Raincharm’s Weblog

Yes, “Blonde Moments” would be potentially discriminatory. But there are a few (natural, more or less) blondes in our office that love to talk about them, and they are referenced with respect to people with all manner of hair colors, as well as those devoid of hair.

So here is mine for the day.

Work was really busy today. Just a few moments of “work” that was not in meetings or trying to meet a deadline on one bit. Just hustling from one thing to another. My last work act on the calendar was to be at the Sammamish Sustainability Fair. This is a group of booths attached to the regular Wednesday afternoon/evening farmers market. We had a booth last year, and repeated this year – to talk about water conservation.

We have tons of giveaways; hose nozzles, low flow shower heads, shower timers, water hogs, rain gauges, etc. And we had Wayne Drop, a rather large walking water drop.

So I was going to join Wayne, Janet and another to staff our booth. I had been at another off-site tour, so was joining a bit late. One item to take care of before I left – Call Carl and let him know that a workmate might be dropping by at the M’s game tonight.

From my work phone I called Carl’s cell.
Just as it starts to ring, my cell phone rings and it notes it is Shelley, who is working from home. So I hang up on my Carl call to pick up Shelley’s call. Which has gone to missed call in the meantime. So I hit the call back button. Paddy at the front desk answers, and I ask her if she had tried to transfer Shelley to me. She says no.

So I hang up, and start to call Carl again.
And again, my cell phone rings, with Shelley calling in.
So, without hanging up on the call to Carl I answer the phone.
“Hello. Hello?”

I hear the “Hello” from three perspectives. My own voice and both of the telephones I have to my ear.

Oh yeah, the phone that Carl had all summer is now in my possession, and he has Ashlan’s phone. I have been calling myself.

Blonde.

So, now I call Ashlan’s number and Carl answers.
As I try to tell him about the workmate going to the game, he says, “You mean you didn’t call to ask about the home run that Branyan just hit that landed about 3 rows right over their head?”
“No, I thought it was a night game, not a day game.”

Cuteness bit.
In the background I hear Lillian (4 yrs old) say, “Are you calling my Daddy to tell him to look for me on TV?”

We went to the Mariners Red Sox game last night.
[Actually, there were still more Mariner’s than Red Sox fans in attendance I believe. And most of the Red Sox “fans” are not from Boston or New England.]

You know when there are hundreds or thousands of fans all cheering for players, but somebody just stands out.

The Boston right-fielder last night was Josh Reddick.
In the early innings he threw up a ball to my seat, after the 3rd out.
I did not stand up, but both Carl & Kevin did on either side of me – with mitts outstretched. Kevin is a bit taller than Carl, and he won the prize. I am not sure if they would have even noticed if I stood up, and Kevin could not assure me he would have allowed me to catch the ball if I had.
In any case, that is not really the point.

In the latter innings a woman came down in the bottom half of the inning (Red Sox on the field) and sat a few seats away from us. She started cheering for Josh (not Reddick, Josh). That is not too unusual I am sure, but it was the look in her eyes, and the singular focus on him.

She left after the half of the inning was over, but reappeared in the next section over for the next bottom half of the inning. Same look, same focus.

Kevin thought about telling her who had tossed up the ball that was sitting in his cup-holder. We thought for sure he might be able to make a profit, either for $$ or other favors.

Re-reading this it does not sound like much, but it really was a little creepy at the time. Maybe it was nothing, and she knew him in high school, little league (Georgia?) or who knows. But we think we caught him looking over his shoulder a few times, in her direction. No direct eye contact, just checking out the scenery.

Oh, and the game? Mariners lost 5-1.

8 more home games.
[Carl and some of the groundskeepers have a running dialogue now. “How many more games?” “##!” It has been going on for quite a while now. Ways to keep these dismal seasons interesting.

Ashlan – do your homework, and it will be more interesting!

21 miles is the most I have walked in one day since last August.
It was a reasonable northwest day, high in the mid-60’s, but no rain.
A great group to walk with. It does make the mileage pass more quickly.

Started at 7:30 AMish, finished at 5 PM. Stopped at a restaurant for lunch, and 5 or 6 other potty and catch up breaks. I think I am now ready for the big walk, essentially take yesterday and repeat, and repeat. I chose not to walk today, but rather, to catch up on some other items. Other than the raising money, the biggest thing about doing the 3-day is the time spent training. I think that is the biggest thing that  the participants give, or give up. Time. After these past few years I feel like I should be able to walk at least 5 miles at any time. I should be able to throw down a 10-mile walk without too much fal-de-ral. But for me, over 10 for more than one day in a row requires having your feet hardened and your mind at ease with your abilities. Carl has walked several times with me, short and medium. I think the longest we have done together is probably 13 miles. He can definitely do these, but feels like he is reaching his limit (without really training for more).

One last appeal – if you want to support research to find a cure, for breast cancer and other cancers as well, find the Donate line on the right. Several of the women I walk with are survivors, and the discoveries and treatment changes they have been able to implement in the last decade are impressive. But the research does need to be backed with resources. If you want to learn more, go to Susan G. Komen OK – done with the pitch, because Everyone Deserves a Lifetime.

So, my other things? Sitting in the house past 7 AM for starters. Then I need to catch up on a little Family Arithmetic, sign up for tickets to the Picasso exhibit and then do some work. I am sure a few more things to do will creep in along the way. But, it is nice to spend a weekend day at home.

Up and out the door.
Thought my first meeting was at 8 AM, but not until 9.
Grace of one hour to get some things done.
Then it was basically meetings here, meetings there.
Until lunch.

PIES galore.
Actually 6 of them.
2 Apple, 2 Pumpkin, 1 Pecan and 1 Lemon and 1 Peach Cobbler.

We held a raffle for 1 each of the apple and pumpkin. Selling tickets at $1 we raised around $50. The rest of the pies went through a silent auction. Total take – about $110. Woo-hoo!

Since many put the pies out to share, I am a little sugar overloaded.

Which may have been helpful after I arrived home. I left at 4:30, home by 5:30, and we jetted out before 6. On foot. Walked about 6-1/2 miles to watch the Seattle Sounders game. They did not lose. Unfortunately they did not win either. 0-0 tie. But still fun. And we got a ride home with some friends that sit near by.

Got to catch up on their kid’s pursuits. At 18 he is in Denmark for a month, dancing with their ballet. They are paying for this (the Danes). Then for the T-day- Christmas holiday the LA Ballet is using him in their Nutcracker ballet.

I am waiting until he is really famous and I can say I knew him when.

I try to think of interesting things that happened today.

If I go back far enough I remember the first day of SCHOOL traffic on the way to work. The 3 high schools within a mile of my office have been in class for almost a week. But today was the first day I got caught in the mess. And a driver (probably a newbie) at the front of the right turn (free if you can find a spot) queue that would not go. There are two lanes to turn in to. The left lane is the one that eventually turns to the first high school on the route. The right lane allows you to go on by (or into the MacDonalds). Turning into the near lane takes you into the right lane. Many students use this lane for a bit and then try to merge into the left. Or they go past the school and then turn around at the next light and go back. A lot of the time they use the right lane to jump the line. But on some days you just can’t get into the right lane at the corner, so you don’t have much choice. Today was that day, but the front car would not just go into the right lane. So we sat and waited through a couple of light cycles without moving an inch. I am sure they will learn, but really – I hope they would decide it is easier to just take the school bus.

The rest of the day – mostly meetings. Actually, mostly 1 meeting. With a smattering of other bits thrown in for good measure.

Got out around 6:45 – thinking Carl was off at a baseball game. As it turns out, he was home – wondering where I was. He called while I was on the road, but I dutifully ignored the ringing phone. Not only is it unsafe to talk on the phone while driving, in Washington it is illegal. $160 ticket – and a primary offense.

Once home – made a pie. One of the fundraisers being done for me by a few at work is to back pies, raffle a few and auction the others. Tomorrow at lunch. So I made an apple pie. Smells good. (If I do say so myself.)

Let’s see if I can remember what happened over the last several days.

Saturday: I just checked and my last post had my list for Saturday.
It all happened except putting in the zipper.
And we added some Christmas Shopping.

The walk ended up being more like 12 miles, but at a good pace. We walked from Safeco field, east – crossing the I-90 floating bridge, across Mercer Island to Luther Burbank Park, and then retraced our steps. I have put together a brief picture show – with a few of the high and low-lights from the walk.

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Walking across the bridge was a major item on the walk. At somewhere between 1.5 and 2 miles each way, it took more than 1/2 hour to traverse each direction. It was, at the same time, a silent and noisy walk. Noise from the traffic made chatting impossible, so we were silent. Also single file. Many bicycles use the bridge, and they do not move slowly. We went through many parks, including the I-90 trail that we followed for much of the walk. It did not rain, although it was raining as we drove to the start/finish line.

I think the Mariners won, although I can’t swear that my memory is correct. When we arrived home Dennis and Anne were still up, but their grandkids were asleep (on the new blow-up bed).

Sunday – this was to be the day Ashlan went back to Vancouver (BC).
I knew she was not ready early, so I went for a walk. About 8-9 miles, with a group of like-minded women. Good to have a group to encourage you along when you would rather sleep in.

Dennis, Anne and the Grandkids were up and about. Playing with our myriad of toys, and packing for an overnight trip to Camano Island.

Ashlan was still not ready, and I still had the zipper on my list.The dress was repaired, and the zipper was actually harder to take out than to put back in.

Pretty soon everybody but Ashlan & I had left. Then Ashlan left – to go to a bookstore with a friend. As it turns out, Ashlan was not really ready to leave Sunday – so we did not.

Monday dawned early. And so did we. Up and out and to the north. The rain increased as the day wore on. We reached Vancouver in good time, and then set about figuring out what to do for lunch. The yam fries from a nearby bar sounded good, but it was a holiday, and before 11 AM. So it was off to Vera’s, a burger joint near the UBC campus. I think we were their first customers. We took our food back to Ashlan’s cute apartment part of a house.

I finally had to leave to drive south, so Ashlan could unpack in peace and wait for her friends to appear. (Her last summer assignment is to guest blog – I am still waiting.)

The drive was wet, and busier than the drive up. A few real slowdowns and a few accidents (rear enders). Back home by 3 PM, but the drive does take a toll. Lazy evening. And then back to the grind.

Today I managed to stay at work until 7:30 or so. There was a late meeting, payroll, and the promise of a day-long meeting tomorrow. When else can the actual work get done?

Well – it has arrived.
To finish up on my previous post, I did not get out the door until after 5 on Thursday (but my carpooler stayed as well), and until 6 something on Friday. I think I am making up for lost time.

But I should note that everybody else at home was otherwise engaged, and there was nobody waiting for me on the other end.

Today’s agenda:

• Work on trying to replace an invisible zipper.
  This apparently involves a different zipper foot that is found in my 50-60 year old sewing machine.
  [Do you know that any time I try to type “sewing” it comes out “sewer”. Muscle memory.]
• Pack for a walk and a baseball game.
  That would be light clothes and heavier clothes.
  It is supposed to get up to the high 60’s today, and maybe rain here and there. Great weather for walking, except the rain, but a little chilly for sitting still.
• Walk.
  Carl and I have planned 11+ miles.
  We are going to drive down to the stadium, park, and start from there.
  This will open up different areas than we usual trek.
  My current plan (thank you Rey) is to go east from the stadiums, across the I-90 floating bridge, to Luther Burbank Park on Mercer Island, and then back. The bridge itself is about 1.5 miles, and there are trails on either end. I was about to say I had not walked these before, but part of the 2007 3-day walk went this way.
• Baseball –
  See if the Mariners can manage to win one. (They did last night – 1-0 – over the equally anemic Indians)
  Or at least have some great plays.
• Home, to a few more visitors.
  We have had Dennis staying with us for the last few weeks.
  Today his wife and 2 grandchildren (8 & 10) will be arriving.
  We bought a bed (inflatable) to add to our ability to house folks.
  Ashlan took the trundle bed, and it has limited us to sleeping 6 in beds (us included).
  This will get us back up to 8, which is handy.
• Set up the inflatable bed.
  That should happen earlier in the list, but I forgot it earlier.
  That is why I make lists.

Hope your day goes well. Happy weekend.

My expected hours are 8 – 4:30.
Little girl has been away from work for 3 days. 
How has that impacted me?

Monday – Up and into the office by 7:30
I went to the Mariner’s game after work, and got a ride from my carpooler.
Time out the door ~4:45 – 5:00

Tuesday – Picked up by carpooler – in a few minutes after 8
I had a dentist appointment.
Time out the door ~2:40

Wednesday – Drove myself in. All 3 schools by my office are now in session. In by 7:40
Carpooler called to tell me of major traffic issues.
In the middle of some things anyway. Keep working.
Time out the door ~7:15

Generally, the feeling is my hours are going to be a little longer than they were when little one was impacting my comings and goings. But on the other hand, I miss the conversations we could have during the commute.