Yeah, Shame On You! A South Sound Fish Tale of Woe

A friend of mine did a recent post on Facebook about this encounter she observed while shopping in Federal Way. She was in line at a store when she heard the woman in front of her chatting it up with the clerk. The woman explained she was from out of town visiting relatives. She had never been to the Pacific Northwest before. She asked the clerk where she could find an excellent piece of fish to dine on for lunch as she heard  about the amazing seafood we had in our region. The clerk (and self-proclaimed native) happily referred the woman to an establishment that served the most delicious and best fish ever. And conveniently, it was right across the street!

Here's the food she recommended. Can you tell what it is and where it was from?

If you guessed it was the Filet o' Fish sandwich from McDonald's, you are correct!

Egads!

South Sound Staycations--Tell Me Your Thoughts

My family never travels outside Washington during the summer. When the weather is summer PERFECT (recent weather aside) there is no better place to be: HOME. Puget Sound. Festivals, activities, outdoors....It reinforces why I love to live here.

Now summer is nearly here (spring slipped away in the night, or the rain, really!) and we are NOT as organized as we like. Sure, we know the local activities we love, but we aren't really planned out and are always looking for new things (and cheap and free also works well too!). So, tell me: what do you like to do in the South Sound in the summer? What is the summer activity that makes home great? I am reaching for fresh ideas and discussion.  Thank you.

Let Me Tell You About A Real Neighbor

It was the end of 1998, one week before Christmas. A light snow had fallen and the streets were icy and slick. Boxes were stacked all over the house, baby stuff was strewn all about, and a tiny, slightly unkempt makeshift Christmas tree shown through the curtain-less front room window. This was the scene when my husband and I moved into our University Place home with our three month old infant in tow. We loved our new house, but we were overwhelmed and exhausted. It wasn't a smooth move here (fraught with delays, poor weather, and lack of sleep because of the baby).

On the first full night in our new home, the doorbell rang and there was a smiling, jovial woman holding a gorgeous and enormous basket of fresh fruits. "Hi! I'm Carole. I live across the street. I wanted to come over and welcome you to the neighborhood!"

I was overwhelmed with this old-fashioned and beautiful kindness. I nearly cried! I hadn't been to the grocery store and this fruit was so welcome. What was even more welcome was a kind person cutting through the stress and instilling the holiday and neighborly spirit in my worn out soul.

And it began--a lovely neighborly friendship with Carole. Over the years, we talked about our families, visited with each other, took care and watched after the other's home if we were away, shared our travel experiences, gossiped, and shared laughs. Carole brought my kids little goodies when she traveled to the Southwest and gave the kids special treats on Halloween. We knew that we could count on each other in a pinch. A real true neighborhood relationship. Now, that spirit of neighborliness will have to live on differently.

Carole's life on Earth ended on Tuesday after a long illness. We will miss Carole's smile, warmth, and caring. Thank you Carole, for teaching me how to be a good neighbor and friend.

Kim's List of South Sound Favorites and Not-so-Favorites 2009

This time of year I am positively obsessed with year end lists! Here is Kim's Favorites and Not-so-much Favorites for 2009 in the Tacoma-South Sound (Gritty style):

Favorite restaurant: Asado (always delivers)

Favorite Grocery Store: U.P. Fred Meyer, Trader Joes, Met Market at Proctor

Favorite Friendly stores: Posh Home, Envy, Trader Joes, Met Market at Proctor, Teaching Toys

Favorite Coffee Shop: Forza (West Side locations)

Favorite Health Food: Trader Joes in University Place

Favorite Women's Boutique: Jasminka (R.I.P.)

Favorite Pet Store: Wags, Pets 'n' Pals

Favorite Vet: Chambers Creek Vet, Lakewood

Favorite Fast Food: Taco Del Mar, Taco Time

Favorite Bars: Asado, Pacific Grill

Favorite Hairdresser: Aura Mae, Azarra Hair and Wine

Favorite Pub Grub: Harmon Brewery

Favorite Local Beer: Point Defiance IPA (at Harmon)

Favorite Parks: Point Defiance, Wright (urban parks at their best)

Favorite Streets: Pacific Avenue, 26th and Proctor, All of 6th Ave.

Favorite Museums: Museum of Glass, Tacoma

Favorite place to look at water: Chambers Bay, Ruston Way, the Purdy bridge

Favorite Downtown Views: The "glass" showcase bridge over the train tracks that connect from the Museum of Glass to Union Station

Favorite people watching place: La Fondita restaurant, window seats, on Proctor on Farmer's Market Saturday

Favorite Comeback Kid Restaurant: Maxwell's Speakeasy (you've been redeemed and I love you again).

Favorite Sunday drive: Key Pen Hwy to Longbranch

Okay, my pen's dipped in poison ink now. Here comes the Worsts.

Worst Restaurant: Primo Grill. I am still mad at you. A certain manager was very mean. I am not forgetting this.

Worst Streets: Old Town, your cobblestone streets are quaint looking, but they STINK. Bumpy, broken, narrow, and HELL on ice. Tacoma, you gotta fix these are we are going to break our cars!

Worst Stores: Big huge mega chains and Costco (can't stand Costco--it's overwhelming and harried).

Worst Season: November through January. It's all about the weather folks. My S.A.D. kicks in.

Worst part of downtown Tacoma: No freakin' grocery stores in the heart of downtown. Not cool for all the folks that live there that have to drive forever to get to one.

Worst Place for Litter: My own flippin' main street near my home in U.P. Pick up your trash and stop chucking stuff out of the window neighborhood! And clean up your dog doo!

Worst Place to get stuck in traffic: All entrances to Hwy 16 and I-5, S. 38th St. by the mall, Bridgeport Way, Pacific Avenue, and 56th St.

Worst feature at the local Farmer's markets: Folks that make balloon animals. Sorry, but these are a waste of money, last too short of a time and is a choking hazard for the littlest children.

Worst Local Event: The Puyallup Fair. I am a fair hater--too expensive for what you get and too crowded. Go ahead readers and feel free to rake me over the coals for that one--I expect it (and I won't change).

Worst Sad Looking place: Spots on South Tacoma Way. Seems, sad, worn-out gray, too much concrete, cheap signs, and boring stuff. I'll be curious to see how the S. Tacoma farmer's market coming this spring will perk the place up.

Worst Place to park: anywhere around TG and St. Joe's.

Worst and scariest hill: the twisty, can't see around the corner hill of about 49th and Ferdinand down to Ruston Way.

Worst hill for your car: 30th (a nightmare for your brakes)

Worst speed trap: 56th and Cedar, anywhere in Fircrest, select spots in Lakewood.

I am very certain that readers/bloggers, you have your own lists, can concur (or better disagree!) with mine, and can think of even more categories.

Tag, you guys are it! Let's hear it.

What Have We Done?

So this is Christmas....

Happy Yuletide, Neighborhood. Thanks fellow Bloggers for inspiring me, making me laugh, and making me think. Thanks readers for your enthusiasm and thoughtful conversation.

So, without further ado, take us out Mr. Lennon. This one is for all of you!

Snow Miser, Heat Miser

Hello Neighborhood:

Enjoy this video with love from Gritty City Woman (I put this on my blog and folks love it, especially if you are a child of the 70's!). I thought it would be perfect with our weather conditions!

Enjoy!