Lucia hosted tonight’s special session of the Sweet Valley High Book Club: Double Love. There were hot dogs, Pimm’s Cups, junk food, health diagnoses, and interpretive readings.
To quote Lucia, “It was the best time with the worst book.” We spent longer discussing than it takes to read it.
So far, I like how something unusual is always happening in the new daytime hood.
Tonight was First Thursday — the monthly artwalk for Pioneer Square.
These dancers reminded me of Feria de Mataderos, in Buenos Aires.
LUPEC’s gathering for July — at Knee High Stocking Co. My first visit to the place, long overdue.
I started with Huey Long’s beloved Ramos Gin Fizz. It was the largest I’d seen. I’m not complaining, though when I realized a flight of 4 LUPEC specials were still to come, I introduced all my neighbors to the fizz.
I’ll be getting this again.
…has officially begun.
For our fourth of July festivities, we visited Mr. T’s family at his Aunt’s house on Camano. We ate crab caught off the back deck and corn and salmon and watermelon and you get the picture. It felt like Summer despite the necessary fleece. Then, there were sparklers! And firemen! (Not like that, they’re in the family.)
We brought The Baron to Camano with us. We had no idea how noisy our house would get without us, so it seemed like the thoughtful plan. He sat on my feet during most of the noise and held up pretty well during his flashbacks to Nam.
McKinley exemplifies the trip’s activity level.
We all got a good night’s sleep and were up not so early to sit around the fire some more. At one point, we moved to the stream to enjoy our riverfront situation. Lots of folks had taken off already, so we had the place to ourselves.
I headed back to Seattle mid-afternoon, in time for dinner and a family birthday party.
Meet the bold neighbor cat.
More scenes from Lake Cle Elum Camping:
I wouldn’t, couldn’t have missed this camping trip.
Despite a few very minor setbacks in our trip logistics — once I hit the road, I found my friends’ campsite easily. Captain Amy found us a site near a runoff river from Lake Cle Elum. When I arrived it was past 80 degrees and the sky was perfect.
After dark, various neighbors we’d met during the day on the river came through our group’s camp area. We sat and talked and handed out marshmallows. The most memorable guest would have to be Jim, a loquacious yet friendly and well-meaning fellow who was a bit rosy around the neck. Jim showed up when he needed a break from the family squabble happening with the people he came with (not his kin, and never will be).
We got to chatting with and came away with our trip catch phrase:
That dog will not hunt.
Applied usage: If those crackhead campers two sites over start screaming about their missing pipe between 2 and 6 AM tonight like they did last night, THAT DOG WILL NOT HUNT. Ain’t happening. They been warned.
(Jim and another fellow brokered an agreement during the day amongst several sites, all banding together in the common goal of ensuring a good night’s sleep in the forest. It worked.)
The conversation veered into his recent past. Jim’s taking off soon for the Alaskan Highway. He worked in AK for years — half the year at the Pipeline, the other half here in WA, until he was injured in ’96. He divorced six months ago after 35 years of marriage. He’s been living in his camper.
He’s says he’s going back to a place where things still make sense.
Tomorrow, I’m headed into the woods. Today was the annual stop at REI on my way out of town.
This afternoon, I caught some yarnies bombing some trees in Occidental Park. More coverage here.
I was invited to a foodcentric book club this evening. Lucky me, it was nearby enough to walk home. During ‘half-time’, Flora & Flying showed off her backyard. It’s wonderful! And green!
We discussed Blood, Bones, and Butter. I finished it in under a week, and would’ve even faster if left to my own devices.
Today was my first day working downtown, ever. This is in our new hood, and is my favorite building in Seattle.
I’d sworn off gardening this year, due to last year’s pitiful results. But tonight, I found myself passing this display and was unable to stop without deciding to give basil another go.
I did pass up the pajama jeans, though.
We were so lucky to have to take a ferry from Clinton to Mukilteo today.
Our instructor, Ross, and our little ship
Today was our fourth and final week of Sailing. I felt least newbie of all the weeks, and even did okay on our final exam. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that knots are easy with practice, the wind is a whole world of its own to learn about, and I’m surprisingly tired the day afterward. Two hours non-stop on the water running a small boat takes more out of you than you think. We’ll go back for race night Fridays soon, though. And maybe bigger boats down the line.
Next on our agenda: Whidbey Island. I was recruited to help a dear friend move her stuff from a former home back to a place closer to Seattle. This friend happens to be on the other side of a great big ocean, so there was a bit of choreography as I was the one present to be the Stage Manager. We went up to Langley tonight to be ready for the morning move schedule.
Our ferry.
Our passage.
Our sunset after a fine dinner at Prima Bistro, in “downtown” Langley.
Prima’s a fine stop on a main lane through Langley. As we scanned the bistro’s menu out front, a couple told us that they were returning for a second night in a row — they strongly encouraged us to join, too. Mr. T was hooked by the French-inspired menu and we spent a fair amount of time on our ordering strategy. The bar service was tops — I loved the Salt and Pepper cocktail. If you’re lucky to sit on the roof deck, they’ll even bring you blankets when the sun starts going down.
Happy Summer! We kicked off the 2011 season with the Helios Picnic at Myrtle Edwards Park. Exactly where I needed to be.
While I’d been to many other Kim Ricketts events and gatherings, until tonight I never made it to her series “What We Talk About When We Talk About Food.” I’d bought tickets at least twice before, but the third time was the charm.
Today was also week 3 of sailing class. The weather was a bit miserable, so the less said about that the better. There will be better weeks.
My friend gfrancie is a genius with an ice cream maker. Today, she hosted one of her legendary Ice Cream Socials where we all spoiled our dinner, once again. It’s been an ongoing requirement for years.
Her son greeted us, coming and going, in his cape. He seemed practically grown up this time, I couldn’t help but think of times past.
Our office space is moving! After 6 months of crossing multiple bridges in each direction to get to the Official Office, I have one big Ship Canal to cross. Well, in ten more days. Time to pack.
As mentioned here before, I belong to LUPEC Seattle — the local branch of Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails. Our monthly outings are masterfully organized by Wendy Miller.
For June, in lieu of our traditional LUPEC gathering, she assigned homework: visit any of the bars LUPEC visited in the last year.
Sambar stood out from her list, but led me to question whether it was really a year ago that I visited last. Turns out, yes, it had been too long. So, when Courtney suggested a few of us gather for a study session, I jumped at the offer.
We convened soon after our workdays, as the sun was still pretty high. I took notes:
– My warm up — Noir Satiné. Rye Whiskey, Strega, Cocchi Vermouth, Black Tea, Lemon Bitters. This worked. I liked the hint of black tea and lemon. The complex combination defeated lingering negative side effects of a challenging workday. Our merry little group was rolling right along.
– When it was time to order again, my eyes drifted to the food menu, despite original intentions to the contrary. I’d coveted Valentina’s Croque-Monsieur across the table, and ham and grilled cheese turned out to be a delicious accompaniment for the next cocktail.
РCl̩mence. Genever, Pineau-des-Charentes, Apricot, Cr̩me de P̻che, Lemon, Pastis. The Genever and Pastis bookends in the listing jumped out, and when the drink arrived, it was a refreshing hit with the whole table.
– There was opportunity for more, but responsibility was calling my name.
– Then, right after the tab was settled, I noticed several no-octane options that I would have chosen had I noticed. Ah, next time.
And there will be a next time, especially with Courtney, Tracy, Valentina, Cameo, and Heather. Thank you, ladies, for the great evening!
Croque Monsieur and a Clémence
Tonight, we had another Canning planning meeting at Kim‘s place, since the season is ramping up.
I discovered a set of king cake babies hanging out in Kim’s salt dish. I was compelled to arrange them more comfortably.
Later, we shared war stories over this year’s miserable gardening experiments (excepting this mint above) over a lovely sunset.
