Monthly Archives: December 2016

December 2016

Most of our news this year is from pretty close to home:curbside

Greetings to all from our newly-remodeled lobby.  The sculpture has been relocated, the furniture has a younger look, colors are somewhat more neutral, and the downstairs bookshelves have given way to a counter for computer users.  There’s also a big new television.

In other building news, this summer saw the advent of our rooftop herb garden, a welcome addition for those of us who like to avoid plastic supermarket packaging but who are too lazy to grow plants on our own balconies. Fortunately, some of our neighbors are really good at this!  We used lots of cilantro, basil, oregano, and even some tarragon.  There were excellent tomatoes that we mostly left for others.  Below is a picture of our roof, with its three little maple trees, from last Fall.

roofspace

There’s a bit more news in earlier posts, mostly about cycling, in case you missed them.  We’re planning another bicycle trip in Europe late next summer.

Happy holidays and a bright new year, from Scott and Alex!

Drug culture

Well, marijuana has been legal here for a long time now, so who could resist acquiring some, even if just to say we had?  Alex and I had talked about going shopping together, but I finally took matters into my own hands on a trip back from the library.  There are two licensed shops located fairly conveniently; I chose Herban Legends, on Bell Street a bit north of the Pike Place Market.herbanI was carded inside the door (a big change from the old days, but always flattering for a person of my years). Even without ID you can choose to turn left into the paraphernalia department and acquire cool hemp-themed items; but I entered the dimly-lit drug den itself.  I headed for the comestibles.  A fellow customer asked me if I were a fan of edibles, but the answer is probably that I am just no longer a smoker.

squareI bought a couple of peanutbutter-cup-like items, since that’s what we eat too much of at Halloween.  Another thing that’s changed:  the last time I bought tetrahydrocannabinol, there was little  discussion about organic production or gluten-free ingredients.

The candies were six bucks each, cash. On my way out I met another customer who also offered identification but was just waved through.  I guess maybe he was a regular.

Our other drug-related story involves Los Pollos Hermanos.  Fans of the series Breaking Bad will recognize this as the name of the business that was the front for Gus Fring’s distribution network; but of course the temptation to use it in the non-fiction world has proved irresistible. Some folks have apparently been sued for copyright infringement, for duplicating the logo that appeared on TV; but the trade name would be a different story.

Our local version is a Peruvian/Mexican store and restaurant, just south of the place where we used to eat when we biked to Shoreline. We were already shopping here for things like epazote and the elusive lime Jarritos, even  before we tried out the prepared food.  Days after our first meal the Seattle Times gave the place a glowing review and apparently it was very busy for a while.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe barbecue-style chicken has a most wonderful and distinctive flavor.  The paradox is that the chicken is itself so plump that the sauce has trouble keeping up.

Update:  A notice on Facebook suggests that Los Pollos closed at the end of February 2018. Best wishes, Brian!