I used to really like American Idol but the past couple of years I haven't that much and I do other things when it is on in the background as my OH still likes it. He came in one day and announced he had bought tickets to this year show in Tacoma WA, of course he couldn't have bought tickets the year I actually liked someone

So last night was the show and they put up a divider so only half the dome was used. Each contestant sang 3 songs until the top 2 who sang 4-5. There was a group song of the 5-10 finalists before the intermission (give back America) and all of them on the last song of the night.
Some of  the song choices were surprising to me ie Jason didn't sing "Hallelujah". He along with the country and western girl were really good though. Both a lot better than on TV (although I did like Jason in the early rounds).
The lighting was good but I thought the plastic rails were tacky and the whole stage could have been a lot better.

You do have to sit through in the long intermission a huge long plug (however entertaining you may think it is) of guitar hero.

There was a lot less young children there which was a nice surprise for me, but of course I had to have the annoying know everything american idol fan behind me who regaled all her knowledge to her friend and everyone else the whole night while managing to find the right decibel and tone, loudness of scream that of course was in my ear and made me feel like sitting through nails scratching down the blackboard would be preferable to sitting there.

OH enjoyed it though and it was a pleasant night out for me.

sorry my camera isn't very good

I had given up in trying Italian restaurants in the US.  It was my favourite restaurant back in the UK but after many 'you must try this' and been taken to an American Italian, which somehow is so different,  I decided not to try any more.

 By chance tonight we tried a small uninspiring looking Italian in a strip mall in Bellevue firenze restaurant . We went in as there wasn't a chicken parmigiano or eggplant dish in sight. (It may be an authentic Italian dish but never heard of it till we came to the US) Also thank goodness, there was no singing waiter to ruin the night.

 The decor wasn't great and was just a square room with white linen tablecloths but the food we tried was good and that is the main thing. Homemade and very flavourful sauces, the tiramisu was homemade and tasted like how it should be.  It was bustling and had atmosphere helped by the younger look a like Flavio Briatore owner who was genuine Italian. It was laidback no rush service which was nice for an evening out.

I actually for the first time in my life used the line 'waiter there is a fly in my" half drunk glass of wine, who gave me a free full glass of wine..

The only negatives I had were - he gave me the more expensive wine than we asked for and charged it (but since he was nice about the fly we let it go, it was nice wine!) Also the pasta wasn't homemade or fresh (I don't think) and as the prices aren't the cheapest around think it could have been, it is authentic Italian after all.
Also the tiramisu was single portions and think it was a bit pricey.

Overall it was $95 for 2 glasses of wine and two entrees & 2 desserts including tax and tip. A bit pricier than we are used to for a normal Friday night but overall worth it and will go back.

Next door they had a pizza place which looked good, who knows it may be better than fondi in Kent which so far is the best around here. They also have a restaurant in Renton -vino.

 And to me it was better than luciano which I always choke on the few times I have been because of the price.

I just want to know though, why there is a full sized carving from rock of a VW beetle outside the place?
Maybe I am seeing things but it is unique.

Weber Q 220 Portable Propane Gas Barbecue

weber grill

Well I am a grill virgin we had a small barbecue one but this is our first sorta ‘proper’ one. Like most things I like to have stuff that is multi-purpose which is why we went for this one.

The 1^st year we moved to our new home we had a storm here which rendered us without power for a week, so I felt this barbecue could serve 3 purposes –

1)    alternative cooking method for power outages

2)    a portable device we could take on our weekends and days away (we frequently have been stuck in the middle of nowhere) and be independent and its fun!

3)    As our main barbecue

We went for the 220 rather than the ‘baby’ one as it can grill about a dozen burgers and when we have our group of 8 over it could serve that purpose and its still portable enough to put into the car. We bought the portable stand for it, its not as sturdy as the other one but its fine and will do well not only on the deck but it folds flat for the car and you can wheel the grill on it – its great. (The 220 has the thermometer in it the 200 doesn’t) rolling cart

The good – heavy cast iron grates the same as the largest weber grills. They are natural non-stick (I seasoned them by covering them in Crisco putting them in a 350 oven for an hour, turn it of and leave it to cool in oven then wash it of and lightly oil it) and were easy to clean.

The bad – they only take the tall skinny 14.1 oz and not the 16.4oz propane cylinder the baby weber does (hence why I have the huge cylinder - we couldn’t find any out, I forgot to buy some)

I am really pleased with it – good buy.

Seattle is a lovely city but at the end of the day that’s all it is. To appreciate the area you have to go out to the surrounding area, and boy there you are spoiled for choice and one can begin to really appreciate the area . I have decided to try and blog our day trips as it might be helpful for others planning their day trips.
We decided to go to Port Townsend on Saturday (thanks ABY great suggestion) which was our wedding anniversary, we have been west, south, north and east but never in the Quimper peninsula http://www.ptguide.com/recreation/index.html. The weather at least wasn’t going to rain but it was cold! We took the ferry from Seattle over to Bainbridge Island (30 mins) and then drove up which is about 1 hour.
Side mention - cost is about $22 for 2 & a car and about $14 back which always surprises me that it is cheaper going back. For those just going to Seattle a trip to Bainbridge just as a foot passenger is worth it just to see the skyline if you like that (think Staten ferry) but as an island Bainbridge Island reminds me of Millport or Rothesay (Scottish Islands), nothing special and there is not a road which goes around the whole island giving you a view.
 

We wondered around the small ‘historical Victorian seaport’ village which was refreshing as there seemed to be no chain stores and all independent which was lovely. We had coffee in Tyler Street coffee house which is worth a mention for all the homemade baking they do, all was delicious calorie putting on food.  We walked around there admiring the nice old homes, stopping by the farmers market. We decided  time wise not to do the 90 minute walking tour around the historic buildings.

Then we drove up to Fort Worden State Park (only 2 miles large) a small 19^th Century military fort on the bluff with a lighthouse. Which of all beaches we’ve been to here, it most resembles the UK coasts but maybe the blustery weather had something to do with it!! (it had a lovely area for RV’s there) We had a lovely walk around there and on the beach.

Then we drove to fairwind winery (a mile up the road) http://www.fairwindswinery.com/ for wine tasting $5 a couple for 7 wines which was worth it just for some nice wine :D Don’t expect a winery like CA, it’s a home with a small building for wine tasting, there is no tour, (nothing to see) we took home a bottle of their port. The owner gave us good pointers and educated us (we did ask ).

We then went down and sat at the small marina watching all the yachts coming in.

Then with UK attitude, blustery cold weather (unbelievable for June!) didn’t stop us from sitting out frozen having a barbecue at the bluff (I spent an hour packing up the car with the stuff we were having it even if it turned to a gale!!) and having a good time partly at the people driving by staring at us as if we were mad.

I wouldn’t recommend the natural history exhibit & marine science center, it's $5 each and both are small. If you look at it as a donation and don’t expect much (the marine is better consists of about 5 tanks and 3 pools) you get the drift. But as entrance to the park is free and everything else was then it wasn’t much.

It was one of those lazy meandering days, nothing planned to do when we got there but it all worked out. 

A couple that we are friends with are heavily into stargazing and invited us to star gaze.
 Without thinking or knowing what it was about we said yes, always up for something new or different. We then found out it was an all nighter and we had to drive 2 hours for a spot that had no lights around and had to arrive before dusk so not to interfere with our car lights and the telescopes. And couldn't leave till 4am for the same reason...OK a little more unsure but still up for it.

We soon found out that nights in Washington aren't hot balmy nights and I was frozen with gloves and hat and blanket. It was completely cloudy till 1am which didn't further my enjoyment. After the 3rd 'you've got to see this nebula' and all you can see is a faint yellow glow, they all looked the same to me, I realised maybe I'm not going to be a true avid stargazer.

On the positive side though when it cleared up it was stunning and an array of stars. The milky way was as clear as it could be and a few more star constellations were pointed out to me and stuff was explained to me that was interesting.(the swan/northern cross, saw its twin star orbiting, the summer triangle etc)

 And a guy with his electronic telescope that knows on that night what is viewable and tells you and goes automatically to it was amazing and he was very generous showing us it all. One of the guys had a camera mounted to his telescope hopefully we can get some of his photos.

 And the Perseid meteor shower was beautiful, never seen more than one meteor/shooting star at a time.

Will probably do it again only if it finishes about midnight though and I can do it locally.