Three Beautiful Things and a Bonus 11/26/11: Saturday Breakfast, Mary Goes Macro, Yi Shen Combo, BONUS: Belgian Ales

1.  People just kept coming and coming, over 250 in all, but we had enough eggs, potatoes, link sausage, and toast on the serving line to give each person a full breakfast.  I don't know how the oatmeal, grits, gravy, juice, coffee, and milk held up at the other serving tables, but we were happy, and a bit relieved, that we were able to meet the demand in our area of the Saturday Breakfast at St. Mary's Episcopal Church.

2.  Mary joined Russell and me for a photo walk on the southeast part of the U. of O. I tried to capture my nostalgic feelings for Mac Court by taking picture after picture after picture, but it never seemed like the images ever matched my feelings.  Mac Court held mythic significance for me when I moved to Eugene 32 years ago and I hoped I could capture some of its grandeur, grandeur that was mostly in my head, but grandeur all the same.  I'll look at my pictures soon and see if I even sort of succeeded.  Mary, by the way, went macro mad on our photo walk, with special attention to a ladybug on a gravestone.  It was really fun to bear witness to her enthusiasm.

3.  Mary, Russell, and I went to Yi Shen after we were done shooting.  Russell and I enjoyed sharing our favorite Eugene place to eat with Mary and she seemed delighted with her meal.  I was beyond delighted with mine.  I ordered Yi Shen's combo soup -- bbq pork, shrimp, scallop, beef (I think) with bok choy and Vietnamese noodles and I can't remember what else.  My inability to remember details is directly related to the euphoria I felt eating this soup:  I don't think I've ever tasted a more satisfying, flavorful, complex broth. 

BONUS:  After doing some shopping, I enjoyed two particularly tasty half pints at 16 Tons.  I decided to focus on two Belgian ales and they pleased me completely.  I can't write beer review language.  All I can say is that I sat there, by myself, and stared, speechless, I enjoyed these beers so much.  The first came from Hopworks, and is called Muscles From Brussels; the second came from Japan: Hitachino Nest Barrel Aged  Commemorative Ale.  The second is a Belgian Strong Ale.   I could only drink a half a pint of it because of its 10% alcohol by volume.