Weekend Scenes

FEEDING TEENS: Saturday night we actually went somewhere for a couple of hours - a rarity in our pandemic existence. We headed to the U District to man the kitchen for Teen Feed, our monthly gig. Because of COVID-19, the service is now to go instead of dine in. And we can only have one family helping out in the kitchen, where there used to be 4 or 5 families helping. 

We arrived on site at 5:30. Kennedy showed up soon after. Then, one by one, three friends dropped by with donations. By about 6 o'clock, CJ and Annabelle started bagging up fruit, desserts, cutlery and napkins, while Ken and I figured out the burrito making process. Ken was stationed at the stovetop, heating tortillas, and dishing up meat and rice and beans atop them. Then they'd come to me and I'd add sour cream, grated cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. Then came the tricky part - rolling the burritos and wrapping them in foil. Turns out burrito rolling is not 'in my wheelhouse.'  Fortunately, I did get better as the hour went along.

We ended up making 40 dinners for guests during the 1-hour Teen Feed window, plus another 40 dinners for the overnight ROOTS shelter.  Plus we had copious amounts of leftovers, which the Teen Feed staff quickly made plans for to feed another large group the next day, so hooray for that!

CONSTRUCTION ZONE: Of course, we were back and building this weekend. Hanging drywall was atop the to do list for our new storage space. CJ and Annabelle installed many of the screws to make it stay in place. 

IT'S COME TO THIS: "Thanks" to the pandemic, there is still a dearth of live sports programming on television these days. That is how we found ourselves watching the finals of the 2019 Marble League circuit on Saturday night. Yes, I'm serious. 

I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty darn entertaining. I loved the marbles in the stands, the awards ceremony ... it was well done. If you want a little look at it, check out this link.


IT'S ALIVE: This was as momentous weekend. It was the weekend we (finally!) got the Partio Cart fired up.

Once upon a time (like 7+ years ago), I was looking for a vintage stove for our kitchen in our last place. While perusing Craigslist for that, I came across a listing for an outdoor electric oven. I was immediately sucked in by its novelty and mid-century modern stylings. I *had* to go see it. We drove up north of Seattle and checked it out on the deck on a guy's house. It had been his dad's and his dad passed, leaving this guy with a big ol' weird, outdoor oven that he didn't have any interest in. Well, I was certainly interested, and it came home with us.

Christian and I wrested the oh-so-heavy beast up the hill at our old place, parked it in our mid-yard under a cedar tree for the next several years. Instead of bringing me joy, it sat there making me sad. With all the work we had to do on that place the Partio Cart never made it to the top of the to do list. 

This weekend, that changed. As part of our pantry project, Christian was checking out the electrical situation and discovered a big fat 30-amp wire ran along the entire backside of our house, from the breaker box in the west end all the way to the east deck, where there used to be a hot tub. 

Immediately, he proposed using that fortuitous line to try to get the Partio Cart going. I went down to the hardware store first thing Sunday, and a wonderful employee there (a female former electrician) helped me find a receptacle, new head for the Partio Cart plug, and an outdoor-rated outlet box and cover.  A couple hours later, we plugged the beauty in. I placed my hand on the griddle, and turned the control on. "It's hot!"I excitedly proclaimed, removing my hand.

We then set about testing the rest of it. Both burners worked!

We turned on the oven and waited about a minute before opening it up to find it warming up.

The broiler worked, as well! Honestly, the cooktop and oven look like brand new.

The other side of the cart is a charcoal grill (which will, of course, work). There are a couple of rotisseries over it. We flipped a switch and those didn't work, so that's one item for the to do list, but overall, we're just thrilled with.

We've already bought an umbrella for it (there's a hole in the top of the unit for one). We will definitely put this beauty to use when we're baking cakes. Our oven capacity just got significantly bigger!

Originally these carts retailed for $800, which was a good chunk of change back in 1960, when they were produced. Here's an image from a vintage Partio Cart ad.

And here's the front of the original manual. I'm pretty sure a manual came with ours. I have 

We think we paid around $225 for ours. One article I read says they typically go for between $2000 and $8000 these days. Wowza.  Apparently President Dwight D. Eisenhower had a Partio Cart at his Palm Springs estate back in the day. It sold for over $20,000.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS: We did spend some time outside this weekend. I pulled a bunch of weeds, and the kids mowed part of the lawn. 

While working in the yard, I saw many a bee. Some were 'our' honeybees, eating local.

Others were interlopers, like this bumblebee.

On Saturday we rehomed some of our tomatoes, giving them to a friend of mine. On Sunday we delivered several tomato and eggplant starts to the Kitsap Peninsula and their new home there. A lovely raised bed was awaiting them in Olalla. We had a nice visit with my aunt, marveling at the beautiful evergreens all around her property. I counted at least seven difference kinds from where we were sitting on her deck. 

SOON, SO SOON: Everything is still go for the manned SpaceX launch on Wednesday afternoon (May 27). Below the two-man crew goes through some pre-flight paces. A final 'dress rehearsal,' if you will.