1 Mom
3 Very Good Meals
2 Christmas Decoration Sessions
5 Shopping Trips for Decorations
3 Top Pot Donuts
1 Pot of Turkey Meatball Soup
1 Episode of Bones
2 Good Nights Sleep
1 Trip to Red Mango
Mix all ingredients. Let rest for 48 hours. Serve at room temperature.
I’ve mentioned this before, but I am exceptionally fortunate in my relationship with my parents. I love spending time with my folks. I could have very easily had parents who disowned me, who nag me, who get all preachy and treat me like I’m still 13. But they don’t. They (largely) treat me like an adult. Which is more than I can say for most of the rest of the people in my life. So I always look forward to those rare opportunities I have to spend time with my parents. Unfortunately, being the only single child left, and more importantly, the only one without human children, I quite happily get placed at the bottom of the visiting totem pole…which is exactly as it should be. Grandma and Grandpa need to see the grandkids.
So, after well over a year and a half, my mom finally came up and visited me this weekend. It was quite nice. Both mom and I are pretty much homebodies. We’ve done all the touristy things in Seattle (Pike Place Market, Space Needle, Ferry Ride, Ivars, etc.) on previous visits, so it was just a nice getaway for mom, and a nice visit for me. Of course, the week that my mom is to come up to Seattle to visit would happen to be the exact same week that the woman who cleans my house got sick and couldn’t come to clean. Isn’t my life so hard? I know, right?
Anyway, my cleaning travails aside, this weekend was all about the food.
I live in an area that easily has 200 restaurants within a 5-mile radius of my house. And while I am prone to bouts of gross over-exaggeration, this is one one of those times. There is simply an abundance of every type of food you could possibly imagine. Friday night, mom stepped far outside of her comfort zone and tried something new (for her): Korean BBQ. For those who aren’t familiar, Korean BBQ is a style of eating where there’s a grill in the middle of your table, and you cook your own food right there at the table. Now, I know, the idea of going to a restaurant is so you don’t have to cook your own food, but at least here you don’t have to prepare the food, or clean up afterward. It was quite good. My mom, however, don’t generally experience new types of cuisines that often (Northern Utah is not a Mecca for the food elite), and generally isn’t the most adventurous of souls. (A sentiment with which she would very heartily agree.) She really liked the meal, but it um, got things moving for her, shall we say. She didn’t feel bad, but had to be a little careful what she ate for the rest of the trip. (Note to Mom: Don’t you love it when I share your digestive health with the whole internet? Isn’t that classy of me?)
Moving on.
Friday night, we began decorating for Christmas. Friday night was all about setting up the Christmas Village. Last year, I had horizontal spaces on which to display Christmas ornamentation, and money I could use to buy some decorations, so I started my own little Christmas Village. (Thank you, 75% off sale at Kohl’s!) Below is only a very small portion of said village.
I have four additional buildings and several people/trees/sleighs/etc. on my other bookshelves as well. This was fun, because while shopping earlier in the week, I had purchased this little remote control thing that can you plug into the wall, and into which you plug the lights. You get three in a pack. Then you can turn the lights on and off with the little remote, even from another room or from behind the furniture. It’s a nifty little toy, and one that I imagine I will find multiple uses for once the holidays are over.
Saturday for brunch, we went to the Pomegranate Bistro, a nice little restaurant in Redmond that was voted one of the best in Seattle twice, and was even featured in Wine Spectator magazine. The food at this place is excellent. We had smoked salmon eggs benedict, firebread (a wood-fired flatbread with a little salty cheese melted on top), these ethereal little fried dough balls called Savannah Puffs which are rolled in Cinnamon and Sugar, then served with Creme Ainglais and Cinnamon Whipped Cream, and the Lemon Ginger Oatcakes, some very light and fluffy pancakes make with (I believe) oat flour/oat meal, lemon rind, and little chunks of crystalized ginger. Excellent nosh.
Saturday was all about the mall. We went to the mall and walked through Macy’s Holiday Lane store, looking at ornaments. We looked at clothes, I took mom to see the coolest arcade/nightclub/bowling alley I’ve ever seen in the mall, we got Red Mango, walked around a lot, and I loudly and repeatedly made fun of Jr. High School girls who are under the very mistaken impression that wearing short skirts with Uggs makes them look anything other than stupid.
Saturday night, it was back to the Christmas decorations. This time: The tree. As previously mentioned, this year, I got an artificial tree. It hurts my heart a little to get a fake tree, but a) I can’t set up a real tree this early, b) I have no way to get a real tree home on the top of my Honda Civic Coupe, and c) I have a dog with a tail capable of raising welts in a 750 sq. ft. apartment. If he gets excited too close to the tree, I’ll be vacuuming up needled for the next eight weeks. Until I get a bigger home, I’m afraid artificial trees are the answer. I found a really nice one at Home Depot this year at a good price, and it came pre-wired with lights. So now I have about 12 strands of Christmas lights that I don’t need. Anyone want some?
Also, because I have no life, and no children, my tree is more of the coordinated and over-decorated variety than the eclectic collected ornaments from a lifetime of keepsakes variety. I always grew up with a tree where putting up the ornaments is a trip down memory lane. Who gave you what ornament, silly ornament traditions, who thought it would be a good idea to have your school pictures taken with you wearing your cub scout uniform and then putting that picture on an ornament to forever provide poof of your residence in the hallowed halls of dorkdom. We always had these crocheted worms that my grandma made that had little googly eyes on them, and it was tradition that you had to put them on the tree by twirling them over your head and throwing them toward the tree. And wherever they landed, that’s where they had to stay for the year. So, I miss having that. I have a few sentimental ornaments, but most of mine are color coordinated and chosen sheerly for their decorative value. Perhaps over time, I will be able to retire some of my generic decorations, and start getting more personal ones. (P.S…HINT FOR PEOPLE BUYING ME CHRISTMAS PRESENTS!) You can see a hint of it in the background of this picture of Luke and I.
Luke, by the way, loved his Grandma, who was shameless in feeding him people food whenever he’d show up and turn on his devastating puppy-dog eyes. (They named puppy dog eyes after my dog, I’m pretty sure.) Luke wanted to be around her pretty much the whole weekend, except for the 15 seconds we actually tried to get a good picture of mom and Luke together:
Is it just me, or does it look like Luke is telling my mother, "Listen, Lady. No means NO!"?
Sunday morning, we went to the Seattle Institution, Top Pot Donuts for a donut and hot chocolate. I got a blueberry cake donut (my all-time favorite) and a chocolate cake donut with raspberry glaze. Mom just a plain glazed chocolate cake donut. Then we went home, had some lunch, went to Fry’s Electronics (motto: Destroying your Credit Rating since 1993), Target, and Ross, where mom bought me a nice new Christmas Tablecloth. Then I took her to the airport, and she should be back home by now.
Mom, it was a blast to have you around. I’m glad that you’re okay with just coming up and hanging out, and that you didn’t particularly feel the need to be all touristy, because I think we both needed the relaxation.
And after all that food, I now have to go out shopping and move up a pant size. Thanks!
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