Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Lowell's, Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA, USA


Lowell's at Pike Place Market

Lowell's - 2nd floor where the "tourans" are less present. Find your self here. Not a bad place to contemplate all manner of things. Since this is supposed to be a prep-themed blog, I was wearing Sperry Top-Siders, L.L. Bean ragwool socks (gray), Boss jeans, Orvis viyella shirt, Henri Lloyd vest, Castaway Clothing jacket. Not a bad kit, if I do say so myself. Totally lost on the crowd, however.  WTF Cascadia?!

Monday, November 14, 2011

The Double Life

How very simple life would be
If only there were two of me
A Restless Me to drift and roam
A Quiet Me to stay at home.
A Searching One to find his fill
Of varied skies and newfound thrill
While sane and homely things are done
By the domestic Other One.

And that's just where the trouble lies;
There is a Restless Me that cries
For chancy risks and changing scene,
For arctic blue and tropic green,
For deserts with their mystic spell,
For lusty fun and raising Hell

But shackled to that Restless Me
My Other Self rebelliously
Resists the frantic urge to move.
It seeks the old familiar groove
That habits make. It finds content
With hearth and home - dear prisonment,
With candlelight and well-loved books
And treasured loot in dusty nooks,

With puttering and garden things
And dreaming while a cricket sings
And all the while the Restless One
Insists on more exciting fun,
It wants to go with every tide,

No matter where . . . just for the ride.
Like yowling cats the two selves brawl
Until I have no peace at all.

One eye turns to the forward track,
The other eye looks sadly back.
I'm getting wall-eyed from the strain,
(It's tough to have an idle brain)
But One says "Stay", and One says "Go"
And One says "Yes" and One says "No"
And One Self wants a home and a wife
And One Self craves the drifter's life.

The Restless Fellow always wins
I wish my folks had made me twins.

by Don Blanding

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Doin' lines at lunch



Nijo's, Pioneer Square, Seattle

Like "preppy", sushi is trendy. Also like "preppy", sushi has staying power.  Long after the conveyor belts have stopped serpentining through the strip mall sushi restaurant, authentic sushi bars will be patroned by authentic sushi lovers and those of the authentic prep variety. Until that time....

(By the way, despite what the photo above shows, I am not a proponent of hiding the taste of fish in wasabi (or green mustard), pickled ginger and soy sauce. That is akin to putting A-1 or ketchup on your $50 bone-in rib eye. Come on Cascadia! We have more fish than we know what to do with, so it's up to us to lead the way. Dump the condiments in Elliott Bay, the Willamette River, and Burrard Inlet !)