Hello! I hope you’re enjoying a wonderful end of your February. Here are some wonder-things I experienced this week. Would love to hear about yours as well.
One perfect weather — Snow
We had snow up here in the Seattle/Tacoma area. I kept feeling jealous over my friends who aren’t near the Puget Sound (also grateful that I am) but those who kept posting all their snow pictures. The snow kept teasing with flurries, then finally, snow that stuck! There is an unparalleled wonder when walking in the muffled quiet of snowfall. A peace and beauty like no other.
Late night walk in the snow
Excited faces over snow still falling.
One favorite quote I’m thinking on – Ps. 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
One great meal – The Walrus & the Carpenter
After about three years of intending to go, I finally got to one of Chef Renee Erickson’s restaurants. My husband Nieldon and I headed into Seattle to a great area called Ballard. There we found the hidden away little oyster bar/restaurant, The Walrus & the Carpenter. We sat at the bar where we watched a guy working with some chanterelle mushrooms and later delicately making raviolis. He looked like an artist at work, and the food tasted like it.
Beer and oysters, oyster, oysters! We made a little oyster tasting so we could try the sweeter to the more briny oysters. While I liked them all, not surprisingly, Nieldon liked the sweet and I liked the brinier better. He tends to like sweeter wine to my dry, his Belgium White to my IPA, he’ll eat candy and I’m weak for salty chips, and hey, that’s sort of what we like about each other too – that I’m sweeter to his briny. Ha! Just had a marriage insight right there!
Niel ordered the steak tartare, which neither of us had eaten it before. Yes, it’s raw, and yes, it is delicious. I had a wonderful clam dish – steamed clams, lentils, red onion, crème fraîche, and grilled bread. Then we shared a maple bread pudding with espresso butter sauce and whipped cream. Taste bud heaven! Here’s the menu.You can also order Erickson’s book with recipes and stories as I mentioned a few weeks ago (title above).
After dinner, we attended a show by musician Sean Hayes at the Tractor Tavern. I feel almost cool going to these places, and it was a much-needed night out for the two of us.
All this food reminiscing is making my mouth water; I’m ready to drive back up, right now. My plan is to work my way through Erickson’s other restaurants as well as some of the other well-known Seattle chefs (already I’ve eaten at four delicious Tom Douglas restaurants). Basically, I’m eating my way around Seattle. If you come up, I’ll have recommendations.
One far look up – Blue Origin
The Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark series were certainly childhood influences of mine. I refuse to let growing up steal away those child-like wonders of what treasures might be hidden in the ground and what can be discovered up in the stars. We’re seeing space advancements with SpaceX and with Blue Origin (Jeff Bezos’ space company). Blue Origin is making reusable rockets and have plans for humans to live and work in space in the near future. Even sooner than that, people like you and me (not you, Mom) will be able to take some wonder-crazy journeys like Mannequin Skywalker’s on this video. That video gets my heart racing! Stay tuned for humans coming soon.
One look ahead — Backpacking trip with grownup sons
This year is filling up with weddings, my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary/family trip to the mountains (super excited about this family event), and I’m going to Singapore in the fall (yay!), but I’m trying to add in a trip I started planning last year with my two oldest sons. Having a second round of babies means being more intentional with keeping the relationships close with the first ones. It’s pretty easy to do because my kids are awesome to be around, but it’s also hard as we are getting scattered a bit and we all have adults schedules (what adults?!). Cody is our hiking/camping guide so it’ll probably be in the Russian Wilderness (Northern California), but we’re trying to get a date and spot nailed down. Hope to share more soon. I can’t wait to sit around a campfire and explore some mountains with these two guys. It’s wild having your sons be men.
Hope your week is very sweet with a little briny – or a lot briny if you’re having oysters.
Wishing you great moments of wonder in the week ahead!
Cindy
