Here There and Everywhere

Expat wanderer

Christmas Lights

Lights are going up for Christmas, and we found this house particularly lovely:

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December 5, 2007 Posted by | Arts & Handicrafts, Christmas, Community, Living Conditions, Seattle | 2 Comments

Rain Rain Go Away

Seattle has had a record amount of rain – the second largest amount in one day in the entire history of measuring rainfall. Roads are flooded, traffic is gridlocked, and my sister is continuously sloshing out her flooded lower story, a grinding, thankless job. It’s a mess.

Funny Pictures
moar funny pictures (photo from I Can Has Cheezburger)

December 4, 2007 Posted by | Humor, Living Conditions, Seattle, Statistics, Weather | , , | 2 Comments

Winter Wonderland

Snowstorms make for dangerous driving, but oh, so beautiful moments. I wanted to share some with you:

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December 4, 2007 Posted by | Adventure, ExPat Life, Holiday, Living Conditions, Seattle, Weather | 6 Comments

Emmet Watson’s

There was a crusty old journalist/columnist at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer named Emmet Watson, who loved good food. He opened his own little place, hidden down in the Pike Place Market, back behind a lot of other shops. It even has a small outdoor eating area for the summer months. If you want some of Seattle’s best, most authentic northwest seafood, this is where you head. He isn’t around anymore, but his small restaurant still is, and worth a trip to the market.

Emmet Watson article:
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Interior of restaurant:
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Hand written menu on brown paper bag:
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Captain’s seafood basket:
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Cioppino:
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December 3, 2007 Posted by | Adventure, Community, Cooking, Cultural, Eating Out, Living Conditions, Local Lore, Seattle | 4 Comments

Pike Place Market Fresh!

More photos from one of my favorite places on earth, the Pike Place Market:

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December 2, 2007 Posted by | Arts & Handicrafts, Community, Cooking, Customer Service, Entertainment, Living Conditions, Seattle | | 4 Comments

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.)

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December 2, 2007 Posted by | Adventure, Arts & Handicrafts, Christmas, Community, Entertainment, ExPat Life, Living Conditions, Seattle, Shopping, Travel | 3 Comments

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:

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December 1, 2007 Posted by | Bureaucracy, Community, Humor, Kuwait, Living Conditions, Seattle, Shopping, Social Issues | 9 Comments

Hard Core Divers

I can hardly believe my eyes. On some of the coldest days of the year, there are still people eager to don their wet-suits and hit the marine reserves, do a little diving. I can’t imagine; it makes me shiver just to think about it!

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December 1, 2007 Posted by | Adventure, Cultural, Entertainment, Living Conditions, Seattle, Travel | , | 7 Comments

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!

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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!”

December 1, 2007 Posted by | Arts & Handicrafts, Communication, Community, Cultural, ExPat Life, Generational, Humor, Living Conditions, Seattle, Social Issues, Spiritual, Travel | 2 Comments

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.)

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November 29, 2007 Posted by | Living Conditions, Seattle, Weather | , | 10 Comments