Anthony's Woodfire Grill

I met Cathy today for lunch at Woodfire Grill. It was a beautiful day; we got to look out at the boats in the marina. It's peach season in eastern Washington so we started with a Fresh Peach Lemonade. Then we both ordered the Fresh Wild Pacific Silver Salmon Salad; which is redundant since silver salmon are only found in the Pacific. A nice surprise was that our server, Kylie, recognized me; she used to work at the garage in the County building. She even remembered that I drove a small station wagon!

Fresh Peach Lemonade.

Fresh Wild Pacific Silver Salmon Salad; it tasted as good as it looks!

Cathy recently had a photo she had taken of a butterfly printed in the state hiking magazine.

I went to use the bathroom before we left and saw that they had a small electric demand water heater under the counter. This is the type of heater that I will be installing at the Kohala house in the bathroom and at the kitchen to make use of the excess electricity that the solar panels are generating. It will help save water; right now you need to let the hot water run for 2&1/2 minutes before you get any hot water in the shower.


I had started out the morning by delivering the leftovers that Kai had forgotten the night before. He said he thought I had packed them up; I was doing my eBird checklist and thought he was packing them up! Aue! A positive thing about him forgetting the food is that Mary Ellen got a chance to try Mrs. Bala's excellent goat curry!

The new set up.

The plan today was for me to pick Kai up after lunch and take him back to Mary Ellen & Michael's so that he could clean up the big stuff like the pile of recyclable materials and putting away the folding table he had been using as a computer table. But we also had a couple of errands to run; the chair mat was too small so Kai had to return it and get the larger mat. We also made another stop at Trader Joe's; I forgot to pick up my favorite trek mix: Just a Handful of Almonds, Chocolate, and Cashews. I get the one with 10 single serving bags; it's a little more expensive than the bulk bag but I can conveniently throw a packet into my backpack when I need a quick snack for on the go.


We were at Trader Joe's when Gabriele texted; I was supposed to meet her and have dinner at Cafe Zippy. She found out they closed earlier on Wednesdays. We decided to go to A Pizza House; we had the Super Hawaiian Pizza and a great time with both Gabriele and Gulshan. We watched the sunset from Gabriele's front porch.

Super Hawaiian Pizza; it also has bacon bits.

Two minutes after sunset in Everett.

Since we had run out of time doing errands before dinner, Kai ended up cleaning up the room after dinner. But there was so much laundry to do, he ended up staying overnight. Here are the before photos.





Hauʻoli lā Hoʻomanao #26 to Sili & Taliga!

Gangnam Korean Restaurant

I met Alison for lunch today; he gave me 3 choices, I chose Gangnam Korean Restaurant. The others were a Japanese restaurant and a Thai restaurant; I had not yet had Korean food on this trip so I chose Gangnam. We ordered too much food! We started with the Kimchi Pajun (Koren pancakes); it was about 12" in diameter not the 4" that I am used to. For the main meal we ordered the Bulgogi and the Spicy Tofu; both could have easily fed us on its own! And, of course, the meal came with several complimentary side dishes. I was, once again, disappointed by the Pajun; Hyon still makes the best pajun I have eaten.

Pajun, Korean kimchi pancake.

Side dishes.

Bulgogi.

Spicy Tofu.

I have been seeing more toilet paper holder stands. I have been considering one for the Kohala house since the walls are termite-eaten and may not be strong enough to support a roll of toilet paper.

During lunch Kai IMed me asking me to pick up more boxes. I ended up heading back to the Sno-Isle Natural Foods Co-op where we got the first batch of boxes; 2 other places I checked crushed their boxes which made them unsalvagable. While there I picked up granola for omiyage for Curtis.

I'm glad this little guy is there to help me find the car!

On my way to lunch I stopped at one of the mitigation sites we did. The first year I started with ENVS was the first year after it had been completed. It was originally a dirt road in an unopened right-of-way had been blocked off. The old dirt road was removed and the ground level taken down to the original wetland. Trees & shrubs were planted and invasive plants were removed. It is now about 10 years old. I'm glad I didn't see Larry today; he's the neighborhood busybody. On a couple of occasions while we were working Larry came to tell us what was going on; he appeared to be wearing only his bathrobe.

This used to be a dirt road.

Kai moved to Ian's this evening. The move went well; we were able to fit everything into the Subaru except the chair. I had anticipated that; it went in to the van. (Having doors on both sides of the van made it very easy to load.) We also planned for the last load for storage to also be dropped off tonight; we packed the things for the house in to the Subaru first, then ended with the things for storage.

The things to go to Ian's.

The things to go to storage. The van is in the background.

We got to talk to Dustin more and actually got to see his cat. Bear was very excited to see us! I got to talk to Brienne more while Kai was taking his first shower there; Ian was still at work. I think Kai will fit in nicely there.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau to Deb! Hauʻoli lā Hoʻomanao #51 to Dian & Robert! And Hauʻoli lā Hoʻomanao #26 to Marilene & Brian!

Katana Sushi

For lunch we were going to meet Bruce & Monava at Janbo Cafe. We got there first and discovered they are closed on Mondays! Kai suggested Katana Sushi so we ended up there. Bruce got the Katana Bento, Monava got the Kitchen Bento, Murphy (their grandson) got the Chicken Katsu, Kai got a Volcano Roll and Unagi Nigiri, and I got the Sashimi Salad. Everything was excellent! And they let us sit and talk for an hour or so after we had finished eating. I would go back to this restaurant.

Bruce & Toby.

Katana Bento.

Kitchen Bento.

Chicken Katsu.

Volcano Roll & Unagi Nigiri. (Photo by Kai)

Sashimi Salad.

Ginger Beer.

We started out the day by going to Kaiʻs storage; we put an old monitor and chair in. I also changed the payment on the unit to my Hawaiian Airmiles credit card rather than just coming out of my local credit union account; might as well get some miles for that monthly payment

Because it was still early for lunch we went to Cafe Makario to kill some time. Kai decided to do their top 10 coffees in order; today it was the Ethiopia Hadeso. I had the Matcha Latte again.

L: Ethiopia Hadeso; R: Matcha Latte.

After lunch we picked up the van; the problem with the rear lights was that there were 5 bulbs that burnt out! The funny noise could not be easily located; it will take an oil pressure test on start up which is about $500.

When we dropped off the van I did some birding while I waited for Kai to arrive; he was talking to Travis after I paid so I left while they talked. A Golden-Crowned Kinglet flew down and perched in the bamboo, watching me. Later a dove flew in to the Madrona and perched above me. As I moved around to take a good photo to help with identification, I spotted a Red-breasted Nuthatch & tried to take a good photo of it.

Golden-crowned Kinglet hiding in the bamboo.

Red-breasted Nuthatch in its typical pose.

Woodpecker nesting box for the flickers & woodpeckers.

We took the Subaru shopping so that we could just load Kai's new items in it and not have to transfer between vehicles. We went to Office Depot first to pick up a chair floor mat and shredder. Then we went to Target to get a set of towels and a small vacuum cleaner.

Wooden chair mats.

Desk-top shredder.

I was very surprised he wanted this, but if it will help keep his room clean ...

As we were leaving Target someone walked past Kai and said, "Hi, Kai!" but he didn't know who it was. Then she came up to me. It was Misty! And her daughter Ava! They were the first friends who came to visit me after I had moved! Ava is now taller than I am and very much in to horses; she just finished a week at Horse Camp. I told her I would take her horseback riding when she comes to visit me on the Big Island.

Since we still had time, we also went to Trader Joe's so I could pick up omiyage and some food for Kai to take to his new place.

After doing all that it was time to head to the Bala's house for dinner. Kai used to do the computer maintenance work at their restaurant and house. Since they have retired he now only works on their home computer system. Mrs. Bala made 2 types of curry (chicken and goat), 2 breads (naan and papadum) and vegetarian samosas. Everything was great! Towards the end of dinner we found out that they also know Janice! Small world! We sent her a selfie that Kai took; he had the longest arms so he could more easily get us in to the photo.



Hauʻoli lā Hoʻomanao #29 to Lorna & Darrell! And Hauʻoli lā Hoʻomanao #12 to Kyle & Valerie!

Ahhhh, Massage!

I started out the day with another massage from Lorena. I had a previous one on my last trip here; it was my first since June 2016. After that I vowed to get a massage every time I was here. I am keeping my word!


After the massage I dropped in on the Everett Farmers Market. It has moved. It used to be on the waterfront; it was fun to look for harbor seals at the marina. The new location is on the street between the City office building and the County office building; not much to see there. While there I ran in to Karen; she runs the market. I got my usual Polish dog with sauerkraut & brown mustard from Bruce; Vivian & I would do that every Sunday then get an ice cream bar from Cliff at Whidbey Island Ice Cream. Cliff is no longer there. I also saw John; he was window shopping before he went to KSER to do his show. Shannon from the mushroom club was there at a booth that she said she has run since the beginning of the Everett farmers market. I also saw Ummihan who was out shopping with a friend of hers. Later, in the parking garage, I saw Brenda & her husband Philip; they were admiring the age of the Subaru!

This alley way leads from the parking garage out to the street the market is on.

My half-eaten Polish dog.

Since I was in Everett, I decided to take a drive by the old house. As I was going down the alleyway to check out the back yard I saw Stan who lives in the apartment building next door. At first he smiled & waved, then he had a puzzled look on his face. I went around the block & pulled up next to his truck. We had a great time! Stan quit his construction job and started his own company doing landscaping; he used to do the landscaping on weekends & after work because he liked it. Now he has enough clients that he can make a living at it and be his own boss. He works part time at Lowe's for the medical insurance; but is enjoying things much more in this last year since he quit the other job! Yay, Stan!

While I was doing my birding in the afternoon a pair of Northern Flickers decided to check out Mary Ellen & Michaelʻs house as a nesting site; they were hammering on the siding looking for soft spots.

Northern Flicker.

When I returned to the house, Diane was there visiting with Kathy. It turns out our mutual friend Michele is in town so we will be trying to gt everyone together before I leave. Michael made a great dinner of pork chops and sauteed Brussels sprouts. Michael also made bleu cheese dressing from scratch with olive oil and sour cream; I have to get that recipe from him.

Louie & I went for a walk after dinner; it was a very pleasant evening. Not too hot, not too cold; it was just right!

Twenty-five minutes before sunset in Edmonds.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau to Curtis! Hauʻoli lā Hānau also to Penny & Corinna!