Random Sightings

I am editing photos from my recent travels (to San Francisco and Miami) and will post those at a later date, but in the meantime here are a few recent sightings around town.

Walking Greenlake yesterday, I was passed by a group of roller derby women. Unfortunately, they passed me at whip speed so you'll have to use your imagination for that picture.

At the edge of Golden Gate Park, where the new Wednesday farmer's market sets up, I spotted this:In retrospect, it makes perfect sense in a hilly city to have a designated area to take kids to practice. Certainly beats trying to navigate the crowds on the path at Greenlake.

Today, walking home from lunch at the Sunlight, I was graced by the passing of this delight:Didn't seem like they were open for business, which is too bad, because I would have liked the King to read my palm and tell me what's in store for me.

In the airport in Fort Lauderdale, I spotted this gem, which turned out to be typical of Virgin America, actually using humor to make the passengers pay attention to the otherwise tedious and redundant warnings and rules:Watching their pre-flight video may be the only time I ever paid attention to the entire aircraft safety warning, with the exception of my experience on Yugoslav Airlines in 1988 when the scary Eastern block stewardesses used verbal and physical intimidation to gain full compliance from the trembling passengers.

Yoga Bliss

One of the best things about summer in Seattle happens Tuesday nights in Meridian Park from 6 to 7 p.m. That's when my long-time favorite yoga teacher, Fran Gallo, teaches yoga in the park. Imagine an incredibly well thought-out, balanced, challenging yet relaxing, leveled yoga session taught by a knowledgeable, friendly and approachable teacher. Now take this awesome class and add the element of fresh-smelling grass, beautiful trees, and warm sun.Nothing beats the feel of the earth under your feet doing poses to ground you, swaying in a light breeze and holding your gaze on a tree while in tree pose, or the unexpectedly beautiful horizon from upside down in down dog. The air fills you with energy as you breathe and the poses just naturally go deeper and stronger outdoors. It really is a wonderful experience.

Please take a look at what I wrote about Fran for Juice in the City. My blurb will be up tomorrow, that's Wednesday July 21, and you have to follow the link for Seattle if you are in another city. Fran has a big following everywhere she teaches, and once you experience her teaching for yourself, you'll understand why.

Viking Fest

Late this morning, motivated by the idea of Swedish Pancake breakfast, we hopped on Speedy (the tandem) and rode to the Nordic Heritage Museum for Viking Fest. We had the good fortune to run into friends, so the kids played on the playground and the adults chatted and caught up. On the way to the playground, Adelaide and I spotted these being cooked:
This was not the pancake breakfast but a Danish treat called Abelskiver, which basically was like a pancake, only served as a giant dough ball rather than a flat cake. We decided it was actually lunchtime, so we had some salmonburgers, and then it was time for dessert.

The score, Adelaide 2, Christine 1. It could have been a blowout if someone had had her way, but I decided that if we had to make it back up and over Phinney Ridge, we'd better not have 3 doughballs riding along on the backseat of Speedy.
The verdict: delicious.

Bunch of Lunch

It's been a leisurely morning after the big breakfasts. While the plan was to get out and ride the tandem to a neighborhood street fair, the reality was that Adelaide wanted to lounge around the living room, listening to books on cd, coloring, and playing with her doll. She set up the room to her liking:I didn't take a picture of round one of lunch before serving it, and it was demolished before I could leave the kitchen and get the camera. Here's the re-load, same stuff, just round two. Tofu, ketchup, carrots, and brown rice with peanut sauce. Round one also had a tortilla and blueberries.
Now we should be fueled up enough to head out, either to that street fair or maybe back down to the lake for a swim. But of course, if we bike or swim, there will be more snacks and meals required. Think we'll be going to the grocery store, too!

Breakfast of Champions

So far, it is a typical day around here. Adelaide got up at the crack of dawn and put in her book on cd while I pulled the covers over my head and stuffed in some earplugs. She made it about 90 minutes without breakfast, so by the time I got up, she was really ready for some chow.

This morning's menu (thus far): cheese omelette and soy milk:Second course, cereal (mixed o's, honey bunnies and multi grain flakes) and donut peach:
I'm guessing she'll ask for more after this, and I will make her wait until a mid-morning snack. I should measure how tall she is at the beginning of the day and the end of the day, too, as I think all of her meals go directly to those bones getting longer by the minute.

Dumb Stuff Yahoo Calls News, redoux

The big headlines from Yahoo tonight include the following:

When you're falling in love too fast

A new romance can be exhilarating, but you don't want to act on every impulse. Conversation topics to avoid

Related links

• Signs of a perfect match
• Body language tricks
• 1st date places to avoid

'The Facts of Life' star's one regret

Kim Fields has no misgivings about growing up on TV and wearing skates on set. Her character's name, however ...

Related links

• More on 'Tootie'
• Update on Urkel
• 'Full House' star extorted

Okay, and in tiny little print below, we have these articles:

• Twin bombings kill at least 20 outside a mosque in Iran
• BP finally stops oil from flowing into Gulf Leak stopped
• Congress passes financial reform bill Goldman, SEC settle

So, Tootie, Urkel, and whirlwind romance/how to send come hither signals with body language trump the financial reform bill, bombs and the massive oil leak being stopped? Fabulous.

First Swim of the Summer

Something about donning the swimwear just begs taking a Photobooth snap. Or, in Adelaide's case, stripping off the clothes is enough to inspire a photo shoot. I think that's why she's laughing, not because I am posing in my swimwear.We are very fortunate to live walking distance to a place to swim, so we can go on a moments notice. Grab your inflatable hippo and a towel, and you're good to go.
I had guessed that since it was not that hot this afternoon, we might just be dipping our feet in and watching the big kids on the diving boards. But the water was really wonderful, and not too cold. We both had a nice long swim and are looking forward to our next dip!

No Frills for Me, Thanks

Some people go to the spa to feel pampered. They like the feeling of others serving them, or at least they are able to relax even though people around them are working hard at nasty jobs like hair removal, toe jam removal, or applying various sticky substances to various skin surfaces. I am not one of these people. Sure, I like a massage, and yes, there are some jobs I would rather pay someone to do than to do myself, but I don’t find it very relaxing to know I am indulging myself while someone is making very little money for very hard work.

Check out my blurb on Juice in the City today about my experience at the neighborhood nail salon and "Like" the activity to let them know you'd like to see a deal at their business.

Everything's Better by Bike

Today I biked to a yoga class about 6 miles from home. I had to slog up a set of very steep hills, wait at lots of red lights, weave in and out of traffic and avoid parked cars. It was delightful, and put me in a terrific mood. I chatted with 3 different other cyclists, ran into an old friend on the street, and generally felt in touch with my surroundings.

Because it's summer and fairly warm, I also overheard several people in their cars. They were waiting at the same red lights as me, dealing with traffic and bridges and other cars, and they were not at all happy. Two people kept their grousing to half-yelling to themselves, and one guy took it further and screamed out his pickup's window at another cyclist about riding on the sidewalk to stay out of his way. Veins were popping out of his thick red neck.

Seems like my way worked a bit better.

Low Tide Walk

Today was the lowest tide of the summer. We made a morning of it, hiking down through Carkeek's upper trail and ending up at the beach at the right time to see the creatures in the tide pools.
At the trailhead.
Low tides this low only occur for about 50 hours of the year.
We found lots of interesting life forms. A naturalist was impressed with the moon snail we found.
Playing Pooh Sticks on the hike back.

Breaking News from Yahoo

More headline news from my favorite source. Wait, no, it's not the Onion. My second favorite source.

TODAY - July 09, 2010

Octopus picks winner for World Cup

"Paul" has yet to make a wrong choice in this year's global tournament. Showed little hesitation

Art to Soothe the Sunburned Beast

It's that time of year again. You know, the one where we were complaining here in Seattle for months on end, about how summer was not coming, when would this godforsaken rain stop, why do we never see the sun, you know the drill. And then, finally, miraculously, summer was upon us! Sunshine! Warm air! Open-toed shoes!

That was yesterday. Today, we have a new complaint. Hot! Crowded! Bright! Sunburned!

Sigh. We have such a narrow band of weather we can simply enjoy without complaint in this town. Or at least it seems that way. But if you're like me, and you cannot really cope with another day at your local fecal coliform wading pool, consider a respite in the soothing world of art. I write about it here, on Juice in the City. Click the link to read my blurb, or click on the sidebar widget for their site. http://juiceinthecity.com/?referrer=6lg3fb2q7k

Not for the Faint of Heart (or Stomach)

This morning I noticed the kitchen sink was draining a little slowly, so I decided to employ my friend Kathleen's home remedy of baking soda, vinegar, and boiling water to clean it out and get it flowing. Before starting the cleanse I waited for the sink to drain on its own.

In the process of filling the kettle and getting a couple of dishes washed and out of the way, it became clear that there might be a clog, not just slow draining. So I got out my handy sink plunger (thanks, Dad) and gave a couple of little squeezes to see what might come of it.
What came of it was a very nasty smell, some dirty bits of sink scum and no movement of the water. Hmm. Okay, so time to try the baking soda and vinegar, even though there was standing water here.

The fizzing action and boiling water was effective in the way it is meant to be -- it dislodged a great deal of gunk from the pipe, but still no flow. Back to plunging. Now the gunk was rising up into the sink, much in the way the bile was rising up into my throat. I began to realize that despite the fact that these chunks of putrid pipe poop appeared too large to go down the drain, they were coming up from there and needed to be removed lest they simply just settled back into their horrid little home.

Out came the paper towels. Sadly, no latex body condom (or even just some dish gloves) were readily available, so in plunged my bare hands. From the hot swirling soup of skank I pulled some of the larger morsels. They bore a frightening resemblance to chopped portobella mushroom and waterlogged croutons. I began to realize that one of two things had happened here: either Adelaide has been conducting midnight experiments on food decomposition by sneaking out to buy high-end deli products and stuffing them down the drain, or the pipe beneath my sink is the perfect habitat for fungal growth. In either case, this was not looking good.

After a series of scooping, plunging, pouring of boiling water and repeating, I felt I was being watched.And indeed, there was a small plastic eyeball bobbing in the sea of muck.

When I went to wash my hands in the clog-free bathroom sink, I discovered that they were incredibly soft and moisturized, apparently from the grease-saturated water. Marge, you're soaking in it!

Needless to say, breakfast is on hold and may be off for good.

Parking Karma

Dear Seattle Parking Enforcement Officer,

Please allow me to extend a sincere thank you to you for your kindness this morning. Despite the fact that I believe you may have entered in or begun to enter in my car's information to your expensive-ticket-generating machine, you were extremely gracious in not printing said ticket and placing it on my windshield. I was clearly parked in front of the sign stating that there was no parking from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., which was hidden in that leafy tree, and you had every right to enforce the parking law and ticket my ass. I don't know if it was my ass in my yoga pants that helped me avoid this ticket, or the fact that I came out of the studio wearing no shoes and a skimpy top, but regardless of what prompted you to be generous to me today, I am sincerely grateful.

I plan on paying it forward today, Officer, and with any luck it will come back your way sometime soon. Maybe that SUV that was about to crush your tiny little triangle rickshaw car will make a sudden stop due to an exciting text message. Or that irate psychopath whose car you do ticket will have already used their last bullet on the slow barista earlier in the day. Whatever the case, I hope the sun shines on you today under your cute little semi-official police headgear.

Gratefully Yours,

Christine

As if There Were Not Already Enough Reasons You Might Want to Consider Giving Up Hot Dogs

Licking his chops in anticipation of eating himself once properly doused in ketchup?

Yet, poised to run away from his cannibalistic self? And exactly how does the giant flag shawl fit in? I'm confused.