First Day of Spring

How can such a cloudy, drizzley day be the first day of spring? There are no butterflies or bees hanging around our back patio and it's only 44 degrees outside. From what I understand, we won't even get spring time weather for another month here in Seattle. That is a total bummer. 

On the other hand, that fact does give me a bit more time to plan the container garden I am going to start. Since this will be my first time growing plants to eat, I am going to start with easy crops like potatoes, zucchini, baby lettuce, peas, tomatoes and strawberries. I might throw a few herb plants out there too - like mint and lemon balm. I really need to get my on potato and pea planting. Their planting time is now! I'll keep you updated on how things go with the gardening. 

Until then, we will keep enjoying our produce from the Full Circle Farms delivery box we have signed up for. We get fresh, local, organic produce every other week delivered to our doorstep!

Above is a picture of one of our first boxes! We've been getting them since December and it is still amazingly exciting every time. It is always a lovely surprise what produce we get in our box (though you can pick & choose if you want to so it doesn't have to be a surprise). 

I love our produce box because one of my goals in life is to eat locally and this delivery allows me to do so without breaking the bank! Matt and I still run supplemental trips to the grocery store for specific produce and other grocery items but I love the seasonal produce and I keep trying new recipes because of it!

Anyway, I gotta run. More updates later.

How Darkness Came to Cuddle in My Lap: The Story of Erebus

One of my co-workers, who we shall call Bandanna Man, is the most abrasive person I have had the pleasure of working with.* He is fond of glaring at people through the expo window, grumbling about fixing the mistakes of grown-ass adults, and generally harassing everyone around him. Bandanna Man often claims that we (the servers at Olga's) should all be riding the short bus instead of bothering him with our petty problems.

One evening, the food for one of my guest's (a pepperoni pizza - a long ticket item) came out to the table all wrong. I stormed back to the kitchen with the offending pizza in hand, indignant that my guest should have to wait twice as long for their food because of a needless mistake, and shoved the plate back into the window and said, "Bandanna Man - I needed this pizza without cheese!".

"The ticket didn't say no cheese."

And as I distinctly remembered specifying "no chez plz" in the special instructions area of the order I responded with, "YES. IT DID." I was right. I knew I was right. I had to prove I was right.

"No."

"YES. IT SAID NO CHEESE. WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM? CAN YOU NOT READ? I NEED A PIZZA WITHOUT CHEESE. MY GUEST HAS A DAIRY ALLERGY. IT SAID NO CHEESE YOU JERK!!! WHY ARE YO-"

Thank goodness another co-worker dragged me away (forcibly and while I was still screeching) otherwise I would have gotten myself fired (or at least written up) because I had no kind words to utter at that moment in time.

About twenty minutes later, my guest had gotten their cheese-less pizza and my ability to think rationally had returned so I walked back to the kitchen and apologized, "Hey Bandanna Man...I'm really sorry for yelling earlier. It was kind of stupid and uncalled for."

"It's okay. I messed up your pizza on purpose." **

That was not a response I had anticipated. In fact, his response was so absurd that I couldn't do anything but laugh hysterically. Bandanna Man was so rude to me that I decided I wasn't going to talk to him anymore.

So a few nights later, when I was getting off work well past dark and Bandanna Man asked if I need someone to walk me to my car, I was too surprised to say no. I typically deny chivalrous attentions from men, especially my co-workers, because I hate the idea of being some fair maiden who needs rescuing. But Bandanna Man's ninja move got the best of me.

On our way out of the restaurant, I began some idle chit-chat and Bandanna Man began complaining about the bitter cold of early morning dog walking here. Our conversation turned to cats and whether I wanted one and how Bandanna Man's wife had saved a kitty that was abandoned behind Olga's and that they were hoping to find a good home for it.

And all I could think was please give me a kitty! I need the unconditional love and amusement of a pet in this lonely, rainy state. I called Matt to confirm that "yes" was the only answer we were capable of in this situation. Within minutes, I was driving to Bandanna Man's place to take home a half-starved, fur-matted, impossibly adorable stray cat.

Our first cat-venture, was to the vet for a check up. The kitty hadn't previously been microchipped so there was no way to track down any possible owners if she was a runaway. Weighing in at a pathetic 5 lbs, the kitty was assessed to be about 10 months old with good teeth, no incurable health issues, and a sweet tempermant. This meant she could be ours forever!

Good thing too because we had already named her for her potentially beautiful coat. Erebus - a primordial diety in Greek mythology, one that has been around since the beginning of the universe, representing the personification of darkness.

I cannot wait until Erebus has a few more weeks of TLC, because she is going to be beautiful instead of skin and bones. Her coat is going to be long, full, and shiny instead of matted and patchy. At present, Ere (pronounced "airy") spends 60% of her time sleeping, 30% eating, and 10% engaging in sweet kitten-like behavior. She gives us more cuddles and attention then most kitties I've met and I am happy to accept them while her benevolence lasts. She's been through so much and I am pleased that we'll be able to love her back to health and aristocracy.

So thank you Bandanna Man, for your abrasiveness because without it I never would have accepted your kindness and thus never gained the pleasure of cuddling with all that is darkness and shadows and night.

* Just to clarify: This anecdote including Bandanna Man, while being true, in no way fully encompasses our interactions at work or his personality. Bandanna Man is a generally good guy and sometimes a shitty customer service job can make you grumpy and crazy in ways that are very unlike you. I like all of the people I work with, Bandanna Man included. Also, I wouldn't say ugly things about my co-workers on the internet even if I did have ugly things to say.

** Bandanna Man went on to explain that when I went back to the kitchen earlier in the shift to clarify with him that the pizza needed pepperoni but no cheese, that we had miscommunicated. He thought I wanted the pizza to have both pepperoni and cheese and that's what I came back to the kitchen to clarify.

Larry & Olga's

On this beautiful and sunny (!!!) afternoon, Larry came to pay us a visit. Who is Larry you say? I am glad you asked! He is our new little bird friend. 

About a month ago, Matt and I were both wishing we had a more interactive pet. We had just returned from our family visit and there were dogs, cats, children, horses and fish to play with! Chuck Testa the fish is very pretty but he doesn't fetch or snuggle in your lap or anything that cool (although I've heard that you can teach betta fish tricks, that just seemed a little too nerdy for us). So instead of paying our $500 pet deposit to get a typical sort of pet, we spent $20 on a bird feeder and seed. 

And for the first few weeks, we didn't see or hear anything coming from our back porch. We would open the blinds every morning and forlornly stare at our bird feeder. I know sometimes it can take a few week for birds to catch on so I decided to give them some help! I scattered bird seed all over our back porch and sidewalk. And the next day, we had birdie visitors. The birds come to see us whenever the sun is shining (the birds never seem to visit when it is cloudy out and I want their cheerful chirping the most) and we kept receiving visitors until all the seed on the sidewalk was gone. 

Because I was being helpful and throwing seed on the ground, only 1 bird ever found the actual bird feeder. He was smart and chirpy and Matt named him Larry. When Larry is eating at the bird feeder, I've tried to get closer to the window to see his markings or take a picture to show you all. Larry does not like this and promptly flies away. He is a very private and skittish bird, but I am happy to have him anyway! Maybe Larry will help the other birds figure out the bird feeder situation...

From Squidoo

In other news, I have been very busy at work. Olga's was a madhouse around Valentine's day and I've worked way more than I usually do. Good for our bank account, bad for the lonely library books stacked by the couch. Working more has gone pretty well, except for the angry guest I had the other day that made me cry. The man said that he was insulted by the awful service I gave him and that I completely ruined his birthday. 

I can admit that I may have been a tad neglectful of his table (he didn't get more bread without asking and his water glass was mostly empty) but I was running around like a mad woman about 5 feet away trying to take care of my other guests (the birthday celebration of an 8 year old and her entire family and a very needy 5 top with two little kids). But it wasn't like I wasn't available if he had really needed something (he could have stopped me and asked - being a waiter does not make me a mind reader) and it wasn't as if I was messing around on my cell phone and ignoring him (I was legitimately busy as he could see! The whiney jerk).

Usually when guests are rude to me, I can just blow it off and understand that life makes everyone ugly sometimes. But the fact that this man personally insulted me and said that I ruined his birthday was just too much. How absurd! Why is it that if you work in the food service industry, people feel they are allowed to treat you like dog poop AND get a free meal for it?

On the bright side, my manager didn't ream me for the guest complaint like I thought he was going to and my coworkers spent the rest of the shift being really nice and trying to make me smile again. Some days I hate my job, but for now it pays the bills and I am content. Anyway, I am off to enjoy the sunshine while it's here and I have some free time. Have a great day!