Thursday, May 31, 2007
Bears--My New Favorite Topic
To be honest, I should not say "new" because bears have been a part of my entire life. Lucas' French friends were determined to see some wildlife before returning to Europe and particularly, bears were top priority. Luckily, they achieved their goal in Yellowstone Park by sighting our biggest and best--the Grizzly. The Griz is UM's mascot after all. I love bears but they scare me. My father taught me a healthy respect for them and if they are truly wild and unused to humans, usually they are more afraid of us than we are of them. The Grizzly can and is an exception to the rule. Never would I enjoy sighting a Grizzly while on a hike and I would prefer seeing a black bear from a car than a trail.
When my son takes off to backpack and camp in national parks, I get nervous. Every summer the mauling stories make the newspaper. He does everything right in terms of hanging his food and eating separately from where he sleeps, but still--bears are intelligent and Grizzlies are immediately beneath orcas on the Mensa scale. Thankfully, the bears Lucas has seen this spring with his friends have been from the car on the way to or back from his hiking trips. Whew! Just last week, on a day hiking trip to Washington's Olympic Peninsula, Lucas took these photos of two young bears.
The Yellow Tag--Not sure about him.
I need to follow up with my brother who is quite experienced in dealing with problem bears in the campgrounds around Sheridan, Montana. It seems to me that if they are yellow tagged, it is a label of nuisance. Folks at Yellowstone Park sort of lied to my brother, an experienced Forest Service employee, about where they "redistribute" problem bears after he captured some yellow tagged former Yellowstone Park residents.
And finally, an update on our swimmer bear. He has been named "Columbus" by the powers that be because of his obsession with travel and exploration and the two mile swim across Puget Sound. They caught him today in Federal Way by attracting him with baked goods like muffins and donuts. See!? I predicted it---Federal Way---I knew he was stalking Sanjaya or Apolo. He was tranquilized and he will wake up to find himself even further east---probably with a yellow tag in his ear.
http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_053107WABbearluringLJ.3a0628.html
He is soooo cuuute! Yea, right.
To be honest, I should not say "new" because bears have been a part of my entire life. Lucas' French friends were determined to see some wildlife before returning to Europe and particularly, bears were top priority. Luckily, they achieved their goal in Yellowstone Park by sighting our biggest and best--the Grizzly. The Griz is UM's mascot after all. I love bears but they scare me. My father taught me a healthy respect for them and if they are truly wild and unused to humans, usually they are more afraid of us than we are of them. The Grizzly can and is an exception to the rule. Never would I enjoy sighting a Grizzly while on a hike and I would prefer seeing a black bear from a car than a trail.
When my son takes off to backpack and camp in national parks, I get nervous. Every summer the mauling stories make the newspaper. He does everything right in terms of hanging his food and eating separately from where he sleeps, but still--bears are intelligent and Grizzlies are immediately beneath orcas on the Mensa scale. Thankfully, the bears Lucas has seen this spring with his friends have been from the car on the way to or back from his hiking trips. Whew! Just last week, on a day hiking trip to Washington's Olympic Peninsula, Lucas took these photos of two young bears.
The Yellow Tag--Not sure about him.
I need to follow up with my brother who is quite experienced in dealing with problem bears in the campgrounds around Sheridan, Montana. It seems to me that if they are yellow tagged, it is a label of nuisance. Folks at Yellowstone Park sort of lied to my brother, an experienced Forest Service employee, about where they "redistribute" problem bears after he captured some yellow tagged former Yellowstone Park residents.
And finally, an update on our swimmer bear. He has been named "Columbus" by the powers that be because of his obsession with travel and exploration and the two mile swim across Puget Sound. They caught him today in Federal Way by attracting him with baked goods like muffins and donuts. See!? I predicted it---Federal Way---I knew he was stalking Sanjaya or Apolo. He was tranquilized and he will wake up to find himself even further east---probably with a yellow tag in his ear.
http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_053107WABbearluringLJ.3a0628.html
He is soooo cuuute! Yea, right.
// posted by Janet @ 2:29 PM
0 comments
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Only In Seattle---Update
1. Only in Seattle do the people freak out a little over a couple of bears. Don't get me wrong. I am afraid of bears, too. I had plenty of encounters when I was a kid and our family spent a lot of time camping in tents in places where a bear could have eaten me. I prefer to see them from the inside of a car. But, Seattleites are going a little overboard to call 911 and lock down a school if they see a rummaging black bear. Anyway, the update is that our swimming bear has been spotted several times in south Sound. He has been traveling about 2 miles a day and acting like he is on a mission. At one point he was seen at a park and ride--like maybe he did miss the ferry. Where is he going; what is he looking for? The saga continues.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/317539_bear29.html
Update update: Phil, on his blog, has posted about our swimming bear. He has actually traversed on the very same path by kayak. Here are his pictures of a "bear's eye view."
http://perilsofcaffeineintheevening.com/
One article I read said the lighthouse caretaker actually tried to talk to the bear before he jumped in the water to begin his two mile swim. "Bear, bear! Comeback! All you will find on the other side are freeways, metro buses, and houses--lots and lots of houses with people who will think you are a monster and they'll call 911 and stuff."
2. Only in Seattle is an expected 85 degree day headline news. The reporters are covering it like they do when snow is expected. They stake out the spot where the first snowflake will be spotted. But today, we have the warnings to check on the elderly and keep our pets watered and cool. I am still in sweats at 10 AM and I am not expecting my thermometer to get much over 80 where I live. Nevertheless--Seattle scorcher arrives and only for one day!
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/317655_hot30.html
3. And finally, only in Seattle are we consumed with rampant car theft. It was headline news today that Seattle is 6th in the nation for car theft. Our car was stolen in April. Our insurance company provided an adequate settlement. Lo and behold, as Dave was driving through the U-district on his way home a week ago, he spotted our little white Acura. The front plate was ours but the back plate had been replaced with a different one. He called the police who had it towed and impounded. We called the insurance company because the car is now theirs.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/317693_cartheft30.html
http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_053007WABcartheftsLJ.25455661.html
According to the Seattle PI article, our car, a 99 Acura with the keys nearby or in it in the U-district pretty much fit the theft profile:
"The crime fits the profile of a typical Seattle car theft in more ways than one. Drugs, a North Seattle neighborhood, unlocked doors and Asian-made cars from the '80s or '90s -- all factors that come up frequently in car theft investigations."
But this is where our theft deviated from the norm:
"In many cases, stolen cars are discovered abandoned on roadsides a few days later, their stereos and wheels gone, with beer bottles, cigarette butts and the remains of fast-food meals left in their place. But sometimes the cars are gone for good, reduced to piles of scrap metal or sold as parts on eBay."
Our car had been nicely parked and was being used by someone. My husband thought perhaps a student had been driving it. He looked in the windows and what did he see?
Starbuck's coffee cups and an umbrella!!
Yep. Only in Seattle.
1. Only in Seattle do the people freak out a little over a couple of bears. Don't get me wrong. I am afraid of bears, too. I had plenty of encounters when I was a kid and our family spent a lot of time camping in tents in places where a bear could have eaten me. I prefer to see them from the inside of a car. But, Seattleites are going a little overboard to call 911 and lock down a school if they see a rummaging black bear. Anyway, the update is that our swimming bear has been spotted several times in south Sound. He has been traveling about 2 miles a day and acting like he is on a mission. At one point he was seen at a park and ride--like maybe he did miss the ferry. Where is he going; what is he looking for? The saga continues.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/317539_bear29.html
Update update: Phil, on his blog, has posted about our swimming bear. He has actually traversed on the very same path by kayak. Here are his pictures of a "bear's eye view."
http://perilsofcaffeineintheevening.com/
One article I read said the lighthouse caretaker actually tried to talk to the bear before he jumped in the water to begin his two mile swim. "Bear, bear! Comeback! All you will find on the other side are freeways, metro buses, and houses--lots and lots of houses with people who will think you are a monster and they'll call 911 and stuff."
2. Only in Seattle is an expected 85 degree day headline news. The reporters are covering it like they do when snow is expected. They stake out the spot where the first snowflake will be spotted. But today, we have the warnings to check on the elderly and keep our pets watered and cool. I am still in sweats at 10 AM and I am not expecting my thermometer to get much over 80 where I live. Nevertheless--Seattle scorcher arrives and only for one day!
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/317655_hot30.html
3. And finally, only in Seattle are we consumed with rampant car theft. It was headline news today that Seattle is 6th in the nation for car theft. Our car was stolen in April. Our insurance company provided an adequate settlement. Lo and behold, as Dave was driving through the U-district on his way home a week ago, he spotted our little white Acura. The front plate was ours but the back plate had been replaced with a different one. He called the police who had it towed and impounded. We called the insurance company because the car is now theirs.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/317693_cartheft30.html
http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_053007WABcartheftsLJ.25455661.html
According to the Seattle PI article, our car, a 99 Acura with the keys nearby or in it in the U-district pretty much fit the theft profile:
"The crime fits the profile of a typical Seattle car theft in more ways than one. Drugs, a North Seattle neighborhood, unlocked doors and Asian-made cars from the '80s or '90s -- all factors that come up frequently in car theft investigations."
But this is where our theft deviated from the norm:
"In many cases, stolen cars are discovered abandoned on roadsides a few days later, their stereos and wheels gone, with beer bottles, cigarette butts and the remains of fast-food meals left in their place. But sometimes the cars are gone for good, reduced to piles of scrap metal or sold as parts on eBay."
Our car had been nicely parked and was being used by someone. My husband thought perhaps a student had been driving it. He looked in the windows and what did he see?
Starbuck's coffee cups and an umbrella!!
Yep. Only in Seattle.
// posted by Janet @ 9:51 AM
1 comments
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Summer Is Here
At least, summer as we know it is here. Rain, fog, and mist were a part of our Memorial Day weekend along with some less than warm temperatures but last night was lovely. Late in the afternoon, Dave and I went to Flower World to find our yearly favorites: tuberous begonias, impatiens, and a couple of peppers and a tomato plant.
We have learned that our back yard, though sunny by our standards, is not sunny enough to grow tomatoes, peppers and basil. Since our deck has a glass railing, it provides a greenhouse effect and allows me to have a pot garden. No, not that kind--a clay pot garden.
Peppers and a tomato.
Let the Sunsets begin--taken last night.
At least, summer as we know it is here. Rain, fog, and mist were a part of our Memorial Day weekend along with some less than warm temperatures but last night was lovely. Late in the afternoon, Dave and I went to Flower World to find our yearly favorites: tuberous begonias, impatiens, and a couple of peppers and a tomato plant.
We have learned that our back yard, though sunny by our standards, is not sunny enough to grow tomatoes, peppers and basil. Since our deck has a glass railing, it provides a greenhouse effect and allows me to have a pot garden. No, not that kind--a clay pot garden.
Peppers and a tomato.
Let the Sunsets begin--taken last night.
// posted by Janet @ 11:30 AM
0 comments
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Only In Seattle
Here we go again! Too many items were in the newspapers this morning to ignore so even though my yard needs weeds to be pulled and my floors are covered with Apolo fur, I can't resist an Only In Seattle list.
1. Only in Seattle do people get excited about wayward logs. Actually this was a front page article in the Everett Herald but still--not far from Seattle. A Granite Falls man who lives on the Pilchuk River lost part of his property to floods last November during our freaky winter storms. A big log was in his back yard that his family used to sit around a fire pit. He had carved seats into it with a chain saw. Lo and behold, 20 miles away in Snohomish where the Pilchuk runs into the Snohomish River and in the spot where he works, he found his log! Six months later! What are the chances of that? Not only did the story make the front page with a headline, the guy figured such luck should filter into lottery tickets.
http://www.heraldnet.com/
2. Only in Seattle where people claim to despise TV and particularly reality shows, do we rule when it comes to these things. As indicated below, Seattle's Apolo won the trophy on Dancing with the Stars. Simon Cowell came to Seattle to audition singers for American Idol and said everyone was atrocious and that he would never return. Well, Jordin Sparks, the winner, was picked from Seattle auditions though she is from Arizona. Blake Lewis who took second place is from Seattle. The final song they sang was written by a Seattle songwriter and who will ever forget Sanjaya? He boosted the ratings and became uber famous for whatever reason and he, too, is from Seattle.
In this metropolitan area, people will not admit to owning TV's but I discovered in a most unlikely place, that secretly, all of Seattle watched both DWTS and Idol. On Wednesday night, I was at a church meeting. The folks who attend my church are highly educated with many having post graduate degrees. Free time is usually spent reading. My priest is Oxford educated and his wife has a private school background with an Ivy League degree. One of my church friends during the meeting was checking her cell phone and she quietly announced she wanted to know who won American Idol. I, then, announced that Apolo winning DWTS was so cool and the entire room erupted. My priest said his wife could not get enough of Apolo dancing. My quiet friend who was checking her cell mumbled something.
"What did you say? You liked him in his jazz pants?" I asked politely.
"I enjoyed watching Apolo dance in his jazz pants. Ah, he was hot!"
"You thought he was hot? I thought he was hot!" I knew it; I was not the only one watching TV on Monday nights. I like the people at my church a lot more now---not that I didn't like them before.
3. Only in Seattle do we take geography seriously. My Lucas is and was a geography whiz winning his middle school geography bee three years in a row. He went to State three years in a row as well. He never did win a state competition because Washington is full of gifted geography kids. This year is no exception. A Seattle girl won the National Geography Bee. Washington has had more national winners of the geography bee than any other state. I think we need to look at maps constantly so as not to fall into a zillion bodies of water.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2003722202_geoed26.html
4. Only in Seattle do we not only build houses out of trees, but evidently we build houses in the trees. There is an entire construction company geared toward building dream homes up in the trees. I guess if we are fine with our homes being flooded or sliding into Puget Sound, we are equally fine with our houses tumbling down with the trees in our freaky winter storms.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/homegarden/2003721867_crafttreehouse260.html
5. Only in Seattle when we take out the binoculars to search for orcas or gray whales in Puget Sound, do we also have the chance to see bears. Yes! Bears swimming in Puget Sound. I am not kidding. A black bear jumped into Puget Sound and swam two miles across from Maury Island to Salt Water State Park. A lighthouse caretaker saw the whole thing and notified the Coast Guard. It took him two hours to complete his swim.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/317430_bearloose26.html
I keep asking myself why?
a) He didn't have map so he fell into one of our zillion bodies of water.
b) He missed the ferry.
c) He wanted to reach the other side.
d) He wanted a swim stroke named after him--the bear stroke instead of the butterfly.
e) The log he usually used to float across got washed away last winter.
f) Goldilocks moved into his tree house and threw him out.
g) Or most likely, he wanted a glimpse of either Sanjaya or Apolo who are both from Federal Way which is very near to Salt Water State Park. Yep! This is it. I'm certain.
Here we go again! Too many items were in the newspapers this morning to ignore so even though my yard needs weeds to be pulled and my floors are covered with Apolo fur, I can't resist an Only In Seattle list.
1. Only in Seattle do people get excited about wayward logs. Actually this was a front page article in the Everett Herald but still--not far from Seattle. A Granite Falls man who lives on the Pilchuk River lost part of his property to floods last November during our freaky winter storms. A big log was in his back yard that his family used to sit around a fire pit. He had carved seats into it with a chain saw. Lo and behold, 20 miles away in Snohomish where the Pilchuk runs into the Snohomish River and in the spot where he works, he found his log! Six months later! What are the chances of that? Not only did the story make the front page with a headline, the guy figured such luck should filter into lottery tickets.
http://www.heraldnet.com/
2. Only in Seattle where people claim to despise TV and particularly reality shows, do we rule when it comes to these things. As indicated below, Seattle's Apolo won the trophy on Dancing with the Stars. Simon Cowell came to Seattle to audition singers for American Idol and said everyone was atrocious and that he would never return. Well, Jordin Sparks, the winner, was picked from Seattle auditions though she is from Arizona. Blake Lewis who took second place is from Seattle. The final song they sang was written by a Seattle songwriter and who will ever forget Sanjaya? He boosted the ratings and became uber famous for whatever reason and he, too, is from Seattle.
In this metropolitan area, people will not admit to owning TV's but I discovered in a most unlikely place, that secretly, all of Seattle watched both DWTS and Idol. On Wednesday night, I was at a church meeting. The folks who attend my church are highly educated with many having post graduate degrees. Free time is usually spent reading. My priest is Oxford educated and his wife has a private school background with an Ivy League degree. One of my church friends during the meeting was checking her cell phone and she quietly announced she wanted to know who won American Idol. I, then, announced that Apolo winning DWTS was so cool and the entire room erupted. My priest said his wife could not get enough of Apolo dancing. My quiet friend who was checking her cell mumbled something.
"What did you say? You liked him in his jazz pants?" I asked politely.
"I enjoyed watching Apolo dance in his jazz pants. Ah, he was hot!"
"You thought he was hot? I thought he was hot!" I knew it; I was not the only one watching TV on Monday nights. I like the people at my church a lot more now---not that I didn't like them before.
3. Only in Seattle do we take geography seriously. My Lucas is and was a geography whiz winning his middle school geography bee three years in a row. He went to State three years in a row as well. He never did win a state competition because Washington is full of gifted geography kids. This year is no exception. A Seattle girl won the National Geography Bee. Washington has had more national winners of the geography bee than any other state. I think we need to look at maps constantly so as not to fall into a zillion bodies of water.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2003722202_geoed26.html
4. Only in Seattle do we not only build houses out of trees, but evidently we build houses in the trees. There is an entire construction company geared toward building dream homes up in the trees. I guess if we are fine with our homes being flooded or sliding into Puget Sound, we are equally fine with our houses tumbling down with the trees in our freaky winter storms.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/homegarden/2003721867_crafttreehouse260.html
5. Only in Seattle when we take out the binoculars to search for orcas or gray whales in Puget Sound, do we also have the chance to see bears. Yes! Bears swimming in Puget Sound. I am not kidding. A black bear jumped into Puget Sound and swam two miles across from Maury Island to Salt Water State Park. A lighthouse caretaker saw the whole thing and notified the Coast Guard. It took him two hours to complete his swim.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/317430_bearloose26.html
I keep asking myself why?
a) He didn't have map so he fell into one of our zillion bodies of water.
b) He missed the ferry.
c) He wanted to reach the other side.
d) He wanted a swim stroke named after him--the bear stroke instead of the butterfly.
e) The log he usually used to float across got washed away last winter.
f) Goldilocks moved into his tree house and threw him out.
g) Or most likely, he wanted a glimpse of either Sanjaya or Apolo who are both from Federal Way which is very near to Salt Water State Park. Yep! This is it. I'm certain.
// posted by Janet @ 9:12 AM
1 comments
Friday, May 25, 2007
Memorial Day---Good for Memories
A concern of mine about digital this and digital that is the loss of the photo album. What will my kids do 30 years from now when they return home and want to see old pictures? Will they all be on some sort of computerized piece of plastic the size of a dime that they insert into their phones to look at?
When I was in Helena for Mother's Day, I told my Mom there was this picture I remembered of my Dad and I wanted it. Sure enough, she looked in a drawer of an old piece of furniture that used to be my dresser 50 years ago and found the picture. My father was extremely handsome. I remember as a little girl being proud that my parents were attractive. My mother was always very pretty, too. She told me as a child that she thought her husband and my Daddy had movie star looks and that's why she married him (among other things, I'm sure).
I suppose the fact my father died young freezes him in my mind as good looking for all of eternity. He was not just nice to look at, he was a great father. He was honest, kind and full of humor; he wrote poetry; he was artistic. He could tell a funny story like no other including doing accents. I do believe he had a gift for languages but he never had the opportunity to learn a second language. When he was a prisoner of war and held by the Nazi's in WW2 for 9 months, he picked up a lot of German. He taught many of the words to my brother and me. There are so many things I could write about him.
Certainly, we had our moments. My father had no sisters so he did not always know how to handle a passionate bright girl like little Janet. About the time I turned 12, we clashed until I turned 17. After that, it was smooth sailing between us until he died when I was 27. Part of the problem was that my brother was much more intimidated by my Dad than I was. He would not have dreamed of talking back to him but I did on a regular basis. I wasn't afraid of him and always knew I had him wrapped around my little finger. Funny how my daughter and her Daddy have a similar relationship.
But, I miss him and always will regret that he didn't ever have the chance to know my children. Lucas reminds me of him in so many ways that it is just weird. Kaley's creativity has roots in my Dad's genetics, I am certain. When I am around my children, I feel my Dad's spirit and this is God's gift to me. In fact, Lucas shocked his Grandma and me by wearing a bolo tie for graduation that was a carved mountain goat my father had made. The big final heart attack hit my Dad on Memorial Day weekend in 1980, a week after Mount St. Helens erupted. I have written about all of this before on this blog.
I dedicate this beautiful weekend to him.
My Dad (on the left) at age 22 after being liberated from POW camp in Nazi Germany in 1945.
Yes, indeed, old photo albums are gold mines for memories.
A concern of mine about digital this and digital that is the loss of the photo album. What will my kids do 30 years from now when they return home and want to see old pictures? Will they all be on some sort of computerized piece of plastic the size of a dime that they insert into their phones to look at?
When I was in Helena for Mother's Day, I told my Mom there was this picture I remembered of my Dad and I wanted it. Sure enough, she looked in a drawer of an old piece of furniture that used to be my dresser 50 years ago and found the picture. My father was extremely handsome. I remember as a little girl being proud that my parents were attractive. My mother was always very pretty, too. She told me as a child that she thought her husband and my Daddy had movie star looks and that's why she married him (among other things, I'm sure).
I suppose the fact my father died young freezes him in my mind as good looking for all of eternity. He was not just nice to look at, he was a great father. He was honest, kind and full of humor; he wrote poetry; he was artistic. He could tell a funny story like no other including doing accents. I do believe he had a gift for languages but he never had the opportunity to learn a second language. When he was a prisoner of war and held by the Nazi's in WW2 for 9 months, he picked up a lot of German. He taught many of the words to my brother and me. There are so many things I could write about him.
Certainly, we had our moments. My father had no sisters so he did not always know how to handle a passionate bright girl like little Janet. About the time I turned 12, we clashed until I turned 17. After that, it was smooth sailing between us until he died when I was 27. Part of the problem was that my brother was much more intimidated by my Dad than I was. He would not have dreamed of talking back to him but I did on a regular basis. I wasn't afraid of him and always knew I had him wrapped around my little finger. Funny how my daughter and her Daddy have a similar relationship.
But, I miss him and always will regret that he didn't ever have the chance to know my children. Lucas reminds me of him in so many ways that it is just weird. Kaley's creativity has roots in my Dad's genetics, I am certain. When I am around my children, I feel my Dad's spirit and this is God's gift to me. In fact, Lucas shocked his Grandma and me by wearing a bolo tie for graduation that was a carved mountain goat my father had made. The big final heart attack hit my Dad on Memorial Day weekend in 1980, a week after Mount St. Helens erupted. I have written about all of this before on this blog.
I dedicate this beautiful weekend to him.
My Dad (on the left) at age 22 after being liberated from POW camp in Nazi Germany in 1945.
Yes, indeed, old photo albums are gold mines for memories.
// posted by Janet @ 3:02 PM
0 comments
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
I'm So Excited!
Seattle's own Apolo and his dancing partner, Julianne, took the trophy last night on Dancing With the Stars. My reluctant children watched out of curiosity thinking the entire time that their mother had gone completely bonkers on Monday and Tuesday nights. When we had relatives for dinner on Saturday night, however, my children learned that their Aunt Kathy was just as nuts about watching this reality TV show as I was. I mean, come on, I named my dog after the guy--what do you expect?
On the local news after the big win last night, they stated that now the whole country knows how special and amazing Apolo is. But, Seattle has known it for a long time, they added. He used to make the sports news as a little boy when he was on roller skates and now he is all grown up at 25.
Congratulations Apolo and Julianne. They say he is planning on skating in the 2010 Olympics. Since the speedskating venue will be right up the road in Vancouver, you can bet I'll have tickets. It has been fun to watch him dance but I have had the good fortune to watch him compete in short track in person. Witnessing him fly by spraying ice chips all over is nothing less than a complete thrill.
Competing in Calgary, 2003 (my bad picture)
Dancing Champion, 2007 (ABC)
I guess he used to break dance when he dabbled with Seattle gangs back in the day. He turned his life around though I have never believed he was really very involved in bad behavior. His Dad nipped it in the bud----Thanks Yuki! (ABC)
Adorable couple. (ABC)
Seattle's own Apolo and his dancing partner, Julianne, took the trophy last night on Dancing With the Stars. My reluctant children watched out of curiosity thinking the entire time that their mother had gone completely bonkers on Monday and Tuesday nights. When we had relatives for dinner on Saturday night, however, my children learned that their Aunt Kathy was just as nuts about watching this reality TV show as I was. I mean, come on, I named my dog after the guy--what do you expect?
On the local news after the big win last night, they stated that now the whole country knows how special and amazing Apolo is. But, Seattle has known it for a long time, they added. He used to make the sports news as a little boy when he was on roller skates and now he is all grown up at 25.
Congratulations Apolo and Julianne. They say he is planning on skating in the 2010 Olympics. Since the speedskating venue will be right up the road in Vancouver, you can bet I'll have tickets. It has been fun to watch him dance but I have had the good fortune to watch him compete in short track in person. Witnessing him fly by spraying ice chips all over is nothing less than a complete thrill.
Competing in Calgary, 2003 (my bad picture)
Dancing Champion, 2007 (ABC)
I guess he used to break dance when he dabbled with Seattle gangs back in the day. He turned his life around though I have never believed he was really very involved in bad behavior. His Dad nipped it in the bud----Thanks Yuki! (ABC)
Adorable couple. (ABC)
// posted by Janet @ 2:15 PM
5 comments
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Car Pictures Part 2
So much is happening with my children home. This morning my daughter was running around the house asking ME where HER glasses were. At the very same moment, Lucas was telling me we never have any toilet paper. I keep telling him we have tons of Costco toilet paper in the closet right next to his bathroom but I have to get HIS toilet paper. They're bAAAAAAck! No really, it makes me feel like a Mom again and I was missing the feeling.
On Saturday night, my husband's brother and wife and three of their four children with their significant others came to our house for dinner. Most were from Spokane. Lucas and Magali got home just in time and Kaley was here, too and made one of her Kaley cakes for dessert. One of our nephew's has a six month old baby who came along. They were up here from California which was the cause of the get together. Thirteen people scrunched into the dining room because it was too cold to eat outside. It was terrific fun.
And last week in Montana, we also had the chance to see my brother and his wife and two of their three children and significant others. One of my nephew's in Helena has two adorable adorable children, Isabel age 4 and Samuel age 1. I love looking at everyone's faces and seeing some family resemblance. Dave and his brother look very much alike as middle aged men though they did not as children. My brother and I look nothing alike and never did. My kids look nothing like anyone in my family but have some resemblance to members of my husband's family. It is all just weird, genetics and all.
Nevertheless, the conversations with my brother and family and conversations with Dave's brother and family were so completely enjoyable. We all need to get together more often. The last time I'd seen some of these folks was a funeral seven years ago.
So more car pictures:
Rockery on I-90 between Helena and Missoula
Blue Mountains outside Walla Walla from Hwy 12---Eastern Washington's Wine Country
The craggy Cascades--almost home and about 50 miles from Seattle on I-90
So much is happening with my children home. This morning my daughter was running around the house asking ME where HER glasses were. At the very same moment, Lucas was telling me we never have any toilet paper. I keep telling him we have tons of Costco toilet paper in the closet right next to his bathroom but I have to get HIS toilet paper. They're bAAAAAAck! No really, it makes me feel like a Mom again and I was missing the feeling.
On Saturday night, my husband's brother and wife and three of their four children with their significant others came to our house for dinner. Most were from Spokane. Lucas and Magali got home just in time and Kaley was here, too and made one of her Kaley cakes for dessert. One of our nephew's has a six month old baby who came along. They were up here from California which was the cause of the get together. Thirteen people scrunched into the dining room because it was too cold to eat outside. It was terrific fun.
And last week in Montana, we also had the chance to see my brother and his wife and two of their three children and significant others. One of my nephew's in Helena has two adorable adorable children, Isabel age 4 and Samuel age 1. I love looking at everyone's faces and seeing some family resemblance. Dave and his brother look very much alike as middle aged men though they did not as children. My brother and I look nothing alike and never did. My kids look nothing like anyone in my family but have some resemblance to members of my husband's family. It is all just weird, genetics and all.
Nevertheless, the conversations with my brother and family and conversations with Dave's brother and family were so completely enjoyable. We all need to get together more often. The last time I'd seen some of these folks was a funeral seven years ago.
So more car pictures:
Rockery on I-90 between Helena and Missoula
Blue Mountains outside Walla Walla from Hwy 12---Eastern Washington's Wine Country
The craggy Cascades--almost home and about 50 miles from Seattle on I-90
// posted by Janet @ 1:30 PM
1 comments
Friday, May 18, 2007
Animals Dead or Alive
Any trip to Montana inevitably involves animal sightings and animal stories. The state is full of creatures both wild and domestic. People are clearly the minority species by the millions, I am certain. Animal body parts are scattered everywhere. You will find heads in hotel lobbies, antlers at yard sales, and flattened carcasses along the highway.
Graduation Celebration Dinner
After the UM Davidson Honors College reception, we treated ourselves to a celebratory dinner at a typical Montana steak house in Lolo which is 8 miles out of Missoula. As you can see, we were surrounded and being observed while we ate by a myriad of formerly living Montana residents. From the look on the elk's face, he was ecstatic that we were eating his domestic relatives instead of him.
The bobcat in the background generated quite a bit of discussion. Lucas and his friends had a few days before visited the college hang out hot springs in the wilderness about 50 miles over the Lolo road. On the drive back late at night with no other cars or humans anywhere, they encountered creature after creature and he wasn't sure of their identities. He explained that a cat-like thing darted across the highway. After studying the features of the stuffed bobcat near our table, he decided he'd seen a very much alive bobcat. In addition, at a yellow warning sign on the road labeled "moose crossing", Lucas almost hit an elk which would have destroyed his Jeep. Mothers like me do not want to think about the other possible consequences.
All of this talk was too much for my husband. After all, the steak house was located on the very road where the hordes of animals were seen, so after our delicious Montana steaks, we took a little drive at dusk to see what we could see. Magali is particularly excited to see wildlife. Although she grew up in the Alps, the human population in Europe has pretty much pushed the animals away. This particular drive, Highway 12, up and over Lolo Pass and into Idaho is one of the most magnificent drives in the world. It borders protected wilderness and follows white water rivers the entire way.
Top of the pass on the Idaho border
Of course, in May a lot of snow still exists even with temperatures hanging around 80 degrees. At this spot, we encountered a human with not much clothing hiking out with his cross country skis. Seriously, at first I thought he was a sasquatch because he was the hairiest man I'd ever seen in my life. After we climbed back into the car, I remarked that I had now seen a person with more body fur than my husband. I do think it is possible the man was the love child of a bigfoot and a hiker.
Cedar Grove
Fascinating to me was the existence of this ancient grove of gigantic cedar trees. This patch could have been in Northern California or along the Washington coast but instead it was right there on the Montana-Idaho border left over from the prehistoric days of inland seas. It was weird to see trilliums so familiar to me as a Washingtonian covering the forest floor.
A River Runs Through It
The most beautiful rivers in the world exist on this part of the globe. Two days later as we traveled over Lolo Pass on our way to Walla Walla, we saw kayakers and rafters putting in at various points along the way.
Sure enough, we did have the chance to see animals during our after dinner foray. Many many deer were all over the place. We drove slowly so as not to smash into anything. We did not see moose at the "moose crossing" but we did spot an elk. But, unfortunately, we had to be satisfied with seeing the dead versions of mountain goat and bear who shared our dinner with us back at the restaurant.
Any trip to Montana inevitably involves animal sightings and animal stories. The state is full of creatures both wild and domestic. People are clearly the minority species by the millions, I am certain. Animal body parts are scattered everywhere. You will find heads in hotel lobbies, antlers at yard sales, and flattened carcasses along the highway.
Graduation Celebration Dinner
After the UM Davidson Honors College reception, we treated ourselves to a celebratory dinner at a typical Montana steak house in Lolo which is 8 miles out of Missoula. As you can see, we were surrounded and being observed while we ate by a myriad of formerly living Montana residents. From the look on the elk's face, he was ecstatic that we were eating his domestic relatives instead of him.
The bobcat in the background generated quite a bit of discussion. Lucas and his friends had a few days before visited the college hang out hot springs in the wilderness about 50 miles over the Lolo road. On the drive back late at night with no other cars or humans anywhere, they encountered creature after creature and he wasn't sure of their identities. He explained that a cat-like thing darted across the highway. After studying the features of the stuffed bobcat near our table, he decided he'd seen a very much alive bobcat. In addition, at a yellow warning sign on the road labeled "moose crossing", Lucas almost hit an elk which would have destroyed his Jeep. Mothers like me do not want to think about the other possible consequences.
All of this talk was too much for my husband. After all, the steak house was located on the very road where the hordes of animals were seen, so after our delicious Montana steaks, we took a little drive at dusk to see what we could see. Magali is particularly excited to see wildlife. Although she grew up in the Alps, the human population in Europe has pretty much pushed the animals away. This particular drive, Highway 12, up and over Lolo Pass and into Idaho is one of the most magnificent drives in the world. It borders protected wilderness and follows white water rivers the entire way.
Top of the pass on the Idaho border
Of course, in May a lot of snow still exists even with temperatures hanging around 80 degrees. At this spot, we encountered a human with not much clothing hiking out with his cross country skis. Seriously, at first I thought he was a sasquatch because he was the hairiest man I'd ever seen in my life. After we climbed back into the car, I remarked that I had now seen a person with more body fur than my husband. I do think it is possible the man was the love child of a bigfoot and a hiker.
Cedar Grove
Fascinating to me was the existence of this ancient grove of gigantic cedar trees. This patch could have been in Northern California or along the Washington coast but instead it was right there on the Montana-Idaho border left over from the prehistoric days of inland seas. It was weird to see trilliums so familiar to me as a Washingtonian covering the forest floor.
A River Runs Through It
The most beautiful rivers in the world exist on this part of the globe. Two days later as we traveled over Lolo Pass on our way to Walla Walla, we saw kayakers and rafters putting in at various points along the way.
Sure enough, we did have the chance to see animals during our after dinner foray. Many many deer were all over the place. We drove slowly so as not to smash into anything. We did not see moose at the "moose crossing" but we did spot an elk. But, unfortunately, we had to be satisfied with seeing the dead versions of mountain goat and bear who shared our dinner with us back at the restaurant.
// posted by Janet @ 7:44 AM
4 comments
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Car Pictures Part 1
I had so much fun trying to take pictures from the highway a month ago when we drove to Montana that I tried to do it again on this trip. Our trip began in Mukilteo. We stopped in Missoula for the graduation and then traveled to Helena for Mother's Day. From Helena, we headed back toward Missoula but took Highway 12 over Lolo Pass into Idaho and down toward Walla Walla to pick up Kaley. We passed through four states--Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon. Yes, we went to Oregon because Walla Walla is 10 miles from the border and they have this really cool pottery store there.
When we lived in Kansas City for over five years, I would have a recurring dream that I would be driving down a street in Kansas and snow covered mountains would suddenly loom up in front of me. I would be so excited about this discovery and so happy. I would wake up only to realize it was just a dream. Remember the camp song?
I Love the Mountains
I love the mountains, I love the rolling hills,
I love the flowers, I love the daffodils,
I love the fireside when all the lights are dim.
Boom-de-ada, boom-de-ada, ...
My husband and I both felt as the song describes while we were students in Kansas City. Dave's mentor at KU grew up in Iowa and has pursued his career in Kansas to this day. He attempted to get Dave to go anywhere but back to the Northwest by trying to convince him it did not matter where you lived. He had no clue; he was from Iowa. We had to have the mountains back and we had to have wilderness. The lovely state parks in Missouri were beautiful but they were not wild and rocky uninhabited wilderness.
Again, I post some car pictures. Some were taken through the front windshield and some from the side window rolled down.
This is a swampy spot right next to the road (I-90) in Idaho. Every time we pass it, I always say, "there should be a moose here; it looks like a perfect place for a moose," but never have we seen a moose in this area for 28 years.
Again, this is along I-90 between Helena and Missoula. All over the western part of Montana are interesting ancient rock cliffs and formations from volcanoes, inland seas, earthquakes and erosion.
These are the mountains near Deer Lodge as seen off of Highway 12 between Garrison and Helena. Mt. Powell is included (to the left in clouds). I was born here at the base of the mountains but on the other side in Deer Lodge; so was my Dad. My grandparents had a view of Mt. Powell and the surrounding mountains. My Grandpa and my Dad knew all of this back country by heart. Obviously, my brain was imprinted with this view from the moment I was born so it is no surprise that the mountains looming in my Kansas dreams looked remarkably similar.
I had so much fun trying to take pictures from the highway a month ago when we drove to Montana that I tried to do it again on this trip. Our trip began in Mukilteo. We stopped in Missoula for the graduation and then traveled to Helena for Mother's Day. From Helena, we headed back toward Missoula but took Highway 12 over Lolo Pass into Idaho and down toward Walla Walla to pick up Kaley. We passed through four states--Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon. Yes, we went to Oregon because Walla Walla is 10 miles from the border and they have this really cool pottery store there.
When we lived in Kansas City for over five years, I would have a recurring dream that I would be driving down a street in Kansas and snow covered mountains would suddenly loom up in front of me. I would be so excited about this discovery and so happy. I would wake up only to realize it was just a dream. Remember the camp song?
I Love the Mountains
I love the mountains, I love the rolling hills,
I love the flowers, I love the daffodils,
I love the fireside when all the lights are dim.
Boom-de-ada, boom-de-ada, ...
My husband and I both felt as the song describes while we were students in Kansas City. Dave's mentor at KU grew up in Iowa and has pursued his career in Kansas to this day. He attempted to get Dave to go anywhere but back to the Northwest by trying to convince him it did not matter where you lived. He had no clue; he was from Iowa. We had to have the mountains back and we had to have wilderness. The lovely state parks in Missouri were beautiful but they were not wild and rocky uninhabited wilderness.
Again, I post some car pictures. Some were taken through the front windshield and some from the side window rolled down.
This is a swampy spot right next to the road (I-90) in Idaho. Every time we pass it, I always say, "there should be a moose here; it looks like a perfect place for a moose," but never have we seen a moose in this area for 28 years.
Again, this is along I-90 between Helena and Missoula. All over the western part of Montana are interesting ancient rock cliffs and formations from volcanoes, inland seas, earthquakes and erosion.
These are the mountains near Deer Lodge as seen off of Highway 12 between Garrison and Helena. Mt. Powell is included (to the left in clouds). I was born here at the base of the mountains but on the other side in Deer Lodge; so was my Dad. My grandparents had a view of Mt. Powell and the surrounding mountains. My Grandpa and my Dad knew all of this back country by heart. Obviously, my brain was imprinted with this view from the moment I was born so it is no surprise that the mountains looming in my Kansas dreams looked remarkably similar.
// posted by Janet @ 1:08 PM
0 comments
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
My Son is a College Graduate!
Wow! Does that sound terrific! I really wanted to see his name on the lists before I believed it. Really, he missed most of his credits last year because of being in France and losing an entire semester. In essence, he managed to finish everything he needed in three years with one year of pure entertainment. Lucas graduated as a University Scholar for the Davidson Honors College at the University of Montana with high honors as an Anthropology/Linguistics major, French minor.
We spent the last week in Montana attending graduation celebrations, Mother's Day celebrations and moving our daughter home from Whitman College in Walla Walla where she finished up her first year. I have lots of blog material and sometimes I think I should change the name to Montana Musings. But for now, I will post some pictures of my son, the college graduate.
Both my Dad and my Grandmother graduated from the University of Montana. My Mom attended three years there and finished her degree in Helena at Carroll College after my Dad died. So--the UM is a family thing even though Dave and I went to the rival school---Montana State. The truth be told, this is where my Mom and Dad met, fell in love and married so it is kind of an important place. My Mom was thrilled to be a part of her grandson's graduation from her husband's alma mater.
Davidson Honors College reception---Grandma giving advice.
After the reception where we shook hands with Governor Schweitzer of Montana.
The prayers and blessings and a praise song at the graduation ceremony were done by honest to goodness Blackfeet Indians. It was very moving and certainly a Montana moment.
And here he is--all graduated with Magali, Dave, me and my Mom. Congratulations, Babes! We are so proud of you.
Wow! Does that sound terrific! I really wanted to see his name on the lists before I believed it. Really, he missed most of his credits last year because of being in France and losing an entire semester. In essence, he managed to finish everything he needed in three years with one year of pure entertainment. Lucas graduated as a University Scholar for the Davidson Honors College at the University of Montana with high honors as an Anthropology/Linguistics major, French minor.
We spent the last week in Montana attending graduation celebrations, Mother's Day celebrations and moving our daughter home from Whitman College in Walla Walla where she finished up her first year. I have lots of blog material and sometimes I think I should change the name to Montana Musings. But for now, I will post some pictures of my son, the college graduate.
Both my Dad and my Grandmother graduated from the University of Montana. My Mom attended three years there and finished her degree in Helena at Carroll College after my Dad died. So--the UM is a family thing even though Dave and I went to the rival school---Montana State. The truth be told, this is where my Mom and Dad met, fell in love and married so it is kind of an important place. My Mom was thrilled to be a part of her grandson's graduation from her husband's alma mater.
Davidson Honors College reception---Grandma giving advice.
After the reception where we shook hands with Governor Schweitzer of Montana.
The prayers and blessings and a praise song at the graduation ceremony were done by honest to goodness Blackfeet Indians. It was very moving and certainly a Montana moment.
And here he is--all graduated with Magali, Dave, me and my Mom. Congratulations, Babes! We are so proud of you.
// posted by Janet @ 9:06 PM
2 comments
Thursday, May 10, 2007
My Children's Friends
From the time my children were in pre-school until now, I have always been impressed with the young people they have picked to be their friends. Both of my kids had wonderful high school friends and college is turning out to be the same. I am pleased with the friends they have picked to "date" as well.
Always, they have chosen to be around kind, fascinating, smart and highly capable people. We just got an e-mail that one of Lucas' best friends received a stunning honor. Her name is Hilary and Lucas went to Guatemala with her and has played in the orchestra at the University of Montana with her for four years. She has stayed with us in Mukilteo at times when Lucas has brought home his interesting friends. Just a couple of weeks ago we saw her and spoke to her in Missoula because she played her violin in an ensemble with Lucas.
So here is dear Hilary! She is named one of the top ten college women in America by Glamour Magazine!! How cool is that. Also, I am proud that the University of Montana is represented among this group of stellar young women from Yale, Harvard, MIT, etc.
Congratulations, Hilary.
"She helped make a space discovery
Hilary Martens, 21, University of Montana
HER GOAL: To be a physics professor and a lead researcher on a future space mission.
HER MOTIVATION: Martens, a physics and music major, remembers camping at Glacier National Park, where she’d stare at the night sky for hours. “I wanted to know what was out there,” she says. Last summer, while working for NASA, Martens helped discover what physicists believe may be an atmosphere around one of Saturn’s moons. The accomplished violinist composes music inspired by her research.
HOW SHE LETS OFF STEAM: Marathon canoeing (up to 20 miles!) with her dad. "
—Tiffany Blackstone
http://www.glamour.com/news/articles/2007/05/collegewomen?currentPage=1
From the time my children were in pre-school until now, I have always been impressed with the young people they have picked to be their friends. Both of my kids had wonderful high school friends and college is turning out to be the same. I am pleased with the friends they have picked to "date" as well.
Always, they have chosen to be around kind, fascinating, smart and highly capable people. We just got an e-mail that one of Lucas' best friends received a stunning honor. Her name is Hilary and Lucas went to Guatemala with her and has played in the orchestra at the University of Montana with her for four years. She has stayed with us in Mukilteo at times when Lucas has brought home his interesting friends. Just a couple of weeks ago we saw her and spoke to her in Missoula because she played her violin in an ensemble with Lucas.
So here is dear Hilary! She is named one of the top ten college women in America by Glamour Magazine!! How cool is that. Also, I am proud that the University of Montana is represented among this group of stellar young women from Yale, Harvard, MIT, etc.
Congratulations, Hilary.
"She helped make a space discovery
Hilary Martens, 21, University of Montana
HER GOAL: To be a physics professor and a lead researcher on a future space mission.
HER MOTIVATION: Martens, a physics and music major, remembers camping at Glacier National Park, where she’d stare at the night sky for hours. “I wanted to know what was out there,” she says. Last summer, while working for NASA, Martens helped discover what physicists believe may be an atmosphere around one of Saturn’s moons. The accomplished violinist composes music inspired by her research.
HOW SHE LETS OFF STEAM: Marathon canoeing (up to 20 miles!) with her dad. "
—Tiffany Blackstone
http://www.glamour.com/news/articles/2007/05/collegewomen?currentPage=1
// posted by Janet @ 10:16 PM
2 comments
Monday, May 07, 2007
Beautiful Men in Drag
Ok, enough talk about "mist" and "dampness"! Let's get down to the real issues of the weekend--real men in drag. I ran into a good friend of mine on Friday night while attending the high school musical, and I had the chance to give him a big hug and congratulate him. You see, my friend Tim appears once a year in public in drag. This year his photo made the front page of our local newspaper. Tim and several other men members of our community perform annually as the "Rosebuds" dance team. To be honest, it may even be more than once a year because I do believe they have participated in the Mukilteo Festival Parade as well. I love this picture! Tim and his wife are responsible for giving my daughter the nudge into performing when she was still in elementary school and to them I will always be grateful.
Tim in the red dress! (photo by Pat Ratliff)
http://www.mukilteobeacon.com/
Then on Saturday, I had a phone call from my daughter and I could barely speak because I was laughing so hard. Every year, Whitman college has a school wide dance and the boys come in drag. I'm not sure you see this in any of the recruitment brochures but the event seems to be quite famous. Kaley had a great time helping her boyfriend get ready by doing his make up and painting his finger nails and trying to straighten his extremely curly hair. From the picture, it doesn't look like she had much luck on the hair. The picture cracks me up because he looks like Margaret Thatcher. And my daughter, even dressed as a boy, still looks like a girl!
Jeff and Kaley
What is it about men in drag that is so hilarious?
Ok, enough talk about "mist" and "dampness"! Let's get down to the real issues of the weekend--real men in drag. I ran into a good friend of mine on Friday night while attending the high school musical, and I had the chance to give him a big hug and congratulate him. You see, my friend Tim appears once a year in public in drag. This year his photo made the front page of our local newspaper. Tim and several other men members of our community perform annually as the "Rosebuds" dance team. To be honest, it may even be more than once a year because I do believe they have participated in the Mukilteo Festival Parade as well. I love this picture! Tim and his wife are responsible for giving my daughter the nudge into performing when she was still in elementary school and to them I will always be grateful.
Tim in the red dress! (photo by Pat Ratliff)
http://www.mukilteobeacon.com/
Then on Saturday, I had a phone call from my daughter and I could barely speak because I was laughing so hard. Every year, Whitman college has a school wide dance and the boys come in drag. I'm not sure you see this in any of the recruitment brochures but the event seems to be quite famous. Kaley had a great time helping her boyfriend get ready by doing his make up and painting his finger nails and trying to straighten his extremely curly hair. From the picture, it doesn't look like she had much luck on the hair. The picture cracks me up because he looks like Margaret Thatcher. And my daughter, even dressed as a boy, still looks like a girl!
Jeff and Kaley
What is it about men in drag that is so hilarious?
// posted by Janet @ 1:25 PM
4 comments
Damp and Misty
This is hard to explain but it is one of the reasons I love living here. Yesterday, the sun never did shine. The skies were gray all day but there was no wind and not really anything I would call rain. The temperature hung around 55. The humidity was 96%. At times, our back deck looked like it was being sprinkled with drops but you could barely feel anything on your skin except for mist. When we travel, it is the dampness and the mistiness that I miss.
I know that my friend who moved here from Colorado made it through the winter fine but spring is getting to her. She is used to hot dry sun this time of year and temperatures near 80. I told her to take B-complex vitamins to fight seasonal affective disorder because it could be this way until after the 4th of July.
At about 5 PM yesterday, before we cooked our dinner, Dave and I took Apolo for his walk. We talked about the damp and the mist and tried to describe the smell to each other. Rotting wood, wet leaves, fresh dirt, whiffs of flower blossoms, and cedar bark came to mind. Apolo rolled in patches of soggy grass until he was wet. My hair frizzed. And I found myself taking deep breaths. It just feels good--that's all.
The shady side of our house where the ferns and hostas grow (if we can keep Apolo from eating the hostas).
Azaleas and rhodies (the sun is shining today and I took this a few minutes ago).
Mist hanging over Whidbey last night after our walk.
This is hard to explain but it is one of the reasons I love living here. Yesterday, the sun never did shine. The skies were gray all day but there was no wind and not really anything I would call rain. The temperature hung around 55. The humidity was 96%. At times, our back deck looked like it was being sprinkled with drops but you could barely feel anything on your skin except for mist. When we travel, it is the dampness and the mistiness that I miss.
I know that my friend who moved here from Colorado made it through the winter fine but spring is getting to her. She is used to hot dry sun this time of year and temperatures near 80. I told her to take B-complex vitamins to fight seasonal affective disorder because it could be this way until after the 4th of July.
At about 5 PM yesterday, before we cooked our dinner, Dave and I took Apolo for his walk. We talked about the damp and the mist and tried to describe the smell to each other. Rotting wood, wet leaves, fresh dirt, whiffs of flower blossoms, and cedar bark came to mind. Apolo rolled in patches of soggy grass until he was wet. My hair frizzed. And I found myself taking deep breaths. It just feels good--that's all.
The shady side of our house where the ferns and hostas grow (if we can keep Apolo from eating the hostas).
Azaleas and rhodies (the sun is shining today and I took this a few minutes ago).
Mist hanging over Whidbey last night after our walk.
// posted by Janet @ 9:01 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Mudslide Recovery
The past two winters set records for extreme weather and copious amounts of rain. We had a fairly significant slide a little over a year ago on the back side of our property. Last spring, we made an effort to try to stabilize the slope by getting rid of the non-native blackberry bushes. In addition, we planted a few native plants and trees and in the steep spots, Dave spread grass seed. We still had an area where we could not reach the blackberry bushes and part of this hillside sloughed this past winter. The good news is that last year's slide stayed put hopefully because of our recovery efforts. As such, if we attack our new mudslide with native plantings, we should be ok for years to come.
Last Year--slide looking west
Blackberry bushes still hanging on the slope.
Photo taken today of the same area but looking east
See to the left and center right the native willow trees. They are supposed to really suck up the water with deep roots that then hold the soil.
Photo today of new mudslide
More blackberry bushes came down.
Also taken just an hour ago
The jungle that is Big Gulch from the bottom of our property! Or call it a rainforest. See our back fence at the top? Apolo was up there throwing a fit that I left him in the yard.
I really do love the fact that it is practically wilderness out there behind our back fence.
The past two winters set records for extreme weather and copious amounts of rain. We had a fairly significant slide a little over a year ago on the back side of our property. Last spring, we made an effort to try to stabilize the slope by getting rid of the non-native blackberry bushes. In addition, we planted a few native plants and trees and in the steep spots, Dave spread grass seed. We still had an area where we could not reach the blackberry bushes and part of this hillside sloughed this past winter. The good news is that last year's slide stayed put hopefully because of our recovery efforts. As such, if we attack our new mudslide with native plantings, we should be ok for years to come.
Last Year--slide looking west
Blackberry bushes still hanging on the slope.
Photo taken today of the same area but looking east
See to the left and center right the native willow trees. They are supposed to really suck up the water with deep roots that then hold the soil.
Photo today of new mudslide
More blackberry bushes came down.
Also taken just an hour ago
The jungle that is Big Gulch from the bottom of our property! Or call it a rainforest. See our back fence at the top? Apolo was up there throwing a fit that I left him in the yard.
I really do love the fact that it is practically wilderness out there behind our back fence.
// posted by Janet @ 1:46 PM
0 comments
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Ten Great Things About Saturday's Great Mukilteo Garage Sale
Every year on the last weekend of April, Mukilteo engages in the Great Mukilteo Garage Sale. It is a time where all of us put a few unwanted items out in our driveways and the Mukilteo Beacon, our local paper, prints maps and addresses of those people participating. For the last seven years, we have not been able to be a part of it because this is the same weekend as the State Solo Ensemble Competition and our children were usually involved. This year, we had some stuff to get rid of and our kids are gone so.....ten great things:
1. Mukilteans come out of hiding. Like gophers or ground hogs or our local big rodent, the mountain beaver, we come out of our houses after a long and dreary, wet and wild winter. The sun was blindingly shining and we scoured around for the sun glasses. Finally, a chance to get some badly needed vitamin D.
2. The garage actually gets cleaned. Ours is usually a terrible mess with my kids old notebooks from middle school and shoes from 1989. But, we even swept the floor. Our immediate next door neighbors have the most disgustingly clean garage I have ever seen in my life. They have one of those shiny floors you can have put down. Everytime I get a glimpse of it when their door is open, I think you could have a damn pic-nic with the food being served right off the floor. Even so, he was mopping the garage floor on Friday.
3. Nostalgia takes over. We decided to sell a couple of out of style and outdated oak shelves. I'll replace them with new shelves that I will sell at the 2017 Great Mukilteo Garage Sale. Unloading the cabinets brought back so many memories. My kids' childhoods from baby books through sports teams pictures were hidden away. It was wonderful, really, to pull all of this stuff out and look at it again. For example:
From Lucas
Lucas' self portrait. Age 10.
I'm not sure what the blood shot eyes are all about or where his ears are but he wrote me this message as a part of this school project. "Mom, You're doing a good job on doing everything you have to do like cub scouts, brownies, Kaley, Christmas shopping and all sorts of other things. You are doing a good job with taking care of Jebby, taking him out so he doesn't pee in the house..." And on his relationship with his sister, "The biggest quarrel I ever had with my sister happened when 'when we hit, slap, kick, scream and make fun of her all the time.'"
From Kaley
Kaley's self portrait eating turkey.
This was a home project done entirely on the computer including the drawings and put in book form. It has no date but I would guess she was five or six. "My Thanksgiving Book!...It was Thanksgiving I had fun....I had turkey it was good....'I love Thanksgiving,' I said....'Good', said my Mom...I had to go to bed. I didn't want to....The next day we got some milk from Smith." [Smith Bros. Farms--we used to have milk delivered]
4. I get to drink coffee in my garage. I do not know why this is so much fun. I made lots of coffee and Dave and I took turns minding the store to run up to the kitchen to refill our mugs.
5. We, shock of the world, TALK to our neighbors. My next door neighbor and next to them and next to them and next to them, all participated so we visit each other's driveways to check out the competition. Of course, we are not really competing because the more people who pull up to their yards means more folks will check out our sale. My neighbors definitely had higher quality junk than we did.
6. Amazingly, we see people we have not seen in years. Neighbors from six blocks up the hill showed up in my driveway. "So this is where you moved to? We wondered what happened to you guys. We thought you left the area. All you did was move down the hill? How old are your kids now? In college--you are kidding, right?" And we sold two lamps to Kaley's third grade teacher who persuaded Kaley to go into our school district's gifted program. "How is she doing? She's in college? You are kidding, right? A music major? Wow! So she is not only gifted but talented, too. Well, give her a hug for me. I always enjoyed her."
7. We catch up on neighborhood gossip. A chatty and friendly man appeared in our garage and after finding nothing interesting of ours, he asked me how much my neighbors' houses were. "You mean, how much their whole houses are worth? Not just the stuff in their driveways? Oh, ok. Well, on the water there (unlike our house) probably 1.2 to 1.6 million now." He proceeded to tell me he had been friends since grade school days with the people who built the newest mansion our our street. All of us watched it being built with great curiosity and they spared no expense--like on the imported slate roof with copper gutters. This beautiful home is worth millions of dollars. But even so, I guess all of their hard wood floors have buckled and they have to move out to have them redone. What is that word you hear these days? Schaudenfraude?! Yep, that's it.
8. I learn about myself. Dave had left to go test drive a new used car to replace our stolen vehicle. He can only stand garage sales for a limited time. I did not want to close up shop because the oak shelves hadn't gone yet. A man with his wife and daughter drove up with a truck load of used furniture but they wanted my oak shelves, too. I had been asking $50 each for the units which have glass doors and lights and he offered $50 for the both of them. "It's a deal! I want them gone."
He asked me if I had change for a hundred dollar bill. I replied "yes" and stepped inside to get two twenties and two fives. As I handed him the change, he told me he had given me the $100. I knew he had not but what was I to do? For about 20 minutes, I watched him load up my shelves which I was thinking I just paid him $50 to remove. Seriously, I could not believe he had ripped me off---they looked like such a nice family. I refused to believe they were thieves and I refused to let myself get angry but my brain was fighting with itself. After all, our car had been stolen the week before and nothing would surprise me. Finally, I was at peace. I thought, if he was honest like I wanted to believe, he would realize he did not give me the $100 and he would probably come back even after he arrived home. And if he wasn't honest, well, I did want to get rid of those shelves and maybe it was worth fifty bucks to have them hauled away.
As they were about to drive off, the man got out of his truck with a very sheepish and embarrassed look on his face. "Oh my gosh, the $100 was sitting on the front seat of the truck--I must have put it there when you ran into the house. I am so sorry!" At that moment, he realized what I must have been thinking and it was a little awkward. I knew it--they were good people after all. Whew!
9. It is impossible to sell left handed golf clubs. Dave is left handed and he inherited a nice set of left handed clubs from his left handed brother-in-law who died seven years ago of a brain tumor. He has been wanting to get rid of two sets of old clubs. We had many many folks drop in looking for golf clubs but when only 8% of the population is left handed, the market shrinks considerably.
10. This is a great way to recycle. Other than the golf clubs and our 1980's chandeliers which nobody wanted, we did get rid of the main items I no longer wanted cluttering up my house. At the last Great Mukilteo Garage sale we participated in about 8 to 10 years ago, I bought an end table for $30 from my neighbor across the street. I sold it on Saturday for $20.
What a deal!
Every year on the last weekend of April, Mukilteo engages in the Great Mukilteo Garage Sale. It is a time where all of us put a few unwanted items out in our driveways and the Mukilteo Beacon, our local paper, prints maps and addresses of those people participating. For the last seven years, we have not been able to be a part of it because this is the same weekend as the State Solo Ensemble Competition and our children were usually involved. This year, we had some stuff to get rid of and our kids are gone so.....ten great things:
1. Mukilteans come out of hiding. Like gophers or ground hogs or our local big rodent, the mountain beaver, we come out of our houses after a long and dreary, wet and wild winter. The sun was blindingly shining and we scoured around for the sun glasses. Finally, a chance to get some badly needed vitamin D.
2. The garage actually gets cleaned. Ours is usually a terrible mess with my kids old notebooks from middle school and shoes from 1989. But, we even swept the floor. Our immediate next door neighbors have the most disgustingly clean garage I have ever seen in my life. They have one of those shiny floors you can have put down. Everytime I get a glimpse of it when their door is open, I think you could have a damn pic-nic with the food being served right off the floor. Even so, he was mopping the garage floor on Friday.
3. Nostalgia takes over. We decided to sell a couple of out of style and outdated oak shelves. I'll replace them with new shelves that I will sell at the 2017 Great Mukilteo Garage Sale. Unloading the cabinets brought back so many memories. My kids' childhoods from baby books through sports teams pictures were hidden away. It was wonderful, really, to pull all of this stuff out and look at it again. For example:
From Lucas
Lucas' self portrait. Age 10.
I'm not sure what the blood shot eyes are all about or where his ears are but he wrote me this message as a part of this school project. "Mom, You're doing a good job on doing everything you have to do like cub scouts, brownies, Kaley, Christmas shopping and all sorts of other things. You are doing a good job with taking care of Jebby, taking him out so he doesn't pee in the house..." And on his relationship with his sister, "The biggest quarrel I ever had with my sister happened when 'when we hit, slap, kick, scream and make fun of her all the time.'"
From Kaley
Kaley's self portrait eating turkey.
This was a home project done entirely on the computer including the drawings and put in book form. It has no date but I would guess she was five or six. "My Thanksgiving Book!...It was Thanksgiving I had fun....I had turkey it was good....'I love Thanksgiving,' I said....'Good', said my Mom...I had to go to bed. I didn't want to....The next day we got some milk from Smith." [Smith Bros. Farms--we used to have milk delivered]
4. I get to drink coffee in my garage. I do not know why this is so much fun. I made lots of coffee and Dave and I took turns minding the store to run up to the kitchen to refill our mugs.
5. We, shock of the world, TALK to our neighbors. My next door neighbor and next to them and next to them and next to them, all participated so we visit each other's driveways to check out the competition. Of course, we are not really competing because the more people who pull up to their yards means more folks will check out our sale. My neighbors definitely had higher quality junk than we did.
6. Amazingly, we see people we have not seen in years. Neighbors from six blocks up the hill showed up in my driveway. "So this is where you moved to? We wondered what happened to you guys. We thought you left the area. All you did was move down the hill? How old are your kids now? In college--you are kidding, right?" And we sold two lamps to Kaley's third grade teacher who persuaded Kaley to go into our school district's gifted program. "How is she doing? She's in college? You are kidding, right? A music major? Wow! So she is not only gifted but talented, too. Well, give her a hug for me. I always enjoyed her."
7. We catch up on neighborhood gossip. A chatty and friendly man appeared in our garage and after finding nothing interesting of ours, he asked me how much my neighbors' houses were. "You mean, how much their whole houses are worth? Not just the stuff in their driveways? Oh, ok. Well, on the water there (unlike our house) probably 1.2 to 1.6 million now." He proceeded to tell me he had been friends since grade school days with the people who built the newest mansion our our street. All of us watched it being built with great curiosity and they spared no expense--like on the imported slate roof with copper gutters. This beautiful home is worth millions of dollars. But even so, I guess all of their hard wood floors have buckled and they have to move out to have them redone. What is that word you hear these days? Schaudenfraude?! Yep, that's it.
8. I learn about myself. Dave had left to go test drive a new used car to replace our stolen vehicle. He can only stand garage sales for a limited time. I did not want to close up shop because the oak shelves hadn't gone yet. A man with his wife and daughter drove up with a truck load of used furniture but they wanted my oak shelves, too. I had been asking $50 each for the units which have glass doors and lights and he offered $50 for the both of them. "It's a deal! I want them gone."
He asked me if I had change for a hundred dollar bill. I replied "yes" and stepped inside to get two twenties and two fives. As I handed him the change, he told me he had given me the $100. I knew he had not but what was I to do? For about 20 minutes, I watched him load up my shelves which I was thinking I just paid him $50 to remove. Seriously, I could not believe he had ripped me off---they looked like such a nice family. I refused to believe they were thieves and I refused to let myself get angry but my brain was fighting with itself. After all, our car had been stolen the week before and nothing would surprise me. Finally, I was at peace. I thought, if he was honest like I wanted to believe, he would realize he did not give me the $100 and he would probably come back even after he arrived home. And if he wasn't honest, well, I did want to get rid of those shelves and maybe it was worth fifty bucks to have them hauled away.
As they were about to drive off, the man got out of his truck with a very sheepish and embarrassed look on his face. "Oh my gosh, the $100 was sitting on the front seat of the truck--I must have put it there when you ran into the house. I am so sorry!" At that moment, he realized what I must have been thinking and it was a little awkward. I knew it--they were good people after all. Whew!
9. It is impossible to sell left handed golf clubs. Dave is left handed and he inherited a nice set of left handed clubs from his left handed brother-in-law who died seven years ago of a brain tumor. He has been wanting to get rid of two sets of old clubs. We had many many folks drop in looking for golf clubs but when only 8% of the population is left handed, the market shrinks considerably.
10. This is a great way to recycle. Other than the golf clubs and our 1980's chandeliers which nobody wanted, we did get rid of the main items I no longer wanted cluttering up my house. At the last Great Mukilteo Garage sale we participated in about 8 to 10 years ago, I bought an end table for $30 from my neighbor across the street. I sold it on Saturday for $20.
What a deal!
// posted by Janet @ 8:24 AM
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