Jul 04

Thoughts for the Day

This July 4th, we need to recall some voices from the past to bring us back to our best selves as Americans. These quotes were originally published in The Nation in 1991.

“The term ‘patriotism’ seems to be raised most often in the context of military action and at times has been used as a test of support for our country’s military activities. But I understand it to include a respect for contrasting viewpoints, an acceptance of dissent, a tolerance–and even a welcoming–of the clashing diversity of voices that is uniquely American…. A proper patriotism would recognize that there are no absolutes when it comes to solving our social and international problems, except the standard by which we must judge all goals–our willingness to help one another, and to help others.” – Mario Cuomo, former governor of New York

“I believe patriotism is best expressed in our works, not our parades. We are the heirs of the most magnificent political legacy any people has ever been given. ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident…’ It is the constant struggle to protect and enlarge that legacy, to make sure that it applies to all citizens, that patriotism lies… Vote, write, speak, work, march, sue, organize, fight, struggle – whatever it takes to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” – Molly Ivins

My pitiful prose can’t compete with Mario and Molly, but I second their emotions. Happy Independence Day!

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/07/04/thoughts-for-the-day/

Jul 02

Canada Day

July 1 was Canada Day, the anniversary of when Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia were merged into one dominion under the British Empire in 1867. As the sesquicentennial of this act, this year’s Canada Day festivities were huge. Vancouver’s celebration was second only to Ottawa’s in size.

We drove up to Vancouver from Seattle on the 30th. Unlike earlier trips, we had company in the car: Julian’s cousin Kitty and her friend Ank, both from the Netherlands. The logistics were complicated. We had to pick them up from the cruise ship terminal in the morning. We got a quick lunch, then went to a hand surgery appointment for Kitty. (She’d broken her arm the week before when she was visiting us, after a fall at the Edmonds train station to pick up Ank.) The appointment was delayed by an evacuation of the clinic building. We never found out why, but I’m guessing a toaster may have been used too close to a smoke detector in a break room. As a result, we didn’t get on the road until 4 pm. Thanks to holiday weekend traffic, the 3-hour trip took nearly 5 hours. We dropped them off at their friend’s house in the suburbs and headed to our hotel in the city.

I mentioned in a previous post that Vancouver was being overtaken by high rise condos. This year we’re staying at a hotel in the midst of Robson Street. This is the view from our 9th floor suite.

So much for a view.

Canada Day in Vancouver was a sea of red-and-white-clad natives and tourists, not to mention shameless commerce. Robson Street had vendors, musical acts, and other entertainment on nearly every block. We first stopped at the Roots store so I could get some shirts for my niece and nephew in NY.  (Fun fact: This quintessential Canada retailer was founded by two guys from Detroit.) Later we took a water taxi over to Granville Island. Big mistake: About 150,000 other people had the same idea. Moving around was a challenge, let alone finding lunch. The line to take the water taxi back downtown snaked across the island, so we walked back downtown on the Granville Bridge and up Davie Street. We stopped at the Transylvanian Traditions bakery to pick up some post-fireworks desserts. We chilled briefly at the hotel while plotting dinner and fireworks strategy. Most of the restaurants on the Robson-Denman drags had long lines, but we found seating at the Legendary Noodle. Although the noodle soup wasn’t transcendent, it at least calmed down my queasy stomach and cured my dehydration.

The fireworks were set off from a barge near Canada Place. We watched from a bridge in Stanley Park on Coal Harbour. Some of the pyrotechnics closer to the water were obscured, but the show lived up to its billing. Congratulations/félicitations, Canada! May you remain nice.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/07/02/canada-day/

Jun 28

Worst Case Scenario

Let’s say that some nightmare of a Republican “health care” bill manages to pass both houses of Congress and gets signed into law. Who will lose? Here are my predictions:

The elderly won’t lose. They vote. The AARP will lobby every last member of Congress and state legislature to make sure that any Medicaid cuts don’t hurt them or their loved ones who live in nursing homes.

Low-income children will lose. They don’t vote, and their parents may not as well.

The disabled will lose, especially in states that make it difficult for them to cast their ballots (limited absentee ballots, short early voting times, other devious disenfranchisement devices).

The mentally ill and opioid-addicted will also lose big time. The effect will be most pronounced in states that took advantage of the Medicaid expansion and have large populations in this demographic (e.g., Ohio, Kentucky).

Rural hospitals and the residents who rely on them will lose. These facilities are often lifelines for older and low-income patients. The loss of rural hospitals will have a ripple effect on the economies in the areas they serve. Nobody wants to move to an area that doesn’t have a hospital that offers basic services.

Urban hospitals that deal mostly with low-income patients will also lose. It was estimated that Harborview Medical Center in Seattle would lose about $600 million if the House of Representatives-passed bill became law. Other public hospitals such as Parkland in Dallas and Grady in Atlanta stand to lose 9-figure sums.

Is it any wonder that the Senate’s Better Health Care Act has such wide disapproval among the public, even in a Fox News poll?  Even cockroaches and mosquitoes would outpoll this bill. However, this does not mean letting one’s guard down. Raise hell with your Representative or Senator during the July 4 recess. Keep emailing or phoning. Don’t let these so-called reforms become law.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/06/28/worst-case-scenario/

Jun 25

Weekend Wanderings

Friday night Julian asked, “So what are the plans for the weekend?” I told him to look at the weekend section of the paper for inspiration. As it happened, the Greenwood Car Show was on Saturday. We’ve gone to this several times while we’ve lived here. In the interest of domestic tranquility, I acquiesced.

Somehow the Greenwood Car Show always falls on the first hot weekend of the summer, and this year was no exception. The cars were lined up for nearly 25 blocks along Greenwood Avenue. Entrepreneurs were making good money selling bottled water, lemonade, and snacks. Most of the cars were American-made. Several folks showed off their home-rigged electric vehicles. There was also a contingent of Soviet-era cars, made by Gaz and Lada. Not as many 1964 Chevy Impala low-riders as there were last year. The most unique car we saw was a 1931 American-made Rolls Royce limousine. Julian was a bit disappointed in the variety of cars this year. Maybe the entry fee was raised.

Today I decided to take Flash to church. I did not ride the whole way there, as I thought it would be socially incorrect to show up seriously sweaty. I took the bus from the Kenmore Park and Ride to the old neighborhood and rode from there. I was missing a granny gear big time. I had to walk five blocks up NE 75th Street rather than ride. Luckily, the ride home is mostly downhill. Flash got to go down one of my favorite streets in Northeast Seattle. It’s heavily forested with few houses. You half expect Hobbits to come out and greet you. Although the temperature was climbing fast, the Burke-Gilman trail was shaded in spots. I was passing men half my age as if they were standing still – always a good ego boost. The “your speed” sign near Log Boom Park in Kenmore clocked me almost at the speed limit for that stretch of the trail. So Kenmore isn’t making enough money from nabbing auto speeders???

Next weekend it’s road trip time, this time to Vancouver for the Canada Day Sesquicentennial festivities. We’ll be on this side of the border for July 4. Fireworks are definitely in our future.

 

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/06/25/weekend-wanderings/

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/06/24/good-triumphs-over-greedheads/

Jun 17

More Change, not for the Better

We went downtown on our usual caffeine run today. It’s high tourist season here. Pike Place Market was slammed. As we approached Julian’s coffee shop of choice, Caffe d’Arte, I noticed it looked strangely vacant. We read the sign on the door: Last day of business at the location on 2nd Ave and Stewart Street was May 3. NOOOOOOOOO!!!! We knew the building was doomed to become another soulless high rise, but the demolition date kept being pushed back.

When the salesperson at the Perennial Tea Room asked how we were, I said I was fine but Julian was in mourning because Caffe d’Arte had closed. She sympathized – even tea ladies in Seattle drink coffee from time to time. After getting my tea, we walked down to the new location at Pioneer Square (Yesler Street and 1st Avenue). Although it’s a bit of a schlep from our usual haunts, the new store has more room for both staff and customers. They also invested in new espresso machines. One of the baristas gave Julian a close-up view of one of the machines. The extra walk to the new store gives us an excuse to splurge on calories, especially if we stop at the Paris-Madrid Grocery and have to climb the Harbor Steps on the way back to the car.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/06/17/more-change-not-for-the-better/

Jun 14

Keeping Up to Date

Neli has been known to compose text messages. Today she decided to browse the CNN website on Julian’s phone.

Neli geeking out

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/06/14/keeping-up-to-date/

Jun 12

Meet the New Ride

Meet Flash, my “new” bike. As with Harvietta, this was a secondhand bike. This one was handed over by Julian. He decided he didn’t need to put his shoulder at risk by riding a bike. It’s much lighter than the old bike. It’s also silver. One guy passed me on the trail a couple of weeks ago and complimented me on how shiny it is. (Naturally, I didn’t tell him it had barely been ridden before I got it.)

Flash.

The one drawback of my new ride is the lack of a “granny gear”. I have several short steep slogs on my usual rides where the granny gear makes a difference between riding and walking the bike uphill. One may be forthcoming, when I get the bike fully fitted to my frame.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/06/12/meet-the-new-ride/

Jun 12

This Year’s Garden

So to speak. Our “garden” consists of the south-facing upper deck and a few square feet of semi-shade near the front door walkway. We also have some planters in deep shade on said walkway. Last week I emptied the soil out so Julian could paint them. Eventually I may try to put some ferns in the planters.

We’re talking shady!

I bought two Padron pepper plants back in April. The perennial herbs I had left over from last year (mint, rosemary, chives) looked pretty sad from the rainy winter and spring, so I ditched them. Last weekend we went hunting for replacements, along with basil. First we went to Molbak’s. This store is gardeners’ heaven. We got a few herbs there, along with a shiso plant. This is my experiment of the year. The red leaves are a nice contrast to the other herbs, plus shiso is tasty. I put some on an herb plate to go along with a Thai shrimp red curry.

After we left Molbak’s we stopped at the Yakima Fruit Stand and got a few more herbs. Julian also wanted a couple of hanging baskets. We got a fuchsia for the entry, along with a mixed petunia pot for the upper deck. The hummingbirds love the petunias. We also have a legit hummingbird feeder, but these freeloaders will hit both the basket and the feeder. Julian has his camera and tripod set up by the sliding glass door so he can take photos of the hummers. Stay tuned for those pics.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/06/12/this-years-garden/

Jun 05

Flower Communion

Like many Unitarian Universalists (UU), my favorite service of the year is Flower Communion. Each person brings a flower, places it in a common basket, then leaves with a different flower. The flowers may come from gardens, farmers’ markets, or the grocery store. This ritual is not imbued with the deep symbolism of Christian Communion; rather, it is in the sharing of beauty by the community. It’s also to commemorate a World War II martyr and Unitarian minister, Dr. Norbert Capek (pronounced Cha-peck).

Dr. Capek served the Unitarian congregation in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Under his leadership, it grew to over 3000 members and was the largest Unitarian congregation in the world at the time. He initiated Flower Communion in his church in 1923, at the last service before the summer. When the Nazis took over Czechoslovakia in 1939, Dr. Capek’s message of the inherent worth and dignity of everyone did not conform with the conquerors’ idea of the master race. The Nazis arrested him, made him participate in “scientific experiments”, and eventually executed him in 1942. His wife and children escaped to the United States, where they settled in the Boston area and introduced Flower Communion to Unitarian congregations on this continent.

Yesterday on my way out of the driveway, I snipped a couple of rhododendron clusters off a bush in the front yard. A bee was in a neighboring cluster, so I wisely left her alone to do her work. I set my contribution on a table in the foyer of the church and set up the bookstore for the day.

The baskets of flowers were brought in during the introductory music and laid on a table in front of the chapel. Flowers played a role in other facets of the service: The dedication of a baby (a long-stemmed rosebud stripped of the thorns), and a celebration of graduating high school seniors (long-stemmed roses with the thorns left on). Before blessing the flowers, our senior minister read a letter Dr. Capek wrote to his wife the night before he was killed. The letter miraculously made it to her. It’s hard to remain stoic during the reading of that letter. Finally the congregation was called up by rows to select their flowers while singing a hymn written by Dr. Capek, Color and Fragrance. I chose an iris.

The definitive book on Dr. Capek, Norbert Fabian Capek by retired UU minister Richard Henry, is out of print. However, if you saw Ken Burns’s Defying the Nazis, Dr. Capek and the Prague congregation were featured in that film. Dr. Capek met the Sharps at the Prague train station to help them begin their operation to get people out of Nazi-occupied Europe.

In these times, the message of Dr. Capek is more resonant than ever. We need to support the inherent worth and dignity of all against assaults by those in power. Jews, Gypsies, disabled, and gays were targeted back in World War II; now immigrants and Muslims are called out for abuse. Resolve to love your neighbor, regardless.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/06/05/flower-communion/

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