Grumblehog

Little Si View

2011-08-21T10:08:00.001-07:00

You can also see lots and lots of trees.

Little Si

2011-08-21T10:08:00.000-07:00

Today we hiked "Little Si", the shorter, easier companion hike to Mt. Si (or Big Si) that we first hiked on the Fourth of July. This was a great hike. A fun trail, cool terrain, just the right amount of challenge. The payoff at the summit was not nearly as great as Big Si in terms of the view because it's not 360 degrees and you can't see Mt. Ranier. What you can see is this (above) view of Big Si. We hiked to that top point triangle, so you can see how much further and harder it appears. We had our traditional second breakfast at the summit - ham sandwiches, fruit, and chocolate.

Fish for Dinner

2011-08-20T09:27:00.002-07:00

I decided that I was feeling adventurous this weekend so this morning when we were planning the meals for the week I actually requested fish for tonight. I never eat fish. I have never liked it. But, over the years I have expanded my palate quite a bit and acquired many new tastes so I am willing to be open to the possibility that a taste for seafood will need to be actively acquired.

We are starting off fairly easily, a very mild cod cooked with onions, tomatoes, capers, olives, lemon, and fresh herbs. I didn't like it's texture when it first came out of the oven. It was like eating raw chicken - kind of slippery?! So J pan finished it for me to a more flaky texture. It was so mild that it almost tasted like nothing at all. As long as I put a caper or olive in every bite I was able to eat the whole thing.

Harvest

2011-08-20T08:41:00.000-07:00

The very very last of the snow peas. And my first "big" tomato. I have been looking forward to this tomato for weeks. On the plant, there were two growing side by side, nestled into a little crook of tomato branches so we affectionately called them "the bull's balls". Too bad it wasn't very yummy tasting. It had a mealy texture which is very unappetizing in tomatoes. Now I feel bad because I don't really want to keep watering and tending the plant to keep growing large, beautiful, undelicious tomatoes.

A Good Sign

2011-08-19T08:37:00.001-07:00

This morning, before my clients arrived for their session, I saw a tiny hummingbird. I never have my camera when they suddenly appear but this time, I did. Obviously, not with a 300mm lens on it, but at least I did have it. I snapped this while he perched on the tallest flower. I always think hummingbirds are a very very good sign. At the very least, I find them cheerful.

Roses II

2011-08-18T08:32:00.004-07:00

These are the same roses from the other day. This time in the last little possible hint of evening light. This is almost straight out of camera and it saw the whole world as being rose-colored at that moment so who am I to argue? Simply beautiful.

Scouting II

2011-08-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

The scouting trip continued to an often-maligned town nearby in the burbs of Seattle that had a very lovely little park along the Sammamish River. They've moved several old historic buildings like a pioneer cabin, the first one-room schoolhouse, and a farmhouse to the park so there are lots of good photo opportunities. It turned out to be a great day out in the sunshine with lots of things going my way.

Seeing

2011-08-15T08:13:00.000-07:00

On the way back up the trail, though I was keeping a good pace, I suddenly spotted these amazing mushrooms all covered in dew. They grabbed my eye because it's been very dry and nothing in the entire forest was wet, except suddenly for these few mushrooms. When I looked closer, I noticed the tiniest slug I've ever seen. Ever. He's about the size of one of my fingertips. I am sure that most people would have breezed right passed these mushrooms and the snail but I spotted it immediately and was drawn closer. I take this as a very good sign that my eye is still working, that it's still sharp, that my mind is really taking in all the details of the world and processing them. I was able to really appreciate this small moment out of my day today and that happens so rarely. I was alone, outside, in a forest, the sun was shining, I was breathing hard and using my muscles, and I had a few moments to appreciate some dew and a tiny slug.

Scouting

2011-08-15T08:07:00.000-07:00

I had to go on a scouting trip today to look for new locations to do portrait sesssions. I usully hate doing this, dread it, and put it off until the last possible moment. Today, however, turned out amazing! I went to a State Park that I saw listed on the map but had never heard of or been to. When I arrived, I found that it had the biggest most awesome playground I have ever seen (I really would have loved to give it a go if it weren't so crowded), a lovely orchard, and miles of hiking trails. They appeared to lead down to the lake but I had no idea how long or difficult they would be and if the lake would have a suitable payoff. Only one way to find out! And that's how I found myself hiking alone at midday on a Monday! One of the perks of the job, I suppose. :) The trails lead through a deep ravine that felt very far way from the city. And at the bottom there was a nice lake view and all of these trees that had fallen into the water to make cute little private cove type beaches between them. It would be lovely to spend a day there.

Roses

2011-08-14T17:32:00.000-07:00

I haven't photographed the roses as much this year as last year. I haven't cut as many and brought them into the house either. I guess it's just another example of how when you see beauty over and over again you become desensitized to it. That being said, I did go out in very early morning light to photograph these beauties so I guess I am still seeing it. I liked the way the tight bud looked against the full bloom in the background.

Kitty

2011-08-14T08:30:00.000-07:00

When I came home from some errands I was lazy and just dropped my shopping bag and my hoodie on the kitchen counter. When I came back a few minutes later, someone had turned my hoodie into a bed for napping.

Cocktail at Ocho

2011-08-13T17:24:00.000-07:00

We had a few drinks and tapas at the delicious Ocho where all the outdoor chairs are dangerously wobbly. But when it came time to really eat we headed across the street to La Isla for to-die-for Caribbean food.

Heidi

2011-08-13T17:21:00.000-07:00

This is the first time I have ever met a long-time friend of Michelle, Heidi. She is up from L.A. visiting. She was kind enough to completely ignore me as I photographed her perusing the cocktail menu at Ocho. It was like I had been photographing her for years and she knew not to change what she was doing just because I brought up a camera a foot or so from her face across a very small table. I love the results and wish I could get everyone to be this comfortable in front of my camera.

Blue

2011-08-13T17:18:00.001-07:00

Out with T&M and M's friend Heidi tonight. We wandered the neighborhood in search of drinks or food with less than a 2 hour wait. On the way, I made M stop in front of a newly painted cinder block wall to have her portrait taken. It came out just the way I saw it in my mind, except that I wish I had my stool to stand on so that I was just a bit taller.

Dishes for One

2011-08-13T17:15:00.001-07:00

I always find the dishes extraordinarily beautiful when J is out of town and I photograph them very often. The look so clean, simple, uncluttered. It's how I wish my kitchen looked and felt every day. But, I'd rather have a messy kitchen and J home 99% of the time.

Lick

2011-08-09T18:08:00.000-07:00

Technically, this photograph is terrible. But I couldn't resist it, can you? He's a good kitty.

Checkered

2011-08-08T18:05:00.000-07:00

A classic red and white checkered tablecloth. Nothing says summer more than that! Eating outdoors two nights in a row is a record since we moved to Seattle. This was either my Grandmother's or my Great-Grandmother's tablecloth, either way making it really really old. This is the first time I've ever used it after bring it and a yellow one home from my mom's house in April. J and I had a date night tonight, eating outdoors, checkered tablecloth, a candle, some wine and no doubt some good food but I can't remember what it was. We actually talked, late into the evening, until the light began to fade. It was really wonderful but I can barely remember what we spoke about now. I should post these journal entries fresh when I can still remember things. At least the pictures always evoke the feelings of a time and place, even if I can't recall the exact details.

An Evening

2011-08-07T17:44:00.000-07:00

I loved all these photographs together so I thought they should be posted that way. Apparently I was seeing a lot of color this evening. There was definitely some magic light going on. Cocktails, steaks, magic light, eating outdoors...that's a pretty great evening. I loved how the still life of the cocktail ingredients had all the colors, red, yellow, blue, green and yellow. The steaks, well, they're filet mignon. Of course. We always have filet mignon at our dinners. Actually, they were mislabeled at the grocery store as cheap pork and we got a really good deal. The cashier noticed the error and honored the price anyways so it's not exactly like we stole them. I still feel a little guilty about it though. There's a bendy self-portrait in the door knob, and finally my chives in the garden. My herb garden is full of green.

Trivial Pursuit

2011-08-06T17:33:00.000-07:00

We've only played the game once or twice since we came back from Hawaii and I found this version at the Value Village for $1.99 with all the pieces and even the instructions. I think, lifetime, this has to be my all-time favorite game. We used to play it even when I was a kid and couldn't hope to know very many of the answers. I can't remember if my parents had any "house rules" or not. We have one. You can get up to three questions asked on a turn if the question/answer combo is something so irrelevant now that no one under the age of 55 would know it. It's not for simple guessing questions like "How many wings does a fly have?" or anything like "Which countries were our allies during WWII?". It's for questions like, "Who is Howdy Doody's brother?" (it's Double Doody). Of course it's a bit subjective but when you turn the card over and it says something like "Mitchell Brown" (DUH) it's a safe bet that you weren't supposed to know it. We've been having fun playing, as long as we don't do it too often. The wine helps too. Tonight I won two games in a row. The first one was a record short 1 hour.

Tomatoes

2011-08-05T17:19:00.000-07:00

Our first of the small "cherry" type tomatoes are ripening. I read somewhere that you should pick them a bit early and let them ripen all the way at room temperature indoors. This one though is bright bright red and was ready to be eaten, which it was, seconds after this photograph was taken. It was so delicious. It's been kind of hard to savor (or be impressed) by our home grown veggies this year when they come in one or two at a time. I mean, one strawberry just doesn't really satisfy a craving. So I am hoping that the tomatoes will eventually be ready to harvest a number of them at the same time and say, put them in a salad.

Bonus points if you can spot my scar, my favorite scar I should say.

Today's Harvest

2011-07-27T19:27:00.000-07:00

Seven sugar snap peas. I think that might just about do it for my peas this year. Very tasty though. Next year I am planting 7 times as many peas and building them a very tall trellis.

Raindrops on Roses

2011-07-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

The roses were so beautiful this morning after a very light rain fell that I had just had to photograph them. I stood on a ladder shooting for nearly an hour, mesmerized by the water droplets.

Secret Bunny

2011-07-25T19:03:00.000-07:00

I've been exploring Discovery Park lately and there are all kinds of secret bunnies there. This one was clever enough to hide under the bench in the rain.

Model

2011-07-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

I have a shoot tomorrow photographing two grown women for their headshots (don't ask, it was a favor for a friend). Since I haven't done anything like that in forever I made J come out and model for me. We walked around getting rained on while I looked for scenic parts of the neighborhood to use for backdrops. At the end, we returned home and I noticed that there was particularly lovely soft diffuse light in our carport of all places. I made J pose and I put the back wall out of focus and I think it really looks like a soft daylight studio shot. I can make a studio out of my carport! This was a revelation. Also a good reminder that I really know what I'm doing. I can take a good portrait almost anywhere.

West Tiger 3

2011-07-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

Another weekend hike, this time up West Tiger 3 which is probably the closest real hike to the city of Seattle. People go there because it's close and steep...but it's not particularly scenic. These first two photos make it look a lot better than it is. It is pretty much up for 3 miles to reach the unspectacular summit (bottom photo) and then 3 miles down. I don't think I'd feel the need to do it again unless I was training for something. Otherwise I'd rather drive a little further for a really great hike.

Cherries

2011-07-16T16:35:00.000-07:00

Our cherries are finally ripening and today I climbed the tree (which was not easy or particularly safe) and we were able to pick about 4 pounds. We made a small amount into cherry cobbler and froze the rest for now.

We also made lasagna from scratch and watched Harry Potter.

Veggie Harvest

2011-07-15T15:52:00.002-07:00

This time, a vegetable harvest! 6 carrots, 3 sugar snap peas, and one unripe tomato that broke off of the plant. This highlighted for me the difficulty of actually growing enough food to feed people. I would have to plant 10 times more just to feed the two of us. I also learned that carrots are difficult to harvest all the way to the ends. They really want to stay in the dirt and they break off and make me go fishing for the end with my bare hands in the earth.

Rainbow

2011-07-13T15:36:00.000-07:00

Today I separated an egg yolk from the white for the very first time, I made my own homemade mayonnaise for the very first time, I turned half of that mayonnaise into an aioli for the very first time, and made a tuna-artichoke-caper-aioli topping for our bruschetta (amazing!). After dinner I had a craving for chocolate ice cream so we walked to Walter's, or should I say we were led to Walter's by the most amazing rainbow! It's very silly to get excited about a rainbow but they really do make me happier, especially when they come without any rain like this one did.

Harvest

2011-07-12T15:30:00.000-07:00

So far, the strawberry harvest has been at a rate of one every couple of days. But they are getting bigger and better tasting than the first one. And the plants are sending out runners in all directions. What am I supposed to do with all those runners? Can you cut them and plant them elsewhere? These are things I do not know.

Morning Glories

2011-07-10T15:26:00.000-07:00

We came home from our hike to find these Morning Glories blooming for the very first time. Last year, I had some old Morning Glory seeds from the $1 bin at Target and I planted them around our carport since it would be a good place for plants to vine. Nothing happened and I forgot about them. Today, when I saw these....are they the ones I planted or were they there before we moved in? Is it possible I just didn't see them last year? Anyways, I am claiming them as mine and very pleased to see them.

Wallace Falls

2011-07-10T15:09:00.000-07:00

If you know me and J at all, you'll know we were dying to push on to the Upper Falls because 1) we are not the kind of people who will bow out of something early for any reason and 2) we were promised it was the most lonely! Since we are new to hiking in Washington State, we are still translating guide book vocabulary into meaningful knowledge. Like, what does "crowded" mean? And what does "Casual hikers need not apply." mean? Anyways, we hiked to the top (it was harder than the previous sections but totally fine, in fact we shared the top with children and grandmas) but found it...get this...extremely crowded!?! The hell?! I was promised a lonely waterfall because people are too lazy to hike to the top!!! Anyways, aside from that, we found a free rock/log to sit on to eat our picnic without a view and waited for people to thin out so we could go take a look. Please note the frickin' waterfall rainbow in the lower left corner! Overall, it was a great great hike that almost any fit person could just jump in and do without too much trouble.

Wallace Falls

2011-07-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

They are cleverly named Lower Falls, Middle Falls, and Upper Falls and the guidebooks promise something like "Lower Falls is the most scenic, Middle Falls is the most spectacular, and Upper Falls the most lonely. The first three images here are from Lower Falls. You get a very nice view of where you're headed (the huge waterfall in the distance) but you have to duck down an unmarked but legal path staircase to see the true Lower Falls which is ridiculous...splashing into a beautiful blue green pool. Since people are lazy and no one took the extra 25 feet of stairway down, we had it all to ourselves. The last image is from Middle Falls so I guess they think that's the most spectacular of the views.

Wallace Falls

2011-07-10T14:58:00.000-07:00

J and I have been going hiking lately. A weekend, get up early morning, and head out about an hour drive from Seattle (in any direction, really) to go be (not alone) in nature. This weekend I picked Wallace Falls which is up north and east a bit. It was one of those hikes that's like seriously crazy-talk awesome. Everything was beautiful, the trail was great and not too hard, and it was just like, "Um, yeah, this is good." It starts out following a nice little rushing river, which is the only noise you can really hear. Then it gets steeper and moves on to the waterfalls that have made it so popular. There are really 9 waterfalls over a half mile of river but from the point of view of the hike, there are three major ones that are your destinations.

Happy Birthday

2011-07-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

Happy 34th Birthday to Mr. Grumblehog. He keeps getting better looking with age. It's a work day so he came home, put on his apron, sat for his portrait session, and is now making me pizza. We will go out an celebrate tomorrow night.

Sunset Hill

2011-06-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

We've been trying to take more evening wallks up to the park where we can see the sunset. Summer means we can have dinner and a couple of glasses of wine, and still lazily decide to walk up there. I like to stay until we can actually see the ball of the sun slip below the mountains.

Sleepy

2011-06-22T10:35:00.000-07:00

The old man kitty has taken to sleeping all day on the couch in this spot on the end, and all night sleeping in our bed. Is it a sign that he's getting a bit older and slowing down? Or is it normal cat sleepiness? He makes himself very comfortable.

Ansco

2011-06-21T10:34:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago as we walked to the farmer's market, I stopped at a tiny yardsale and bought another vintage camera for a new look at TTV. It was an Ansco and it cost $4. Today I tried it out and from this first look I think I'm smitten! I love the shape of the glass, the grit, the frame, and how lovely it looks. Here's the front yard rose bush that I pruned a few days ago.

Selfie II

2011-06-20T10:31:00.002-07:00

Tonight I had to go to a cocktail party that I've been dreading for weeks. When I found out J was going to be away and would therefore not accompany me, I began to dread it even more. But, I pulled myself together, borrowed a cocktail dress from a friend (the absolute best thing to do because you a) don't spend any money b) don't have to store it in your house c) get a whole closet of dresses to choose from and d) get to wear something you wouldn't necessarily pick out for yourself), flat ironed my hair and got all dressed up. I wish you could see my shoes because they were perfect and they made me feel smokin' hot. Tonight was also pretty much the public debut of my tattoo since the combination of cold weather and conservative situations means it hasn't been on display much. I went to the party and actually had a lovely time.

p.s. Check out my lazy cats on the couch!
p.p.s. Constrast to yesterday.

Selfie

2011-06-19T10:27:00.000-07:00

So here I am in my housewife costume - no makeup (hardly ever) and a headscarf because I gave my hair a homemade hot oil treatment. I went out and pruned the rose bushes aggressively today which gave me an immense amount of pleasure. If I could get a job just pruning things I think I would be very content. Also today, I found a new use for two old milk bottles from the farm; they are now storing oils in the pantry. It also makes me very happy to have simple little triumphs like that during the day.

Tomatoes!

2011-06-18T10:21:00.000-07:00

We have tomatoes! This is so exciting.

Dinner for One

2011-06-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

J left town last night. For 6 nights I will be alone and I don't really like it. I like the first night, a little bit, and I like that things stay uber clean. But I miss him and 6 nights is far too many.

Strawberry Harvest

2011-06-16T10:20:00.000-07:00

Our first! (Well, a critter got our first and maybe our second.) I was very excited to pick it even though it was so tiny. It was not very tasty though so apparently our strawberry plants will be just for looks, not for food. I do love getting my hands dirty though.

Scouting

2011-06-15T16:23:00.000-07:00

I had to go out scouting around Seattle today. I am always on the lookout for new places I can shoot. Unfortunately I didn't find any today. But I learned about two new areas and a museum I didn't know about before.

Garden Inspiration

2011-06-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

I went to a colleague's house today and her yard/garden are totally inspiring. I took photos just so someday I can reference them when I finally get to make my own garden. First, it's filled with bird feeders and nesting boxes of all kinds. And they look nice, not junky like mine. Then, they've used most of their available space to put in gorgeous, neat, organized raised beds for vegetables. You can see them here, planted, though nothing is coming up yet. One has a trellis for climbers. On the side of the house (not photographed for some reason!?!) they are growing huge crops of potatoes in galvanized garbage cans. Awesome! They are even keeping bees in the backyard for honey. (See bottom photograph) I will trade the bees for chickens when I get my own yard but I love their raised beds. I will need to find someone to build them for me.

Pea Vines

2011-06-14T16:19:00.000-07:00

This is my first time growing peas and was my first time building a trellis. I came home very pleased to see that the first flower is on this plant. It is climbing like crazy and I am amazed at how the little tendrils grab onto the twine so vigorously. It's a fascinating little plant! Only 2 shoots out of 6 grew so I don't expect much in the way of a harvest but we'll see.

On the Ferry Home

2011-06-13T16:13:00.001-07:00

Three nights of camping and outdoor living, and he is still willing to let me take his portrait. Very nice of him. I take so many portraits of him that in some ways this is really more a journal of him than me. He didn't have a good time this weekend while we were camping.

Pizza FAIL

2011-06-12T16:11:00.003-07:00

I had a brilliant idea that we should attempt to cook pizza on this camping trip. We are really good at cooking it at home and the simple ingredients lend themselves to easy camping packing. Unfortunately, camping pizza was an epic FAIL. The cheese on top refused to melt despite sitting on a hot fire. I even tried to melt it by waving a large hot coal over top of it. I suggested we just let it sit there until it decided to melt (because it seemed inevitable) but J thought the bottom was burning and we should take it off. As you can see, it didn't work. Michelle and J sampled some of the pizza carnage but no one really had pizza for dinner. Instead, I had three smores for dinner.

It was a good idea in theory, but we didn't have some essential skill needed to make it work. I am not sure if we will try this again or not. But I enjoyed shouting out "Pizza FAIL" while we tried to cook it.

Earlier in the day, I went on a very lovely long bike ride and then on a very nice long walk with J.

Fire

2011-06-12T16:05:00.000-07:00

I love building and tending to fires. It's one of the only reasons I go camping. Tonight we had a very specific kind of fire that we needed to cook our dinner on...as you'll see in the next post. Unfortunately though, I don't think the fire really had anything to do with the disastrous results.

Target

2011-06-11T16:04:00.000-07:00

The second day of camping and we got some decent weather. Michelle went off on a long bike ride so J and I toured around the campground on our bikes. The campground is built on the site of an old WWI fort that's been long abandoned. This is the site of an old shooting range.

Tarp Thing

2011-06-10T22:04:00.000-07:00

Some terrible phone pictures of J's tarp thing...but at least they prove that he did it! Note the artsy/designey stick holding up one corner.

Man Chore

2011-06-10T16:29:00.000-07:00

When we arrived at the campground, we realized that M had neglected to bring their special food-table-tent that shelters our food and stuff from the inevitable rain. So J swore to us that he could "rig something up" using a tarp, some rope, a stick, and some nearby trees. I have to confess I thought this plan would go nowhere, other than maybe him hitting himself in the head with the stick and us needing to go to the emergency room. I have to say though, he made a very impressive modern designey tarp to cover our table...thus ensuring a rain-free weekend. I was impressed!

Last Car on the Ferry

2011-06-10T16:24:00.000-07:00

By the way, I was the very last car that they let on the ferry, as in 6 feet away from waiting another hour+ for the next ferry while Michelle drove off into the sunset without us (well, that part's probably unlikely). Still, it would have super sucked to have Michelle make the ferry and then for us to miss it by one car. Apparently the lane "assignments" are all totally random and you should always always stick together. As I drove on, the ferry dude was like "Nice job."

Ferry

2011-06-10T16:21:00.000-07:00

We are on the ferry headed out camping for the weekend. It's very chilly and we are all wearing our hoodies and looking somewhat miffed about the June weather. I really like the photograph I took of Michelle though. I took J's and then he took me and me and Michelle.

Ladybug

2011-06-09T16:19:00.000-07:00

Another one of those days where this is apparently the only thing I shot. I had a surprisingly good checkup at the dentist today. Aside from the dire warnings about needing to wear a night guard immediately or I won't have any teeth left when I am 50. Is there something wrong with me that I just can't believe that I actually grind my teeth at night? I think that dentists just need to have some sort of product they can sell to grownups who've already had their teeth straightened. Out in the parking lot, I saw the first ladybug of the year on my car.

Bunting

2011-06-08T16:18:00.000-07:00

The bunting is back! Now in faded, more compact form. Over the winter, my elaborate, very long, three-windowed, scalloped bunting blew up into the gutters to stay there getting soaked and covered with leaves and debris. I finally fished it out of the gutter, cut it by 1/3 and hung it only from the main window using suction cups. Less sophisticated, but should be less likely to end up in the gutters. Hopefully no bird deaths this year! p.s. window status = filthy

Garden Report

2011-06-07T16:17:00.000-07:00

I took several shots of the garden today so that I could compare its progress over time. Dill, lemon verbena, and strawberries growing madly, we even have one ripe berry (later eaten by some creature) and one shoot to make a new strawberry plant. Chives and parsley ok. Tomatoes all growing well, though the farmer's market plants are towering over the store bought ones. Two pea vines (out of 6) are climbing the trellis, at the 7th and 1st rungs respectively. I can actually see signs of carrots but that's probably not good since they should be underground!? And I will have no idea when to harvest them?!

Pink

2011-06-07T16:12:00.000-07:00

I snapped this shot snapped while walking between the front yard veggie garden and the back yard herb garden. It looks like a starfish to me, like a sea creature.

Selfie

2011-06-06T16:06:00.005-07:00

This is probably the least photoshopped selfie I have ever posted but I am kind of ok with it. This afternoon as I was getting ready, I liked how blue my eyes were and I decided spontaneously to go lay on the couch in a sunny spot and take my own photograph. I had the 50mm on and was too lazy to change it.

Editor's note: much older, wiser?, and with much longer hair than four years ago today. This ability to see my life over time is one of the things I love most about the photo a day project.

Bowl

2011-06-05T16:05:00.000-07:00

Apparently the strawberries were good.

Golden Gardens

2011-06-04T09:59:00.001-07:00

Since it's the nicest day of the year by far, our closest big beach (Golden Gardens) was absolutely packed. I have never seen it this crowded before. The people of Seattle are completely sun starved. After the worst winter and the worst spring so far (in my 4 years here), people are just clamoring for any bit of sunshine. I bet if a little spot the size of a manhole appeared on the pavement, someone would run to get in it.

If you look closely at this photograph you can see at least 5 people on their cell phones, 3 kites, a frisbee, and a volleyball in the air, a boy eating a popsicle, a boy digging a hole, a baby in a backpack, a girl being pushed into the water by her friends, a woman adjusting her bikini, and the most enormous pregnant woman I've ever seen. It's like a Where's Waldo without a Waldo!

Beach Walk

2011-06-04T09:56:00.000-07:00

Today, J and I took advantage of the weather and a particularly low tide (-2ft) to do something I have always wanted to do but haven't known how to attempt. Two local beaches are about 10 minutes drive apart but aren't usually linked because the water comes all the way up to the rocks and train tracks. But at super low tides, a wet beach appears and lets you walk from one to the other on what is normally under water. So cool! I have always wanted to do it and it was a great day for it. We took the bus up to Carkeek Park, hiked along the beach, picnicked on the beach, and we went from the least crowded so that after our long walk, we turned a corner and stumbled upon the following scene at Golden Gardens....

M

2011-06-03T16:04:00.000-07:00

She came over tonight for pizza (Pizza Fridays) and a cheesey movie and we provided on both accounts, watching Thor, which was terrible. I made her try an olive, which she hates, because we have a really yummy kind and she and T have made me try about 100 things I didn't want to try so one olive seemed fair enough.

Rose

2011-06-01T16:00:00.000-07:00

They're later this year because of the sucky weather but they are still just as pretty.

Standoff

2011-05-31T09:06:00.000-07:00

We stayed home and did nothing for Memorial Day this year, thinking something low key without the travel and traffic would be good. I don't want to ever do that again! The long weekend just didn't feel special and after it was over I didn't feel like I had had any sort of fun long weekend. I will just have to be more creative about Memorial Day planning from now on.

Only Shot Today

2011-05-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

Focus

2011-05-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

Tonight I re-learned that it's impossible to take well-composed, artistic, in focus pictures of J while he plays the guitar and sings. So this is the look you get when you say "Stop for a second and look at me." He's been picking up the guitar a lot again lately and we like singing together (most of the time). It's been fun.

Happy Little Cloud

2011-05-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

We've been watching a lot of Bob Ross' "The Joy of Painting" on public television lately. Today, when I saw the light hitting just this cloud, just right, I knew he would say it was a happy little cloud. I wish that these wires weren't my view from my front window but they are.

Cool Cats

2011-05-27T19:20:00.002-07:00

We spotted these guys while on our neighborhood walk today. I got a sudden desire to yarn-bomb them in the night some time!

Clothesline

2011-05-27T19:18:00.001-07:00

Not being used today.

Drunken SP

2011-05-26T19:13:00.002-07:00

I had a beautiful landscape today of light spilling through a lush green forest onto some ferns. But when I downloaded the pictures from my card, there were also four self-portraits that I didn't even remember taking! I was so surprised to see myself there. Once I thought about it, I do remember doing these in the ladies restroom of a bar (vaguely). I like whatever that animal shape is on the glass that's going through my eye. I also tried flipping it back (so the Nikon would read correctly) but I didn't look right to myself so I left it this way. Perhaps this is because I always see myself in mirrors and think "this is how I look"?! In the end, it wasn't much contest between this and some lighted up old ferns in the forest.

Hot Pink Post

2011-05-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

This bush (is this a rhododendron?) is impossibly hot pink this year and today after some lovely rain I just couldn't resist photographing it. These are absolutely straight out of camera, not one thing touched in the slightest.

Ridiculous

2011-05-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

Cutest. Cat. Ever.

Happy

2011-05-23T08:55:00.000-07:00

He will swear that this was just another phone call and that he wasn't particularly happy or excited about it. But I know his face. This is a happy face. It's a good day today and very hopeful for the future.

100

2011-05-22T08:53:00.000-07:00

Today my Aunt Lelia celebrated her 100th birthday which was on May 19th. I really wish I could have been there to celebrate with her but I wasn't. My mom took these pictures and shared them with me and I felt this was a special enough occasion to use them in my journal even though I didn't click the shutter. There just aren't that many recent photographs that we have of her and a 100th Birthday is such a special occasion. I want to be able to have these portraits in my journal forever to look back on. She wrote me a lovely letter to thank me for sending cards, flowers, and balloons for her birthday. I love her very much and which I could see her more often.

Garden Report

2011-05-21T08:50:00.001-07:00

Today I put in the vegetable garden in the fron yard. It's very small but it's what I felt I could manage this year without getting my heart broken. I have four tomato plants (two from Lowe's, two from the Farmer's Market). I planted 6 seedlings for sugar snap peas, and I've never grown peas or anything that requires a trellis before so I built this slightly ghetto trellis (I added more twine later). The last box contains carrots, something I have also not grown before. I feel a little like I am cheating with the carrots since I bought plant starts of a mini variety that doesn't need much depth. For all I know there are carrots in the right now and nothing I do will change whether they grow or not. The "underground" plants are fun to grow because they are such a mystery. Are they in there? Are they doing well? Who knows?!

Naptime

2011-05-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

All three of my boys were sleepy today. (Fergus is at the other end of the couch.)

The Green Sofa

2011-05-20T09:50:00.000-07:00

The orange sofa (which has been "the orange sofa" for my entire life) is now the green sofa. The 30+ year old fabric had held up surprisingly well but the foam and everything inside was desintigrating and it becoming dangerous to sit on. Now it has a whole new lease on life. I learned from the upholsterer, who took it down to the frame, that it was in fact handmade, not manufactured and is therefore probably even older than we thought. I love the new look and think it does justice to the original.

The Green Sofa

2011-05-20T08:44:00.002-07:00

It's very exciting to announce that the orange sofa (which has been "the orange sofa" for my entire life) is now the green sofa. The 30+ year old fabric had held up surprisingly well but the foam and everything inside was desintigrating and it becoming dangerous to sit on. Now it has a whole new lease on life and perhaps someday my kids will be recovering it to some godawful new fabric. I learned from the upholsterer, who took it down to the frame, that it was in fact handmade, not manufactured and is therefore probably even older than we thought. Of course, I am now going to cover it in plastic and not let anyone sit on it.

1500

2011-05-19T08:41:00.001-07:00

You probably haven't been counting, but I have, and this is my 1500th photo-of-the-day. I can hardly believe that I've made it to this milestone. I still remember the day (dreary, November 29th, 2006) that I started this project. I had no way of knowing how it would change my life. In other news, today is the birthday of my mother and my great Aunt, who is actually turning 100 years old today.

Mystery Photos!

2011-05-18T20:18:00.002-07:00

This is one of my favorite things and unfortunately in this day and age it doesn't happen very often any more: Mystery Photos! It used to happen when you'd take a long lost roll of film in to be developed and then you'd get to be surprised by what photos came back because you had forgotten taking them so many moons ago. I was trying to get some Hawaii images off of Michelle's point and shoot this week and I found these photos from last summer that I don't remember seeing (although, with me it's possible that I don't remember seeing them and they are in fact already on this blog or Michelle's blog). But anyways, it was great fun to see this little series from a fun night so long ago.

Abstract

2011-05-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

An abstract of some concrete at the Sculpture Garden. This is about 20 feet up, looking straight down on the entrance to the parking garage.

Rad Self-Portrait

2011-05-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

If I do say so myself... This is often how I entertain myself when people are late meeting me. The Sculpture Garden has really cool bathrooms with really cool light. Plus, I think I was having a good hair day today.

Syttende Mai

2011-05-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

Our neighborhood is still an old Norwegian fishing village at heart (which is one of the reasons I love living here) so it's only natural that thousands would turn out on a Tuesday night to watch a two-hour-long hometown Syttende Mai parade! (The 17th of May, celebrating Norwegian Constitution Day) There were marching bands, and 100s of kids on unicycles (who knew that was a craze?), dogs and children dressed up. It was fantastic! Michelle and I sat on a sunny corner and took in the spectacle. Next year we will stake out our seats along the main parade route in the morning like so many families do.

Cheeky Squirrel

2011-05-16T08:29:00.000-07:00

He's very crafty this little bugger. When he wants to he can curl up sideways on the lip of the feeder and eat while reclining. Here he is holding on to the branch with his back feet!

Basket

2011-05-15T08:26:00.000-07:00

We went to the Farmer's Market today for the first time in a long time. It's very expensive so we have to be very careful about picking exactly which things are the right combination of price and importance. In an ideal world...blah blah blah...we'd all have organic locally grown foods, in glass and metal containers, that are also at a comparable price to what we can buy in the store. But, for now, budget and packaging still have to factor into each and every grocery purchase. I enjoyed carrying around my purchases in my market basket though. We also found a pottery maker that we adored so we may be picking and choosing a few of his items for our home someday.

Shifty

2011-05-13T08:23:00.000-07:00

Shifty went to the spa today to get the necessary treatment to get her from "stored in the shed all winter" to "ride-able for the summer". She got new tires, new cables and housings, new brake pads, and a new bottom bracket that will hopefully make her not-quite-so-"shifty". Looking forward to getting back out there.

The Shit You Can't Make Up

2011-05-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

See, yeah, this is the shit you just can't make up about Hawaii. This is almost exactly straight out of camera. It really really did look like that. Insane, right? It's pretty much my favorite color, in liquid form, that you just want to dive right into. (except for the huge scary wave). The second morning, we were briefly blessed with some quite frankly AMAZING sunshine. We went to explore the beaches between our place in Hanalei and where the road ends at Ke'e beach. It was lovely to walk here (Tunnels Beach) but you can see why I didn't get to go snorkeling just yet.

Rainbow

2011-05-03T17:17:00.000-07:00

At least a rainbow came out to make us feel better. We returned to our cool little rental guest house and cooked ourselves some dinner and went to bed. It rained all night and with all the windows open and the tropical birds chirping...it seriously sounded a real live jungle rainforest nature sounds tape!

Cover

2011-05-03T17:07:00.000-07:00

Here's J taking cover under some trees on the beach. Note the rain on his t-shirt. Note the now-obscured view on the beach.

Rain!

2011-05-03T17:04:00.002-07:00

Yes, that's rain. You try getting a good picture of it while trying not to soak your camera with the fancy lens you borrowed from a friend. Out of nowhere a huge downpour began and we had to run off the beach to take cover under some trees. We were laughing and it was all great fun...ah, the first hours of vacation when even a freak rainstorm can seem all part of the adventure!

Hanalei II

2011-05-03T16:58:00.001-07:00

Until...the weather started to change. It was still looking pretty nice and all "Ah, Hawaii!" like here...until...

Hanalei, HI

2011-05-03T16:57:00.002-07:00

After a long day of traveling, we finally arrived in the lovely little town of Hanalei on the north shore of Kauai. If I had known the weather that we were about to have, I would have sped from the airport, directly to Ke'e beach and jumped in the water to go snorkling asap. We were tired though so we settled for a walk along this beach until...

Vacation J

2011-05-03T16:51:00.002-07:00

We are off today for a much-anticipated vacation to Kauai. It coincides with our 5 year wedding anniversary (How could it possibly be 5 years?) but it was mostly because our winter was so wet and terrible that if I didn't get a sunny beach vacation soon it was going to get very ugly (more on that later). Plane windows and their lovely window light always do really nice things for J's eyes so I grabbed a quick snap of him wearing my vacation cowboy hat before we took off. This was a very long day of traveling.

For the moment I am just going to skip blogging the month of April and try to get caught up through our vacation.

Ballard Docks

2011-05-01T11:11:00.000-07:00

We went on a walk around our neighborhood tonight and took a new "backway" to Market St. through the old fishing docks. Armed with nothing but my phone, I created this diptych which I think is pretty cool.

Herb garden

2011-04-30T11:10:00.001-07:00

My big accomplishment of the weekend was to plant this herb garden. The rosemary bush is obviously well established but I had to cut it back like an enormous bonsai tree to allow sunlight to reach the new plants. I've spent this week out in the garden building up that brick wall to make a raised bed. I cleaned, carried, and placed the top two rows of bricks. Then we went to the store and got 12 bags of soil and all these little herb plants! I filled in the bed with the soil and planted the herbs. I hope that at least something lives so I don't lose heart all together.

Morning

2011-04-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday it was evening light that drew me outside. Today it was early morning light. I slipped outside in my pjs to photograph our cherry tree.

Cherry Blossoms

2011-04-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

The cherry tree bloomed so much later this year because of all the cold. But this evening, the light looked so pretty.

Quilt

2011-04-27T11:02:00.000-07:00

I brought home a new (to me) old quilt that my Grandmother made. I loved the hot pink color. It smells a little bit like old quilt though so I hung it out on the line in the sun. What's notable about this is that it's the first day I've been able to hang anything on the line! Of course, I had to run out and rescue it later in the day from a rainstorm.

Detroit to Seattle

2011-04-26T11:00:00.000-07:00

Detroit Airport, my favorite connecting airport, flying Frontier for the first time. Up in the sky somewhere. Seattle airport, waiting to be picked up, I photographed this structure for all the lines.

Washington, DC

2011-04-26T10:30:00.000-07:00

Just after take-off. I am headed home.