off the band into a new number when she will stop and turn and begin another Sousa story. She is a Sousa freak and not ashamed to show her admiration.
The BSSB will not march "under any circumstances" (according to the web site). And they boast the world's only sedentary majorette. She sits in a chair and twirls while the whole first row of musicians dons hardhats in case of an operator malfunction. They also display a colorful array of thrift store and homemade uniforms. The setting wasn't ideal for taking pictures but I managed to get a few decent ones. But I've snagged a group shot off the BSSB web site to give you a full shot of the group. This was certainly the best $10 spent in a long time. We hope to catch another performance at the Phinney Neighborhood Association Winter Festival on December 4.
For dinner we met up with Andrea and Shannon at Erin's house. Erin supplied the halibut caught by Bruce earlier this year. Julie supplied the knowledge for the garlic halibut recipe that is most delicious. There was acorn squash and salad and homemade pumpkin pie from Andrea. Don't forget the new kittens, Eva and Edie. They were more welcoming than last time and I actually got to hold them and play with them.
Here's the garlic halibut recipe. Make this immediately.
4 halibut filets (6-8 ounces each)
For the marinade:
6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tbsp minced fresh cilantro plus 1 tsp cilantro root (the stalk)
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 Asian fish sauce or soy sauce and more for brushing
3 tbsp sake, Chinese rice wine, or dry sherry
3 tbsp sesame oil plus more for brushing
coarse salt and ground pepper to taste
Prepare the marinade by pounding the garlic, ginger and cilantro root and sugar in a mortar with a pestle. Or puree in food processor. Work in fish sauce, sake, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Spoon it over the halibut and marinate for 30 minutes to an hour. Then broil or grill the fish 4-6 minutes per side.
Aren't they crazy?
Categories: recipes
cats ,Ballard
HAND AND FOOT AND PAWS
Saturday night we met Kathryn and Amanda's new dog, Oscar. He's 2 years old, a short-haired Dachshund, and likes to bury himself under his blanket. He manages to grab a hunk of the blanket and then twist himself until he has completely disappeared underneath. Granted, he's talented but he can't play Hand and Foot which is what the rest of us did. Hand and Foot is a form of Canasta. Apparently, like many card games, the rules can vary. I'm not sure where Amanda obtained the rules we use but the Web site I've linked here has many variations. A simple search on the Internet and you will be awash in Hand and Foot rules. While playing cards we sipped (some of us more than others) a mighty tasty cocktail as created by Amanda. Equal parts Crown Royal, Sour Apple Pucker, and CranMango Juice. Damn that is a tasty drink. It's called the Washington Apple. Damn, I drank a few too many.
Categories: games
,dogs
Categories: games
,dogs
SMELL YA LATER
So Saturday morning we head to UW to take a class through Experimental College. The class was Travel In Turkey. As we are planning a trip to Turkey, this class seemed appropriate and we were excited. We were the first to arrive (surprise). The teacher dude, a learned and accomplished architectural historian and writer, had been in the room setting up for who knows how long. Much to the chagrin of our noses, the door had remained closed for the whole prep session. By the time we arrived and opened the door, the first thing we noticed was the obvious B.O. of the instructor. The dude looked like any older Britsh instructor, little gray beard and stache and that Shakespeare ring of hair, slacks, button-down shirt and v-neck sweater vest. Total academia but, fretfully, very bohemia in the personal hygiene department.
Well, we gave each other the look, of course. My fear, cuz it's usually about me, is that the very next people to arrive might think the smell came from either me or Julie. I mean, there was a good chance it could have been one of us with just three people in the room. It had to be someone. No lie, I dug out my "margaritaville" lip balm and thickly applied to both lips while Julie applied, ala Jodie Foster in Silence of the Lambs, a dab under her nose on the philtrum.
Then of course, the rest of the folks filtered in. Aren't there always a few weirdos when you take a class like this? The Pocahontas wannabe in he corner, shabby chicre with full length sweater coat (ala Rhoda), moccasin type boots, Laura Ingalls Wilder skirt, etc. The woman on the other side of the room with the whole Jackie O face was creepin' me out. Am I the only one who thinks Jackie O was NOT attractive? I suppose overall, as a persona, she was fabulous. But her eyes were crooked, too far apart (E.T.), her forehead filled the frame of every photo and her teeth were messed up. Now don't get all bent, I dug her. But she wasn't my poster girl.
My favorite class weirdo was the older woman who sat in front of Julie who audibly reacted to every other thing the instructor said with coos, ohs, ahs, head nods, head tilts, and what not. Drove me crazy. It was like she had some polite form of Tourettes. I wanted to stab her with my margaritaville lip balm stick.
I suppose the class wasn't a total wash but it wasn't worth $30. The instructor was scatter-brained. The bit of a stutter didn't help. About three times he lamented that he should have remembered to bring such and such a book. Yeah, you should have. The projector worked for only half the class and he admitted that he wasn't good at doing more than one thing at a time (too bad for his wife) so he wasn't sure he could talk AND try to fix the machine. We did get some useful info and some handy hand-outs and did get some of our questions answered even if we didn't ask them. There was lunch after the class at Istanbul Cafe and we were originally excited to go. We love to eat and we wanted some authentic Turkish food. But after the hair-brained experience we decided no. We knew there was no way that dude would be able to pack it all up and shlep his stanky butt to the restaurant in time. And neither of us wanted to get stuck next to the old lady with Tourettes or the Pocahontas wanna-be or the flamboyant Chinese dude in sweat pants and a Members Only jacket. I only say he is Chinese because he told us he was Chinese. Everyone else in the class who drove us nuts was white, for the record. After class we had lunch elsewhere and then hung out before dinner and cards.
Categories: travel
Well, we gave each other the look, of course. My fear, cuz it's usually about me, is that the very next people to arrive might think the smell came from either me or Julie. I mean, there was a good chance it could have been one of us with just three people in the room. It had to be someone. No lie, I dug out my "margaritaville" lip balm and thickly applied to both lips while Julie applied, ala Jodie Foster in Silence of the Lambs, a dab under her nose on the philtrum.
Then of course, the rest of the folks filtered in. Aren't there always a few weirdos when you take a class like this? The Pocahontas wannabe in he corner, shabby chicre with full length sweater coat (ala Rhoda), moccasin type boots, Laura Ingalls Wilder skirt, etc. The woman on the other side of the room with the whole Jackie O face was creepin' me out. Am I the only one who thinks Jackie O was NOT attractive? I suppose overall, as a persona, she was fabulous. But her eyes were crooked, too far apart (E.T.), her forehead filled the frame of every photo and her teeth were messed up. Now don't get all bent, I dug her. But she wasn't my poster girl.
My favorite class weirdo was the older woman who sat in front of Julie who audibly reacted to every other thing the instructor said with coos, ohs, ahs, head nods, head tilts, and what not. Drove me crazy. It was like she had some polite form of Tourettes. I wanted to stab her with my margaritaville lip balm stick.
I suppose the class wasn't a total wash but it wasn't worth $30. The instructor was scatter-brained. The bit of a stutter didn't help. About three times he lamented that he should have remembered to bring such and such a book. Yeah, you should have. The projector worked for only half the class and he admitted that he wasn't good at doing more than one thing at a time (too bad for his wife) so he wasn't sure he could talk AND try to fix the machine. We did get some useful info and some handy hand-outs and did get some of our questions answered even if we didn't ask them. There was lunch after the class at Istanbul Cafe and we were originally excited to go. We love to eat and we wanted some authentic Turkish food. But after the hair-brained experience we decided no. We knew there was no way that dude would be able to pack it all up and shlep his stanky butt to the restaurant in time. And neither of us wanted to get stuck next to the old lady with Tourettes or the Pocahontas wanna-be or the flamboyant Chinese dude in sweat pants and a Members Only jacket. I only say he is Chinese because he told us he was Chinese. Everyone else in the class who drove us nuts was white, for the record. After class we had lunch elsewhere and then hung out before dinner and cards.
Categories: travel
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK (visiting after your meal)
Friday night went to see Good Night, And Good Luck with Sally at the The Uptown on lower Queen Anne. We all really liked it. Things haven't changed much since that era. It's just that the media moguls spin the crap differently these days. But dinner at Tup Tim Thai was very good, though they can get a little inpatient. They really want to turn over the tables. And they hover. Granted, the food is really good but perhaps next time we will go later in the evening.
November 02, 2005
GOURDGEOUS PUMPKINS
Sunday Stephanie joined us for pumpkin carving. I was amazed to learn that had never carved one so I insisted she learn. She even used her hands to remove pumpkin guts (to some degree). Her pumpkin is the one with the spiders. Very cool. Julie created a dragon and I carved a scary face.
Julie made homemade chicken and orzo soup (recipe available upon request) and Sally and Victoria Bozzacco came over to hang out, eat soup and knit while the carving took place.
Categories: halloween
Little Red Riding Good stays warm in front of the fire with a scientist whose lab blew up.
Categories: halloween
You know how hard I worked for that six-pack? But it appears to be slipping. Julie was Evil (duc)Kie-Devil. The outfit came courtesy of a claim she adjusted. That jacket is the real deal with metal elbows and padding.
Categories: halloween
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