Baby, it's cold outside

It's snowing again.

I finally found the USB cord for my camera. 

School's cancelled and I'm not working today, so I'm going to take this opportunity to be one of those people and post a long line of pictures of my "child". 

Today, yes it's still snowing

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH

I have never in my entire life experienced this amount of snow. 

There have been many moments during my time here in Harrisburg, when I have openely said outloud, "Why do people CHOOSE to live here?"   I say it when the humidity is choking you at 6am in the summer; when you step outside and think, snifff "Did I step in something?" and realize how close you are to farmlife; everytime I try to merge onto the highway and the person in front of me breaks; and days like today, when I can't even walk outside because THERE'S SNOW UP TO MY KNEES!!!!!

And yes, K, if you're reading this (although I don't think you do anymore because we now officially live together and you don't really care to learn more about me at this exact moment) you'll tell me that Seattle ain't so hot.  And I would say, exactly.  Its not hot, its not even cold, and never in my life have I ever seen so much snow there.  Well, maybe last year, but that's was a freak incident.

This is like Utah snow.  Which, I've only seen pictures of from my parent's time living there (awhole different topic...).

The dogs love it however.  Once I finally find the cord for my camera, I'll try to show you how much they love it. 

My life is a metaphor right now. Snowed in, boxed in.  Too much snow, too many boxes.  Not enough breathing room.  Its suppose to snow more this week, like Tuesday or something, which means schoool will be all screwy and we'll have to make it up somewhere down the line, because that's how it is here, and to that I say, "Why did you choose to live here, self?"

Plus, I totally spilled milk on my computer yesterday, and the keys stick. Sigh. 

The Farm Show

Every January, Harrisburg hosts The Farm Show, at creatively named, The Farm Show Complex.  Farmers from all over PA bring their farm animals, canned goods, hand-sewn fashion, children, and whatever they can fit into their trucks, and they sleep at the FSC for a week.  I mention this event because 1) its right next door to my school, and parking is horrendous and 2) the food. 

Yes, if you've never been to the Farm show before, take your time browsing. Look at the goats and the sheep.  But, if you've been-there-done that, you know its really all about the food.  There are horse shows and even fashion shows (!), but its about the food.  Chicken corn soup, apple dumplings, fried mushrooms, homemade milk shakes....its all there.  You see, these farmers showcase their food too.  That means the dairy farmers show us how great milkshakes can be, and they fry huge pieces of cheese and put it on a stick for you.  The potato farmers make french fries. The swine farmers make pulled pork sandwiches. 

Come on now, you know you go for the food. 

This is a huge event for Harrisburg.  Its broadcasted on local tv here.  Kids go on field-trips to the farm show. 

 But, sadly, we haven't gone in 2 years.  And, I think its officially over now.  Which means parking will suck just a little less at school, and the farmers can sleep in their beds tonight. 

Oh wait....and there's always a huge butter sculpture!!! Check this out....

Ahhahaha!!!

Look at that crazy girl...

I start school again tomorrow. Full time, M-F.  Theory 3x a week and clinical the rest. Working on the weekend.  With a puppy who eats towels.  And a boyfriend who is also working/schooling like me, without the nursing stuff.  Haha....Oh, the crazy laughter has begun. 

Please pray for us.

Rainy days

This is very uncommon for me, but I will admit it: It rains a lot in Seattle. Not year round, but when it rains, it pretty much pours.  And so starts my post about our trip.

After staying in the sleaziest hotel in all of Philly (which is a pretty hard title to have, considering its Philly), we took a 0730 flight and arrived in Seattle around 1030.  That's the nice thing about time zones, you get your day back flying E to W.  The weather was just grey. No snow or rain at the time, and moderate temperatures. But, just grey.  I was worried that I wasn't going to get to see the mountains if we were going to have weather like that. Miraculously, Mt. Rainier was as clear as I've ever seen it. Not sure how that happened.

The middle part was a mixture of having no plans ahead of time, with some family drama, and more grey. 

We did make it out to Seattle however for New Year's.  My parents live on the other side of the water, so we took a ferry and had dinner at Etta's (Tom Douglas of course).  This was the highlight of our trip.  I'll describe our divine meal and post pictures once I have my camera near the computer.

K and I didn't stay for the fireworks. Instead, we went back to Silverdale, where I'm from, and discovered that we have our own bar. 

We miss you Old Town Bistro ( or OTB, as K likes to say). We miss your pink martinis and perfect Manhattans, we miss your excellent djs/acoustic guitarist (he played Hey Ya, like, Oh My God!), and we miss our wonderful waitress, Robin.  We are considering visiting without letting my family know next time. 

After New Years, I fought flash floods and Silverdale drivers to go grocery shopping for dinner, and my mom ended up in the hospital. 


I think we may have fully recovered from the trip that sucked the life out of us.  Now, we're on to cleaning out our places so that I can move in by the end of the month!  And, school starts next week.  Dun, Dun, Dunnnn.

Yes, a place that you dream about for six months can let you down. But, you shouldn't take it personally Seattle; winter is partially to blame.  I'll limit my daydreaming to the summer months. When AC isn't required.

Exhausted

Just got back from a holiday trip to Seattle. It was awful. It rained the whole time. Will post more later.

Cravings

  Oh Harrisburg, I've pretty much conquered you. You, with your commercialized restaurants and lack of innovative chefs, you give me nothing. The only ethnic food you offer is Italian, with the long "I". You leave me no choice but to cook for myself, and daydream of what once was.

And so I daydream. I daydream about picking blackberries from the backyard, of fresh seafood and produce just plucked from the earth; I dream of restaurants that at the very least have seasonal menus, not to mention weekly or daily changes. What is an inspired pseudo-chef to do in this very central Pennsylvania, Dutchish town. You don't aspire to culinary greatness because it’s not expected or asked of you. There are roadside produce stands, but no chefs in line for its selection. Sigh, sigh, sigh.

When I don't know what to cook, or where to get dinner, I usually have several things from Seattle that I'd be willing to venture out to get. The first would be teriyaki. And I don't mean that sweet, BBQ-y junk that its become. But, steamed, spicy chicken, thin juices soaked into fluffy rice, with a crunchy salad on the side. Ah, its Styrofoam heaven.

People here think pork and beef when they hear grill. All I long for is a whole salmon, stuffed with lemons and dill, cooked until its skin is crispy and its pink flesh is medium.

But, deep down, I know what I really need: anything that comes from Tom Douglas' restaurants. More sighs. Yes, I have his cookbooks and rubs-with-love. But, what I really want is the atmosphere, and the sample of Washington state pears with a bleu cheese and WA honey drizzled over it, that I got at Dahlia's that one time. A Lola breakfast. Mussels and clams steamed perfectly in a medley of wine and their own God-given juices. I want to partake in after-hour cocktails and happy hour at Palace on a Thursday night. Not to be noshing on chicken strips, but a beautiful soup or clam bake. Heaven, I'd be in Heaven.

Instead, it’s just up to me to try to infuse some of these elements into my cooking. So, I rub my chicken and steak with love, I check back often for new ideas from his kitchens, and I dream--how in 2 years I'll be sitting in one of his 5 (star in my opinion) restaurants, enjoying his food even more than when I always had it.