Mochi for the New Year

Our First Week in the New Place

The day after New Year's Day we took the ferry to Bainbridge Island to attend a Japanese Mochi Festival for welcoming the New Year with good fortune. The crowd was much larger than we anticipated, with several generations of Japanese-Americans from around the Puget Sound along with a lot of Euro-Americans as well.

This is an old tradition of steaming rice (32 pounds at a time) over an open flame and then having three sturdy mallet wielders mash the rice into a thick paste/dough. Great stuff, very high on the yum scale. There was no charge for the food and entertainment (taiko drumming as well!) but donations were welcomed. Everyone was in such a great, convivial mood and we met some really nice folks to swap notes with regarding the best places in Seattle to go for Japanese food.

And the views on that ferry ride were phenomenal. It is odd -- for this time of year -- to get such clear and consistent views of both the Cascade Mountains (to the east) and the Olympics (to the west).

We took our first PNW Wobble into the foothills of the Cascades this past weekend and headed up Cougar Mountain. Though it wasn't raining the trail was thoroughly damp, moss and greenery all around. At one point we even encountered the Evil Thing (aka, the White Blanket of Death) but thankfully it didn't cover the whole mountain.

We're now pretty well settled in the University District; conveniently close to the UW campus, libraries and athletic facilities, and dangerously close to an impeccable array of coffee shops, bars, and Thai food.

Emily has got her office and I've got a library card and next week we're making a huge batch of spaghetti with meatballs for my family and Shawn while we root on the Oregon Ducks for the national championships.

Quacking from the Northwest,

Kevin, Emily, Sammy

Northwest Arrival

Awoke early in Twin Falls and headed northwest, crossing the Snake River, over the Blue Mountains of Oregon, then finally crossing the mighty Columbia River and entering Washington, under a heavy dose of rain -- as is customary.

Weather forecasts for the Cascade Mountain range had us a little concerned but luckily we encountered no nasty storms and slid comfortably down the western slope of the range and into the Puget Sound region, where we feasted with Kevin's family, late night -- as is customary.

We really needed to stretch our legs so we took the dog for long walks before heading out to the ballet followed by an absolutely fantastic meal at El Gaucho. Had a great snacky Christmas eve meal and then awoke Christmas morning not so early -- as is customary -- and opened gifts.

Yet, our arrival to the PNW was not entirely made complete until we sat down at one of Kevin's favorite Japanese restaurants for a fine sushi lunch -- mission accomplished.

We welcomed in the New Year and are now settling into our tiny, oh-s0-tiny, apartment in the University District. Now that we are settling we'll post a variety of photos and commentary on our exploits in the Seattle area and beyond.

Stay tuned,

Kevin, Emily, Sammy