Weekly Roundup

Wednesday was Kate's birthday. In the evening we went to a lecture at the MAC on archeology in Greece, specifically the Isle of Lesbos. It seemed fitting. Erik joined us, and afterward we had a lovely dinner, but not before playing with the MAC sculptures.

Thursday, Kate and I spent some time at the Flour Mill, where I bought some fossils from which I intend to make jewelry, then went for a relaxing stroll through the rain(it had been sunny less than an hour before we left the Flour Mill...).

Of course, no stroll through Riverfront Park is complete without riding the carousel.

Or playing with the trash-eating goat.

Friday evening I had dinner at Dr. Zukosky's house, and it was the first time I had seen Karalygash or Ziya since leaving Urumqi. Ziya has gotten so big! And better at sharing:

Chaz heard about a nice cheese shop downtown, so we decided to check it out this afternoon.

They have a fantastic selection, and we had a sample plate of three: Humboldt Fog, Smoked Bleu, and a hard goat cheese whose name I can't recall.

The Humboldt was a soft goat cheese with a layer of ash running through it that was mild at first bite, but intensified. The Smoked Bleu was my favorite, and I think I may go back to purchase a few ounces for use in salads. The hard goat cheese was good, in my opinion, but Chaz found it too strong.

We were brought a bonus sample of a Stilton that tasted in Chaz's words "like a hot spring." It did have a slightly sulfuric flavor. To me it tasted like licking a cave wall, I feel like I now know what that phosphorescent fungus that grows inside caves tastes like.

We both want to try more cheese, so we're thinking about taking one of their wine/cheese pairing classes. Although I'm allergic to wine. Maybe I can sneak in some scotch...

We were still in a mood to expand our horizons, so we went to a soda shop which was regrettably closed. Instead we found ourselves at Spokane Art Supplies, where I purchased a pysanky kit. I've always wanted to try it, I'd love to have a Christmas tree decorated solely with pysanky(fun fact: the singular form is pysanka).

After that, we went to Riverfront Park, as it had become a rather beautiful day. I told earlier Chaz about Kenneth Spiering supposedly putting the phrase "Transend the Bullshit" on his sculptures for the city(there was a print on the wall in the art store with the phrase), and about how one day Morgan and I went looking for it and actually found it on one of his pieces:

Chaz thought maybe it would be on the other figure as well. It was not, at least not that we could see.

We spent the evening playing pool with his friend, Peter. In an interesting turn of events that brings a nice symmetry to the day and this blog post, Peter made the a-frame sign for Saunder's, the cheese shop, as seen above. Why he decided to keep the fact that Spokane has a nice cheese shop to himself remains a mystery.

I haven't played pool since high school, and even then I only played once, so this was a learning experience for me. The only times I won tonight were when they scratched and lost it for themselves. That being said, I did make some nice shots. I shall have to practice.