Bummed About the Bite, but It's Okay

Fancy Fork Model

Last year was a pretty good year for me.  So, I was not exactly looking forward to 2020, like some people were.  Some of my friend's 2019 years did not go so well, so I had hoped maybe this year would help them. I think some have benefited somewhat from this outbreak, while others have not.

Earlier this year, before COVID-19, I was already getting excited about my yearly tradition of The Bite of Seattle. I was so busy at work, that I wondered if I should take the Friday of the first day of the Bite off, to go that day. I was planning ahead. When I was sent home from work, because of the outbreak, we thought it would only be two weeks.  I thought, "This is great! I have so much I need to get done, and this will give me the opportunity to do everything I have been wanting to do, but never had the time to do it....and we will be back before The Bite of Seattle even starts!" Silly me. I have got some of the things on my list done, but everything?  Who was I kidding? As the weeks turned into months, my excitement over my yearly tradition was fading.

Unwinding by the Pool

For the first time in 38 years, The Bite of Seattle had to cancel. It is no surprise. I do not blame them - it is what needed to be done at this time. They even tried to move it to August, but unfortunately, that is not going to work either. Bummer. I feel bad the restaurants, and their employees. The musicians who lost gigs there.  The people who benefited from the charitable contributions.

Barbeque with Bees

Despite that, I am making the most of my time, though. I have learned some new recipes.  Learned some tricks that do not set my fire alarm off every time I try to cook things, and also realized I can press a reset button to temporarily disarm it for a few minutes, if something does make it go off for a minor reason. Obviously, if I had a real concern, I would not press that button.

Cooking Pancakes

Today, I found out it is National Ice Cream Day.  I was going to make cookies earlier today, but as I was gathering the ingredients, I realized I do not have everything I need.  Plus, it is too hot today to cook cookies, anyway.  I do have some ice cream, so I think I will have some of that for dessert.

It won't be this fancy.

It looks like The Bellevue Arts Festival, that would have been next week,  is also cancelled this year.  That is okay, too.  I need to save my money this year. Plus, there are so many tempting bargains on the Internet as it is. Instagram has many artists you can view and support, as well, if you wish.

I continue to draw every single day, myself. It is very therapeutic, and it keeps my mind off of some of the more bothersome news of the world. Other times, it inspires my work. I am not currently selling my work, but you can go to my Instagram to look at it, if you wish.

Fashion 2020

This time has allowed me to be thankful for the things I do have.  I still am able to buy food, even if I cannot always get the food I want. I am able to cook. I have shelter. I have family and friends that care about me. As far as I know I am currently healthy. Right now, those are the most important things.  I hope you are able to have those things, too.

Want to see more of my art?  Go to justanotherplainjane on Instagram to see more.

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.

The Real Forks, Washington

Last Summer, my friend Danita, came for a visit from Las Vegas.  We only had one full day to spend with each other, so I asked her what she wanted to do.  To my surprise, she said she wanted to visit Forks.  

Some of you may have heard of a book and/or movie called "Twilight."  It was made into a series of books, and then a series of movies.  I read them, I liked them okay, but I would not necessarily call myself "a fan."

My friend Danita, obviously is.  Especially since she wanted to see Forks long after the book series and movie series was over.  She said she could go with this other friend of hers, but since we had limited time to spend together, and I don't mind seeing new things, I decided to take her.

Before our trip, I did some research.  She wanted to go to Forks before all the fan related stuff was gone, which she said has been happening recently.  I found a place online that gave out maps for the "Twilight Tour."  What I didn't know was that absolutely no scene from the movie was actually filmed in Forks!  I knew that some of the scenes weren't, but all of them?  I wondered if my friend knew.  I decided to tell her, because I didn't want her to be disappointed when we got there.  She must not have minded, because we wound up going anyway.

I recently decided to watch the movie because I swore I saw the photo above in one of the movies.  It wasn't in the first movie, that is certain.  I also noticed that Edward Cullen's car had an Oregon license plate!  Couldn't they at least have a Washington license plate on the car?  Am I being too picky?

The town is small.  Which I expected.  It actually did not take long to get to each tourist attraction on the map.

This is "Bella's house."

This is Forks High School.

This is the place where Bella and Michael worked.

This is City Hall.

This is just some scenery around city hall and the "Cullen's house."

This is the "Cullen's house."  Actually, it is a bed and breakfast.  I looks pretty nice.

They even have a mailbox that says, "Cullen."

The Community Health Center, where Dr. Cullen works.

He even has a reserved parking spot!

The vampire threat seemed pretty high, despite how sunny it was outside.  This was taken at a place to eat on the "Treaty Line."  They had very good hamburgers there.  They even had a little area set up for fans to sit in.

Even though it took only a few minutes to get to each attraction around Forks, it took forever to drive out to La Push!  It was worth it, though.  It was my favorite part of the trip!  The beach was beautiful!  My photos don't do it justice.  Also, the sand was not black like most beaches I have been to in Washington, it was actually the color of sand!  I didn't know we had sand-colored beaches in Washington till then.

We came across some sand art while we were there.  Below, a volcano:

a starfish:

part of an octopus head (the whole thing was impressive, though): 

An alligator:

a crab:

and last, but not least, SpongeBob SquarePants!

It was getting late, and earlier I had suggested we should go see "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" which was playing for free at the Mural in Seattle Center.  We thought we had plenty of time to get there.  We wound up not taking the ferry (which was a mistake), and wound up on some back-roads on the way home.  If I had known my GPS was going to take me a totally different direction going home, I would have stopped to get gas first.  I was beginning to wonder if my car would even make it to a gas station as far into the woods as my GPS took us.  Eventually we did make it to a gas station, and a much needed facility.  We grabbed some snacks, and went home.

Overall, we had a great time!  It was nice to spend time with my friend, see something new, and embrace nature.

So, if you are looking for a place to take a day-trip this summer, I would definitely recommend La Push.  However, make sure you have gas before you leave the area.  You may want to ride the ferry on the way back, too.

Heart Attack on a Stick and Other Good Things at the Fair - Week 2!

So I went back to the (Puyallup) Washington State Fair yesterday, since I scored two free tickets at work.  I remembered my camera, but accidentally left the SD card at home, so most the photos on this post are taken with an iPod.

I arrived with my friend, starving.  We first got a delicious hot scone with jam, which now may be my most favorite thing at the Fair.  So good!.

Right after that, I bought myself one of those foot-long corn dogs my coworker-friend had told me about, and.... wow.  It was a challenge to eat.  Not only because I had a scone, just before, but the weight of the corn dog made it so it had to be eaten sideways!  When I got full, I was going to carry it around for awhile, but it was too awkward to handle in a crowd.  So, sadly, after finishing a little over half of the mammoth-sized corn dog, I threw it away.  It was tasty, though.  I am certain that it will be the last foot-long corn dog I ever eat.  I think if I had not had the scone, I could have finished it, in one sitting, but it is just way too much heart attack on a stick for me.  So, if I feel the need to eat a corn dog again, it will be a normal or mini size.

The weather was supposed to be bad - rain and possible thunderstorms.  It ended up nice enough to not wear a jacket, with only gray clouds looming overhead once in awhile.

We looked at some more exhibits this time, and some impressive collections.

I looked at some more animals.

My friend encouraged me to play some games with her.  She won something and gave it to me (because she just wanted to play the game).  I won something myself, throwing darts at balloons.  I have always been good at that game, not really sure why some people have a hard time with it.

 We also went in the commercial building again.  It wasn't too bad.  I convinced my friend we should do that last.  I bought some Strawberry Popcorn by Killian Corn.  It is incredibly good!

I still did not get to see everything I wanted to see, but I feel a little more satisfied.  The scones are definitely worth it, and the lines get very long.  We were lucky to have a short line to stand in.

We were given a "lucky" marble.

Towards the end, it was about to rain, so my friend wanted to leave.  I kind of wanted to see some other things, but I was starting to get tired, and her feet were tired, so we left.  The rain started to sprinkle down a little at that point, so I guess it was the perfect time to go home.  Overall, it was a pretty good experience.