Seattle 154, or Farewells: The Beginning

My bags are not packed. I'm not even close to ready to go. My room is full of unpacked boxes and unsold furniture (anybody need a desk?), and to top it off, I've contracted the currently-in-circulation Death Cold. I blame Secret Agent Lover Man's preschoolers, or perhaps one or more of my Beloved Housemates.

But. Even in the midst of chaos and wet handkerchiefs, there is music. And poetry. There is art, because the final Kibbutz Coffeehouse was last night. And oh boy, was it terrific. It started with my homemade dinner - which did not involve me! I invited a Brigade of Extraordinary And Exceedingly Handsome Gentlemen to do all the cooking while I sat out of the kitchen, swallowed cold medicine, slurped tea and called out instructions about how to julienne the greens, and how finely to chop the garlic.

The resultant menu?

- Pasta with garlic butter and sauteed greens

- Warm beet salad with tahini-lemon dressing

- Balsamic-roasted carrots

- Cocounut-red-curry sunchoke gratin

- Stewed black beans with garlic and tomatoes

- Homemade whole wheat bread

- Thick, fudgy brownies with dried cherries and caramel sauce

Doesn't that sound fantastic? Too bad it all got eaten before I could sneak any pictures!

The Coffeehouse itself was wonderful; we had two chamber trios, a quintet from the Seattle Jewish Chorale (including me!), Oscar the poet, Diana the prose writer (Yes, YVLM, *that* Diana), Ben and Irina the singers/guitar players, Mai Li the musician, a solo from Joel (see photo), and two sets of poems from me, tissue box in hand.

We had close to 50 people in attendance, packing sweet ol' Gimel. And everyone loved it - newbies and veterans alike.

And so begins the au revoir to Seattle...