Rockin’ Pizza
It was cold, so cold it was even . . . SNOWING! We were in the mood for pizza, and we had seen a tavern along the road that claimed a wood burning oven, which is our favorite kind of pizza. We ventured out in the cold and snow, made it to the tavern, and it turned out to have a rock theme.
It was a very fun place, with a fake old brick interior, booths, a stage – I guess for competing rock bands, but there weren’t any live bands that night – GREAT smells, and great looking pizzas coming out from the kitchen. It was called the Rock Tavern, and they played classic rock songs, some really old ones like from the ’50’s, too.
This is what it looked like inside:
Here is what I had; it was called Evil Ways, and had artichoke hearts, spinach, sundried tomatoes and a basil pesto cream sauce – oh YUMMMMM:
Adventure Man had Ripp’s Revenge, which had kalamata olives, marinated mushrooms and sundried tomatoes – also YUMMMMMMM:
By the time we left, it had stopped snowing and none had stuck.
Christmas Card Santa
It’s time for that old tradition, sitting on Santa’s lap for the annual Christmas card. It’s funny, you warn your kid about strangers, and then once a year you stand in line waiting, and then plop your kid on this total stranger’s lap and expect him/her to smile for the camera. And some of those Santas are very scary looking! This one had a kindly look, and I didn’t hear any of the kids screaming. 😉
Note to Error – this is also taken at the Alderwood Mall.
Adventure Man’s Leaves
As we left the bank, Adventure Man was distracted by the last of the autumn leaves on the drive. The leaves are beautiful on the trees, but Adventure Man can see their beauty even on the ground. (For the rest of us, they get messy and they are slippery.)
Seattle Shopping Nirvana
Seattle is a shopper’s paradise. You can find almost anything. One of the pinnacles of Seattle shopping has always been Nordstrom’s.
Busloads of Canadians are coming in for shopping sprees, and this is where they start. The stronger Canadian dollar has made shopping in the US a gleeful experience.
Seattle Fuel
Here is what Seattleites tank up on to handle the chill weather:
There are little coffee shops ever couple hundred feet – Seattle people don’t want to be without their coffee, chai, or cinnamon apple cider.
Cold Weather Gear
I can’t be the only one to have this problem. It doesn’t even matter that I have lived in the Pacific Northwest; no matter what I pack, when I am in Kuwait, I can’t imagine being cold enough to need things like hats that cover your ears, gloves, and heavy scarves.
Last winter, I did buy some heavy shawls in December, in Kuwait, and I am wearing them over my jackets when we walk along the waterfront. The wind coming in off the bay is chill and damp, and goes right through everything we are wearing. I am so thankful to have beautiful wool shawls to keep me warm, but we still had to make a run to the store to buy more hats and gloves:
As we went out for our walk this morning, Adventure Man reminded me to take the tag off the top of my hat. Doh!
(I also have the same trouble going back to Kuwait at the end of a Seattle summer; like “what? I won’t need a sweater? Not for months?”)
Lutefisk Dinner
Do you listen to Prairie Home Companion? Have you ever heard Garrison Kieler talk about Norwegians and lutefisk?
Wikipedia gives the following definition, and if you want to see a photo or know how to prepare it, you can check on the blue Wikipedia above:
Lutefisk (lutfisk) (pronounced [lʉːtəfɪsk] in Norway, [lʉːtfɪsk] in Sweden and the Swedish-speaking areas in Finland) is a traditional dish of the Nordic countries made from stockfish (air-dried whitefish) and soda lye (lut). In Sweden, it is called lutfisk, while in Finland it is known as lipeäkala. Its name literally means “lye fish”, owing to the fact that it is made with caustic soda or potash lye.
As I was googling lutefisk, I actually found a place you can order it at Walleyedirect.com and it will look like this:
You probably won’t want to. Lutefisk is what poor immigrant Norwegians used to eat through the long winters. It is cod that has been soaked in lye and then dried to preserve it. It is also incredibly smelly. If you are at all sensitive to smell, you will probably not even be able to be in the same room with lutefisk.
Why am I telling you all this? Some people find lutefisk a rare delicacy; it brings back nostalgic memories of the good old days. Only in communities with pockets of heavy Scandinavian decent will you find signs on bulletin boards like this:
The Fish
You know how I love public art. These fish are amazing with the early morning light on them:
A close up – one has gone entirely iridescent!
The Pier
Walking out onto the great fishing pier, early in the morning, you see all kinds of things. It is brrrrrr, cold, and before we take another early morning walk, we will have to buy hats to cover our ears, and gloves, and maybe a scarf. The morning is brisk, there is only a light wind, but it is still cold, beyond refreshing, it is brrrr cold!
Seal pups are so vulnerable, and so cute, people have to be reminded to leave them alone:
This pier offers free fishing opportunities to hundreds of people – even on a chill morning, there are die-hard fishermen and women:
And as a courtesy, the city provides cleaning stations where your catch can be gutted and cleaned:
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