Raincharm’s Weblog

The following was related out loud from the Sunday New York Times. And I may have messed with the words a bit. But it included loud laughter, so I feel it should be shared.

“If you could tell the president to read one book, what would it be?” “That would depend on who was reading it to him.”

Closer to home. 

“That’s the Sports Section dear.” “I would not be interested. “

Yesterday was my visiting day. First up were two very old friends. And I don’t mean age old, I mean having known them for a very long time. We’ll, however you want to interpret the words, essentially since kindergarten. 

It had been several years since the three of us were together. We went to a diner for breakfast and stayed until almost lunch. Ah, the memories. I will be more diligent about reconvening on those occasions when I get to the area. 

From breakfast there was a brief stop at home and then off to lunch with my sister and “cuzzints”. At a brewery. With good beer and sandwiches and conversation. 

All in all a very good day, topped off by a sweet potato-ginger dish and shrimp for dinner. 

As short vacations go, this has been very satisfying. Three books read and  time with family and friends. 

It is raining now, getting me ready for the return to Seattle, and thwarting my plan to walk to a bookstore. I am not afraid of walking in the rain, but I don’t want to deal with wet shoes on the plane. [I managed to pack my boots into the suitcase.]

I saw this in a work journal, and here it is, almost in my parents back yard. Too bad you can’t see the fish, as they are swimming below the tree line. 

“I do worry about our country with that idiot in charge.”

I  believe I like these morning announcements more than reading the news myself. 

Today turned into a beautiful day. Up to the 70s. The afternoon call for a walk was heeded. Through the neighborhood. Instead of Seattle staircases the goal was dead-end cul-de-sacs. Just keep turning left and follow the curb line. 

A lovely neighborhood filled with houses that have more bathrooms than I would care to clean. 

There’s always the more mundane as well. I did take a picture of the Traverse City fire hydrant, just because. 

Then back home where I sat on the back deck and enjoyed the scenery. Trees getting ready for Spring. 

“Trump is such a damned asshole.”

I believe those were the first words my mother said to me this morning. And I really did not have a comeback. 

We ended the day on a more positive note with some fennel enhanced Creme Brule. This was after the gnocchi, fennel salad, pork something appetizer and a very nice bottle of white wine from the Rhone Valley. 

The dinner was the second celebrating Mom’s birthday, and I am fine with that. I did not take a picture of the dinner repast, so you will have to make do with lunch. 

That’s fresh cut pineapple in the green bowl. 

It was another sunny cold day, so I took a walk around the block. I did not take a picture of the Traverse City fire hydrant, even though we don’t have that variety where I work. I did catch these mini-irises blooming along the path. 

And the indoor tulips that are just opening. 

It is forecast to be warmer tomorrow. Perhaps I will take a longer walk. 

A day of celebration today. 

A leg of lamb, nice chocolate and mincemeat pie highlighted the culinary delights. (And the yellow pepper soup leftovers.) I recall fitting 50 candles on a cake several years ago, but nobody tried for 88 candles on the pie. We had to make do with a fire in the fireplace. 

It was a beautiful day, but a bit chilly by Seattle standards. A nice day for spending time with family. And reading. And just a wee bit of work.

Now that I am thinking about it, I wonder if Mom would have liked a piano themed cake decorated with the 88 keys. It would be a challenge. 

It is 7:03 am. Not too early by my standards but it has been different than normal. 

I drove to the airport instead of work. “Don’t get on to 520!,” Carl said. 520 is one of two bridges that head east instead of south. The difference with this trip is that I am the one flying. Alone. Not unheard-of, but it has been a while. 

It is an hour until take off, and I have stood in lines for baggage check, security, water, and coffee. One person exclaimed at the length of the Starbucks line. What did they expect? It’s morning in Seattle. 

Three gates so far. I had not checked before security, so I asked a desk person, who told me N4. Settled in at N4, when I got an email from Alaska directing me to N7. And then the overhead voice directing me to N6.

None of this was bad. Steps from each other. When Carl went to Phoenix recently they had to change concourses. 

And it is raining, again. I am not sure what to expect from the weather in A2. It is spring, so wait 5 minutes. My weather checks have shown an expected range from 18 to 60 degrees. I wore my boots. 

I originally bought these for our trip to the winter Olympics. Never put them on because the temperature approached 70 degrees. 

Time to board. 

Do you know what that means?

THE SUN IS SHINING!

It is Sunday after all.

So like most Seattlites weary of the rain, we ventured out and about. 

The bluest skies you’ve ever seen are in Seattle. 

Any body of water, and some normally dry spaces are filled and overflowing. 

It’s about 50 degrees, but it feels so nice to have the sun on my back. 

Yesterday it rained buckets. I took advantage and spent some quality uninterrupted time at work. I felt good about my accomplishments, which made the evening even better.

We went out to dinner at the Athina Grill, one of our favorite Seattle Center area restaurants. Then it was on to the Cornish Playhouse for a show by the Seattle Womens Chorus. It was a socially inspiring and well sung show. Just what I needed to pull me out of my Trump malaise. 

The encore was a version of I Am Woman, with pussy hats adorning most heads. It was wonderful. 

Don’t worry, in a few weeks we will be enjoying the Seattle Men’s Chorus. 

Yesterday was not quite Snowmagedon, but it was snow events with slippery streets focused on the commute hours. During our Board meeting, starting at 4, the snow started coming down in inches per hour fashion. The City of Sammamish sent out messages that the roads were a mess, multiple accidents and to stay off. But we want to go home. 

I think our meeting took long enough that things had actually improved a bit by the time we left. 

And then there was the overturned propane tanker on I5 that closed the entire freeway right at the I90 area. It was closed 8 hours, long enough to limit our choices for heading back to Seattle. 

Work on the other hand went relatively smoothly. I am hoping to follow-up on my big project today and head for a March launch. (Which means my life will not be my own in 2017. )

And with all this talk about work, I spent the evening arranging logistics for a vacation. 

I worked this weekend. 

Saturday morning I was filling in my time sheet for Friday. I couldn’t figure out why it was only showing 51 hours  (I expected 80), and then I realized it was only for 1 week. But I persevered and got a few things done. All I need to do now is figure out how to squeeze about 3 weeks out of nothing so I can get my big project done on time. 

As for spring, I was watching the flowers poke up from the ground yesterday. Not so much this morning. 

We did go out last night. Dinner was good but not at either of the restaurants we were considering in the morning. The rain was hard enough to dissuade us from walking to the more distant venue. (February’s rain totals are past 7 inches) turns out the restaurant across the street closed after New Years eve. So we opted for a British themed pub just one block away. I am sure we would go back. 

The play was also quite enjoyable. Aside from one momentary stage problem with moving sets the production was very well done. The singing was really good. Based on movies and plays we have seen recently it seems there was a lot of hanky-panky going on in offices in the 50s. 

When we arrived home the movie Lust For Life starring Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn was just starting. We had recently seen a documentary on Van Gogh’s ear, and that piqued my interest further. The movie was worth watching, but I went to couch and only made it just past the ear scene. 

On to work and a hope for no mud slides. 

It seemed that yesterday was sweets day. At least at my office. 

Carl and I are calling today Sweetie Day. We had a play scheduled for a while and decided to pair it with dinner out. The remaining decision is where to eat. There is a restaurant directly across the street from the theater, but we are considering a different eatery that is a 10 minute stroll away. The distance is not an issue, nor is the fairly significant elevation difference.  It may come down to the strength of the precipitation falling when we arrive. 

Looking a bit bushy.