We're off to find Sushi Land

Yesterday I went on a fun bus adventure with a friend and her little 1-year-old. Our Oz? The Sushi Land on 5th Ave N and Valley St by the Seattle Center. I faintly remember going there with my mom when she was on the board in the old school board office... and I had to see if it still existed. Conveyor belt sushi... yes. Good sushi too. But cheap? Surprisingly very.

The plates were colored by price (from $1 to $3) and there were conveniently two pieces on each plate, perfect for a pair of sushi lovers. We tried a total of about 10 different variety including squid, smelt roe, eel (ooooh so good), salmon and a very strange sea urchin. I felt pretty carnivorous to tell you the truth.

The best part (well actually the best part was her little Katie slept through the whole restaurant time) was watching the procession of exotic sushis roll in front of us... luckily we could stop ourselves after a while. Sushi on a conveyor belt. Best way to eat it.

Finally we went over to the Center House for coffee and taffy and strolled around the Center grounds which were wonderfully deserted.

Aww, good day.

Web Portfolio updated

oh and don't forget to check out my web portfolio at www.gschaad.com!

Nature Observations: Big Birds

4
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)

No joke, this 11" hawk landed on a small tree outside the living room window while I was standing there looking out. It was 10 feet away and stood there for a good minute.

Then, it flew up to the tallest branch on the Tree of Heaven across the street. In a blink of an eye, it swooshed down the street and out of sight. It probably went for a cute little Junco, see "Nature Observations #1" below.





5
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

On a long West Seattle walk with Jana, we followed Longfellow Creek from Camp Long to Firefly Park. Along the way, across Genesee Street from the golf course there is a small little wetland before you get to the bonetail bridge. It was here that a mom and her children alerted Jana and I to the presence of a very huge heron, its head down, standing on an island in the middle of the pond. Very peaceful indeed.





post-script: why is Gen obsessed with birds? Not really, but they are Nature Observations that literally fly up on you. And these guys are waay cool, no?

Strawberry Pear Crisp

I, of course, waited to the last minute to get the ingredients for a pear cobler I was going to make. Stores closed on Thanksgiving. Now I know. *looks down sheepishly* So instead, here's a tastely dish that can be made post-haste, with the ingredients found in your own mother's kitchen.

The Yummy Strawberry Pear Deliciousness
(still working on the name)

preheat 375

layer in 9x9inch oven dish
1 pear, peeled, long-way sliced
1 can of sliced pear in the back cupboard
1 pint of strawberries (generously donated to you by a relative)
(any fruit really)

mix with hands, spread evenly over fruit
1/2 cup flour
1/2 brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/4 cup oatmeal (if desired, I liked it)
1/2 teaspoon salt
chopped up half-stick butter

30 minutes

put on vanilla ice cream, mmmmmmm

Nature Observations #2

3
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)



Shh, I'm looking at this guy now, right outside my window. He sits on the fence. Looks around. I try not to move... nope, gone. Shoot, that was cool.

Steller's Jays are quite large. Larger than most blue jays I think.

Skewed Google search results?

I wonder if Google's search statistics got skewed when they introduced the as-you-type instant results.

I'm sure they can measure how much of the search word is typed before it is interupted by selecting a result. I'd also have to believe that the data they get from 'clicked results' alone would be mind-blowing.

Now, all those searches that are not phrased right, spelled correctly or are simply outlandish (and nothing gets clicked because your boss walked into the room) -- will they be lost? Maybe good riddance to those searches.

High School Encouragement

One goal I had coming back was to help out at my local public schools... those poor, under-paid schools need us, ya know? I would not consider myself a genius at any given subject but for some reason I checked "tutoring" on the volunteer application when I signed up at the high school around the corner from my house. I may live to regret that decision..

I ended up in an afterschool study hall. The kids I help are "adviced... to their parents" to come to this study hall because they are failing 2 or more classes. Most of the work they are doing is class work, that they just didn't get done in class... needless to say, this bunch takes about 25 minutes to settle down before they get any homework going.

The good days are when I can work through homework assignments with 1-3 students. Even if I do know the answers, I act kind of dumb to show them HOW to work through the problems and get these stupid worksheets done quickly. I call them stupid because they are often wayyy too wordy that get the students to "discover" the phenomenom out by themselves. However these kind of kids aren't very eager to wait through all the words to find out what you want them to find out. It's confusing. It's confusing, so they just give up.

The bad days are when their bad attitude and constant indifference quiets or disarms me. I usually pump myself up with music and fist-jabs before coming in, that helps.

I really like helping. :) Too bad I might not be able to do it once I find a money-making job.