Raincharm’s Weblog

We are in our 3rd day away from Seattle. Fort Collins, Colorado this time. Here for our sister-in-law’s memorial.

Our contribution was getting things ready, set up, and teardown. That and, of course, commiserating with others, at least those we knew. It’s been 40 years since we lived here, and Jeanne was involved with a lot of people we never knew. What was fun was meeting and hearing friends from her high school days.

It was good to reconnect and spend some time with Carl’s brother (Jeanne’s husband) and his significant others. I think we will be back in a year to visit again. Hopefully, it will be driving instead of flying next time.

I do now remember how nice it was to live at altitude and visit sea level. Visiting altitude from sea level has meant early bedtimes. And just as we are starting to feel normal, it’s time to return to sea level.

Our house has vinyl siding. It’s relatively hideous, but replacement would be hideously expensive. As far as we can surmise from various projects, it covers asbestos laden shingles, which, in turn, cover cedar siding. Bits and pieces of these layers were uncovered on the back of the house during the 2016 kitchen remodel. As owner, I was in charge of asbestos removal and abatement.

The north side siding never sees the sun. 20 years of not cleaning the siding, especially in the areas behind bushes, allowed a certain level of dirt, grime, and moss to grow.

Today was the day the cleaning was initiated. A simple mixture of castile soap and water, sponges, and some elbow grease. There is still some staining, but the improvement was quite visible.

Maybe a light bleach for the staining.

What I didn’t look at was the higher elevations … If it requires ladder work it will be Jay’s Cleaning Service.

I was reading after I got into bed last night. Bedtime is the only regular reading time in my life right now. Sometimes, it only lasts for a few minutes, and other times, it can go for more than an hour. And then there are the nights when I could just keep on reading well past the time when I can get a reasonable number of hours of sleep. Carl will often chide me for staying up to late. Guaranteeing a tired tomorrow.

The latter is usually near the end of a book. Last night, I almost succumbed to that temptation. I am reading The Wager. The story starts with a group of characters all together, and near the conclusion, a small number are coming back together after having splintered into three groups during the course of the story. Who’s tale will be accepted is the crux of the ending.

But I decided to hold off on finishing the book. Probably only until tonight.

As I was getting ready to turn off the light I glanced past the foot of the bed …

On my way to the Mariners game. It was pouring. To the point I took the bus for part of the 1/4 mile walk to the light rail station. I was still wet when I finally sat down on the train.

It was just raining during the walk from the train to the station. I had my rain jacket on, so was able to go down to the drier jacket underneath for the game. The stadium roof was closed. But my pants were damp. All the way through the game, and still when we got home.

The good part was that the Mariners won, again, sweeping the Angels. And now our family can return to our regular schedule.

Our yard in the wet spring. Weeds, moss, mushrooms, and a little grass.

Mariners to start, but not until 4:15. We made it through 6 innings before it was time to depart for game 2, Ballard FC.

The morning was spent doing the family arithmetic  and playing a few games on my phone. Lunch and then launch for the light rail.

Mariners vs. The Angels. A good crowd. It started with the roof open, but it closed around the 3rd. I’m not sure if it rained or not, but there were definitely clouds.

When the game started, we thought we might be able to watch most of the game, but the Angels pitchers insisted on throwing lots of pitches, and the game was meandering through the afternoon.  Not that we’re complaining, the Ms scored one early, and then JP Crawford hit a grand slam.  With a 5-0 lead, we left feeling that the game was safe. While walking to the light rail we heard the crowd roar as the Ms scored again.

Light rail to the monorail to the Seattle Center for game 2. Time enough to get some yummy steamed Nepalese chicken dumplings before the game started.

I was expecting it tight game as Ballard FC’s opponent, West Seattle, was also undefeated. It did start out with intense action back and forth, but was 3-0 in Ballard’s favor at halftime. After they improved to 4-0 in the second half we decided we could leave to get home a bit earlier.

Back to the monorail. Fun time as Carl explained to a family that they could ask the driver if the 6-year old or so could honk the horn. And they did.

On to the light rail, which was pretty crowded. Mostly young Ms fans. I guess it was a Saturday night, and they didn’t just go home after the game ended.

And the walk home.

Ready for bed.