One of motomotoyama’s birthday week traditions is the Wednesday Night Dinner at Santa Fe Cafe, for about 6 years running. I believe this started due to $1-off margarita specials, but am not 100% sure it’s still true. I remember asking out of vague curiosity, but I am easily distractable.
We got the backroom, which quickly filled up. Throughout the evening, Jonas surveyed the crowd for Mad Libs. Here, he’s sharing his latest findings.
Moto got her birthday wish, and now birthday week celebrations can begin properly.
The rest of us can finally exhale. Don’t stop, believing.
A perfect way to spend Election Eve.
Tonight, my friend Traca coordinated an amazing dinner with her friend Naomi of Villa Victoria. (Edited to add: She wrote about it here.) There was a fantastic mix of people there, thus great conversation. I had Mr. T at my left, Andrea the photographer at my right, and sat across from Robin, most recently of Crave. All that dynamic energy = contagious, and an antidote to these hibernation tendencies.
I love, love, love Mexican food. I was thrilled to get to take home two dozen tamales (one with Oaxacan mole, the other cheddar and jalapeno) after missing out on making my own final order a few Saturdays back before Villa Victoria switched over to catering only (mostly). There are still plans brewing at VV, but darn this economy.
After last night’s good times, we spent most of today around the house. Around dinnertime, I walked to the grocery and snapped this just before the heavy rains. I’d brought an umbrella. I know, that’s unheard of around here.
Later, we’re heading to moto’s for some Rock Band with a few of Mr. T’s colleagues.
We spent the evening on Capitol Hill, on a scavenger hunt designed by Captain Amy and the Butcher. There were about 60 different things all over the hill for us to find, in which to document ourselves. Lots of places, lots of costumes but there were a few which were serendipitous and didn’t count towards our final score. But I saved ‘em for here.
The flower was an early favorite costume sighting.
Later we saw Beaker not too far from where we’d begun.
Another great Skillet Street Food lunch today. I ordered the fresh baked ziti with spicy fennel tomato sauce, meatballs, and grana padano. Mr. T advance-ordered online for us and chose the grilled cheese — smoked gouda and prosciutto on rosemary bread. It was WOW. Wow, people. We topped lunch off with lemon icebox pie. I have since requested that this be served at my final meal.
This Piaggio scooter was parked close by, near the Electric Scooter shop. It’s yours, provided you haul.
I’ve been very heads down all week, for a variety of concerns. Today, I even ate my homemade Moors & Christians lunch at my desk. Around the snacky hour, Ian texted he was in the hood. I decided it was high time to take a break and test my cookie luck at the granola PCC. I frequently mock their baked offerings, but I am a bit of a lazy gambler. Only in the sense that I’m too lazy to walk further at that hour so I’m willing to chance it. More times than I care to admit, I’ve mindlessly grabbed a treat there only to later realize its vegan status. No offense to vegans, but your cookies leave me wanting on the whole. I know there are exceptions. I gather if I gave up the tasty stuff it wouldn’t offend once my palate changed, but it’s painful for an omnivore.
I digress. At PCC this month, I came across these ginger chocolate chip cookies. No vegan labeling! They are quite like a soft gingersnap studded with chocolate goodness. Lawd, I love them. They were my first thought for snacktime today. Sadly they did not surface in my bakery section scavenging. I made do with a nearly equally fantastic non-vegan cranberry and orange oatmeal cookie. PCC, you are 2 for 2. Good on ya.
So long story long, while Ian & I walked the block, I spotted this Dino Rossi Mobile. I was curious about its ultimate destination for about 2 seconds and then went back to my grindstone.
Weeks before the current international financial crisis, I got consumerism burnout due to unintentional fall fashion overexposure. I had a Strategy, yet ended up being mildly disgusted by all the consumption in one fell swoop despite personal affordability. I am recovering, lessons learned. Oh, the limits to my Americanism. It’s cool if you like shopping. We can still be friends and there’s a good chance I’ll go with you. No doubt, I’ll still dabble.
This burnout coincided with the advent of the U-Village H&M — I’d been waiting for years for its Seattle arrival. I love it and make a beeline when traveling elsewhere, always a foreign travel perk if there’s ever additional need for one. Mr. T the anti-shopper is always patient with this; it is another thing I love about him, item #2237. He has apparently become an anti-consumer Influence.
I’d showed up at U-Village to return something elsewhere on Friday and never made it past H&M. I finally had the option at an H&M to buy/return, so I picked up some “maybes.” Yes, genius on the part of American retailers, cause it gets ya back in store again. And again. Onto Tuesday night, today. I had a return tonight on my way home. This caught my eye, but I held off. Only $12, but Winter White! I’d kill it.
So, this whole leaf thing is getting ridiculous. I go to upload my pictures for the day and it’s just leaves after more leaves. Maybe tomorrow I’ll purposely put it in my task list to do something different.
In other news, I am turning into a hermit. And sooper-sekritly relishing it. To further hermitude, I came home and fired up a 1969 British documentary on Western Civilization (ahem, called Civilisation) for background noise.
Traca led us through the ID this afternoon. We started at Kau Kau for the crispy and bbq pork, then walked through Maynard Alley over to Duk Li for dim sum. I was game to try the chicken feet but I started to bite into one, realized I was at a knuckle and said, uuummm ok, that’s all! Yep. I chickened out.
At Duk Li, my favorite dishes were the pork humbow and the garlic & ginger stuffed rolls. At Kau Kau, I was in love with the garlic shrimp.
Overall, an excellent afternoon — got to meet up with people I’ve dined with before and met a few new adventuresome folk.
Strangely, no pictures yesterday. Which is too bad, as I had a great photo-worthy evening with Amy in the Georgetown neighborhood, with patrons in weird hats and random pugs jumping onto my bench inside the restaurant. We’d met up at Jules Mae’s to discuss a book we both read and this turned into five hours of talking which ended only after we’d both been standing for two more hours outside of our cars. It was great to catch up.
Today, I ran errands in Snohomish County and grabbed more leaf pictures. Here in evergreen land, fall colors aren’t typically exceptionally vibrant. Not so this year. I hear our luck is due to cooler temps and less rain for October. I’ll take it. This is my favorite part of Fall.
I have a few days off and spent some time today in the backyard — this is the neighbor’s. I love the red leaves amidst the green.
Tonight, I met up with Mr. T and his colleagues at the Fremont Ballroom. I asked his boss (a fellow Francophile) about the status of their Paris office. Darnitall, not quite ready for expansion in the land of cheese-eating surrender monkeys.
Tonight was another bowling adventure. I scored 109, aw yeah. Any time I break 100 is a good night.
Next door to the alley is the Seattle Temple. Once upon a time in another life, I went to church in the affiliated building right behind it, when I was living in Issaquah, the next I-90 exit over.
I had an early college roommate whose Dad was this temple’s president, always a prestigious appointment. Thanks to her father having been a former mission prez in Switzerland, she was fluent in French. She helped me keep up mah skillz. She was one of the first people I knew well from the Pacific Northwest and the first Seattle diehard ambassador I’d met. Except she was really from Tacoma, but it’s all the same neighborhood. Right? Just like this temple in Bellevue’s the official Seattle one.
I wish I could remember Susan’s last name as the last I knew of her, she was married with a little girl & doing French grad work at UBC-Victoria. I bet she’s still kickin it around here.
Tonight, we caught up with trivia again. Truth be told, it was ridiculous. It was good to see Carey, Kate, and moto again, though. And to meet a few folks.
We still placed 2nd out of maybe 10 teams? Or more? The place was busy.
…has arrived in Fremont.
I first noticed him walking up 34th near Phinney the other day, looming over by the Canal. While wandering the hood, I also noticed that that new-ish Fremont party venue west of Phinney on 35th is having some sort of Boo Extravaganza on Halloween night.
This is the view on the corner of Brouwer’s:
