Oh, to be enjoying Seattle on a clear dry day! or Go West Young Man, but be sure to bring your umbrella.

I have visited quite a lot of states in this great country of ours. I have been to all of the original 13 colonies, all of the deep south, midwest and southwest. But I had never been to the great Northwest until a few weeks ago. Last year when I was visiting Boston, I had a chance to get bumped for a later flight and a free ticket to anyplace in the continental US. I jumped at the chance. I spent a lot of time trying to decide where to go with the ticket. My daughter had moved from the East Coast to the Midwest, so that trip was out. I thought about going to the Keys - I've never seen those cats that haunted Hemingway-but then came the hurricanes and oil spills. I settled on a visit to the Northwest Coast. Years ago I had worked on a Northwest Coast project at the FIeld Museum and so I had read a little about the history, but had never actually been there. So I decided to Go West Young Man! or Go West, Middle-aged Woman! It also happened that one of my daughters was going to be in Portland for a conference, so we agreed to meet in Portland and do a little exploring. Portland was a little like going back in time. Young, long haired, backpacking hipsters everywhere. It had that 70's feel in some areas. I also couldn't help but think DOH! with all of the Simpson's reference points everywhere you looked. And then being a person who works in a library, there were lots of those monuments in that area - now I know what Multnomah Falls is and I understand the charisma of Powells Book Store. I also understand a little better about the line of clothes that Columbia designs and sells. You definitely need a nice raincoat when you walk up the hill in Portland to go and smell the roses.

There is beautiful scenery in Oregon and Washington. Those mountains are everywhere and certainly impressive to someone who resides in the flat Midwest. But can anyone explain to me why you can't find a really cute raincoat in an area where it is raining all of the time? I had expected with all of the young, smart, creative people living in the Portland and Seattle areas that I would find really cute rain gear - but alas, no. We found the basic Columbia and Northface that is available everywhere and is very functional, but not really very exciting. Young clothing designers, there is a niche market waiting for you here!

I do have to say that the area is certainly filled with wonderful coffee. With all of the rain, and gloomy days that sometimes go with rain, coffee is a must. We managed to drink some wonderful brew that doesn't happen to be on every corner of the U.S. Coffee that didn't taste like the beans had been burned. A favorite was Stumptown Coffee. Really flavorful - it actually tasted the way as good as it smelled! I had some good fish in Portland, but I have to say that the some of the cooks in the little diners in New England could teach the waterfront cooks in Seattle a thing or two about how to fix a really good, cheap, fresh fish sandwich.

I do envy the Seattle residents their wonderful markets. Such good looking produce and some of the most BEAUTIFUL flowers - I would buy them every day if I lived in Seattle. And if you stroll down the road a bit you can view a really nice scupture garden without charge. Bravo to you lovers of the arts for making them accessible to the public.

If you are looking for some new and interesting terrain to explore, this part of the country certainly has a lot to offer. So grab your raincoat, put on your walking shoes, have a nice cup of joe and go and explore the great Northwest!

Miracles in March

Many miraculous things happened in the month of March. Little Butler made it to March Madness and almost took the cake. We survived the winter and welcomed spring in a big way. One of my co-workers had a beautiful baby boy who is the apple of the departments eye. I met a cousin who I am really happy to know. And I tried something really unusual and fun. It is something really amazing and it has a long latin name - Synsepalum dulcifucum - better known as the Miracle Fruit.

This fruit or berry has the ability to turn the taste of sour things into sweet things. The quote that I have heard repeatedly when someone talks about the miracle fruit is "turning lemons into lemonade". And I can attest to the fact that this most certainly does happen. The fruit contains an active glycoprotein molecule, with some trailing carbohydrate chains, called miraculum. (Can you tell I work in a library?) When the fruit is eaten, this molecule binds to the tongues'taste buds, causing sour foods to taste sweet. For a more complete explanation of the scientific workings of the plant, you can find it in wikipedia. The fruit can be purchased in a few different ways. Fresh or freeze dried. I tried the freeze dried version in the form of a tablet. I was with a group of friends when I did the taste test for miracle fruit. We placed a very small part of a tablet in our mouths and waited for a short time while the tablet dissolved. We then sampled several different types of foods to see what the difference was in taste. Kind of like being back in the 7th grade and doing a science fair experiment. (I haven't done my poster yet - when is it due?)


This is a lot of fun to try and I would recommend getting together with some good friends and doing a taste test for yourself. The best part of the taste test was being around people that are full of interesting ideas and not afraid to have some fun. Now if we could only find something that would make all of the sour parts of life turn into sweetness wouldn't that be great! I guess that is what the good friends are all about. They help turn the sour bites into sweet memories.