Thousand Oaks

In the past two months I have thought long and hard to try to create some kind of tribute to honor our lovely friends in T.O. Instead, they created one for us, which should come as no surprise.

We moved to Thousand Oaks not knowing a single soul. We were welcomed....no, embraced so fully that when the time to move back to Seattle came the leaving was more that a single pang of loss. But no time to think! Upon arriving in Seattle we had boxes and boxes (over 250) to unpack. So imagine the feeling as we unpacked a box and discovered a key. This key had a note attached from our friends Barry and Kay! I gasped with surprise, laughed and cried at the same time. I thought it was an anomaly and that somehow they had snuck into the house and slipped it into the box. Then we found another...and another! It seems Arlene and Kim had organized this surprise for us and put the keys in the boxes one day when they helped me pack. The notes varied in content...some humorous, some sad, but all included love. It made the unpacking easier and harder at the same time. The town that had embraced us from the beginning continued to love us from afar. A mutual feeling to be sure.

So here's to you, dear residents of Thousand Oaks! That which sets you apart brings comfort to Denise and I. You love fully and loyally, and we are grateful recipients.

Distance brings its challenges, but it also serves as a reminder to live and love in the moment. And that is the greatest tribute of all.

Monday Monday...

Is there anything less fun than a Monday after a great weekend? The let-down of it all. Sigh. Well, here is a sure-fired way to put a little punch in your otherwise typical Monday dinner. Two great recipes that meld perfectly. The grilled 5 spice chicken recipe is something I found years ago and it continues to be one of my favorites. Most of the time I don't make the dipping sauce that goes with it. The marinade is so flavorful and the chicken really only has to soak in it for a short time, so if you have 30 minutes you are good to go! (I use boneless chicken breasts instead of whole chicken)

The chickpea salad is a new recipe for me. I was looking for something to take the place of my usual couscous I serve with this chicken recipe, when low and behold, Bon Appetit arrived in my mail box. It is amazingly simple, but ifyou use great ingredients you will be wowed by the freshness of it! Good and good for you! Enjoy!

Grilled 5 Spice Chicken

1 whole chicken (about 2 1/2 pounds), preferably free range, rinsed

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons minced ginger

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder

1/2 tablespoon sea salt

4 whole star anise, lightly toasted in a dry pan for 3 minutes, pounded or ground into a fine powder

1/2 cupSoy-Lime Dipping Sauce

1. Cut the chicken into 6 pieces and make 1 or 2 slashes in each piece for faster cooking. Trim and discard any excess fat. Pat the chicken dry.

2. In a bowl, combine the oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sugar, turmeric, five-spice powder and salt. Stir well to blend. Add the chicken pieces and turn several times to coat them evenly. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

3. Start a charcoal grill or preheat a gas grill to moderate heat. (You can also use a broiler.) Thirty minutes before cooking, add the freshly toasted star anise powder to the marinated chicken, turning so the meat is coated evenly.

4. Place the chicken, skin side up, on the grill. Cook 10 minutes, then turn over and grill until the chicken is cooked and the juices run clear, another 10 minutes, depending on the thickness. While grilling, move the chicken pieces around so that they cook evenly. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and serve with the dipping sauce.

Chickpea Salad with Lemon, Parmesan, and Fresh Herbs

The beauty of this basic recipe is that it can be tweaked in numerous ways. For a spicy version, add some sriracha sauce. Try swapping out the lemon juice for lime juice and use feta cheese instead of Parmesan and mix in some chopped fresh cilantro and chopped red onion or shallot. For a curried chickpea salad, leave out the Parmesan and add curry powder to taste, dried currants, sliced green onions, and shredded carrots.

2 servings

• PREP TIME: 10 minutes
• TOTAL TIME: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 15- to 15 1/2-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed, drained
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small garlic clove, pressed
• 1/3 cup (packed) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Coarse kosher salt

Preparation

• Combine rinsed and drained chickpeas, chopped fresh basil, chopped Italian parsley, fresh lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, and pressed garlic clove in medium bowl. Add grated Parmesan cheese and toss gently to blend all ingredients thoroughly. Season chickpea salad to taste with coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. DO AHEAD Chickpea salad can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Serve salad chilled or at room temperature.

The great PNW and it's food

Having been born and raised in Seattle it's kind of surprising that nothing remotely related to fish touched my lips until I hit college. My mother hated the smell, look and thought of anything seafood related. I vaguely remember eating fish sticks on Friday at my friend Julie Brown's house, but I really don't think that counts, do you? I was reeled in, hook, line and sinker by Tom Douglas and his salmon. Mr. Douglas owns a number of prominent restaurants in Seattle, and he has a line of rubs for chicken, seafood and (oh sweet angels singing) salmon.This gem of a jar has provided many glorious moments when fork hits mouth.

Rub With Love Salmon

Start with a foil boat big enough to hold your salmon, edges turned up. Slice an onion into rings and place them on the foil so your salmon is not sitting directly on the foil. Place salmon on the onion rings and coat with olive oil. Crack the precious jar of Rub With Love and coat the salmon with the rub. Place the foil boat on the grill (or in the oven) and add some wine to the boat. Grill until done. Don't overcook...if you stick a butter knife in the salmon for 10 seconds and pull it out, it should be warm. About 20 minutes per inch of thickness.

I love to serve this with Couscous with curry powder, raisins, pine nuts and green onions.

Enjoy!

Oh, and please excuse my lame pictures. Got a little work to do there!

Just for the Halibut

I think I have eaten more red meat in the last 2 weeks than maybe my entire life put together. So off I go to Costco to stock up on some lighter fare...salmon, talapia and Halibut...the King! Here is an awesome recipe that you can put together in a very short period of time. Enjoy!

Serrano/Proscuitto Wrapped Halibut - serves 4

4 ea 6-8 oz Halibut fillets

4 thin slices of proscuitto (or Serrano) ham

2 Tbs olive oil

2 C Rice cooked with turmeric or saffron (or you can be ambitious and serve risotto)

2 C mixed wild greens

1/4 C shaved parmesan

1/3 C sherry vinaigrette - recipe follows

1/4 C sherry vinegar

2 tsp minced shallots

1 tsp minced garlic

1/4 C olive oil

1 tsp chopped fresh basil

pinch of kosher salt

Combine vinegar, shallots and garlic. Slowly whisk olive oil to emulsify. Stir in salt and basil.

Preheat oven to 450. Season halibut with Johnny's or Old Bay. Choose your favorite.

Wrap with ham. Heat olive oil in a medium hot saute' pan that can go in the oven. Place presentation side down in the pan to sear. After 30 seconds flip the fillets and place the pan in the oven. Use a small pocket thermometer to test. 130 degrees in the magic temp. for medium doneness.

Serve fish on the bed of rice topped with the greens and shaved parmesan. Drizzle the vinaigrette and viola!

HELPFUL QUICK HINTS:

If you are serving this to company then I recommend the you substitute risotto. If not, and you are trying to save time use the Trader Joes frozen rice you microwave for 4 min. I also use a favorite vinaigrette that I buy at the store. It cuts down on time.

Food, glorious food!

I don't really consider myself a great cook. That would be Denise, and you all know that. But I do have the time to try to be creative about what I am serving for dinner. So while Denise toils away at her job, I decided to blog my dinner ideas. I am not promising great meals every day, or even a level of consistency with posts, but if you make the meal I am posting today I can guarantee a fabulous dinner with many compliments! Bon appetit!

Barbecue Shrimp (this is done New Orleans style)

Thaw out a big bags of frozen prawns (raw, with tails on). Rinse them and spread out in a shallow baking pan.

Combine the following ingredients in a saucepan and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes:

1 1/2 sticks butter (I didn't say it was diet food)

1/2 C olive oil

2 bay leaves

4 Tbs fresh lemon juice

2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce

4 cloves garlic minced

1 Tbs fresh parsley minced

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp oregano

2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp hot pepper sauce (tabasco)

2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup chili sauce (I use Heinz)

Pour this mixture over the prawns and refrigerate for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Preheat the oven to 300 and bake for 20-30 minutes.

It's a messy, delicious dish. Serve with a green salad (there's your diet food), and some crusty bread for soaking up the sauce.

Truly delicious. Amazingly easy!

Long time, no see...

I am shamefully delinquent on my blogging.  It isn't JUST that my computer blew up, and I lost my password, and, and, and. I think I am adjusting. Yes, that's it. Adjusting. But I jump ahead in the story.  

Rewind to June: Child graduates, goes off to college, and as the dust settles (literally, in the case of her bedroom) and the house gets quieter, a sudden drop into that pond of stillness sets off a ripple effect: What now?

Many of you  know my propensity for denial. You may recall, it was a good two years after moving to sunny Southern California that I realized I wasn't just on an extended vacation. What? We MOVED? So when Child packed her bags and walked out the door I was busy humming a happy tune and preparing dinner for three. Three months and twenty pounds later my head snapped up from my meal preparation. 

What? She MOVED?

So while some were well into dealing with their empty nest I had just begun.

Such a simple question, but the ramifications are profound. It is not just "what now?" but "who are you now?".  All those years of chauffeuring, catering, nursing, cajoling ground to a screeching halt. Time to redefine, polish, and hone the new me.

So the sun rises on a new chapter in life. Wish me luck.

Surf's Up

I have written and rewritten this particular update more times than I can count. I don't know how to turn a clever phrase to tell this story. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.





This is Kaiden. She just turned four last week....something that we are more grateful for than you can imagine. We met Kaiden about a year ago at a mutual friend's house. Kaiden was diagnosed with neuroblastoma (cancer) in May and has gone through a whirlwind of treatments since then. She begins her 4th round of chemo today. She had surgery over a week ago where they removed an 11" tumor from her little baby belly that weighed in at 4 lbs. They also took her adrenal gland, part of her liver and diaphragm. She's had her stem cells taken so they can replace them later, after the chemo. I get a lump in my throat when I look at this picture...one of my favorites. She is actually getting a blood transfusion as she rides this thing down the hallway with a smile on her face.


I am connected to this family in a strange way. We share mutual friends and I now work part time for Chad, Kaiden's dad. The pressure on this family, and their friends, is tremendous. They struggle with anxiety, fear and the need to stay positive when the statistics are staggering. And it is not just an emotional war...the financial impact has been daunting. But my intention here is not to pass on to you all the sadness of this situation, but to share a lesson that Chad taught me today. Chad stated that though this experience he wishes he could impart to both his children what he has learned about life:


Do whatever makes you happy as much and as often as you can, because when the bad stuff happens you really don't wish that you'd spent more time doing things that don't really matter. Chad would love to pick up a surfboard and hit the waves...that would bring him joy. Right now his focus is on holding it all together.


Please take a moment to send a positive thought or prayer their way. And do something that makes you happy...right now. Really.


To learn more about Kaiden or to donate to her cause please visit:

http://www.carepages.com/carepages/KaidenEvans/updates

Rewind

Sometimes I wish there was a "pause" button to life. Those moments you want to last for more than a fleeting second...better yet, how about that "rewind" button? Hmmmm...

Graduation brings a certain amount of chores to it. I am not sure this is used as a way to distract the parent from the imminent departure of the bird from the nest, or if it's a money-making scheme that our society has developed. A little of both, to be sure. Be that as it may, I was digging around looking for the appropriate baby picture of Lisi (not me??) for the Band Banquet slide show. This is always dangerous ground. I start with the best intention of trying to find a simple picture, and I get caught up in reliving the past! "Oh how cute!" "Remember when?" My quick task becomes a walk back in time!

Rewind to the first bath I gave her...Baby's First Year book open to the "how to give your baby a bath" section and propped in the recipe holder. All the proper stuff lined up on the counter...wash cloth, gentle soap, a towel with a little hood on it...all of this documented with bad photography.

Rewind to her first day of school (see previous posts for pic). Standing on the front porch of our home in Snohomish, backpack ready, lunchbox in hand. Very determined face.

Rewind to the first time she broke her arm. Then the second time. Then the third time.

Rewind to numerous trips and vacations together.

Or how about we rewind to moving to Southern California? Just a little life change.

Pretty soon the simple task of finding a picture has taken on a life of it's own and I have completely lost track of my day. A day that I have with my daughter here in my house, sitting in the next room.

Maybe I'll just push the "pause" button and go be with her.

The Commune

I've always wanted to live in a commune. I picture warm kitchen scenes where we are all drinking wine (ok, it would be dinnertime, not breakfast) and creating delicious, healthy meals. Everybody pitching in and helping wherever the need is...repairs, planting the organic garden. Stimulating conversations, NPR on the radio...sigh. Then I realize that apart from having people in the same house all day, we pretty much have this.

I reflect back to Anne B who called me the day she heard I was sick and said "Bring a pot to your front door", which I did. She met me there, poured the roasted veggie chicken soup from her pot to mine (so I wouldn't have to wash and return her pot). The memory of that soup still makes me salivate. Then there is Marty, who helped nail some board back onto my cupboards...I probably could have done it, but it really was more complicated, and involved laying on the ground nailing upside down. Awkward. Or the other day when I put our Sunday New York Times in a bag after reading it and left it on Tim and Suzanne's doorstep. I came home later to see the same bag on my doorstep with the LA Times in it. Smile. There have been too many dinners at the Macaluso's with friends to mention, and as many last minute calls for help picking up kids from school. I love this place. My happy place.

Oh, and the organic garden!! We had someone else plant it! Hahaha! Really! A group of nine families pitched in to join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in Camarillo called the McGrath Farms. We paid for a "season" of 15 weeks, and every Tuesday one of the families will drive to the Farm to pick up nine boxes packed with organic produce. The boxes are then dropped by the Mead's house, where we can pick them up at our leisure. We support our local farmer and we get the most amazing box of veggies, strawberries and herbs...sometimes even flowers!

So, I won't go into detailed discussion about the word community being a form of commune. Let's just say we feel pretty lucky to be here.

The College Search

Yes, it's true! She is wearing the "Reed College" sweatshirt! After a trip to Oregon last week, which included a day with "Reedies" she was ready to drink the KoolAide. She attended an African American Literature class and experienced the Reed way of teaching: The professor makes a comment and the class (ratio of 12-1) has stimulating conversation, all around the same table. They teach them how to think, rather than lecture. She feels this style best suits her, so Reed it is.

It's a good feeling to have the choice made. Now on to trying to motivate her to finish up this year!

Just a little taste

I have been meaning to change my blog for a while now, but my "Cheap Eats and Great Beaches" was a wash, what with the winter storm that hit Kauai about the same time we did.
I do have plans to write up the food aspect still, but for now you will just have to sample a little "taste" of our Drumline show. This season's show is titled Balance. The music is great and the performances are even better. I am adding this clip of a warm-up at a recent competition. No marching in it, because that is to follow. You'll notice Lisi front and center on the Tenors (the drums with 5 drumheads). Cool beans.

Little Lessons

It's Sunday in Thousand Oaks. Not only is it Sunday, but it is the afternoon, which means church is out. I should know better, but off I go to Trader Joe's for wine and milk. After circling the parking lot impatiently, I settle for a spot far, far away and make my way past today's charity cup holder at the entrance. You know them...you give a few times, then start to wonder...do they just go home and crack the can open, laughing all the way? Do I sound cynical?
The lines are as long as the day before Thanksgiving. Seriously. I greet a few friends, grab my few items and settle in to the "express" lane.
Then a baby cries and the woman standing one lane over offers to hold her. The mom hands her over and the baby settles down. Wow. What IS this place? Then an older gentleman behind me offers to take my basket in his cart. I accept, mostly because I feel like he would feel good about himself. We get to talking and he tells me he was born and raised in LA. Traveled a bit during WWII (Navy) and I ask about kids. He had two sons who have both passed away, and he goes on to tell me his daughter was a raging alcoholic until two years ago. Now she helps others on the journey to sobriety (I move my wine under the chocolate chips). No grandkids. Tells me he turned 90 last week and he and his daughter are the only left in his entire family. Then he goes on to tell me he feels so fortunate. He says he has a great daughter who is such a strong person, and he can still walk to TJs to shop. After I check out I turn back to him to say goodbye and he gives me a hug and a peck on the cheek.
As I leave I toss a couple coins in the can and feel an ache in my heart. Sometimes life feels so poignant. We are so lucky.

New Family Additions!

There has been a lot of debate this week about people adding to their already large families. I have my own philosophies on that subject, and since this is MY blog I will say I think adding 8 kids to a family of 6 is just a little, hmmmm..... sick? Ya. That's the word. Not that I am opinionated.

Then I thought I would share my own dark, little secret...we have added two new members to OUR little family.

Time to share...

We got this little gizmo, thanks to the recommendations of our cool neighbors Tim and Suzanne. It is an aerator that actually decants wine by the glass. You hold it over your glass, pour the wine in it, and as the liquid goes down, air from 2 little holes on the side is drawn in and oxygenates the wine. It really works. We did a test....VERY scientific. It is available from BevMo for about $40 and I love it. There. I said it.

Our next little addition is a fitness "program" called the P90X. Perhaps you have seen the infomercial? It lures you in with REAL people telling REAL stories of REAL fitness. I mean really...look at those arms! (not mine, btw) In the package are 13 dvds of various exercises. One day is Arms and Back, where you do an impossible number of push ups (who knew there were so many ways to do a push up?) and pull ups (omg, I hurt). Each day is about one hour of torture. Yesterday I did Kenpo (look it up) and one day was Plyometrics (you'll get used to my new big, sporty language). And let's not forget the hour and a half of Yoga. I almost cried. But now look what I can do:

I go from a push up into this yoga pose, then back down for another push up. Wow.

Truthfully, I have to say I don't look that different yet (from my mouth to God's ear) but I feel soooooo much better. I can leap, jump, squat, throw, and balance better than I have in years!

So it is only a couple new additions...sometimes quality is better than quantity.

Whew!

Well, we have had our share of big winds this week! Some serious Santa Ana's bringing hot temperatures and leaves in my pool....but the biggest wind blew through this house this last weekend! Lisi turned 17 on Friday...whoosh! 17 years since that child was placed in our arms. Are you joking? Don't you hear "Fiddler on the Roof" now? Sunrise, sunset.

Saturday was the Senior Ball. Not the biggest event for Lisi. The location was over an hour away, they freak dance, the food is just so-so. Lots of cons, but she decided to take out the sewing machine and whip out a little black dress and now needed somewhere to wear it! TaDa! I think it took her about an hour to make. No pattern. We know that she did not get this talent from us.

Then Sunday night she decided to invite about a zillion of her closest friends to her birthday party here at our home. It was a great blend of Band and non-Band people. They laughed, danced, played foosball and the piano, sang, and talked. They have so much to say! They blew into our house, ate all we had and left MNMs and cups all over. A tornado of fun. The absolute hit was the cake that my friend Lauren Piper made. She designed it to look like the tenor drums Lisi plays! Including drumsticks with gum drops on the ends! (she always has been an overachiever! It tasted fantastic too.)

The winds are calming down now...we might even get some rain this week (10% chance..hahaha). Time for me to clean up around here.

Milestones

It's a big week at the B2 home front...Lisi got her driver's license on Monday (happy dance) and she turns 17 on Friday! It's all good. Often Band students end up getting their licenses a little later than other students...we think it has something to do with their schedules. Lisi is a good example...she leaves for school at 6:40am and during the Fall Marching season she doesn't finish until 6:00pm at the earliest. That can put a cramp in any extracurricular activities. But now we are celebrating her new freedom and letting her take the car. Here are a couple of pics I took while hiding in the bushes. I will spare you the story of the scary-driver-test-lady. Don't we ALL share that same story?

And a pic of the little-little at Drumline Camp last weekend.

Bummer, and the mean mean English

So the little white paper came in the mail today and broke our daughter's heart. Rejection sucks. I thought about sending back my Cambridge sweatshirt, but it's a really nice one. Oh well. So I fell back on my Jewish cliches and started spouting off "When God closes a door He opens a window", and other such dribble. The bottom line is life is kind of like that: doors opening and closing all the time. I often wonder where I would be if I hadn't played soccer, or the violin, or if my sister hadn't gotten pregnant with Lisi....Wow! Life would be so different...(WHAT? Not the Band Booster President????!) Enough about me (hahaha). She will be better than fine, because she is a spectacular person. and now we get to check out what's behind door number 2 (and 3 and 4 and...you know what I mean). Thanks for being such supportive people for her.

Sitting still

OK, so this is on my list of things I could improve on: sitting still. That goes along with waiting, being patient, staying calm and a whole host of similar (note: boring) actions. So, for the New Year, fate (or Cambridge) has decided to help me improve on my skills in these areas. We wait patiently for any word and hear none. We make a pact to check emails and websites NO MORE THAN once a day. And I thought my fitness program was hard! Ha! I practice nonchalance...I really think I have it down until I see "one new message" pop up.
There is room for growth.

More from Lisi

Denise and Lisi just arrived in the Netherlands. Here is the ditty she wrote about her interview:
LE INTERVIEW!
I was very, very nervous the morning of, so to calm my nerves, I listened to some Fratellis and then Lily Allen while dancing around madly to get in the English spirit! Denise and I headed to Queens’ College in the icy midday weather. Once we arrived at the office for Queens’ (which, ironically, is the smallest and least-imposing of all the Colleges of Cambridge – of course I pick the one college that looks like it could have been Anne Boleyn’s summer cottage), I met a nice English girl and we headed up to the group meeting room, but not until Denise could snap a photo of me all dolled up. In the group room, I chatted a bit with some very nice kids: one girl from Pakistan, one from another part of England, and a guy originally from New York but living in Denmark. He was actually sort of a creeper. Oh well.
So, at about 2:50, all four of us headed up to the top floor of the Cripps building, which houses the classrooms for the college, to take a written test. About ten or twelve of us were there in total, with only two guys out of the lot, which amused us all. Before the proctor arrived, we all chatted a little and the other interviewees, once they found out I was from California, asked me if I was jet-lagged, et cetera.
Once the proctor arrived, we took our written exam, a nice little essay about a 17th-century poem, ‘The Mower’s Song’, which I tried to spice up with lots of punchy adjectives and the like. After we finished the essay, I bolted out of the building and literally ran (or as much as I could in the world’s most painful flats. Aren’t flats supposed to be comfortable?) to the Fisher Building, where my interview was scheduled.
I was a little shaky with nervousness before they called me in, and the professor who opened the door offered his hand to me, which I of course, in my idiocy, took as a sign that he wanted to see my confirmation paper. He of course jovially replied “Well, I was going to shake your hand.” Ah, I knew I couldn’t get through the interview without making an ass of myself at least once, so that was out of the way.
The two kind professors (both men, one around 50ish and the other late 30s) proceeded to jump right in to the questions, asking me the literature I was familiar with and then the poetry. Our subjects began with the Beats, ranged to Whitman, Steinbeck, segued to Shakespeare, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and then to a poem entitled “Break, break, break”, which we explicated in depth. Then, it was all over! They seemed pleased with my answers – and I felt absolutely overjoyed with the in-depth, intellectual, free-flowing conversation I’d just had. Because that’s what it felt like – a conversation. Good times.

Mind boggling

Remember the story of the kid, Alex, who lost his father in the train crash? Their house caught on fire this morning. They all got out and, although they had some smoke inhalation, they will be fine. The garage and all that was in it, is totaled, but the rest of the house survived with smoke damage. They can't get back in for a while, so they are going to be living at another Band family's house.
I am trying to coordinate how people can help. Some are making meals, some are donating gift cards to clothing stores. I am putting together a toiletries package.
One thing I am certain of: We don't have a band aid big enough for the real damage.

Lisi in London

ok, so she's not really in London, but it sounded so phonetically phun!
Our celebrity blogger of the day is Lisi:

Mommy! Hi! Everything is going amazing – the flight was great and smooth, but a little bumpy on landing. We got driven from the airport in a wonderful and spacious mini-limo-like-car and got to see the wonderful English countryside! It’s SO beautiful, and Denise and I were trying to decide what it looks like most – it’s a combination of Vancouver, Olympia, and the drive between Portland and Eugene. Except there are much cooler road signs! And the roundabouts are really fun – we need some of those in the US. We got to the hotel, and Cambridge is WAY cooler than I could have imagined! It’s such a big city – it’s way bigger than I thought, there are tons, TONS, of shops, bars, coffee places, restaurants, and stores. We walked around the corner and down the block from the hotel in the freezing (and I mean, literally near freezing, around 40 degrees) cold and had a very early but 2-hour dinner at Zizzi’s. We had DELICIOUS food – this garlic bread with cheese and balsamic caramelized onions, and then D had a seafood risotto and I had a delicious olive-oil soaked pizza margherita. Then we finished it off with a chocolate mousse cake… perfect! We’re in the hotel now and are going to hopefully watch a movie. Tomorrow, we head out to explore the city and check out the museums, then try and find the infamous River Cam! You would love it so much – at dinner we were lamenting the fact that you aren’t here. We miss you already and we’ll keep you updated. Check your Facebook just in case. I love you so, so much and I’ll take loads of pictures. <3 Love, ABB!