Raincharm’s Weblog

Legal Mary Jane or Legal Dilation?

Back on the regular work schedule this week.
Sleeping is still a night-to-night adventure.

I worked late tonight – meeting stuff, very dry.
Driving home I took the toll bridge instead of the freebie.
When you are at the pay or not pay junction, there is a sign that tries to help by telling you the time to reach downtown Seattle from that point.
As I pass this sign at about 8:53 PM, it suggests 97 minutes by toll, or 75 minutes by free.
This would normally indicate really backed up traffic, but I was flying at 60.
Maybe they meant 9.7 minutes, but the sign just isn’t set up for decimal points.

The downside to this clear road is I hit the toll at 8:57, 3 minutes before the tolls dropped.

FOR COMPARISON

For Comparison

It is winter.
Everywhere else that most of my family lives it is cold.

care of Paulette Zych Attie

Ship stuck in the ice-jammed shipping channel in front of cabin. Coast guard to right
From a few days ago – ice-breaking report

Not so much in Seattle.

But that did not stop me from getting a cold.

Last Friday I was exhausted coming home from work.
Saturday I barely left the house, and Sunday it was just a slow day.

I did go to work both Monday and Tuesday, but was not moving quickly.

So I stayed home Wednesday and slept most of the day.
And then just could not get myself up on Thursday either, although I did manage to work some in the afternoon.

Friday I had a mandatory work meeting so I begged a ride in with my carpooler and spent the day.
There were moments of near normalcy, moments of exhaustion, and moments of coughing.

Saturday has been a bit better, I even walked a mile in the Seattle drizzle.

That is what I call a lost week.

But I am going to sleep in a bed tonight, and not on the couch.
(It seems wrong to sleep on the couch when you are the sick one, but Carl uses an electronic contraption, so I am more readily portable.)

I need a bed. And I hope my continued coughing will not keep others awake.

AND ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

We had an unexpected visitor Monday. A cousin’s eldest was stranded in Seattle on her way to Hawaii (school). We were able to stand in, and she got to tour Seattle with Carl and Sagan. I was at work, which given my cold was probably best for her in the long run.

As usual, our vacations revolve around family.
I am not complaining – this is a good reason to get out of town.
We are partly to blame for moving so far away from immediate family about 30 years ago.
But the kids have followed our lead and put many miles between our homes.

• University of Michigan Museum of Art – a nice walk their, around (museum legs) and back again. And we did not get lost on the return trip through the spaghetti bowl in which my parents live.
• Cottage Inn Pizza – and we had a bit of Pizza leftovers. I had my eyes on this for breakfast the next morning. However, a small car accident intervened (minor injuries only – but to my mother who could least afford them), and the pizza had to spend the night in the car at the collision repair shop. Luckily it was as cold as the refrigerator, so the leftovers were eventually liberated, and enjoyed by my father.
• Oscar Tango Porter (Olde Town with friends) – a walk down, fun with relatives and friends, and a nice ride back.
• Amtrak – yes this was an adventure. Thanks to Liz for the late night drop-off, for the extremely early morning departure. (Note that the Toledo Amtrak station hours are 10 PM to 1 PM – in that order.) The ride was relatively smooth. A study in black, white and grey (per Carl). And then to end in Penn Station. Quite a shock of people, escalators, stairs, different tracks, signs, and finally retrieving our baggage successfully. Rey got to repeat the adventure in reverse as well.

Scenes from a train. Could be Ohio, Pennsylvania or New York

• New York Transit Museum – this was underground in an unused subway station and really appealed to the building underground interest I always have.
• Hobbit Movie – 3D of course
• Cypress Hills Cemetery – sort of. We were outside of the cemetery, intent on visiting Jackie Robinson’s gravesite. However, it was the day of the internment of one of the Brooklyn police officers killed the previous week. There were many dignitaries, including Vice President Biden, so there was no getting into the grounds.
• American Museum of Natural History – we really only scratched the surface, focusing on the dinosaurs and pterosaurs. So much new knowledge since the kids were in their dinosaur phase. (I was convinced that Rey would be a paleontologist) And we were introduced to a modern day saur – the strollersaur. The strollersaurs have appendages that are used to attack heels and shins, and can be detached to use as blockades and detours for their prey to negotiate.
• Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall – with a 3D piece, of course. Precision – see previous post.

Since 1933

• Green-Wood Historic Cemetery – we had this on the agenda for the Ebbet’s gravesite, but found so much more. We took the hidden gems trolley tour, with Marge Raymond as our tour guide. She was excellent, and full of so much information. I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in history, and a trip to NYC in their future.

Memorial to Samuel Sims died 1804 of the Shepard Rifles. 5 battles fought listed on the top part.

• Museum of Modern Art – There were many pieces of art worth seeing, including Van Gogh’s Starry Night. There were also some that begged the question of what defines fine art.

Looks similar to some of Carl’s kids art ventures on large pieces of cardboard.

• BROADWAY SHOW – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime at the Barrymore Theatre. It was excellent. I had three shows to choose from and Ashlan chose this based on reading the book in high school. Great choice that I would recommend.

Curious

• Central Park – more than just touching the edge, we walked across twice.
• Guggenheim Museum – Loved their permanent collection pieces. Only found a few in their “ZERO” display that moved me. However, I think the making of this artwork was probably a lot of fun.
• Kellog’s Diner, Wild Ginger, Forcella La Pizza di Napoli, Hot dog stand, Iona, Levain (cookies), Halal food cart, Europa Café, Feile, Aba Turkish, and Potbelly Sandwiches. I may have missed one or two other stops along our way. Plus we did shop at Key Foods and made a few meals at “home” as well.

Christmas trees – since this was at Christmas. Is there a theme here? Not a “real” tree, but not quite artificial either.

It’s a tree (not a festivus pole)

Handmade (recycle or save)

Transit is always important, and this fit the trains, planes and automobiles vacation. Plus taxi (one) and subways (many) and the final bus from Manhattan’s Port Authority to Newark Airport. As usual I was just getting comfortable with the subway maps when we left. The subways are the go-to spot for tile work.

One of many stops

Sunrise in the depths

In the end it is about family. My favorite moments were generally around the table, chatting about whatever.

Is the best word for the show we saw tonight.

The Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular, with the Rockettes.

With 3-D.
The second night in a row we were wearing 3-D glasses. Yesterday was the Hobbit #3.
This is day 3 in NYC. Or is it 4?
We arrived here after a15-hr train ride from Michigan. Which started at 3 am. So we were a bit disoriented, and slept in the next morning.
The next day we did venture to the transit museum. It was underground in an old subway station. One of the interesting parts was the old advertisements on the old subway cars.

And of course there was Christmas

Our tree.

A slightly larger tree

In addition to the being with our family, we had a Sherlock Holmes marathon. This actually lasted two days.
Going back a few days earlier, we were in Michigan. We got to see more family.
Mom, Dad and Jane, the entire Courtois-Finlayson family (thanks Liz) highlighted the Michigan visit.

Sorry that this is a bit disjointed, but it is after midnight on a phone. So happy holidays.

We are at McCaw Hall waiting for the balcony to open. We are in the front row, if you count backwards. This is the last year of the Nutcracker with the Maurice Sendak costumes and sets. After 31 years. We have been to the show 3 or 4 times before, but it has been about 15 years since the last time.

Dozens of little girls in their finery, and we in ours.

Two lovers of cheese

We also accomplished a major goal today by hanging a picture. Six in fact. It has only been a year.

Grocery shopping, but no madding crowds. And it rained hard this morning, so I don’t know how attendance was at the Macy’s parade downtown.
We are at the Seattle Center, and checked out the Armory decorations, and the fountain. Maybe the Space Needle if they are still open.

Carl pulled his version of “Let’s Play Two” on me today.
My plan was to walk from our house to Sand Point, probably 3.5 – 4 miles, walk the 3 mile Pancreatic Cancer Walk, and then find a bus back to our neighborhood.

Purple Folks

Carl first searched a bit for a ride back up the hill, but since all of the cars were full, decided we should walk back instead. Normally a 3-4 mile walk is not such a big thing. But today it was adding up. The walk to Sand Point has a lot of verticality – both up and down. The 3 mile PAC walk was flat, but more like a mall trudge. The walk back from Sand Point has even more verticality than the walk over, because we start at lake level and go back up to the house. The most direct route crosses three major ridges – so you go way up, and then back down, and then up and then – well you get the idea.

We did route ourselves past some prior Carl nanny sites,

Cute house for cute kids – now growing up in Colorado

and a glacial erratic that was allowed to stay when the neighborhood emerged. I am not sure if a rather large rock in the front yard is a selling point or not.

Erratic rock – Carl for scale

The weather cooperated, and only rained a bit toward the end – holding the heavy showers until we were safely watching the Seahawks on TV. This will be followed soon by the Sounders.

Oh – and then there was the, “things that go bump in the night,” situation last night.
We were both asleep or almost asleep when a large “bump” woke us.

Carl searched through his upstairs area and I made a brief foray downstairs, but we did not find anything out of place. Then in the morning, with the benefit of light, Carl’s Fan murder weapon trophy was found on the floor. This is a rather heavy piece of leaded glass.

Trophy

The trophy is in two pieces now – as the ball separated from the base. Neither the ball or the base appear to be damaged. But there is a dent in the floor.  The piece had been sitting in its box, vertical, but not teetering on an edge. Maybe there was an earthquake somewhere, or a poltergeist hanging around.

We did give out candy on Halloween. And there were more than one or two kids.
For the first time in many years we had enough kids to worry about running out of supplies.

Happy Birthday Bob!

There are three generations in this picture.

Three Generations

Ignore the one on the left for the moment, he will get his due later.

Doris and Rey and Bob share an interesting math situation this year.
The elders were born in ’27 and are now (finally for Bob) 87.
The younger was born in ’87 and is now 27.

I do realize that we are well into October, and that hardly seems possible.
I am supposed to be blogging about our summer vacation, but that may have to wait for our winter vacation.

Of course there are a few more pictures to provide from Carl’s day in the sun (or under the stars).

The gang + Rick Waits (Pitching Coach – who willingly joined our crew for a moment, and then again later)

Before the game (see the previous post – from September), we were allowed to hang out around the home plate area. They even let us into the dugout briefly. Rick Waits happened by while we were down there. Carl has bent his ear spoken with him throughout the year, and he came down to join us for a picture.

The first pitch – nicely framed with the big board in the background. (By a real photographer.)

The First Fan’s First Pitch (actually second first pitch)

And finally, the “catcher”, the pitcher, and the coach.

Taijuan Walker, Carl, and Lloyd McLendon

It was a great time.
I am sorry I don’t have more pictures from the game, but this was one time when it was fun to just enjoy the moment.

I intend to enjoy today (or is it tomorrow) – well pretend it is the 21st – as well, and celebrate growing old with Bob (the elder).
Although I guess I am really growing old with the middle generation, Carl (the younger by a bit).
I have planned a day full of meetings! (Really, from 8:30 to 4:30, with a short break for lunch)
And then the same gang (minus Dennis who is in Portland) plan to convene at our house for baseball and barbecue (in honor of Kansas City).

Too tired to write much now.
I will try to add more tomorrow.

Suffice it to say the Fan of the Year was well received.
We had a blast, and more than one person asked to have their picture taken with our star.

I have been trying to focus on a few bigger projects at work.
But then I get distracted by trees falling hither and yon.

Yes, we are decimating a part of the lovely woods next to our office.
Growing area needs more bits and pieces than our current site can hold.
We are putting in a fueling station for emergencies, and will use it regularly, and an area to dump soupy dirt where the soup will be treated before flowing into the storm system.

My office has a somewhat front and center view to the trees coming down, except for the small stand that will remain – that is right outside my window. We actually still retain about 3-4 acres of trees.

And there was the first set of loggers that dropped a tree in the wrong direction, landing on the fence, missing the one car left and hitting no people. (This may be a repeat of a story.) The replacement loggers are a much more efficient bunch. I know because the building shakes several times a day as the big pines come down.

There have been a lot of sports going on across the nation.
Of course football seems to be garnering the most press. Unless you’re Jeter.

But we have our own minor celebrity moment coming up.
Fan of the Year.
Which apparently comes with a big screen story (they wanted to know how to spell your name, Ashlan). We did try to supply them with a few pictures,

10 years old – Kingdome

and they got the dates of all of the home runs Carl has gathered over the years.
And today we found out that we have 8 seats in the Commissioner’s Box and they are making a uniform (Jersey) for Carl. He is leaning towards 14 for the number. It is 2014, he wears 14 on his Silver Foxes team, and it was his favorite player’s number growing  up (Pete Rose).

Our only worry now is that Carl will still be under the weather on Friday.
He came down with a nasty cold, and spent most of today resting at home.
He has been trying to breathe the steam from boiling water with tree tea oil, and it seems to be helping.

Today there are a lot of sports going on, and yet we are not going to a game.

The day started with a little bit of bursting. Those 15 minute workouts that are all the rage.
If I can get myself oriented in the correct direction in the morning – I will try to fit one in.

Try.

This morning I did manage by getting up to watch soccer (Premiere League) and then taking advantage of the half-time break.

Coffee followed, along with the second half. (Of the game)

Eventually we managed some broccoli and juice and decided it was too nice not to walk.
While mobilizing the phone rang – it was the Seattle Mariners calling for Carl.
Apparently he has been elected the Mariner Fan of the Year for 2014.

A 3-Fez Day

We do not know who the nominating party was, but he has made it to many, many games (including 4 Mariner games on the road). And his distinctive headwear has provided fodder for Mariner announcers and cameramen. (Or is it camera-people, or just cameras. The one nearest us is unmanned, unpersoned, remotely operated.)

So on that note we headed out.
Earlier that morning Rey (in Tennessee) told us that there was a Husky Football game in Seattle. Both Carl & I were sure there was not because neither of us had noticed the orange traffic warning signs. But as usual, Rey was correct.

We decided to walk into the football storm just to see the throngs. (That is a storm of people, buses, bicycles and a few cars. Not to be confused with a real storm, like the one that delayed the Michigan game.)

It was an amazing spectacle. Purple as far as the eye could see. Rows of buses, and most on foot.
And of course those that come by boat.

The line of boats in the background are moored for the game.

We finally left campus and struck out into northeast Seattle neighborhoods.
A goal had materialized in the form of a grocery store where a friend works.
Plus, we needed a little nourishment.

As we were approaching the grocery store, we found another location for a little rest.

Our friend Ronnie

This was not a stop for fries, but at a house that supports families who’s kids are undergoing medical treatment at the nearby Children’s hospital. Finally the last half block to the Metropolitan Market.
Two bananas and a drink later, we set out in search of an establishment serving breakfast.
The first (up a hill that was higher than we wanted to walk up) was on to lunch and dinner, but I made the decision to keep going because they were vacuuming, and I hate the sound of a vacuum.
Next was a place that only served breakfast, but only until 3 PM, and it was now after 4.
Another restaurant materialized, only to have closed at 3 PM as well.

Carl then determined he would make us breakfast, and all we needed was cheese and bacon.
Whole Foods beckoned as it was on the way. Bacon and cheddar were soon in hand, or rather in bag. (This is Seattle, and if you don’t bring your own bag, you have to pay a nickel. We did – in part because we have run out of paper bags. A few years ago that would have been unthinkable, but now we try to use less paper and more cloth. And I really don’t miss those piles of plastic bags!

Finally ready to head home, we stopped at Starbucks.
Carl took this opportunity to get a coffee. I started checking scores for all of those sporting events we were not attending this weekend. Mariners losing 4-0. Huskies losing 14-0. Sounders losing 1-0. University of Michigan losing 26-10 and “delayed”. Almost all of these scores changed, but it was a much better day to take a walk than be a spectator.

But come Friday – we will be in the middle of the action with the Mariners.
I doubt they show the “first pitch” on broadcasts, but imagine it in your mind. With a fez.