Loretta's! (Or, South Park Is the New Georgetown)

Tonight we tried Loretta's, the new South Park burger tavern from the Nine Pound Hammer folks. (To find it, just head down the main drag until you see a bunch of white dudes standing outside, admiring each others' motorcycles.)



And I decided that every neighborhood needs three places just like this. (Beacon Hill doesn't even have one.)

Burgers, fries, steak, salad, beer.



Plus a little bit of liquor.



And pork, salmon, and soup.





They serve Roger's Pilsner, a rare treat.



The fries were the soggy kind, but really tasty.



And they put their salads on plates, not in baskets (thank you!).



We ate all our food.



(Which is OK because I'm finally starting to look pregnant and am just going to keep gaining weight no matter what, hurray!)

"Beacon Hill Groper"?

In a comment on a recent post about the Beacon Hill Groper, Kim said she was tired of hearing the media call him by that name because it downplays the severity of his crimes.

I've been calling him a "groper" because it's a specifically sexual reference; he's not randomly attacking people for no clear reason. No, the sick asshole is targeting only women, specifically Asian women. The term "South Seattle assailant" isn't meaningful. South Seattle is full of assailants.

Another commenter, apparently a Seattle Times employee, pointed out that his/her paper has not called him a "groper."

Out of curiosity, I looked up the term "Beacon Hill Groper" to see who all has been using it.

KOMO has. (That link goes to a story that recaps last night's Beacon Hill Elementary PTSA meeting, where police spoke about the incident. As I figured, they didn't say anything noteworthy. Just "walk in pairs," "scream," "call 911," "maintain extra vigilance," etc.)

King 5 has, but they feel guilty enough about it to put it in quotes. They've also called him the "bus stop groper."

And someone on MySpace is calling himself the Beacon Hill Groper.

Anyway. I'm happy to call him something else if there's a more accurate term -- I just hope that doesn't end up being the "Beacon Hill Rapist."

Georgetown: "On-the-Verge Nabe"

It really is over, isn't it?

DailyCandy, originally a mailing list for pampered Manhattanites but now available in most rich American cities, has declared Georgetown an "on-the-verge nabe."

And Here's the Times Story About the Groper

From today's Seattle Times:

Seattle police bike officers have increased their patrols of the Beacon Hill neighborhood in response to the latest in nearly two dozen sexual attacks on Asian girls and women.

Police say the man has groped, chased and even knocked down 22 girls and women in Rainier Valley and Beacon Hill since August 2006. The victims have ranged from teenagers to a 52-year-old. No victim has been raped or critically injured, and police said the man normally runs off after his victims have screamed for help.

The cops quoted in this story are unusually frank, saying "We're highly unlikely to catch this guy," and that the intention of their stepped-up patrol is to make people "feel" safe.

The principal at Beacon Hill Elementary invites the public to come to the PTSA meeting at 7:15 tonight at the school; some police will be there to discuss the incidents.

Feel safe!

Beacon Hill Groper Attacks 22nd Victim

I don't even know what to say about this anymore.

In the middle of the day on Thursday, this man attacked his 22nd (reported) victim, this time right by the 76 station on the 2400 block of 14th Avenue South.

From yesterday's P-I:

"The victim, a 28-year-old woman, was walking home from the store when a man approached her from behind, covered her mouth, knocked her to the ground and assaulted her. Two people nearby saw the attack. When the assailant noticed them, he broke off his assault and fled."

"[The perpetrator] has been described as a black male of medium height, thin build, in his 20s or 30s. He has worn a variety of clothing and in some cases has hidden behind a green ski mask or red scarf."

Interesting that the Seattle Times didn't think a 22nd sexual attack in South Seattle by the same asshole warranted a mention in the local section.

Late Afternoon Snack in Georgetown

I really wanted a Chopper from Smarty Pants but settled for a Southwest Chop Salad from Taco Time.





Taco Time's Southwest Chop Salad only contains 189 calories per 12-ounce serving (not including dressing). I'm not sure how many servings this is.



In any case, it's a very lonely meal.

My Beacon Hill Garden in Mid-March

(Like how I try to make this topical?)

It's Garden Bloom Day, and I'd like to show you some things that are and aren't in bloom in my garden today.

This elk grass produces brown flowers in summer. They should look nice next to the bronze container, whose Japanese maple will have purple leaves by then.



I've always loved this little Viburnum davidii, even though it doesn't produce metallic blue berries because it's all alone up here. It needs a cross-pollinating buddy.



It's lame that my winter hazel doesn't bloom until nearly spring.



I don't know what this plant is. I'm not crazy about white blossoms, but they don't last that long.



This Euphorbia self-seeds, I've noticed. I see little ones popping up here and there.



The rosemary blooms a lot.



We need to get these lovely sedum in the rock wall soon.



I think this counts as blooming.



Alliums on their way.



The sedum wall with some Scotch moss, which will unfortunately start blooming white at some point.



Bless these sedum for shutting out weeds.



I think hens and chicks are OK here and there.



So pleased with the way this section has filled out.









My nine Julia Phelps Ceanothus do not yet form a hedge, but you can see that they will. I will probably need to remove every other one at some point. It's always hard not to plant things too close together.



One of the plants has started to bloom.





In April, all the little purple buds on all 11 plants will bloom blue. It's incredibly beautiful.



The donkey tail Euphorbia is the success story of the moment.



They look so happy to be alive.







I fear the Point Reyes Ceanothus will eventually crowd this one out.



I want more fiery orange heathers.



The Cryptomeria, which looked iffy over the winter, are now doing fine.



Thank you, sedum and Euphorbia.



And hello to the girl fetus I've been carrying these last several months. You are already loved.