The fall season has settled in. Shorter, rainy days; wearing our fleece jackets; munching on pumpkin scones; sipping eggnog lattes; watching new reality television shows and attending all those holiday parties. This translates into the average Amer-ican gaining one to two pounds of bodyfat (but sometimes up to 10) by New Year's Day! Gaining one to two pounds year after year can really add up to a serious health problem.Basically, weight gain is about energy in and energy out. We take in energy by consuming food and expend energy through physical activity. Physical activity and diet should balance each other out; an imbalance can result in weight gain.
Wine, which has arguably been around since Neolithic times, is enjoying a current surge of popularity in our country. According to a Gallup Poll, wine eclipsed beer as the alcoholic beverage of choice for the majority of Americans in 2005, and a study commissioned by this year's Vinexpo Bordeaux wine fair determined that the United States will be the world's top consumer of wine by 2008. An increase in local wineries, improvement in the quality and variety of wines in general, and pop-culture references such as the wine-obsessed film "Sideways" reinforce its standing as the drink of the moment.So where does this leave the average wine consumer? In many cases the answer is "confused," and selecting a bottle of wine from a retail establishment can be as tricky as taking a pop quiz. First there is the fairly straightforward question of white or red, which is generally accompanied by a price consideration. But more difficult posers follow: What grape (or grapes) is the wine derived from? Should I choose a Northwest producer, Californian or something European? How do I decide on a "brand"/winery (rather than just grabbing the bottle with the coolest label)? And, most impossibly, the combination question: How to determine a "good" year for a particular grape from a particular vineyard in a particular region of a particular country?Happily, there's a cheat sheet for all these questions and more. It comes in the form of a phenomenal little wine shop sitting right in our midst. I'm hardly alone in my admiration of McCarthy & Schiering Wine Merchants; there are many who consider this neighborhood wine retailer one of the foremost in the city, if not the country. GQ magazine hailed it in 2004 as one of the "50 best wine stores in America" and one of the "top 10 small specialty shops featuring wines from Piedmont and Tuscany."
It's no secret that yoga tones the body, calms the mind and may even lead to enlightenment.But did you know that yoga actually alleviates pain in pregnant women and helps facilitate the birthing process?"Yoga isn't just the stretching," explains Elizabeth Sumption, a yoga practitioner for more than eight years and teacher of the new prenatal yoga series at Yogalife on top of Queen Anne. "It is so much more than that. Yoga is finding your true self."And what better time to do that than when you're pregnant?This afternoon there are yoga mats on the floor, Tibetan chants in the air and a roomful of women with that special "glow" and a bump on their belly. It is the second day of prenatal yoga classes at the facility above Orrapin restaurant, and the mothers-to-be are preparing to stretch.Sumption, who trained with Seattle-based prenatal yoga expert Collette Crawford, guides the women in an emotional and physical check-in.
It is early, it is Monday and the city is draped in stay-in-bed, don't-want-to-go-to-work fog. Yet there is laughter coming out of The Grinder - a coffee spot on Dravus just off Nickerson, next door to the original Zeek's Pizza - and for many on this misty day there is no place that they would rather be."I always feel like I start my day with a special lift," says a regular customer describing Kristin Wilhite, owner and operator of The Grinder, and the reason that she consistently comes here for her morning coffee. "She is always gracious and warm when I come in."Most, if not all, of Wilhite's customers share those sentiments, and it's no wonder that on Tuesday, Nov. 1, Wilhite celebrates 10 years of brightening people's days with caffeine and a kind smile. In honor of her anniversary recently, Wilhite had done drawings for gift baskets, free coffee, mugs, sample-size syrups and a few surprises."I really enjoy people," says Wilhite, describing what she appreciates most about her job.
MOSUL, Iraq - We walked into the polling site and the guards, both Iraqi army and police, waved us in. Ibon, a journalist with Reuters, asked in Arabic if we could hang out for the next hour. It was 7:45 a.m. and the polling site still wasn't open. The line outside was growing more restless.I was anxious to see this vote happen because a few months ago, during the Jan. 30 election, this was impossible for me to see up close. What would happen in the next few days would be even more important.The run-up to the referendum was plagued with calls from Sunni Arabs to boycott, calls from Shias and Kurds to vote and everyone saying Iraq's constitution would pass no matter what.Well, the constitution would pass, and the Sunnis did vote despite the threats against them from other Sunnis if they did.I dropped off my body armor and took my cameras outside to the long lines. I watched at first to gauge the people's reaction. Tall gringos with red beards and long hair (long for me anyway) are not a common sight around here. I started making a few photos, and people became friendlier.
Thanksgiving is almost here, and with it comes one of those traumatizing times for us menfolk - namely, carving the turkey.What's the big deal, you ask? All you've got to do is take a knife and hack the thing into bite-sized chunks.That might be suitable when it's just you at home alone and all we're talking about is fending off a mild case of starvation. But on Thanksgiving you usually can't get away with something that simple.Thanksgiving is the traditional family feast day, and if everybody's at your house, that means you might have a grandparent or two, some parents and at least a few uncles and aunts gathered around. And, like it or not, you, dear Bunkie, are on display.So, when the turkey comes out of the oven, all golden brown and fragrant, it's up to you to get it reduced to appealing, individual servings.
Photos, photos, photos - books, drawers and boxes full of photos. I delve into them when I have an urge to recall the days of yore. It's a pleasure, though sometimes a bitter sweet pleasure, but...The other day I came upon an equally pleasant. and much easier occupation to trigger memory. Not only that, it caused tears of laughter streaming down my cheeks. Dear daughter phoned to ask if I had a recipe for my gingerbread. I said Duncan Hines made the basics. I just broke an egg or two. Afterward I realized I did indeed have a recipe that had been the source of gingerbread cookies and cakes for many years.I opened my mother-in-law's Joy of Cooking, so tattered, losing its binding and covered with deliciously grubby fingerprints, and checked the recipe there. That wasn't the one. Must be my personal choice.I got my stool and reached up to a very tall shelf where my recipe box was stored. My box was a very old file cardholder the size of a large shoebox made of solid walnut weighing several pounds. It came without too much damage to it or me.I settled down to go through the box shortly after noon and came up for air four hours later, having traveled back in time at least 50 years. Times and gourmet cooking do change.
Welcome to your "smart" kitchen: Your oven mitt tells you if your casserole is cooked all the way through, and if not, it then tells you to put the food back in the oven-and for how long. Your "smart" refrigerator can tell you with 80 percent accuracy what's sitting on its shelves. And if you have tomatoes, an onion and some pasta, it will also suggest that you make spaghetti for dinner. Or, imagine waking up in the morning, your window blinds slowly rise and your lamps adjust perfectly. Freshly brewed coffee awaits you, along with just-baked muffins from your microwave. Sound a little out of this world? Well, maybe right now, but not for long because a home with a high IQ isn't as far away as you might think.
On a crisp afternoon in early October, Madrona residents were greeted with more than just low prices at the Madrona Grocery Outlet. Madrona K-8 school students, parents, guardians and teachers offered hot dogs in exchange for a donation to benefit the school. Madrona K-8 raised $550, which the Outlet matched. The Outlet also donated food and utensils. "You give a customer a hot dog and a pop and that's really neat. You're doing something for the community," said Steve Mullen, operator of Madrona Grocery Outlet. Helping the community is an important part of Mullen's business philosophy. Helping students succeed academically is the school's purpose.
It happens about the same time every day. You can be diligently working at the office, trapped in bumper-to-bumper traffic driving a carpool or helping your kids with their homework after school. Yes, 4 p.m. is about the right time when the thought of what to make for dinner looms like a huge question mark. If this sounds familiar, you are among the 70 percent of Americans who do not know what they are going to cook for dinner at this time of the day. Okay, I admit, depending on my mood, I do like to take the easy way out. There are many times when this is the best option, given limited time circumstances or lack of enthusiasm. But it is hard to argue the benefit of a good, home-cooked meal.
In August of 1957 I finally finished 20 plus weeks of basic training and was at long last assigned a permanent duty station at Fort Ord, Calif., near Carmel.A couple buddies and I were on our way to do lunch one day. I imagined biting into a soft French roll split in half piled high with very rare slices of baron of beef dunked into a cup of au jus sauce. This dream was completely shattered as I tasted that 1948 K Ration, Spam and its stale accouterments. The dessert section of our tray included delicious Royal Ann cherries and since we were dining al fresco, a swarm of yellow jackets decided it was their favorite, too. The trick was to scoop the cherries onto the spoon and after checking very closely, take a bite. Ah yes, lunch was a good time.
Wednesday, Oct. 26, broke clear and quiet in Madison Park - unless you count the sound and sight of a tractor tearing up the sidewalk in front of the Red Onion."It's not been 10 years and here we are," noted the city's Liz Ellis of SDOT Urban Forestry, referring to the last time this section of the sidewalk had undergone major repairs in 1998.Ten lyrical sweet gum trees, living up to their reputation as proficient sidewalk-bucklers, were the culprits. Starting in late September the trees, planted in 1977, were taken down in two stages along a portion of the 4200 block of East Madison Street.The trees had buckled the sidewalk enough to cause an alarming roll call of pedestrian injuries, including broken teeth, broken limbs and a broken back.
They come to Madison Park and Madison Valley, Madrona and Leschi to build our homes and landscape our yards. Farther afield, they harvest the produce we find in our grocery aisles.Migrant labor fuels our economy in Seattle and across the country, yet these 13 million workers, the majority traveling from Latin America, though visible in our lives, remain largely a statistic.
You know, I realized once again, after my recent visit to Cincinnati, that nobody loves ya like family. But the reverse is also true: Except for psychotics and romantic exes, nobody is as tough on ya as family. Well, in a national sense, America is my extended family and all of you who share this ground, at this time, are my distant relatives, like it or not. A friend who has followed what I often laughingly call my writing career asked me a slightly pointed question the other day that started me thinking.Her question was, "Why have you, the most apolitical person I've ever known, become such a Bush basher?" I immediately - just like with family - got defensive.
We love getting thanked "in advance," for things we may or may not do. So often, at the bottoms of e-mail submissions, there is a "TIA," thanks in advance. It is always warming to be thanked, even in advance. Passing on the blessing of unwarranted thanks this Thanksgiving season, we thought we would thank a few people in advance for making certain "lifestyle" changes that we know would make them, and us, much happier.To George W. Bush: Mr. President, we thank you in advance for informing your gang of yes people that from now on things are going to be different. First, you will bring competing viewpoints to the table. Second, those who question the plan will not be vilified, leaked-upon, or otherwise eviscerated. That's the point of living in a democracy, right? In fact, a good place to start is to borrow from Napoleon's dictum: Good news can wait. Wake me up only with the bad news. Of course your aides should knock first. You can thank them in advance for that.