A Cat's Life

Thanksgiving in Seattle Recap

In September, my grandmother passed away.  It was a sad time for the whole family, but there was a silver lining to such a loss.  My grandmother wanted the whole family, her kids, the grand kids (and now a great grand kid) and spouses to get together.

Now we're not a big family (there's only 16 of us), but we all live in different parts of the country.  San Diego.  Arizona.  Texas.  New York City. Kentucky.  And Maryland.  This makes it kinda hard to plan and meet in a unified location.  It's been maybe a decade since a majority of the whole family has been in the same place.  Well, in memory of my grandmother, Aileen, and thanks to the planning of my aunt Bonnie, we were able to make it happen.

Aileen grew up in Seattle and that's where her family is peacefully at rest.  So, a Seattle Thanksgiving it was.

We had a memorial and reunited her with her parents, sister and husband and later spread some of her ashes in a lake from the neighborhood she grew up in.  As somber as it was, it was also comforting to know that Aileen got her wish.  The whole family came together to see her home.

The rest of the trip was spent catching up and just enjoying being in the presence of each other.

So here's a recap:
-We had a gorgeous house on Lake Washington that fit all sixteen family members.
-Each family contributed to a meal every day.
-Thanksgivakkuh.  Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah were the same day this year, which won't happen again in our lifetime.  I learned about the history of the menorah, more Jewish traditions and ate latkes.  Thanksgivakkuh for the win.
-My cousin Daniel.  The last time I saw him, he was in elementary school.  Now, he's almost done with college.  My goodness, he's a man now.  I.Feel.Old.
-I tried beef tongue for the first time.  It tasted just like salty roast beef.  Not too bad.  Points for trying new things.
-How happy my mom was to have all her kids together at the Korean grocery store, even though we were running around all over the place and brought random things to the cart.  Some things never change.
-Korean food.  Nuff said.
-Fried turkey.  Delicious.  Definitely the route to go if you want a turkey cooked in 30 minutes.
-Rounds of Catchphrase.  Nuff said.
-Having fish tacos from fish that were thrown at the world famous Pike's Place Fish Market.
-Hearing childhood stories from the adults.  Let's just say minors weren't allowed in the room.
-My family can throw down on some alcohol.
-The feeling of regret that we never did such a get together before, but energy to do something like this every couple of years.
-And Lola.  But Lola gets her own section.  Keep reading for more on her.
-I was a little bummed out that the BF didn't have his beard grown out.  All the Seattle men had beards, he would've fit in just fine.
-Came home to cat that hasn't had human interactions for a week and was needy and very talkative.

The BF and I stayed longer in order to enjoy Seattle more since we've never been.  We didn't go up in the Space Needle, but up in the Columbia Center building instead.  It's cheaper and it's taller and they have a Starbucks on the 40th floor with killer views.  It was the one day the sky was clear and we could see Mt. Rainier.  Awesome views of the whole place.  Speaking of Mt. Rainier, we tried venturing out there.  We drove 2 hours, just to get turned around because a snow storm closed the roads.  Bummer.  And also speaking of Starbucks, we found the oldest one at Pike's Place.  It's not the original location (that one is no longer standing), but again, it is the oldest.  And it was PACKED.  Waiting out in a line curving into the street is not for me.  I ain't got time for that.  But I did have time for a less busy Tully's Coffee, which is actually owned by Dr. Dreamy (Grey's Anatomy reference).  We discovered the Fremont neighborhood and the troll.  It was a neighborhood that I could see myself fitting right in. We caught up with a friend that just moved into the area a couple of weeks before we arrived.  And the BF and I also discovered two places that would totally validate moving to Seattle, if the need ever came up:  Taco Time and Taco Del Mar.

But something I will not miss, that traffic!  Well, not really the traffic, but the layout of the roads.  The city planners really love their 5 point intersections.

And Lola.  My dear Lola.  This almost one year old has captured my heart.  She is the calmest baby ever and it helps that she's adorably cute.  I'm just sorry, but I have to take a minute to gush over her.

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Okay.  I'm back

Picture time!

Our home for the week.

Saying goodbye to my grandmother one last time.

Beef tongue...and my brother's silly face.

Latkes.  Anything fried is always good.

Searching for gold.

In case it got cold, I got this for my brother.

The kids...and Lola.

 And now, for your undivided attention, my Lola collage.

Oh and did I tell you she won in a battle with a T-Rex.  No big deal.

Tasty Tuesday

You know what's delicious?

Bacon.

Bacon is delicious.

Add a brown sugar coating to the said bacon and you have yourself a delicious start to your day or end to the night, or beginning of your afternoon.  Whatevs.  I don't judge.

First of all, I like to cook pork bacon in the oven.  It's a time saver, less messy, and the fat drips right off onto the pan.

Once the bacon is all laid out on the pan, sprinkle brown sugar on top with a little bit of black pepper.  And that's it.

Pop it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.  The result is a savory piece of bacon with a crunchy top of caramelized brown sugar.

You're welcome.

It's That Time of the Year...

My job performance review is coming up!

Now, I'm the lucky type of person that usually never stressess about work.  It's not high paced, I don't have people breathing down my neck, and I rarely have short deadlines.  Sure, there are moments when I get angry or upset, but it's so trivial, I'm over it pretty quickly.  And there's plenty of times when I just don't want to be there, but that's only because I would rather watch movies in my Snuggie, not because of a stressful job.

I pity those that have to take their work home, when work consumes their lives.  I'm aware there's plenty that like that arrangement, but I am definately not one of those.  As soon as it's time to go, I'm peacing out and my car is already halfway out of the parking lot.  Whatever I was working on will wait til the next day.  I'm lucky enough I have that luxury with my job.

But this is the only time of year I have to bring my work home.  A little background:   At the beginning of the year, we're given a set of performance objectives that we have to complete and show for at the end of the year.  Well, the end of the year is here (it's usually November/Decemberish).  With the way our objectives are set up, we essentially have to keep track of EVERYTHING we do.  No problem.  I've been doing that.  My problem and the reason I'm working at home, is because I have to put all this information together.  I have to quantify a year's worth of stuff and it always takes way more time than I give myself.  It's my own fault.  If I were to do this right, I would've used the whole year to work on this, but I always think the method we're supposed to use is counterproductive and end up waiting til the last minute.  Thus, this being the only time of year I'm stressed.  On the plus side, good reviews mean time off awards and bonuses.  Yes, please.

If You're Having a Bad Day...

Remember, 

It could be worse. 

You could be this car owner...

Mini Beach Vacay

A bit ago, the BF and I took a trip out to Ocean City, MD.  October starts the time of year when dogs are allowed on the beach, so we took Gypsy along.  And since I'm a federal employee and was essentially temporarily unemployed during the beginning of the government shutdown, the trip was a great way to get my mind off things. 

Recap/things I've learned from the trip:

-Gypsy does not like the ocean.  The waves freak her out.  She was ready to go home within minutes at the beach.
-The first week of October is a great time to go to the ocean (if there's not a hurricane in the forecast).  It was 80 degrees and the water was still relatively warm.  The only people in town were retirees, parents with small kids, a couple of other younger kidless couples and locals.  The BF and I are quiet folks.  We fit right in with the old people.
-Off season means special prices at restaurants.  The businesses still open want to keep people coming in so discounts and other specials are offered.  Heck yea!  I'm a fan of half off Mexican food!
-Gypsy will let you bury her in sand.  She was so chill on the beach (once she realized we weren't going to force her in the water anymore), she laid down and let us make her into a sand crab and sand mermaid.
-How well we fit in with retirees and those with AARP memberships....hmmm...

Truth.