Here are some photos and a bit of commentary about my last couple of weeks in Seattle. I’m back in Merida now. Whew!

Family

My sister Leila has an electric car. It’s a Xebra, made by a company called Zapworld.  Unfortunately, it is rarely in operating order, so she’s thinking of selling it. It would be fabulous if only it worked. It’s cute and running it is free. No gasoline! She plugs it into a 110v outlet for an hour or two, and then it will go about 30 miles at speeds up to 35 mph. Well, she says she may not sell it after all because it’s so much fun to drive. It needs a new charger.

My niece Celia, who goes to a nice suburban high school just outside Seattle, says that a whopping 95 percent of the kids in the school drink alcohol and smoke marijuana, pretty much on a daily basis. Most kids are high while  in school. I think it takes a lot of grit and determination to maintain yourself in the five percent who are different. You go, girl.

Keith and Richard’s

One delightful evening I went for dinner at Keith and Richard’s at their home on Capitol Hill. Here are some pics of them and their garden. Keith is a landscape architect.

Keith G. in his award-winning garden

Garden

Keith divides outdoor spaces into "rooms."

Garden

Richard cooked dinner.

There were four for dinner. This is Curry and Richard.

World's most polite dog

Tim the sculptor

We walked around the corner to the home of their friend, artist Tim D. Here’s what that looked like.

One of Tim's cars

Statue for sale

All of Tim’s statues are outdoors, in the untrimmed yard. The place has a wild look.

Wall outside Tim's house

Tim has his demons.

This is my favorite. It’s a mummy, or maybe a zombi. He has moss growing on his arms.

Mossy zombie

Pig truck

Here’s another interesting vehicle. It was picking up a load of cheese from a manufacturer.

Handmade pig truck

Jeanne

This is my friend Jeanne Sather. She maintains a superb website called Assertive Patient (www.assertivepatient.com). This site is an invaluable resource for people living with cancer and for their loved ones. It is also a revealing collection of stories about the medical profession, banks and money institutions, gardening, and raising children. The site can be painful to read.

Jeanne makes and sells original and unusual jewelry which you can see and order from her other site, Charmed Jewelry.

Jeanne Sather

These are Jeanne’s sons, Akira and Robin.

Akira and Robin

It was Robin’s 20th birthday. He’s about to go to Japan on an exchange program for a year. Here is a picture of Jeanne’s photogenic ex-stepfather.

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Mexicans in Seattle

One day, in the process of cleaning up the two units in our duplex and getting them ready for new occupants, I needed some heavy lifting done. I drove up to Home Depot where at any given time there is a crowd of unemployed men looking for daywork. I hired Angel, from Oaxaca, and Abel, from Veracruz. Abel was a tall, sad looking young man. I asked him why he was up here and he said he makes more in the USA in an hour than he makes in Mexico in three whole days. And that’s IF there is any work, which there seldom is. But he misses his parents terribly.

These guys are giving up a lot to come here to support their families. Home, siblings, kids, fiestas, home-made food, music everywhere, flowers, people you have known all your life. I wish for them that they will be able to go home soon, where the human environment is warm and beautifully complex, and find work that can support them.

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Margaret and Beta

My friend Margaret chauffered me around on a mad run of last-minute errands the night before I left. Then we went to a vegan restaurant where her companion, Beta, was welcome. The waitress brought him a bowl of water without being asked. Actually, letting the dog in was the best thing about the restaurant, Chaco Canyon. Vegetarian, okay. But vegan, not good. Everyone in there was very thin and intense and politically correct.

Margaret and Beta

The bird of Seattle

This is a picture of a banana slug, the mascot of the City of Seattle.

Free pet

The Journey back

This is me on the inter-terminal train in the Houston Airport. I’m at my most exhausted, schlepping two heavy suitcases, a purse full of small weighty items, and a package over six feet tall containing a new grill for our Honda Passport, which I’d crashed last month. (See my article called Automobile Accident.) I had many unkind thoughts about Cesar, the man who smashed into me as he tried to pass me when I was turning left. I thought about him as the handle from the box dug into my hand. I thought of him as Continental was telling me they were so sorry, but they couldn’t fit the box on the plane. (They did.) I thought of him when people pointed and commented at the crazy lady with the bizarre assortment of luggage. I frightened small children.

BG and auto parts

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Seattle Cat Needs a Home

For my Seattle readers… This is Pumpkin, a four-year-old neutered male cat who is an excellent mouser. Unfortunately, he also kills birds (hey – he’s a cat) and his owner can’t stand it any more. He is clean, trained, indoor-outdoor, not annoying, and I loved living with him for two weeks. If you are interested, contact me, and I’ll forward your questions etc. to the owner.

Pumpkin

Detail of Tim’s Wall

Ceramics

I’m in Seattle right now, and staying in my friend Susan’s townhouse in Jackson Street Co-Housing. She went back east to visit family and I’m living with her dog Wolf, and her huge orange cat, Pumpkin.

Wolfie

Co-housing is defined as an “intentional community” where buildings are erected according to a communal style design, or existing buildings are “retrofitted.” Co-housing developments have individual self-contained residences and also community facilities. These may include a dining room and kitchen, children’s play areas, free internet, pools, gardens, and in the case of Jackson Street Co-housing, a hobby room and a secure indoor garage. Some rural co-housing communities have substantial acreage and raise a hefty percent of their own food.

Jackson Street Co-Housing

The overriding philosophy is to have a low impact on the earth and learn to share resources. Everything here is meticulously recycled. In this house, there aren’t any disposable paper products, zip lock bags, or any disposable plastic.

The food served in the dining room is mainly vegetarian. This urban development has vegetable and flower gardens on the steep paths between the buidings. I only ate in the community dining room a couple of times, but I had my own cloth napkin sealed in a bag with my name on it, waiting for my next visit.

Often, a core group of people will get together to organize such a community. They might buy land, hire architects, and get the residences going. Other people who share their values, buy into units.

People depend on each other. If you need a ride, or need to have your child watched for a while, or you want to borrow a book, share a cup of coffee, or whatever, there are people all around you who are here because they want a semi-communal lifestyle and they’re (reasonably) available to each other.

You can sign up for meals or stroll in and ask the cook whether there is enough for another person on a given day. They serve meals about four times a week, and people take turns cooking. Saturday morning there were three kinds of quiche, with fresh fruit, juice and coffee. Meals cost $4.00 for a guest like me.

Here is a group at dinner. Attendance is sparse because it’s a holiday weekend and the majority of community members are out of town.

The population is multi-generational, ranging from small children to people in their 80s. The community values their elders and are meeting these days to talk about how to be more supportive to them. Several of the older people were instrumental in designing and bringing the place into being about ten years ago

I’m staying in a three-story townhouse, but there are “flats,” apartments in an elevator building. Living units range from studios to three-bedroom homes. Legally, the co-housing developments are structured as either co-ops or condos. This one is a condo. There are 27 separate units.

The residents have regular business meetings and decisions are made by consensus. I am hoping to attend a meeting. There are no leaders.

Of course, everyone knows everyone else and are closer than most neighbors. They are genuinly helpful and friendly. Before I came, Susan circulated an email so everyone would know who I am, and everyone greets me as I walk through the beautifully gardened paths between my house and the parking area, the trash area, the communal building, or the street.

The only drawback to this place that I can see is that the internet system is truly awful and I had a heck of a time getting up on line. The DSL operates in fits and starts and my service goes in and out. But in a way, it’s in tune with the place. No one gets too pushed out of shape though, and yes, they will get to it and have it upgraded, but there will probably be a few community meetings to figure out the specifics.

I’m enjoying the meals and my neighbors. There is wonderful six-year-old named Hannah who lives next door. She’s a brilliant little girl who plays independently for long periods, does not scream, and is comfortable with adults. We who don’t ordinarily live around children forget how exciting it is to see ordinary objects through a child’s eyes. I like hearing what Hannah has to say.

This little boy is the son of the guy who prepared brunch July 3. We had three kinds of quiche, plus fruit.

The co-housing movement originated in Denmark in the 1960’s and co-housing communities exist all over Europe. There are 115 of them in the USA. See www.cohousing.org for a full background and a directory with descriptions of all the USA communities.

I’m told that the units here sell for between $200,000 and $400,000 depending on the size and configuration. They are well-built, attractive structures, with balconies, bay windows, large kitchens, and a lot of windows. There is also a monthly maintenance fee, as with any condominium.

I got to know several people in the two weeks I was at Jackson Street and hope to get to know them better on another visit. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and would consider living here if I ever returned to the USA full-time.

Marathon Races and Lifestyles

Jeanne and I went downtown today to see the runners come in at the end of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. Here is an excerpt from their site:

SEATTLE – Under ideal conditions on Saturday morning more than 27,000 runners from all 50 states and 23 countries ran from Tukwila to Seattle for the second annual Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Marathon & ½ Marathon benefiting the American Cancer Society.

With a fully-loaded elite field running the half marathon, it was Jynocel Basweti of Kenya who broke away from the lead pack at the 35K mark in the marathon to claim victory in 2 hours, 18 minutes and 19 seconds. Basweti, who finished fourth here last year, claimed his fourth marathon in 2010 on Saturday.

So when we pulled up about three blocks past the finish line and saw these contestants walking up First Avenue, we were puzzled.

Zippy runners

There are a lot of homeless people on First Avenue. We talked to these three young people and their dogs for quite a while. The two young women had “Entropy” tatooed on their hands. They even knew what it meant. The girl in the picture below had the vocabulary of a college grad. She said she was 20 years old and had been on the street since she was 13.

Strange, wonderful girl

This young woman is originally from Seattle and her mom lives here. The two girls and the guy below want to buy a used van and travel to the east coast with their dogs.

Dude

The Union Gospel Mission on First Avenue has been there for as long as I can remember. Here is a group of homeless men watching the race participants come in.

Later, we went shoppping at H&M, a fashionable store in University Village.

Cute teenagers trying on hats at H&M

We spotted Tyler Pendleton at work at Fry’s Electronics the next day in this fabulous suit from H&M.

The well-dressed Tyler P. at work at Fry's in his H&M suit.

Every few months I come to Seattle for a few weeks. It is such a contrast to Merida that for the first week or so I feel like a foreigner. Here are a few sights I saw that aren’t notable if you are here a lot, but for me, they were strange. In another week or so, this newness effect will wear off and I’ll be just like the rest of them.

The New iPhone 4

The day before yesterday, the new iPhone was released. I happened to be driving through an upscale shopping area, University Village, where there is a big Apple store, and saw the lines. This was in the early afternoon and there were several hundred people lined up for blocks in either direction to get their new phones.

There was one line for people who had pre-ordered and another for people who hadn’t. They took five people from the pre-ordered line for every one from the non pre-ordered line.  The people I talked to in the non-pre-ordered line had been there since five a.m.

Happy customer with new iPhone4

Next on line being greeted and escorted into the store

Brent and Ara

Pepper and Barb

Nick Smith from Oakland

 Nick Smith is visiting from Oakland and wasn’t buying a new phone. He just came down to the Apple store as a tourist. I asked him why so many people were all excited about the phone.

“I guess because it has video chat. There’s a little camera right in the phone. Also it has a good GPS feature.”

He said that he didn’t need it, and was happy with the phone he had.

Stan is on the pre-ordered line with his friend Angus. He’s buying the iPhone4 because “it has a better screen and a better processor.”

Stan and Angus

 Several people told me they were buying the iPhone4 because “it’s the latest thing.” They weren’t concerned with new features. The recession is not visible in Seattle, or at least among this part of the population.

Un-pre-ordered line

Taken from my car - the end onf the non-pre-ordered line

 The people at the end of the non-pre-ordered line, several blocks from the beginning of things, were grouchy and disorderly. No sun, no snacks, no visual contact with the mecca, the Apple store.

Since the day after the phone was released (yesterday), the news is that the phone has a design flaw. Apparently, if you are right-handed and hold the phone in your left hand, you cover part of the antenna (or one of the dual antennaes?), reducing the reception. If you put the phone down on a surface, it has five bars, but if you are holding it, you only get three. My god!

A young guy interviewed on the news said, “I’m sure Apple will make good on it. I’m not worried.”

And he is probably right. This company has generated a huge fan base because they are reliable and trustworthy and genuinely produce superior products. Years ago, Apple Mac computers were appreciated mostly by the less technically savvy of us because their interface is so intuitive. But now, Apple has become the darling of the tech population as well.

According to my site statistics, many more people who access gorbman.com have Mac operating systems rather than Windows or any PC system.

Apologies for the blue pictures. I had my lighting set wrong and I don’t have photo fix software with me.

Hairless Cats as Service Animals

This is Sam and her service cat, Baby Charlie. I was in a restaurant on Queen Anne Hill with my friend Richard when Sam walked in. She says that Baby Charlie lowers her blood pressure. She takes him everywhere, even when she rides her horse. Baby Charlie sits in front of her, clinging to the horse.

Sam and Baby Charlie

Baby Charlie is very cuddly.

Sam says that Baby Charlie is a Temple Cat and the breed is Egyptian.

I’ve been watching the congressional hearings (the US House Energy and Commerce Committee) and BP is not taking responsibility. Tony Hayward, the CEO, says he is sorry, he feels terrible about this, and admits it’s a terrible disaster. Poor Tony. Tony is responsible for this disaster, but hedges every statement by saying he had no direct knowledge of what was going on. He is the CEO, for god’s sake. He is delegating the responsibility and the blame to little people, far down the corporate food chain.

You know, as you get older and supposedly more mature, you start to look at issues with a broader scope – the adamant one-dimensional viewpoints of our youth slip away, perhaps unfortunately, as we learn more and see many sides of things. I know I’m certainly less vehement about a lot of things I used to think were clear. And on some issues, my viewpoints have changed dramatically. Like, I think police are necessary and we need more of them (speaking of the USA). Although generally I think it’s a bad practice, I can understand why some people might need guns (although that is certainly out of control). Although I can’t possibly understand all the issues, I think the USA might be right in sending troops to Afghanistan. I don’t know where I am any more on unions. Maybe waterboarding wasn’t such a bad idea, all things considered. Etc.

But certain issues are inviolate. They haven’t changed for me. Equal pay for equal work. Non-discrimination. I’m against hurting or killing people, especially children. Abortion rights yes. No on capital punishment. Health care for all Americans. A better educational system. Gay rights absolutely. I think the government has to impose rules of behavior and protection and even of ethics. (although they are hardly perfect themselves). And I think leaders, especially obscenely paid ones, should take responsibility.

In my plodding, middle-aged way, I was well on the road to thinking corporations had been unfairly portrayed as bad guys. I worked for Boeing for a number of years and thought they were ethical and reasonable with workers and with the way they made their products. I lost the “evil corporation” fervor of my youth. I mean if it weren’t for commercial competition, we wouldn’t have…(fill in the blanks).

But this BP thing has blown my perspective all to hell. BP are bad guys. BP knowingly, against the advice of their own engineers, followed unsafe procedures in order to save money and time. They had no emergency plans in place.

There was apparently a choice at some point between doing things one way or another in building the catastrophic oil well (known within BP as the “nightmare well”). One method cost seven million dollars more than the other, so BP chose the less expensive option, which was known to be less safe. Other oil companies have said they would never have used that method because it was dangerous. Tony said he wan’t part of that decision -making process and couldn’t comment on it.

In a five-year period, BP had 956 unsafe practices reported by government monitoring agencies, while Sunoco had six and Exxon had one.

There is a safety mechanism available, a remote shutoff control that is used by many oil drilling companies, according to the Wall Street Journal. BP did not choose to invest in these products. This mechanism could have prevented the disaster.

Every time a congressman asked Tony a question, he would say, “I was not party to that information,” or, “I was not part of that decision-making process.” When Henry Waxman, committee chair, asked who WOULD have known the dangers associated with this particular well, Tony said, “the drill team.” Give me a break.

From the Washington Post:

“There is a complete contradiction between BP’s words and deeds,” Waxman said. “Under your leadership, BP has taken the most extreme risks.

“We are seeing the same corporate indifference that cause collapse on Wall Street.”

And may I say here that Tony Hayward was awfully calm and quiet. The congressmen asked him repeatedly to speak more clearly and please speak directly into the mike. His affect was flat, his face never changed, he barely moved, his voice had zero inflection, his answers were fully rehearsed. I wonder what could have caused him to be in such a state? Well, considering that he has the the environmental future of the globe on his shoulders, he is hardly to be blamed for calming himself down before this appearance. We wouldn’t want him to have a nervous breakdown.

The oil disaster continues unabated, all efforts to halt it or slow it down meet with failure, and the environmental damage, so far limited to the US Gulf coast, is increasingly disastrous. Thousands of people are out of work, all the wildlife in the affected areas – marine, avian and land creatures – are dead or dying. There are dire predictions of the oil contamination spreading to Florida, to Mexico, and to the USA east coast. If it continues for years, it may affect the entire world.

When we watch CNN and they are talking about the Gulf disaster, there is almost always an inset shot of the massive amounts of oil, shooting powerfully into the surrounding waters. Up to 120 million gallons so far. I’m not a marine biologist, but it seems to me it would take many many years for this to clear up, even if they managed to stop the flow right now. And it hasn’t even been slowed down. After 59 days.

The live-camera shots of the oil billowing into the Gulf makes me ill. So does the footage of the oil-covered marsh birds, being cleaned, one by one, a tiny fraction of the bird population. No fish. No shrimp. No crab. No plants. No algae.

Now some experts are saying that even if they manage to construct “containment wells” to redirect the oil and siphon it up normally, that still might not work. It might not even work to build two wells. They are predicting mid-August as the time the first one may be finished.

Tony Hayward earned a salary of 4.7 million dollars in 2009.

The torrent of oil gushing from the deep seems like as much of a threat to the world as global warming.

“For instance,” explains the owner, Claudette Elizondo, “our fantastic collage workshop takes us on a day trip to the Uxmal ruins, where a  professional actress helps us reenact Maya legends. We photograph the reenactments and then later use the pictures in a studio, to make our own collages. These are well-rounded learning vacations.”

Read more about Claudette and her exciting new luxury tour company on her website.

One of the tour themes is Culture Through Cuisine. For this tour, MexicaChica will be partnering with a new culinary venture in Merida called remixto. Both professionally run companies are  just getting off the ground and the other day I was lucky enough to join MexicaChica’s first cooking workshop, given in cooperation with remixto owner, Chef Brent Marsh, a New Zealander who has lived in many countries. Learn more about remixto on their website.

We had a class in classic Mexican cuisine featuring food from all regions of Mexico. Within four hours we prepared a dazzling array of complex dishes and I think all of us were amazed at how relatively simple it was to make them. The class was held in Yury DiPasquale’s professional kitchen in her lovely home. Each of us received handsome MexicaChica aprons. We worked hard, but had a wonderful time. All the ingredients were ready, the tools laid out, and we each received recipes for everything we’d done.

Chef Brent Marsh

Chef Brent made everything look easy of course, with his clever banter and lightning quick hands, but I came out of the class confident that I could actually cook this stuff. Chef Brent discussed Yucatecan food and pointed out that since Yucatan was cut off from the rest of Mexico until relatively recently, cooking evolved differently here. And because of the climate and the nature of the soil, we have a limited scope of ingredients. Therefore, over the years, Yucatecans developed the use of the these limited ingredients to perfection. They used them in various combinations and cooked and seasoned in different ways, making the absolute most of what they had.

Yury DiPasquale

Yury's beautifully organized pantry

My favorite thing we made was white beans (ibes) with toasted pumpkin seeds. As Brent said, these particular beans are”creamy” and satisfying. The beans were presoaked prior to the class and all we did was boil them and add simple garnishes like onion, toasted pumpkin seeds, scallions, cilantro, salt and epazote. Not difficult, but so surprising that the particular combination of herbs and flavorings enhanced the beans so beautifully, converting them from Just Beans, to something marvelous.

Masa, or ground corn is a Mexican cooking staple. We used it to make tortillas and tamales.

Masa, or ground corn.

Erich making tortillas

We prepared several kinds of salsas, using different chiles and vegetables. I never realized that before using chiles, tomatoes, onions, and other vegetables, you roast them on top of the stove on a heavy metal round plate called a comal. You also use the comal to cook tortillas and many other things. (Because of course, it’s so hot, standard ovens never took off in Yucatan.) Brent said that a large cast iron skillet would do, but comals are ubiquitous in the central market.

Vegetables roasted on stove-top comal

Brent chatting with Kathleen

We also made carnitas, chicken in pipian, tamales with chicken mole, yellow rice with achiote, and – hold me back – flan with caramel. Yes, we learned to make it from scratch and it was not difficult or complex. It’s time consuming because it has to bake, set, and refrigerate. Brent had a cool way of separating egg yolks, pictured below.

Great way to separate egg yolks!

You will notice that there are no pictures of the finished dishes, because tragically, I had to leave just as everything was getting done. I also missed lunch. Poor me.

Prepared ingredients

Yury, Anna, Gail and Brandy making tamales

Salsa picante made with chiles arbol

Congratulations to Claudette and MexicaChica for putting these unique cultural experiences together and to Chef Brent and his company, remixto. Their companies bring a new group of experts to Merida, and if this class was any indication, they will do quite well.

The bright blue building is a gorgeous colonial. Several hundred people were sitting in rows in a large courtyard looking at the stage. Most were couples, many of the women in mestiza dresses. We were the only foreigners.

The atmosphere was restrained and dignified, but the audience was deeply appreciative, especially when tenor Eduardo Rosado sang what was to be the final song, Peregrina, kind of the national anthem of Yucatan. That song always makes me cry. It’s the story of the tragic and brief love affair of Alma Reed, an American journalist and Felipe Carillo Puerto, the much beloved governor of Yucatan, a social progressive who fought for Indian rights. He lasted two years in office before he was asassinated. He is in the cemetery in the south end of Merida and Alma Reed is buried discreetly just across the walkway. (Since they weren’t married – to each other – they were buried separately.)

Eduardo Rosado has a  thrilling operatic voice. He was accompanied by the Trio Ensueno, three serious guitarists with perfect harmonies and skilled, dramatic musicianship. Rosado got a standing ovation for Peregrina and did an encore.

Our friends Marta y Nacho, a fine Yucatecan duet, sang three songs by a composer named Maria Eugenia Escobedo, who was in the audience. As always, their heartfelt harmonies and the drama of Marta’s voice, captivated everyone. They are singing on weekends at La Bella Epoca downtown on 60th.

Can you imagine the state of Nevada having a museum of song? Or Washington? Museums celebrating composers and performers just from their states?

About 25 years ago, I spent some time at the Hotel Nefertiti in Rio Lagartos, enchanted by the ridiculous neon painted tortoise shells glowing at night on the dance floor, the depressed alligator in the pool out in back, the bust of Queen Nefertiti inexplicably sitting in a dry fountain populated by sad turtles in the lobby, the spectacular beach you could reach by launch – out on a spit, and the townsfolk, whose lives were melodramas. At night, Don Bernardo Massa, the hotel owner, would sit at our table in the huge palapa at the edge of the sea, look at me and my friend Sibyl with his rheumy eyes, play his guitar and singing Yucatecan ballads. When he sang Peregrina, I cried. I still cry every single time I hear it.

Alma Reed. Picture from the internet, uncredited.

It doesn’t matter how badly you play and sing Peregrina. It is always tragic and hanting. But I’ve never heard it performed as thrillingly as last night, by Eduardo Rosado.

• Mandu – the staple of all Korean meals, like a pot sticker but better and with great sauce.
• Bi bim bop – a rice dish with a variety of ingredients usually made to order. This is my favorite. Lots of vegetables, some meat if you wish, an egg, all mixed with rice and hot sauce.
• Bulgogi – fabulous Korean BBQ

Ask Younghee about your other Korean favorites.

If you want any of these dishes, you can email her at younghee.moser@hotmail.com and pick up your food at the market on Saturdays.

AND it's healthy. AND it's local.

Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1. I try never to miss it. The multi-vendor nearly-organic market on the grounds of Monique Duval’s bakery is a hit. I go there regularly for eggs and for Korean food, among other things. This place is on the way to being a Merida institution. If they’d only have tables, chairs, coffee and juice.

The Korean food gets my vote for the most wonderful hard-to-find-in-Yucatan food. It’s home-made by Young Hee  and although the kim-chee could be a little hotter, it’s excellent. I especially like the black soybeans cooked with soy and scallions.

The bakery is the heartbeat of the market and is always mobbed with a good-natured crowd. Sourdough bread and fruit muffins are favorites and people walk out of there with armloads of stuff, like they’re afraid of running out during the week.

Monique's bakery