Tuesday, September 30, 2008

POTATOES, MUD, MILDEW, AND A SPORTING EVENT.

Ross found an alien that had hatched in our onions-garlic-and potatoes bowl.

Fortunately Jackson was around to protect us.




A long, long time ago, Ross, TS, and I went to watch some Cyclocross Racing. None of us had ever seen such a thing before. It was raining, and muddy, which added to the drama.


We just missed seeing Brian race for the Raleigh team, but the word was that he did well, and he had the mud splatters to prove it.





At one point the racers had to dismount and carry their bikes while running uphill over a bunch of logs. I kept waiting for someone to fall, but no one did. At least not while we were standing there.




I used to ride by this garage every day on my way to work. I never did document my commute. Last week I walked by the garage and remembered how much fun that ride was--empty early mornings, always a little cold, always in a rush. This garage was on the final corner of the ride. I suppose that little bike commute is about the only part of that job that I miss.



The berries are still lingering in the markets, though Jerritt tells me that the undersides of wild blackberries are now moldy.




Two city blocks of buildings are being torn down to make way for the eventual Light Rail. All the businesses and residents had to move, and the buildings were just sitting there, vacant and boarded. Then they filled up with art installations.









Jerritt was out of town, sampling soil in Idaho. Finally he came back.


He and TS came over and we took them up to the roof, where the view is both wonderful and awful.


On a clear day we can Mount Rainier, the Space Needle, the Puget Sound, and the Olympics.







We can also see a slew of cranes and radio and cell phone towers. But we can't see much of the Cascades anymore.



Tuesday, September 23, 2008

NATURE BEARS THE SHARPEST BLADE

The school year in Seattle actually begins with fall, which means it is our week of reckoning 'round here. But last week we squeezed in a few last moments of summer, beginning with a hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. Our walk began with a view of this spire looming above us, but by the end we were looking down on it.








Jerritt and TS did the same hike a couple weeks ago, and recommended it. They were right--pretty nice.

We hiked along a catwalk.


When we reached our turnaround, and stopped for some water and bite of chocolate, this tiny little guy came running along the trail in his shorts and sneakers, holding a water bottle and grinning. Jeez, some people are fit.





I was really impressed with the flat planes and sharp edges of the rocks. Ross and I took the same geology class in college, although we didn't know each other then. Sadly, neither of us remembers much.







It got cold and rainy last week, but the night before the rains came we gathered up some friends for a cookout at Golden Gardens.



Amy is preparing for life in New Zealand beginning in a few weeks.



TS wore a beautiful sheep sweatervest.



Sloan's deviled eggs were a big hit.

It was Craig's birthday, so Ross baked him a cake.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

UNSOLVED PROBLEMS IN PHYSICS: TIME TRAVEL



Loki's family went out of town again, so we went to stay with him at their house in Wedgwood.





The house feels rather like a fortress--a secret keeper.























































































But their neighborhood is super friendly. The kids are out playing until dark. A group of runners stops to talk with the neighbors along their way--sometimes stopping to chat at every other house along the street. Many of the houses were built in the Fifties, I think, and in general, the whole neighbohood feels a little like a time warp, complete with children performing puppet shows in cardboard box stages, or trekking along the sidewalk in cuffed jeans, spinning a pair of drumsticks on their fingers, and an ice cream truck that played a lovely version of "Daisy Bell."





Up the street there is a fantastic doughnut shop.



Honestly, I've never been a doughnut fanatic, but Top Pot could convert me. I got a chocolate sandcastle doughnut. If I were to become a doughnut fanatic, I'd start with obsessing over all the sugar or cinnamon sugar doughnuts--there's just something about that gritty texture.





Ross got the raspberry old fashioned.