I walked past this truck at Second and Pike on Monday and did a double-take. Eric was intrigued too when I showed him a photo later, and we went back to in­ves­ti­gate yesterday.

They only opened a few weeks ago. As yet, the menu is limited. The Maximus is a pulled pork sandwich with a hot sauce, while the Minimus has a tangy sauce. They have a vegetarian sandwich, chips made from potatoes and vegetables, and hibiscus and ginger lemonades.

I don't much care for barbecue as a rule. The Minimus with a sprinkling of Beecher's cheese was good, but not out­stand­ing. The pork was flavorful and not over­whelmed by the …continue.

Kubota Garden is a little-known gem in the Rainier Beach area of south Seattle. Twenty acres of hills and valleys in a Japanese style.

Emma and I met Lyndol down there this morning and rambled through the garden for two hours. It was a fine, overcast day, with tem­per­a­tures in the low 60s and occasional driz­zle—and a pleasant relief from the record heat of earlier this week. I had visited there before: it's at the far end of the Chief Sealth bicycle trail. Lyn had too, but it was Emma's first visit.

The gate was locked when we arrived at 10:30, though the sign proclaimed that it was open …continue.

We've had record heat in Seattle for the last two days. It hit 91°F today.

If I wanted to live in Arizona, I'd live in Arizona.

For many years, I ignored the freeway sign for the Rhodo­den­dron Garden at exit 143 on I-5. Five or six years ago, I visited the Rhody Garden and I've gone back every spring since.

It's worth visiting at any time of year, but from March to May or June, it's in bloom. Twenty-two acres of rhodo­den­drons, azaleas, ferns, and other flowers, near the Wey­er­hauser head­quar­ters in Federal Way, Washington. There's a bonsai garden next door—un­for­tu­nate­ly now closed to the public. As you stroll along the shaded hilly paths, you can almost make believe that the constant traffic noise from the nearby freeway is running water.

Rhodies come in all shapes, colors, and …continue.

I took today off and headed north to the Skagit Valley with Emma and Lyndol to see the tulips. It was a glorious spring day, sunny, not too warm, a light breeze. The tulip fields were busy for a weekday; they're completely overrun at the weekends.

We wandered around Tulip Town for an hour, had lunch in La Conner, and headed back to Seattle via Camano Island.

We had intended to take Chuckanut Drive up to Fairhaven, but Emma wasn't feeling well. Some other time. Chuckanut Drive is pretty year round; the tulips are good only for another couple of weeks.

More photos at Flickr.

Our neigh­bor­hood was built in spurts. The brick Tudors, like ours, were built in the 1930s. The houses adjoining mine were built in the years after World War II.

There's a house for sale a few doors down that's very like ours. We snooped around on Sunday during the open house.

Our house was built in 1931; the other, the year before. Ours is slightly deeper, but the floor plans are very similar. Theirs has no eye­catch­ing yellow brick trim. Our kitchen was remodeled in the sixties, taking over part of the next room. Theirs never was and it's tiny. Our basement is half finished and it had a bathroom added …continue.

This is, by far, the snowiest winter that I've ever ex­pe­ri­enced in Seat­tle—and I was in Ireland for the worst two weeks.

At least the snow that came down yesterday and today didn't stick.

There's a little-known special election coming up on February 3rd for the new elective position of Director of Elections for King County.

I recommend that you vote for Sherril Huff, and so do the Seattle Times and the Stranger. Everyone else in the race is un­qual­i­fied.

I mentioned recently that the #39 route is closing, which would leave me without a direct connection to downtown Seattle. The new #50 route would run along 15th Ave S, two blocks from my house, to the Lander St Light Rail station in SoDo.

We attended the Metro Open House at the Jefferson Community Center this evening.

My concerns are slightly assuaged. The new #50 should run every 15 minutes and run until about 11pm. That's better than the #39 which runs every 30 minutes until 7pm, then hourly until 9pm.

In addition, the #60, which also travels along 15th and goes past the Beacon Hill Light Rail station, would run …continue.

Salumi's has the best selection of char­cu­terie in Seattle. The range and quality of their cured meats is truly impressive. The flavor, excellent. Their counter staff, friendly and family-like. The line goes out the door.

But. But. But.

Their service is wretched. That line moves at a glacial pace. I've never taken less than 20 minutes to get a sandwich; sometimes twice that. The staff are slow and in­ef­fi­cient. Their stations are badly laid out and they have to fumble around each other in their pokey little store.

Every time I watch them at work—and I always have plenty of time to watch them work—I want to drag them over to Jimmy John's or Bakeman's. Jimmy John's …continue.