plasticmom in Cambridge

If you think you see plasticmom tooling around Cambridge this summer, no need to get your vision checked. plasticmom is taking summer classes at Harvard and living in our apartment. Even plasticmom had to admit that our apartment was squeaky clean as it should of given that we hired a cleaning person. If you see plasticmom taking the 77 or hanging out in Harvard Square, be sure to say "Howdy."

Chatty

I've noticed that folks here in Seattle are "chattier," even the homeless are much more apt to strike up a random conversation. The following is a reconstructed conversation between plasticann and a random homeless person (HP) with a sign while plasticann was trying to cross the street after church.

HP: Hey, you're supposed to press the button to cross the street!
plasticann: [walks around the pole looking for the button]
HP: No, over there, that button.
plasticann: {gratefully presses button]
HP: ...are you from the Philippines?
plasticann: No!
HP: Japanese?
plasticann: No! [decides to avoid this conversation of pan-Asian country naming] My parents are from Taiwan!
HP: Oh, Taiwan! Welcome to America!
plasticann: Thanks???

Ironically, while I appreciated his help with the button, I didn't really feel particularly welcomed, but at least he tried. Since Adam is in CA visiting his family, he wasn't with me this morning. I wonder if HP would have "welcomed" me had I been with Adam or if he would have assumed that I'd already been properly welcomed to America.

Wheezy In Seattle

I'm not actually feeling wheezy, but Wheezy's in town this week for vacation on her inaugural west coast tour. She stopped by San Francisco to see Greg & Helen, come into Seattle for a clandestine visit on our anniversary, took the train to Vancouver and came back to Seattle for a proper visit. Last night, we feasted on platters of cheap ($5.50 a dish) and very delicious Thai food at Mae Phim where we sipped ginormous glasses of Thai iced tea that were only a buck a piece. Tonight, we walked walked over to Pagliacci Pizza. Because I was famished, I spent most of the latter part of our walk over plotting about what I would order...pizza, root beer and an appetizer to snack on before my real dinner came. Turns out, the place offers slices cafeteria style which means immediate gratification. While I was extremely excited at the prospect of food fast, I was disoriented since I was expecting to wait. The food was delicious and the sodas were bottomless, Wheezy had three diet cokes. She takes off for ye olde Boston tomorrow night on the red eye, but we have time for one more culinary adventure, we're heading over to Wild Ginger for a farewell dinner.

Happy Anniversary To Us

Adam and I celebrated our anniversary this evening at the Melting Pot Fondue restaurant courtesy of plasticmom. "Thanks Mom!" we exclaimed. We enjoyed the "Big Night Out" four course meal which included, cheese fondue, a strawberry almond salad, a variety of meats/veggies/etc and finally a coconut chocolate fondue. The cheese fondue was by far our favorite and while we did eat everything else and overindulge, we could have stopped with just the cheese. Anything dipped with chocolate is sure to be tasty, but we were disappointed with the lackluster chocolate sauce consistency...we were hoping for something thicker. However, we're now determined to finally break out the lovely electric fondue pot Corinna got us for our wedding.

Dispatches From Tesserific

Our niece, Tesserific, has become so obsessed with pink and soccer, she declared, "I want to be a pink soccer player" a few weeks ago. Zara also tells me that Tesserific is quite attached to her Nalgene Sippy Bottle [not coincidentally pink] as "Aunt Ann's Sippy Cup." Sort of implies that I, myself, am a sippy cup user, but that's beside the point.

Watermelon Feta Salad

We've been here for a week and we've eaten a lot here in Seattle. One thing for sure is I haven't been blogging so I'm trying to get back in the swing of things with our latest dinner. I was intrigued by this watermelon feta salad recipe I saw in a magazine so we tried it out tonight, Just combine seedless watermelon chunks with crumbled feta cheese, you don't need a lot. Season with freshly ground pepper and kosher salt. It's pretty refreshing and I think it'll become a summertime staple.

Seattle: Day 1

We got into Seattle yesterday afternoon and enjoyed a delicious dinner at Wild Ginger. The following reconstructed conversation/scenario happened while we stopped by Walgreens after dinner for some provisions.

Walgreens Lady: [to the man in front of plasticann] Would you like to try our M&M special? Two for a dollar?
Man in Front: No thanks!
Walgreens Lady: [to plasticann] Would you like to try our M&M special?
plasticann: NOPE!
Walgreens Lady: OK, that'll be eight dollars.
Adam: [as plasticann is about to pay] Actually, yes I would like some M&Ms. These are the special M&Ms.
Walgreens: Yes, they're Pirates of the Caribbean M&Ms.
Adam: I saw an ad for these white chocolate M&Ms and I've been meaning to buy them since they're limited edition!
plasticann: [amused, but shakes her head]

Walking out of Walgreens, we encounter a trio of punks hanging out on the street corner. Punks as in kids who loaf on street corners with nothing to do but cause trouble, not punks as in fans of the musical genre.

Punks: [to Adam] Hey, can I have some M&Ms.
Adam: [eating M&Ms] No!
Punks: blah blah blah...open toed sandals...thirty years old and you're wearing open toed sandals.
Adam: [Keeps walking in his Tevas without responding]
Punks: I wouldn't be caught wearing open toed sandals.
plasticann: [around the corner] Oh my goodness, what just happened? What was that about?
Adam: I don't know, I guess open toed sandals are unfashionable, but people in Boston wear them.
plastican: Did they make a crack about how you'd never find a girl since you wear open toed sandals?
Adam: I thought they did, but I'm not sure.
plasticann: I would have defended you and said something.
Adam: I thought about responding, but I also thought getting into an altercation on our first night in Seattle wouldn't be good.
plasticann: That's funny! I wonder how they knew you were thirty?
Adam: I was wondering that myself.

If that exchange had happened three days later, we totally could have said, "Hah, you clearly don't know what you're talking about, he's thirty-one not thirty so there you go." I was wearing my Keen sport sandals or what Adam likes to call my "orthopedic shoes." I would like to point out that I, however, was not the one who was mocked by teenage boys loafing on a street corner.