A Very Busy Bite

 Pictured above: Kalua Pork Rice Bowl with Cabbage and Cilantro Lime Sauce (Good Vibes Concessions), Fried Shrimp Skewer (Potato Hut), Lobster & Crab Umami Cheese Fries (Unami Cheesy Bomb), Hush Puppies (True Cajun), Ice Cream Sandwich (Snoqualmie Ice Cream)

Hey friends, it has been awhile, I know.  For several years I have reviewed The Bite of Seattle. Covid hit, so they didn't have this event for a few years. It came back last year, and my dad and I were so excited until we found out we were going to have to download an app in order to order and pay for our food. It didn't even sound like The Alley (which is the main reason we have been going all these years) was going to be there. It also sounded like there were upgrades for the entertainment if you wanted to pay extra. It just didn't sound like what we thought of as The Bite of Seattle that we had come to know and love. So, we did our own version of Bite of Seattle last year. There were a couple of really interesting foods we really wanted to try advertised for 2023, so we actually took ourselves to two different restaraunts and ordered those things instead of heading down to the busy Seattle Center that year. It actually worked out pretty nice.

Anyway, since they did away with the cashless app only thing this year, and they advertised The Alley coming back, we decided to give it another go. Unfortunately, my dad now has some health restrictions, so we were not able to stay as long as I would have liked, and I missed out on some photo opportunities I would have liked to have shared with you. Anyway, I know the event is almost over for this year, but here is my review.

The first thing that happened once we got to Seattle was that our normal parking garage was completely full. That actually turned out to be okay, because we found another parking garage that worked better for our needs this year. We arrived hungry, and were anxious to find The Alley.  There did not appear to be any sort of paper maps around, so I tried to find a map online. That map was usless, as it was too small, and when you tried to make it bigger, to see the letters, it just got blurry. Useless.

I went to the first area I thought it could be. Hmm. It wasn't there. We went almost clear over to the other side of the event.... not where it used to be.... only to find the first area was about right, but we were standing just above it.

Usually The Alley has a long line. The rest of the vendors had long lines, it was overly crowded everywhere else.  More crowded then we ever remember it being. At The Alley, this year, it was the first time we saw that there was absolutely no line at all. We paid for our food, and it was efficiently loaded onto a plate. An ice cream cookie was handed to us in addition to the plate full of food.

As soon as we exited The Alley, we had a bit of trouble finding a place to sit. There only appeared to be one long table towards the beginning, that already was full of people. We wound up sitting next to some steps on some terraced concrete in the blazing sun.

It was pretty warm out, so I decided the first thing I should try was the Ice Cream Sandwich (Snoqualmie Ice Cream). It was solid as a rock, which was a great idea, because it gave me time to enjoy the rest of my food first. What I tried of the cookie at that point, was really good.

The next thing I tried was the Kalua Pork Rice Bowl with Cabbage and Cilantro Lime Sauce (Good Vibes Concessions). I really liked that. Especially with the Cilantro Lime Sauce. There was a good portion of it, so it was quite filling.

The next three items were fine. However, I felt they all tasted way too similar to each other. All deep fried, most likely in the same vat of oil, and kind of ... bland?

The Shrimp Skewer (Potato Hut) was cooked nice, not to much or too little. On it's own, I think it would have done well.

The Hush Puppies (True Cajun) were all right, too. I dipped them in some spicy sauce that I don't remember if it was for them or the Shrimp Skewer, but they went well with it.

The Lobster & Crab Umami Cheese Fries were probably the biggest disappointment. The cheese had been melted, then solidified into a big clump, making the fries difficult to separate and eat. I could not really even taste the crab or lobster meat. It wound up being very messy.

My main thought was, "this all tastes the same!" Except for the rice dish and the ice cream cookie sandwich, which wound up being my two favorite things, especially the cookie.

One thing I did notice about the advertising of the Ice Cream Sandwich was there were two options (we only had one option) one being a Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie with Vanilla Ice Cream, the other being a Cranberry Cookie with Mountain Berry Ice Cream. Ours was definitely a chocolate chip cookie with Mountain Berry Ice Cream, and it had chocolate sprinkled on the outside. It was incredibly good, but I found it odd it wasn't exactly what appeared as advertised. 

In past years, we had found The Alley to be an exceptional experience. It started with John Hintenberger, a food critic, who had access to several fancy restaraunts willing to donate some of their best dishes to taste. Then, a couple of different chefs were in charge after that (Kathy Casey and Tom Douglas).  This year, I believe that a few vendors from the rest of The Bite were picked, and it just didn't work as well this year. We did leave the The Alley with our bellies full, but I am not sure we were all that satisfied. 

Friday Night was a Good Night for The Bite

Once again The Bite of Seattle is back, and my yearly tradition continues.  Due to the Alley increasing in price, as well as the parking garage we like to use, my dad and I have decided to not go all three days like we have in the past.

I wasn't sure what the weather was going to be like this year at the Bite.  It had been cold and sometimes rainy earlier in the week, yet warm some of the days before that. My dad and I decided to go on Friday this year, and not on Saturday.  I had to work Friday, so we went after my work. It was nice, because it wasn't too crowded. It wasn't very cold, but I think I should have brought a slightly warmer jacket this year.

The weather was a little windy while eating, but everything was so delicious tasting, it didn't seem to matter. Here is what was available at the Alley yesterday (clockwise, from top left):

Snoqualmie Ice-Cream: Salted Caramel & Mukilteo Mudd (Chocolate) Ice Cream
I did not realize there was a choice when I got to the end of the line.  I chose the Salted Caramel, which I love, and my dad chose the Mukilteo Mudd (Chocolate) one, which was also good.

Super Six: Pork Belly Musubi with Japanese Pickled Vegetables
I was worried about this one when I first saw it.  I am picky about my seaweed, and this looked like it might be the kind I don't like. It was fine. I really could not taste the seaweed at all, and it had a nice, thin texture, but sturdy enough to hold the ingredients held inside. My pork was a little dry, but I didn't mind it that way.  It was very good.

Phorale: Korean Spicy Pork Tacos with Kimchi Slaw & Phorale Aioli
My dad's favorite.  Basically like "Street Tacos," and who doesn't love a good Street Taco.

Dingfelder's Delicatessen: New York Pastrami & Corned Beef Sandwich on Seeded or Marbled Rye with Dingfelder's Coleslaw & Pickles.
Beautiful presentation. It was the first thing I tried.  I thought it was delicious.  My dad thought it was bland.

The Tin Lizzie Lounge: Alaskan Crab & Artichoke Dip on Crostini
My favorite. The crab mixture was incredible tasting, underneath was a tasty salad for presentation.

Alcove Dining Room: Moqueca - Brazillian Seafood Stew with Coconut Milk & Palm Oil with Rice.
The muscle in my stew was not as open as in some of the other samples, I had to pry it more open. However, it tasted good, and the rice mixture below was excellent.

I really did enjoy everything on my plate, and it was hard to pick a favorite, but finally decided mine was the one with the crab and artichoke dip dish.  Yummy.

After eating, we looked around, and listened to a couple of bands.  The first band was called MVP (Michael Jackson vs. Prince) the first song I heard was a cover of  Prince's "Raspberry Beret." They also played some tunes I did not recognize, but were very soulful sounding. There were two female lead singers, and one male singer.  They sounded excellent.  I  was feeling pretty cold while watching them at that point, but I did not want to leave, because I loved their sound.  Two other songs I recognized were Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean" and "P.Y.T."  The music was upbeat and fun. Several people were dancing to this group.

The other band we stopped to listen to was The Michelle Taylor Band. The lead singer had one of those scratchy rock n' roll voices. The bass player was energetic and sounded awesome. We did not stay for the whole set, but what we heard was pretty good. The audience seemed happy, too.

We roamed around a little before finally headed for home. I felt it was a nice light for some photos, so I took a couple of more before leaving.

Eating Well & Keeping Cool at The Bite of Seattle

The second day at  the Alley (at The Bite of Seattle), most of the food portions were in good sized basket-type containers.  It was a little awkward to get them all onto one plate.  In fact, was worried some might fall off, but luckily, they didn't.  Here is what was served today, starting at the top, going clockwise:

Anar - Mujadara: Protein Bowl with green lentils, brown rice, labneh, pepitas, pickled turnips. - This was one my favorite things today on my plate, but it was my dad's least favorite.  It was at this point I learned that my dad doesn't like sour cream (which it has a dollop of).  All these years I have known him, and I had no idea he dislikes sour cream.  He said maybe if it didn't have that, he would like it.  He said he didn't like the cabbage, either.  I told him I thought those were turnips, because cabbage was not a listed ingredient.  He said he did not like turnips, either.  So, I really liked this dish.  I thought it had several great textures, a unique flavor, and I thought the sour cream was a great touch, but I guess it did not have a chance with my dad.

Hurry Curry of Tokyo:  Japanese Beef Curry with mixed vegetables & Japanese style curry pickles. - This was my dad's favorite.  It had a nice, savory flavor.  I am not sure what Japanese style curry pickles are, but maybe they are the red things on top that remind me of a bell pepper?

Salty's On Alki Beach:  Seafood Ceviche: Scallops, prawns, sweet onion, and aromatics. - I was a little nervous about trying this dish, when I read it on the menu, but I did not need to worry at all.  It was delightful, and fun looking with a bright, crisp chip to add crunchiness and flavor.

Conscious Eatery: Walnut Salad: Pear, blue cheese crumbles, fried candied walnuts with champagne vinaigrette over spring mix. - I liked this dish, but the flavors did not really stand out, I am not even certain mine had the vinaigrette, but if it did, it was very light, which was fine, but I guess I was expecting a tad more flavor from it.

Maslow's by Farestart: Jerk Chicken Skewer with Pineapple Slaw.  - This was my dad's second favorite.  I thought it was pretty good, too.  I liked the sweetness of the pineapple in the slaw.  The chicken was tender, but a bit difficult to eat on the stick, so I pulled it off with my fingers.

No Thai Cuisine:  Crispy Spring Rolls - Miniature fried spring rolls stuffed with glass noodles & vegetables, served with plum sauce.  These were so incredibly good!  May have been my favorite or second favorite.  My dad's third favorite.  Crispy, sweet, and delicious!

The weather was quite warm today.  Perfectly sunny.  Even though we were pretty full after eating at The Alley, we wound up trying 3 different desserts later.  They had some really interesting desserts at a few different vendors this year.  I did not get very good photos of them, so I will just describe them to you. They were found in the Munchies at the Mural section of the Bite.

The first one I tried was called LBJella Ice Cream Cane (picture #6, click to see).  Soft serve ice cream is served in what looks like an umbrella handle or "J."  I was uncertain how stable this cone would be, but it was rather thick, but also puffy, so it held the ice cream inside well.  There is a bit of extra ice cream on each side, and you get your choice of toppings for each side.  I chose toffee for one side, and Fruity Pebbles for the other, and had two Strawberry Pocky sticks sticking out on either side.  It was pretty good.  The purpose I found out, was to create a cone that would not drip.  However, it was so hot, that the bottom part with the extra ice cream did a little onto my blouse.  It wasn't a disaster like my dad thought it might be.  I liked the taste of the cone, which seemed to be puffed corn, and the ice cream inside complimented it greatly.

The second dessert (or whatever it was) named Twenty Three Below, was bought at the same place (picture #3, click to see).  It looked really cool, both literally and figuratively.  The dessert was also made of puffed corn, with some slight flavoring (one tasted like a banana flavored puff).  The dessert lets off a freezing cold steam, which makes a very interesting presentation.  The trick is that it is dipped into Nitrogen.  So, it looks awesome as you are eating it.  There are rules on eating this novelty for your safety:

First, you stab each piece with a stick.
Second, you blow on the puff 3 times.
Third, you stick the puff into your mouth, chew, and then keep chewing on it (meaning: don't let it linger on your tongue).

Steam will come out of your mouth, or out of your nose while doing this.  Even though it was quite fun and interesting, it was mostly air, so it seemed overpriced.  Many people were eating them, though.  I guess it was just too cool to pass up!

Both my dad and I felt we needed something more after finishing our desserts, so we wound up getting two popsicles from Seattle Pops.  The booth won best dessert, yet everyone was flocking to the stands around them.  I ordered a Coconut Cream Popsicle, my dad had a Blueberry Cream one.  There were other flavors, some not creamy, but the coconut appealed to me most.  It was incredibly good.  It was creamy and smooth, and flavorful.  My dad liked his, too.  Simplicity was better in this case.  It was my favorite of the three desserts I tried.  I looked up their website, and I definitely want to try them out again.

The day was pretty hot today, and is expected to be even hotter tomorrow, so if you go down, be sure to dress light, and maybe bring some water to keep cool.  Have fun!

The Alley Raises the Price at The Bite of Seattle 2018... Is It Worth It?

Several years in a row, I have gone to The Alley at the Bite of Seattle with my dad, my friends, or on my own, and for years it was $10 per plate.  Last year it was a little more, but this year, they doubled the $10 amount to $20 per plate!  I read it ahead of time, before going, but it made my dad and I hesitant about going all three days like we used to do. Furthermore, the parking this year went up to $20 itself.  So, the Bite is not exactly cheap anymore.  At least there is no entrance fee.  So, if you can walk there from where you live, you are pretty lucky.  Seems like everything went up in price this year, more than usual.

The Alley was advertising "6 LARGE BITES," but that isn't actually true.  There were definitely two that were quite small.  Some were what I would consider medium-large size, and maybe a couple were large.  However, everything filled us up, to the point we did not need to eat anything else while we were there, as we walked around.

The Bites are reviewed as shown above, from the center, and clockwise:

Community Table by Farestart:  Santa Fe Bowl:  Hot brown rice, matchstick carrots, black beans, corn niblets, cherry tomato halves, green chili tomatillo sauce, cotija cheese, Pico de Gallao, avocado, lime sauce, tortilla crisps.  -  We were asked if we wanted the tortilla crisps, obviously yes!  This bite had a beautiful presentation, in a small cup.  Mine was well balanced.  From the list of ingredients I see that it does not show it has chicken, but I am certain mine had chicken!  My dad did not have chicken in his, and he did not like it as much as me.  I liked it very well.  It was a bit challenging to eat, without spilling it out of the cup, but the plate was there, so that was a minor issue.  My dad thought it may have been better if we dumped it on the plate and stirred it up a bit.  I enjoyed mine just fine.  It had nice texture and flavor.  

Gather Kitchen & Bar:  Westport Albacore with watermelon, heirloom tomato, wild arugula, and balsamic gratrique. - First of all, we got a rather small portion of this dish.  It did not look like there was much left, yet we were there in the afternoon, and it wasn't that busy yet. It was also a bit of a mystery dish.  I did not have a menu in front of me, but I had read the menu a night or two before, and thought, "this is the potato salad."  My dad argued that it was not.  It seemed to have the texture of potato salad, in some parts, with a type of melon, like cantaloupe, but certainly not watermelon, as described.  It had a bit of a bite to it, which was nice.  Despite the fact I had no idea what I was eating, until I read the description later, and it was an underwhelming proportion, I actually quite liked this dish.  My dad did not really like it.  He did not like the textures.  He also said he does not like albacore.  I never had it before, that I know of.  I liked it fine.

Bounty Kitchen:  Thai Basil Peanut Salad:  Mixed greens, purple and nappa cabbage, lemongrass and peanuts. -  The person serving us this dish was very friendly and offered more than expected.  I really liked the colors of this salad.  This was the first thing I tried.  I liked it so much, I had a taste, and waited till later to finish the rest.  It was spicy, with a nice blend of flavors.  Seemed like a Thai style coleslaw.  It was one of my favorites on the plate.  Though I liked everything I had on my plate.

Pescos Pit BBQ:  "The Piggy Parfait": Pecos Best Potato Salad Ever (with bacon), topped with chopped pork and drizzled with the Pecos "The Only" Sauce. - This was my favorite of the bites on my dish today.  The meat was nice and tender, the sauce was tangy and spicy (they had extra spicy sauce to add, which is what I had), I did not realize at first I was eating potato salad, but then it was obvious, and very good.  The potato salad seemed to have cheese in it, besides bacon, and it complimented the barbecue pork very well.

Din Tai Fung:  Vegetable and Pork Wonton with Spicy Sauce & Bok Choy.  - My dad's favorite dish on the plate today.  In fact, he could not stop talking about it the rest of the day.  I felt mine could have been a little more firm, his came from a fresh, new batch.  The flavor was delicious, though.  The booth also gave out red pens, which I liked very much.

Krigles Bakery:  Apple Spice Pie (& Brown Sugar Cherry PIe) - We only got one slice of pie, but it was a generous portion.  It had a strong cinnamon taste which made it unique and pleasant.  It did not need ice cream, but that might have been nice with it.

We also were given a 12 fl oz bottle of water to compliment our meal.  It seemed smaller than 12 fl oz, but it was nice to have.

When previewing the menu over the 3 days, this day looked the best for me.  My dad thought the other two looked better.  I really enjoyed everything on my plate today, and it filled me up plenty.

Afterwards, we walked around a bit, listened to some music, enjoyed the perfect weather in the sunshine.  Something that looked interesting to me, but I did not try, was ice cream served in a cone shaped as a "J."  My dad said it looked like a disaster waiting to happen.  I am not sure I will be trying it, but I thought it was visually interesting.

(Proceeds from "The Alley" at The Bite of Seattle go to Food Lifeline, providing meals to people every day who suffer with hunger across Western Washington. For more information, go to this link.)

A Better Bite, and Spam Fries??? - The Bite of Seattle, Sunday 2017

From far right, clockwise:  Conscious Eatery - Southwest Salad,Ten Mercer - Pancetta Wrapped, Almond Stuffed Date, Noi Thai Cuisine - Signature Fried Shrimp Cakes, Hurry Curry of Tokyo - Authentic Tokyo Curry, and Blazing Bagels Bake Shop - Salted Caramel Brownie

I felt hesitant going to Sunday's Bite, after feeling let down on Friday.  Things were definitely better, though.  They had printed menus this time.  The food presentation overall, was better.  Everything served tasted delicious, and up to the standard of previous years.  They still didn't sell any beverages or hand out water, though.  The weather was a little hot for my tastes, but not bad.  Overall, much better Bite than Friday's Bite.  Here is my review of the food served at The Alley on Sunday:

CONSCIOUS EATERY

Southwest Salad with Sharp Cheddar, Corn, Beans & Tortilla Strips with Chipotle Ranch Dressing:  This was the first thing I ate today.  My first thought was, "Oh, this is sooo good!"  Tasty, dressing, nice combination of textures.  I really love tortilla strips in my salads.   

TEN MERCER

Pancetta Wrapped, Almond Stuffed Date deep fried then dipped in Bulgarian Fetta & Balsamic Reduction - I had this before.  It was tastier than expected then, but had a kind of bizarre presentation.  This time, the presentation was beautiful.  It looked good, and tasted very nice. 

NOI THAI CUISINE

Signature Fried Shrimp Cakes (Tod Mun Goong) with Secret Plum Sauce -  I really liked this.  It was cooked to perfection.  I really wish there was more of this.

HURRY CURRY OF TOKYO

Authentic Tokyo Curry with Ground Beef and Veggies over Japanese White Rice - Tender and good flavor.  The red veggies made a nice color presentation, they were just the right amount of firmness.

BLAZING BAGELS BAKE SHOP

Salted Caramel Fudge Brownies - I was excited to see this restaurant on  the menu, because last year, the sample bagel they served was my favorite thing.  Can they make brownies just as good?  The answer is, "Yes, yes they can!"  Salted caramel has become real popular in just the last couple of years, and this was a good addition to that trend.

After we finished eating at The Alley, my dad and I decided to explore the rest of the Bite.  There was a band, playing R&B, soul, neo-soul, and funk music that was really good, called Surround Sound Band. It is not a very catchy name, but they sounded great.  There were lots of people dancing and listening.

After a few songs, we wound up finding a place that was giving free SPAM samples of SPAM sliders and SPAM fries.  A slogan read, "Don't knock it, till you fry it."

 I have always hated SPAM, but for some reason, we were intrigued by their advertising.  We stood in line to try a different way to eat SPAM.  We wound up having to wait for quite awhile.  Once we got to the window, they only had SPAM fries.  Deep fried SPAM cut into long strips, covered with BBQ sauce.  

I was skeptical, but they didn't taste bad.  My dad thought they were too salty.  At least that awful aftertaste wasn't there.  I had quite a few, but couldn't finish.  They were all right, but I rather have regular French fries, which may not be healthy, but probably healthier than deep fried mystery meat.  I guess they proved that anything can taste good if you deep fry it.  I am still waiting to see if "Deep Fried Pepsi Float" will make it back to the Bite so I can try that.

The Bite of Seattle is over now, but there is always next year if you want to try it.  The Alley is only one part of the Bite.  There were 15 food trucks this year, plus many other restaurant booths to try throughout the weekend.  I still highly recommend it, if you are a foodie, like me.

A Boring Bite? - The Bite of Seattle Friday, 2017

Starting at far right, clockwise:  Honest Biscuits - Biscuits & Gravy,  The Roadhouse Restaurant & Inn - Meatloaf sandwich, Hurry Curry of Tokyo - Curry dish, www.superblues.net - blueberries, Kringles Bakery - Blondie Bite.

I always look forward to The Bite of Seattle, especially the event my Dad and I traditionally attend throughout the years, and this year was no exception.  So, I was disappointed when my Highscool Reunion fell on the same weekend.  Problem resolved.  I would do both!

First thing I noticed when I looked up this year's Alley, was that the price went up $5, and the sample Bites on plate were reduced to five items.  I had planned originally on going all three days.  After seeing the price hike, and knowing the fact of travel time between my reunion and Seattle, my dad and I decided to go only two days this year.  Yesterday, Friday, and tomorrow, Sunday.

I realized later, that Friday morning was really pushing it to get to my reunion on time, and traffic couldn't have been much worse getting over.  I missed out on the pre-party before the reunion, but it turned out okay.

The Alley on Friday was a bit of a disappointment this year, unfortunately.  We got there, I asked for a menu.  In the past, they have had menus printed out on paper.  The cashier just pointed to a sign.  No menu handouts.  Well, okay, maybe they are controlling waste.  I looked up the menu online.

Often they have had an option to buy a beverage.  Not this time.  This was very disappointing.  We could have gone to another booth, and bought a beverage, but that was pretty inconvenient.  It would have been nice to have something to refresh and cleanse my palette.

After we sat down, and ate out food, my dad and I felt a bit let down.  The food just did not seem up to par with the food items in the past.  Perhaps because their was no food critic or guest chef featured this year.  It really made a difference.

We both admitted we still liked this year's Alley, but were not amazed by this year's presentation.  We are hoping Sunday will be better. Here is my review of the individual dishes served:

HONEST BISCUITS

Southern Sausage Gravy on a Biscuit. - I think we had this last year.  It was okay then.  Today the biscuit seemed a bit hard.  I have had better biscuits and gravy.

THE ROADHOUSE RESTAURANT & INN
Meatloaf Sliders with Caramelized Onions, Spiked Mayo & Demi-glaze - Too subtle on flavor.  I saw the mayo and onions, but could not taste them.  My dad didn't even notice the added condiments.  The meatloaf had nice texture, but also not very memorable.

HURRY CURRY OF TOKYO
Fried Chicken Karaage with Vegetable Curry & Japanese Rice
First of all, I love the name of this place! - The curry part had good flavor, however, the chicken was tough,  lowering the rating of this dish.

WWW.SUPERBLUES.NET

Blueberries - Fresh.  Firm.  Tasted as expected. 

KRINGLES BAKERY
Blueberry Blondie Bite - I would have liked more blueberries in mine, but it was pretty good.

PURPLE CAFÉ & WINE BAR
Snow Crab Salad with Celery, Shallots, Lemon-Cayenne Aïoli, Microgreens &House Baguette - This was the best thing served today.  Nice texture, great presentation, a good balance of flavors.  Nice subtle taste.

Right after eating, we had to take off, which was sad, because, the weather was absolutely perfect, and we would have liked to have wandered around a bit.  I was glad to go to my reunion, though, despite the fact that most of the people from my circle of friends back then didn't show up!  I was happy to talk with some people who I didn't know very well back in the day, as well as catch up with those who I sort of lost contact with over the years.  At least there is other social media to keep those connections!

Well, if you go to The Bite today, I hope you have fun!  May your dish be full of tasty bites, and if not, may you have the time to find something better!

The Ups, Downs, and Hard Side Crashes of Life

I realize it has been a long time since I have posted, even for me, so here are a few things that have been happening since.

On Father's Day, I took my dad to see this huge rubber duckie that waddled into the Tacoma Harbor for a boat show that weekend.

Some of life's challenges during the year, have been a little rough on me the past few months, but some new challenges coming my way are exciting, and I am hoping they can lead me to something much better.

The aunt I wrote about in July, passed away last December.  We knew when we visited her, it may be the last time we saw her.  She was upbeat and happy that week we visited.  It seemed like there could be some tiny hope that things would turn around.  It was a very good visit, and I am very happy that I got to see my aunt one last time, before she lost her battle against cancer.

As I was traveling to Canada, a former classmate chatted with me online, and said how much she enjoyed my writing, and I think she mentioned that she thought highly of me in high school,  too.  It was very nice to hear, especially during that particular time in my life.  If she is reading this now, I want to truly thank her for her kind words.

For Christmas, I got tickets to go see the Yves Saint Laurent fashion exhibit at the SAM.  I had to wait and go at the last minute, because I got sick during the holidays.

When I finally got to go, it was amazing.  I might post more on that later.

In January, one of my favorite local cartoonists, Michael Jantze, liked a photo I took of a Top Pot Doughnut Shop, posted on Instagram.  I think the main reason I took the photo years ago, was not only did I think it was cool, but I believe I recognized it as a reference he used in one of his earlier strips.  I was just excited to see a landmark from the cartoon in real life!  I was even more excited when I saw he liked my photo!

Anyway, I left some comment about his work, he asked me to draw my version of "The Norm." I did a quick doodle at work on a Post-It from memory before leaving in my route.

When I got home, I looked up the strip and quickly sketched another from looking at one of his characters online.  I didn't think it turned out as well.  I know could have done better if I took more time, and used a pencil, but oh well.

In August, I went to my doctor.  I had some medical issues, and I found out I needed to change my diet and exercise more.  Luckily, I haven't had to totally eliminate anything food-wise, but I have cut back significantly on quite a few things.  I was recommended to take some specific vitamins and supplements.

 I started exercising immediately, kept with it for several months, till work became super busy.  I did manage to lose the weight suggested by the doctor to improve my health.  My co-workers thought it was strange that my doctor told me to lose weight, perhaps because they see me as slender already.   I have never been overweight, but I didn't like the weight I was at.  I wanted to lose the weight suggested, plus a bit more.  I was very happy when I reached their goal.  I plan on continuing to work at it, so I can reach my goal, and  stay as healthy as I can.

In January, I became an aunt again, this time to a nephew.  He is already a charmer.  Always seems happy.

My beautiful niece turned 4 this year, and always asks to Skype.  It is always fun talking to her.  She is trying new foods.  She likes the taste of hamburgers, but not the texture.  She hasn't tried pizza again since she was 3, but she didn't like it then.

I have been learning new things at work.  The supervisor over that department says I am doing very well.  I am really  happy about that.  My goal is to get away from driving, and improve on some new skills, more related to my degree.

Some things you just don't see coming, or once you do, it is too late, and you just got to do what you need to do to keep it from getting worse.  I had a few experiences this year do that to me.

One was my first major car accident on the job, that happened just recently.  It was awful.  It wasn't my personal car.  Once I knew what was happening, I did my best to avoid it, I am sure the other person probably did, too.  We were both cited.

Under the circumstances, I feel lucky to be alive, and not as injured as I could have been.  The other person is fine, too, and I am glad for that.  Things certainly could have been worse in so many ways.  I still hurt some, but feel as if I am improving every day.

Yer Helping Fight Diabetes, Harry! - My Visit to Sheraton's Gingerbread Village 2016

Yesterday I went to the Gingerbread Village at the Sheraton.  This year's theme was Harry Potter!  There were six large gingerbread sculptures all about the series, and one, cool Harry Potter themed Christmas Tree.  I was a little surprised how many people were there to see the exhibit already, but it was great!

If you haven't gone to the exhibit, you may not want to look at all my photos quite yet.  Wait till you have the chance to see these things first, because they are obviously so much better in person!  If you have seen the exhibit, or have no way of getting there, I hope you enjoy these photos!  After visiting, you may notice a few details in my photos that you did not notice at the exhibit before.  I sure did.

The first part of every gingerbread exhibit starts with a themed Christmas tree.  This tree was particularly fun, with a burgundy and yellow scarf instead of tinsel, large round spectacles, and other ornaments all associated with the Harry Potter series.

The first two sculptures in the Harry Potter exhibit were of Hogwarts, both cool, but interpreted a little differently.

 I really liked this detail of Hagrid:

I also noticed on the side, they had Fluffy, the 3-headed dog:

The next Hogwarts was very tall and had the dining hall (shown through the window on the bottom left): 

The next sculpture had the Knight Bus, it was cut so you could see all the detail inside (I really liked this detail): 

This next sculpture was from the Goblet of Fire.  It looked even better in person.  I thought it was awesome.

I was really impressed on the next sculpture, which had a very detailed Dumbledore holding a phoenix:

The last sculpture had Ron and Harry, with a Patronus in the background, that also looked much better in person.  You can also see Hedwig in a Christmas Tree.

All the sculptures were pretty great.  I love all the thought and details that went into every one of them.

Here appears to be Dobby and another House Elf:

Dolores Umbridge, in her pink outfit, though I have to say she looks a little more thin and prettier than she is probably meant to be:

Harry Potter on his Nimbus 2000:

I also just noticed while reviewing my photos, there are several Harry's here (above) in separate parts of the story!

The car that Ron crashed into the Whomping Willow:

The chess game, with Nearly Headless Nick and other ghosts watching (also a large Hedwig below):

Here is Ron, Hermione, and Harry with Buckbeak in the pumpkin patch:

My absolute favorite detail was the moving staircase in this Hogwart's sculpture.  It actually moves!  It is so amazing!  If you look closely, you can also see Harry, Hermione, and Draco on the steps.  Very well done!

To the bottom right of the moving staircase, the sink area in girl's bathroom can be seen, and Moaning Myrtle is looming above it!  I just noticed Myrtle after I got home!

The Gingerbread Village at the Sheraton is a great activity for the whole family to enjoy.  The exhibit is open 24 hours, 7 days a week, from November 22, 2016 - January 1, 2017.  The exhibition is free, but donations of $5 per person are encouraged in efforts to find a cure for diabetes 1, and it's complications.  For more information on the Gingerbread Village exhibit, go to http://gingerbreadvillage.org.

Vintage Toy Exhibit

Back in September I was given tickets to MOHAI in Seattle, which is the Museum of Art and History and Industry.  My friend, Suzie, thought I would like a special exhibit on toys from the 50s, 60s, and 70s.  The museum itself is kind of interesting inside:

The toy exhibit was especially fun.  There was three sections to this exhibit, one for each decade of toys.

Toys from the 50s:

I think I saw this particular toy (below) at one of my grandmother's houses, a long time ago.  It appears you could actually sew with the tiny sewing machine.  It seemed pretty cool.

I would have loved this toy as a kid (below).  I suppose some of the products here are considered dangerous now...

I was surprised that some toys were from the 50s, like Trolls, for instance.  I thought they came out much later.  Obviously, they are still pretty popular, considering there is a new movie out staring them.

Among the toys, each section had a TV playing former toy commercials of that decade, and was decorated to fit the decor of the times.  Couches were set up so people could sit and watch, sing along, and reminisce with the commercials.

T.V. with 70s decor (above).

This T.V. played toy commercials from the 1950s. 

Complete strangers would talk to each other, and say, "Oh, I remember that! "  or "I used to have one of those!"  Some would enthusiastically sing with the commercial playing.  One of the commercials that many sang along with was for this game called "Mystery Date." It was pretty funny.

 This is a different version of the commercial I saw, but the song and the actresses are the same.  You get the idea.  This commercial played in the 60s section:

Great.  Now I have that song playing over and over in my head!  Moving on!

I saw a little wooden cat (as decor, not a toy), just like one my grandmother had in her living room.  She had two smaller ones as well.

...and I know somebody I knew had grapes like these (also just decor):

There were several Barbies/Ken/G.I. Joe type figures between 50-60s section:

"I'm a Barbie Girl in a Barbie World!" - Aqua

I tried to get a better photo of this James Bond figure.  It didn't look much like Sean Connery, but I thought it was cool.  He was in the 60s section, along with G.I. Joe.

More 60s toys:

Above:  This is an Easy Bake Oven!  I had no idea they had been around that long!  It looks totally different from the Easy Bake Oven that was out when I was a kid!

Aqua-Man was from the 70s, perhaps the case he was put in had both generations.

There was a fake back yard set up with a mess of toys:

There was a section of "Dangerous Toys."

Some more 60s toys:

I don't know about you, but this Casper looks a little creepy to me...

The 70s toys also had some Barbie type figures from popular T.V. shows, like the 6 Million Dollar Man, Bionic Woman, and Charlie's Angels:

There were Hungry Hippos,

...a Fisher Price McDonald's,

...and this great Fisher Price castle!  Complete with dragon.

There were electronic games and a video game:

I certainly cannot leave out the Star Wars action figures!

Despite how many photos I have shown, the exhibit seemed relatively small.  It wasn't near the size of the Hello Kitty exhibition I went to last year, but it was still fun to see toys from the past, and how they have changed over the years.

The toy exhibit is long gone, but the MOHAI is still there, with other cool things to see and interact with, including this iconic toe tow truck (which you can look at, but not interact with):

For more information on MOHAI, please visit http://www.mohai.org.