Ramblings

During my husband's last week of work he managed to pick up a cold. He graciously shared it with me. At first I managed to avoid this gift but eventually caught it about a week after he did. Unfortunately this was the weekend that we went to Victoria, BC. It was a gorgeous weekend and despite my budding cold it was very romantic. Victoria is a beautiful city and there is a lovely walk around the harbor that lead to a couple of cute parks I was able rest in. We followed the walk to a cute waterfront that had a fantastic fish and chip spot among a couple of other small businesses. One even sold raw fish so you could feed a couple of seals that seemed to live there.
When we got back we received word that while we were gone our friend's wife had finally had their baby. They had a cute baby boy nicknamed Sprout. Sprout is absolutely adorable and as soon as I'm over my cold I'm going to pinch his adorable little rolls. We've already gotten him a cute little towel that has a hood and is decorated with little duckies. Tomorrow my husband is headed over to their house to help finish putting together furniture for the nursery.
Yesterday we went to the Sea Food Festival in Ballard. It was fun to walk around and see the arts and crafts booths and trying to decide what to snack on. The longest line was for the bacon wrapped scallops. They smelled heavenly even with my cold. My husband is sadly allergic to seafood so he opted for a viking ice cream sunday. It came with a chocolate viking on top of the whip cream. He looked like an adorable little kid eating it.
While so far our summer has been leisurely and enjoyable today was sad. A few months ago my in-laws found out that their dog's kidney was failing. He's been on medication but he started refusing to take them and deteriorated quickly. Today after taking a couple turns for the worse in the past couple days he was put to sleep. The dog has been a buddy to my husband. He would look very offended whenever I sat next to my husband on the in-laws couch. Apparently  he believed that I was in his spot and would sometimes try to get in between us.
Next week is the annual family camping trip. This year a few of our friends are coming with us and I'm looking forward to it. One couple, Biggie and his wife, are bringing their pugs. Should prove for an interesting trip. I'm in charge of supplying the smores supplies. My cousin-in-law is bringing his swashbuckling skewer. Can't wait to take pics of that.
In other news one of my favorite high school series is on Netflix. It is about as bad as I remember it and I'm having a blast torturing my husband by watching it. Its bringing back a million memories of drooling over the male lead with my friend Shorty. The writing is bad, but typical for a tween market. The acting is a joke, but again typical for the market. Still, I love it and I'm off to watch more.

Found it!

I came to Seattle a few years ago to visit a friend. While here I was shown around Seattle Pacific University. It is a beautiful campus, and I was impressed by one court yard in particular. The acoustics of the court yard were set up so that if you stood in the middle it would amplify your voice and everyone sitting on the surrounding steps could hear you easily.

I've wanted to go back and see it. Mostly because it is the one place here that I knew. It is something I could show to someone else for once. There are signs posted clearly (for once) on a couple streets I use pointing the way towards SPU. I never followed them, I only seemed to spot them when I was expected somewhere.

Yesterday my church group met at Gas Works Park for a bbq. I grabbed directions off the net and went straight from work. Starting out I drove up a steep hill and just over the other side was a view that took my breath away. Two blocks later I found SPU. Somehow I wound up driving through the center of it by accident. I was so excited when I found it I stopped the car. Fortunately no one was around. A couple blocks farther I found a road I knew and eventually I made my way to the bbq. That means I'll be able to find my way back.

Should have known that it would be in the last neighborhood I explored.

Somewhere Betwen Raising Hell and Amazing Grace

A lot has happened since I last posted. The most entertaining is that today the Denny's in Ballard was been declared a historic landmark. I'm not kidding. Ballard is my favorite neighborhood due to things like this. It’s a quirky area that still sports "Free Ballard" shirt, bumper stickers, and posters. A few weeks ago I went to a wine bar there with my boyfriend and a few friends. We each ordered different wines and sampled each other's choice. We also split a cheese platter and chacutrie. It felt like I was back in Paris.
I also had two really good friends come and visit me. The first was a friend that I've known since I was 13. We got sushi for dinner and it was great to actually have someone around that enjoys the stuff. Afterwards we went to my friend's house to hang out. My boyfriend arrived just after we did. Before the front door opened he had caught my attention, walked up to us, and picked up my friend (literally) and turned her upside down. He has a wicked sense of humor. Luckily she found this hilarious and the two of them got along.
The second friend is the person who inspired me to move to Seattle. She is also a great cook and gave me a couple of cooking lessons while she was here. We went to Pike Place Market for our supplies and had fun poking around the stalls. I discovered a couple of hidden alleys that have really great shops. Everything there is produced locally and is cheaper than going to the grocery store. To an extent the market is a tourist destination, but a lot of locals use it for their weekly shopping. As much fun as shopping was the best part was having girlfriends around again. I love my life here, but I miss having girlfriends closer than on the other end of the phone.
One of the best things to happen recently is that I finally found a church to call home. For the first time in years I found a church where I feel comfortable. I don't believe blindly, and this church encourages questions. It’s also the first time that I've heard a new approach to verses I've heard all my life. They also have small groups, somewhat like a bible study group, for different age groups. I've contacted one of them and hopefully it will be a way to make Christian friends.
In other news work is getting better. I’m learning now in leaps and bounds and I’m making headway. The mountain of work doesn’t seem to decrease any, but that’s okay. I’m just happy that I can function somewhat on my own. Sadly the old guy that I used to work with has decided that because I’m now getting trained by someone he profoundly dislikes that I have gone to the dark side. When he told me this I laughed and told him, “of course I did, they have cookies.” He didn't find that as funny as I did. Mostly because he thought he was missing out on actual cookies.
As for Valentines it was great, but the week started off pretty bad. My boyfriend had been having headaches for weeks. When he finally went into the doctor the doctor became concerned it could be a blood vessel causing the problem. A couple appointments and an MRI later it was discovered that it was a nerve that got infected. He was put on a round of steroids and everything is fine now. The unfortunate result of all this is that he was unable to go on a business trip.
Since he was in town he had to be point man for those that did go and told me that he would have to work late. He called me about eight that night. He told me that he had just got home and asked if I wanted to do a late dinner. I said yes and he asked that I call him when I was leaving. A few min later I grabbed by coat, set the alarm, and then opened my front door with my phone in hand. Sitting in front of my door was a bouquet of flower, a box of chocolates, and a chocolate espresso bar. He was standing around the corner and grinning.
We went to dinner at a local place and he was chatty through the whole thing. This is a guy that has been nicknamed “Silent Bob” by my friend from college. He was also bouncing in his seat and fiddling with everything. When I took the last piece of silverware away from him he finally told me that the side effect of his meds was abundant energy. I laughed and then offered to take him for a walk. After a long tour of the area we ended up at a two story book store. So while the week started off rocky, the holiday for me consisted of roses, chocolate, dinner, wine, and books. I couldn’t have asked for a better night.

Sky high

First the bad news: According to the news today's high was 45 degrees, and tomorrow is not looking better.

Now the good news: This weekend was a completely different story.

It wasn't all that warm, but it was absolutely beautiful. Since the sun was out Saturday it made exploring much more fun this time around. We went to Golden Gardens Park which has a sandy beach, a boat marina, and gorgeous views. One of the best views we discovered while walking along one of the park paths. It was a tree that eats kites, kinda like the one in the Charlie Brown comic strips. I spotted one whole one, two tatters remains, and possibly a fourth.

Further on the path, where the park met the beach, we spotted two little boys with their dad trying to fly a kite. The dad would throw it up into the air, and one of the little boys would jerk the string back and forth. Sometimes it would hover, but mostly this would result in the kite making an arch and crashing into the ground. As much fun as they seemed to be having they didn't really stand a chance of getting the kite in the air. There was a slight breeze, but not enough to get it airborne. Still, I'm thinking I'm going to have to buy a kite soon.

Further on the path we spotted another kid. This one was completely bundled up. He had on a windbreaker with a hood, a pair of gloves, a scarf that wound around his face, and a beanie. The cutest part was that he kept turning around and telling his dad, "stay there, I'm okay." Then he would turn back around and keep walking. Every few steps his dad would move forward, and almost immediately the boy would turn back around to make sure he hadn't. It was like watching a little boy try and train his puppy.

Sunday was just as beautiful and I spent most of it wandering around downtown trying to get gift ideas. Eventually I decided I'd had enough of people and went to Ballard to bug my favorite tour guide. Once he completely woke up from his nap he decided to show me around the U district. Its the area in Seattle near the University of Washington, and is the stereotypical college district. As cute as it looks I want to go back and wander around some since we didn't get far this trip. My guide made the mistake of taking me to a large book store. The best part is that he was so entertained by my reaction he is actually planning on taking me to another one.

Yeah. I've got the best tour guide ever.

Simple pleasures

Last Saturday the sun decided to come out to play. At least it did around mid-morning. Unfortunately my hair needs a bit of encouragement to stay blond these days so I was stuck at the hair dresser. By the time I was done it was around two in the afternoon, but the sun was still out so I was happy. My tour guide was as happy as I was to see the sun, but had no idea where to go to enjoy it. We'd been to all the obvious places around the city and he wanted to take me somewhere new. After poking around the net he realized I hadn't been to Gas Works park yet so off we went.

Gasworks used to be a refinery plant and is now a great park. Its the kind of park that would make my nephew's head explode with the sheer number of things to climb. I wish I'd had a kite with me to fly out over the lake, and that the sun had stayed out. Sadly by the time we got to the park it had disappeared again leaving me with a very stubborn tour guide and a bright red nose. In spite of that I had fun. My favorite part was the giant sundial on top of the hill. You have to stand on today's date and by using the chart engraved next to it you can tell the time fairly accurately. Or you can when the sun is out and casting shadows.

After a full tour of the park we went to Chinook Beach Park. To my amusement the term "beach" is used very liberally here. Its is a cute park with hiking trials we chose not to explore (at least this time) and a rocky shore with a great view of the setting sun. We stayed there for a bit and I found out that even in the height of summer people catch hypothermia swimming there in less than an hour. So it looks like the only time I'll be wading in will be on a visit home.

After my tours we went to this great pizza place that does only more traditional Italian style pizza. Before our pizza showed up this guy that works for the restaurant came over to our table and did card tricks. Even though my sister used to do them all the time, and showed me how some are done, I'm still easily impressed by them.

For one of them he had us pick out a card and showed it to us, then had my tour guide sign the front of it. That card was shuffled back into the deck. Then he drew a stick figure which was supposed to be his assistant on the back of a random card. He told me to add to it so I drew hair that stuck straight up on top of his head, kinda like Bart Simpson. Through magic the assistant jumped from the back of one card to another until he stopped at the card my guide had signed. He then gave us the card and he wandered off to entertain someone else. I mistakenly thought the tricks were over when I put the card in my guide's shirt pocket, but somehow it managed to appear in my coat pocket when I got home later that night.

I must pause now to tell you about something that by simply existing makes the world a better place. It the Italian gelato that's served for dessert there. The chocolate gelato was absolutely incredible. It was served with a shot of espresso of impressive quality, even by Seattle standards. I very happily lingered over it, and I'm currently trying to figure how to get back there.

Other than that things have been quiet here. Its getting colder and I'm spending more time cuddled up indoors. Fireplaces seem to be as standard issue up here as air conditioners were in Sacramento, and I'm thoroughly enjoying this. Still, the sun is supposed to be out for most of the weekend and I'm looking forward to it. I'm told there's another great park I have to check out, even if it is almost winter.

Semi-charmed kind of life

Today it was absolutely beautiful outside. I was supposed to get up at the crack of dawn to go get a Washington state license, but I slept through my alarm. By the time I woke up I knew that there was bound to be a long line, and that it was too beautiful a day to waste at the DMV. So instead I called up the one gal pal I have here and made plans to enjoy the day.
Before I met up with her I stopped by the downtown library. On my way there I drove down this street that has what should have been a fantastic view of the Sound. Instead I got to see lots of trees with gorgeous colors, and a wall of fog. It was absolutely beautiful and really weird. The trees were gold and rust and red. What was weird was that the fog seemed to be unable to pass this magical barrier as it seemed to stop the second it hit shore.
After the library I drove to my favorite part of town- Ballard. I parked my car at my friend’s house and we proceeded to walk around downtown Ballard. We went to a couple thrift stores and a couple consignment stores. I was looking for inspiration for a Halloween costume, she was looking for a new table. It seemed like everyone was out enjoying the rare bit of perfect weather. The sun was shining, the sky was this great shade of blue, the leaves on all the trees were turning, and the air had just a slight chill to it. I had a blast just walking around and people watching.
The best part of the day was when I was driving home across one of the bridges. I could see Mt Rainier in the distance and the sun sparkling off of the Sound. It was so beautiful all I could think was “wow, I get to live here.” Clearly my love affair with this city is still in the honeymoon phase. As happy as I am I think I’m just going to go with it.

I'll keep you locked in my head

I went to the Seattle Art Museum on Saturday, which houses mostly modern work. It was nice, but for the most part I don't enjoy modern art. There have been a rare few pieces that I have loved, but what I saw at the SAM just didn't do it for me. The top floor was more my style with classical pieces, and some intricately painted china.
I prefer the Impressionists, specifically Monet's waterlilies. I know that's not unique, but I still love them. My all time favorite is on display in a small hard to find museum in Paris. Part of the reason I love them so much is that I got to go to Monet's garden in Giverney, which is where the series was painted. It was such a surreal moment to turn around a corner in the garden and feel as though I were inside a painting. I hope I never forget it.
A large chunk of Sunday was spent doing laundry and looking up books on the internet. I was extremely successful with the former, but not the latter activity. I've found a number of websites that I can use to figure out titles from what sketchy information I remember about various books. Until now, they've been extermly helful. This weekend all I could seem to find are book series that take place before and after the series that I'm searching for.
What really frustrated me is that I know all it would take in the past is a phone call to the friend that originally loaned the books to me. Only problem is the friend is no longer on the other end of the line, and its times like this that I miss her. The good news is there is a solution of sorts. An aquaintence of mine is a fan of the overall series and can likely point me in the right direction. Too bad it won't cure missing my friend.

Wandering close to home

When I first moved here there were posters and signs everywhere of a cute little goldfish with the tag line "let Leonard in." There is even a website that you can check out in support of Leonard. It is a fun campaign for the recently renovated Seattle Aquarium. After seeing the cute posters everywhere I decided I wanted to go and check it out.

I wasn't expecting much. I grew up fairly close to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium and, at least to me, it is fairly impressive. Seattle Aquarium may not be as large, but it is fun. There is a huge tank just as you walk in that is filled with a number of different fish and has a volunteer standing next to it answering questions. Little kids were paying rapt attention as this woman explain in simple terms what each fish was and where it lived in nature. It was really sweet.


Just past that was a cool tunnel you could walk into and watch the jellyfish swirl around you. We stood there watching that for a while until we heard little kids shouting "WOW" and went to investigate. Right around the corner was a circular tank that was connected by a tube to a larger tank that held a rock reef. What had grabbed their attention was the octopus that was taking a walk from one tank to the other. Couldn't blame them for being impressed, it was really cool.


There were other fun exhibits including the very cool large clam that had neon blue strips. A cute one must have been designed with Finding Nemo in mind as it only had a "Dory," a "Marvin," and a "Nemo." There is also a tank that is built like an igloo that you can sit under and watch fish. One of the best was the otter tank. Not because it was any better than the others, but because they were adorable.


After exhausting the aquarium we we went for dessert (in lieu of dinner) at a cute local place called Dilettante. The truffle case alone is a very happy thought. The cappuccino gateau was just as great. Once we had gorged ourselves on chocolate we went in search of a book shop that no one we asked seem to have heard of. Wandering up Broadway I realized why people told me I lived in a great area. If the restaurants there are half as good as they smell I am going to go broke soon. All in all it was a great day and I can't wait to explore my own neighborhood soon.

Who needs a map?

I got to see the Ballard Locks this weekend. Ballard is an area just to the north of downtown Seattle, and used to be its own town. About a hundred years ago it was made a part of Seattle, but the area kept the name. A running joke in the area is a bumper sticker that says "Free Ballard." Anyway, a couple people I had told I was moving to Seattle highly recommended the locks as something to check out, so I was pretty happy to discover that where we were.
The Locks are where boats enter and exit Lake Washington, and in reducing the structural stress is how the city keeps the bridges up. Lake Washington is higher than Puget Sound so the boats use the locks as a sort of elevator between the two bodies of water. There is also a pretty park that surrounds it and it includes a steep hillside my nephews would love to roll down.
After wandering around the locks for a bit and getting a great education about them we kept on walking. Eventually we stumbled across Discovery Park and I got to see yet another great view. My tour guide was fantastic. He pointed out that to the right were boats, to the left were some islands, and straight a head was a container ship. I was with a native of Seattle and we had no idea what the view was of. I just laughed. We wandered a bit more, and without really paying attention to where we were going we eventually made our way back home. All in all it was a great day.

Soaking up the sun

I went on my first ferry ride yesterday. It was a crystal clear day and barely in the 80's, which I was told is a pretty warm day for Seattle. We managed to show up at the ferry dock just in time to see it pull away. Since we had about an hour we decided to walk around the pier to kill time. That's when I was introduced to Sylvester the mummy. This wouldn't be so creepy if you couldn't see the bullet hole and the blood stained skin. On the up side I did get to see what I was promised was a real jackalope, and the remains of a mermaid and her spawn.
Soon after we discovered that we had to get back to the ferry. Its a good thing we booked it down there because we were at the front of the line, and they had started loading the ferry. They were actually having cars drive around ours. There was a guy in front of us that hadn't made it back to his car by the time we drove onto the boat. Once we were well on our way we realized that we hadn't seen him make it onto the boat.
We spent the day on Bainbridge island just driving around and checking things out. At one point we accidentally drove off of the island. No, not off a cliff. We just didn't notice the bridge. Goes to show talking while driving can be as distracting in person as over the phone. Anyway, neither of us had been before so we had fun wandering around. Took us a while to find somewhere we wanted to eat though. Eventually we found the Treehouse Cafe and had some really really good pizza.
The weird part of the day was that the smell of the trees was different. I can only guess that it was the lack of redwood trees on the island. Even so I had a lot of fun enjoying one of the last summer days. Between the company and the place I am absolutely loving it here.