Jazz Birthday

My DH and I went to Jazz Alley (http://www.jazzalley.com/) on Tuesday to celebrate his birthday. Tuck and Patti (http://www.tuckandpatti.com/) were the headliners, and they are an amazing duo. He's a phenomenon with a guitar, and she's got a voice that melts my heart. It was their rendition of My Romance that I always associate with falling in love with my sweet husband.

I used to see T&P for free when I lived in Berkeley in the late 70's. They would play during happy hour at a bar my friends and I frequented, and I loved them even then. I have to pay more to see them, but they are so very worth it.

Dinner at Jazz Alley is often wonderful, but I didn't order the right thing on Tuesday. They had a special salad - wild salmon over a salad of apples, fennel, and mixed greens with a citrus dressing. Had I made it at home, I'd have seared the salmon to medium rare, and put the warm filet over the top of the dressed salad. What came at the restaurant, though, was a slab of cold salmon over an uninspired salad - no hint of citrus in the dressing. Yuk. I did take the salmon home, since it's in a good state to be used with cream cheese, capers, red onion and bagels...but it was lousy for dinner. What a shame. We each had the soup of the day, which was a vegetarian tomato-basil soup, and we asked for some Parmesan to sprinkle on top. That was quite good. But they changed their by-the-glass pinot grigio, and that was not great. I switched to a pinot noir from California (no Oregon pinot noirs on the wine list - at least by the glass) and it was quite good. So, I didn't have much dinner, but I did have some good wine.

Next week, we're off to San Francisco to see my sister and her family for Thanksgiving. We'll also visit with friends in SF and Sonoma - and I'll get to see my Godmother for the first time in years!

We've got a week already packed with activities, including a celebration for my Mother-in-law's birthday. I just love her, contrary to the standard jokes about MILs, she's the best! We're going to see Australia (the movie, not the country) and I hope we get to the De Young museum and the new Jewish museum in the city. I'll enter updates either while I'm away or as soon as I get back.

License to Kill

Had a fabulous weekend, which included a trip to the Cinerama to see Quantum of Solace. What a blast! It had more of a feeling of the Bourne movies - but Bond wasn't distrusted for too long, so I could handle it. I have a hard time when good people are misunderstood as bad guys, and can only handle it for short periods. Once M was back on Bond's side, the movie just rocked for me. I haven't been this excited about Bond since Sean Connery had the role. Daniel Craig is so very different, but I like that he's more gritty and earthy (while still looking wonderfully hot in a tuxedo). That was just wonderful!

We also went to see The Drowsy Chaperone at the 5th Ave Theater. What a funny, entertaining play! Sorry I didn't get to see it before the end of the run because it would be worth your while to check it out. The staging, acting, singing (except for 1 male lead who was a tad weak in both voice and footwork) were fantastic, and I can understand why it was such a hit on Broadway.

After the play, we strolled down to the Pike Place Market looking for a nosh and a cocktail. We were going to go somewhere on the passport card, but Place Pigalle (http://www.placepigalle-seattle.com/) caught our eye, and that was all she wrote. We read the menu and had to go in and watch the sunset...appetizers led to cocktails... led to dinner...Oh, well. There's nothing like living in denial. Neither of us could afford the extravagance, but neither of us could resist the sheer pleasure of every bite of their exquisite food. A Lillet blanc, roasted beet salad, a pinot noir from the Willamette Valley, a bouliabase filled with fresh seafood - and my DH had the duck that was so tender, he had the leftovers the next day and said that it even seemed MORE tender on Sunday than it was on Saturday night. What a fabulous evening.

Sunday night, I thought we were going to have rabbit, since my DH bought some fresh rabbit at the market, but he planned on taking that to our suburban place to experiment with one of Lidia Bastianich's (http://www.lidiasitaly.com/) recipes from her TV show. So, I threw together a stir fry of fennel, onion, fresh organic carrots, bell pepper and mushrooms, and added chicken in for the protein. If I hadn't had so much wine with dinner, it might have been passable as a diet-friendly meal, but oh, no. I had to overdo. Nothing exceeds like excess, as they say. Oh, well. Today is a new day full of big plans for changing my obcessive behavior one day at a time.

Books, Books and more Books

I seem to be going through an insatiable period of reading right now. I have a very short commute - 2 miles - so it's not like I am doing all this because I need distraction on the bus. I just can't seem to stop - not that I want to, but it makes it hard to keep finding something new to read.

I'm currently reading Robert Crais' Chasing the Darkness. Since my DH, with his amazing baritone, likes to read aloud to me, I was hoping to save that one, but I couldn't wait. If you haven't met Elvis Cole, go to the Seattle Mystery Bookshop (http://www.seattlemystery.com/) and get the first of the Cole series. They have a section devoted to the first book in a series, so you can find a new (hopefully prolific) writer when you need to find something new.

I scored the last time I was there. I found a book containing the first two Nero Wolfe mysteries by Rex Stout. YUM! Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe take me to the world of the 30's and 40's that I just adore. The mysteries are very good, and the atmosphere even better. The best part? Rex Stout wrote from the 30's through the 70's! Huzzah! I take breaks to read other things knowing that there'll always be another Nero Wolfe to come home to...well, maybe not "always", but for a long time.

Right now I'm on a mystery break so that I can read Exodus by Leon Uris. I read it back in the 70's, but the movie was on the other day, and there was so much I didn't remember. I work near the library, so I went to their website (http://www.spl.org/) and put a hold on Exodus.

Why go to the website when I work so close to the library itself? It's easier to find a book on line and pick it up from the hold section than to try and find anything in that library. It's a pretty building - don't get me wrong - but you can take the escalator up to the top, but you have to either take the stairs or the elevator down. Yep. That's right. The escalator is a one-way transit option...Also, the "spiral" of which they're so proud makes it possible to head to the 5th floor, arrive at the 5th floor and be told by the librarian that you're on the "wrong 5th floor" for the book you want.

I no longer bother. I login, order up whatever I want, and head over to the library's hold section and easily find my book on the shelves which are organized by lastname - mine. Then I use the self-service checkout, and I'm done. Otherwise, you'd find me wandering around in circles - I mean spirals - trying to find a book in a section I can see - but can't get to without circling the building.

The picture here is the Seattle Public Library downtown. It's supposed to look like a stack of books...

South Indian Cooking

When my DH and I were married this past July, our friends - our extended family - gave us a unique and most-cherished present: a day called "Teach the Newlyweds to Cook". These friends are all from India, and they got together, picked some recipes, and walked us through the process of each one. Then - of course! - we ate the results. What an incredible gift - time with people we love, doing something we love, and enjoying the fruits of our labors! My DH took notes, and we savoured the scents and tastes from a world away. It was the most wonderful day we've had in a long time. Loving to cook, as we both do, the day was a perfect way to relax.

Monday I went to my credit union to do the major name-change thing on my day-to-day accounts. I love my credit union (http://www.watermarkcu.org/). They're efficient, friendly, and don't nickel-and-dime me to death with charges for every little thing. They just moved into their new space - a new building right near their old one. I do so much banking remotely, I didn't even realize that they'd moved! Luckily, I walked there, so I was passing the new entrance on my way there.

Tuesday was Veterans' Day, but I haven't gotten my flag, yet. I was at the house in the 'burbs, though, where my DH had put out his flag for the day. Next year, we'll have one at both houses.
I was going to post quotes from Bob Brezny's site on his reaction to the results of the election, but his entire article is worth reading. I highly recommend that you head over there and see his article called "Changing the Way We Change" (http://www.freewillastrology.com/). It's really beautiful, and insightful. We've got work to do, and I hope that we - all of us - are up to it.

Comedy and Dinner

Well, last night certainly made up for the theater disappointment last Sunday. We went to the Moore Theater and saw Ron White doing his latest show. He's filming a new special in Seattle, and this concert is part of that. He was outstanding! His old-style delivery, standing there with his cigar and a scotch just telling stories...wonderful. I'm just sorry it had to be on a Thursday night, because I'm awfully tired this morning!

Before the show we went to the Buenos Aires Grill (http://www.buenosairescuisine.com/). The food was superb! I had the filet mignon with sweet potato fries and grilled veggies. Mark had their Argentinian grill, which is basically a sample of all the meats they roast there. Since we were in an Argentinian restaurant, I had to try an Argentinian wine - it's a rule, right? It was a malbec-syrah, and delightful. My DH liked it, too - always a plus when we like the same wine. We had so many leftovers - there's just so much meat we could eat at one time! I think they have tango dancing some evenings. We'll have to see if we can make a date for one of those nights. This is definitely a restaurant we will want to visit again and again. And, it's on the passport card (http://www.passportunlimited.com/), which gives us a little bit of a break.

Altogether a wonderful evening.

I have a country!

For 8 years I've felt like a resident alien - no connection, no representation, no idea who the rest of the people inhabiting this country were...I finally feel connected. It wasn't just a win for Obama, it was a win for people to whom I can relate.

I'm avoiding the conversation I can overhear, people grousing about Dino Rossi's loss. Too bad! I'm so happy that Chris Gregoire is in office again. I think she's been great for Washington and a real friend when they were few and far between during these past 8 years.

I am now in a situation - I need a flag. My DH always flys a flag at the house, but I've never flown one at the condo in the city because I haven't felt patriotic. I've felt ashamed and embarassed. Now I'm proud and happy and hopeful! I have to go out and find myself a Stars and Stripes.

If only California wasn't so disappointing. How is it possible that even with the governor against it, they voted to ban gay marriage? WTF? Why does anyone who isn't gay CARE whether gay people get married? I just don't understand the social ignorance - but at least it's not in the white house anymore.

Two steps forward, one step back - better than it has been. Time to give prayers of thanks, and prayers for strength to keep going forward.

Interesting coincidence: Today in History is the first day that Susan B. Anthony voted legally. It's also Guy Fawkes Day - memorable to me because V For Vendetta is one of my favorite movies.

A Swing and a Miss

I think my DH put it best when he described our most recent theater outting as "a swing and a miss". Since we both like silent films, I thought going to The Golem - a 1922 silent film presented by Music of Remembrance (http://www.musicofremembrance.org/) - would be something we'd both enjoy. However, the film was accompanied by several pieces of music that were oddly flawed. The "score" of the film didn't match the film, and the composer either didn't watch the film she was scoring, or had no experience with silent films. The first piece of music - Before the Ark - was very nice, but the second piece was DREADFUL. My DH walked out, and sequestered himself at the far end of Benaroya, since the wailing of the soprano was audible even outside of the small concert hall. Oh, well. We see so much good theater in Seattle, that we're bound to run into a dud once in a while.

After the concert/film, we headed over to The Wild Ginger for a nosh. It is so expensive there, but we sat at the satay bar and had a couple of the specials and some soup. I had a couple of glasses of an Estancia cabernet - yum! So, the evening wasn't an entire loss.

Next up is Ron White at the Moore -- which we refer to as "fire trap theater", since it is in such bad repair -- and dinner at the Buenos Aires Grill. My expectations are high that we'll have a good theater/dinner experience that night! Time will tell...