Kelly's

Does anyone who's been in Seattle a really long time remember Kelly's French Dip in Montlake? Cafe Lago occupies its space now, or at least it was right around that part of 24th Ave E. My grandpa used to take my mom and I there every Wednesday for lunch when I was 4-5 years old. It was one of his favorite spots, and he and Kelly were buddies. Kelly was not only the owner but the roast beef chef in the back. He was a big man with glasses, as I recall, and that summed up my grandpa pretty well too.

What about Herfy's? It's probably well-known enough to be a Seattle food icon of yesteryear. We used to go to the one in the U. District on 50th, where my parents would order my plain hamburger, nothing on it please. The last real Herfy's I was aware of was in Bellingham, and I'm not sure it's still there. There's still a Herfy's in Georgetown, but it doesn't look anything like the old burger joints. Guess I'll have to go try it to find out.

We also used to frequent Shakey's Pizza on the Ave on Friday nights. It had a cool loft seating area, and video games that we liked to watch but weren't allowed to play. It seemed like it took ages for the pizza to get done, and meanwhile my mom would keep reminding me to drink my root beer slowly so I would have some for when the pizza came. I don't think any Shakey's exist anymore.

My first boyfriend and I used to get fish and chips at the stand outside of Ivar's Salmon House. The Salmon House is pretty much a Seattle institution, so it hasn't gone anywhere. Will need to revisit that food memory sometime soon.

The worst Seattle food memory is of Dag's Beefy Boys, which I renamed Dag's Barfy Boys. I only remember going there once, to the one on Aurora by Seattle Center, and I think they were having a power outage or something because the place was freezing and my burger tasted...well, barfy. Don't think we ever went back there, and now, ho-ho, it's gone.

Here's a nice Seattle eats article from 1999, when every newspaper was documenting everything about the 20th Century.

A scrapbook for food

Today's Thanksgiving meal was one for the record books. This was the first time that I honestly wanted to repeat the whole meal even though I was stuffed. I've never been that big on the traditional T-day menu, but now I'm a fan.

Honey-brined herb roasted turkey
Corn bread stuffing
Acorn squash stuffed with apple and raisin
Wilted spinach
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Brussel sprouts with pancetta
Sweet potato bake
Cranberries
Potato pancakes
Green salad with orange and pecan
Homemade bread
served with Beaujolais Nouveau
and
Apple and pumpkin pies
served with spiked nog and coffee

Oooeeee. I'm gonna pass out. Good job Ray, Mel, Caben, Mike.

Thankfulnessisms

Thanksgiving is Thursday. It's the day when you're suppose to be thankful for stuff. Today I am in a less than thankful mood.

- Mony continues to spray randomly in the house. It is trying my last nerve. Since we've tried everything, I'm picking up some kitty valium tomorrow. How can one cat be so loving and cuddly while we're home, and then spray the dog's bed when we're out? (Nope, not a urinary tract infection, but likely senility.)
- My car seems to be leaking coolant or something, plus some of the little heating/cooling lights keep flashing at me. It is overdue for a tune-up.
- Ray's starting a new company, which is cool, but in the multi-faceted stressful stages right now.
- Sammy has figured out how to get up on the stool that leads to the chair that leads to the table where Ramon's food sits. I figured this out since Mony's food bowl was on the floor and his place mat was spotless.
- Several friends are experiencing various levels of bad times right now.
- I haven't been swimming in a week and a half.

On the flip side:

- We are healthy, with a roof and heat and food in the fridge and fantastic friends and family.
- We are fortunate in many ways even when I'm not swimming and Ray's not getting a paycheck.
- We're hosting Thanksgiving dinner for friends. Ray's doing most of the cooking. I just upped the pie count to 3 so we have enough for everyone. It'll be a great time.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

Classic Punk, Nouveau Punk

Based on actual hairstyles seen this week.

Groan if you must

I have a massive grant due tomorrow, which I started today, and it's made me realize how predictable my language is when I'm pressed for time. Words I should never ever use...ever...again:

comprehensive
effort
collaborative
tremendous
unique
support
investment
partnership
motivate
significant
provide
partner
opportunity
thoughtful
considerate

Ewh. This isn't even all of them.

If Harriet Miers gets a blog, then this guy needs one too

Hunting Season Opens for Mythical Creature

By KARL RITTER, Associated Press Writer
Fri Nov 11,12:35 AM ET

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - A mythical monster, believed by some to have lived for hundreds of years in the murky depths of a Swedish lake, is now fair game for hunters — if they can find it. Authorities have agreed to lift its endangered species protection.

Hundreds of people claim to have spotted a large serpent-like creature in Lake Storsjon in the northwestern province of Jamtland, and in 1986 the regional council put it on a list of endangered animals.

But a government watchdog challenged the decision, saying such protection was hardly necessary for a creature whose existence has not been proven.

The regional council agreed to remove the listing this month, but declined to rule out that a monster lives in the 300-foot deep lake.

"It exists, inasmuch as it lives in the minds of people," the council's chief legal adviser Peter Lif said about the purported beast. "But I guess we'll have to agree that it cannot be proved scientifically, and then it should not be listed as an endangered species."

The so-called Storsjo monster was first mentioned in print in 1635. Hundreds of sightings have been reported since then. Some people describe the creature as a snakelike animal with a dog's head and fins on its neck. But no clear image of it has been captured on camera.

Storsjo monster aficionados said lifting the endangered species protection was a mistake, and appeared insulted by the decision.

"We are not fanatics," said Christer Berko, of the Storsjo monster association. "We see this as very interesting phenomenon that we unfortunately have not been able to document."

Huckle

This was going to be a really depressing post.

We found a great little dog as we were walking Sammy late last night. Huckle (that's what he looked like to me) loved Sammy, which is how we were able to entice him home with us. Since it was too late to do anything about him, we fed him a little and made him a bed in the kitchen. He was clearly used to more personal sleeping arrangements, so he eventually ended up in the bedroom. He was cute, friendly, springy (all night) and apparently young. Sammy really liked him. The cats were pissed.

This morning I went to the vet to see if he was chipped. No luck. I stopped at a few groomers in the area, and no one recognized him (though I got a pretty fair idea of the competition between West Seattle groomers based on where they thought he'd been groomed). I made up some notices and copied off 100. I was sick thinking about how frantic his owners must be, and even sicker thinking about taking him to the animal shelter. Although it gave him the best chance of being reunited with his owner, the whole 3 day time limit makes me ill. But we clearly couldn't keep him either.

After spending about an hour driving around, posting signs, and feeling more certain that the wind and sideways rain would get to the signs before Huckle's owner, I was about to give up and go home. Ray called to say that a guy Mike saw the signs, and believed the dog must have escaped right after he and his son had gotten home from a funeral last night. They live just 2 short blocks away.

I pulled up in front of the house a few minutes later, and Mike came charging out. He was beyond relieved. Mike had just gotten done copying off signs of his own when he saw the one I posted. We laughed that we could've had this whole thing straightened out earlier had we just run into each other at Staples.

Anyway, Huckle (his real name is Romeo) made me realize that as chaotic as our household is, the delicate pet balance is just about right.

Movie list

I am sick of ion channels and ditransitive verbs. I'd rather think about movies. Specifically, there are so many good movies out and coming out, I'm concerned that some will drop off the list, and it'll be forever (okay, at least a few months) 'til I can see them on DVD. But by that time there'll be more good movies in the theaters, and I'll get further behind on the older stuff, not to mention all those AFI Top 100 titles I've yet to see. (Why am I in school when I should be catching up on movies?)

Lists always give me some (misplaced) peace of mind:

1. Good Night, and Good Luck (DONE)
(It's always good to start a list with something you can immediately check off.)
2. Serenity
3. March of the Penguins
4. Elizabethtown
5. New Wallace & Gromit
6. Rent
7. Pride and Prejudice
8. New Harry Potter
9. A History of Violence
10. The Johnny Cash Movie
11. Proof
12. Capote
13. Memoirs of a Geisha
14. Narnia
15. The Ice Harvest

Geez, there are a few more even...just can't remember them. There are also a few movies that have probably gone to DVD already, and were supposedly no good, but I'd still like to see them, including The Brothers Grimm and The Island.

Good study break

We saw Good Night, and Good Luck last night. Great movie, though a thoroughly depressing commentary on how very little we've learned since the McCarthy era. George Clooney did a fantastic job directing, and the guy who played Edward R. Murrow, David Strathairn, was stellar. I smell Oscar-worthiness. (Speaking of smells, you could almost smell the cigarettes and whiskey while watching this flick.)

Back to the books...two tests this week.

New record

Whopping 131 trick-or-treaters last night, beating last year's total of 122 (or so)!

This year's trend...wearing your backpack in the front so you can carry loads of candy, hands-free.