As the intriguing images were dealt and my Tarot Card story unfolded, I was shocked at the narrative I was hearing. “You have a new job that is energizing and has far less drama than your old one.” Yep. “You have a very good marriage.” Totally. “You will write a book.” Coming soon to Amazon.
DAMN. She was good. Now, I’m not saying I’m a true believer. I’m just open to lots of things that can’t be proven. I’ve had my palms read in a back alley in Hong Kong and wasn’t all that impressed. This gal, Eugenia Van Vliet, at the Pink Door in Seattle has been doing this forever. I believe that she probably is a great observer of people and is a storyteller who loves telling the history of each card. If nothing else, it was an enjoyable way to spend time on a cold winter evening in Seattle with a friend while drinking a delicious cinnamon Old Fashioned to warm me up.
The first card dealt, the 4 of Wands, which is the “Lord of the Perfected Work” and is the card of the professionals was followed by the O The Fool card which speaks to a new beginning. Combo these two up and you have me starting my new job and loving it. As the cards continued to flow after I shuffled them, the O The Fool came up again and signified that the dog shown on the card was keeping me safe from falling over the cliff with mistakes in this new path. Cool-I need a four legged sidekick to keep me in check. Too bad I can’t bring mine to work with me! The Ace of Pentacles predicted a financial change for the better–does that mean the stock market will recover? I liked the message of the 5 of Swords-success can be achieved but only through relentless hard work. That’s always been my motto-I may not be the smartest but I surely will work the hardest.
We primarily talked about my new work gig but touched briefly on the family as well. The card signifying a great relationship came up twice so we discussed Thom. A few more cards after and she could tell that he was the creative, sensitive one in our marriage (yes, he cries more it’s true) and would be seeking an artistic outlet soon. Hmmmm……Thom has been working hard on our book covering our adventures in China. She even knew that, after seeing the card with an ancient scroll. How random that this would come up in the course of the reading. It certainly gave me reason to pause.
I was super happy to hear the prediction that I would be living abroad for work in either London or Dublin in 2-3 years. Score! Since we are already planning a trip to Dublin in the fall, I’ll start scouting out neighborhoods. You just never know with us! James will be out of law school and living on his own again so it might be time for another adventure abroad.
If you want to know what your future holds, check out Eugenia in the bar at the Pink Door, Sunday-Thursday from 5-7 p.m. Interesting stuff!
Wandering around Seattle over the last two weeks, it struck me that I definitely have my favorite places that I gravitate to now when I want to have a great experience. Having a bad day? No problem-just check out these places and life will be good. Let’s just call these “happy places”. Honestly, doesn’t everyone need some happy places to get you through the sometimes cold and always rainy Seattle winters? Not everyone can run off to Hawaii, St. Maarten or Florida for a sunny/warm interlude (you know who you are and I’m damn jealous!) so without further ado, I thought I would share these happy places with you, whether you live here and need some new adventures or if you are crazy enough to plan a visit to Seattle during the long winter months. Here is the top 10 countdown of “can’t go wrong happy places” in Seattle:
Happy Place #10-Seattle Sunsets as seen across Elliott Bay. Check it out from any number of parks, restaurants and Pike Place Market on the waterfront. I’m lucky to see this nightly show from my balcony. Blessed!
Seattle sunsets are striking any time of the year!
Happy Place #9-Seattle sporting events. We enjoy the Mariners, Seahawks, Storm, and Reign but nothing beats the excitement of a Sounders game. You must get the start-to-finish experience beginning in Pioneer Square with the March to the Match and then wait after the game is over to see the players applaud their passionate fans.
Any Seattle sporting event is fun but Sounders game reign supreme!
Happy Place #8-Elliott Bay Book Co. on Capital Hill. From the friendly staff to the huge assortment with lots of staff recommendations pointing you to great reads, nothing beats a book store on a rainy Seattle day. They even have a great café for a bite to eat and coffee. Pres. Clinton even visited here recently on his whistle stop through town, taking in the neighborhood ambience.
Elliott Bay Book Co. on Capital Hill has wall of recommended reads by staff members
Happy Place #7-Sculpture Park on Elliott Bay. Not only is there iconic public art but they have awesome concerts here in the summer. Not many tourists venture this far north of the market so it’s relatively quiet even on gorgeous summer days.
Sculpture Park is serene and beautiful.
Happy Place #6-Seattle Art Museum (SAM) is a gem with events and new exhibitions coming and going. We really enjoyed their Remix event, an after hours party with music, events, dancing, etc. that draws a huge crowd. We just became members so we can come and go frequently whenever we are in the mood.
Seattle Art Museum’s striking entry has now changed and the cars have been retired.
Happy Place #5-Chinatown, of course! We can’t wait to go celebrate Chinese New Year-Year of the Monkey on February 8th in our own Seattle Chinatown. There are several dim sum places that are excellent as well as the bakeries where I can get an egg tart. The Uwajimaya grocery has all our favorite snacks from China and always has cool stuff to buy.
Chinatown!
Happy Place #4-Uptown Movie Theater. This totally charming old theater is a treasure and shows 3-4 movies, usually independent flicks, and is part of SIFF (Seattle International Film Festival). Best part-it is a block from our house and it serves lattes and wine.
The Uptown in Lower Queen Anne is a charmer!
Happy Place #3-The Seattle Center is more than the Space Needle. The lights twinkling in the trees at night while the fountain shoots its water bursts in time to the music make it a wondrous place. People think it is just for tourists but we walk our dogs there every day multiple times and enjoy it so much.
Seattle Center is our backyard with the fountain shooting high to the musical playlist.
Happy Place #2-Who isn’t happy shopping? In downtown Seattle, our favorite stores are John Fluevog for handcrafted shoes, Everyday Music (EM) for extensive vinyl assortment, Pike Place Market, of course, for leather slippers, lavender sachets and flowers/flowers/flowers, CostPlus World Market for coffee/tea/wine, and Nordstrom’s Rack for shoes and clothing with an onsite tailor. We can walk down and then take the fun Monorail home when we buy too much. Running since the 1962 World Fair, it’s only $2.25 one way for a quick trip from downtown to the Seattle Center. Super convenient for us!
Yes, green boots for Thom. He is Irish after all.
Happy Place #1-MUSIC! I am constantly on the lookout for new and well-loved artists for us to check out in Seattle. Our favorite venues are The Paramount, The Moore, and the Triple Door though we often have to travel to Ballard to the Tractor Tavern to see folks we like. Last year we got to enjoy Eilen Jewell (coming again 2/25 to the Tractor Tavern-check her out!), Allen Stone, Glen Hansard, LeRoy Bell, Elvis Costello, David Bromberg, Florence & The Machine and wish we had seen Alabama Shakes live. I’m sure this year will be an even better year for concerts, though we had to plan a trip in March to LA to see Bruce Springsteen’s final concert on his tour since he snubbed Seattle. Come on, Bruce! Seattle IS the music place to be!
My current fav artist-Glen Hansard serenading us from the balcony at The Moore.
After searching through Yelp for the craftiest cocktail place in downtown Boise, I decided to give the Press & Pony a try. Aided by my daughter and hubby as the designated driver, we passed through the velvet curtained entryway into a small speakeasy environment with a copper-topped bar and tin-tiled ceiling. Score-atmosphere galore where the bartenders were knowledgeable and downright hardcore in their stance to serve only the most unique craft cocktails to their customers.
Absinthe anyone? Press & Pony has atmosphere galore plus well crafted cocktails in downtown Boise, Idaho.
Of course, after reviewing the menu of cocktails (no food here-serious drinking only), I interviewed the bartenders on their most popular drinks and ingredients. Boy did I get an earful of passionate discourse on the ingredients needed to create cocktail masterpieces. Settling on the classic Old Fashioned to try first, it did not disappoint. Eric the Bartender proclaimed their Old Fashioned to be the best in Boise and with the essence of lemon and orange mixed with simple syrup, bourbon and 8 dashes of two types of bitters served in a classic old fashioned tumbler with a big ass ice cube, the better not to melt and dilute the drink I was told, I contently sat back to sip and enjoy this masterpiece of alcohol. As I brought my nose to the glass, the lemon and orange oils diffused the smell of booze and lightened the bourbon taste. Delightful!
House-made tonics and sodas delight even the non-alcoholic sippersShots and Classic Cocktails with complex ingredients
Next up on the cocktail tasting menu for me was the Corpse Reviver No. 2 that combined gin, lillet blanc, Cointreau, lemon juice and an absinthe rinse for good measure. The name alone compelled me to give it a try plus I had never tried absinthe so the Corpse Reviver was perfect! Shaken not stirred, it arrived in a short goblet with tiny floats of ice on top. Delicious with a kick! Eric pointed out that absinthe is 53 proof and not to be trifled with. As Hannah put it so aptly when she tasted her Dark + Stormy (dark rum+ginger beer+lime juice) cocktail, “Oh Jesus!”
In asking Eric about the focused assortment of their liquors behind the bar, he expressed disdain for the standard popular brands like Maker’s Mark and Jack Daniels-not even available at their establishment, thank you very much. As he put it, if customers come in and ask for vodka or “regular” drinks like Jack & coke, he directs them to the “douche kiddie bars” down the street where it’s all about cheap booze vs. refined cocktails. Tell us how you really feel, Eric. I like a bartender with principles.
Absinthe anyone? Press & Pony has atmosphere galore plus well crafted cocktails in downtown Boise, Idaho.
Next up on the cocktail research tour, we met up with our friend Ryan H. and walked quickly on this single digit frigid night to the Red Feather Lounge, a more mainstream alcohol emporium but with a late night happy hour (yes, we were out that late believe it or not) so we could enjoy hot beignets with warm butterscotch dipping sauce with our cocktails. Paired with a “Fever of the Mad” (Extra Dry Gin, Herbsaint Pastis, Fresh Lemon, Fee Bros. Peach Bitters, and Egg Whites) the beignets soaked up all the alcohol just fine. I had wanted to try a drink featuring egg whites as this is a hot trend now. The Fever was light, frothy and a perfect way to end a night of intensive cocktail research. Taking the Red Feather motto to heart, “A bar without bitters is like a kitchen without spice.”, it’s back to Seattle today to continue the research at Canon, one of the top cocktails bars in the nation. Watch out!
Absinthe anyone? Press & Pony has atmosphere galore plus well crafted cocktails in downtown Boise, Idaho.
2013 Times Square-2014 Shanghai-2015 Seattle-2016 Boise…it was never my intent to celebrate New Year’s Eve in different cities/countries but that’s just how my life rolled and I enjoyed every second of it. So what’s ahead in 2016? No idea but I’m excited to find out. Reflecting today on 2015, I am so thankful for all the experiences I’ve been so blessed to enjoy. Life is truly wonderful and amazing in so many ways.
Cheers! Here’s to 2016!
2015 for us was all about transition and travel. We moved back from China in late 2014 and settled into our new place in lower Queen Anne. Oh, how I love that water view and our urban neighborhood. Being able to walk everywhere you need to be is liberating and so healthy if you don’t count being a convenient block away from the greasy bliss that is Dick’s. Having decorated our apartment last year to make it cozy, we can now enjoy entertaining more in 2016. Bring on the cocktail cart and amazing sunsets! Having James move back in with us while he attends Seattle U. Law is an added bonus as well. I appreciate being closer to family but we do miss living in China so much-a unique adventure I will never forget.
Last year was also a travelling time with my old job taking me to exotic locations like Detroit in February, San Antonio during the torrential rain storms, Durham, Orlando in the brutal summer heat, Vancouver and NYC-my favorite that never disappoints. I may not travel with my new job for awhile but then it will become a global odyssey. Cannot wait. Oh the places we will go!
Amsterdam/Bruges/The Hague dazzled us on our autumn trip and was a highlight for sure and just as charming as I thought it would be. We definitely need to explore more of Europe SOON. Nothing beats a family vacation, though, and we got to all be together on the lovely Big Island as Baby Mia was learning to walk while on the beaches in Hawaii! That was priceless and appreciated so much. That Mia makes me smile.
Zip lining on Big Island with the kids was a joy!Enjoying the dive diner experience with Patti & Larry in Vancouver
Flying through the trees and across the valleys in Hawaii on the zip line with the kids was breathtaking. Travelling with friends is also fun so when Patti and Larry drove across America on their road trip, we joined them to enjoy an Amtrak trip up to Vancouver where we took walking tours and found the best dive restaurant in town, serving milk shakes AND martinis right next to the triple XXX shop. Yummy and crazy at the same time!
I was lucky enough to enjoy lots of great musical moments in 2015 and got to experience the great artistic stylings of Glen Hansard, Florence & The Machine, Allen Stone x2, Eilen Jewell, Griffin House, Elvis Costello, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson, Dave Brumbeck plus interesting talks by David Sedaris, John Oliver, Jesse Eisenberg, David Axelrod, Ira Glass and Joe Klein. Such smart and talented people! Looking forward to seeing Lewis Black soon in Seattle. He always brings me to tears of laughter with his passionate rants. Need to seek out some women speakers this year. Here’s to diversity and hoping Hillary comes to town! Best concert of 2015-Glen Hansard with Allen Stone as a close second. I would go see them anytime, anywhere. GO SEE THEM!
Allen Stone and I hanging out at his private concert for my company. Cool dude!
We also got to go to many Seattle Storm basketball games at nearby Key Arena and see Jewell Lloyd win Rookie of the Year. It was a rebuilding year so they should win more in 2016. The Sounders were inconsistently frustrating but always a fun game to go to with awesome fan support. Throw in a few Mariners games and the Seattle Reign too and we have begun to truly immerse ourselves in the Seattle sports scene. Of course, Thom and Mike got to see their beloved Mets play in NYC in the World Series. Epic moment for those two-here’s hoping the Mets come back swinging again this year so I don’t have to listen to Thom cry and whine.
2015 WTF Moments
Trump-if by some horrible chance he wins, we would have to leave. Are you with me? Belize perhaps? That he is even in the race, let alone leading, is embarrassing for the U.S.
Guns & Violence-something must be done. Hopefully Obama will look at his Fu*&it List and take action. I’m looking forward to seeing Hannah make a difference with her work for Moms Demand Action, an organization funded by Bloomberg. People, we need to take a stand and say NO MORE.
My shoulder froze and my local gym closed so health and fitness were challenging for me this year. Frozen shoulder, mainly affecting women of a “certain age”, made moving painful and awkward but it’s getting better now with the aid of my masseuse’s cruel and painful sessions and it certainly could have been worse. Going to try out a new gym next week and start the new year off right. Hoping 2016 is a healthy one for all of us.
2016 Highlights to look forward to
Have fun in 2016 and be silly at least once a day!
*watching Mia turn 2-she grows more enchanting and smart every day. Definitely want to spend more time in Boise if we can carve out some time in between renters of our cute cottage there. It’s popular!
*discovering Dublin and seeing Glen Hansard sing in his natural environment and a NYC trip to see old friends and old haunts once it warms up some and the Mets are playing again.
*back home again to Indiana to see Mom, Sis and corn waving in the fields. Once Hoosier, always a Hoosier!
*an art-filled year. We just became Seattle Art Museum members so our weekly dates will probably be including art as well as going to their incredible Remix events. If you live in Seattle, check out these after hour events with music. Fun.
*learning a new job-again but trying for better work/life balance. Finally!
Here’s to 2016 and savoring the wonder of each and every day. Expect nothing & appreciate everything.
Travels with Melinda 