The Scary Part

Today I have read a few blogs and a column concerning our recent rash of gun violence in Seattle. I was going to write a post about my three most recent trips, and I will do those (I promise), but today, I wanted to spend a few minutes talking about travelling and dealing with violence.

Luckily, I have never been the victim of a violent crime. I have had things stolen, though. There was the time a "friend" stole my TV from my college dorm room. My husband's Honda station wagon was stolen three times (yeah, THREE times), and my entire purse was stolen while I was on vacation in Barcelona in 2005 (with three passports, our camera and my favorite lipstick).

But violent crime? No, that's never happened to me.

There are a few victims from these past weeks that stick out in my mind. The lady who was driving her car in Capitol Hill who was carjacked by the shooter from the cafe and was also shot dead. The young woman who was just walking around Pioneer Square and was shot dead by a person in a passing car. The man who had just picked up his parents from the airport and was heading off for a fun Memorial Day weekend and was killed by a stray bullet. The reason these stick out in my mind is because any of these people could have been me. My therapist said that the reason all of this is so alarming is because there are no rules about how to stay safe. None of these people were doing anything wrong or anything extraordinary. Now they are dead and their families are left to pick up the pieces. The citizens of Seattle are left shaking their heads, wondering who will die next.

There doesn't seem to be a reason or a pattern to this increase in violence. I want to reassure my readers that Seattle is normally a safe city. Yes, bad things happen here, it's a big city like any other. But for the moment it feels like things have gone off the rails.

When these kind of things happen, part of me goes numb. I feel like I should be screaming for more protection, protesting against gun ownership, calling on the mayor and the police to fix it, warning my children to be safe, worrying about my kids when they are at school. I don't do any of those things (ok - I do worry about my kids), I just feel numb. I feel like you can't talk sense to the anti-gun control people. For idealogical reasons, they just don't hear you. I don't know what the mayor or the police can do to save us, so why make demands from them? Given the state of our economy and strained budgets, what can we do about all the people who are getting out of prison or who need mental health services?

I am not saying that we shouldn't try or demand more of our public servants and more from our own citizenry. But I won't carry a gun. I just won't. That will make the chances of getting shot even higher. I won't move, either. I love my city, and like I said, it's actually fairly safe as far as big cities go.

I will probably restrict my movements for a while. But I still plan on going to the farmer's market and the swimming pool this weekend. And I will check in on the news. And when I have more information, I will likely write to the mayor with my concerns.

And I will still travel around the region and around the world. I love to travel. Most travellers arrive safely, have a good time and return home safely. It's importat to look at the situation and if your gut tells you something isn't right, trust it. As a visitor, it's a little harder to make those decisions because there are more unfamiliar variables, but you can still make the call. And don't worry about looking awkward or strange. I'd rather be embarrassed than hurt. Living life involves risk, and living a full life that includes travel involves more risks. That's a trade I'm willing to make.

Eat, Read, Travel

Hey, there!

This is just a drive-by posting. I came across this post about Northwest Cookbooks over on Seattle Library's Shelf Talk blog. The Tom Douglas book is in my library (thanks, mom!), but I haven't made anything from it yet.

In my opinion the next best thing to going to a place I like is eating food from that place. Or reading about the place. Or reading about eating the food from that place. Whatever. I like to travel, read and cook.

I have a collection of Northwest cookbooks, too. Here are three of my favorites:

Cafe Flora 

Cafe Flora is one of the first restaurants Alex and I went to when we moved to Seattle. Our wonderfully cheerful real estate agent recommended it to us because it is a fully vegetarian restaurant and so were we at the time (fully vegetarian, not restaurants). It's in the Madison Park neighborhood, tucked between Lake Washington and the Arboretum. We used to go there for brunch quite often. Then the kids came along and cramped our dining out style, although they like Cafe Flora. We go there for Easter if we are in town, then we stroll through the Arboretum, looking at the cherry blossoms. We add on a trip to the Japanese Garden and look at koi and turtles. This year was particularly spectacular, as the weather was sunny and warm and the blooms were magnificent.

Shiro

This cookbook is part memoir, part cookbook. Shiro Kashibi came to Seattle in the 1960's to be a sushi chef and one day open a restaurant. He was ahead of his time, using local foods way, way, way before it was "the thing". I often tell my kids that I didn't even know what sushi was when I was their age, but it's one of their favorites. Apart from the sushi party we had with some friends in March, I have never attempted to make sushi. We bought the rice from a Sam's Sushi. Still, this book is so beautiful and interesting that I think you should read it. It's a lovely story. And you can still eat in his restaurant, which I haven't done yet, but I think I might very soon.

Ray's Boathouse

Ray's Boathouse is just down the street from our house, even closer if our house is our boat at Shilshole marina. We navigate by the iconic red neon lights R-A-Y-S. When we go, we get hugs from the manager. "Oh, good. You're back!" If you visit and you want to eat seafood, we'll take you there. It's like an extension of our dining room or our cockpit. Sit back, relax. Enjoy the drinks. Try the mussels. And in May, be sure to go in for Copper River King salmon.

 

One Other Thing

This is not a cookbook, but it is Northwest and it is about cooking. Cookus Interuptus is one of my favorite blogs ever, ever. Cynthia Lair is a nutrition professor at Bastyr University and an improv actress. How do you combine two such enormous and useful talents? Hilariously. Informatively. Oh, just go have a look for yourself. I dare you not to be tempted to cook something. P.S. This is my favorite episode.


Alright, this post got longer than I intended, but it was so fun to write! Hope you enjoy!

Arm-chair vacations

There is something about possibilities. Where are the places I could go? What would be dreamy, fun, adventurous, romantic?

Here is the beginning of a wish list. The places I want to visit, but haven't yet. What about you? Have you been there? Where do you dream of going?

• North Cascades National Park

• Glacier National Park

• Yakima wine country (on my bike, naturally)

• Hood River

• Oregon coast

• Whidbey Island

Portlandia!

Our family recently returned from Portland. We spent the weekend of April 20-22, 2012 visiting friends and enjoying the delights of the City of Roses.

April 20, 2012

We headed down I-5 from Seattle at the crack of noon. Alex commented that we looked like the Clampits. How could 4 people and a dog need so much stuff for two days? I bit my tongue as I thought, "Well that's YOUR bike in the back!" There was also a small kennel for the world's cutest dog, Ellie (I insisted on bringing the dog. And it was my idea to get the dog.) Plus about 11 books per person (boredom busters for kids). What can I say? We like to read. And put stuff in the car.

Our first stop, after unloading at our hotel (Best Western in Jantzen Beach - very plain vanilla, but clean, affordable and takes pets), we headed over to Furever Pets on Broadway. The staff was helpful and full of fashion advice. The shop was bright, clean and full of a really great selection. I desperately wanted a collar/leash combination with a bird on it, but they were out of her size. Instead, Ellie got that great collar and harness you see in the photo above. Our cutsie puppy was outfitted with a new collar, leash, harness and raincoat (this is the Northwest, after all).

Our first stop was Ivy's house, where we found her folding paper airplanes with her 9 year old neighbor. She also gave Dylan some coffee stirrers and yarn scraps so he could make a god's eye. It broke in my purse, but he kept trying to give it to someone who celebrates Kwanzaa. "I made it in the Kwanzaa colors, red, black and green." We hung around while Alex walked Ellie, he called to say he bumped into Ben, who was out walking his dog. Turns out, Ben and Ivy are neighbors! Small world.

Dinner was at the delectible and fun Porque No? Taqueria (Hawthorne location). Ivy said on our way over that she always tells visitors that the line always looks long and that it seems like there will be no tables, but it always works out, so don't panic. She said this in all her "Ivy-ness", reminding me why we became friends in the first place. The line was, in fact, out the door. The evening was fine, and the kids were happy, so we just relaxed and enjoyed the sights and sounds. At Porque No? come for the tacos, stay for the margaritas! Yum! Drink orders were taken while we were waiting in line, and we did manage to find a table for all six of us on the patio - so it did work out.
After dinner, we went to Ben's house to say hi to the rest of his family, Nikki, Ellie and Leo. What  a fun, active house, with music, art, baking and Chinese caligraphy going on all over the place. We were invited to come over for bagel brunch the next morning.

April 21, 2012

Alex and Ben enjoyed an early morning bike ride. They rode back to the hotel, where we loaded up the Highlander again and went to get the bagels.

Now, you East Coasters are probably thinking that we don't know nuthin bout bagels out West, but don't forget that this is PORTLAND we are talking about. Naturally, there is a small, artisinal bagel place not too far from Ben's house. Apparently, there has been a big shake-up in the bagel bakeries of Portland. A beloved baker was bought by a big chain, leaving a gaping whole for new artisnal places.When Ben ordered 18 bagels at Spielman's Bagels, Mr. Spielman invited us to the kitchen in back to show us how small an operation he was. Could we please be mindful of this?

But those bagels!!! We ate them with cream cheese, salmon, onion, capers, tomato and lemon. Ivy brought gluten free scones with home-made jam (we are both jam junkies, as it turns out, and are now signed up to take a jam making class with Rachel Saunders - but that's another post).

Ben and Nikki's house could be a Northwest set for Modern Family. Neighbors popped in and out. Kids made lemon meringue pie.

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Dogs barked.
Other kids swang from tree swings.

Grown ups ate bagels. We discussed pirate vernacular. We discussed the differences between privateers and pirates. Ship boarding etiquette, the best way to attack a ship at sea. Ben and Nikki and several neighbors were off to a pirate murder mystery party. Of COURSE they were. This is PORTLAND!
Ben roasts his own coffee.

The neighbors are into pickling.
Ben was off to a rehearsal for Mozart's Requiem.
Ellie (the person) was off to a erhu lessons.
Ivy went home to spread compost on her garden.
We were off to the Portland Saturday Market
It wasn't even noon.

We were so full from the bagels, so we didn't try any of the yummy looking food, but it would have made a lovely picnic by the river. I bought this cute plate:

And this yummy looking jam:

The kids bought some bookmarks with their names in Chinese from the cutest Chinese couple - the lady was smaller than my 10 year old.

Then we went off to the nirvana of all book stores: Powell's Books. This is the largest bookstore on the West coast, possibly in the country. I made a small detour into Sur La Table for some tart pans:

This is the highlight of every family trip to Portland. The pre-departure family meeting in which I asked what things people want to do and see in Portland, the one universal request was to visit Powell's. Alex, feeling generous and joining in the fun, gave each boy a $50 budget, and we scoured the shelves. I did not make it past the cookbook section, Alex focused on cycling training (he is riding in RAMROD this summer, but that is another post), and the kids got some great stuff, too. Here is the haul, in all it's splendor:

From there, we took the dog and kids for a walk in the world famous International Rose Test Garden, located in Washington Park, with its many attractions. The weather was perfect and the views were lovely. We particularly loved the view of Mount Hood, the Shakespeare garden and the tiles with all of the Rose Queen's autographs. The roses were not in bloom, but the rhododendrons were. So lovely. Sigh.

The next stop was a visit with our friend Curt, Leah, Danielle and Zach. Xander was off on a boy scout camp out. We enjoyed relaxing in their lovely home in Beaverton, catching up with each other's lives and nibbling on pizza. A highlight was when the little kids attacked the big kids with with nerf machine guns. Hahaha! Even the big kids eventually laughed. Curt and Leah are busy parents and had been up early for Danielle's dance competition. We also had had a full day, so off we went to sleep away the night.

April 22, 2012

We were a bit more bleary eyed on this morning. Alex went out for a training ride, while the kids and I relaxed and packed.  We had about 15 different potential plans for that morning but eventually ended up eating at Sanborn's, a delightful place that specializes in German pancakes, or "Dutch Babies".

We did not have to wait in a line of Portlandia "Brunch Village" proportions, but there was a short wait. Thank goodness for that trip to Powells and a day with fine weather. (Here is a cool link I found in case you find yourself in a "Brunch Village" - Eater blog brunch map ) The service here was cheerful and prompt, but not rushed. The tables were nice, and the dining room was cozy and big enough. Alex and I agreed to order the two dishes that had caught our eye - the pear, blue cheese and pecan pancake and the apple smoked gouda almond pancake. They were still sweet, but they were VERY good, and kept me topped up till dinner.

Our last stop was at OMSI (the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry).

To our surprise, there was a special exhibit of Lego sculpture by Nathan Sawaya. I was really surprised by my emotional reaction to many of his sculptures, done entirely with Lego bricks. The kids were also fascinated because everything was Lego. The kids especially liked making their own creations with the bricks provided at the end of the exhibit. I was struck by the differences in what the kids were making. Instead of space ships, I was seeing trees and houses. Enjoy the exhibit:

With a ice cream to keep us mellow on the way home, we said goodbye to Portland.

 But not without one final Portlandia moment: