Mukilteo Musings

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Not Happy About This

The time is 5 PM on Monday evening. Dave and Lucas are on a hike and I am thinking about what to serve for dinner. It cannot be a big production because I have a Homeowner's Association Legal Affairs Committee meeting. "Ring. Ring." I dash to answer the phone. "Hello?"

"Mom, I am not dead," exclaims a hyper Kaley "but there has been a shooting and there are photographers and cops all over the place. Are you watching the news?"

"Are you sure you are ok? What is going on? Where are you?" I am a tad concerned.

Kaley had gone downtown Seattle to meet a friend who works at Nordstrom for lunch. Our favorite parking garage is across the street from Macy's on Third. Nordstrom and Westlake Center are only a couple of blocks away. Also, the garage provides good access to Pike Place Market. I heard rumors it was going to be torn down to build condos but so far it is still there. We have noticed the last few times we have parked in this garage that some sketchy characters hang out on Third near the entrance to the garage.

After Kaley parked her car and walked out of the garage, she noticed some people were arguing. Off she went by herself to meet her friend and do some shopping. She said she was walking along in her own happy little world when she noticed the chaos. Her destination was inside the parking garage and her car yet all of the hubbub was right there. A business woman responded to Kaley's question about what happened by explaining non-chalantly someone had been shot. Kaley got to her car and called me. She was slightly freaked out and not sure if she would be able to get out of the parking area. Eventually, she did make it home after a cop directed her in a direction she was not familiar with.

At this point, the shooting had just happened a few minutes before. No TV stations had yet shown up and I believe they were still chasing the suspects. Although Kaley had not heard the six gun shots, she had walked into the mess immediately after. Shoppers, tourists, and downtown business people all scrambled when they heard the shots being fired at Third and Pine---across from Macy's---in front of my parking garage. I went online and found the story to be breaking news at 4:57 PM. As of this time, four suspects are in custody for shooting a 25 year old man. The victim is in the hospital and is believed to have been arguing with the suspects. In other words, it was not a random act of violence.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/325697_shooting31.html

I am not happy about this because my daughter could have been caught in the crossfire. I am also not happy because there has been an escalation of shady activities in this particular area----in front of my favorite parking garage.

I do not like it one bit.

Andy Rogers/SeattlePI

// posted by Janet @ 2:09 PM 0 comments

Monday, July 30, 2007

My Children Feel the Need to Enlighten Me

I hate to say this but my favorite movies tend to be light hearted romantic comedies. My philosophy is that I want to be entertained at the movies and not sent into some deep philosophical thought process that keeps me awake at night. By the way, when Dave and I were little kids in Helena, we had one old movie theater downtown called the "Marlowe." It was torn down during urban renewal in the 60's or 70's. I remember feeling sad because it was a magnificent theater built during the gold rush days and then turned into a movie theater in the 30's or 40's. Of course, we had the "Sunset" and the "Sky High" drive-in theaters on either side of town.

But, I have noticed that when we are discussing going to a movie with the kids, Dave and I always say "Do you want to go to the show?" or "Should we go to the show?" No longer is the expression "go to the show" used. Now, I do not know if this is a quirky expression Dave and I use from the old days in Helena, Montana where a trip to the Marlowe Theater was described as "going to the show" or if everyone who grew up in the 50's and 60's says this. My children tell me with condescension nobody says "going to the show" but they say they are "going to see a movie."

Anyway, my kids hate it that my favorite movies are romantic comedies. I am not fond of graphic sex or violence. When they are home, we are talked into watching things they like whether it be through DVD rentals, On Demand cable, or "going to the show" at an actual theater. Actually, oftentimes I have to admit I have enjoyed their choices. Last night, Lucas insisted that we watch "Pulp Fiction." I adore John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson so watching their performances made up for the bloodiness. I had to cover my face several times, however. Nobody but nobody can string together a whole bunch of mother f*&^ing this and that like Samuel L. Jackson. Speaking of "bad mother f*&^er" Samuel L. Jackson, we also watched "Snakes On a Plane" last week. Oh man, I do not know what to say about it especially after finding the partially eaten snake in my bird bath. Obviously, the entire movie was created around the one line spoken by Samuel L. Jackson and you are just waiting for it through a good share of the movie before he says it.

Kaley wanted me to see "Blood Diamond" with Leonardo DiCaprio. Leo is one of my favorite actors as well and I figured if I could make it through "The Departed," I could make it through this one. Several times I again had to cover my eyes to the violence but it was a good movie. It did cause me bad dreams; I am extremely susceptible. I just wish that for once, Leo would survive in one of his films. Since Dave's Dad was a jeweler specializing in diamonds, it kind of made me want to put some of our things in a drawer, including my wedding ring.

Lucas convinced us to watch "Casino Royale," James Bond's latest. Sorry, but I miss the orginal Bond, Sean Connery, and my favorite Bond, Pierce Brosnen. Sigh.... Pierce. I did like the movie since it was filmed in the Bahamas in spots where we had just been on our cruise stop last February and in Venice where we were last summer. It was great fun to say, "We were there. I remember that place!"

Kaley wanted to watch "Stranger Than Fiction" starring Will Ferrell and Emma Thompson. It was a weird dramatic film without Will being funny. Even though his character was a depressing real person, he was in actuality a character in Emma Thompson's novels. Strangely, I wonder if the kid who plays Harry Potter has the same feelings about his life and movie role as Will's character. I heard J. K. Rowling say in an interview on TV that the Harry Potter kid asked her if she was going to kill him off in this latest book. What a surreal question after seeing the movie, "Stranger Than Fiction!"

This summer we have seen two movies at my request. The first was "Bobby," a fictional account of the assassination of Bobby Kennedy. Shockingly, my kids were unaware of the details of how far along he was on the way to becoming the Democratic presidential candidate. Frankly, the movie was a tear jerker for me because it brought back the horrible "9/11-type" feelings I experienced as a child with the murders of President Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and then Bobby---boom, boom, boom---just like that.

Finally, at my request, Lucas and I went to "Sicko." Michael Moore actually succeeded in making himself endearing. I do not understand why anyone would criticize the film. It is what it is. The United States does not have universal accessible health care for everyone. Furthermore, a lot of folks who do have insurance have discovered their coverage stinks. Medical bills are the number one cause of bankruptcy in this country and people in France, Canada, and Great Britain are mystified about why we cannot seem to figure this out. Period! It is true. Lucas gets knocked off our insurance on August 31st because he has graduated and we are not quite sure what we are going to do about it. This would not even be a question if we lived in France.

Whoa! Enough of reality, blood, guts, war and death. Next up, Kaley loved "Hairspray" and wants to go again with me. Like I said, John Travolta is one of my faves. After seeing "Pulp Fiction" last night, it is hard to imagine him in "Hairspray," that's for sure. Lucas just saw "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" because he and his friends wanted to see some young woman they think is hot without her shirt. He said it fits my criteria of a light hearted romantic comedy. Yes! I do think Kevin James is hilarious. Adam Sandler--not so much but I am up for anything where I do not have to cover my face.

// posted by Janet @ 8:01 AM 3 comments

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Apolo STILL Gets Carsick

My puppy is now five years old so I guess I need to give up the hope that he will outgrow this little issue. When Dave and Lucas did their Mt. Baker hike a couple of weeks ago, Apolo threw up in the car after several minutes on a winding logging road. I think the bear they saw on the very same road on the return trip may have smelled the vomit that Dave scooped out and left. Last fall, in my several hikes with my friend, Apolo didn't throw up--thank goodness--because usually we were in her van.

Yesterday, while my daughter enjoys herself on Waikiki Beach, Dave, Lucas, and I explored yet another of our trails in our nearby Alpine Lakes Wilderness area. After driving on curvy HW 2 for a bit, we turned off at the Money Creek Campground and within a mile we hit a gravel road. We were not on the road for more than two minutes when Apolo started licking his chops like they do. I grabbed a plastic sack to catch it but was too late. Dave stopped the car, ran around to the back and opened the hatch. Apolo jumped out and continued to throw up.

Since I am the "facilitator," Dave and Lucas disappeared with the dog on his leash to get away from the smell and to allow me to do my work. We carry paper towels and cleaner in the vehicle just for this purpose. I do not know what it is but every single time this happens, I start to laugh until tears come out of my eyes. I don't know if it is the look on Apolo's face, or Dave's swearing, or Lucas' "I'm about to lose my cookies, now, too" but I always see the situation as hilarious. Naturally, we are in the forest, so no garbage cans exist and we travel the rest of the way to the trailhead with a tightly tied plastic garbage sack full of goop and the windows open.

On to more pleasant topics. Mukilteo made another list! Money Magazine listed Mukilteo in the top 100 lovely small towns in the United States in which to live. We were number 69.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20070724/NEWS01/707240324&news01ad=1

On CNNMoney.com, Mukilteo is described as "a beautiful waterfront community that hugs the Puget Sound, and affords majestic panoramic views of both Mount Baker and the Olympic Mountains across the water."

Along with our views, the article noted our proximity to Seattle. I would add our proximity to gorgeous hiking and Cascade Mountains wilderness. Yesterday morning, Dave had a meeting at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in downtown Seattle with doctors and scientists but he made it home in time to join Lucas and me on our wilderness foray for a picnic lunch. We were home before dinner time.

It has been raining here the last few days but it hasn't been cold. We did get a little wet on our hike but it was not heavy and it felt wonderful because it was just enough to cool our sweatiness from the exercise. The beginning of our hikes are always tough for me. All of our trails are straight up for about 1000 ft. to get to the tops of the ridges and I feel like dying until I get my second wind. At this point euphoria sets in and I am so high and happy I cannot imagine doing anything else. My photos:

Dorothy Lake---Apolo having the time of his life.

Not sick here.

East fork of the Miller River--giant granite boulders.

Downed tree from last winter's storm damage.

Nope, not nauseous here, either.

Janet chowing down on ham, cheese, and bread. (Dave said I looked like a popsicle in my 80's pink t-shirt. It was a little bright.)

Where will we go next? Will Apolo throw up again? Will I wear my old 80's shirt? Stay tuned.

// posted by Janet @ 9:10 AM 1 comments

Friday, July 20, 2007

My Life as a Facilitator

This is what I am going to tell people from now on. I am no longer a Mom and I have never ever been a little wifey. My parenting duties are finished. I refuse to sort and wash Dave's stinky socks. However, I am the facilitator. The other morning at the breakfast table the conversation went something like this:

"Mooom, Kaley is not being nice to me. She told me to (fill in the blank)!"

"But Mom, Lucas just asked me why I ruined all of our family vacations. That was mean. You guys just never realized I have a blood sugar problem and I need to eat something every few hours."

"Listen to me, you two. Tell me. How old are you Lucas?"

"Ah, 22," said with his dashing smile.

"And Kaley, you are....?"

"Almost 19 1/2!" she states assuredly.

"Yes indeed. Eighteen is adulthood. You can both vote. You can both go into the military. You can both drink.....in Vancouver. I'm done. I'm done parenting. I am retired but by grace we are letting you both stay in our home. Period. DONE! Deal with it."

Nevertheless, somehow I still must manage to make hubby's and children's and dog's lives easier. Believe me, I complain at times about my position but I have a big enough ego to believe that without me, the household would crumble. Some examples:

1. As I write this, Kaley is in Honolulu. The last couple of days while she put in extra shifts at the restaurant, I washed and ironed her summer clothes and sun dresses. I really did not mind helping her out. Many of her clothes do not go in the dryer and around here we need a couple of days on a hanger to dry. Mostly, I am pleased she was invited to go to Hawaii. She went with one of her best friends--just the two of them without parents. Her friend just graduated from high school and his aunt gave him the trip as graduation gift. Yes, her best friend is a boy and he is 19, too, though he was a year behind Kaley in school. Kaley became buddies with this boy when they were in middle school and part of the cast of "Peter Pan". Kaley performed as Mrs. Darling, the Mom, and Mike was the father, her husband. Again, they were leads in the Kamiak winter play when Kaley was a senior and Mike a junior. Together on stage they have a ton of charisma.

Like many kids, Mike had some difficult struggles in his high school years. I am proud to say my daughter was there for him throughout everything with complete unconditional love and understanding. Mike is an incredibly talented kid. He writes and directs plays as well as acts. He has been accepted with scholarships into a theater director's program at a college in New York City. He is not musical so the two of them have great plans for future collaborations. Kaley will be his musical consultant and frankly, I expect great things from the two of them. This trip is Kaley's reward for her unsurpassed support of her friend. And Kaley's boyfriend in Portland who I am realizing seems to "get" our complicated daughter, is accepting of the trip and Kaley's lifelong friendship with Mike.

2. My son finished a project-based translating job and now he has been hired by Holland America/Grayline to be a tour guide on the red double decker buses that do the loop around downtown Seattle. The fact he speaks French and Spanish was helpful. Grayline is also responsible for shuttling Microsofties over the weekend for their big annual shindig and Lucas will participate with that. They told him he needed a red polo shirt and khaki shorts as a pseudo uniform. Lucas, my hippie hiker son, had no clue what a polo shirt was. Rather than shop for him, I pulled a polo shirt out of Dave's closet so he had an example and sent him off on his own. Not only did he find a red one but it was on sale for only $15 at Macy's.

3. Finally, I am Apolo's Mom and this is a job I will always have. Part of my duties include cleaning up icky things in the back yard and of course, walking him and keeping him from eating icky things like squashed moles along our street. At the moment, there are two of them along our route. When we approach, I pull on his leash and yell, "Icky!" Yes, my dog knows what "icky" means.

Yesterday, as we returned from our walk and entered our back garden, a startled crow took flight from our bird bath. I noticed a black tail hanging out of the bird bath. "Geez. A dead rat? No, please, no." It wasn't a dead rat but it was a half eaten snake hanging half out and half in. Oh man. Disgusting and in view of all of our windows. I thought that perhaps the crow would return to finish his lunch so I watched from my bathroom and froze. Sure enough, crow perched on the fence and waited. I waited; he waited. At last, he swooped into the bird bath, had a little trouble gathering up his unwieldy prey but managed to take off with it into the neighbor's yard. Whew!

Last night, Dave confessed to me he has been finding dead baby birds in the bird bath and he didn't want me to know. Yuck! So the crows are cannibals, too. Thank goodness Dave knows he is responsible for cleaning up ickier stuff than dog poop.

Hmmmm. I think I will go sort his dirty socks now and wash them for him.

The site of the crime--photo taken just a few minutes ago.

// posted by Janet @ 8:52 AM 4 comments

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Twenty-seven Years Ago

July 19, 1980, I received a terrible phone call fom my Mom. My Dad's suffering from the massive heart attack he had had two months earlier was over. Mount St. Helens blew up the same week of his heart attack and it continued erupting throughout the summer including the week he died. Also, we had made an offer on our first home in Seattle on July 4th. I was always happy that I was able to tell my Dad about the brand new house we bought. He had been to Seattle before and his first question to me was whether or not it had a yard. Typically houses in Seattle are built on slopes or close to one another so that yards are small compared to houses in Montana. He knew we had a dog and that we would always have a dog and he thought we should have a good yard.

Our first house did have a big fenced yard. It was actually built in the back part of a large double lot. The surrounding houses were older but this little Northwest cedar A-frame style was brand new and built in between some big old doug firs and cedar trees right in the middle of the city. The little house, not far from UW, was terrific for two people and a dog. I guess it is now worth over $400,000 which is unbelievable to me. Anyway, once we had two children, we were stepping all over each other. It had no basement like most homes around here and no way to expand. As such, we moved to Mukilteo where some friends of ours lived and we could get more house for the money.

Every July I always think about the huge summer of change in 1980. It really was the beginning of the life we have lived since. When your parent dies, you suddenly become an adult. When you buy a house, you make a commitment. Our decision was that Seattle would be our home from then on.

And our two other houses also had ample fenced yards for the always present Golden Retrievers.

Even though 27 years have passed, I never stop thinking about the hole left by my Dad's absence. Time certainly dampens the sadness and the memories are happy ones. On Mother's Day this year, my brother and Dave went fishing on Canyon Ferry near Helena. This is a man made lake on the Missouri River not far from where we scattered my Dad's ashes. It was cold and rainy but my Mom, my sister-in-law and I decided we would meet the guys and have a picnic. My Mom was determined but Kathy and I were thinking fried chicken back at Mom's house might be more comfortable. Sure enough, once we spread out the food, the rain stopped and the sun peaked through. Times like these I think my Dad is right there with us as he has been all along.

My brother in his boat; Dave on the dock.

Mother's Day Pic Nic, Canyon Ferry
Kathy, my brother, Jim, Dave and my Mom

// posted by Janet @ 10:16 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Seattle Area Real Estate

"They" say that our real estate market continues to go up and up. I do know that our investment in three different homes in the Puget Sound area has been positive for us. Taking a look at real estate sites like Zillow is kind of fun to see how valuable our previous houses are.

1. Our first house in Seattle:
Built in 1980, no view
Bought new in 1980
1680 sq. feet
3 bedrooms, 2 baths
Purchase Price in 1980: $94,000
Sold in 1989: $127,000
Current Value: $445,288

2. Our second house in Mukilteo:
Built in 1989, no view but green belt
Bought new in 1989
2670 sq. feet
3 bedrooms, den, bonus room, 2.5 baths
Purchase price in 1989: $177,000
Sold in 2003: $390,000
Current Value: $635,991

3. Our third and current house in Mukilteo:
Built in 1990, Sound and mountain view
Bought it in 2003
3600 sq. feet
4 bedrooms, den, bonus room, 2.5 baths
Value in 1995: $440,000
Our purchase price in 2003: $599,000
Current Value: $883,627

We are in the process of adding another full bathroom next to our daughter's bedroom and we are adding some space to the master bath and updating it. Also, when the tax man did a second appraisal after we appealed a couple of years ago, he gave us a break on the value of our house when I invited him in and explained we would have two kids in college, etc, etc,....Ah, I sort of sweet talked him to keep our property taxes down and I notice our house has one of the lowest values in our neighborhood because zillow is heavily based on property tax appraisal. In other words, what I am trying to say is that our neighbors' houses with less or equal view and similar size and age are valued at $1 million or more. Once our bathroom remodels are done, we likely could sell the house for over $1 million.

Up and up it goes.

// posted by Janet @ 1:59 PM 1 comments

Friday, July 13, 2007

I Think I Just Did Something Stupid

This morning the sky became quite dark. I am a stickler for my routine and my walk with my puppy so I was not about to let an ominous sky keep me inside. Off I went. The sky was a series of constant rumbles which I realized was thunder. Naturally, if there is thunder, there is lightning. Rather than return home, I kept to my route but I kind of walked and ran. Every time Apolo stopped to sniff, I pulled him along.

I did make it home before anything happened. The thought occurred to me that being struck by lightning would not have been impossible. My dog leash has metal parts and we walk around and under some mighty big trees. Not many people were outside. Every time the sky boomed, Apolo's ears went back and he moved closer to me. He is not over last week, yet.

It all seems to be over now but I found this article on the King5 website.

http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_071307WAB_lightning_strikes_KS.6f91d8a6.html

I guess we were hit with 275 lightning strikes as the storm moved over us. On the eastside, a tree was hit and flames jumped to a house.

I think I was dumb.

// posted by Janet @ 12:04 PM 4 comments

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Hot Hot Hot

The Seattle area does not normally get hot very many days out of the year. The highest temperature ever recorded is 100 and the lowest is 0 according to my son. Yesterday, it was over 90 at our house and our house was 88 inside. To us, this is sweltering. My window routine of strategically closing blinds and opening windows as the sun moves from one side of our house to the other (we face south) didn't seem to work. The breezes were not coming off the 55 degree water. We pulled out two fans. One belongs to our son. We had the other one in our bedroom until our daughter returned from her job at the Italian restaurant in Seattle with no AC. She convinced us--well, I gave in---that she was worse off than we were because she had spent the last eight hours in front of a wood fired pizza oven. Her own personal fan is in storage in Walla Walla. At the time we picked her up last May, it seemed like such a reasonable idea to leave the fan in hot Eastern Washington when we were desperate for room in the car.

I didn't feel well last night. I know I do not drink enough liquids except for coffee and it gets me into trouble on days like this. I have to remind myself and force myself to drink water because for some reason, my body rarely tells me it is thirsty. Also, I do not sweat very much--never have. I worry more about my dog's water intake than mine. I could not get comfortable last night. Lucas went outside at 8 PM in his swim suit and sprayed himself with the hose. Finally, my third glass of ice water and a slight breeze made me feel like I could stand up again.

And poor Apolo. I took him for a walk yesterday morning but it was already too hot for him. He stopped in a cool shady place, sat down, and put his paw up and over his leash. Whenever he does that it means, "Sorry, but I am not going one step further, Mom. So what are you going to do about it, huh?" All day he just kept looking at me and asking me to turn down the heat with his big golden eyes. He was confused. I fed him ice cubes.

Of course, it was Lucas and Dave's fault that he was confused. On Monday, they went on a day hike near Mount Baker (see orca picture below which is Mt. Baker,too). Half of the hike was in snow and Apolo had the time of his life rolling and running in the white stuff. The lake they hiked to still had ice and it had chunks of ice floating. Apolo tried with great surprise to retrieve the chunks of ice and he managed to swim to shore with a mouthful of ice after smashing a piece.

So yesterday was just too much. For him and for me.

taken by Lucas, July 9, 2007, Dave and Apolo near Mt. Baker

Mt. Baker, our north Sound volcano, taken by Lucas, July 9, 2007

Black bear butt running away from the car on the logging road leaving the trail head.
7/9/07

One may wonder why I did not go on the hike with my husband and son. Kaley had a day off and she does not hike, period. Since Seattle is the third hottest tourist destination this summer, we decided to play tourist and we went downtown. Kaley and I had a lovely lunch at the Pink Door where we dined on the terrace overlooking the Seattle waterfront. We followed our lunch with a stroll through the market to find ingredients for homemade meatless European-style pizzas. She wanted to try out her skills learned at her job on us. We found pizza dough, sauce and yummy things to put on top like local morel mushrooms and herbs. The pizzas were fabulous.

I must give kudos to my husband. For years, he has worked, worked and traveled, traveled. I admit he was not free of my criticism for his absence at times as a father. It was difficult for us periodically. But this summer, he is trying to take Mondays off to spend with his children without any hint or suggestion from me. Never is it too late, although Lucas wondered if he was dying or something.

No, he just realizes, finally, the kids will not be at home forever.

// posted by Janet @ 8:39 AM 3 comments

Saturday, July 07, 2007

Only In Seattle

A couple of things in the newspapers caught my attention today. They are worthy of an "Only In Seattle" list! At this very moment, Lucas called me from our rickety old boat out there on Puget Sound. The manly fishermen are returning with dinner which will consist of two crabs and a flounder. Crab-allergic Kaley is at her restaurant job creating salads and plating desserts so we can enjoy a crab feast.

1. Only in Seattle, are we becoming known as a tourist destination. It used to be we were kind of a secret but this is changing. Evidently, according to AAA, Seattle is third behind Orlando and Las Vegas as a hot summer tourist town. New York and L.A. are 4th and 5th. Of course, unlike Orlando, Las Vegas, New York and LA it is not hot here. Yesterday, the high was 80 in Seattle but it never got above 68 at our house and it was full sun.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2003778577_tourist07m.html

2. Only in Seattle, a reason to visit is to witness a "super pod." I get a thrill seeing merely a spout and a dorsal fin of an orca. In fact, just thinking about it reminds me of the words in that John Denver song, "You fill up my senses...." The combination of the water, mountains and wild orcas is unequaled anywhere in the universe. However, I have never seen a super pod. As I write this, all three of our resident pods are now in the San Juans. They came together into a super pod or family and friends gathering. They get so excited meeting up again after months of being apart, that they literally have a big party breaching and slapping the water. "Oh my gosh, Betty, I haven't seen you in ages. You look wonderful! I sure hope you brought your famous potato salad and deviled eggs."

The return of K pod included a rendezvous with Puget Sound's other two orca groups — the J and L pods — that formed a welcoming "superpod" just north of the Canadian border Wednesday, observers reported.

J and L pods were traveling south toward Orcas Island in the San Juan Island chain about noon Wednesday when they apparently heard acoustic calls from K pod, said Brenden Oranato, who was aboard the Serengeti, a whale-watch boat operated by Seafun Safaris out of Victoria, B.C.
"Js and Ls swung around and began swimming north at high speed," Oranato told the Kitsap Sun newspaper. "All three pods met up approximately six miles north of East Point," a portion of British Columbia's Saturna Island.

The return of K pod on the Fourth of July was about a month later than usual.

Those aboard the Serengeti said they witnessed a "greeting ceremony," in which the members of each pod form a straight line that heads toward the other groups. When they merged, the whales breached — or threw themselves out of the water to crash down with a splash, said Jeff LaMarche, who was on board the Serengeti.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003778567_orcasreturn07m.html

Photo: Center for Whale Research Emma Foster, Super pod, 7/4/07

3. Only in Seattle, hot tourist destination, can you see a "dead" ringer for Larry King at Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe.

photo Seattle Times/Eric Kayne

I'm just sayin'---put on a pair of glasses and suspenders.....!

UPDATE: Without the glasses and suspenders, mummy man is a dead ringer for Michael "gut feeling" Chertoff.

Off to put on a pot of boiling water: Only in Mukilteo.

// posted by Janet @ 6:15 PM 1 comments

Friday, July 06, 2007

Quiet 4th of July

Actually, it was not quiet. Supposedly, fireworks are illegal in Mukilteo but plenty of them were being shot off on our street. It is so easy to hide on dead end streets and behind huge trees and shrubs that the Mukilteo police do not have a chance. My son went over to an unincorporated part of our county where fireworks are legal with some high school friends of his and had the best time. I made sure he had all of his fingers and toes the next morning. Dave was exhausted from hauling bark so we just relaxed at home and watched explosions across the water and tried to keep the TV on loud enough so that Apolo did not freak out too much. He still did--poor thing.
I am still getting used to the new computer. We have had turmoil. Why is all of this so hard? We are educated people. We have not been able to download Google Earth for some reason so we will have one of Lucas' college friends who graduated in computer science come and help us with some of the loose ends. It shouldn't be this hard. Remember when you would get a new transister radio? You just turned it on and all of your favorite stations were right there.

In honor of the days before our rampant computer technology, I am posting a couple of beautiful old family photographs. True, they had no digital in those days so who knows how long they had to wait for these portraits to be ready. But, they are gorgeous.

My mother Virginia as a child (age 7) with her parents, my grandparents, Lillian and Dale. 1935.

This was a Christmas family portrait taken in Missoula, Montana. I love how my Mom has on such a gorgeous dress. And she has a necklace?! I had never seen this photo before until just a couple of months ago when my Mom gave it to me.

My father, David, is the baby with his two older brothers, my uncles, George and Alfred and his parents, my English grandparents, Lily and Samuel. Probably 1924 or 1925 in Deer Lodge, MT.

Actually, I remember discussing this photo of my father's family with my Grandmother. If you notice, my father has a sock monkey. I just love the fact he had a sock monkey. Anyway, he was having a major tantrum, I guess, during the photo session and if you look closely at the actual photo, you can see tears on his cute little cheeks.

The oldest boy is my Uncle George. At the moment, he is still alive at age 90. I say "at the moment" because he has some significant health issues going on. Until a few months ago, he had been in relatively good physical and mental health still living in his home with my aunt. My Dad and his brother Alfred have both died. My Dad and his brother both smoked. My uncle George did not.

// posted by Janet @ 2:25 PM 2 comments

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Happy Fourth of July

I am frustrated. Our old computer was doing bad things and people who know about such things told us it didn't cost much more to buy a new computer than to try and fix a six year old ancient relic.

So we have a new computer. I am not intuitively intelligent. My husband and my daughter are. You change something in their lives and they just figure it out. My son and I are learners. You teach us something and we learn it quickly and remember it forever. But, we are not good at figuring things out in the first place. So if you change a routine in our lives, somebody has to reteach us. Getting a new computer has caused me incredible grief. I can't find my e-mails; I cannot find my pictures; I do not know how to update my blog; and every blog I visit now requires me to re-register. SCREAM!!

Here I am on the 4th of July trying to get used to new everything on the computer screen. My hubby had a huge load of bark delivered and he and Lucas are out there spreading it. I have the den window open and every now and then I am yelling at the both of them to help me. So Dave shakes the bark off and comes in to try and figure things out that I probably know more about than him. The new computer doesn't affect them much because they all have lap tops operated by some weird, in the sky but also via some router plug in something or other wireless whatever. As long as this computer is hooked up to the internet, they are just fine and have no changes.

This is my test post. I took a picture of Apolo in front of my gorgeous hydranga that did not bloom last year. I love it. They are always blooming around the 4th of July. It is like a big rhodie/lilac combo. Unfortunately, when you pick them and put them in water, they do not last long as a bouquet. Ok, here goes--I'll see if I can post the picture on here.

This is a load of.....bark!

Happy Fourth! I guess.

// posted by Janet @ 10:17 AM 5 comments