Raincharm’s Weblog

What do you think of when you hear Weather Underground.

I think of the weather forecasting website. I was looking up the weather, and the sidebar noted the organization was founded in Ann Arbor. I happened to be talking with my Dad. Also in Ann Arbor.

Carl said he thought of the radical group from the 60s. So I looked them up. Also founded in Ann Arbor.

Just saying …

And now onto locks. Not the Soo kind. The front door kind.

On Sunday Carl was trying to open the front door from the inside to check for something. The knob came off in his hand, with the door still closed. The spindle/stem was broken. Sheared off. Thankfully we have a back door, so it’s just a few more steps.

On Monday I made an appointment with a locksmith to come by Tuesday afternoon to take a look. Robel showed up and completely dismantled our almost 100 year old front mortise lock.

Robel was kind enough to to show us how the mechanism works.

The work is complete and we can once again come and go as we please. Mind you, the door is still a unique, eccentric door that has it’s special way of working. I think the door needs a shave.

It’s time for the annual grapefruit.

A consultant who does business with the District always sends a box of grapefruit during the holidays. I usually am able to score one. We don’t buy them normally because Carl can’t partake due to drug interactions. Growing up we had a grapefruit knife. We don’t. It seems a bit much to buy a specialty knife to be used just once a year. To eat them I use an old baby spoon that the rubber coating had come off. It is an appropriate size and has a good edge.

If you look closely at the picture you can find the elusive manatees taking a peek into the creche. There is very little that is sacred when Carl starts decorating.

Speaking of decorating, we did get a tree last weekend. Rather small, but it fits the house.

Buying the tree provides us an opportunity to support the elementary school our kids attended, at least briefly for Rey. I think Carl basically doubled what they were going to charge. It was the neighborhood school when they were of that age. The neighborhood school has now changed to one taken out of mothballs when the younger population increased. If you go back further there is a closer school, but it is now a Community Center. We’re not plugged into the current school’s fundraising yet.

The holiday season also coincides with my annual review. Second one done virtually. I am going in about once a week at this point. 34 years in, and a few more to go. A few of the other old-timers are retiring. One by end of year, the next mid-year. It makes me think both back and forward.

For the imminent retiree they were asking for stories and memories. I shared a story where he helped me put a new water pump into my car. I was playing mechanic in the office parking lot after work, back when I tackled this kind of maintenance. This stemmed from my growing up in Michigan, more importantly with my cousin Jim. He was a total car geek, and I thought everyone took care of their own cars. Back to the story, I couldn’t quite move a piece out of the way to insert the new pump in place. It was a strength thing. He, the retiree, Chic, was returning from a costumer call and obliged to shove the pump in place. This allowed me to finish the job and get home that night.

Our person putting the newsletter together requested a picture. Luckily Carl has been spending a lot of time organizing our old photos and found one of the old 1980 Civic, the first new car I owned.

The picture documented the start of my move from Fort Collins, Colorado to Seattle. The car is packed with almost all of my worldly possessions. The black and white TV is belted into the front passenger seat. My cat, Frodo, was not with me. He waited in Colorado until I found a job and apartment, and came back to get Carl. What an adventure that was.

I don’t think we could fit the contents from one room of our house into a car.

Three things have been niggling me over the past few days.

1. My mother would be rolling in her grave right about now. She spent years volunteering at Planned Parenthood. My dim and probably not completely correct memory was that she helped usher women visiting PP past folks that were not in favor of them visiting a health facility. Note that I myself visited PP for health checkups and information and advice.
   Of course, she is not actually in a grave as such. I wonder if Dad can feel a change in the force in his apartment.

2. There is a new tier 4 soccer team starting in Seattle. The Sounders are considered 1st tier. This team was announced to us through a Seattle Times article. There was an accompanying picture with the three primary leaders; Chris Kaimmer, Sam Zisette and Lamar Neagle. All three names were familiar. Lamar Neagle was a former Sounders player. Chris Kaimmer we first met when he was a baby in a Parent/Child co-op. We were together in that group until the kids went to Kindergarten. Then he and Rey played on soccer teams (non-school) for several years. They went to different high schools, but ran into each other again when they were both running cross-country. And Sam is the younger brother of one of Ashlan’s friends in elementary school, although they went to different middle/high schools. And finally – one of their primary sponsors is Rueben’s Brews. The owners of Rueben’s sit behind us at Mariner games. Small world – and we will definitely try to fit in a game or two next year.

3. I get monthly Civil Engineering magazines. I browse them and read articles here and there. There is an article I am going to share here for general interest. It is about building the Mackinaw Bridge. Since it is an engineering magazine it talks about some of the technical issues, and especially what was learned from a few previous, less successful bridges.

All for now. Good morning.

With just two of us I would think the preparations would be less time consuming. And they are, but not as much as I expected. One of our traditions as an empty nest, is to not have too many traditions. Each year develops as the holiday approaches.

Past experiences have included long walks with turkey sandwiches in tow (and a finally successful search for an open coffee shop). Most have included a meal.

This year includes just 3 dishes. Food servings that is. There are lots of dishes.

1. Turkey breast. There are a gazillion ways to prepare a turkey breast. I know, I googled it. As it happens, last week there was a PCC coupon for a free bottle of pure maple syrup. So along with our puff pastry purchase we picked up a bottle of maple syrup. And, while browsing recipes I spotted on for Maple Roasted Turkey Breast. Serendipity! Maple syrup is not something we normally have around, so this was the year. And it was quite good.

2. Salad. Actually, Roasted Pumpkin and Chestnut Salad with Orange-Cranberry Vinaigrette. This is a WW recipe, 6-7 points … if we only ate one serving. The roasted pumpkin and chestnuts made this a filling accompaniment to the turkey.

3. Apple Puff Pastry tart/galette/pie. This was a mash-up of the Betty Crocker apple pie recipe, with a puff pastry instead of a traditional pie crust. And a bit smaller than the pie.

One other thing about Thanksgiving dinner that changes every year is the time we actually dine. Nine out of ten times we eat later than planned. This was apparently the tenth year, and we ate early. Mid-afternoon. It actually surprised Carl. He was in the midst of a cleaning, flinging, reorganizing project. I had to ask him at least 3 times to help with the final preparations. He would do as requested and then grab another load of something to move about.

The rest of this evening will be spent hanging out until dessert. We’re watching a movie or two. The current movie is from 1944, Between Two Worlds.

And as for the rest of the weekend….

We had a few things on our list today. As with most planned days, a few more things added themselves. And it’s only late afternoon.

First up for me was a 7:30 WW meeting. Last night I was thinking about skipping, but they just introduced a new program update and I wanted to hear what they had to say. And I woke up at my normal work time, so no excuses there. In fact I actually did a little work before I left.

Things at work seem to be accelerating. One task I perform is to look at new development proposals, from house additions to plats, and tell them what they need to do and pay for their water and sewer. Since the city in which we operate just lifted their development moratorium, there are lots of new proposals. I spent most of yesterday trying to get caught up. I think I finished 8, but there was still 1 left plus some other lingering service questions. This is where you should be thinking, TMI, get on with it.

Meeting and home, at which point the unplanned interruption arrived. While pulling into our driveway, which includes going over a hump, the car scraped bottom more than expected. This happens with a loaded car, really full tank of gas, or low tire pressure. In this situation I immediately suspected tire issues. The left front tire looked suspicious, so I backed out of our sloped driveway and parked on the street. The pressure seemed about 4 pounds low. So, off to the gas station to fill ‘er up. They have really improved the air filling stations. Of course I had to do it twice because I didn’t realize you had to enter your target pressure first. Hang the $2. It was relatively quick and painless. And the car is still parked on the street while we give it a day or two to see if it holds the air.

And there was some more work done. And chatting with the kids. (Not work.)

Finally the real day’s outing was at hand. The goal was to rendezvous with a friend for Covid boosters and lunch. We planned to take light rail, starting at 2 different stations. Our booster appointments were also 2 hours apart. We sort of rendevoued on the train. Except he was in the last car and we were in the first.

We did meet up when we de-trained, and proceeded up a Seattle hill to Kaiser Permanente. Jim was on time for his appointment, and we were allowed to slide right in too.

Next on the activity list was Dingfelder’s Deli for lunch. Pastrami sandwich for me. Yum. And we picked up chicken soup for tomorrow (in case the booster hangover hits). They don’t offer inside seating, but they do have an outdoor picnic table where we enjoyed our sandwiches. And had a chance to talk.

Next up was wending our way back to the light rail station. There have been times we may have opted to walk the 3 miles home from Capital Hill. But the University Bridge, a drawbridge on our route, is stuck in the up position. This happened yesterday when some motor burned out. After predicting a few hours to fix, I have now seen a post suggesting November 20th. And there is a UW Husky football game today. This bridge is one of the main surface routes to the University …

Back to the light rail trek. We passed through Cal Anderson Park. This is a lidded water reservoir, and until recently home of one of Seattle’s encampments, and before that part of the CHOP. It’s actually a nice looking park, at least during the day, and they’ve made some nice improvements. It’s also directly next to one of the light rail entrances.

The next station north of Capital Hill is at the UW stadium. Needless to say, with the game about 90 minutes off and one bridge out of service, the train was full of purple clad fans. Our stop was two more north, and we didn’t miss getting off this time.

Each of the walking legs on Capital Hill was about half a mile, with the extra between home and the Roosevelt station. An easy 2 to 3 miles. It was nice to get some walking without dodging raindrops or rivers of water.

I went in to work yesterday.

I left in the dark. Blustery winds buffeted the car, especially in areas without tree cover. Like crossing the lake. And when near trees, watching nervously for branches falling. Sunrise 7:04 AM.

I started for home in the dark. In an atmospheric river. Sunset 4:39 PM.

TECHNICAL TERMS

Carl undertook a project of his own making over the last several days. In the all things baseball part of his life he has acquired one or two or several autographed baseballs.

He decided to get them organized and archived.

After consulting with our professional archivist, what has been accomplished is storage, organization, identification for easier retrieval. But not archiving.

Still a worthy project. Worth the time and maybe setting a precedence for future projects.

Hard to believe it’s been 2 years!

Starting with today. It’s easiest to remember. We ventured out between the raindrops to get some exercise and do some exploring. The new light rail extends north to Northgate, which has been in a perpetual state of destruction and construction for the last several years. The mall has a few remaining businesses around its periphery, but a large section has been rebuilt as the Kraken Community Iceplex. So we decided to explore the area a bit.

We saw two rinks, one in use for youth team practices, and the second for general public skating. These were rinks 2 and 3. We didn’t see Rink 1. Perhaps we didn’t explore enough or it is out of view for Kraken practice. There is also a Starbucks and the 32 Bar and Grill.

Northgate “Mall” is still very much a work in progress. In its current state, being a pedestrian trying to go from one area to another is challenging. Lots of parking, most of it now requiring payment, but it is difficult to see the entire picture at this time. Maybe in a few more years.

The Northgate light rail station is directly across the freeway from North Seattle (Community) College, and a new pedestrian bridge was built as part of the station.

North Seattle Community College is where Carl took his Early Childhood Education classes. It was also home to the Coop classes we did with each kid. And the parking lot is where I taught the kids to drive with a stick shift.

After this bit of exploring we decided to take the train back to our neighborhood.

All was good. Only one stop. Except we were both distracted, and used to travelling for multiple stops. As the doors were closing on the Roosevelt Station I realized our mistake. So we exited at the U District Station instead. It added about 3 or 4 blocks to our walk, but we got to stop at Trader Joe’s on the way home.

Back in the house, watching soccer and sorting baseballs for archiving.

That was today. During the last two weeks the baseball season ended. The World Series went 6 games. We gathered with our baseball friends for 4 of the 6 games. All 4 we were together were won by the Atlanta Braves. Coincidence? No, no superstition in baseball.

On one of the days without baseball, gathered or not, we got to go to our first Kraken (NHL) game at Climate Pledge Arena at the Seattle Center. As part of their efforts to encourage fans to get out of their cars, the transit passes were included with the ticket. On your phone. Also on your phone you were supposed to have your vaccination status, on the Clear app. Vaccination was required for entry.

Getting the tickets onto the phone was relatively painless, once you downloaded the Kraken app. The Clear vaccination bit was more complicated. First you took pictures of your ID. Then a selfie so you could be matched to your ID. There were several rules for the selfie; don’t smile, hold steady and no glasses. The no glasses really slowed me up because it would flash directions and suggestions, but I couldn’t read them because – no glasses. Then a facial scan and finally vaccination information. Whew. And then repeat for Carl. The issue with Carl was his phone was almost dead and couldn’t take a focused picture until we plugged it in. They do have a tent where you can show your card, but a friend said the line was long and the process slow enough that they completed the app process while in line.

So we walked to the light rail, and got off at Westlake. Climbing a few flights in the Westlake Mall to the Monorail. Who thought this one stop relic of the 1962 World’s Fair would be an integral part of the transit system 60 years later. Monorail to the Seattle Center, and a short walk through the rain to the Arena.

The game was fun. Since we were masked, there wasn’t much temptation to snack, although we did share a beer. Mannys from a tap, served in an aluminum cup. More recyclable. The Kraken beat the Minnesota Wild 4-1.

To get home we did the transit thing in reverse. However, instead of the fans arriving over an hour or two, everybody left at one time.

The wait really wasn’t all that long. Two Monorail cars running, and no pushing or shoving. Again just scanned the transit pass from the ticket on your phone. The interesting thing was there were different barcodes to scan for Monorail, light rail, bus and a few other transit options.

In other fun, there was Halloween. Our neighborhood blocked off the street for 3 hours and held a limited contact trick or treat event. Carl repeated his baseball player delivery of Origami “baseballs” with a piece of candy tucked inside. We had about 60 visitors, and the delivery method was given high marks. The best was a group of 8 young teen girls. They were enthusiastic and 7 of the 8 caught the pitch.

And don’t forget to fall back tomorrow morning.

Both of us are struggling a bit to adjust back to home life. Bits of energy and getting the list checked, interspersed with tired times.  I just suggested it was bedtime, only to realize it is barely past 7.

One of the tasks today was to pass a test. We did our home version and scored two negatives. Yeah!

This was a step I felt I should take before going back to the office. We tried to be careful and mask if we were around folks, especially inside. But there were a lot of places with people over the last few weeks.  The wedding was basically vaccinated. On the mass transit and plane who knows, but masks. I will never figure out why people can’t manage to keep their masks over their nose. For those that keep adjusting them up, over and over again, find one that fits, we are in this for the long haul. For those that are just putting on whatever show they want that includes their nose, why bother to pretend you care.

I will admit the test really messed with me. I was on the verge of sneezing while it was inserted, and it made my eyes water uncontrollably. I also sneeze when I look at the sun, so I wasn’t completely surprised.

Back to work tomorrow. I was going to check on a schedule issue and send out an email tonight, but could not log on. Carl correctly noted that it was probably a power outage issue. One of the predicted storms blew through this afternoon, literally. We did not lose power at our house, but think we heard a nearby transformer blow. Or maybe thunder. I imagine power has been restored at work, and we do have a generator, but somebody needs to turn the computer back on. It will be me, tomorrow morning.

It’s now 7:36. Too early for bed?

We are riding with Rajesh to JFK, terminal 4. I thought a ride would be easier, and more predictable than once again figuring out the subway and airtrain. As we poke along in a traffic jam I am rethinking my premise. The trains run, predictably, most of the time. They also cost less.

This morning we are fine for time, and the cost is a drop in the bucket for this trip. Perhaps if we had been riding subways every day, my confidence would have been higher. We have managed it before.

At the gate, Dunkin Donut coffee. Not as good as Starbucks, and a fairly long wait.

Once in Seattle we did choose the almost familiar Light Rail, the 1 Line. The walk from the station has decreased from 2 miles to about 1/3 mile.

We thank all those that sheltered us and shared time, ideas and energy.

Suitcases have been emptied, mail sorted but not dealt with, and grocery ordering about to commence. It’s nice to be home, but I think it will be an early evening.