Ordinary Beauty

Perry and I had dinner last night at Kisaku, in the Greenlake area of Seattle. My friend, Robby, endorses this restaurant, so I knew it would be grand, what with Robby’s Japanese ties/roots/inclinations.

The food was sublime. The kind that makes you talk with your mouth full–because the first bite of each new thing is so striking, so tasty, that I had to immediately exclaim, “Oh my. Oh my gosh” and so on. Kisaku has a menu online, and you might want to leisurely study in advance and avoid the pressure of trying to choose from all the many delectable options once you get to the restaurant table.

We worked our way through Sunomono, Edamame, Caterpillar Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll, Devil’s Vegetable Roll, and Spider Roll. Then, we had more (prawn and vegetable tempura).

Robby told us how during his dialysis treatment he ate 3 or 4 times a week at Kisaku; he couldn’t eat much then, and apparently there is something about salt that becomes attractive during kidney failure/treatment.

One of the reasons we were together with Robby (and his wife, my friend, Betty) was to talk about his practice as a Buddhist priest and the possibility of him officiating our wedding. In a magical way, Robby’s explanation of how he conducts a marriage ceremony, matched keenly with Perry and my conversation earlier in the day, of what elements we wanted in our ceremony. Among many things, Robby spoke of creating “ritual space”; I am very much looking forward to walking with him through such sacredness and into marriage.

It sounds like we may have a real buyer for mom and dad’s home in Malo, Washington. Problem is, the buyer can’t afford the entire 140 acres, and so, we might lob off 40 acres and create a parcel small enough that the buyer can afford. To do so, I might HAVE TO acquire a chunk of those 40 acres, adding it onto the 31.36 acres I previously received from their Estate. The way it pencils out, it’s kind of a good thing, from my point of view. It would mean that I would also own the entirety of the road that traverses the piece I already own, plus, an apple tree.

What’s the big deal about an apple tree? Well, this particular part of the land was, some 100 years or so ago, a homestead. Most all that remains of it are three ancient apple trees (that still produce) and a moonshiner’s cabin (it’s not much of a cabin, just some old walls–truly ramshackle). The cabin is on the acreage I already own; having one of the apple trees, too, would just somehow be some perfect, romantic, punctuation to the place.