Pickled Greenland shark for breakfast?

Window trees building clouds

Contest Reminder:  

Really bad photographer | Icelandair US

When RantWoman travels, RantWoman likes to immerse herself in local cuisine, culture, and history as well as geography. Consider the question, delivered to Gemini "what do people in Iceland eat for breakfast?" 

At home RantWoman cycles among homemade porridge of the week, cold pizza, and sometimes other leftovers, often with a banana or hard-boiled egg.

Thank you Gemini, sort of. Submitting the question in natural language is cool. Here are a couple snippets from the first screen of results.

Why you should be eating an Icelandic breakfast

(summary: the basic low-fat, high-fiber, high protein regimen recommended in many places.

I tried a traditional Icelandic breakfast, and it was nothing short of intense — especially when the fermented shark hit the table. From creamy skyr, fresh rye bread, and liver pâté, to the infamous hákarl (a national dish made from fermented Greenland shark), this meal is unlike any breakfast I’ve had before. It’s all part of the unique and bold food culture of Iceland. #IcelandFood #IcelandBreakfast #TraditionalIcelandicFood #Hákarl #Skyr | Strictly Dumpling | Facebook

Thank you Gemini? 

Porridge or muesli? Checks out.

Good yogurt? checks out.

Rye bread or rye crisp: RantWoman likes both fine.

Pickled Greenland shark? RantWoman likes pickled herring on flatbread but does not eat it very often. As for Greenland shark...? 

How I Learned to Eat Fermented Shark with Iceland ProCruises - Food, Wine & Travel

So definitely a bit more of a big deal than mere pickled herring. RantWoman is fascinated to learn more about Greenland sharks. RantWoman also hopes that pickled Greenland shark is not an every day menu item.

As for Gemini

1. RantWoman is still not sold on Gemini offering to "help" abut email.

2. RantWoman appreciates getting info from multiple platforms but is lazy about wanting to sign in or even to read user agreements for these same platforms, especially since one BIG driver of whether RantWoman is going to come back to a site or portal is how easy it is for RantWoman to use. This is probably a trial and error iterative process. Most of the time RantWoman can live with that except RantWoman tends to want info NOW and in easily digestible form.

But speaking of easily digestible, RantWoman will check out other meal customs another time.

The Waji? YES!

 Remember this post?

Adventures of RantWoman: Teriyaki pizza? MUST Try soon.

One bright and sunny day last week, RantWoman ventured out to Columbia City a little after lunch time to go buy a slice of the Waji, one of the current seasonal pizzas at Pagliacci.

About halfway there on the bus, after passing by no longer needed stops for a couple beloved elders INCLUDING RANTMOM (waaaahhhh), it dawned on RantWoman that it was well after lunch hour and there might not be slices of Waji just waiting for the late lunch trade. RantWoman decided to go forward anyway. RantWoman was rewarded with perfectly acceptable late lunch slices, a quite place to cool her heels, and the suggestion to come back on Friday.

Friday came. RantWoman evaluated her budget, timelines and energy level and her skittishness abotu teriyaki anything on pizza. RantWoman decided she should just order a small pizza and if the experience were too terrible, RantWoman has many neighbors who would be glad to share.

Wise move!

The pizza arrived hot and fragrant with the always fresh scent of chopped green onions. The flavor is a perfect balance of slightly sweet and umami. The pineapple is minced finely enough that some pineapplephobes might not even notice. The mayo drizzle is barely noticeable on hot pizza. 

Definitely on the consider ordering again list. 

Two comments;

RantWoman knows people who react badly to MSG. RantWoman reacts in a way that says don't overdo it. If MSG is an issue, ask before you order.

And if you order, order with enough friends around to eat the whole pie. RantWoman is quite comfortable eating pizza cold, but RantWoman was not pleased with the mayo taste on cold pizza and does not think reheating would help.

Video meanderings for Holy Thursday.

 Does RantWoman have other things she is SUPPOSED to be doing, up to and including some formal way of observing Holy Thursday / Maundy Thursday / the version of Passover sometimes observed by Christians contemplating events leading up to Easter.

RantWoman went looking for info about Easter witches, a custom in Finland and Sweden.

Please enjoy the fruits of RantWoman's internet peregrinations.

RantWoman apologizes: she has not been keeping up with the ins and outs of sharing content across different platforms. Blogger may ask readers to click on a link and go directly to YouTube. The link works great.

Easter traditions in Finland and how you can take part of them - Nallikari

How to Celebrate SWEDISH EASTER | Traditions and Folklore

Swedish Easter tradition - Weird things Swedish people do - Learn Swedish in a Fun way!

10 Well-Known Passover Rituals That Are Surprisingly Profound

Potatoes, onions, bananas and delivery FEEDBACK for Amazon

RantWoman now has potatoes. RantWoman now has onions, in particular a bag with the kind of small onions RantWoman really prefers. RantWoman is about to run out of fresh bananas but the point of a recent Amazon order was bananas.

(RantWoman acquired the potatoes and onions at a street level grocery right next to a bus stop near an in-person meeting. So Amazon is out of the picture about that, at least this time.)

Here a confession: RantWoman quit shopping at in person at her neighborhood Amazon Fresh in connection with the last #No KingsDay protests. There are both food preference and political reasons: Before No Kings Day 2.0 RantWoman found herself looking on Amazon for faraday bags to protect her electronic lifelines while out protesting billionaires for doing billionairish things. At that point, RantWoman reality checked, decided that she prefers shopping in other places anyway, and also decided she did not have time to evaluate other delivery options. So RantWoman made a small in-person shopping gesture but still relies a lot on Amazon delivery. 

Stay tuned for a bananas reflection in connection with #NoKingsDay 3.0

RantWoman realizes that the vexations of an Amazon order are definitely "first world problems" when the news media is melting down full of lots of scary scenarios involving oil, fertilizer, ground troops and all like that. RantWoman also has TWO pleas from Amazon to interact with the Amazon data collection about satisfaction with the delivery. The pleas had links that took RantWoman to more ads, not straight to the comment options, unsatisfactory as they are. So here goes world.

When RantWoman is out of fresh bananas, RantWoman has this odd tendency to forget about all the other food in the house, including multiple packages of dried bananas. A few nights ago, RantWoman was out of fresh bananas. RantWoman fully intended to go replenish the supply of bananas and also potatoes and onions. RantWoman figured there is a short bus option, prices are affordable, and RantWoman could buy in a quantity she can carry home.

Nice thought. RantWoman got sucked into one of her YouTube rabbit holes and realized it was really too dark out even for the easy bus option she had in mind. RantWoman REALLY needed bananas. There the yellow Amazon icon was on her phone. RantWoman was even in a space to do the free delivery with a $100 order deal that comes with Prime. RantWoman simply REFUSES to pay $9.99 / month for free perishable grocery deliveries on orders over $25. RantWoman, though is quite happy making orders over $25 for non-perishables. But RantWoman needed bananas.

RantWoman has NO idea what she did, but she wound up in Amazon NOW, unable to get out and with no acknowledgement of one order. RantWoman did in fact include potatoes and onions in her selections but those selections apparently went into a different shopping cart. RantWoman also forgot the all-important bananas. RantWoman would REALLY have liked just to add bananas to the first order but wound up making a second order, partly because there was some kind of hiccup about the usual  order confirmation. 

Here is a summary of those two orders from a few days ago:

RantWoman has bananas. That is the important thing.

RantWoman does not have the russet and yellow potatoes and avocado she would also have liked to have.

RantWoman also has

4 packets of cheese slices when 1 or 2 would have been fine

5 c6 ox containers of raspberries or blackberries

2 packages of hummus

one package of two small frozen pizzas

1 box of donuts

1 6-pack of good tapioca pudding.

2 pints of Cherry Garcia ice cream at a price lower than usual.

RantWoman also has two emails asking wihether RantWoman was pleased with her deliveries

No.

The two delivery drivers were wonderful, courteous, helpful. The problem is definitely not the driver(s).

RantWoman's intent had been to start her grocery list, on Amazon. RantWoman got taken straight to Amazon NOW.

RantWoman previously rebooted her phone to get out of Amazon now. This time RantWoman went ahead.

RantWoman placed her order then realized she had forgotten the bananas, the whole point of her offer.

RantWoman also lost patience before getting acknowledgment of the order in the app.

So RantWoman did a duplicate order with several of the items. RantWoman added the bananas but could not see the potatoes.  They showed up in RantWoman;s shopping cart after the second order was placed and RantWoman was finally able to get out of AmAzon Now.

WTF

The bananas arrived in great shape but too ripe to last very long.

RantWoman definitely was not distressed to get several of the items she ordered at discounts over prices she has seen and / or paid in the past.

RantWoman's shopping cart leaned a little more toward treats than sometimes. RantWoman can definitely COPE.

Dissatisfaction with the Satisfaction survey

In other words, RantWoman is mostly fine except for the part about whatever UI issues are going on about getting out of AmazonNow.

Well and frustration about options for sharing feedback about where Amazon is doing great and / or falling short in contributing to RantWoman's happiness and nutritional needs.

The Opening Day /#NoKingsDay 3.0 angle

Digression: RantWoman spent her Saturday immersed in the hordes of transit riders celebrating the opening of the #2Line #CrossLakeConnection. By now RantWoman should know better about opening day hordes. RantWoman also had to adjust her initial travel thoughts based on howls of pain from her own body. That meant doing other errands and only then trying out the full opening day experience. The trains were packed. At one point RantWoman flashed back to the only other time she has felt that smushed on public transit, a long time ago on a subway from Brooklyn to Manhattan for another GIANT protest. Protest and Survive, indeed.

The opening day moment: RantWoman again needed bananas. By the time RantWoman did her day's train travel she was exhausted, and there were hiccups about bus connections. But RantWoman finally figured out minimal walking bus connections that yielded her preferred banana purchase: one banana ripe enough to eat the next day and a bunch green enough to feed RantWoman for a whole week.

By the way, a plea to Amazon Logistics

While RantWoman has people's attention, and if her rambling narrative has not driven Amazon readers crazy, a BIG request:

RantWoman lives in a building with over 100 apartments. Everyone has the same street address. Many people order from Amazon. Some of them have tougher mobility and budget considerations than RantWoman. Quite a while ago, RantWoman got a phone call from Amazon Logistics in connection with a delivery. 

There are two entrances to RantWoman's building. People making deliveries to the better entrance can phone residents to be buzzed in. However, driving directions to the exact street address in some GPS point people to the back door. Deliveries to the back entrance are difficult for everyone because someone has to know to come meet the driver. This means deliveries get dropped outside the door, stolen... RantWoman gave the Amazon Logistics person precise reliable driving directions. 

RantWoman's account repeats the driving directions and also makes clear her preference to have deliveries brought all the way to her apartment. At this point, RantWoman simply reports that the delivery was great when these directions are followed. We will not discuss the poor unfortunate drivers who deserve scorn from multiple customers when several packages all get dumped in a heap in the mail room.

Recently a number of neighbors have complained that they are having issues with drivers coming to the back door rather than to the front where there is a keypad and options to let the drivers in. Is there some way that Amazon can standardize the driving directions for all drivers? Or is the expectation that drivers will do whatever the GPS says and individual customers will just have to complain every time a new driver goofs up?  RantWoman would SO appreciate being able to help her neighbors out.

Teriyaki pizza? MUST Try soon.

It was a bright and sunny day and RantWoman...ALMOST...stayed on the bus to the Pagliacci in Columbia City to buy a slice of this month's seasonal pie, The "Waji." 

Look: Promo blurbs 

So here it is: The Waji features teriyaki chicken, pineapple roasted in chili crisp, pickled red onions, and mozzarella over an olive oil base, finished after the bake with green onions, furikake, and a drizzle of teriyaki mayo. It hits that sweet-savory balance, with some tang and heat, plus a little extra crunch and savoriness on top 

And from the Pagliacci blog:

This collab with Uwajimaya started with a simple question: what if we made an Asian-inspired pizza together? For Pagliacci co-owner Michelle Akiyama Galvin, the idea has roots that go way back. Growing up, Asian groceries were scarce in her town, so trips to Uwajimaya were youthful highlights. Later, as an adult, she found herself back in those aisles much more often, kids in tow. A few years ago she met Denise Moriguchi, Uwajimaya’s president and CEO, who mentioned how much her family loves Pagliacci, and that was the little spark. What if we built a pizza around that shared love of food?

Turns out, it was one of the quickest seasonals we’ve ever brought from idea to reality. And the best test panel we know came through fast: the kids in both families gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up.

“We are huge fans of Denise and Uwajimaya and are proud to collab with them,” says Matt Galvin.

And the toppings

Teriyaki chicken, pineapple roasted in chili crisp, pickled red onions, and mozzarella over an olive oil base, finished after bake with green onions, furikake, and a drizzle of teriyaki mayo. (Ingredients feature soy, sesame, wheat and egg.)

LONG ago during graduate school in another state, RantWoman had a disagreeable experience with chicken teriyaki pizza. The crust was much pastier than at Pagliacci. There was BROCCOLI, which in RantWoman's mind really does not belong with anything too sweet. Basically, as fusion cuisine, that long ago pizza was not it.

Still, RantWoman is intrigued by the Waji. Roasted pineapple on anything makes RantWoman happy. RantWoman had to look up Furikake - Wikipedia. So far, yum.

But why the bus trip and one slice at a time? RantWoman often orders a whole pizza for delivery, the large seems tempting for leftovers. There are plenty of leftovers. It's just that the slices are too big. RantWoman's budget can live with just ordering one small pizza at a time for now. But it hit RantWoman: RantWoman is not sure about buying a whole pie because of the bad teriyaki chicken pizza experience long ago so RantWoman WILL just try a slice SOON.

Order This month's Pagliacci seasonals!

The short version of this screed:

Feast on the March seasonals from Pagliacci--or if spicy is not for you, there are other options. 

The longer version: there are genetic reasons that people have wildly divergent views of both broccoli and cilantro. RantWoman knows of no such genetic explanation for the magnificent way mention of pineapple on pizza, say during an icebreaker, will turn a room instantly into vehement factions. RantWoman is definitely in the pro-pineapple camp with one asterisk: RantWoman would definitely add another vegetable to hawaiian pizza but RantWoman has not found a way to do that on the Pagliacci options.

RantWoman also tends to order from the website because RantWoman would have to turn Talkback off on her Android phone to order any size but large.

With that, to quote from the Pagliacci blog.

(Use the scroll bars for best viewing. The text sounds great for screen readers.)

Calypso

One of the most reliable pleasures in eating is the way sweet and savory and spicy come together to taste like so much more than the sum of their parts. Trigger warning: the new pie contains fresh pineapple. No, we’re not looking to revive that old debate, but rather to stimulate your taste buds.

Pineapple caramelizes in the oven, and picks up a deeper, almost tangy sweetness. Paired with soppressata — salty, garlicky, a little funky — it becomes a bright counterpunch. Add the heat of sliced jalapeños, mozzarella for that creamy savoriness, and a drizzle of hot honey, and you’ve got a pizza with an irresistible balance of sweet-salty-spicy. 

If you’re firmly in the no-fruit camp, we respect your boundaries. But if you’ve ever loved a sweet-savory-spicy combo give yourself permission to try the Calypso.

Our Sicilian Cauliflower, the second seasonal pie, riffs on a classic Sicilian flavor combo, leaning into Sicily’s Arab-influenced sweet-and-savory tradition. We pile tender roasted cauliflower, golden raisins, mozzarella, fontina and Parmesan on our chewy crust with a Calabrian chile olive oil base, then finish it with parsley after the bake. One taste will explain why this recipe has stood the test of time.

Last May, we added a few Molly Moon’s flavors to our dessert menu. The response was overwhelming: customers asked for more. So we kept going. Now we’re going all the way and making Molly Moon’s our house ice cream. You’ll find the new flavors on our dessert page.

“I can’t think of a more fun, classic Seattle combo of comfort food than ordering a Pagliacci pizza and salad with a pint of Molly Moon’s for dessert,” says Molly Moon Neitzel, founder and CEO of her eponymous company. “I told my daughters we’re doing it tonight and they squealed with delight!”

Our rotating seasonal flavor is Molly Moon's Cookies & Cream. They bake the cookies themselves, then fold them into the ice cream for chunks and speckles in every spoonful. Order a pint while you still can.

Pagliacci's new Verde Vito pizza

UPDATE. THis one did really well cold for breakfast.

Spices easier to feel

different expectations about cheese texture.

So...

 RantWoman is a GIANT fan of Pagliacci pizza. RantWoman is going to keep being a fan of Pagliacci pizza.

RantWoman is also the kind of adventurous diner who sometimes will try something once just to say she has tried it. Tonight's gustatory adventure: the new Verde Vita all plant-based pizza.

The verdict: meh while hot and we will see how it does cold for breakfast.

RantWoman has never felt an obligation to make plant-based products that simulate meat. Just do the plant-based protein like, say, walnuts, with pride and don't try to pretend it's meat. Plant based sausage on pizza, meh

The plant-based cheese had an interesting taste but felt gooey. RantWoman admits to the possibly unrealistic wish that cheese on pizza be stringy when the pieces are pulled apart.

RantWoman thinks the Verde Vita needs a little more spice. Which kind? RantWoman is unclear.

The plant-based cheese RantWoman likes best is an orange-y cashew-based cheeseball served at some friend's annual New Year's open house. Problem is, what would it take to make this cheese work on a pizza?

RantWoman now thanks her readers for indulging this digression from all the news and LIFE items making RantWoman's head explode.

Talking with Docs on the New American Food Guide

Full disclosure 1: RantWoman has become quite a fan of Talking With Docs. These two canadian doctors clearly believe in science, have a great presentation style and leave RantWoman feeling both better informed and relaxed about many medical questions. Who could ask for more?

Full disclosure 2: Between the dangers of previously well controlled diseases roaring back because of vaccine hesitancy and other wacky recommendations from US supposed "health" authorities, RantWoman is predisposed to treat the new food guidelines with maybe instead ofa grain of salt, a whole tablespoon of salt. So RantWoman was interested to hear the Docs not pan the guidelines as severely as their source might indicate.

Anyway, enjoy.

The New American Food Guide: Docs Break It Down

The New American Food Guide: Doc Give It A Grade

Lynnwood City Center on the Light Rail.

 RantWoman would in principle like to pen a sunny "I love you all and I am sure life is going to get better" holiday greeting. That, alas, is not going to happen, or at least not before RantWoman just gets some opinions off her chest. With that in mind, RantWoman is going to offer a Christmas tree of posts assembled in such form as to give readers options to pick and choose which RantWoman eye views of the year sound most enticing, entertaining, elevating, ... Get the idea.

Lucky Lynnwood City Center Sound Transit station, the first window into RantWoman's year, and luckily for someone the topic RantWoman can most concisely summon rants about.

Start with Thanksgiving. 

There was an invitation to family for feasting in Lynnwood. There was also an offer of a ride all the way that was going to involve too many people, a dog, and a vehicle specially lifted for off-roading. RantWoman owes the world a whole post about getting in and out of cars. In this case, RantWoman was still flirting too easily with some post-surgery crabbiness and wanted simply to take transit and, if needed be fetched from a transit end point.

RantWoman should have somehow been able to ask her info sources "which light rail station is closest to the address?" The answer: Lynnwood City Center is about a mile away. Instead RantWoman got various unhelpful suggested routings wound up having to ask Irrepressible Nephew to fetch her from an intersection before the one suggested by the trip planner.

Nephew was EXTREMELY good natured about this.

Family feasted well, petted a cat and two dogs, and did fine about many things.Then came time to go home. Nephew dropped RantWoman off at a station entrance inside the parking garage. Another woman in the same boat joined RantWoman in fogging around until we found the hallway with elevators to the platform. Some signage in the parking garage would definitely not be a terrible idea.

Next comes Christmas Day. The RantFamily did Christmas Eve church gathered around a laptop at the rehab where RantMom is currently in residence. The laptop does not do justice to a church organ but that was the celebration needed for this year. It also left RantWoman free on Christmas Day to invite herself over for takeout Thai food with her buddies The Weed Whackin Wenches who also live in Lynnwood. RantWoman would have been happy to take Zip to their house, but WingNut was itching to drive a few days after several days of heavy pain meds due to a dental abscess.

This is now the second try for connecting with the Wenches and their car. The first time was opening day. There were crowds and crowds. RantWoman got to a point where the only thing that made sense was to stand still somewhere amenable to car traffic and act tall. 

Christmas day is SUCH a mellow time to travel on Light Rail. BIG shout-outs to everyone working on holidays. The train was not crowded. RantWoman found an elevator to "surface." The only problem: RantWoman does not consider it "surface" if there are 10 steps between the pedestrian path and what did turn out to be an acceptable driveway. RantWoman is not sure what signage would have provided more helpful guidance about how to connect with cars.

In any case, the day was a blast. The Wenches have been working on re-doing their kitchen. One appliance quit and then something else had to be moved and then another thing needed upgrading. Christmas saw the work paused in mid transformation. Hence the interest in take-out, along with a grand tour: new stove with an induction cooktop, big round tactile controls as well as the possibility to do all kinds of things from a smartphone app. Some electrical work is still needed to ensure the wiring is appropriate and now there is talk of a new exhaust hood to go with the new sink, new dishwasher, and new compact overhead ceiling fan. Never mind that the refrigerator is currently around a corner into the dining room. The Wenches just had so much fun talking about their kitchen. Everyone agrees that moving around the appliances opens up LOTS of ideas.

The Wenches also have two new cats, intriguing but not as snuggly as previous household felines.  The cats emerged for dinner. RantWoman appears to have passed muster. After supper, the more standoffish kitty sat at the other end of a long hallway and just observed for quite awhile. The other more adventurous one visited RantWoman's dangling fingers several times. RantWoman got two nose touches, a leg brush, and a tail brush. Apparently this is high praise for this kitty around strangers.

Now an awkward confession: the Light Rail plus one bus is easy peasy for RantWoman. The Wenches like to drive RantWoman all the way home. RantWoman is always glad for car ride conversations. RantWoman is A LOT less glad about rides in the dark involving a lot of headlights from oncoming traffic. RantWoman is going to have to find some way to...

With that, may there still be feasts ahead as we kick 2025 out the door.

Homemade Marzipan and linguistic artifact

RantWoman is intrigued both by this recipe and by linguistic aspects of the presentation.

RantWoman LOVES marzipan and it passes nutritional muster as holiday treat full of protein and other nutrients far better than other holiday treats YouTube serves up.

What intrigues RantWoman most about this video: there is a note about autodubbing. The audio is very idiomatic english. RantWoman is guessing the captioning is in Turkish. And it's a German YouTube channel. There is some linguistic mastery somewhere in the production. RantWoman will express good intentions about looking up more detail.

In the meantime, RantWoman will either look for some rosewater or make do with vanilla if she decides actually to make the recipe.

Homemade marzipan in 10 minutes 🌟 Natural, aromatic & without additives ...

Gratitudes--and Irritability

image from Free Press Journal

#HAPPY THANKSGIVING 

Happy posthumous 91st birthday to RantDad. And special appreciation to all transit, deivery, and taxi etc. drivers, with a particular asterisk for resonance about a couple anniversaries of horrible tragedies. The tragedies never go away, even when there is much else to occupy people's souls.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone involved in food production and food distribution! 

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone however you do or don't celebrate.

 

The pink Christmas Cactus

RantWoman considers Thanksgiving at least as important as Christmas. Enough said.

This year, the prep got off to more of a rocky start than usual. Dial-a-Tirade available about software updates and AI that seems to fry RantWoman's phone and other forms of technological disdain for RantWoman's current realities. On top of that, RantWoman spent half an hour of her usual Wednesday morning hourlong webinar trying to figure out a new portal.

Another novelty: an invitation to dinner with nephew and woman friend in exotic LYNNWOOD, but not the part of Lynnwood in range of the Alderwood Zip service. (Earth to RantWoman: did you check Find-a-Ride to see whether the service area might have expanded? NOooo.)

Nephew is both chef and chauffeur, with an offer to fetch both his parents, RantMom, and RantWoman, all in one trip. RantWoman had to reality check this offer. RantWoman is recovering well, but is still feeling a little irritable after some surgery last week. The thought of being crammed in a car even with one's nearest and dearest just does not sound fun.  RantWoman really did not want to request two roundtrips to assemble the whole clan. Somehow a request just to fetch RantWoman from a nearby transit location is too much. RantWoman is quite happy with some exercise and public transit before a holiday feast. More on that in a moment.

RantWoman also learned that Little Sister just assumed RantWoman would be bringing cranberry something. It is a VERY good thing RantWoman discovered a big bag of cranberries stashed in the bottom of her freezer and has been able to assemble TWO kinds of sauce. Uncooked relish will have to wait for another holiday and fresh instead of frozen berries.

Off RantWoman went to Google Maps with the freshly supplied street address. The options with a couple nuances: either Link + the Swift Blue line plus a walk with suggestions to have realistics expectations about walkability or E line plus a Community transit line that runs once an hour on Sundays and holidays. Also, expect rain. 

The actual walking distance from a close bus stop to final destination does not look very long. It just involves interacting with Highway 99 and no indication of crosswalk options. So fabulous: just take Uber the last leg of the trip and expect that family harmony will last a little longer with the right transportation options.

Ice Cream Putinism Trumpism, Fascism, Monarchism

True Confession: RantWoman was seduced into these essays by mention of ice cream. Long ago when RantWoman was a graduate student studying in Leningrad / St Petersburg, ice cream bought from street vendors on Nevsky Prospekt in downtown Leningrad / St. Petersburg was basically a major food group. And in some kind of dietary magic, RantWoman lost about 30 pounds on her study abroad trip.

Ice cream nostalgia should not be mistaken for strategy in the modern era of billionaires and onrushing AI.

The Lesson I Learnt in the USSR That Still Fools Millions

Trump Isn’t a Russian Agent. It’s Worse.

Prayer service????

Protest Curmudgeon erupts again, regarding the Christian rock performance and counter protest at Cal Anderson Park. The bottom of this rant has links to many of the sources RantWoman has interacted with.RantWoman apologizes for sometimes lacking precise citation and is trying to make clear which points are speculation and which are derived from long familiarity with the tiresome repetitiveness of protest dynamics in Seattle.

For background, RantWoman hails from a definitely open and affirming faith community and here is an example of a relevant statement.

Minute of Inclusion.pdf

RantWoman still has not connected with members of various faith communities who sent out an emergency email about an event later in the day. After hearing on Twitter / X about melees and arrest, RantWoman decided that bad eyes did not need to get mixed up in whatever was going on and that RantWoman needed to deal with mundane matters such as grocery shopping.

RantWoman believes strongly both in free exercise of religion and in religious pluralism. RantWoman just decided that social media is going to have to be her venue.

b-b-but RantWoman...

Yeah. RantWoman has skimmed the Mayday USA tour website, the website for the On Fire ministry. RantWoman is not sure we are reading the same bible, but does have, at least for Capitol Hill, a higher than average tolerance for diversity of religious messages.

Call RantWoman a cynic though: chances are pretty good that somewhere in the Mayday USA crowd there is someone struggling with their sexuality or their gender identity or some kind of abuse experience who might have caregivers completely unequipped to walk with someone, someone who might  DESPERATELY want some kind of emotional safety valve.

But No. NO! NO!

Nothing says safety for transgender youth like people sort of trying to speak up for transgender youth by just chanting "fascists go away," and getting tackled by police, by getting everyone drowned in pepper spray and raising questions about whether officers' body cams are even turned on.

B-b-but one of the Burner podcast staff was told that the praying group had rented the whole park.

Is this a thing? It's hard enough for people who live here to rent even one picnic shelter. How do people who bus in from out of town get to rent a whole park? RantWoman is also amused by a comment about a police officer telling a journalist just to pick a side. It's STILL A PUBLIC PARK.It's open worship with a come as you are message. Aren't people allowed just to come and watch?

B-b-but they weren't just watching.

Noted. Needs more investigation. 

Finally RantWoman has had enough recreational blood pressure elevation and is not going to delve too far into the background and religious witness of Mr. Ross Johnson, of Spokane's On Fire ministries, but RantWoman has one thing to say to him:

No. NO NO!

Dear Mr. Ross Johnson

No, you DO NOT get to bus into town, demand to put your anti gay "worship service" in the gayest neighborhood in Seattle and then demand that Mayor Harrell resign. For one thing there is an election coming up. You don't get to vote unless you move to this hellhole one of your prayer service attenders basically in need of cleansing.

But thank you, RantWoman supposes for contributing to the latest rounds of:

--rage on the internet about what a godless hell hole Seattle is and how everyone involved in protests should be locked up

--Rantings on social media about protestors going unpunished

--complaints from the Seattle Police Officers Guild that Seattle PD is understaffed. (They are but many parts of town would probably prefer more ordinary neighborhood patrols and less pepper spray.)

PS. Maybe don't brag on X about starting a riot just by praying.

And now citations.

https://www.theburnerseattle.com/post/bigots-rally-in-gayborhood-katie-wilson-makes-her-case-as-a-labor-champ-and-the-burner-gals-hate-i

23 arrests at heated ‘Fascist Family Values’ protest in Seattle | The Seattle Times

Mayor Harrell Statement on Extreme Right-Wing Rally at Cal Anderson Park - Office of the Mayor

Seattle Police make multiple arrests during counter-protest of fundamentalist church group’s rally in Cal Anderson Park — UPDATE | CHS Capitol Hill Seattle News

Shout-out to Mayor Harrell, quoted at the end of this video.

On Fire Ministries – For His Kingdom

About - On Fire Ministries & Kingdom Christian Academy

Mayday USA event at Seattle's Cal Anderson Park sparks arrests and controversy

Protesters arrested at Cal Anderson Park appear in court

8 arrested during rally, counterprotest at Cal Anderson Park appear in King County court

23 people arrested at Cal Anderson Park when rally, counterprotesters clash

23 arrested during religious rally in Seattle

Seattle leaders blasted for permitting religious rally that sparked protests, arrests

MAYDAY SEATTLE RECAP

extremely produced propaganda recap

drone footage

🌟MAYDAY USA| Seattle Washington 🌟

No, RantWoman did not watch the whole video. After some testimonials, RantWoman skipped forward several times. At the end of the show, people who attended were exhorted to pick up their trash and guys were exhorted to walk women to their cars. RantWoman had an ick reaction but was fine with "don't walk alone."

Check out #DontMessWithOurKids on your favorite social media platform

Voting, stuffing the ballot box, and lost email.

A recent email from RantMom's current retirement community reads something like:

 Dear Families

"Here is a link to vote (our community) best in category of Renton and then to visit every day and help stuff the ballot box...."

RantWoman has no basis for comparison with other facilities. RantWoman also is tired and not willing to go look for the email. The first time RantWoman clicked on the relevant link, she got lost and has not been back.  But RantWoman is happy to say a few words about things that have impressed her since RantMom moved in last year. 

Creative holiday meals. RantWoman and Little Sister dined with RantMom for easter brunch. Two items that completely charmed RantWoman: a green salad with a hint of fennel, fresh peas, and some other herbs and nicely spiced hot cross buns. The quiche and cheesecake were lovely too but RantWoman was most charmed by the salad and the rolls. RantWoman has previously written of creative use of flavorings for vegetables at Christmas.

Wonderful view of Lake Washington from the dining room. Not so much fun if one battles light sensitivity but the RantWomen have enjoyed meals there many times.

Landscaping as charming as the location that previously enticed RantWoman to her first retirement community.

Dining Room is a large and comfortable performance space for a number of music and dance schools.

The monthly calendar includes a whole range of activities: poetry reading, meditation, lectures about current events as well as monthly meetings with staff about things like changes in the dining room.

A bonus to the Lake Washington location: the community is right near a flight school. RantWoman finds it kind of fun, if a little noisy, to hear and watch small planes practice takeoffs in cold and dark skies in the winter.

A very conscientious director. Recently RantMom decided to move from one apartment to another because of elevator problems that did not have a clear timeline for resolution. The elevator problems got resolved just about the time RantMom moved to a new apartment that needs no elevator or stairs to get to from the front door. The move required a certain amount of paperwork and the director patiently kept saying "Now I need to talk about ...." It was courteous. It was respectful  It was all manageable.

A van available to save RantMom at least some of the trips she would otherwise do on ACCESS and a much shorter travel distance to RantMom's church.

RantMom moved from a location in Ravenna--and downsized a little more--because the Ravenna location is getting torn down and rebuilt. Uncertainty about planning dragged on for a number of years, but finally Era living just set some timelines, offered incentives to stay within the company, provided tours. RantWoman was also impressed by some special events to help residents share memories, say goodbye to the community, and then celebrated the clumps that moved to different locations.

All in all, much to be thankful for.

Shhh. Don't tell RantMom, RantWoman is also very glad that RantMom does not have to cook unless she really wants to. RantMom's hands have cooked plenty of meals over her life, but now neurological challenges in her hands make RantWoman nervous about anything involving RantMom having to do more with knives and hot liquids than enjoy meals in the dining room.

Jesus is dead and you want me to find my bus pass?

This post is dedicated to a former co-worker who always said, when declining to schedule a meeting on Good Friday, "Jesus is dead and you expect me to work." Further theological meditations belong on RantWoman's other blog. The point of this post is a small rant and a couple comments about shared dining.

RantWoman did not go anywhere to church for Good Friday. RantWoman did not go find a livestream. It has to be enough that RantWoman thought about the entire subject.

In particular, RantWoman rode the bus to a favorite neighborhood fried chicken place. RantWoman does not do fried chicken very often, but it seemed an easy way to get a couple bones to make chicken stock. RantWoman walked a couple bus stops toward home to a stop where there are two buses that between them come at least every 15 minutes and go straight to the best evening stop for RantWoman. RantWoman wound up actually dining al fresco with enough time to spare to wipe her fingers well before needing to find her bus pass for the return trip.

Except RantWoman could NOT find her bus pass, at least not where RantWoman usually puts it. THANK YOU to the driver who let RantWoman ride free. RantWoman was embarrassed and kind of in a panic. RantWoman has places to go this weekend and does not carry cash. Somewhere in this muddle, RantWoman remembered that AT LEAST she could do whatever is needed to link her MyORCA app to her Google wallet 

Honestly, RantWoman knows that paying one's fare from one's phone is supposed to be hip and wonderful. RantWoman, though, just finds the whole thought cumbersome. RantWoman almost always carries Ambassador Thwack the badly behaved white cane, a purse, another bag and of course her phone. RantWoman could probaby set her phone timeout interval longer, but it's just CUMBERSOM to have to wake the phone up, find the wallet and then wave the phone. 

But WAIT! later yesterday evening, RantWoman dug frantically through all the various pockets in her daily gear and, ta-da!, found her actual physical bus pass.

RantWoman is soothed! 

Dinner and Plague

RantMom at Christmastime
proudly in a new chair

RantWoman has been meaning to offer up a #Pandemic plus 5 years piece. RantWoman would prefer NOT to be offering up today's post.

Yesterday the RantSisters received a normal conscientious email from RantWoman's new abode: a small number of residents and one staffperson had tested positive for #COVID.

RantWoman did not immediately pick up the phone and demand "Mom, are YOU all right?" Instead RantWoman decided that either RantMom would share news herself or it could wait until the RantWomen's nightly phone chat. On the call, RantMom definitely sounded drippy and congested. She also mentioned knowing of the cases among her neighbors. AND she mentioned another common COVID onset symptom, as well as plans to stay home from a Tuesday volunteer gig. At this point, RantWoman had to say "MOM, GET TESTED."

Tonight, when the RantWomen chatted, RantMom sounded a little worse than yesterday. RantWoman's experience from her own long-avoided encounter with "the 'rona" is that the cough and effect on a person's voice are different than a regular cold. That was definitely true for RantMom who ruefully acknowledged what RantWoman suspected. RantMom tested positive and this time has symptoms!. RantMom also said she had eaten dinner with one of the other cases that tested positive a few days ago. 

Bah! It's not like RantMom would ever let anyone tell her not to eat dinner with her neighbors. RantWoman also considers it a blessing that the dining companion this time is alive and recovering, not falling over dead.

So now RantMom is isolating. Meals come to her. She puts on a mask to run out and get mail or toss out trash. RantWoman would SO like to run over and give RantMom a hug. RantWoman is scratching her head about whether she can and should deliver something supportive. The RantWomen also talked about masks. Neither of us is crazy about paper masks. Cloth masks are imperfect but some mask is always better than no mask.

Maybe another day RantWoman will go on some about:

--the assortment of different masks still lurking in coat pockets and bags

--how good it felt to move along some mail order shoes that never fit right to their destiny in the rest of the universe.

--assorted meditations about cooking and technology

--the colorful but not always perfectly fitting blouses RantWoman spent some of her #Pandemic stimulus payments on.

--the new bed from Amazon and why RantWoman is definitely peeved with Jeff Bezos on Constitutional and political grounds.

Tonight, though, it's all about RantMom. If you pray, prayers would be appreciated.

Sunny Day Journey Map

 Friday afternoon RantWoman had APPOINTMENTS, two medical appointments across town from each other. The day was sunny and beautiful, as long as one does not count tree pollen. Scratch that: sun was almost too much and RantWoman needed to wash down itchy eyes multiple times with artificial tears RantWoman was fretting a little about timing, but it all worked out.

First leg of trip:  cross a street where the accessible ped signal now talks, a big improvement over the rat-a-tat that was supposed to be a woodpecker but that sounded to RantWoman too much like gunfire. Routing: 8 + 70 . Not surprisingly, the first 8 was just going by as RantWoman was getting to the stop light, but at that time of day the #8 bus has 10-minute headway. Short wait at Fairview for the 70. Rotten truth: RantWoman needed to go three stops. The distance would be easily walkable--except for the GIANT chasm in any plausible pedestrian routing otherwise known as Mercer St and freeway ramps. 

Nice day for uphill walk for a medical test. Cross the street at the marked crosswalk. Luckily traffic out of the parking garage was minimal. RantWoman is not crazy about driveways or parking garage exits and sometimes goes up the other side of the street to avoid cars. RantWoman has enough vision to pull this off but it's tricky because of no marked crosswalk.

Medical test was almost uneventful. Uneventful as in a form that made RantWoman want to grumble "can't you just put an electronic version in MyChart. Even more "fun," one always gets a plastic bracelet at check-in. Frequently there is this funny moment where the person checking RantWoman in somehow misses Ambassador Thwack the badly behaved white cane and asks RantWoman to verify that the info in tiny print on the bracelet is correct. Uhhhh.....

Test flew by and soon RantWoman headed back down the hill to catch the 70 on further north. Destination, the U District Light rail station and two stops on the train to Northgate. RantWoman long ago used sometimes to walk that distance but between timing and pollen and almost too much sunlight, RantWoman was really happy with the bus. 

Some of the time RantWoman feels a pang about an aging body. Some of the time RantWoman also reminds herself that a number of people in RantWoman's family tree did not even live to the age RantWoman is now.

Distance from Northgate Light Rail station to eye doctor's also is walkable but insane from a pedestrian perspective. Easy bus ride from the light rail station and a short walk with car minimizing street crossing options left RantWoman almost an hour early for her appointment so RantWoman...stopped at TARGET to see about a snack. RantWoman has two rants: the very minimalist snack options and Starbucks used to have an automated checkout. Friday automated checkout was gone and there was just one person at Starbucks and there was a bit of a line.

The wait made it almost too easy to Not Buy anything in honor of Blackout Friday. Almost. Besides the fact that RantWoman needed something for lunch, RantWoman's other rant is that the current anti-#DEI fashion is bonkers. RantWoman is not fully versed about the Black creators able to distribute their product through Target. RantWoman, though, is PEEVED on accessibility grounds: a few years ago, the National Federation of the Blind sued Target about inaccessibility of their stores. Target to their credit looked at the issues raised by the suit and at their elderly customer base and then took a number of steps to make Target someone friendlier to people who are blind and / or visually impaired. Target does not seem to have undone some of that though price tags are still....

RantWoman has no idea whether Target is just talked about rolling back #DEI commitments to appease the mobs horrified by some previous gestures, RantWoman emphatically wishes some of the companies falling into line with the current fashion would grow a spine and say "we are doing ..X;;; because it serves our customers. Plus, nutball pronouncements from the current administration aside, anti-discrimination laws STILL EXIST!

So Dear Target, thank you that I was able to pay for my snack and please consider this rant a free tip!

Eye Doctor appointment was decidedly low torture: just the blue light special to measure eye pressure. No dilated eyes or chasing weak lights around a circular background. Vision definitely not better but not dramatically worse than previous visits. Steady is good.

One easy street crossing to a bus back to the light rail and 3 stops to Capitol hill. RantWoman generally loves buskers but the Friday band at the station as a smidge too loud even for a sunny celebratory Friday. Anyway,  easy just to pop out lf the station, get on a bus and be done with street crossings for the day going home.

Eagle S Seized by Finland for Severing Cables Between Finland & Estonia

For readers who are not total shipping nerds, some key points:

--The Baltic sea is full of undersea power and communications cables as well as pipelines.

--There have been a series of anchor drags and other ways to damage these vital pieces of infrastructure.

--The cable drags can be partially explained by vessel age and poor maintenance, but geopolitics also enters the picture.

This YouTube channel is a massive resource for shipping and maritime vocabulary.

Lloyd's list article about spy equipment found on board the Eagle S with links about other cable drags

Take the Leftovers on the Road.

 

The Christmas Cactus that blooms
most exuberantly at Thanksgiving

Wherein RantWoman grumbles about transportation realities and the RantWomen had an awesome time anyway.

The first invitation: The Weedwhacking Wenches inquired: would RantWoman and RantMom like to join them for roast Turkey. The RantFamily already had plans, a feast in the dining room at RantMom's new retirement community.

The Wenches wanted to roast turkey at home in Lynnwood, so the next invite iteration: what about leftovers Friday or Saturday?

For the record, RantWoman LOVES Thanksgiving leftovers: turkey sandwiches, soup, casseroles, turkey enchiladas, yams, various cranberry relish and sauce.

RantMom feels the same way and there was the shadow of an invitation to RantMom who also really enjoys the Wenches.

RantWoman also owed RantMom some of the off the cranberry bag cranberry relish and t

But....

Transportation!

RantWoman was not excited about helping RantMom figure out paratransit between King and Snohomish counties.

RantWoman THINKS she has figured out how to use MetroFlex from the Renton Transit Center to RantMom's but has not tried it since updating some info in the MetroFlex app. More importantly, RantWoman has not figured out whether the Renton Metroflex zone goes all the way to a light rail station. Sigh.

Never Mind. Although RantWoman loves the Community Transit Zip, RantMom is NOT enthusiastic about trying the Light Rail with her walker anyway.

But WingNut DRIVES.

After a bit of texting back and forth, RantMom let RantWoman and the Wenches invite ourselves to her house with turkey, sandwich makings, yams, cranberries, and...conversation!

One theme of the conversation: after YEARS of living in Seattle, RantMom has finally unpacked some treasured family pictures. One picture, a print RantMom recently had framed of the farmhouse where she grew up.

Another picture: a somewhat stylized painting of the house where the RantFamily lived long ago in the last century in Gunnison CO. And hah! Thanks to Nephew's travels a couple summers ago, an actual photo of the very same house.

Gunnison House

 

Tune in after another holiday for more tales of leftovers on the road!

What if RFK Jr double dog dares the President Elect to EAT A SALAD?

RantWoman thinks God has a weird sense of humor. RantWoman will at some point wander down that rabbit hole in search of ways to address the outcome of #Election2024, people who think differently from RantWoman or worse, don't appear to think at all.

In the meantime, RantWoman copium:

--cat videos

--recipes with no plans to cook.

--material that makes RantWoman laugh between other howling.

There is a lot besides RFK jr. to bite into. That is for another time.

RantWoman thinks that RFK Jr. will make a terrible Secretary of Health and Human Services. And he gets to get in line with a bunch of other terrible nominees.

RantWoman spent part of her weekend talking to elders now suffering post-polio syndrome, remembering the mass dosing at her elementary school and collecting a Twitter / X thread about RFK Junior going to American Samoa, arguing against polio vaccines, and leaving in his wake the germs of a huge deadly outbreak a few months later.

That, of course, is by far not the only reason one might have a very negative opinion of the current nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services.

RantWoman, however is touched by the cabinet secretary nominee's concern for the President Elect's diet. In fact, RantWoman wonders how long the nominee will last if he dares to insist that the President Elect maybe say EAT A SALAD.