Mukilteo Musings

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

NATURE gives me my stories.

The topic I had planned to write about keeps getting shoved off my blog because of Mother Nature--but that's OK because stories about lawyers are probably boring to most people anyway. I'll just say a little. I attended one of my required conferences last week about Lawyers and Ethics. Yes, we are required to obtain several Ethics credits every year. This is not an oxymoron. Several attorneys spoke to us throughout the day but I noted two in particular because they were so stereotypical Seattle!!

GEEKMAN
The first one was a guy from Microsoft. As he droned on in his monotone, with his power point presentation, all I could ask myself was, "Could this guy even be any more geeky?" His hair was parted on the side, he had big glasses, khakis and a green sweater over a blue button-down collared shirt. He actually looked like Bill Gates--maybe that's a requirement at Microsoft in addition to his Oxford and Yale education. I am sure he has tons of money.

COOLDUDEHIPPIEMAN
Lawyer number two was from the Washington State Bar Association. In fact, if any lawyer has a question about whether something they are about to do is right or wrong, this guy will answer the phone. His presentation was from scratched notes on a yellow legal pad. He had no power point; he just told fascinating true stories about lawyers getting into trouble for doing really stupid things like "borrowing" money from clients' trust accounts. I thought to myself, "This guy could not be more cool!" His hair was very long and pulled back into a significant pony tail. He had a dangly earring and an armful of bracelets, but he did not look comfortable in his suit and tie. I had this feeling money was not terribly important to him.

So now on to MOTHER NATURE!
The truth is it is NOT windy in the Puget Sound area. Ninety-five percent of the time with our 40-50-60's and chance of rain weather, we have no wind and barely a breeze. It is windy out on the coast and in the middle of our state--especially driving over the Columbia River at Vantage--but not in Seattle. I actually have memories of my children first feeling wind when they were babies and they would act like they could not breathe. Out of my window at this very moment, it is calm, the water is smooth, and barely any movement of leaves on my rhodies and azaleas. I really like not having to worry about my hair blowing all over--ever.

The reason we have no wind is because we get it all at once and half of the time unexpectedly. Like yesterday!!! Usually this happens in November or January but not April. The wind hit us off the water like a freight train. It lasted from 3:30 to 5:30 in the afternoon. I could not open my back door and Apolo, my Golden Retriever was scared to death. The Edmonds Ferry stopped service because of waves and a Mukilteo Ferry had windows blown out. The problem is we have huge evergreen trees everywhere and they blow over. When they blow over they smash into houses, pull down wires, and block traffic. A single tree actually fell onto I-5 and blocked 2 or 3 lanes of traffic. Our power went out at 5 and did not come back on until 11. No computer, no TV, no lights!! Interestingly, at 5:30 when the wind stopped, it STOPPED. It was completely calm and sunny like nothing had happened!! Without power, I noticed everybody was walking or gardening and that is exactly what I did. After I found some of my deck cushions in my neighbor's driveway, I watered all of my flowers and my potted kitchen garden and decided I'd pick up branches another time.

// posted by Janet @ 10:08 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Ten On Tuesday from yanowhatimean.com

Ten Childhood Cartoons: well, well, well, this is digging deep into recesses of my mind--glad I passed up all the drugs in college!

1. Huckleberry Hound--I even had a Huckleberry Hound bracelet
2. Yogi Bear
3. Woody Woodpecker
4. Bullwinkle
5. Elmer Fudd
6. Roadrunner
7. Bugs Bunny
8. Alvin and the chipmunks--I even had Alvin bubblebath
9. Flintstones
10. Jetsons

// posted by Janet @ 10:26 AM 0 comments

Monday, April 26, 2004

Lunch Time Vacation

I had a couple of appointments at the University of Washington today so I met my husband for lunch. The UW is located on Lake Washington and it curves around and is bordered by the Montlake Cut and Portage Bay. Those bodies of water lead into Lake Union which leads to the locks and out to Puget Sound. Portage Bay has a lot of boat traffic going between the bodies of water and it is lined with houseboats. This is our favorite place to watch the Christmas ships but it is equally wonderful on a sunny warm day like today.

We stepped into a Mexican food place right on Portage Bay where we watched yachts float by. After lunch, we walked along the water behind the UW Health Sciences and Hospital. UW Fisheries has a salmon hatchery that is fun to see. Unfortunately, today, there was a net over the pond and a male mallard duck was unable to fly away. His female partner was waddling along the edge quacking at him, "How did you get your sorry self stuck under there?", or something like that.

Since my husband is a professor there (though he has nothing to do with Fisheries), I made him lift the net in an attempt to reunite our ducky couple. Mr. Duck was too afraid of my husband to make his break for freedom. I stood there sadly thinking about Mr. and Mrs. Duck's unlucky separation while my husband continued our pleasant walk. "Come on, I have to get back to my office. The Fisheries students will take care of it, I promise!" I felt like making some retort about that fact it was the male of the species that got HIMself stuck under that net but decided against it.

Our lunchtime had otherwise been so lovely.

// posted by Janet @ 2:42 PM 0 comments

WHALES, WHALES, WHALES

I had another topic planned for my blog today but I just have to write about whales yet again. On Friday evening at about 6PM, I glanced out my kitchen window and saw a spout and sure enough a lone whale was swimming north. I had a feeling it was a humpback and not a gray. Evidently, a humpback, which is rare in Puget Sound, has been seen. I reported it to my network and created a little stir with the possibility of it being the humpback.

Last evening as we were finishing dinner at 7:30, I saw two whales quite close to shore. These were grays; they spouted twice and one of them dove and flipped his tail out of the water. I was ecstatic. I no longer am able to pitter patter around my kitchen without the binoculars glued to my eyes--it makes it hard to do dishes. My daughter clearly saw the whales last night without her glasses or binoculars because they were that close. This sighting was reported as well.

// posted by Janet @ 7:39 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, April 21, 2004

It is time for some more ONLY IN SEATTLE!

1. Only in Seattle, the Emerald City, is there a portable toilet company called Emerald Sanitary Service. I guess Port-a-Potty and Honey Bucket were taken so this company's slogan is "A Gem of a Toilet"!

2. Only in Seattle do we complain about how the name of our state is referred to. This is not Seattle, the OTHER Washington. And we are not Seattle, Washington STATE. Our state is called Washington. The other place is commonly referred to around here as D.C.--period. To resolve the confusion, there are proponents of renaming our state Cascadia and then we would finally have nothing in common with the other place.

3. Only in Seattle have complaints been trickling in about cell phones. But, the complaints are not about cell phones at the 5th Ave. Theater or at Safeco Field---no. Apparently, hikers seeking peace and quiet in the wilderness are not happy that the peaks of our local volcanoes and lesser mountains are beginning to suffer from noise pollution. The summit of Mt. Rainier has become a literal gabfest. You see, cell phones usually do not work on the trails but once you get to the top--great reception--and the first thing people do is call their nearest loved one and say something like, "WOW, we made it!! You would not believe the view from up here!!"

OK, OK, I plead guilty!!! The minute my son and I made it to the top of Mt. Pilchuk, we called my daughter and said, "WOW, we made it! You would not believe the view from up here!" There were a couple of other groups doing exactly the same thing in a rather small precarious space. Hmmm! Like I said, ONLY in Seattle.

// posted by Janet @ 2:01 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Ten on Tuesday from yanowhatimean.com

Today's topic is "Ten Things I Want To Do Before I Die". Of course, this topic was thought of by a young person and I am very happy to report that had I made this list at age 20 or 30, most items would be checked off by now. Yikes, but I am not ready to die so here goes (in no particular order):

1. Publish a book of some kind.
2. Appear on the Today Show to plug my book.
3. Stay at the Inn at Langley on Whidbey Island and eat dinner there.
4. Attend either the Grammies or the Tonies to see my daughter receive an award.
5. Have a half-Asian grandchild.
6. Go to a charity Gala in Seattle in formal attire.
7. Kayak with Orcas
8. Grow a successful tomato.
9. Learn how to put pictures on my blog.
10. Live healthy and happy into old age.

// posted by Janet @ 9:12 AM 0 comments

Monday, April 19, 2004

Our Half Day Vacation

Yesterday was an enjoyable but typical Sunday for us. It seems that in the past year after moving into our house with a view, we have spent weekends painting or planting. Yesterday, I wanted to do what used to be our usual. Late morning after paper reading and coffee drinking, my husband, my daughter and I set out for the ferry. The Mukilteo ferry is only 6 or 7 minutes from our house. We see it everyday to the north crossing the water to Whidbey Island. Farther to the south, we see the Edmonds ferry crossing the water to the Olympic Peninsula.

The Mukilteo to Clinton ferry is about a 25 minute crossing. Even after all of these years, I still find it fun to take the ferry. We lovingly call them "poor people's yachts"! It was a sunny day and I never travel without binoculars. The gray whales are seen more on the other side of the ferry crossing so I am always hopeful. Our destination was Langley. It is a small town on the edge of the water on the Island only about 15 minutes from the ferry.

Langley is known as an artist's community with antique shops. We looked in the stores and the galleries; I found some antique furniture I wanted that was about $1000 too much. My husband discovered a fabulous rosemary bush that he wishes he could replicate. All three of us tried not to laugh at one artisan's jewelry made out of beetle eaten bark. We looked without success for whales from the overlook. The coffee shop was crowded so we entered a little cafe and ordered Penn Cove mussels for a snack; we figured they were better for us than an ice cream cone. The mussels are from Penn Cove which is on Whidbey and they were so fresh. Mmmmm--I am still thinking about them; we tried to get the cook to tell us exactly how he prepared them but he was secretive. We understood.

On the way back toward the ferry, we stopped at the Whidbey Island winery which is one of our favorite places. They have a really neat old dog and we like tasting their wine; it is such a peaceful place in the countryside with lots of trees, grass, flowers, and grape vines. On the ferry ride back, we stayed in the car rather than go upstairs because they parked us in a lovely spot where we could see north and the Cascade Mountains. I made my husband lay back a little so I could see over his head with my binoculars. The three of us were quiet; it had been such an enjoyable day.

All of a sudden, Kaley said, "I wish I had $5000 so I could buy that painting of the pear! I liked it." We had seen a wall sized vibrant colored pear in a gallery. After a few stunned quiet seconds my husband said, "If you like pears!" I don't know, maybe it was the wine but I laughed; that moment was hilarious. No, I never did see any whales but the day could not have been more perfect.

// posted by Janet @ 12:07 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, April 14, 2004

Three Orcas

1. Springer. Springer was a baby female orca whose mother had died. She became separated from her pod--the A pod--out of Canada and spent months by herself in Puget Sound waters. Boats were becoming her friends. After a gigantic ,risky, experimental and, yes, expensive effort, Springer was reunited with her pod almost two years ago. I cried as I watched on TV the efforts. Orcas spend their entire lives with their Moms. Even after a male orca mates and becomes a father, he remains with his Mom. Maybe this is why I love orcas so much. Anyway, since Springer's Mom was gone, nobody knew if she would be accepted or rejected. (Poor Keiko out there in Iceland with his gimpy fin was never accepted by the wild orcas. We never knew if he had found his original pod and sadly, he died alone in Norway after a long search) But Springer's aunts and other female relatives knew who she was, actively disciplined her about boats and she was seen last summer swimming and living successfully with her family pod.

2. Luna. Luna is a young male orca who was separated from his pod, the L pod. The L pod is a Puget Sound group and Luna is stuck up in Canada---just the reverse of the Springer situation. He, too, is making friends with boats. Since the Springer project was so successful, efforts are underway to reunite Luna with his pod. Evidently, the U.S.Navy, in an attempt to make up for their questionable use of sonar that may have killed and hurt some local dolphins and orcas, has offered to help reunite Luna with the L pod and to provide a tracking device. A Luna Rescue fund exists and more information can be found at projectseawolf.org.

3. Doublestuf. Doublestuf is my orca. The Whale Museum in Friday Harbor, WA (in the San Juan Islands) has a whale adoption program that helps fund educational programs and research. Through this program, members of the public are able to sponsor an orca. My husband has given me my orca for two Christmases and it is the best present ever. We picked Doublestuf because his mother's name is Oreo and that just happens to be my mother's dog's name.

When you sponsor an orca, you receive all sorts of information. I know my orca is a male and he was born in 1997; he has no siblings and his mother is quite young but an excellent Mom. He is a member of the J pod which is often seen right out here in our local waters. Orcas are identified by their markings--they may be black and white but the colors are in different spots on each whale--no two look alike. Also, of course, we know they communicate easily with one another. Each pod has its own dialect. We know from "Shamu" that orcas are able to learn English but humans cannot speak or understand orcanish.

The Puget Sound Orcas, J, K, and L pods are now listed as endangered. One of the major causes is a decline in salmon, their main food source. I used to feel guilty about eating orca food because I like salmon so much. But actually, I only eat wild line caught salmon. The destruction of salmon is mainly caused by the destruction of their river spawning caused by stream side logging, dams, and salmon farming (hatcheries). More information on orca adoption can be obtained from whalemuseum.com.

// posted by Janet @ 2:14 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

Ten on Tuesday from yanowhatimean.com

Ten Positive Qualities I Have:

1. Caring
2. Listen to people
3. Loyal
4. Passion for Justice
5. Loving and affectionate Mom
6. Tolerant
7. Good with Dogs
8. Smart
9. See humor all around me
10. I know how to be happy.

// posted by Janet @ 9:03 AM 0 comments

The Various Ways to Describe RAIN

The usual forecast around here is 40's and chance of rain. It is the local joke--40's and chance of rain. Spring brings 50's and chance of rain and summer brings 60's and chance of rain.

This morning I listened painfully to a local forecaster try to vary his weather prediction of 50's and chance of rain over and over. Seriously, I pulled out pen and paper and wrote down each of his references to RAIN.
1. light rain
2. itty bitty rain shower
3. drizzle
4. spot showers
5. sprinkles
6. a few rain drops

// posted by Janet @ 7:46 AM 0 comments

Monday, April 12, 2004

Easter and Tulips

We did not go to the tulip fields this year but that's OK; it might have made me sad because this is the first Easter I haven't had my children home. Lucas was doing a little biking in Missoula and Kaley called me from Montreal where her school choir is on a trip.

This is why we did not make our annual visit: It was 75 degrees on Saturday and 80 on Easter Sunday. Combine that weather with a holiday weekend timed exactly with the full blooming tuilips and the result is major back up on I-5. The tulip fields are in the Skagit Valley between Mount Vernon and La Conner. The Skagit River flows into the Sound and along its banks there are dikes to keep flood waters out of the fields (a perfect place for bulb farmers to plant). The area is 45 or so minutes north of Seattle and it is beyond words beautiful. Our pure white volcano to the north, Mount Baker, looms up and forms a backdrop to the multi-colored tulips as far as you can see.

I can positively say without hesitation that every parent who has raised a child in the Puget Sound area has adorable photos of their children standing between rows of tuilps with Mount Baker in the background!!!!!

Nevertheless, we had a fabulous weekend because the gardening began. We stopped to buy flowers and found some King Crab Legs for our dinner. After fighting traffic on I-5 which was backed up to Everett, we sat on our deck, enjoyed wine and the blue waters of Puget Sound. The next morning, Easter, one of our gray whales who hangs around this time of year decided to pay Mukilteo a visit. I was drinking my coffee outside and I saw him spout and roll over; he was close enough that I did not even need my binoculars.

I love my kids but I had a nice Easter.

// posted by Janet @ 7:54 AM 0 comments

Thursday, April 08, 2004

WORDS

I just felt the need to write down some words. My grandparents came to this country from England after the turn of the century when they were young adults. As I have stated before on this blog, they ended up in the wilderness of this state not far from where I live now. They were pioneers and eventually left the rigors of snow and hardship up on Stevens Pass and settled in Montana. My grandfather's brother stayed here and died alone and as a hermit in a cabin over on Whidbey Island which we can see from every room of our house.

Since my father had very English parents, his speech was influenced and now and then I remember the words he used. Of course, they have escaped my usage:

1. flannel (washcloth)
2. tea towel (dishcloth)
3. basin (sink)
4. tin (pie plate or cake pan)
5. icing (frosting on a cake)
6. davenport (sofa)
7. supper (dinner)
8. front room (living room)
9. spuds (potatoes)

I am sure there are more but this is what I remember now; I never questioned the use of these words and always understood but I tended to copy my friends and my Mom.

// posted by Janet @ 10:58 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, April 07, 2004

A couple of items today:

ONLY IN SEATTLE
1. Only in Seattle do you see a reader board outside of an auto detailing shop advertising, "Clean those latte stains out of your upholstery, today!"

2. Only in Seattle are they considering--just considering --ticketing people for (gasp!) throwing away recyclable materials in the regular garbage. Wash out those tuna fish and pet food cans, folks, and put them in the blue container, not the gray one or you will be fined!!!

// posted by Janet @ 10:28 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, April 06, 2004

Ten on Tuesday from yanowhatimean.com.

My top ten negative qualities: This one is easier than it should be.

1. Worry too much
2. Too overprotective of my kids
3. spend too much time with binoculars
4. Hate to do laundry
5. Not always nice to my husband
6. lazy
7. Say what I think when I should keep my mouth shut.
8. Vain
9. Hold grudges too long
10. I kiss my dog on the lips

// posted by Janet @ 10:04 AM 0 comments

Monday, April 05, 2004

Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain of Nirvana died 10 years ago today in Seattle. It is interesting to me how we remember events because they are tagged in some way to our own lives. 1994 was a dismal winter for me. I believe I suffer from SADS--seasonal affective disorder syndrome--and I heard somewhere that perhaps Kurt Cobain suffered from it as well. Actually, I believe many people in the Pacific Northwest deal with this because of our clouds, rain and northern darkness. (A fabulous two part series about Kurt Cobain by Charles Cross was included in the Seattle Times yesterday and today (seattletimes.com).)

Ten years ago my children were sick all winter. They had never ending colds with asthma and then Lucas came down with chicken pox. Shortly thereafter, Kaley's spots appeared. With chicken pox, the children were housebound for three weeks each and of course, I was housebound with them. After they recovered, I was knocked down with bacterial pneumonia and a follow up asthma that lasted for months. I was never as desperate as Kurt Cobain but it was a dreadful winter and I remember the news when they found his body.

The summer of 1994 was gorgeous. If the immensely talented, artistic Kurt Cobain could have held on until that summer....well, we'll never know. My Mom and I decided to take a cruise to Alaska that summer; I wanted to be pampered after the horrible winter. One day while I was whale watching out on deck, I started to chat with a nice family also watching for whales. It turned out they were the only other people I met on that cruise who were also from Seattle. Somehow, the topic came around to why we took a cruise. Evidently, they needed a break from their neighborhood. You see Kurt and Courtney were their neighbors and after Kurt took his life in the greenhouse on his property, the pilgrimages began--along with the news trucks.

Kurt Cobain grew up in Aberdeen, Washington. Interestingly, even after his death, Nirvana is still wildly popular with teen age boys in our community. My son is a big fan even though he was only 8 when Kurt Cobain died. I mention Aberdeen because one has to drive through Aberdeen on the way to the Washington Coast from Seattle. Aberdeen is a dreary little town with houses badly in need of paint. Every time we head out to Moclips or Copalis Beach on the Washington coast as we pass through Aberdeen, we always say, "No wonder Kurt Cobain was depressed!"

Tragic--just completely tragic that Kurt Cobain could not defeat his demons. According to Patrick McDonald in today's Seattle Times, "And no one has come along since Cobain who is as great an artist....Sad to say, Kurt Cobain was the last great rock star."

// posted by Janet @ 11:08 AM 0 comments

Thursday, April 01, 2004

Passion for Justice: Part 2

My last major post reminded me of a situation in Seattle a few years ago that amused me--it was sooo Seattle. This is the story of Obachine.

Obachine is the restaurant where a group of my friends and me saw Bill Gates. We were waiting for a table; the place was new and crowded. We were an investment club and I, as VP, was responsible for our educational speakers. As Bill Gates crowded by all of us, I announced to them, "Ladies, our next speaker!" Maybe you had to be there but it was hysterical.

Obachine is no longer. Wolfgang Puck has a restaurant in Seattle and his wife decided she wanted one here, too, so she opened Obachine several years ago. It was all decorated in the latest upscale design and colors; the food was very expensive and in small trendy portions. Wolfgang's wife thought Seattle was cool and trendy and she was all excited about her new restaurant. My group decided to try it and so did Bill, I guess and so did a lot of Seattleites. Somebody noticed that as a part of her decor, she included a vintage poster depicting a Chinese man. Unfortunately for Wolfgang's wife, it was a stereotypical and racist image in the poster. Also unfortunately for Wolfgang's wife, she refused to take down the poster when the racist nature of it was quietly pointed out to her. You know, you just don't do that here.

Seattle did what Seattle does best. People wrote letters. The rather significant Asian community spoke out and people took to the streets and picketed the brand new trendy restaurant in downtown Seattle. News crews appeared. However, Wolfgang's wife refused to see the error of her ways. She thought the expensive poster was beautiful. Business dropped off and Wolfgang's wife decided that Seattle was just a terrible place so she shut her doors, packed up her things and left town in a huff never to return. I'm not sure Wolfgang has ever been back either though his restaurant still survives.

// posted by Janet @ 12:18 PM 0 comments