Camelama

An Outing

Sorry about the radio silence – boy, once you stop posting, the longer you wait the harder it is to start up again!

OK, so I’ll just pretend I wasn’t gone.  Let’s see, what do I have?

Ah! Pictures of an adventure!

Last weekend I was invited to go on a special train ride. The Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad brought two of their engines (one a newly refurbished historic steam engine, and one historic diesel engine), and a few passenger cars, down to Tacoma, Washington for a model train show. They gave 45 minute rides on Saturday and Sunday, and then on Sunday afternoon they had a special excursion. We were to ride the train out of Tacoma, on Tacoma Rail tracks (so it was a ride you’d never get to see otherwise, basically!), and up the mountain to Eatonville. We would then bus back to Tacoma while the train went the rest of the way home to Mineral. The trip should take about 3 hours total, we were told.

We were to leave Tacoma at 3:30pm and be bck home at 7pm.

I got off the bus in Tacoma from the ride home at 10pm.

God Jul Och Ett Gott Nytt Ar!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Here are the images from my Christmas card this year...

 

Phoebe in a sunbeam nap, with Christmas bows (not sticky-backed!)

 

Me with a couple of Olympic (Vancouver 2010) Mounties, from my trip to the Olympics!

Recovering from SNOMG (Seattle snow, Nov 2010)

 

Seattle had been in a deep freeze for the week of Thanksgiving.

Monday evening's commute, which was after a heavy snowfall, melt, and re-freeze to record lows, was INSANE.  People's bus commutes that normally take 30 minutes took 3 hours.  Folks were trapped on the highways for 10 to 17 hours.  A bus ride from Seattle down an hour south took one friend 14 hours. On one bus the entire time. All that time was spent sitting in traffic that was simply not moving - there were so many roads closed, so many alternate highways closed, that the main routes had more traffic than ever before in history on them.  Lesson learned: get alternate travel options ready for next emergency (I'm buyin' me an inflatable! And if I rigged a mast and sail, i wouldn't even need fuel.... maybe a little wooden sailboat and a kayak too.)   Other people gave up on their buses that were never showing up, and walked home hours in the snow. One guy was not clothed for such a walk, so he actually walked to the REI headquarters store just north of downtown, outfitted himself anew from head to toe, and got a great deal as it was their winter sale! Ha!  So, equipped in all the latest gear, and with crampons and walking poles, he had an easy and relatively quick walk home 15 miles.  He was still hours ahead of his coworkers who drove or bussed!

It was one week i was happy to be unemployed.  I didn't *have* to be anywhere - the parents and I had already agreed before the storms hit that I'd stay put and they'd stay put, no trying to get to each other on Thanksgiving. So I was worry free, and could simply enjoy the cold and snow from my cozy litle house, or go play in it without having to get to work in it.

So, now that the city is back to normal rain and wind, folks have lots of watercooler stories to tell.  And there are some pretty awesome youtube videos of the Seattle ice:

Cars and multiple bus slidings on Capitol Hill:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhZCyQ3emQg&feature=related

Audi trying to get up Queen Anne Hill, crash #1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILDOqppQL-U&
Audi crash #2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym9K3z0CL_U

Bus trying to get up a hill near me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kMkYhc4F2g&feature=related

Folks watch the mess out their windows:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HyZT9nscxE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5AUznN3VXg&feature=related

And, lastly, a bunch of crazy insane people sledding down a closed street, over a closed bridge above I-5, and down another hill.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-z9jzCbaWQ

The big blue round plastic things they're riding down the hill are the city's recycling bins.  Notice the shot of the beer in the snow? Yes, that's Capitol Hill for ya. Drunken sledding next to the highway.

The last Mayor lost his job in part because of the city's horrific snow response in 2008, and this new Mayor was actually *boasting* of his new preparations. "We're ready!", he said.   HA.  Gosh, none of them checked to see what the brine solution they were prepping the roads with, before the storm, did in very cold conditions. Guess what? IT MAKES ROADS WORSE.  Ha!  So Mr Preparation actually made the situation worse. "We didn't know!" he says now. Well, wouldn't you want to know that kind of information about something that's very expensive that you're buying to put on the streets IN WINTER?!?!  "how does it act in cold temperatures?"  Lordy lordy.

Every time I hear someone say "But I'm from [wherever] and I know how to drive in the snow!" I just want to punch them. Fine! Easy! Drive on 4' of dry, packed, unmelted, pristine snow, on flat ground, in -10 degrees that only changes 2 degrees of temperature either way for weeks on end. Or on a road that's been fully plowed, like in Chicago. Easy!  Now look at those videos. Do you see much snow on the road? No. It's BLACK ICE, not snow, that is the problem. And not just plain Black Ice. it's a sheet of black ice, with melted-and-refrozen ice in some spots, and semi-melted-ice in other spots, and drifting snow mixing it up a little,and winds changing the temperature back and forth across the melting point every hour.  Chains, studs, doesn't matter, you will not make it up that hill. Police won't go up the hill. Fire won't go up the hill. But some dude from Chicago just KNOWS he knows better than all the "idiots" in Seattle who "don't know how to drive in the snow" and he goes for it.  And slides. Sigh.  :)

As for why there were so many people out, the forecasting out here is tricky.  There's a great book about it:

http://www.amazon.com/Weather-Pacific-Northwest-Cliff-Mass/dp/0295988479/

It's very very tough to accurately predict snowfall in the city of Seattle. We should get a bit better at it when the coastal radar is installed (2012, I think?). But even then, the local weather has a way of thumbing its nose at all the data, models, forecasts etc, and just saying "Nope! Gonna do something really wild! Not telling when or where!" and surprising everyone. Even Cliff Mass, author of that book and usually spot-on forecaster, was saying "No snow in Seattle". He rode his bike to work Monday morning, he was so sure of no snow.  He has since apologized. :)

SNOW!!!!!

Yes! It snowed in Seattle!  I'm LOVING it, but I'm lucky, I don't have to be anywhere today or tomorrow.

Some pics:

 

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I know, those in the North Country are laughing at our little tiny snow - but for Seattle, this is *insane*. Highway are blocked and closed all over. Bridges closed. Tunnels closed. Accidents into the hundreds. Wipe-outs EVERYwhere.  Thousands of people spending 4+ hours on the highways trying to get home. Truly truly a bad night.

 

 

More sun!

Another sunny day, I had to get out and take advantage of it!

 

 

uh oh, gray clouds looming...

 

Tho this direction still look sunny....

 

It's dark to the north, better get home fast!

A gift of a day

 

Today was another glorious sunny day, a rare jewel in November. It was made even sweeter by the knowledge that tomorrow, we're back to dark gray days and rain rain rain.  So, when a friend called to say she was going to the Arboretum and did I want to come with, I jumped at the chance!

The Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle is a wonderful place, nature in the middle of city, natives and rare exotics, grassy avenues to stroll and gravel trails to hike.

 

We started out with a little trip through the University of Washington campus...

 

There were many lovely vistas to enjoy...

 

 

I liked these colors in a row...

 

Of course there's a lot of moss, this being the PNW...

 

Loved the shiny exposed bark on this cherry tree...

 

More vistas...

 

Lots of gorgeous trees, in all sorts of colors...

 

 

 

And lots of mushrooms!

 

This rhodi was still dewy ...

 

Vistas....

 

I tried a lot of shots with sunlight through the leaves but it didn't always work out. some good shots, though.

 

 

 

Loved these itty bitty teensy weensy maple leaves. Of course I don't have anything to scale in the photo so you can tell, but some of these leaves are only .5" across - or even less!

 

An interesting flower

 

Our view at lunch, from the sidewalk table at a lovely Irish pub, looking out across Lake Washington and the 520 Floating Bridge, off to the Cascade Mountains.

 

Our lunch. :)

 

Some views strolling the Madison Park Beach...

 

 

The Arboretum, the neighborhood nearby, Union Bay and the 520 highway are all interwoven.

 

I'm so glad I got to spent this incredible gift of a sunny day with a good friend, nature, good food, and many laughs.

 

 

 

 

 

You turn me right round baby

 

The other day I stopped for groceries just as the sun was going down, and I thought the blue on this rotating-globe Quality Food Center sign looked neat against the sky:

 

 

Then I realized ... the sign was not alone. It had passengers.

 

There were about 30 pigeons up there, goung around and around and around and around and around...  I was laughing out loud at the very idea of some stupid pigeon spending all night long, asleep, spinning endlessly.  Don't they get dizzy?! then again, they're *pigeons*. Would it make a difference?!

 

NW Yum

 

I slipped out of the house this morning, to enjoy the last of our good weather before the first of the Fall storms rolls in.

And what better to entice me out of the house but CHOCOLATE!  The NorthWest Chocolate Festival is this weekend at Seattle Center.

Of course, local chocolate company Theo chocolates was there.

 

One of my favorites was "Divine" chocolate company.

 I was on a strict buying budget, and I stayed under my target $ amount, huzzah. My total haul: Theo Vanilla, Theo Nib Brittle, Diving spiced cookies, Divine hazelnut, Forte Dark Chocolate Brute, Forte White Chocolate Cloud, and two little Made'casse chocolates.
 

 

 

 

Of course, if you go to the Seattle Center, the Space Needle is always watching you...

 

I like the little futuristic touches at Seattle Center, the theme continues from the 1962 World's Fair.

 

It was a lovely fall afternoon. Wet at times, but I timed it right - when I was outside, it wasn't sprinkling!

 

Even waiting for the bus was beautiful.

 

Now it's dar, windy, and the rain is rattling on the living room window. A big blustery storm is headed our way, I've strapped down the trash/recycling bins, removed anything loose from the yard, and have bottled water and lots of blankets in case the power goes off. Guilt-free staying-in-bed time, no power = no light = can't work or read, guess i have to nap!

The rest of this weekend is devoted to sewing, have to finish up an angel package for a craft swap, finish two potholders and an ornament for one swap and three ornaments for another swap. Whew!

 

Airplanes, mountains, sunshine.

Ah, bliss!  Machinery that flies, gorgeous snow-covered mountains, and a day of warm sunshine.

With family in town last week, we spent the day at McChord Air Force Base. My parents volunteer for the Flight Museum on base, and they have a great collection of planes that have been stationed at McChord, along with a lovely little museum and the hanger where planes are worked on. 

I have always loved the "face" of an airplane, or the profile.  It's amazing how easily you find yourself  anthropomorphizing an airplane!

This is a PB-something, I forgot which! It's being restored by volunteers, and then will be painted by the Air Force and placed up on the display hillside (pictures of the hill and planes follow).

 

Catch up part 2!

On May 1st, my pal Denise and I were in a neat little rally up in the north part of WA state.

We pulled over once to make sure we had our bearings correct, and ran into some curious folks...

   

We ended up at a lovely house, that used to be a b&b. The new owners are planning a lot of work on the grounds, but I thought it was beautiful even now!

Catch up!

Ok, let's go - about a month of stuff to talk about.

Crafty!

For a Frugality craft swap, I made a tote with ties as handles and a waterbottle holder out of ties, good ways to use up the ties the men in your life don't want any more!

 

I've been doing a lot of reading, though it does get difficult sometimes:

 

Lots of cat time:

 

I enjoyed the early Spring we had, before Mayvuary and Junovember struck:

 

More in the next post, this is getting photo-heavy....

Sonja's Annual Birthday Ferry Trip 2010 - San Juan Islands (photo heavy!)

It was once again time for Sonja's Birthday Ferry Trip - every year she chooses a Washington State Ferry route and we have lunch and cake and lots of fun. This year we went to the San Juans, a group of islands in the northern part of Puget Sound.

Almost to the ferry dock!

 

Starting out from the Anacortes dock - that gap between the islands, that's where we're going...

 

I love the layers of islands in blues, grays, purples...

I like how the islands sometimes just drop off to the water, no beach, just rocks

We passed a few sailboats out enjoying the balmy weather (well, balmy for March in WA state!) 

We were riding the Hyak this trip

Here I got a bit artsy:

The lighting was very strange ... daytime, with a haze, and yet also some bright spots.

I enjoy the superstructures and bridge of the ferries:

More artsy:

Heading into Friday Harbor

I spotted these two ferry workers and had to take a shot

The birthday cake was made by Mook!

Lunch and cake was deeelicious, Sonja brought organic cream from a local dairy

There are always interesting vessels in the Friday Harbor marina

 

A cute seagull couple kept us company for many trips between islands

A crow visited us at Friday Harbor

Critter had a great time constantly running around the ferry - I don't know how many laps he managed with Heather chasing after. Here Sean joins them for a mile or two

I got artsy again

And again

We're coming in to Orcas (note the seagull couple still hanging out on the fencing):

 

This is a different gull couple, mind you...

Then we hit Lopez.  No, really, we HIT the Lopez Island ferry dock.  The ferry rammed the pilings at a strange angle, sending people to the deck and sliding along the corridors, and the ferry itself was flung backwards violently, and rocked side-to-side like I've never felt on a WA ferry before.  The ferry damaged the Lopez pilings, and our friend who was down on the car deck, to walk off, said spliters went flying.

We got back to Anacortes in the dark, and I took some squiggly light pictures for fun.

This one shows the dreaded Cranberry Tree restaurant sign.  Sonja and I always shake our fist at the sign and say "Cranberries don't grow on trees!".  Hee. Road trip traditions!

Monday - being a Vancouver glutton!

So, after I spent two days in Vancouver attending events and having a great time, my pal Denise and I headed back up there on the following Monday to just hang out in the city and experience the hustle and bustle.

Our one concrete goal was to see the Olympic Cauldron. Everything else was just bonus material.

And? Goal accomplished.

 

To see the flame, though, we had to stand in line. It wasn't bad - we had beautiful weather again, so we stood in line at the water front looking at the park and the high-rises...

And of course there were volunteers everywhere again - loved this one's shoes!

The line looked long (see those people waaaay up there? That's not even the top yet there!) but it moved fast.

We spotted the Olympic rings that light up at night - during the day, the sulfur piles lit up the shoreline.

The Cauldron was next to the Media Center, were all the tv broadcasts from "offices" and desks and chair chats were done.  Also, all the reporters used the same outside corners to do sound bites. These were Swedish and Russian folks, next in line were US reporters from all over.

The crowds were insane on Monday - so different from the week before! See the line of white hats? It's a group of Russian naval cadets. The crowd loved them.

I liked seeing the volunteers up on their lifeguard chairs, helping people find where they wanted to go.

Here's the lovely Toronto policeman who was doing duty up on the viewing platform for the Cauldron. He said they were brought in for the entire Olympics, and were being housed on cruise ships out in the bay!

There were always HUGE lines for these "Japadog" carts.

Out on the streets of Vancouver, we saw a lot of street art - these were lanterns made by school kids out of recycled material. They must look lovely at night!

Along with the athletic Olympics, there was the Cultural Olympiad. The Vancouver Art Gallery had a huge screen up out front, showing events and also art stuff.

And then we heard "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" overhead - zipliners zipping over Robson Square.   Note the high rise wrapped in Olympics graphics and advertisement.

Here's a closeup:

We stopped by Aboriginal Place  but the dancing was winding down for the day and the line to get in was hours long.

After a lot lot lot more walking and gawking, about 4pm we grabbed a Skytrain...

...and headed back to River Rock Casino where we'd parked ($2.00/day - sweeet!) and then headed back south to home. Just like in the morning, no wait at the border! Yay! Made it to my pal's house by 6, went out for dinner, and I was home by 10pm.  Had a fantastic day! 

And? I GOT MINE!

 

Where I was again, Thursday version

Back to Vancouver on Thursday for US Women's Hockey!  And another glorious Vancouver spring day, starting out at the Amtrak station.

The gals were on the ice warming up when I got to the UBC Thunderbird Arena. At first the folks sitting next to me insisted on holding up a huge Wisconsin flag that blocked the view of three aisles up and behind them, and 4 people on either side.  Um, no.  How they got that flag past security I'll never know. After enough people complained, they moved down a couple rows where there was an empty spot.

More warmups:

I loved how they put the mascots and graphics on the zombonies-that-weren't-actual-zambonis.

I took photos of the Finnish team names for my Mom, who is of Swedish descent and grew up in a huge Nordic region in the Midwest. She loved seeing them all.

Even the referees were women. YAY!

Lined up, introducing the teams, let's go!

And we're off!  The game was a bit unbalanced ... US women's team was so far above the Finns. It felt unfair almost. The Finns were pretty good, they kept the women moving, and they did get some shots off - but we had a good goalie. 

Supposedly in that sparsely populated section, the VIP section, is the Prince of Monaco.

I loved the Mascots - here they are urging us to make noise! Ring those cowbells, clap those hands, cheer cheer cheer!

Here's the UBC Thunderbird sign.

And more graphics!

And more glorious mountains ringing the city.

 

So it was off back to the train station, and back home to Seattle and my bed at 1:30am. Another late night, another exhausted me!

Where in the world was Camelama *this* time?

Where was I?

Well, I had to go north past this:

 

Yup, that's the Peace Arch at Peace Arch Park north of Blaine, WA - and south of VANCOUVER BC!

That's right, I went to the OLYMPICS!  Holy cats! I still can't believe it.

On Tuesday I went to see Women's Curling - caught one of the qualifying rounds with the US team. I rode Amtrak up and back the same day, the trips bookended perfectly around the event. Same thing on Thursday, when I saw US Women's Hockey. Then on Monday the 22nd, a friend and I popped up to just enjoy the city for the day, no events. WHEW!  I think it took me a week to catch up on sleep... every day was jam-packed and very little sleep was had between trips!

So, let's head off - here's Tuesday's fun!

Here's the train car on the way up, it was gorgeous and we all had so much fun together. Everyone was heading up for the Olympics, we all compared event notes and transportation choices, where's the best tourist stuff... the movie on the way up was "Cool Running" (the movie about the Jamaican bobsled team - how apt!).

The countryside south of Vancouver was lovely in our spring sunshine ... the area is a big agricultural hothouse spot, I'm told all of Canada's tomatoes are grown here! Ok ok, not ALL, but ya see what i mean.

Once we got to Vancouver, we were kept on the train while each car was emptied. But all of that "sit in your seat until you're released!" led to this - one great big line where everyone mushed about and messed up all that careful car-by-car stuff they did.  This line took FOREVER.  I believe we were here for about an hour!

I hopped on the Skytrain and headed to downtown Vancouver, but didn't bother trying to get into the Olympic Superstore seen here - the line was at least an hour and a half!

I spent some time walking around Vancouver, the pedestrian-only zones were fantastic! Tuesday's streets were nice and clear and no crowds.

I spotted these lovely gals out for the day, they were laughing and chattering. They helped me figure out how to get to the ticket office! Red jackets were everywhere, quite the Canadian symbol.

The line for the Royal Canadian Mint was at least an hour.  I didn't have time.

I really liked this building.  I thought it was a church, but found it was a business center.

I liked the windvane.

The Skytrain was fantastic. No waiting for traffic, easy on off, you could find the stations easily.

I stopped by Yahoo's "FANcouver" storefront.  You could rest, check your email, and get free hot chocolate. Unfortunately it was about 65 degrees and I was sweltering in a thick winter coat, so no hot chocolate for me. You could get your photo taken and put up on the letters here, or do somethingi n the booths in the second photo - I didn't have time to check it out, I had to get down to Curling!

In the streets of Yaletown, there was activity everywhere you looked.

Street hockey

Jump rope competitions

So finally I was off down the Canada Line of the Skytrain, heading to the Olympic Center for Curling. It was an incredible wonderful day. I loved the graphics they had at these Olympics, here's a few out at the Center.

 

Loved these big signs at each event spot.

And here I am at Curling!

I was there mainly to see the US play Japan:

But there were three other matches at the same time - Denmark vs Sweden, Germany vs Russia, Canada vs Switzerland.

The volunteers in blue cleaned up during the breaks.

A close up of the USA/Japan match - alas, US was red.

Canada won and the place went insane! 

The US/Japan match came down to measuring the very last two stones.

 

And alas, the decision went to Japan.

We all headed out after the match, into a glorious evening.  We had a trek back out to the Skytrain station, but who cared when you had this to look at as you walked?

On one street was this lovely house. The cat in the window made me laugh. He was entranced by us walking by.

 

Here's a close-up!

After catching the Skytrain, I headed back to the train station and got my Business Class seat (the single seat on the left). I think I slept the whole way home. And our movie coming home? "Miracle" Ah ha ha!

So it was home again and flat out in bed at about 1:30am.  Whew! It was a fantastic exhausting day! And there was one more that I knew of....

Power video

Here's the completely unedited, shaky video I took (click on the video itself, not the title - that tries to take you to where I posted it on facebook).

POWER

A couple weekends ago Mr Cow and I went on a local roadtrip.  We headed down to the Georgetown neighborhood, just south of downtown Seattle, and visited the Georgetown Power Plant Museum. It's only open for casual visitors on the 2nd Saturday of each month, so you have to time your visit well!

Built in 1906, this power plant used to power the Interurban railway, and the Seattle trolley system, as well as the surrounding neighborhood.  It was one of the first reinforced concrete building on the West Coast.

A few informative links:

http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/seattle/s35.htm

http://www.asme.org/Communities/History/Landmarks/Georgetown_Steam_Plant.cfm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgetown_Steam_Plant

I'd never been there before, but I fell hard for the place on first sight.

 

Outside the museum, they had some steam trains running.

Inside, the building is still as-is - in working condition.  As in, this is not some slick museum with glassed-in displays and movies.  No, this is a *working* museum, and you need to watch out that you don't burn yourself or stick a hand in some gears somewhere!

After falling in love with the outside of the building, I next fell for this: the old elevator, now disabled and sitting on the ground floor.

Look at this metal ornamentation.  I want an elevator like this!

One thing I enjoy in industrial sites is the habit of putting metal signs on everything. I took about 50 snaps of those, I'll only force one on you!

The other thing I adore is DIALS.  Dials, gauges, meters, etc etc etc.  I don't know why. I just do. And I'm not ashamed of my love!

The museum is storing this steam train that used to run in Anacortes by a married couple, until the death of the husband.  I was SO happy to see it here, I've wondered for years what happened to this gorgeous little train (It's about as tall as I am) that was so perfectly equipped. When I rode it, I got to sit in this lovely red-velvet-upholstered parlour car, with isinglass furnace and bead-fringed lampshades!

I also have a fondness for decorative identification.  Many of the burner covers had the insignias of different local power companies - I suppose as others went out of business or were absorbed, their spare parts were snagged for repairs here. 

More dials....

The lighting inside was fantastic, though I really needed a better camera to get good photos. I like how this one turned out, though.  Reminds me of 1920's industry photos.

This one is another favorite.

Here's a flash photo looking into a couple of those burner vents you can see above, along the floor.

 

I LOVE this .... suddenly I have forgotten the name of the thingeemabobber on the side. Annunciator? Nooo.... something like that, though.  Can't you just see this in an old Warner Brothers cartoon, though?  "Talking" the alarm noise, moving like a mouth?  Heh. 

Also cool were all the old buttony-dials.

And the old telephones!  This one even has the sheet of crank signals you needed to use to make a call.

And oh dear, these old heaters sang to me.

Another artsy light shot.

And another, looking straight up to the roof 5 stories up.

Switches and other equipment:

The Power Plant is right on the edge of the Boeing Field runway/airport:

And in the 80s, the Power Plant gained Landmark status.

 

This next *really* cracked me up.    The first aid kit .... with an old blowtorch on top.  Yes, I would need first aid if I attempted to use this!

More gauges...

Don't these remind you of organ pipes?  They'er power cables, going in to the boiler - or wait, the vacuum? Argh. I'm all mixed up.  :)

This "newer" phone is still a lovely old piece.

 

And that's it!  If you're in Seattle on the 2nd Saturday of the month, I highly recommend a stop by. So many things to look at, and the staff will even start up some of the massive machinery - I have a video of one bit that I'll post later!

Happy Solstice!

Around these parts, the solstice is very important ... when you get up in the dark and go to work in the dark and come home in the dark, you really pay attention to the moment that days start to become longer.

So yesterday we gathered at the shore to watch the sun set behind the Olympic Mountains, had a bonfire, and made s'mores to celebrate the return of sunshine.  Only a few seconds at a time, but every bit helps!

Ok ok, so it wasn't really a *bonfire*, it was a charcoal bbq.  :) But it was FIRE!

 

The sunset was marvelous.  The rain stopped, clouds parted, and we got to see a bit of the Olympic Mountains.

 

Another view, with Magnolia peeking in from the left.

 

Flaming marshmallows!

Mmmmmmmmmmmm, s'mores!

 

A real bonfire, sunset, and a ferry in the background.

 

A sliver of a moon, tree trunk, lights of Magnolia neighborhood, bonfire, and the wee bit of light left in the sky.

Seattle sights

During our big freeze and a stretch of sunny days, I was out and about to some parts of Seattle that I hardly ever get to.

One stop was in the Georgetown neighborhood, where the original Rainer Brewery still stands. I love old industrial buildings, and this one has great signs on it.

Malthouse:

 

Brewhouse:

Stockhouse:

Later that week I popped down to Pike Place Market. Haven't been there in a long time as I no longer work in downtown Seattle.  Here's a view south with a Washington State ferry heading out from the dock, looks like a Bremerton run. The big of low-lying land behind it is Harbor Island, where my mother worked for the Navy when she came to town in 1952.

Here's a view of Mount Rainier peeking up over the two sports stadiums, Qwest Field (football/soccer) and Safeco Field (baseball). The smokestack is from Seattle Steam, which heats many of the buildings in downtown Seattle.

Here's a view out across Elliott Bay, with West Seattle poking into the picture from the left side. The hills you see out across the water are Banbridge Island, then Hood Canal hills, then the Olympic Mountains on the Olympic Penninsula. You can see a ferry heading out there, and a barge coming in from the right.

And of course, no trip to the Pike Place Market is complete without a bag of mini-donuts! Only one made it home, the rest were sustenance along the way...

 

Where in the world was Camelama?

Today I got to visit a very special place.

Hint:

  

Need more?

  

Yup, that's right, I was in the Ballard Locks!   (Or as they're known officially, the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks and Carl S. English Gardens)

The large lock gets pumped out once a year, and this year I got the very rare opportunity to go down into the lock.  It was incredible!  55' down, where you would normally be below 36+ feet of water... oh, the mechanical geek in me was squeeeeeing in delight the entire time!

We got to explore the entire lock end to end:

 

And even went underneath the locks!

 

There was sea life still in the locks to look at:

 

We got to go into many different nooks and crannies:

 

These zinc bars keep the underwater metal from rusting away:

 

It was astonishing to go from darkness to daylight so quickly sometimes:

 

back up top outside the lock we got a closer look at a capstan:

 

The whole time we were down there, pumps were running to keep all the spillage, rain, and leak water out of the lock.

Traffic continued to go through the small lock alongside - when we were below ground we could hear and feel the water flow nearby.

this is what we had for going up and down 5 stories - nerve-wracking!!

One thing I brought away from the tour was: barnacles are EVERYWHERE.

 

The whole time we were down there exploring, the crows up top were keeping tabs on us...

 

It was an experience I will never forget - what a great day!

Mobile Chowdown

This past weekend there was a confluence of mobile food vendors (that is, mobile vendors, not mobile food - walking sandwiches, eek!) in Seattle.  I stopped by, thinking to grab a bit of bbq and a delicious dessert of ice cream, but alas, I was thwarted by the unexpected:

 

CROWDS!  Who knew that on a cold windy Saturday in Seattle, hundreds and hundreds of people would turn out for a casual, word-of-mouth event in an empty gravelly lot behind a grocery store in a light industry neighborhood?!  (I'm amused by how many people are in black and dark colors on this, the first truly chilly weekend in Seattle. Where are all our colors?!)

One truck I really wanted to visit, el camion:

Then there was the truck-shaped-like-a-pig:

And my favorite, the Parfait Ice Cream truck - with my NOT favorite thing, a GARGANTUAN line snaking across the parking lot:

 

A view of the limited seats/tables, full, with more folks sitting on blankets and the bare cement/gravel:

Everyone there seemed happy, and all the folks I chatted with were resigned to the crowds and even joking about it.  And with the weather gods smiling, and no rain, folks could linger as long as they wanted.

I left empty-handed - not that the lines alone deterred me, but I was on my way to somewhere else with a timeline, so couldn't stay long. Upon hearing this one woman snatched a forkful of bbq from her take-away box and said "you MUST taste *something*!" and so I obliged. YUM.

I hope to catch Parfait in one of their normal weekend spots soon, to make up for the lines today.

Port of Seattle Cruise 101

This Friday I had the chance to tour a cruise ship, the Holland America "Zaandam", courtesy of the Port of Seattle.  We got to run around on the ship, and saw a presentation by the Environmental Officer regarding waste treatment etc by the company and individual ships, and the Port of Seattle. Fascinating! While running around I was so busy gawking I forgot to stop and take good pictures!  So here are just a few quick shots I got.

Heading up the covered passenger gangplank, a massive 4-story inclined walkway from dock to level ... 4? I think? on the ship.

The oddly ornate-and-elegant-yet-cheap-and-tacky organ - which was the vibe of the whole ship. Beautiful, tacky, elegant, cheap, crowded, massive, it was so weird.

The other cruise ship in dock at the time, a Celebrity ship:

A 1790's man's outfit - gorgeous incredible embroidery, hand beading, handmade lace etc. Why they had this and another outfit on display, we couldn't figure out. They weren't Dutch, they weren't from any other time period of anything else on board the ship...

The two-story dining room - top floor is assigned seating, bottom floor is take what you can find.

How do you remember what day it is on board ship, where day/time doesn't seem to matter? The elevator floor mats tell you!

One of the pools, on the Lido Deck. I was told by a crew member that this pool is *crammed* full of people normally.  During loading, though, no one is swimming - and it is getting a bit cool out in Seattle.

Another pool, towards the stern. Why it was covered with netting, no one knew.

A view of Queen Anne hill and downtown Seattle:

View the other direction, of Magnolia, the marina, the bridge that no one can decide what to do about, the hillsides that lose houses once in a while during mudslides, etc. 

The "teens only" section of the ship:

Staff had been out swabbing down the decks before we came by:

View of the new cruise ship terminal, crab/fish boats, light industry, etc. This is the Interbay area, between Queen Anne hill and Magnolia hill, with Ballard to the north. 

Lots of warning signs all over the place.

Massive lifeboats:

The ship we toured:

The other ship in dock:

Looking out the cruise ship terminal to Puget Sound, with the gangplank:

It was a great tour, and I encourage folks to sign up for the Port of Seattle's email announcements so that you can join a tour too!  www.portseattle.org

Road - er, Ferry Trip

Mr Cow and I got out of town on Labor Day and spent the day out on the water. Walking on the ferry at Edmonds, we traveled to Kingston, got off the ferry, wandered around the marina and the town, had dinner at the Ale House, wandered around a bit more, then walked on the ferry again to head home with the city lights twinkling.

Here's the ramp for foot traffic at Edmonds, this leads you up to the ferry:

The day was just perfect - cool, rainy at times, cloudy, and some wind.

Sometimes the rainclouds would loom and darken the day
 

We saw fantastic cloud shapes all day - I saw a leaping rabbit in this one

I like ships' wakes

And then the rain squalls would hit us again

Then the ferry took an abrupt turn - because this idiot wouldn't get out of the way. Really? You want to play chicken with a *FERRY* in your little tin can of a motor boat?!!
 

The turn was needed anyway, as we were headed into Kingston ferry dock:

Kingston itself is about two blocks long up the hill, and one block along the waterfront - and that's it.

Here's the Kingston ramp for walk-on traffic:

And Kingston's nice city park with their new gazebo/stage, we'll have to make it over for a concert some lovely summer evening:

After a walk around the marina we headed into town (one block!) and to the Main Street Ale House. We splurged on fish and chips, accompanied by Moose Drool beer (YUM - lovely brown ale), and then splurged again for dessert: Chocolate Pate' with raspberry coulis and freshly made whipped cream:
 

With night falling we headed back to the ferry, perfect timing - we walked up to check the schedule and there it was, nudging into the dock to unload:
 

Night ferry rides are a favorite of mine, especially when you can catch the sun still shining over the Olympics but you're running along in pitch black:

And so to home and bed. We were soaking wet from the pounding rain, wind-blasted, cold, and so very happy. We're typically the only people outside on these ferry runs. Tourists and most natives alike seem to fear the elements - after about three minutes of being outside at the start of the run, everyone turns and goes back inside. I can't get enough of it - cold, hard wind! Splattering rain drops or stinging mist or wet wave splashes! That's my kind of ferry ride! I'm so not a tropical island gal...

Road Trip Video

Heading up Colockum Pass.  A wee bit bouncy.  Just a bit!

Road Trip!

So a few weeks ago I told my pal Mr Cow that we should go on another road trip.  We discussed where to go and decided on Leavenworth.  I pictured a quick trip up this side of Stevens Pass, a day in Leavenworth itself, a little hike up Icicle Creek, and driving back down the Pass.

HA.

I should have known, no road trip with Mr Cow goes as planned.

Our route ended up being: Seattle, heading out I90 west. Quick stop in North Bend to fuel up:

and off we go over Snoqualmie Pass and along Keechelus Lake

Next we had an errand to run in Cle Elum

We headed out into the surrounding farmland
 

On our way to Ellensburg and lunch with a dear friend. Where I forgot to take photos! Oops. Ah well, off we go again, north out of Ellensburg to Colockum Road.

We stopped to lock the truck hubs to get ready for 4-wheel driving, and got an early warning of the road conditions ahead...

So, up and over!

 

We took a quick stop to let our teeth stop rattling

 

We saw some wildlife

And some wirelife (ha ha)

It's tough to keep a fence up if you can't dig any post holes

We drove along the Coffin Reserve

We found an actual roadsign, made out of steel - and yet still some silly people blasted at them with shotguns.  Sigh.

We made a few wrong turns, but always found something wonderful - like this beautiful cool green glen, after a hot dusty afternoon

 We moved out of Ponderosa pines to more larches

But had to head back to pine country when we realized we were going deeper into the mountains, and not north to Wenatchee. We realized we were on the right road again with this view of the Columbia:

Looking off to the other side to Wenatchee
 

No photos of the bumpy slide down the Pass, we were too busy holding on! Holy cats, that was bumpy. We finally stopped in civilization to let the brakes cool off.

It was late enough in the day that we headed for home, a quick dinner in Wenatchee and a dash through Leavenworth. It was dark yet good conditions over Stevens Pass, and we were soon home. Whew!

I'm still finding dust from Colockum Pass in my hair, even though I've showered twice. That stuff is tenacious!

Farmers Market

Lots of flower vendors at the farmers market today, more than I remember from previous.  Root veggies are really starting to show up - I forgot to stop by the great potato booth on my way out, wah! Next week.

I indulged in flowers as my veggies turned out to be much cheaper than I expected.

 

Was tempted by, but did not give in to, the organic filet mignon. Droooooool.  Only 31 bucks!  (HA!)

And of course, had a slice of Verace' pizza - they had a line about 20 people long. Was worth the wait, as always.

Came home exhausted, sweaty, wiped out - my legs and hands are kind of shaky, I walked so many miles in the sun (yes, with a hat to shade my face!). Reminder to self: this is why you were going to get up early and go to the market at 10am, not 1pm! Not as many people, not as hot, not as many kids, and the pizza oven might not be ready yet to tempt you. :)

Summer bounty from the neighbor

My neighbor has an incredible yard, full of all sorts of wonderful flowers and shrubs and plants no one knows anything about. People give her plants, she finds them on sale places, and has even rescued some from a construction site (with permission, of course!).

Any flowers or fruit that come through our fence into my yard are my property, she insists. So over the years I've enjoyed flowers every summer, so many different kinds that bloomed from late winter to late fall! And once in a while, even a winter bloomer.

So imagine my delight when she planted blueberry bushes along the fenceline! Free fruit! It's taken a few years but yesterday I realized patience was paying off:

Woooo! Blueberry pancakes, here I come!

And a little later this summer, there will be grapes:

And on the other side of the house, my little apple tree has a gift for me...

The first rosy blush on one of the four little apples growing on my tree.  

It's a regular fruit salad in this yard right now.

And the pyrotechnics begin....

We are not amused.

Pepperoni and Green Olives: Olympus has nothin' on this

The last couple days here in town have been sweltering. I know, I know, it's nothing compared to Texas or OK or India or anywhere else where the heat melts thermometers.

But for the PNW? It was HOT. We beat heat records for the day - and easily, too.  Mega hot.

So cooking was NOT on the list of things I wanted to do - with a 400sq ft house, cooking heats every part of the house up, and this house is very very stubborn about cooling down. There's zero air movement most of the time.

In order to have something other than cereal, sandwiches or salads yet again, we ordered pizza in one night.

Pepperoni and Green Olive from Pagliacci Pizza.  Ok, so it's really only a pepperoni pizza to which we added lots of oregano and sliced green olives. Why doesn't anyone [who makes good pizza] in Seattle carry green olives for their pizzas?! It's all over the place in the Midwest - I fondly recall the "Georgian Deep Dish" pizza with pepperoni, green olives, and a garlic-y crust at the Cottage Inn, located in Ann Arbor, MI. Or the thin crust pep & green at Vivio's in Indian River, MI.  Or even a Chicago style, with green olives, at Gino's East in Chicago.

Pagliacci comes close to those memories ... on a good night it has an excellent crust well-cooked but not too crispy, a good ratio of cheese to sauce (I am NOT a fan of extra cheese on pizza), and a nice distribution of peps so that adding sliced green olives just adds that little extra zing.

Rainy day

Last night was frenetic around here .... pounding rain, 1" of hail, thunder, lightning, half-crazed squirrels falling out of trees onto me ... yup, it was a weird wild night.

But at least there were no black bears just two blocks from my house- THAT was two days ago!!!

As I sat and listened to the rain pinging on the stovepipe and rattling on the windows (blown horizontal in the storm), I was reading notes of my trip to England a couple years ago.  The day I randomly picked was Salisbury. That was also a horribly wet day, and I walked through the rain from the trainstation to the Close to meet some Thirkell Society folks for tea and a talk.

Luckily the skies cleared after the meeting, so that we were able to stroll the Close and discuss books and Thirkell even longer. The train ride home that day was interrupted when lightning took out the signals on the rail line ...  it's all connected, isn't it?

ZOMG PON1ES!!1!!1!!

Today is Syttende Mai, or Norwegian Constitution Day (or "grunnlovsdag").  My neighborhood has one of the largest parades outside of Norway, and has been parading on this day since 1889. 

The Norwegian Fjord horses have been walking in the parade for the past 3 years, and this year they set up in the parking lot of the Nordic Heritage Museum early in the day, and allowed people to pet the horses.

So of course I took advantage of the situation! :) 

This is Ti, a 7 week old foal. SO FUZZY!!!! So soft, and curly little forelock and mane .... I just melted.

I was so intrigued by Mom's ears - the little brown rounded tips that dip over at the top.

Horsey rumps!  Heh. I couldn't resist this photo. Notice all the little kiddies petting the horses - the Fjords are so calm and phlegmatic, they didn't mind anything going on around them.

Doesn't Lana have the most gorgeous forelock?  Notice her mane - they trim the white outer portion below the black inner portion.  Supposedly in Norway right now, some people are trimming actual shapes into the manes!

 Mr Cow got some horse kisses.  :)

This happy little guy was bopping around the horses, very interested in them, the people, and all the bits to eat! He was so glossy in the sunshine, he shone purple and blue and black.

Street Fair!

Today was the 40th University District Street Fair.  Perfect weather - hot, sunny, dry.

The place was PACKED. Massive crowds. I had forgotten how crowded this thing gets - I used to live on one of the Street Fair streets, and the Street Fair weekend was always hellish. I'd hole up in my windowless closet just to get away from the steel drum band outside my windows that played 12 hours a day and only know about 10 songs total.  That and the smell from the food booths, all day and all night, was just insane. I couldn't eat all weekend, it would make me ill to breath that in all day long.

Thank goodness I live on the other side of the city now. I haven't been back for the Fair in about 15 years. So this was a nice stroll - well, shuffling shoving creeping through a mass of hot sweaty crabby humanity stroll - down Memory Lane.

This thing is so big, you need maps!

There are also lots of street performers at the Street Fair. This guy was supposedly some entertainer of some sort, but all I heard/saw him do in all the time I was near him was tell many many very very bad jokes. Very bad.

And while there are the lovely Seattle food booths like fresh salmon, shellfish, wild berries, local restaurants, organic food etc, what's a Street Fair without:

And when you got too hot and tired, you could head off east on a sidestreet, cross 15th, and go sprawl in the shade on the University of Washington campus:

Alas, I had to leave the sun and fun and head down to the sub-basement for work. Only.... why are the officially-named "Basement" and "Sub-basement" floors labeled "C" and "M"??!

Roadtrip!

Yesterday Mr Cow and I went on a roadtrip to pay land taxes in Ellensburg, and go hiking in the Yakima River Canyon.

I couldn't stop taking mountain and scenery pictures, it was just such a gorgeous day. Rain! Stormclouds! Dark day! Bright day! Sun's out! Blue sky! Puffy Clouds! Hail! Storm clouds! Blue sky! Puffy Clouds! etc etc.

Some selections from the day follow here.

SNOW!  Yup, still snow up in the mountain passes:

Why all the different kinds of power poles?

Enjoyed many rocky hillsides as we followed the Yakima River canyon...

Lovely views unfold as you go further down the river....

We crossed the river on this suspension bridge

and hiked up the canyon along the Umtanum Creek.

In the canyon, some flowers are out, and the flowering trees are at their peak or just starting. Lots of pears, apples, almonds, and walnuts.  And then this gorgeous flowering quince!

And this lavender was just a day or two away from bursting out:

And a lovely apple tree almost ready to blossom:

The basalt cliffs along the canyon are fascinating, the colors, striations, formations and caves make every new turn in the trail interesting.
 

I loved this stretch of huckleberry with quaking aspen growing up through the bushes.

Sadly, it was time to head for home - we turned around and realized how high we'd climbed, at least 400' in elevation. And a long way to the truck!

Of course we stopped for dinner at the Bar14. For one thing, we were hungry, but also we didn't want to hit city traffic at rush hour, on the other side of the mountains.

Of course, there were lovely snowy mountains to see on the drive home, because we were going back through them:

Got home for a lovely pink sky over downtown Seattle:

It was a great day, today I'm stiff from the hike but ready to go again!

Roaming Gnomes

Billyum the Gnome has been visiting with me lately, as part of the Roaming Gnome project that my gnome Lulu is part of.

Today we took a walk in the GORGEOUS weather and visited a favorite museum of mine:

Snuggie Pub Crawl!

That's right, people!  Grab yer Snuggie and come out for a night of good beer, good food, good fun, and snuggly comfort.

It's the Snuggie Pub Crawl !

It's gorgeous today!

Here's a sample of my day, a flowering cherry tree in the sun.  This is from this afternoon's walk in a local public garden.

24 ears, 12 tails, 48 hooves - how many horsepower?

It was Plowing Days this weekend, and Mr Cow was there and took pictures.  His favorite was the 12-mule team.  I greatly admire the people who can drive a team like this - just think how many reins they have to manipulate at the same time, with *MULES* on the end of 'em!

Another Birthday Ferry trip!

It was my pal's birthday again (amazing how it happens every year) and so we set off on another grand Island adventure on the WA state ferries.

The day started out quite wet:

And waiting in the Anacortes ferry line was still very very wet:

But once we got to Orcas Island, it wasn't too bad. We set out for a hike:

We stopped to throw some rocks in the lake:

We touched some trees:

And threw some sticks into the lake:

We went halfway up Mt Constitution (the road was closed due to ice and snow):

And we enjoyed a GORGEOUS sunset heading home:

It was a beautiful day full of rain, friends, rain, sunshine, fun, rain, and ferry rides.  Oh yes, and rain. :)

Cargo 101

Well, the last of the 4 Port of Seattle tours was this week, and we got to see a couple of different cargo terminals and a railroad gateway.  Unfortunately we were only allowed to drive through in a bus, no chance of getting out and taking real pictures, so please forgive the poor photography.  I was still geekin' out, though, and was quite happy afterwards.   Ah, engineering!  Logistics!  Efficiency!  The project manager in me was all a quiver.  Photos after the break!

Duwamish 101 part 3

Duwamish 101, part 3!  Photos and descriptions after the break, due to the # of photos.

Duwamish 101 part 2

Duwamish tour, part 2.  Photos and descriptions after the break, due to the # of photos.

Duwamish 101 part 1

I had the pleasure of attending the Duwamish 101 tour offered by the Port of Seattle. After the jump are my photos and trip description.

It was a gorgeous day to be out on the water.

TOMATO NATION FALL CONTEST IS UNDERWAY!

Prize to be won!  Projects to fund!  Help a teacher help the world...

Plus!  ("Wait, there's more!")

If her supporters donate over $100,000 ... Sars will dance around in a tomato costume at THE WHITE HOUSE.

OH yeah.  This I wanna see.

Tomato Nation Fall Contest

Do it!  3 bucks! 5! 10! 100!  Whatever ya got.

Right foot on R....

On my tour of SeaTac's new 3rd runway, we took pictures of our right feet on the runway's painted "R" (for 'right' runway, instead of L for left or C for center)

Ship Canal 101

Today I had the privilege of attending a tour of the Ship Canal, put on by the Port of Seattle.  We rode around on an small Argosy tour ship, with quite a few speakers - folks from Foss Shipyards, a few tug companies, Ballard Oil, and the Port/Fisherman's Wharf. 

I loved seeing the seaplanes going by overhead, the boats going by, and cars overhead as we went under bridges.  And I learned a lot!  I hope to do the tour again next year, I missed so much!

TOO HOT

Too. hot. to. type.

and the darn cat wants to SNUGGLE.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

WHERE IS MY DARK GRAY RAINY SEATTLE DAY?!?!

Excessive Heat Warning

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
1000 AM PDT FRI AUG 15 2008

...HOT TEMPERATURES AND STAGNANT CONDITIONS OVER MOST OF WESTERN
WASHINGTON WILL CONTINUE THROUGH SATURDAY..

WAZ505-507>509-160100-
/O.UPG.KSEW.HT.Y.0002.080815T1900Z-080817T0500Z/
/O.NEW.KSEW.EH.W.0001.080815T1900Z-080817T0500Z/
/O.CON.KSEW.AS.Y.0001.000000T0000Z-080817T0500Z/
EAST PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS-EVERETT AND VICINITY-
SEATTLE/BREMERTON AREA-TACOMA AREA-
1000 AM PDT FRI AUG 15 2008

...AIR STAGNATION ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM PDT
SATURDAY..
...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM PDT SATURDAY..

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED AN EXCESSIVE
HEAT WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM PDT SATURDAY. THE
HEAT ADVISORY IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. AN AIR STAGNATION ADVISORY
REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM PDT SATURDAY.

AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING MEANS THAT A PROLONGED PERIOD OF
DANGEROUSLY HOT TEMPERATURES WILL OCCUR. THE COMBINATION OF HOT
TEMPERATURES AND HIGHER HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO CREATE A
DANGEROUS SITUATION IN WHICH HEAT ILLNESSES ARE LIKELY. DRINK
PLENTY OF FLUIDS...STAY IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM...STAY OUT OF
THE SUN...AND CHECK UP ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS.

FROM THE CENTRAL SOUND SOUTHWARD AWAY FROM THE WATER...HIGH
TEMPERATURES TODAY AND SATURDAY WILL SOAR INTO THE 90S...A FULL 15
TO 20 DEGREES ABOVE AVERAGE FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. IN
ADDITION...NIGHTTIME LOW TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN WARM IN THE 60S
TO LOWER 70S.

THE COMBINATION OF HOT WEATHER AND A RATHER STAGNANT AIR MASS
WILL CAUSE AIR QUALITY TO DETERIORATE ACROSS THE REGION AS OZONE
BUILDS UP IN THE LOWER ATMOSPHERE. THEREFORE...THE PUGET SOUND
CLEAR AIR AGENCY HAS ISSUED A SMOG WATCH FOR KING...PIERCE..
SNOHOMISH...AND KITSAP COUNTIES.

OZONE LEVELS WILL PEAK DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS.REACHING
UNHEALTHY LEVELS. PEOPLE WITH LUNG AILMENTS MAY WANT TO RESTRICT
OUTDOOR ACTIVITY DURING THE WARMEST PART OF THE DAY. IF YOU ARE
CONCERNED ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF HOT WEATHER AND THE BUILDUP OF
POLLUTANTS...CHECK WITH THE PUGET SOUND CLEAR AIR AGENCY OR YOUR
LOCAL AIR QUALITY AGENCY FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

$$

Stuffed!

Attended the Ballard Seafood Festival this weekend.  Got some sun (ouch!), lots of seafood (YUM!), perused the sidewalk sale (only spent $5.00!  Such a good unemployed person on a budget!), and listened to some great music.

Forgot to take pictures so got one as I was driving away....

Yes, I drove the few blocks to the fest - I know, I know, environmentally unsound.  But I took a big donation of clothes and goods to the charity store before going to the Fest, so I refuse to feel guilty.

Don't you love it when streets get closed down and given over to the pedestrians? It's such a great feeling, walking down the street without having to worry about cars, like you're doing the wrong thing but getting away with it.  Hee.  Also why I do adore the Ballard Farmer's Market - again, street gets closed down to vehicles!

Cool! (in more than one way)

Washington State Department of Transportation's Flickr page: Snow Doughnuts!