A Bit of Pugliese in Fremont

Bread that is… The pane Pugliese is a type of bread is rustic bread from Puglia, Southern Italy. It’s a good for just eating plain, or making sandwiches, or with butter and marmalade in the morning. We’ve been enjoying homemade Pugliese bread for several weeks now. It’s one of the gifts we brought home from Italy: the craft of making this bread. The starter (or "madre" in Italian) that these loaves are made from is a starter which originated in Florence, Italy. It came back with us.

Mt. Pilchuck Hike

 

We actually took this hike a month ago on August 11. It was a cloudy, cool day. 

Distance: 6 miles roundtrip (up and down).
Time: 4 hours (11:45 am to 3:45pm). 

Elevation gain: 2400 feet.
Low point: 3120 feet (trailhead).
High point: 5320 feet (lookout).
Trail: Mt. Pilchuck Lookout Trail #700, Green Trails Granite Falls #109 in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Darrington Ranger District. 

Thoughts on the hike: it would have been better if it wasn’t clouded in for sure. The trail was okay, if not a little short. There were lots of people (even on this cloudy day) and it wasn’t terribly peaceful. There was always someone around. When we reached the top, and climbed in the lookout post it was jam-packed with people that, um, were not the kind we typically like sharing intimate spaces with. It was a weird vibe that we couldn’t wait to get away from.

Look Mommy, There’s a House in the Street!

 

The house move started early Sunday morning and lasted to mid morning Sunday. There were challenges along the way, but crews worked to solve problems and get it moved. Interesting to me were the crowds that gathered, cheering successes and fretting setbacks. Kind of like the snowstorm-effect where everyone comes out and talks. 

It was a relief to see the house backed into its final resting spot. The shots here were taken as it came down 43rd and then Fremont Avenue. The night shot is at 3:30am trying to come up Phinney. Inspiration for this blog entry: Pink Floyd's Goodbye Blue Sky - the child in the beginning of the song says "look mummy, there's an airplane in the sky". 

Fremont House to Live On

 

It’s not the usual way you’d think about getting a house, but it’s possible: save a house from demolition and move it to your lot. That’s what’s going to happen this weekend in Fremont (the self-described center of the universe). What a find, what a save this will be. The house was a former B&B (called the Gypsy Arms and featuring a S&M dungeon) and now it will live again in “upper” Fremont minus the dungeon. Rampant (or eventual?) development just made this cross between a Victorian and Craftsman not viable anymore. Sad, but a happy end this time. 

By the way, if you are searching for a house to buy and move, try the Nickel Brothers site. The Nickel Brothers will be doing the move this weekend. 

The Piazzas of Florence

The Piazzas of Florence, by Lisa McGarry. Wow, a book that refreshingly doesn’t have a subtitle (at least not on my jacket cover). The main title says it all. I had started reading this book just before we left Florence several months ago and then put it down, unable - or really afraid - to pick it up again. Afraid to get sad reading about Florence. But curiosity and interest prevailed and I polished it off this weekend. I’m glad I did as it brought back such good memories and strengthened my resolution to return.

It could be that because we were in Florence for some time that the book holds a special meaning for us, but I suspect its appeal will go further to those who haven’t visited Florence. Reading the book you are living with the artist and author as your proxy to Florence. It’s not a rush of facts and stats. It’s easy going, with memorable snapshots (think watercolors) of the city. For the parts of the city we were familiar with, the author’s description and prose rang true. We also learned about places we didn’t know about in Florence getting a fresh take on the Renaissance city.

The author organizes chapters around that fundamental, Italian town/city space called the piazza. I see so many analogies between the layout of Italian towns and the brain. Towns are strung out across the countryside like nodes or neurons connected together. Similarly, the piazza does the same thing but inside the town. Piazzas connect together people and ideas.

Each chapter begins with a watercolor / collage map by the author that is useful and more interesting than many maps you might buy of the city. It made me want to return immediately and locate every café and shop mentioned. The marbled paper used in the book binding and backs of maps is a nod to the Florentine paper tradition.

The part about Caffé Artigiani did make us wistful. That was our favorite café too and we met the author there one day by chance shortly before we left Florence. While the author often sought the refuge of the back room (for writer-ly reasons), we often stood in the front, crowded bar area, eager to see if a snippet of this or that conversation could be understood, just standing there and soaking it up.

The Big Squeeze

Not sure what the story is with the house pictured (near the Ballard Bridge) and the fact that development happened all around it. Instead of taking possible sides, my mind immediately goes to practical issues: How does drainage work on this lot? Can I grow something up those walls? Is it noisy or quiet? Will it turn into a funky coffee house?

Theo Chocolate

Fremont’s own chocolate factory: Theo Chocolate. What a delight to visit their showroom in the old Trollyman Pub (used to be owned by Redhook). Some would be sorry about the beer company moving out, but when a chocolate factory is the new tenant, it’s sooo-long alcohol and hello theobroma. The old pub is now the chocolate maker’s showroom. You can walk in and sample chocolate until you are literally sick. The chocolate is arranged on granite slaps before each product. My favorite is the 3400 Phinney Chocolate bar called the Bread and Chocolate Dark Chocolate: “featuring dark chocolate with buttery, toasted artisan breadcrumbs and the perfect amount of salt.” The line is named 3400 Phinney because that’s the address of the factory.

If you want, you can take a factory tour.

J.P. Patches Part II

 

This is take two on the J.P. Patches post with a photo. ICU2TV. I have to say we like it more than we thought. Something that gathers people or makes people stop and look is something worth having around, right?