Raincharm’s Weblog

Happy 4th of July. Happy Anniversary. And Happy getting to face another day. 

We went to the Mariners game. But that’s not unusual. 

Wayne Drop did have a Fourth of July engagement, but it was before he got the hat.

For our anniversary we skipped the baseball game and went out to dinner instead. We got a window seat at Ivar’s Salmon House and were entertained by boats coming and going. And the food was so good. 

This weekend looks to be busy. We have a double-header on Saturday with both a Sounders and Mariner game. Our first Sounders game this year.

And trying to keep up with the raspberries and not letting our fledgling plants dry out.  I think we have done more yard care this year than the last several combined. 

Carl even made a heart shape out of the blackberry vines he trimmed after they came over, under and through our neighbors fence.

Of course the most important history of yesterday was the birthday of Mariner Nelson Cruz and Carl Harms.  And Cletus Elwood (Boots) Poffenberger. And 150 years of Canada.

It was also the day of this year’s Backyard Baseball Film Festival. It was well attended for this gathering  (24), with many arriving early enough to grill a dog or burger. 

The venue.

In addition to the baseball education films and baseball news items from the 1930s to the 1950s, there was a silent home movie from 1928 of an extended family gathering,  including a ball game. It was interesting to see period clothing that was obviously authentic. The funniest was a 1927 film called College,  featuring Buster Keaton as a freshman playing on the baseball team, who doesn’t really understand the game. Hilarious. 

This screen shot is from Magic Moments in Baseball I think.

And, of course,  desert.

Earlier in the day Carl and I walked to Mohai for a presentation called, “A Bite Sized History of the Pike Place Market.” Very informative and tasty as they provided samples from some of the current vendors. 

Today we went out to breakfast with Dennis, film archivist, and Anne, Oregon film historian. It was nice to just spend some time hanging out. After they departed for points south we spent some time cleaning tarps. They have been shoved in the garage for a few months now, and today’s sun provided an opportunity to rinse and dry before folding. (And then back to the garage.)

And finally, the fushia is blooming. 

This was April 16th, early in the Mariner season. Paxton, the Mariner pitcher, is Canadian. Instead of “Ks” for his strikeouts, we chanted “Eh, Eh, Eh, Eh.” And hung an Eh sign in a maple leaf on the railing for each strikeout. 

Paxton pitching again at today’s game. We were back with our Ehs. 

And the Mariners must’ve liked the idea, and incorporated it into their scoreboard. 

Counting his Ehs in the upper right. 

By the way,  the Mariners won after the Tiger’s Verlander pitched 5 innings of perfect baseball. Paxton had 8 strikeouts, but Verlander had 11. A bunt single started the rally, and the door opened. A fun game, especially after having my head firmly implanted in databases all day. I do enjoy the analysis,  but after several hours my neck is soar and my head is spinning.  

Carl has had a congested head most of the month. He keeps hoping it will clear, like rain clears humidity from the air. 

And it has been humid, for Seattle. I even had a day of pouffy hair over the weekend. 

I am not complaining about the weather. I will take our lows in the 50s over highs in the 100s any time. I can’t fathom the 110 plus temperatures predicted in the southwest. 

This week is predicted to improve every day in sunniness and temperature. I hope Carl improves too, especially because we have friends of his arriving on Thursday. 

So good to see…

Chicken turnovers. A pot pie you can hold in your hand. [As Carl said, “Jay is cooking,  so puff pastry must be involved. “]

Our father’s day revolved around food and phone calls. That’s because our family is very far flung. And we need food to survive. 

We started our day with a walk for breakfast at the little Greek restaurant a few blocks away from home. We were pleasantly surprised to see they had multiple tables filled. We are frequently the only table filled in the early morning. 

After eating we ran a few walking errands on the way home, and were treated to a parade on the way. 

Saturday was the Fremont Solstice Parade. This parade features only non-motorized entrants. It’s always a fun and very creative event. We had planned to walk over to watch, but got to involved in a project. 

The parade we saw yesterday would have fit in from the artistic standpoint,  but they were definitely motorized. 

Art cars! Back in the days of the little brown Honda I flirted with thoughts of a little Civic art.

The day ended with the chicken turnovers. Not too bad for a first try.

Both Carl and my Dad are approaching 90, and still looking good.

[This picture gets to serve two fathers since along with Bob, Carl is also one of my favorite fathers. ]

Harry and Gene, enjoying a Michigan summer that appears to be similar in temperature to a Seattle spring. 

On the home front the grass has been mowed, again,  it turns out we have some strawberries on one side of the backyard. We hope they can out-compete the blackberries. 

I did not fail my exam yesterday. Nor did I pass with flying colors. It probably would have gone a bit better if the day did not start with the realization that the mapping program I use everyday and for creating maps for documents several times a week is changing. Ostensibly an improvement,  and it is faster, it does not have the same functionality. After a major panic attack,  followed by looking for the back doors for work arounds, they tell me I am a super-user and will have access to a different program with total functionality. 

They could have started with that statement and saved a headful of grey hairs. [And a much better attitude throughout the day. ] 

Play – Carl and I are going to a play tonight. We are going to make our ticketed show. We are not going to forget it due to more exciting things or be too sick to go. (Carl is recovering from a cold, but has cough drops. ) 

Crowded coffee parking lot this morning. 

Coffee is from Mercury Coffee,  next to Super Supplements (it’s my only supplement), and my coffee is from the pot at home. 

I remember when I graduated from MSU. I was so happy I would not have to take any more tests.

That ignored the EIT and PE exams, grad school, driver’s eye tests, etc. It also ignored those pesky work evaluations. 

I have one of those today. The 6-month variety. Normally I take the Inquisitor’s approach and, “Judge Thyself .” This time I have been too busy and am just going in with a hopefully open mind.

Today’s moment of eagle. Through the raindrops. 

I had a few visitors outside my window at work today. My first sighting of this year’s young ones. [Not a good shot]

It was a distraction. 

Carl has his own young wildlife at work. 

And at play.
This is the section where we normally sit. I skipped today. Blue Jay home game more or less. 

But this week, Rey takes the cake. Or the picture from his car at his work parking lot. 

As in the rain.

I almost said winter’s back, but it is about 10 degrees warmer. 50s instead of 40s.

The light sitter is one of the resident bald eagles. The closer attempt at a picture was obscured by wet window and a windshield wiper. This view is crossing Lake Washington via the 520 bridge. 

Carl is still under the weather. We made it to Safeco Field yesterday, but left before the game started. The Mariners won with a walkoff home run in the 9th inning. It was Mike Zunino’s second home run of the game. In the other game Carl missed Zunino almost hit one out of the stadium. 

Coincidence?

We may or may not be at the game tonight, depending on how Carl feels. Our neighbor is going with a friends family and Carl was hoping to be there as a guide of sorts. Last night he stayed just long enough to meet another friends friend and introduce them to our seatmate. Carl is in demand.

That said we are planning to skip Friday and Sunday games because the Blue Jay fans can be quite obnoxious  (and drunk). Carl has plans for Saturday’s game, but I am going to skip the entire weekend. 

Enough about baseball. Time for work.