More Fab Eats

It seems as though life in Seattle with my children revolves around food. If I lived here, I have no doubt that I'd eventually weigh 300 pounds.

We started off the morning with Brother Jerry and S-I-L Kellie driving up from Olympia. Friend Doug and I picked up Friend Christy and headed into Chinatown to Jade Garden, where we six met up for dim sum (little bites). It was a crowded, noisy, crazy place, where they plunked down a pot of tea, handed out plates and chopsticks, and then wheeled carts of little bamboo steam pots around.

You point, and they plop the dishes onto the lazy-susan in the center of the table. They are trying to sell you everything, you are trying to only get things you like. Christy took charge by standing up and saying "NO!" to most of the waitress' suggestions, and countering with her own "Do you have any....?"

The waitress had giant scissors she used to cut the bites in half, so everyone could get a taste. There were fluffy dumplings stuffed with BBQ Pork, tender rice noodle-burrito things stuffed with shrimp, sesame-encrusted rolls and flaky pastries stuffed with ??? The textures ranged from crispy and crunchy to soft and slippery, the tastes all fabulous and exotic. Christy then started ordering off the menu, sending them back to the kitchen to bring perfectly cooked crisp-tender Chinese broccoli with a spicy brown sauce, and still more interesting nuggets to try. We ate and ate and ate until we could eat no more. The bill worked out to less than $10 per person with the tip.

Jerry and Kellie then took off to go visit their daughter Angela at her college, and drop off some stuff for her, while Doug, Alex, Christy and I drove downtown to the Seattle Art Museum. Christy had free passes for all of us, (Jerry and Kellie met us inside later) and we spent the next four hours immersing ourselves in the eclectic collection. There were special exhibits on Alexander Calder of mobile kinetic sculpture fame, and Michaelangelo, with some breathtaking rooms on the Sistine Chapel ceiling and Last Judgment altar-piece, complete with original study-drawings from the master himself.

We then visited Fran's Chocolate across the street from the museum. This is a chocolatier where the goodies are displayed in glass cases like jewelry. A Tiffany's of chocolate.

We all split up for awhile (I went back to Alex's house for a nap!). When Doug, Christy and Alex came home around 7:30, we then turned our attention to where to go for dinner. We ended up in Alki Beach at Duke's Chowder House, where Doug had stuffed halibut, Christy had fish & chips, Alex had blackened fish tacos and I had crab chowder, lobster chowder, and a prawn & crab salad. Wow. I got my shellfish fix, for sure.

We stayed up until midnight, laughing and talking. These kids are so, so bright, I am in awe of their free-ranging conversation and quick, clever humor.

Off to bed. I am sleeping on an air mattress I purchased last year (for just this purpose--providing me a comfortable place to snooze when visiting), in "the snake room." Alex and Doug have two roommates, Morgan and Nick, and they have 3 boa constrictors. Don't freak out--they are contained in giant, locked aquariums with heat lamps. They are in winter torpor mode; I rarely see them, unless I peer into their fake-log den, where they slumber in hibernation. Sleeping in the room with the heat lamps concerned me at first, but the air mattress is cold, so I sleep at a comfortably cool temp without night sweats. Yea!

Alex's house is cute and comfortable--although much of the conversation revolves around what to do with the rough-stucco walls in the living room, or how to renovate and update the kitchen. They have only been in the house for six months, so they are processing how to increase the value of the house without spending too much money on things that won't translate to a higher price when they sell, hopefully in about 5 years. The house actually reminds me of the house I owned in Costa Mesa when I met Bill, eleventy billion years ago. I am sleeping in what was once a garage, now converted into a game room. Three bedrooms and two baths, and very livable.

Alex is at work today. When Doug wakes up, he will take me to Juli's where I will visit and pick up my dirty laundry, then Alex and I will meet up when he gets off work at 6.

Then, we will go out for...Indian Food!