Raincharm’s Weblog

We are now a house of three again.
Until Monday, when we will be a house of five, ever so briefly.
And of course that does not count the daily entrance of tiny feet.

Four people, a Ford Expedition (year unknown) a Toyota Prius, and the bottom support of a papasan on top of the Ford. The border crossing was surprisingly easy. We were not sure with Lisa & I in a big vehicle, loaded with stuff, and no student to back up the moving story in sight. Apparently the Border Guard told Ashlan she had better put her father’s hard earned money to good effect. And we are back to Seattle, with everything out of the car – before 5 PM. Now everything is far from put away, but it is out of the weather.

And speaking of weather. We could have been trying, failing, trying, changing and finally succeeding getting things into the vehicles in the pouring rain. But that did not happen. We had sun (mostly).

Many thanks to the lovely Lisa, owner of the Ford, driver and stronger lifter than I.

We are all tired, happy and 3/4 of a family together again.
At least for a month.

And since we are all tired, two of us are going to a soccer game tonight.
These games are extremely well attended, lots of fun – and you stand for the entire 90 minutes.
Hopefully we will be able to pull that off as well as the move home.

Sometimes it pays to know a few people. We know (work with) one of the ushers at Qwest Field (Sounder game). When we arrived I told him how tired I was, and if any of the handicapped accessible seats  in FRONT of the front row were available, I was interested. Well, about 30 minutes into the game he said that there were 2 to be had, and Ashlan and I were welcome to them. WOW – Not only could we SIT, the game just popped. Faces and expressions. It was great. And we got to see two goals right in front of us. (The seats are at the 18 yard line – top of the box for soccer fans.) And I got to SIT. (If you sit in our regular seats you will not see much of the game.)

And congratulations to Ashlan for getting out of college in 4 years. (Most of her classmates are hanging on.)

And note the first attempt at HTML in the header. Old hat for most of you, but not something I have been privy to. I was (in a short time) trying to make the “UPDATE” in the header be italics and green, like the update in the blog body – where you can just pick from the menu. So I switched to HTML view and tried to copy what I saw below. Only, the color bit won’t stick. Oh well, not bad for a minutes worth of learning.

Still a hint of chill in the air.
Well more than a hint.
But we did not receive any of the lowland snow, and it has been sunny here and there today.
I just took out the compost, still to cold to really be comfortable without proper outer clothing.

I keep thinking that the next week will be the week it warms up.
But that week just keeps getting pushed out further.
Now I have lowered my goals to not having a deluge on Saturday when we move Ashlan south.

That said, I will take our cold rain over the storms that have plagued the rest of the country.
I noted that the swarm of tornadoes in the southeast did hit Tennessee, but since we have not heard from the boy, I am assuming they were further south than he.

The days all seem to be getting ready for what is happening next. And starting Saturday it seems that a lot will be happening. Hopefully some of it will invite a more interesting post.

I would ask Ashlan to do an end of college guest post, but I think she is too busy living that experience.

And hopefully, PACKING! (Just in case she checks in.)

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We no longer have any kids in school!

Well, so one is still at school, but there are no more classes to attend or tests to take. Only graduation.

For now anyway.
Should I feel different somehow?

Just in case you ever start to feel disconnected.

I was chatting (on a cell-phone) with the boy this evening.
He related this basic story.
He was enjoying relative dryness as thunderstorms passed in the not to distant area.
Warm outside he was reading a book.
        The dusk was arriving, so reading outside was no longer an option.
                Going inside he went to turn on a light, only to realize the light was already turned on.
                 Except there was not light.

No power. Apparently those thunderstorms were doing their job, just a bit distant.

• So – no reading inside.
• No internet
• Certainly no TV (although this is not a power problem)
• And the cell phone battery is dying.
• And so did the conversation.

Other than that I found out that he ate especially well on Easter. Twice.
And – for Ashlan – he now has a dresser.

And for us, we have a sink that now drains. Quickly.

This is a Mariner’s game (of course).

Did I mention that it got up to OVER 60 DEGREES today!
Definitely the warmest day this year. (Unfortunately I spent most of the warm afternoon working.) But here at the start of the game it is warm, and we have expectations that we could even win. Scored first.

And then the sun went down (almost). The sun was not shining into the stadium any longer, but it was shining through the stadium. Third inning I believe. We may have been tied at this point.

And then the chill arrived. I don’t know how cold it really got, but I was cold. It was not anywhere near as cold as the games over the last week. But we had no rain, and more importantly no wind. (Sorry about the bluryness. Maybe Carl was shivering.)

The Mariner’s lost. 9-1.

Carl held up pretty well. He had all his ducks in a row.

And a frog.

In other less exciting news – the kitchen sink is clogged.
We did manage to find a snake, and tomorrow we plan to use it.
We will get one of the smaller sewer rats and put it down the side sewer, and then release the snake. Then the snake will smell a rat and work it’s way through the clog to reach its dinner.

And the sun continues to rise every morning (we are fairly sure).

Usually I report when I first see the snowflake icon on my car dashboard, letting me know it is cold outside. This is October-December. This is appropriate and the heralding of winter.

I saw the icon yesterday. This morning it is snowing again nearby. Not at our house. Possibly at work (not there yet).

I know others are also reporting snow, but they are in the north country – and it is almost appropriate there. This is a Mediterranean Climate area. We should have had more than one day above 60 degrees by now. I have been to a handful of baseball games, and have worn my long underwear and big outer jacket (over the fleece lined spring/fall jacket).

I remember hunting eggs in the yard in the sun and in the rain. Never in the snow.
It is time for Alaska to hold its breath, and quit sending the cold wind south.

The ground was wet, but the air was not.
So we walked to the dentist. A biennial weekend event. Good reports today, except that at some point I am going to have to get my wisdom teeth pulled. All of them most likely. I think I may wait a year…

The next item up was a trip to the Seattle Art Museums Earth Day activities at their Sculpture Garden. We drove to the Seattle Center and walked from there. (Carl is in a boot, so walking the several miles from home was not really an option. The 1/2 mile walk was much more in our current comfort range.)

We knew there was an invasion planned for the 5 hour window of family earth day activities, but did not know when. There was a schedule once we arrived, and it was about 40 minutes until the premier show. So we walked a few blocks to find a coffee shop, and then back. We found a few chairs where we could enjoy our coffee and watching the families with small children doing different types of art, mostly  centered around reusing materials.

And then we discovered that our seats were almost directly next to the “stage” area. Good fortune for us. Most seated themselves on the floor, and we eventually found ourselves standing to get a better view. The first act was Vicious Puppies. A hip-hop group of young men. They were pretty good, and I expect several of the youngsters will be attempting their moves later today. Then the reason we chose to join the crowd this morning.

Nick Cave Sound Suits.
The suits are currently on exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum. And while the suits are displayed for all to see, in the exhibit there are just videos of the suits in action. Today we had the opportunity to see them for ourselves. [They have been invading places around Seattle, but we knew they would make an appearance today, taking the luck out of the equation.]

Soundsuits – Seattle Art Museum Sculpture Park Invasion

And please note – this is my first YouTube upload, and link.
Not quite at the embedding yet.
The video is about 7 minutes long all told.

There is to be a March to the Center of the Earth in May. It is a “parade” starting at the Art Museum, just for a few blocks – followed by live music, art making, tours and general fun at the Museum. All are welcome, and wearable art is requested. We figure we can use this as an opportunity to get rid of a fair amount of junk bits and pieces of things that have accumulated around the house.

I am excited at this prospect.
Plus, I always enjoy a parade.
Just ask Potty Princess Ashlan.

The Tennessee Smokies season has begun.
Rey is in the midst of the first homestand, and still holding up, but needing his sleep.

From what I gathered, the season started on Wednesday and it has been 10-11:30 PM homecoming, with the next work day starting at 9 AM. Today was an early ending day – but only because the game was rained out. So tomorrow is a double header. He starts tomorrow at 9 AM, but on Sunday he gets to delay arrival until 11 AM.

Being the good mother I asked him if he was eating OK. He allowed that his normal lunch fare (balanced) was being maintained, for the most part. And something that I didn’t know is that they bring up the pre-game meal to the workers as well. He said that yesterday was “Mystery Mexican”. They (the upstairs crew) could not tell what it was, so he took a pill (lactaid) because he couldn’t tell whether it included cheese as an ingrediant. He is still not sure if he needed the pill.

And the storms that tore through Oklahoma and Arkansas are on their way. I think the main body was heading further south, but it sounds like it will be a stormy night. Obviously the rain was already there – the game was rained out. I noted that he could not control the weather, and he told me that he could – but chose not to.

And, as with most minor league teams – everybody helps with the tarp. Whenever it rains they pull the tarp. Everybody. They all have tarp clothes and tarp shoes because the wet soil in the infield stains  everything a muddy red color. And it does not wash out. He showed me their newest piece of official Smokie staff clothing tonight (via SKYPE).

A weekend of four events:

1.  Practice a little bit of little soccer with one of Carl’s kids. She has a good kick, can run fast, and has new pink cleats. So it was fun, as long as she wanted to be involved. After a bit the game became chosing who was on which team, rather than the team play itself. I see her as a manager in the future.

2.  Seattle Sounders: These games are a real hoot to attend. But, since Ashlan was in town, she and her friend went. They were treated to a WIN (first of the season), and two goals for the good guys right in front of them. Also some exceptional goalie saves by Kasey Keller, the Sounder’s goalie. This is Kasey’s last year, but he is playing really well, and could likely go on longer if he wanted. Sounders win 2-1.

3.  Kindergarten age – 1st game: Went to watch Saturday’s practice child play on Sunday. She chose not to demonstrate the skills that she does possess for the most part. Little running. When she did kick the stationary ball you could see the skill is there. Overheard her asking the coach/ref, while play was continuing, “Why did they ….” I suggested an essay after the game might be the way to go. Existential Soccer.

4. The future game that I must play this evening. I believe the women will be short staffed once again. And it will probably be raining. And cold. I love soccer. I love playing soccer. But I want to be warm and light on my feet. Just not feeling it right now.

Off to baseball. It is,after all, the Mariner’s opening weekend.

Well the Mariner home opener was last night.

It was a great time. That is until the 4th inning – which lasted about 4 hours.
If you take away the 10 runs (yes, a touchdown and a field goal) scored in that one half inning, the Mariners won 3-2.

But before the game, Carl was at the game with Jet – and I got to the game with Jim, John and Kaelie (sp?). Kaelie is John’s 5-year old daughter. Because I was new and different, and interested in her, she actually pretty much listened to me. Held hands walking (we bused and walked), sat next to me at batting practice, and walked away with 2 baseballs bulging in her pocket. (I am not sure exactly what happened with Carl and Jet, they left as I arrived)

Then a tribute to Dave Neihaus, the Mariners announcer – from the beginning, until he passed away in the off-season.

Lots of people we don’t see during the off-season. 
A few that we do see regularly.

Blinding Beard and Cross-Eyed Poet

Ichiro!

And some that we never see except at the park.

All-in-all, still a good time.