Sweet Baked Heaven

I blame living in Austria for my obsession — it’s more of an illness, really. After all, a nation that comes up with a cake that involves first baking a cake, grinding it into crumbs and then cooking the crumbs in whole milk and butter is a nation that takes cake seriously. Austria is home …


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Almost Famous at Alki

This morning our house is chock-a-block with jetlagged Austrians, they’re stacked like cord wood down in the basement. (If you’ve been to Austria, you know they are very skilled at stacking. They are a stacking people, a nation of stackers. ) Last night, we took them for pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) which I swear is …


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Friday at Alki Beach

We weren’t the only ones who decided that on this beautiful day, it was necessary – no, imperative, really – to take our lunch break down at Alki Beach. We opted for a sandwich and coffee from Pioneer, but these young ladies had a better idea: gather your people, pack a lunch and swing your …


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Seattle Summer Solstice

Up here in the northwest corner of the US, the thing we’re probably most famous for at Solstice time is our naked cyclists. These sun loving two wheelers strip down to their birthday suits and open the Fremont Solstice Parade. They’re a crowd pleaser every year, and hey, a gorgeous physique is not required to …


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File Under: Always Carry Your Camera

My photo won the prize for “Most Unusual Object” in West Seattle Blog’s Garage Sale Contest. No, smart guy, the unusual object wasn’t ME, it was two huge bags of duck decoys. Me: How many duck decoys does a person need? Duck Decoy Guy: About a dozen. Me: And how many do you have here? …


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