Raincharm’s Weblog

It is the end of the baseball season. At least for the Mariners. I am likely to watch this by myself. I can see the three amigos at the bullpen. I don’t know if they will want to leave their players. Too final.

At least we will be warm inside watching the playoffs.

Too much trying to make vinegar sweet?

The calendar said summer ended a few days ago. But here in Seattle, it ended today. Or rather it continued through today.

So, instead of doing any work around the house – we took a walk.
11.5 miles in the end.
We started with a general route in mind, but changed it up as we went along.
We headed west toward the Puget Sound.
We only got as far as the Ballard Locks – which is almost to the Sound.
There were a lot of salmon in the locks, as well as a lot of people. [The people were not “in” the locks. Except those on the boats in the locks.] And there were fish in the locks, taking the easy route up to Lake Union. Most of the fish were dutifully going through the fish ladder, where they had to use a bit more muscle.

We stopped for lunch/brunch at a cafe near the locks, and made the decision to head back to Fremont rather than out to Shilshole Marina (on the Sound). The idea was to perhaps go to Oktoberfest. We did, only not inside. We sat outside along the trail, and watched boats ply the canal. Very nice, warm and sunny.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Eventually we had to leave the waterway, and start the trudge up the hill toward home.
A stop at the coffee shop, bakery and video store along the way helped pass the rest of the afternoon.

And as we reached home, there were a few drops of rain signalling the gathering of clouds that will now last until spring.

That is what it feels like.
I guess there is a bit of a hangover when you take a short vacation.

So this week has been filled with others taking vacation around me, which means I am trying to cover a bit for them – but not much. It is more of a mental thing. If I could get my desk to show a bit of empty space I think my brain would like it better too. But – the budget must come first, so that is my task for today. Then there are the demands. And finishing up the annexations ……..

Carl – his work has finally hit a “regular” rhythm. At least from what I can tell. Next week he starts taking classes a few days a week, so that will give it even more structure.

Of course we will have to contend with the last three Mariner games next week. And the weather. It is supposed to have a last gasp of summer on Saturday, and then proceed directly to 20 degrees cooler. Maybe I will have to break out my start of the season clothes for the end of the season.

Budget calls … ta-ta.

So it is Tuesday night, but we are still blogging about the 3-Day.
That is because it is the first time I have had the energy and time, at the same time.
As Pooh would say – this is proof of life.

The Start

In-between

And the hungry walkers arrive en masse (Iron Man is in there – look for the tall blue hat)

The End

So the last day is the day that is currently in my mind.

The evening prior (Saturday evening that is) it started raining. Relatively hard.
Not a thunderstorm hard, but an, “I’m going to rain for a while, and you will get wet if you walk in it,” hard.
So we retired to our tent about 8:30 PM, hoping it would be dry in the morning.
I slept pretty well, but woke up around 2:15 – not knowing what time it was.
It was not time to get up (3:45), so back to sleep.

The next time I woke up it was to heavy rain and loud words.
The first voices were from inside the medical tent, next to ours.
I couldn’t figure out why they were talking so loudly.
Next was the man yelling for somebody to call SOMEBODY.
And then there was the hard rain and loud truck like noise that alternated.

Finally we heard enough to realize the irrigation system in the field on which 2000 plus people were camped, had started to water the grass at 3 AM!

Our tent was at the end of the field where the first irrigation zone was located.
The medical folks were speaking loudly because there were spigots inside their tent, and the medical supplies and paperwork were being drenched.
The man was yelling because he  was directly adjacent to a spigot, and it was irrigating the interior of his and a few other tents. (We were one tent away from interior irrigation.)
He was also standing on top of the offending spigot, so it would not continue to get the rest of his stuff and others wet.

Tables turned upside down on the sprinklers eventually sort of controlled the flow.
Medical moved into a corner of the dining tent.
Crew members were mobilized to warn other walkers still sleeping, before the irrigation zones in their areas kicked on.

And breakfast was served earlier than expected.

And it started to rain, hard, again.
Most of the walkers waited to board buses to Seattle, in a line that wound all the way around the dining tent, out of the rain. As they left they could see tents scattered all over the place (any place that was not near an irrigation point).

The use of buses allows the route to go through interesting areas, and still end after 60 miles, where they want it to end.

Carl served breakfast from 4:30 to 8 AM.
I served for a while, and then moved luggage, took down the tent, loaded everything on to the appropriate truck, and then reported back to closing camp duties.

Closing camp duties for most of us crew folks includes picking up trash and detritus. The goal is to leave the site cleaner than when we arrived. That means feathers, string, bits and pieces, sequins, tarps, t-shirts, and discarded anything is picked up and placed in a trash bag. I don’t know how many bits I picked up, but it went on for hours. It is a big camp, and the cleanup was for the entire camp that housed about 2500 people. And in reality, I think the campers were pretty good about policing their area.

Carl had a massage yesterday, and I have one scheduled for tomorrow.
So – that is it for the time being.
Maybe tomorrow I will be able to post about my work and traffic. Much more interesting.

And be warned – we may just BOTH try to walk the walk next year.
Anybody want to join us?

Sung to the tune of Iron Man, by Ozzy Osborn
Typed on a smart phone, and the first run was pretty rough.

I am Ironman (or maybe I’m the Iron Chef – either way this food is delicious and iron rich)

Now the time is here
for Iron man to spread cheer
go on in and have some food
and most of it is pretty good

He once served some meals
to energize the walkers on their way
helping them to finish
the breast cancer 3- day

Everyone loves him
he just stands at the table
helping the walkers make it
60 miles if they’re able

Many spoonfuls of chow
Fills the walkers up with eats
Then they get some sleep
Up at dawn and on their feets

We work to find the cure
By pushing our footsies all those miles
And when the cure is found
Just imagine all the smiles.

We went to our meeting this afternoon.
A mix of inspirational, tear jerker, and just figuring out some details.

We report at 4:30 AM, so should already be in bed.
But instead of just packing today I worked 1/2 day.

So only have time for a short note.

If you see a group of folks – mostly pink – walking, staggering or limping along, be sure to give them a cheer and a wave. It all helps. 60 miles. Even the strong need an occassional boost.

Our job is primarly to feed these folks at the beginning and end of each of their 3 days.

Carl has been handed the task of greeter, as Iron Man. (Our theme is superheros – hence the capes.) Should be fun. I will try to get a picture of him to post sometime this weekend.

Here are our super-hero capes.
Not much to them – but then they were made without much assistance.
(I looked at a batman cape that Jet had left in the house.)

Dan is in town for the evening, so he and Carl went to the Ms game.
Carl has been dutifully attending throughout the week.

The difference tonight? The Mariners WON, on a walk-off home run in extra innings.

Me? I have been finishing up bits at home, and trying to finish up things from work as well.
Basically not enough time to think about what to write about, or how to make a coherent sentence. So – to bed.

Actually 3 losses.
Well associated with 3 losses, only at 2.
And for you numerologists out there, they all had a 2-1 in common.

Real Salt Lake 2 – Sounders 1
Aqua Sox 8 – Islanders 4 (Smoky division of the Puget Sound Senior Baseball League)
Royals 4 – Mariners 2

And yet, my day was not all sports.

I finished the book I was reading, “West of Here,” by Jonathan Evison.
Sister Jane gave me this, an advance reading copy no less.
I have seen it in the windows of book stores around this city.
The story takes place in two times, on the Olympic Peninsula.

It did grab my interest, and I now have to figure out what book I am going to carry with me next.

I am going to count the weekend as starting Friday evening.
It started slowly – on the bus.

Both Carl & I were fairly exhausted when we arrived at the baseball game.
(YES, it is still baseball season. Football? What’s that.)
Luckily, the Mariners made this a fairly entertaining game.
There were 4 3 homeruns, 3 2 fairly close by.

The other team started the game off with the first, and closest HR.
It actually hit a woman down the row in the leg. Her boyfriend picked it up and gave it to a kid, who threw it back on the field. (This always bugs me a bit. We are not the Cubs where it is a bleacher bum tradition. And when you throw it back they take it and give it to somebody in the expensive seats.)
A bit later, Ackley (our 2nd baseman) hit one to the next section over. The Buhner Babe Amy, who has the Ichiro Meter in the front row, caught it over the gap between the field wall and the  railing in front of the seat. This is legit, because it is over the outfield wall. But Jeffy Effey (Francouer) hit Amy’s glove and the ball ended up in his. It really was an amazing play. Amy came over to our seats later and complained that he had stolen it from her. (Jeffy did throw her the warm up ball an few innings later.) If you watch closely it goes off of her glove into his. And his reach pushed hers aside, so if you think she would not have caught it, without him there I think she would have.

And then there was an Olivo (Ms catcher) home run off of the left field foul pole. This was one of three parts of the cycle that Olivo ALMOST got. The missing piece? A single. He just couldn’t quite get the single bit. And when he hit the triple (after the homer and double) you just knew he knew he had a chance for history. I didn’t know catchers were allowed to run that fast between 2nd and 3rd base.

And there was the debut and first major league hit by the Italian player, Liddi, and a catch over the tarp roll, … It was an entertaining game.

So today we have family arithmatic, cape making, Seattle Sounders, Carl’s first Playoff game and a Mariners game. I guess I had better get busy.

I was taking a short break today and decided to check out a “favorite” link I had rather forgotten.
It is a KW or GG webcam stationed at the Birch Point Beach.
And it showed a beach day!
So I am now bummed that I am not able to be a beach bum.