Raincharm’s Weblog

Another ball game under our belt. Things of import:

• Apples
• Toss up ball catch
• Man it’s cold
• Light Rail catch
• Ball distribution
• Bus catch
• Soup

We got to the game a little early and decided to walk around inside the park. We headed up to the 3rd deck and walked around the concourse, mostly out of the rain. Near the kid’s play area they were handing out baseball sized boxes. Our first thought they were giving out whiffle balls to kids. But no, they were giving out apples, individually boxed. Sugar Bee apples to be specific.

There was a family sitting next to us, including a young girl, maybe 8 years old. They had homemade signs asking Julio Rodriguez, Ms center-fielder to throw a warm-up ball to them.  Before the start of 5th inning Julio threw the ball in our direction and Carl stretched to make the catch, and handed the ball to the girl. I’m not sure if his feet left the ground, but it was close.

One of the defining features of today’s game was the temperature, or lack thereof. It was in the 40s, and damp. 🥶  We shivered our way through 7 innings, and left with a 7-0 lead. We’re midway through the homestand and just wanted to be warm.

So we; Carl, Kevin, and I, headed for the light rail station. We were not alone. As we headed into the station we could see a train loading  – so we “ran.” The first car was packed, so we kept heading down the train. About 3 cars down the doors started to close. I stuck my hand in and got the door to open so the 3 of us could squeeze in. Probably the latest catch of a train for me, although I did have a plane close the door just after I boarded once. It was crowded, but it was warm (body heat and all).

A few people disembarked at the next station. (Probably to catch the 2 line to Bellevue) With a tad more room a nearby family could let their 2 young kids sit. They were a bit fussy. So Carl reached into our bags and pulled out 2 baseballs he had brought with us, handing them to the parents for the kids. This kept them occupied until it was time to disembark.

Getting off at Roosevelt Station we had just enough time to comfortably catch the bus that shortened our walk from half a mile to 2 blocks. We did not have to jam our hands in the door to get on either.

After getting into the warm house our thoughts turned to dinner. After a bit of dithering we settled on soup. Canned soup, but nice warm chicken noodle soup. It warmed our souls.

And the baseball game was good, if you could see past your breath. Ms win 8-0. They’re 2-2 on the season. Acceptable.

Here’s hoping tomorrow’s game is a warmer win.

And for those who have been trying to figure out where to watch a baseball game on TV, I share the following.  The Mariners first 4 games have been on 3 different platforms.

I am not at the Ms game today. It’s my day off so our friend could take his friends. Carl did go and sent this pregame picture.

There were some raindrops, but I don’t know if it was enough to close the roof.

All for me. As I said, a day off.

Today was definitely a day of recovery. We were up relatively early after a late night because  … houseguests.

We got to hang out, drink coffee, and chat. That was fun. After everyone left, Carl went back to bed. I just hung out some more, drinking coffee.

I didn’t feel too bad. Opening day, guests, out in the cold, crowded trains. All added to the tiredness. Plus I planted 3 raspberry plants yesterday. Trying to bolster our thinning patch. Digging,  composting, planting, carrying, in short – exercise.

See that looming hedge in the background? Pruning chore identified.

The day ended with another Mariner game, and this time they won.

Mariners finally started their season today

They lost 5-4 to the Cleveland Guardians, but maybe we’ll win tomorrow.

It was fun to see a lot of folks that we usually see at the ballpark. Our seatmates, workers, vendors, and even the players. Plus we had a group of 44 sitting a few rows behind us, plus a few of my ex-coworkers stopped by before the game got started.

They had the Mwango Sisters, a trio of local teens, sing the anthem. (They sang several times last year at the end of the season,  sort of a good luck charm.) They did a great job and got all the lyrics right, unlike a singer I saw for a different game on TV. And there was a flyover of one of the heavy transport aircraft. It did a low turn right over the stadium. I thought it was rather spectacular.

The game started late, so I’ll leave with this group picture.

We had to run an errand and walked through the neighborhood. Lots of cherry trees.

As the walk progressed some turns were dictated by trees on the block.

We started wondering how far we could go if we just followed blooming trees. There would need to be rules, like you could see them but they might be a block away.

It was nearing lunchtime and Carl is still recovering from a buttercup pulling project a few days ago. I would like to say buttercup eradication, but that would be lying. So we headed home.

The day started off with an early dentist appointment, scheduled. The plan for the rest of the day was to prepare the house for guests arriving for the Mariners’ opening day.

It was pouring. We drove, so not too big a deal.

The prep for guests included clearing one of the bedrooms of detritus from the initial response to the December flood. Most of that was cardboard boxes brought upstairs to keep them dry and out of the way. They were largely piled in the crib that was still set up from July family visiting with grandsons.

I went into the garage to do a little clean-up from the giveaway. AND THERE WAS WATER ON PART OF THE FLOOR NEAR THE WEST WALL. This was a repeat of the little flooding in December that started the work, ending with the giveaway.

Most of what was in the garage was off of the floor, or waterproof. But this distracted from the prime objective. There was no water in the basement, only the garage this time.

I consolidated the remaining items in the garage and put most things onto shelving units that will stay in the garage. The amount of water was limited compared to December, but I still had to dry the bottom of a few bins. Only one cardboard box was destroyed, and the large glass hanging lamp was relocated to a new box, and put up on a shelf.

Since I was there I moved one shelving unit back into the basement. It had been in the garage for the giveaway. Likewise the card table was taken down.

Finally back to the task at hand. The cardboard boxes were taken downstairs and put into the big storage cabinet. We still have way too many, but that’s a chore for another day.

Then the crib was disassembled and moved to the garage. It is in the garage because it is leaving. It was handy last summer but our youngest grandkids are turning 4.

The beds are all made (not the crib) and the house is pretty well stocked with groceries. Tomorrow we’ll do some cleaning and thinking about what we need for the game. (Layers, layers, layers – night games in March and April in Seattle are not usually warm.)

And hope the torrential rains abate.

Today was a recovery day for me. Carl, on the other hand, ran errands, made meals, and mowed the backyard.

Before all that got done, we walked to the UW Quad. It was cold when we started, but sunny.

There were a fair number of people, but I’m sure it pales to the number that were there over the weekend.

There are two main areas on campus with cherry trees. They are different varieties and bloom a few weeks apart.

My original plan was to work on raspberries today. Best laid plans…

Tomorrow will be prepping for guests coming for the Mariner’s opening day game. The raspberries will get fit in somewhere.

So it went OK. We did get rid of a fair number of things, but there is still stuff left.

Now to figure out how to continue the move it out of the house, without resorting to the garbage can.

For the kid-centric things I am considering going to one of the nearby daycares and offering to have them come to see what we still have that they could use. A private showing.

Sports equipment maybe to a used sports place. And there’s always Goodwill.

Some of the things that did leave.

• Bicycle
• Bin of Polly Pockets
• Charcoal Briquets and Lighter Fluid
• Sockets wrenches and sockets
• Hammers
• Potty chair
• Alphabet Blocks, peg toy, and colorful wooden rings
• Lacrosse stick and ball
• A few puzzles (not jigsaw)
• Paints and brushes
• Some of the stuffed animals (really quite a few)
• Dinosaur and animals, individually chosen
• And assorted odds and ends.

The weather cooperated, sun not rain. Although as the giveaway nears its conclusion, it’s getting cold.

During lulls in the action I was able to complete a task for Carl, transforming 21 grey hats into Kingdome hats. Originally these were to be made for the 20th anniversary of the Kingdome implosion, that coincided with Ms Opening Day 2020.

And then Covid happened. No opening day.

Six years later we’re going to try again.

I decided to make some treats for the Garage Giveaway tomorrow. Apple-Carrot mini muffins and Nutty-chocolate phyllo tartlets. The first were a hit at a prior party and, while they do have sugar as an ingredient, they’re pretty good for you. The phyllo tartlets are actually a Weight Watchers recipe, pistachios, walnuts, honey, mini-chocolate chips, cinnamon,  and orange zest. Pretty darn easy.

Chopping, dicing, and grating is easier than gardening, but I still feel like I put in a day’s work. 

We walked today. A good long walk. East-west which means steeper hills, up and down the ridges. North-south walks tend to be the long slopes. Miles of slopes, but not as steep. And the sun came out!

After a bit of recovery Carl decided the lawn had to be mowed. He did our and our neighbors front yards. A few times.

I went out and cast the micro-clover seed using a handheld seeder. I think I put it on too thickly,  but had no way to reasonably correct that issue. They suggested following the seeding with topsoil. I opened the heavy bag and trowelled it into a smaller bucket, and distributed it by hand. Dirty work, but it was too wet to sprinke. The final act was cleaning everything, including the lawn mower, and watering the newly seeded area.

I think it’s supposed to be not as rainy over the next few days so I will continue to water a bit, but not too much. I don’t want to drown the seeds.

All for now.