CoffeeJitters' Photo Featured on Seattlest

I woke up this morning to find that Seattlest featured one of my photos in this post.

It's a happy, surreal feeling to see your work acknowledged and featured. Thanks Seattlest.

Tea with Mom

tea, originally uploaded by coffeejitters.

Mom, Aaron and I went on a little road trip today. We took the ferry from Edmonds across to Kingston. We stopped for tea in a cute little town called Port Gambel, and then drove on up to Port Townsend.

Once you get through the seemingly endless winding roads through forrests and farmland, Port Townsend is a jewel of a town right out on the Straight of Juan de Fuca. The old army base, Fort Warden, was the film location for An Officer and a Gentleman, as well as the Ring. It is full of sights, and the old officers quarters are available for rent - but book early because those rooms fill up. Downtown Port Townsend is beautiful and interesting old buildings filled with restaurants, cafes, and little shops. I could spend hours, days exploring this town. I'm going to have to come back again when I have more time.

More pictures from Port Townsend

Zephyr Grill & Bar, Kent

The most recent addition to the new Kent Station , Zephyr Grill & Bar is easily the nicest restaurant in Kent. Taupe walls, dark wood booths topped with sculpted glass, elegant lighting, and white fabric napkins (yes, in Kent that's a step up) all add up to a nice ambiance, with a skilled wait-staff and the food was excellent too. Why, however, do they not put some kind of padding or buffering in the ceiling - or is it just that deafening restaurants are currently en vouge? Just a touch of buffering makes a world of difference in allowing you to hear what your partner is saying, and in drowning out the laugh of the obnoxious blonde on the other side of the room.

When we were seated in the dark-stained wood booth by the window, our server immediately brought out the bread basket: a selection of olive loaf and sourdough breads with sweat cream, pesto, and red pepper butters. The menu was a bit pricey, the entrees ran from the high teens to the low thirties; mostly around $25 a plate. We decided on a starter each and then we would share an entree and a side dish. Mr. H had the yellow pepper soup, which came out in a huge bowl. I'm not so much a fan of the yellow pepper so I didn't taste the soup, but he reports that it was excellent. My caesar salad was delivered in a huge wooden bowl, large enough to be a meal itself.

Mr. H ordered a glass of the MacMurray Ranch Pinot Noir which arrived in a glass much more empty than full. As we pondered the two fingers of wine and the air that filled the remainder of the glass we discussed the glass half empty/half full pessimist/optimist distinction and whether it was relevant when the glass was 1/5 full. I stuck my nose in the glass and inhaled, then took a sip. Not bad, not noteworthy, just a decent red wine. As I whined about the quantity of wine our server arrived with another glass, this one filled to a more appropriate depth. Apparently, the bartender had not completed filling the glass before the server ran off with it so they sent another glass of wine over with their compliments. Giving me free wine will always make points.

Our entree arrived on a huge platter: two filets of salmon on two puddles of sauce, one was a cabernet marionberry sauce and the other was lemon butter. The center of the plate contained a mound of rice pilaf, topped off with broccoli florettes. We also ordered a side of asparagus. The asparagus was amazing. The chefs treatise on asparagus is apparently "Don't so much cook it, as threaten it." The theory paid off with perfectly grilled asparagus topped with a light butter sauce. Would that he had held the same theory for broccoli as it was woefully overdone and floppy. The pilaf was hearty if a little bland. The sauces were good but the real treasure of the meal was the salmon. It was perfectly prepared with just the right herby crust. I found I preferred the salmon on it's own, without the sauces.

All in all it was an exceptional meal at a very nice location. I'd go back again in a heartbeat.

Meme & Company

First of all a note about the weather: This is Seattle people, it rains here. There is no reason whatsover to be driving 20 MPH on I-5 just because it rains. It rains all the time. That's what we're famous for. Get over it or get off the road.

Once I arrived at my appointment, 20 minutes late and completely frazzled, I was more than ready for a massage. Meme & Co is a tiny little salon in a new strip mall in Federal Way. The web site needs help and the salon is a bit too small for it's own good as well. There were three (taken) chairs in the waiting area so after checking in I ended up stading by the door while waiting for the massage therapist to come out. When she arrived she presented me with a couple diagrams of the human body and asked me to draw on there where my pain was. I was standing in the middle of the room and after looking around a minute, I walked over to the reception desk, pushed some things around to make space and used the counter as a surface for illustrating my tension. After a few quick scribbles she walked me back through the salon to the room where the massage would take place.

The salon area reminded me of backstage just before a performance. There was a palpable energy in the air, a rabbit warren of twists and turns marking off stations where people were attending to each other, running around with their hair in curlers and others sunk back in corners with their eyes closed in meditation. The only difference was the melon colored walls and huge windows.

Once we made it back to the room where the massage was to take place, I felt much more calm. The room was sage green with nice lighting and a big easy chair in the corner. She shut the door and turned the music up, a little loud for my taste, and asked me a couple more questions. Most notably she asked if I was allergic to any of the scents, herbs, and essences that they use. This is huge. Past experience at spa's I had to make a point of stating clearly that I am allergic to grasses and echanacia.

Previous exchanges went like this:
"I'm allergic to echanacia"
"That's nice. Here, have a cup of tea."
"Does it have echanacia in it?"
"Yes, this tea will boost your immunity."
"But I'm allergic to echanacia."
"Oh, don't worry, it's organic and all natural."

Spa people never want to admit that just because something is natural doesn't mean it's good for everbody. People with allergies are allergic to natural things. Duh!

Ok, moving on. Suffice to say, she made points by acknowledging that not all scents, herbs and essences are good for everybody.

As it turns out, she had turned the music up loud in an attempt to drown out the noise from the salon. The music was not to Yanni so it was ok, and almost loud enough to do the trick. The massage was very good. She's she had great pressure control and by the time she was done, I was complete jelly. And to top it all off, it was only $65 for a 1 hour massage, which around here is an excellent price.

Good the massage, but find somewhere else if you're looking for the overall spa experience. Much to chaotic for that.

Bamiyan Afghani Restaurant

After the waterfall we had to decide what to do for dinner. I would have loved to try the Salish Lodge; we stopped and checked out the menu, but frankly I was not inspired. When plates start at $23, the description on the menu should make my mouth water. We decided to head towards Issaquah instead.

Gillman village is a cute little shopping center in Issaquah comprised of a grouping of cottages on a boardwalk. The shops are cutesy and charming, ranging from toy stores, to yarn shops to kitchen gadgets - there is also an Amish furniture store that made me want to refurnish the whole house.

Gillman village also has an assortment a restaurants, but the only one we have ever tried is Bamiyan Afghani Restaurant, because how could you pass that up?

Bamiyan was originally just an Afghan restaurant, but we noticed that they've added more traditional Persian dishes as well (Persian food and Afghan food are very similar). We started with the Ausht, which was an amazing creamy and savory soup - very rich. Then Mr. H had the koobideh which is one of our all time favorite dishes. Koobideh is a savory ground beef kebab, the kind of savory where it's difficult to stop eating even when you're completely stuffed. I had the fesenjan. Fesenjan is one of those dishes that lives on a continuum, in this case between sweet and tart. The placement on that continuum depends largely on family recipe and geographic origin of that recipe. I asked the server how tart the fesenjan was and she claimed it was not too tart. Fesenjan is a dish of stewed chicken in a walnut and pomegranate gravy. The tartness of the dish depends on the amount of pomegranate juice used. It turned out a little more tart than I expected, but I like it really quite sweet. Nonetheless it was very good.

For desert, Mr. H had the Firni (custard with cardamom and pistachios). I went with the Bastani which is ice cream made with rosewater and pistachios (we served this at our wedding with the cake). To top it all off I got to watch Mr. H rap with the staff in Farsi which always turns me on.

Yummy, yummy, yummy, I love this place.

Kent Station

I must say I've been rather impressed with Kent lately.Kent is one of those massive sleeper communities where people live, but they don't hang out there- until lately.

I don't know who is responsible for creating the Kent Station, but I think it's a great idea.Rather than just putting in a mall, they designed a living area in downtown Kent.It's built adjacent to the transit center so there's plenty of parking as well as access by bus and train. The area is designed to encourage walking and the central plaza has a water feature and a large outdoor fireplace.I counted 10 restaurants including the juice bars, several clothing stores and of course the movie theatre.

It's always full of people. Last night the place was hopping

Impusliveness

I got out of class 2 hours early and as I was walking back to meet up with Mr.H I saw the most amazing sunset. We made a snap decision and decided to lickety-split down to Salty's on Redondo Beach for dinner. Ordinarily we cant afford to eat there but we just got paid and all the bills were paid and we were just really feeling impulsively optimistic what with the beautiful sunset and all. (Yay for camera phones, by the way. I snapped both of these pictures with my phone.)

So we wind down the hill to the beach as as we come in to view of the sea-wall it's lined with couples holding hands and making out. It's just all to cute and we both let out an involuntary "Aawwwwwwwwwww."

Salty's is worth the visit for the bread alone, but they seated us right up at the window with this amazing view, and after the sun went down we watched the jumping fish and the scuba divers ascending out of the water - too cool. The food was amazing - we both went for the special - halibut over wilted spinach and red potatoes with a delicate hollandaise. Yummy! I love being impulsive.

Sunshine

It's been over 70 for the past three days in a row - and the first weekend without rain this year - causing Seattlites to cry "What is that great shining orb in the sky?!?"

Today my office was filled with red noses and for the first time this year - not because of the ever circulating and evolving flu.

How odd so many more than usual called in sick today...

Unfortunately I have to go straight from work to class, and I wont be done with that till 10. Not that I spent much time playing outside this weekend anyways. Nope - big old sunbeam right plumb in the middle of my bed and I curled up and napped in it just like a cat.

Deep Sea 3D

I got off work a little early today so I met up with Mr.H at Uptown Espresso (highly recommended by the way). We putzed around Belltown for a while trying to decide what to do and then wandered over to the Pacific Science Center to check it out. As it turns out, the displays were all closed (apparently some kind of kids camp/overnighter going on) so we decided to check out the IMAX instead.
The film was narrated by Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet, and Danny Elfman did the music. I am seldom disappointed by any movie scored by Danny Elfman.

I had never been to an IMAX film before - the size of the screen is astounding. And this one was 3D, so they handed us funky little glasses as we entered the theater. It took a little bit for my eyes to adjust to the 3D, but the film was stunning. I was completely riveted, although there were a few moments where I wished we were sharing this with my 6 year old nephew (I can just picture him with his mouth wide open in amazement). I usually complain that films are too long, but this one is 45 minutes. At the end we both though "that's it?" We wanted more. All in all, I would recommend the film.

Pt. Defiance Zoo and Aquarium

We spent today at the zoo - the weather was psychotic alternating between sun, wind and torential downpours - which actually made for a good day because the zoo wasn't crowded at all. Because of the rain, we spent most of our time in the aquariums - but that was ok, we had a blast.














The two standouts of the day were the sharks - too cool to have those guys at eye level - and the belugas who were much more playful than I had expected. I also enjoyed the big old walrus - Up close he was so much bigger than I imagined - bigger than they seemed when viewing them from a ship.

I cant wait for the next visit from Max and Ilona, we will definitely have to bring them here.

Going through the Locks

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On the Water

we spent the day on a research vessel today - mostly taking readings of water properties and collecting water samples. Raising and lowering the line with one piece of equipment or another all day - but it was fun. For the most part it was gray and spitting rain, but on the way back home there were a few sun breaks. We saw a bunch of sea lions just hanging out in the water together - too cute. And I got some pics of the ballard locks as we were going through.

happy birthday to me

Today started out like too many birthdays where I put too much emphasis on making today special. Talk about setting yourself up. I was cranky this morning anyways. I don't know why. Must be hormonal.

Anyways. I really needed that first cup of coffee. We went through the drivethrough to get a latte on our way to go take care of some chores (check mail, oil change, etc.). She burned it. The coffee tasted horrible, it was scalded. Of course I didn't know this till about 8 miles down the road because that's when i took my first sip. Oh well, Mr. H bought me another one when we got to the mall. And I spilled all twenty ounces of that one all over the brand new shoes I had just bought. Mr. H bought me a third cup of coffee a little later on - was he being sweet or was that self-preservation? doesn't matter, that one did the trick.

The most amazing part of my birthday was the time I spent at the spa. Some people at work got me a gift certificate for Ummelina. I checked in at 4:30 and they took me back to a changing room to change into a robe and then they locked up my stuff. Then they took me to a room they call the tea spa. this room was full of comfy chairs and had bamboo shades over the windows through which you could see the fog and the leaves left on the trees in silhouette with the bright moon behind them. I sat down in one of the chairs and they brought me a cup of tea. Then they brought out a big bowl and a pitcher of warm water to soak my feet in. After soaking for a while, while sipping the tea and watching the fog roll, someone came out and washed my feet.

I rested a little while longer and then they took me back to the showers. These showers were worth the trip alone. It's amazing what a difference water pressure makes. There were, I think,, ten nozzles most of them spraying horizontally. So I took an amazing shower and then went back to the tea room to sip some more tea and rest. There were one or two picture books laying around that I thought about looking at, but the thought didn't last very long. It was so nice to just be still.

After a couple minutes the massage therapist came out and took me back to the room for the massage. The massage was amazing, the only drawback was that the therapist told me several times that 1/2 massage is just not long enough to really do any good. If its not long enough, they shouldn't sell gift certificates for it. Anyhoo, that was really the only drawback. and after the massage I went back to the tea room to sit a few minutes longer and drink another cup of tea. They would have let me stay in the tea room all day if i wanted, but I couldn't wait to see Mr. H so i got up and got dressed.

As it turns out, while I was at the spa, Mr. H went shopping. He bought me a shirt, a sweater and a hat. Oh, and by the way, yesterday he got me the most beautiful roses. there was a dozen of them and each one started out baby pink in the center and then faded to white on the outer petals. they'r starting to open and they are just stunning.

After the spa and presents we thought we'd go catch a movie and then dinner. The local theater had Harry Potter on five screens and the other three movies didn't look interesting either. so we went to the keg for prime rib and then came home. Not bad for turning half of seventy.

Dinner with Mom and Grandma

We had a great visit this weekend with Mom and Grandma. It's so good to see the two of them doing so well. On Saturday night we went to dinner at the Caspian Grill for Persian food. Bill's Judy joined us there as well so we had quite the little party. We had hummus, smoked eggplant and a yogurt dip to start and followed it with koobedeh, lamb kabob, tadeeg, gormeh sabzi, and fesenjoon (my favorite). Mom and Judy really loved all the food. I don't think Grandma liked the stews as much but she really enjoyed the koobedeh.

Wild Wheat Bakery and Cafe, Downtown Kent

It's payday weekend so we splurged on breakfast this morning.

We went to Wild Wheat Bakery and Cafe in downtown Kent. I love the downtown part of Kent, it's so old school. The shops are all independently owned and it's a great pedestrian area where you can walk from the library to a wide selection of cafes while shopping.

Wild Wheat is a european style bakery with the really crusty breads. The decor inside the cafe is very simple, but punctuated with pieces from local artists that are available for sale.

Mr. H had the eggs florentine which was garnished with tomatoes and dill (the dill really added something special.) I had Stollen French Toast. The stollen bread is made with hazelnuts, raisins and currants and then stuffed with almond paste, and then battered and fried like regular french toast. The edges carmelized perfectly, and the meal was served with fresh fruit and real butter. Its a sad commentary in our world when butter is a pleasant surprise. We topped it off with 2 lattes and got out of there for less than $30.

Auburn

The old grainery and Del's Farm Supply (railroad tracks once ran between the two buildings)
The local dairy - Smith Brothers Farms

Abandoned church and parsonage

Auburn Way

Auburn Ave

Department of Health

This building (picture above and below) was the old town library. It now houses the School of Dance and Music.

Main Street, Auburn

The old J.C. Penney's Building

Nielson's Jewelry

Auburn Ave Theater

"Annie Get Your Gun"

The commuter

The transit center where commuters catch the train to Seattle.

This is the old Tourist Hotel - built in 1905 at 124 West Main

It was a first class hotel back in it's heyday

Commuter