Thanksgiving kind of snuck up on me this year and I didn't really think about it as much as the last two years. Still, we bought everything by last weekend and I started cooking last night. I watched Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast on TV while I made the pumpkin pie, pecan pie, turkey brine, and cornbread for the dressing. It was fun watching those classic Disney movies, which are two of my favorites.

The last time I made a pecan pie it didn't turn out too well, but I decided to try to make one again for Thanksgiving. We actually had to buy a new pie plate because I only had one and that was for the pumpkin pie. I followed a recipe online and it turned out really good! I arranged the pecans on top in circles and it looked so pretty I almost didn't want to cut into it.

Then this morning, I made the green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, and the rest of the dressing. The 3 pound turkey only had to cook for 90 minutes. We also had cranberry sauce, rolls, and white wine. Everything tasted really good, especially the brined turkey. Makes me wonder why we don't cook this kind of food at other times throughout the year.

We'll probably go for a walk later after the football game and maybe watch a movie or play some games tonight. I have to work tomorrow, but we'll probably get out at 2, so that won't be so bad. Then this weekend we'll be putting up our Christmas tree! Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

We've had some very cold weather the last several days, which has brought snow and ice to the area. It was really windy, with gusts up to 30 miles per hour last night, which blew the snow everywhere and made roads worse. Some of my coworkers who ride the bus to work said it took them anywhere from 3 to 8 hours to get home last night.

It seems to get this cold once or twice a year, and then the rest of the winter is more mild. Here's a few numbers from our unseasonal cold and snow, which originally appeared on Ballard Komo News:

2.7" – That’s how much snowfall we received in Seattle Monday. Not a huge snowstorm, but enough for a daily record and the most snow we’ve had in the city before Thanksgiving since 1985.

89 – The number of consecutive hours that we will stay at/below freezing in Seattle. We started on Sunday evening and we won’t get above freezing until noon on Thursday.

32, 28, 30 – The high temperature from Monday, followed by the forecast for today and tomorrow. Longest cold snap in Seattle in November since mid 80s.

1985 – The last time we were this cold and snowy in mid-November. It has been a generation since we’ve seen something like this.

15 – That’s how cold we will be Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. This will likely set a new daily record for Seattle.

15" – The highest snow total I’ve seen so far. That’s from Snoqualmie Pass.

41 – The forecast high for Thanksgiving, the first day above 40 degrees since Saturday.

0 – The number of meteorologists, myself included, that saw this exact chain of events coming in advance.

Here's a video of the snow falling:

Snowing in Seattle! on Vimeo.

The last three weeks we've tried two new restaurants. Unfortunately we didn't have our camera with us either time, so you'll have to imagine what the food looked like.

I bought a Groupon for $25 of food at Araya's, a Thai food restaurant in the U-District. There were a lot of people there since it was a Friday night. We saw several other people with the same Groupon. The service was really slow, but I liked the nice romantic atmosphere and the food was really good. We shared some fried spring veggie rolls and I had the pad thai. Troy got the green curry, which was a little spicy but good. I'd like to go back and maybe get a curry or something.

Then this last Saturday night we went out for dinner to La Isla, a Puerto Rican restaurant in Ballard. It was similar to real Mexican food. There were a lot of seafood items on the menu and some interesting appetizers. I got a Mai Tai, which was really good at first, but seemed to get too strong the more I drank it. We shared an empanadilla and had the ropa vieja which is shredded beef in abodo sauce, peppers, and onions. It came with some tostones, avocado, beans, and rice. The food wasn't as hot (as in temperature) as it could have been. We also had a yummy dessert called "Guayabitas Vivian". It was a torte with mango filling and cream cheese topping served with vanilla ice cream sprinkled with cinnamon. It was good, but a little expensive and the service was a little slow. We'd like to go back though and try more different dishes.

We're getting our third produce box today and it will include these items:

• Red Potatoes, Organic - 1.5 pounds
  Full Circle Farm, Carnation, Washington


• Treviso Radicchio, Organic - 1 each
  Full Circle Farm, Carnation, Washington


• Green Kale, Organic - 1 bunch
  Full Circle Farm, Carnation, Washington


• Baby White Turnips, Organic - 1 bunch
  Full Circle Farm, Carnation, Washington


• Green Beans, Organic - 0.75 pound
  California Growers, California


• Celery, Organic - 1 each
  California Growers, California


• Red Leaf Lettuce, Organic - 1 bunch
  Lakeside Organic Gardens, Watsonville, California


• Bunched Carrots, Organic - 1 bunch
  Cal-Organics, Lamont, California


• Valencia Oranges, Organic - 3 each
  California Growers, California


• Fuyu Persimmons, Organic - 2 each
  Wild River Ranch, Marysville, California


• Pomegranates, Organic - 1 each
  Twin Girls Farm, San Francisco, California


• Gala Apples, Organic - 3 each
  Earth Conscious Organics, Brewster, Washington

We were scheduled to get more pears, but I don't care for them much and I think Troy was getting tired of them too, so we substituted them for a pomegranate. I'm looking forward to getting more oranges and apples. The celery will be useful for making dressing for Thanksgiving next week. I think we have a few recipes in mind to use the turnip, radicchio, and kale. I'm also interested in trying the persimmons since I've never had one before.

I was asked last year to join the finance committee at the church we attend. I declined because I wasn't sure if I wanted to be that involved. But then I was asked again this year to serve on it and I accepted. The term generally lasts for three years, but isn't set in stone. They meet for a couple of hours on the third Wednesday of every month, which I've been going to since July. Meetings start at 7 and normally end around 9.

Most of the time is spent reviewing the budget and or working on the annual stewardship campaign. Since I studied accounting and finance in college, I can easily understand what they're talking about when reviewing reports or budgets, which I think is pretty valuable. I'm more interested in investing, but unfortunately the church doesn't really have much in the way of stored up reserves. It's been an interesting experience and I'm glad that I'm able to lend a hand.

Note: This walking route through Seattle's neighborhood of Wedgwood comes from Walking in Seattle.

This quiet residential neighborhood in Northeast Seattle is home to a large glacial boulder and the city’s first P-patch.



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Note: This post comes from Walking in Seattle.

Enjoy this walk through the forest and along the beaches at Discovery Park. It may be challenging for some due to the elevation change.



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We decided to continue trying out receiving a produce box every other week. We still had a small credit from the Groupon we bought, so that was nice. I picked up our second box last Thursday from Fare Start, a restaurant in downtown, and carried it home. It was pretty heavy, so I had to keep switching arms and the way I was carrying it. It contained the following:

• Red Potatoes, Organic - 1.5 pounds
  Full Circle Farm, Carnation, Washington


• Leeks, Organic - 2 each
  Full Circle Farm, Carnation, Washington


• Spinach, Organic - 1 bunch
  Full Circle Farm, Carnation, Washington


• Red Bok Choy, Organic - 1 bunch
  Full Circle Farm, Carnation, Washington


• Brussels Sprouts On The Stalk, Organic - 1 each
  Full Circle Farm, Carnation, Washington


• Bunched Baby Carrots, Organic - 1 bunch
  Full Circle Farm, Carnation, Washington


• Green Leaf Lettuce, Organic - 1 bunch
  Siri and Sons, Clackamas, Oregon


• Gala Apples, Organic - 3 each
  Earth Conscious Organics, Brewster, Washington


• Valencia Oranges, Organic - 4 each
  California Growers, California


• Red Flame Grapes, Organic - 0.75 pound
  Delano Farms, Delano, California


• Bartlett Pears, Organic - 3 each
  Washington Growers, Washington

We'd never had brussels sprouts until we cooked them tonight with some pasta. We tossed them in some olive oil, salt, and pepper and then roasted them in the oven. They didn't taste like anything we'd had before. Apparently they're supposed to taste sweet if you roast them long enough. We might have them again some day, but probably won't go out of our way to get them.

I've already eaten three of the four oranges and they were the best oranges I've had in a long time. They were easy to peel and tasted really sweet and like citrus at the same time. The grapes and gala apples are juicy and sweet too.

Getting organic food is really good for you because there are no pesticides or other chemicals sprayed on them. Everything we've gotten has been fresh and locally grown, mostly in Washington. Even though it can be a little more expensive, it tastes much better than regular produce at the grocery store and is much higher quality. We might continue to get a produce box every other week and see how we like it.

Note: This walking route through the neighborhood we live in comes from Walking in Seattle.

This part of Seattle has been transformed over the last several years and this nice long walk takes you on a tour to see the history, the public spaces, and the recent development that this area has to offer.



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According to a news article and video on King5.com, the Seattle waterfront might be getting a ferris wheel soon. The owner of Pier 57 has applied for a permit for a 175-foot tall ferris wheel. There is currently an arcade with an old-style merry-go-round on the pier. The Alaskan Way Viaduct will eventually be torn down with a tunnel being built and the waterfront will be revitalized in the next few years. A ferris wheel would be an interesting addition to the touristy area of the city. I'm not sure how much I like it being part of the already beautiful skyline, but I suppose I could get used to it.

A couple weeks ago we saw a flier in our building for cooking classes in the area. The classes covered a variety of food - Spanish tapas and paella, soups, and dim sum. We had talked about taking a cooking class before and decided to sign up for the class on Thai food, since it's one of our favorite foods to eat but one that we don't know how to make well.

Last Thursday night we walked the couple blocks to class. The class was hands-on and about 14 of us stood around a table and all participated in making the food. There were a lot of ingredients that we weren't familiar with, like Thai eggplant, fish sauce, and tamarind concentrate. We started by identifying all the exotic components and then started preparing food.

We all had a chance to make spring rolls, and helped make pad thai, papaya salad, peanut sauce, and green and red curry. We finished off with some sweet coconut rice. The recipes included ingredients completely from scratch and were more complicated than we're used to cooking at home. However, the food was pretty good, and it was helpful to see how these dishes are made. At the end we were full and tired, but it was a fun experience.

I'm not sure when we'll have a chance to round up all the exotic ingredients it took for some of these recipes, but we'll probably try to make one of these recipes at home this week.

It's time for another election and that means more initiatives to vote on. Unlike Texas, any initiative can make the ballot if it receives enough signatures before the election.

So, in addition to the hotly-contested, high-profile race for state Senator and the low-profile and mostly uncontested races for various judge positions, there are several interesting initiatives that we can vote on.

One initiative would establish a state income tax for high-income individuals. Another two initiatives would both privatize liquor sales and remove some regulations (liquor is currently only sold in state-run stores). We can also vote to repeal taxes that were recently placed on sales of candy and soda.

Many of these initiatives are heavily supported by various industries, so we're seeing commercials in favor and opposed to many of these initiatives. It's nice to have the opportunity to vote on fairly significant potential changes to state laws, though it can be challenging to make the right decision.

This past weekend I was able to go to Game 3 of the World Series and visit my family in Texas, thanks to my friend Megan's buddy pass to fly stand-by for Southwest Airlines. I wasn't guaranteed a seat, so I wanted to get to the airport fairly early. I took a half day off work on Friday and made my way to the airport via the Link Light Rail. It was really nice and took me straight there in about 35 minutes. Getting into the terminal took no time at all and I was able to get a boarding pass while waiting for the flight since it wasn't very full. I can see how flying on stand-by would normally be stressful if the flights you're trying to get onto are pretty full. I lucked out with all my flights since there were at least 20 seats left on all four I took. I got a window seat every time and no one next to me in the middle seat until the last leg from Albuquerque to Seattle.

Megan picked me up from Love Field, which I'd never been to, and we went to Uncle Julio's for dinner. It was really good - we shared the nachos and combination fajitas. It was a lot of food! I enjoyed catching up with her and hanging out. Then she dropped me off at my parents house for the night.

Saturday morning I woke up pretty early so we could go eat bagels at Einstein Brothers bagels, which owns Noah's, our favorite bagel place in Seattle. I got a sesame bagel and some hot tea. We picked up my grandma and took her with us to breakfast too. Then my Uncle Bob met us there so he could see me for a little bit.

After that, we dropped my grandma off and went to my sister's house so I could see my niece, Evie! We spent about 3 hours there and I took lots of video and pictures of her! She was so cute! She's already able to walk around a coffee table while holding onto it. She can even let go and still stand there for a few seconds on her own! I got to see her room too and it was really cute. My sister fed her while we were there too, so I got to see her eat solid foods. I'm looking forward to seeing her and my sister again during our Christmas trip. We're going to babysit her one night so my sister and brother-in-law can go out and eat dinner and have a fun night out.

My parents and I went to Cousins for an early dinner after that. I got a chopped brisket sandwich, fresh hot okra, and the potato salad. It was really good.

Unfortunately, my Dad couldn't get a third ticket for my Mom to go, so it was just my Dad and I at the game. I felt bad using her ticket, but she kept telling me it was ok and that she was just glad to see me. We left really early to get to the game about 2 hours before it started. I'd never seen so many people at the Ballpark. The game set an attendance record of 52,419. My Dad waited in line to get some souvenirs for an hour and a half. The lines everywhere were so long. It was really cool seeing Nolan Ryan throw out the ceremonial first pitch to Pudge. The game went by really fast and the Rangers won 4-2. It was exciting seeing all the home runs and watching the fireworks go off. I still can't believe I was able to go to Game 3 of the World Series! It's one of those once in a lifetime things you can't pass up if you have a chance to go.

We stayed up a little bit once we got back to the house and watched some tv shows my Dad had recorded about Seattle and a little bit of the UW-Stanford game. We had to get up early Sunday to get to the airport for my 9:10 am flight. There were plenty of seats available on the flights, so I had no trouble at all. It was a really short trip, but it was worth it to see my niece and the game. We'll be back soon too for Christmas in a couple months. Thanks again to Megan for getting me the plane ticket and my Mom for giving up her game ticket for me! :)