WANDERING...

Parking on Capitol Hill’s 15^th street, I put a generous amount of time on the meter. My appointment took only twenty minutes so I decided to wander the little neighborhood shops. I drive through the area almost weekly and have never paid much attention to the small establishments there. I’m not really a “shopper” as a result of living in a small space and not needing more ‘stuff’. I, also, don’t eat out a lot

 

There was the small Indian restaurant, The Spice Walla, that I actually had visited once before. I'd been drawn by their soft serve ice cream which they feature in monthly-changing unique flavors such as pistachio cardamom. They have limited, interesting and evolving menu items in a space with few tables. It’s more of a specialty take-out place, a place to savor Indian street food. If you’re in Seattle and like Indian dishes, I actually subscribe to their online mailings to see what dishes are featured monthly (and the deliciously changing flavors of ice cream).

 Across the street I wandered into a book shop, Ada's Technical Books and Cafe. I don't know where the 'technical' came from, it's a coffee house/lunch place/bookstore with a very inviting ambiance. I perused the cooking section that favored whole and healthy food cooking. There was The Moosewood Cookbook, a classic from the trend-initiating vegetarian restaurant founded in 1973 in Ithica, New York. It was a cookbook that had been around when I was experimenting with a more whole foods focused diet in my college days. There I was, transported back to another time, interesting what odd and sundry shop-perusing can do. In another area one of the books they were featuring was, In the Name of Women's Rights The Rise in Femlnationalism.  I was impressed, a shop featuring a book on an area of my interest, a more serious take on Feminist thought. I plan to revisit this place and linger longer enjoying coffee or lunch there some day.

My next stop was the Rainbow Natural Remedies store. A good-sized store focused on traditional herbal and modern naturopathic medicines, homeopathy, herbs, tinctures, vitamins, etc. I wandered around enjoying the familiar, but rarely experienced, aroma of that type of establishment from candles or incense burning. The olfactory sense, your nose, is the strongest memory trigger, and in this store I was transported back to college days and my more holistic food etc. era. The very early Puget Sound Consumer Coop I visited when first in Seattle had a "natural food store aroma" that transported me, as well… There I was, once again in the small, rustic shop called, The Good Food Store, that I frequented when finishing college while living alone in a trailer after an early divorce. I took whole food classes, and even carried with me one recipe that I learned then, enjoyed to this day, a split pea soup with pearled barley....I left the Rainbow Natural Remedies store with some incense sticks, pleased to be reminded that I enjoy creating a sensory dimension to my living space.

(On the subject of whole foods and other times, and before my shop wandering that day, I was chatting over coffee with a new gal at the Wallingford Senior Center where I exercise and lead a writing class. The subject of food came up and she mentioned having bought the Moosewood Cookbook ‘back in the day’. (Wow, serendipity, twice in one day.) I laughed, “that was the era of another whole foods classic,” I said, “Diet for a Small Planet”. Our food-focused talking led us to the classic Greek dish, Spanakopita. We both lovingly wrestle with the Philo dough and make those spinach/onion/Feta cheese-filled treats. My ethnic food experimenting, though, is a whole other subject to share about someday.)

Next, I stopped at the Red Balloon Store which features an eclectic mix of odd and interesting things. They actually stock a long-time favorite using and gifting item of mine, The Unbelievable Bubble Book and wand. It's a fun gift for adults or kids that lets you make huge, walk-inside sized, bubbles. They also had a complete inventory of Jelly Belly brand jelly beans. Wow, I love the Buttered Popcorn flavor and you can buy each flavor separately there. Treating myself to a large handful, I munched as I passed another small bookstore and consignment shop both, alas, not open on Monday’s. I’ll make it a point to stop back.

It was good for my psyche and my senses to wander those shops that day. If you’re up on 15th, in another part of Seattle or, in an area in your town that you’ve been whizzing by unaware of its unique small shops, I encourage you to treat yourself to some wandering one day, it’s amazing what gems they may hold and the memories to which they may return you.