APPLESEED

I'm halfway through Appleseed by Matt Bell and it is becomingly increasingly mythic and increasingly weird. And I'm savoring every moment in its pages.

My best guess is that the connection to its three story lines will eventually emerge. In the meantime, however, I find echoes and elements that remind me of other novels. Mind you, this book is definitely its own creature, but it may share some genetic material of some sort with the following works (all of which I highly recommend).

Vurt (1993) by Jeff Noon

Autobiography of Red (1998) by Anne Carson

Tongkat/Tonguecat (1999) by Peter Verhelst

Blueprints of the Afterlife (2012) by Ryan Boudinot

Borne (2017) by Jeff VanderMeer

Metamorphica (2018) by Zachary Mason

Circe (2018) by Madeline Miller

Skyward Inn (2021) by Aliya Whiteley

PLU MEADOWS

TWT, The Wife, and The Child played a couple of nine-hole rounds of disc golf today at PLU Meadows. I put my Innova Champion Valkyrie distance driver into my bag and it was fun to play it again. It is light and really gets some distance. When it hits the grass right it will "skip" for a few extra yards.

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First round

Hole 1 / par 3 - 3
Hole 2 / par 3 - 4
Hole 3 / par 4 - 3
Hole 4 / par 3 - 4
Hole 5 / par 3 - 4
Hole 6 / par 4 - 4
Hole 7 / par 3 - 4
Hole 8 / par 4 - 3
Hole 9 / par 4 - 5
Front nine / par 31 - 34 (+3)

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Second round

Hole 1 / par 3 - 4
Hole 2 / par 3 - 4
Hole 3 / par 4 - 4
Hole 4 / par 3 - 3
Hole 5 / par 3 - 3
Hole 6 / par 4 - 4
Hole 7 / par 3 - 4
Hole 8 / par 4 - 4
Hole 9 / par 4 - 4
Front nine / par 31 - 34 (+3)

OCEAN SHORES

Pacific Ocean, Ocean Shores, Washington.

Eating breakfast at the beach.

OCEAN CITY

Sand dunes and shoreline at Ocean City State Park, Washington.

NORTH JETTY

North Jetty. Pacific Ocean, Ocean Shores, Washington.

OCEAN SHORES

Sunset. Pacific Ocean, Ocean Shores, Washington.

OCEAN CITY

Pacific Ocean, Ocean City State Park, Washington.

TACO STREET

Tacos? What tacos?

We read about the new Taco Street restaurant in the Point Ruston Public Market on the Dine Pierce County blog. (Thank you, Sue Kidd, for continuing to provide the best local food reviews!)

The Wife, The Child, and I each ordered one of the "Taco Street Plate Specials," which included four tacos of one style of meat, beans, and rice. We shared with one another, so that each of was able to try three different meat we selected—carne asada, barbacoa, and al pastor.

We took them to Dune Peninsula Park in Tacoma, found ourselves a picnic table, and had some of the best street tacos. The meats were moist and flavorful. Rice, beans, and four tacos was the perfect amount of meal without feeling like one had eaten too much.

We will definitely be returning the next time we have a hankering for street tacos, which is actually quite often!

ANCHOR STEAM

The Wife makes the best chicken piccata.

I always keep one Anchor Steam Ale in the fridge for chicken piccata night because it is the perfect beer to pair with the flavors of the capers and lemon.

Eating it outdoors on the patio was a bonus!

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I'm loving the new look on the label and bottle cap. It's a simple and effective redesign.

KREAMSICLE IPA

Enjoying a Pelican Brewing Kreamsicle Orange Zest IPA with homemade chicken tacos for dinner. Biscuity malts, light citrus bitterness, and tangerine make this an understated and enjoyable brew!