Raincharm’s Weblog

We generally avoid the games when the Blue Jays come to town, because they bring  a lot of Canadians with them. Not literally, but Seattle is a few thousand miles closer to British Columbia than Toronto, where the only Canadian MLB team is located. It can be irritating at times when it becomes a drunken weekend. And it always seems to be a weekend series in early July. The over-the-top crowd seems to have tempered a bit since Covid.

Our tickets were listed for sale, but nobody had taken them by mid-morning. It was a nice day (low 70s), so we headed down to the park. We spoke with a very nice Canadian family we chatted with in line. The father was originally from the west side of Australia and didn’t know too much about baseball. Carl gave a ball to the kid, ~12 years old, and did. They live on Vancouver Island and are familiar with Mt. Finlayson, same as our family name. (We climbed it many years ago.)

We also watched the World Cup game with Canada vs. Morocco, first half on my phone in line. The second half on the big screen in the stadium. Canada lost by 2.

Pre-game they had several 4th of July celebrations, based on a state fair. Marching band, parade with celebrities (salmon) in cars, pie eating contest, etc. This seemed more on point then the political debacle in the other Washington.

And then the Mariners beat the Blue Jays 11 to 0.

A good time out for the fourth. I don’t know if we’ll head out to try to watch the fireworks from an elevated vantage point, or just stay in. We’re close enough to hear the concussion from the big shells. The top of the higher fireworks are visible from a second floor window, but it’s in a closet.

Yesterday we did get the Birthday present unwrapped and into use. It is a large step up from our old reel mower. The lawns needed mowing and Carl was trying to get some walking in, two birds – one stone.

But most of our energy was spent dealing with a suspected kidney stone. Carl has a history, and the pain was similar. Instead of waiting the few days to see how bad it might get, we launched into getting to know the UW Urgent Care system. It has positives and negatives, and next time I will move more quickly through the website to get in line. I didn’t realize there was an online line option at first. And upon arrival there was waiting, a lab request that was delayed, and finally a doctor. Prescription for a drug and a CT scan.

The CT scan was scheduled this morning for the afternoon. That was a positive. The prescription was still being processed. Results from the Scan. No stone! YEA. Now to try and cancel the prescription, which we certainly won’t pick up.

The pain is still there, but lessened, and not what we thought it was.

And figure when we can really celebrate his birthday.

And Happy Canada Day 🇨🇦

You know when you find out yet another friend has cancer. Bad, but good treatment potential. It just puts things in perspective, but yet not.

What to do to help. Not sure, but we must try to do something.

For now it’s off to the game.

Mariners game was good. They won, but almost more importantly people who we know kept stopping by. And Carl gave two baseballs to the kids sitting to our right.

We had a few friends over for dinner last night. And no game on TV was included. I would call it a success for a few reasons.

• The house got cleaned, a hair more than tidied.
• Conversation was good, getting to know each other better.
• They left some banana bars that are quite good
• I tried a new side salad that turned out.

The side salad had cucumbers, radishes, honeydew melon, and mint. With lemon juice and a little sugar for the dressing. I rarely (never) use radishes, so was a bit concerned. But it was quite good. All of the bits were sliced thin.

Today was a bit of a slow start, but with more help from far flung relatives I am continuing to gather paperwork needed for my Canadian adventure. Next step will be to actual send said paperwork to the team for review, and eventual processing.

And because I missed posting on the Pride Parade day, here is one of our home entries.

After some early morning errands the day was spent at home.

A little laundry, cooking, bill paying, and the continuing journey of paperwork. Today this included much appreciated efforts of far flung cousins.

And for the afternoon, soccer provided a backdrop. As did the rain.

The USA is playing their 3rd game in the group stage of the World Cup tonight against Turkiye. It’s at 7 PM Pacific, so a bit late for dinner. Instead the usual suspects are gathering for dessert.

Poor planning, but here’s what’s left

At least the desserts were good. The US was a  bit lethargic, or maybe Turkiye was inspired. Let’s call this a wake up for the round of 32.

Two World Cup games are in the book today, so far. We are missing the next two in favor of the local USL2 Ballard FC game.

We started off the morning with more pruning. I shared the ladder today with Carl, a reluctant climber, and Chinmaya, our more enthusiastic neighbor. I did insist she wear goggles when using the little chainsaw.

Another week and we might be done. They’re very nice and have shared Chai tea and some homemade Indian cookies.

It was hot this afternoon and there was very little shade at the Ballard Interbay Stadium. We found a set of bleachers where the top row (only 3 high) was sort of shaded. Better than nothing and Ballard prevailed and won their game 3-1 over West Seattle.

The USA plays tomorrow evening. We’re hosting a watch party again, featuring desserts. It will be after even our west coast dinner time.

Pruning from the neighbor’s side finally got underway. We only had an hour of real work, and it exhausted me. But it’s a start. Figuring out the setup took a while. And a break for some chai tea. And an adorable 11-month old put in an appearance. Measured in garbage cans we managed about two cans. More to come tomorrow.

I needed a bit of a break. We have been walking regularly, and watching soccer, and there was an in-person baseball game in there too.

I was not there to complete the coven with my dad. My son and his family were there representing our branch, but it’s not quite the same.

Making progress on getting cozy with our northern neighbors. There are a dozen or so emails waiting for my review. I’m waiting for a clearer mind in the morning.

And made application for a new driver’s license, with Real ID. I’ve managed to travel without one so far, but this will give me options other than my passport.

Going through recipes as well. What would  pair well with a Green Curry with Tofu dish?