Pike Place Market Fresh!
More photos from one of my favorite places on earth, the Pike Place Market:
Pike Place Market Readies for Christmas
I’ve always loved the Pike Place Market. It’s like the heart – and stomach – of Seattle. My favorite time of year is November, when there are far fewer tourists, but still fresh vegetables, fresh fish, and wonderful arrangements of pine boughs and Mexican peppers (called “ristras” when all strung together.)
Not Your Kuwait Parking Lot
When I first arrived in Kuwait, two very kind Kuwaiti ladies helped me take care of an important errand, showing me exactly where to go, who to trust, etc. Their kindness to me moved me greatly. As we left, I said “you have been SO kind, I insist on paying for parking” and they totally cracked up, almost limp and helpless with laughter, and then they explained to me that parking would cost 150 or 200 fils (around 50 – 80 cents).
In contrast, here is where we parked to go to the Pike Place Market:
Signs, Signs
I love signs. The very first sign I remember photographing was in Kenya, where it said “Elephants have the right of way.” This is a couple signs we came upon while walking along the waterfront, and it occurred to me that in this very law-abiding community, there were all kinds of signs telling you what you can’t do . . . LOTS of them!
And because we ate at the Rock Tavern, I keep hearing this song going through my head and thinking my sign says “Thank you very much, Lord!”
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:
Do You Know These Men?
Adventure Man and I took an early morning walk along the waterfront – a week gone from Kuwait and we are still jet lagging, awake at 5 a.m. and it is a great time for a walk. As the sun comes up in the east, the moon is setting in the west, out over Puget Sound. At the pier, we see this poster:
This was an issue when I was here last summer, for Mom’s birthday. Security has tightened on the ferry runs.
Extra Ferry Runs
At the worst possible time – just before the huge Thanksgiving rush to the ferries – cracks were discovered in the hulls of four of the ferries in the transportation system. Once the cracks were discovered, the four ferries had to be taken off the runs – they don’t take chances here on people’s lives.
Ferry boats that can carry cars take specialized care to build and to repair. It will be a while before they are back in service, or replaced.
Meanwhile, people are on their way to grandmother’s house – by ferry. Cars are lined up for miles, waiting to get on. They have a strictly enforced system; there is no cutting in line, no going to the front – you get in line when you get there and you take your turn. Being Seattle, there are multiple places along the lengthy lines where you can buy coffee, and places where you can make a pit stop, to dump the coffee.
Families bring books and puzzles, and just plan on the wait. They build the ferry-waiting time into their schedule. Thanks to mobile phones, many families walk on (no waiting to walk-on, and it is a lot cheaper) and have people pick them up on arrival on the Winslow/ Kingston/ Whidby Island side.
The transportation officials also put on extra ferries, so just about as one loads up and leaves, another arrives. You may have to wait a while, but it is about as efficient as it can get.
And then, after dinner, it all reverses, and people come back on the ferries. I try to imagine the revenues those ferries bring in on this one four day weekend, and I can’t begin to imagine.
Beautiful Weird Thanksgiving
This was a beautiful, wierd Thanksgiving for me. It’s one of the very rare Thanksgivings that Adventure Man and I have not been together. He was down in Florida, at an all day eating, playing and visiting fest with our son, our son’s wife and her family. He shucked his first oysters, and was told he had better keep his day job.
I am in Seattle with my Mom, and we went to my best-friend-from-college’s house. It turned out to be one of the sweetest Thanksgivings I have had. As we sat down at the table, my friend said that in her house it is tradition to go around the table and to tell one thing you give thanks for. I found that incredibly moving. You have a glimpse into another person’s heart when you tell what you are thankful for.
And the food! Oh my! All my good resolutions, all my good intentions, down the drain – the food was SO good.
I took some photos to share with you:
The Veggies and the Salmon-Spinach Dip (oh WOW)
Making the world’s most tasty gravy, with fresh sage and thyme:
Carving one of the world’s most perfectly cooked turkeys:
The dining table – just before the carnage:
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