Fleeting Wor(l)ds

Summary

1. Breakfast
2. Readings
3. Creative Activities
4. Music Break
5. American sport
6. Snack
7. TV Show break
8. Diner
9. Movie night

Because I am sure there are millions of ways to travel, we can escape even in 100 feet square, we can recreate American in the middle of nowhere; in those weird quarantined times, I got the idea to create a file “Special Quarantine”: A reachable world. [Some places of the world are starting to get out of quarantine (like France) but we are still quite limited for traveling, reason why it still makes sense for me to offer this mind travel.] Following my wandering steps for eight months, I am offering you to stop by Ireland, Iceland, Alaska, some Western provinces of Canada, some united American States; sprinkling clothes opinions, cooking ideas, books / music / movies advice, and other surprises…

This week, we change our set, we stop by a metropole so we can shine with city lights. Not too long though, because the chosen place sinks into all waters, is drawn by millennium forests and is overlooked by dormant volcanoes. We then won’t linger in town too long, we’ll also try to enjoy this beautiful area, remembering my original American love at first sight… Mesmerizing, wild, unchanged, rooted, uprooted, I invite you to our fifth Neverland along Northwest Pacific Coast, stopping by SEATTLE and its surroundings.

Welcome to the Evergreen State*!

1. Good Morning!

It is not a Seattle specialty but the Breakfast Burrito is an interesting version of the American breakfast that I discovered, as you guessed, at Seattle! Reason why I offer it to start you day in Washington State.
The idea is quite simple : you put everything usually sitting on your American breakfast plate in a burrito. You might, of course add, whatever ingredient you want, but here is the version I enjoyed during my American summer.

2. Fly into words

The world is starting to de-quarantine but nobody is fooled… It is only for economic reasons, nobody wants you to get other world dreams by traveling or go to theaters… This is why we still need to create our own escapes, and here is the one I offer you with literature.

Wilderness, Lance Weller: The first words set well the action, I got instantly charmed. The main character is standing on Hurricane Ridge which I had hiked a few weeks before. That book was made for me, it brought me back to my beautiful and wild Olympic Peninsula that I had just traded for my small French apartment. I was then so glad to follow this invented memoires of a Civil War veteran, who took shelter in the most western part of his big country.

3. Tame your dreams

One of the most emblematic Native artifact is the Dream Catcher. A Ojibwe (Algonquin family) Legend says those “spiderwebs” protective charms originate with Spider Woman, Asibikaashi, who takes care of the children and the people on the land. As the Ojibwe Nation spread to the corners of North America it became difficult for Asibikaashi to reach all the children. So the mothers and grandmothers weave webs for the children, using willow hoops and sinew, or cordage made from plants. The purpose of these charms is apotropaic (turns away evil influence) and not explicitly connected with dreams.
While Dreamcatchers continue to be used in a traditional manner in their communities and cultures of origin, a derivative form of dreamcatchers were also adopted into the Pan-Indian Movement of the 1960s and 1970s as a symbol of unity among the various Native American cultures, or a general symbol of identification with First Nations cultures.
I therefore invite you to make your own dreamcatcher to both chase your nightmares and protect you from bad energies. Here are some video or written tutos to help you out.

WikiHow
The Craft Cat

They both give you advice on where to find the material. As for me, I would offer, in order for the dreamcatcher to be the most personal possible, to choose among your own things what has a special meaning for you. I am sure you have some lonely buttons in a drawer, or broken jewels you never fixed nor threw away, and some feather from some travels or randomly flown in your living-room. You might also chose the size and purpose: key chain, car ornament, kids mobile, earrings, etc…

4. A Musical Town

I need to be honest, I am a bit illiterate in terms of music… Yet, even if I wouldn’t be able to give full History of music in Seattle, I do know it has been a huge alternative music production platform since the seventies and the indisputable home of grunge in the 1990’s. This is why the city owns its Museum of Pop Music… !

By the 1920s, Seattle had also come to support a politically radical American folk scene, inspired in part by several lengthy stays in the region by folk singer Woody Guthrie. World War II brought a “flourishing” vice scene, where “booze, gambling and prostitution” were unchecked by “paid-off cops”. The Showbox Ballroom (now a venue) was a center for these activities; it was open twenty-four hours a day. Boeing emerged in the 1940s and 1950s as one of the city’s largest employers, and helped give the city a reputation as “quiet, orderly (and) dull”.
Seattle’s alternative rock unlike rises though mostly because of the legacy of local rock left behind by Jimi Hendrix and The Ventures. Seattle music scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s is crucial in its “vibe and ethic” which inspired grunge music, whose emblematic standard-bearer is known to be Nirvana. Even though the grunge era faded in the mid-90s, some records has maintained a strong presence in the indie music scene since then and has recently become home to (underground) hip hop. (Source : wikipedia)

Now this historical memento is done, you should absolutely listen to the city’s official song: Seattle, the Peerless city ; and most of all, get lazy listening to some Northwest Pacific radio station: KEXP.

5. Become an amazing pitcher

Now you have taken care of both your soul and your imagination, it is time to sculpt your body with the Americans’ favorite sport: baseball. Nothing special about Seattle you would say! Except for me though, since I attended my first live baseball game in Seattle almost three years ago. Seattle Mariners VS Houston Astros. I understood baseball rules step after step during the game, quite simple in the end: the pitcher throws the ball so his defensive batter wouldn’t be able to throw it back which would allow him, now runner, to get to the next base (or to even complete a home run if his throw was good enough). But the pitcher needs his throw to be skillful enough to strike a certain zone not to be counted as void. As for the batter, he can’t miss more than three times or he will be eliminated until the next inning.
My first game was such a delight! It was my first real American night and I gaze at this mesmerizing living stadium, my new Mariners hat as shelter.

It is therefore time to ask to your companion / friend / sibling / child to come with you, equipped with your bat, clove and ball to practice your throw.
And to linger a bit more in this world, you might as well get a glimpse on those two baseball movies : Moneyball (Bennett Miller) and/or Trouble with the curve (Robert Lorenz).

6. Like a Seattle donuts

Like I wrote last December during my short stop at Seattle, Cinnamon Donuts stand for my personal Madeleine de Proust when I want to recreate Seattle. This is why, during this exotic afternoon, I invite you to skip lunch (breakfast should have filled you up for a while) so you can bake your own donuts.

CINNAMON DONUTS RECIPE
Baking spray with flour, such as Baker’s Joy
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the topping:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 doughnut pans well.
Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients until just combined.
Spoon the batter into the baking pans, filling each one a little more than three-quarters full. Bake for 17 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then tap the doughnuts out onto a sheet pan.
For the topping, melt the 8 tablespoons of butter in an 8-inch saute pan. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Dip each doughnut first in the butter and then in the cinnamon sugar, either on one side or both sides.

Source : foodnetwork

7. TV Show Break

What best than watch an episode of your favorite (or at least appropriate according to our destination) TV Show to follow your sweet snack!

* Grey’s Anatomy, created by Shonda Rhimes: Today, I definitely choose my girly side and share my most secret secrets. I couldn’t bring you to Seattle without urge you to watch Grey’s Anatomy. Because before being a city, before being my American love at first sight, Seattle was mostly the place where Seattle Grace’s interns were becoming doctors. Grey’s Anatomy is actually one my first addictive TV show, preventing me from sleeping when I discovered magic streaming! The show has been on for the last 15 years and I must say I am less addict now. Indeed, like many neverending others, its scripts has become less and less realistic along the way. They broke my heart when they let Izzie leave anyway!

* Twin Peaks, created by Mark Frost and David Lynch: I almost know nothing about this show. Only the action is set in Washington State and one of my college teacher was obsessed with it. I also know writing this short description, I vow to myself to glance at it in the next days. In the meanwhile, here is the brief wiki plot: the series follows an investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper and local Sheriff Harry S. Truman into the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer in the fictional town of Twin Peaks, Washington.

8. Food & Drink

You might find at Seattle, like anywhere in the US, a bunch of local beers. The most famous being The Pike Brewing, Pyramid Brewing and Elysian. But you must know Washington State is also quite good in wine making. Indeed, Washington (and Oregon) wines are, for me, unfairly shadowed by California’s; I taste a sample of each and my heart follows the North. Columbia Valley winery offers so many full bodied tastes: Radius, Talcott Celars or even 14 Hands Winery are cheap (for North America) very good options. Of course, I don’t forget we are still limited and you won’t travel to Seattle tomorrow but if you are in North America, you are more likely to find any of these choices in a liquor store ; if you are in Europe, you might be a bit foolish and order it online (links above). And if you are really unlucky, you might trade for any other local beer (choose an IPA even if I hate it) or wine (preferably Cab or Merlot, Americans’ first loves).

And to follow your poisoned glass, I invite you to a sushi party! Seattle, like the rest of the US, doesn’t possess a special dish, but West Coast does have the best sushis places and a part of me will always link sushis to my American summer. Therefore, you should get some sushis delivered or make you own by following those recipes.

9. Sleepless in Seattle

The occasion was too good not to take advantage of this nice movie title to propose a movies marathon for tonight.

* Movies trio for an endless night :
– Sleepless in Seattle, Nora Ephron: This is THE classic of a generation and a place! Back then, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan used to meet every 10 years to fall in love on our screen… And let’s be honest, this is the must-see feel-good-movie. You push play button and you don’t think anymore, you just enjoy this timeless love story, She falls in love with Him, He is mesmerized by HER. As a matter of fact, if you want to keep going on that mood, you should watch another old romcom: An Affair to Remember.
– Captain Fantastic, Matt Ross: This movie is a beautiful random… As I was looking for movies for this post, I ran into that movie which happens to be the one I watched during my first flight to Seattle for my first US stay! Crazy, isn’t it? Back then, I didn’t know Cash family’s adventures set place in Washington State. If I had paid more attention though – I was probably too excited for that – I would have recognized, when I landed, the plane hanging above the departure hall, glanced earlier in the movie… Long story short, the movie follows a family facing the real world for the first time of their lives after growing up in the wood. The scrip takes some easy shortcuts but Viggo Mortensen is still worthy of a look and young actors are absolutely amazing.
– 50/50, Will Reiser: The movie follows the story, never weepy, always playful, often ironic, of a young man ill with cancer (inspired by the director(s life). The man happens to live in Seattle as his Mariners hat – strange twin of my own – states for the first few minutes. I don’t know if the choice is meaningful but the grey and wet Seattle atmosphere does help the story and was a perfect reminder of my beloved city. I had fun recognizing some little details, like the Pike Place sign. And, on the top of the cake, actors play their part in a very true and subtle way.

OR

* A saga for a sleepless night :
Twilight serie: Everybody has heard about the cheesy love story between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, and maybe you will decide to stop reading my blog after such a girly proposition, but we all have some unspeakable weakness and here is mine! Why do I mention it, would you say? Because it totally fits this day. You may say whatever, the whole serie, no matter the director, has beautiful pictures, and beautiful Olympic Peninsula landscapes are perfectly showed (even though, it was not shot in the area). And anytime I feel a bit melancholic about my beloved Peninsula, I watch Twilight. Two other pros: very good soundtracks and a bit of Quileute Legends taste.

And if you must really struggle to sleep, you might settle for: Fifty shades of Grey… Okay, I truly exaggerate with this one, it is more of an anecdote (as a matter of fact, it is based on a Twilight fan-fiction), because you are more likely to get a glimpse of Dakota Johnson’s tits than Seattle Space Needle!

Enjoy your evening, dears!

* Washington State’s nickname

If you wish to keep wandering through
the Evergreen State,
read my American travel diaries

Giant
Trans-Frontier
Like a Seattle donuts