Acro-cats!

If the idea of seeing a cat walk while balanced on a ball makes you giddy, I highly recommend the Acro-cats show now playing at Stone Soup Theatre. What about a cat standing on its hind legs, holding up one paw next to a sign that says "Who's Number One?" Yep, these are the kind of insanely cute tricks performed by owner Samantha Martin's troupe of cats, ranging from adoptable kittens to old hands.

Samantha is a cat-lover turned trainer, and if you're all up in arms about cats being forced to perform, you should know that she rescues and fosters cats, and finds "forever" homes for them. She uses the clicker/treat reward system of training, and the "tricks" are based on normal cat behaviors. The Stone Soup Theater is quite small, so it really does feel like you're watching the show in Samantha's living room. (In fact, she told the audience that all the props and gear in the show are actually her living room furnishings.) Anyway, it's pretty hard to get a cat to do anything it doesn't want to do, so I didn't feel bad at all for them--and I hate zoos and circuses that keep animals in captivity. These domestic cats seem happy.

Back to the show: Along with the cats, there are a few rats, a couple of chickens, and a groundhog(?!) who rides in a wagon pulled by an RC car. There's also a cacophonous music segment, with cats playing guitar, keyboard, drums, chimes, cowbell, and a chicken playing tambourine and cymbals. The show's in Seattle until September 1, so go see it! A couple of insider tips: You can buy tickets at at the door no problem (at least last night), but I recommend getting there early so you can get a front-row, center seat AND so you can listen to the cat-themed music before the show ("Stray Cat Strut" by The Stray Cats, "Year of the Cat" by Al Stewart, and so on). Also, this is one place you won't be out of place wearing that cat sweatshirt your grandma gave you, or your Halloween cat ears (but if you forget them, you can buy some at the show!)

Blue C Sushi

Blue C Sushi is the McDonald's of sushi. Just like a McDonald's hamburger satisfies a different craving than a handmade burger grilled on a barbecue does, Blue C Sushi fulfills a different niche than a fine sushi house. Like McDonald's, it is a 5-star destination for children, young and old. They have some crazy sushi, such as the St. Patrick's Day rolls on green pedestals that are currently offered. Besides a daily happy hour, happy hour goes from 4 to close on Thursdays and Sundays, at least at the two locations I've been to in U-Village and Fremont (there are six restaurants in the Seattle area).

The big appeal at Blue C is the conveyor belt, snaking around the entire restaurant, by booths and counter seats, covered in America's version of sushi. It's truly mesmerizing and irresistible, even to me. If you do need a server, say to order mochi or drinks, you just push a button that lights up.

After dragging Oscar shoe shopping this weekend, he was in such a foul mood he was barely speaking to me. But Blue C Sushi instantly dissolved his disagreeableness. He loved surveying his options, and selecting the colorful plates of his favorite dishes: shrimp nigiri, kappa maki, pork gyoza, sesame noodles, spring rolls... It was such fun that we selected a lot more plates than I intended. This brings me to how Blue C is not like McDonald's at all. Each color plate has a different price point; the green are $1.50, yellow are $2.75, all the way up to purple, which are $5.50. It all sounds so cheap, but they quickly add up. Sushi is definitely not inexpensive, especially when you're eating with Oscar. But turning your kid's frown upside down is priceless, right?

Pie

Whether or not you believe pie is the new cupcake, there's some seriously good pie in Seattle. One of my favorite eating places thus far is named simply Pie, a tiny shop offering a range of individual servings of pies for both your main meal and dessert. It's a great stop for a quick lunch or dinner when shopping in the Fremont district, or to grab takeout for a fast-food experience without resorting to eating fast food.

As for the pies, they're delicious, and also pretty enough to make your meal feel like a special treat. (I guess technically since they're in a pie crust, they actually are a special treat.) Chicken pot pie, English meat pie, and mac and cheese with peas pie are always on the menu, but other flavors rotate in and out. My favorite so far, a cauliflower gratin pie, seems to be rare, but I also love the veggie curry pie. Other varieties include smoked salmon with goat cheese, channa masala, meatloaf with bacon crumble -- there's bound to be something you'll like. There are also breakfast pies, which we haven't tried yet; this Sunday they had peppered bacon and potato or cheddar egg scramble. And of course, there are all manner of sweet pies. I love that some also come in a mini mini size so you can have just a bite of dessert after eating your pie dinner. (A regular sized cherry pie is next to the mini mini Berry Awesome pie in the picture below.)

Other enticements: Pie is open until 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday (just until 6 p.m. on Sunday, though!). They'll also deliver if you want to cater a lunch or party -- or if you want to eat at least $50 of pies yourself.

Lenin in Fremont

There's a 16-foot, 7-ton statue of Vladimir Lenin in the Fremont section of Seattle. It's often decorated depending on the season; right now it has a big illuminated star on its head left over from Christmas. While the giant statue adds to the bohemian feel of the neighborhood, it turns out the statue is not there because Fremont is filled with Communists, but rather because a Washingtonian found the statue of great artistic merit.

This work took sculptor Emil Venkov 10 years to create under commission by the Soviet and Czechoslovak governments, and it was installed in Poprad, Slovakia in 1988. It's thought to be the only artistic representation of Lenin surrounded by flames and symbols of war, thus depicting him as a violent revolutionary rather than an intellectual. Lewis Carpenter, an American who was teaching in Poprad, found the sculpture in a scrapyard after it was removed from Lenin's Square following the Velvet Revolution in 1989. He mortgaged his house to buy it and move it to Issaquah.

Carpenter died in 1994, and his family had the statue moved to its Fremont location in 1995 -- but it might not be there forever. Evidently the arrangement is considered temporary and the statue is for sale. Wikipedia says the price was $250,000 in 2006. Given the economy right now, you might be able to get them to cut you a deal.