For some reason I don’t really care for the end of March, and I’m not entirely sure why. There is not a whole lot going on in March and when I lived in Michigan it didn’t really strike spring until April. But the end of March has been quite nice actually. We have had decent weather (warm and not super rainy) with a couple wonderful days, we had a good ski day out on the sunny slopes, and March Madness has started and is delivering another Sweet Sixteen this year. I’ve also been busy, but what is new.
I had some friends over for dinner that I hadn’t seen since early January. Billy and Valerie came over on Monday for the 60 degree weather for our first night out grilling. We had a bit of a fiasco because we forgot my 2nd propane tank had run out and finding a replacement tank in Queen Anne proved more difficult than we would have thought. Poor Bryan. But we got one and we had snacks to nibble on of tomato bruschetta, sauteed mushrooms and ricotta bruschetta (I don’t know why but bruschetta and different combinations are like my favorite things to make right now), and cheese and sausage. For dinner we grilled my marinated chicken (harissa and yogurt marinade), asparagus, and summer squash, along with a salad with pear and a great bottle of Zinfandel we had a lengthy dinner on our deck candlelit.
Tuesday I had an interesting SEAW dinner meeting on the Panama Canal expansion. Wednesday I had a movie night for Polly’s birthday with the girls . Thursday I had FareStart with Tulalip Casino and Resort as the Guest Chef. They made an interesting but delicious Asian-inspired four-course dinner of:
First Course Lumpia Trio, Fried Fresh Vegetable, Pork and Shrimp with a Sweet Red Chili Drizzle
Second Course Grilled Kalbi Chicken Ramen Noodle Salad, Red Bell Peppers, Cucumbers, Carrots, Cilantro, Toasted Spicy Pine Nuts and Black Sesame Seeds, Tossed with a Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette
Entrée Seared Sea Bass, Red Thai Curry, Green Onions, Red Bell Pepper, Fried Ginger and Garlic, Served with Jasmine Rice and Roasted Asparagus
Dessert Chinese Spiced Chocolate Pudding, Caramelized Crispy Rice and Candied Kumquats
And Friday was the big night for the two big games. We had UM playing Tennesse at 4:15 followed by MSU vs. Virginia right after that. I got to watch the UM victory (and won my bet of $20 with my coworker) before Bryan and I headed over to our friend’s house for our pre-planned dinner date with friends Sara and Philipp. They made us a great meal of salad, wine and homemade lasagna (was very good), and topped it off with Talenti gelato (butter pecan) which is all of the rage now. Great night all around!!!
Saturday was rainy and windy and Bryan and I slept in. We made breakfast before settling into my roommate’s copy of Dallas Buyers Club (dad, watch this). We both loved the movie and were very moved by the storyline and in awe by both of the actors physiques and performances. I went to free yoga at Urban Yoga Spa while Bryan went shopping for more climbing gear. We met back up for dinner down the hill at the middleeastern Mashawi. We both had a great meal; I chose the vegetarian combo of fried cauliflower, falafel, baba, and hummus that also came with lentil soup and salad and pita bread. Their falafel is probably the best I have ever, very moist, and the baba and hummus are absolutely delicious. We were both stuffed as we headed to the Seattle Rep for our fourth play, The Suit. We both decided this was our favorite performance to date. The actors and storyline was great but the music (accordian, trumpet, guitar, keyboard, and voice) were what really set it apart from the others.
Sunday was my “me” day but it wasn’t that good of one. I picked up my scooter first from the scooter doctor. It is back to running good and I am hoping that it will still last me another year, or at least reach 10,000 miles (currently at just over 9,000). Then I settled in to watch five hours of heartbreaking basketball. First MSU loses and then Michigan loses. What could be worse? I will say that Michigan still looked great as a team. Michigan still has a bright future and seeing the fans comments on Facebook afterwards just reaffirmed how much I like this team and these fans. All of the fans were very proud and thankful and admitted their surprise for an unexpectedly stellar season. I agree wholeheartedly. I was not expecting them to be good at all this year. After those losses I made a pita pizza and settled into studying, like I said, a horrible Sunday. I did Jillian Michael’s level 2 for the first time to break the studying up but it was still a sorry day to end a pretty good week.
Chelsea
Evolving in the Emerald City 