Timelessness

Although it's been established that I am a Doctor Who fangirl, that's not the kind of timelessness about which I speak. It the timelessness that comes from a snow day in a place where it doesn't happen all that often.

Seattlish is one of those places.

We generally get one or two a year, and today doesn't even count because it's Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the schools are closed anyway (that link may black out a couple days from now, for 24 hours, to protest SOPA. Just so you know). But there's about three inches of snow up here in the Convergence Zone, and it's started snowing again, and the kids are bundled up, and there's slush that they've tracked up the stairs by the front door, and damp mittens all over the place, and the lining of Abby's boots has turned her toes a lovely shade of indigo, and Lizzy's thrilled about being allowed to play "outside with the big kids" (I only have to open the door to hear them; they are required to stay close when they have Lil' Liz with them), and the cat is not sitting under the dining table as usual; she's curled up by the heater vent.

And this, plus our lack of "Regular TV", and my joblessness, and the fact that I'm getting all my news from Google Plus and Yahoo News and SchoolReport.org lends a feeling of being separated from the normal march of time. I'm doing my usual daily routine - job hunting (slow on a holiday), laundry (rather more socks and gloves than usual), dishes, school - but it just seems different somehow. As though the snow was blanketing time as well as the trees and the streets, insulating me from it.

It's kind of nice, really. In a timey-wimey sort of way.

ETA: And our school district has notified us that school is closed tomorrow. They notified before the day in question, and on a Federal holiday. This is gonna be a big one, I think.

Slushy Saturday

Fun day so far. It's the Hubs' day off his diet (he has one day off a week) and we had to go to the aforementioned Grocery Outlet, so we went driving down the main drag in Kenmore to see where we could eat that was new for us. This brought us to a place called Jay's Cafe. Little tiny place, standard diner/cafe fare (lots of eggs and chicken-fried this and pancakes and steak-fried that), but it's really really good food, excellent service, and both patrons and staff who are tolerant of hungry-loud preschoolers. It cannot be stressed enough how important that last bit is.


As we left there it began to "slush" (that is to say mixed-rain-and-snow), so we hightailed it to Grocery Outlet, where we spent a lot more than I buy when I'm there by myself (Laston's a lot more... hmm... carnivorous than the rest of the family, and meat's a little spendy even at Grocery Outlet).

So now the Amazing Nate is fixing my computer (hopefully for the last time), Abby and Greg are playing in the girls' room with Lizzy, who is explaining earnestly that Care Bears are "these bears, you know, bears, and they care". Laston and Nate are discussing mechanics and electronics and a number of other ics, and I'm blogging and doing homework.

Thus is a slushy Saturday at Chez Gamers' Babes.

All About Food

Broot at Lost in a Sea of Blogs challenged me to answer some questions on food and cooking.

1. What, or who inspired you to start a blog?
My beloved spouse at Nerdy and Good at It and I started at the same time, about a year ago. I don't really remember why.

2. Who is your foodie inspiration?
I don't have a specific chef or website or anything like that, but I enjoy cooking for a group of people with assorted dietary restrictions - it's a challenge!

ETA: It has been pointed out to me that my fangirl crush on Alton Brown may count as a "foodie inspiration" but I maintain that he doesn't inspire me to cook, precisely; I just find him admirable (and nerdy-hot) in general.

3. Your greasiest, batter – splattered food/drink book is?
Betty Crocker Cookbook and The Milk-Free Kitchen. But mostly I wing it

4. Tell us all about the best thing you have ever eaten in another country, where was it, what was it?
They make this spicy chunky guacamole in this hotel in Puerto Vallarta...

6. What is the one kitchen gadget you would ask Santa for this year (money no object of course)?
Honestly, I don't need any big kitchen gadgets. Wouldn't mind an immersion blender or an egg slicer though. Could use a new muffin tin.

7. Who taught you how to cook?
My mom, and my ex-husband (him mostly through laughing at my sad, pathetic efforts early on). Lots of trial and error, a little Food TV

8. I’m coming to you for dinner what’s your signature dish?
Mushroom pot roast

9. What is your guilty food pleasure?

Really good chocolate

10. Reveal something about yourself that others would be surprised to learn?
I can cook, but I can't bake (except for this one self-adjusted banana bread recipe).

Finally…tag other bloggers with these questions…like a hot baked potato…pass it on!

Sara @ This Mom Has Tattoos
Tiffy @ Fat Girl in Motion
Yillup @ Yillup's Place for Everything

Well, I have three who've updated recently. Go to it, ladies!

I Do Love This Place

I've mentioned the recently opened Panera Bread store down the road from me before. Because I've been sick, I've been eating nothing but chicken soup and the like for a few days, so I decided to indulge myself with the free pastry I won for signing up for their punch card program.

Oh. My. Word. 

This is the best cherry Danish ever.

And I also went into the store for the first time today - usually I do the drive-through window - so I could see all this nummy stuff I've been hearing about. I'm pleased to report that the people inside the store are just as great as those in the drive-through area. They know their stuff, and they are friendly and efficient. In addition to my pastry, I bought a baguette (only about sixty cents more than a similar loaf at the grocery store, and far better bread).

I knew that Panera Bread gives back to local communities, but I didn't realize until today that they give to one of my favorite charities here in the Seattle area. And at that it's one that makes sense for their product! And although they don't specifically screen for allergens, they are definitely allergy-aware and do their best to accommodate, which, as you know, is my pet advocacy.

I swear they aren't paying me to say this; I just love this store!

Cookie Time!

Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But soon, and for the rest of her life.

Girl Scout Cookie sales are mostly in March. But tonight Abby's troop and a few other local troops met in a local Junior High School for a Cookie Rally. I was expecting this to be a right royal pain for the adults in the equation, but it was actually kind of fun. Aside from the usual making sure that Abby eats nothing untoward, I mostly got to chat with my fellow Brownie Moms and listen to the kids learning cookie-selling songs.

All around the neighborhood streets,

The Girl Scouts sell their cookies,

Ringing doorbells, asking please,

Please buy some cookies.

To the tune of Pop Goes the Weasel, as you might expect. Now maybe I can get it out of my head.

They made signs (for the record, the cookies are still $4 a box, at least here in the Girl Scouts of Western Washington area) for their sales. Abby identified which cookies she can eat - because she likes to be able to tell other allergic people what's safe (she can have four of this year's eight available flavors (well, six, but she doesn't care for the peanut butter (peanuts do not equal tree nuts) ones)).

So, Dear Readers, spend the next few weeks girding your loins for Cookie Season. And support your local Girl Scout - they help people (and have some fun!) with the cookie sales.

ETA: And... and (this is very important). Lizzy went to bed for her dad while Abby and I were gone. You people have no idea how freakin' huge this is!

Parents of Preschoolers...

... are the adults you see around town muttering letter sounds to themselves. Today's Letter Sound of the Week  at Lizzy's preschool is M - as in Mmm Mmm Monkey and Mmm Mmm Mint.

Our toy mmm mmm monkey is missing his tail. We don't have any fresh mmm mmm mint. Everyone else was likely to bring mmm mmm Mickey mmm mmm Mouse for Show and Tell on Mmm Mmm Monday. So Lizzy brought me the little Santa Claus ornament she got for Cwiss-a-muss. "I want to bwing this Santa for Mmm Mmm Monday."

"But Santa Claus does not begin with the Mmm Mmm sound, Lizzy."

"This one does, Mama. It's a Mmm Mmm Musical Santa."

So she took it to school, and I found myself in the Grocery Outlet, muttering things like Mmm Mmm Macaroni and Sss Sss Spaghetti Sss Sss Sauce. Not to mention C is for Cookie.

This is also related to yesterday's conversation wherein it was established that Lizzy is terribly indignant that swans and "gooses" look "a lot the same" in ABC books. How can the authors of such books expect small children to know the difference between Swans and "Gooses" just from the first sound? The nerve!