Quantcast
Channel: Blah Blah Blog
Viewing all 7433 articles
Browse latest View live

Cleaning up

$
0
0
I took the long way to the pool this morning because there was a loose dog chasing my car as I drove away from the house and I didn't want it following me to the very busy street I normally turn onto. I was really early anyway, so it didn't matter that I went around the huge greenbelt South of the park. My new nemesis was there, of course. She wears a flotation vest thing and does laps all the way around the deep end. I like to claim a corner, but I'm in her way if I do that, so I've been in the center of the pool a lot lately. Between her and the guy going back and forth mostly swimming backwards next to me, there's a lot to watch out for.

I decided recently that it's time for more tattoos, and that returning to my old shop in Seattle was out of the question. I don't like going down there. Between traffic and parking, and how much the neighborhood's changed, I'd just as soon get a fresh start. Plus I looked, and my old artist isn't even listed as being at that shop any more. And I couldn't easily find where he might be, which is weird in the age of Facebook.

I mentioned in a Facebook post that I was starting my research about local shops, and one of my oldest Seattle-area friends replied yesterday that she and her husband would be up here, today, at a shop owned by someone she's known even longer than we've known each other. So I got to see her, meet her husband, talk to the artist, and make an appointment! It's a testament to someone's talent when they're booked out really far, so while it annoys me that I have to wait until October 7th for my session, it's ultimately a good thing. I showed him my arms, described what I'd like to do to fill them up, and agreed to let him work freehand instead of trying to pre-draw everything and transfer it on. I'd like to do three hours a month for a while, though this will put a dent in my swimming. You're supposed to wait two weeks, and if I heal well enough for that, I'd only be able to swim half as much. That's fine, I stayed away for a while when I colored my hair, too.

Once I got back I decided to finally clean the cat poop out of the wheels of the Roomba. That was gross. They're not sparkling or anything, but I'd rather not try to take it any further apart to try to soak the wheels or something like that. Tomorrow I'll try putting it all back together and we'll find out if I destroyed the unit that houses the fan by getting it wet.

I was about to take a shower when I saw the mail carrier drive up, and I knew my new air plant order was on the truck. Those have had their bath.

New plants arrived today

njbearcub1 told me MTV Classic was doing a marathon of The Real World season 2 and I'm watching those now, and just finished the infamous "blanket snatch" episode. This really takes me back. I was so transfixed by that show back in the day and even filled out an application for season 3. I'm so glad nothing came of that. Well, nothing other than an interview for a local paper somewhere after I replied to a reporter's Usenet post. Haha, the house is so ugly and so are all the clothes. The '90s were really cruel.

Zzz

$
0
0
I've got a message in to my sleep specialist because the CPAP has been a bit of an overachiever the last few nights. Several times a night, the pressure goes way up, I don't breathe enough to keep up, it gets loud, and it wakes me up. Then I can't get back to sleep unless I turn it off and start over. That happened four or five times last night and I finally gave about an hour before my normal 4am alarm. Quit being so aggressive, CPAP! There's not a setting I can change myself, either. The pressure is automatic to the level that the doctor chooses; I can control hose temperature and humidity. I got an early start to my day, and an early start to my walk.



A friend I haven't walked with yet asked if she could join sometime, and we eventually worked out that I'd show her how to get to Pigeon Creek Beach, which she's never been to. I've only been there once, and figured it would be cool to finally go back. The parking is almost a mile from the beach itself, which is inconvenient if you just want to go to the beach, but not quite far enough if you want to do a long walk. I plotted the course from the neighborhood park, and it was a nice length for what I'd like, but a bit far for a walk with someone whose endurance I haven't seen yet. So I picked a waterfront restaurant for us to meet at, from which the trip out and back would be about 4.5 miles. There's always the option to add more on the waterfront, if desired.

I'm glad I have a new policy of always bringing my mp3 player even if I'm meeting someone in case they cancel, because she canceled due to lack of sleep. Guess it's going around. I briefly thought about driving over to Japanese Gulch instead, but figured I may as well just do the walk I set out to do. I was surprised to see as many people as I did who were sleeping on the sidewalk, and it was the second time I got to the beach and found someone sleeping there. Nothing happened, but it was a bit creepy, especially when I came down a ramp and would have had to step over a couple of guys if there wasn't an option to double back and use the stairs instead. The port was visually interesting, as always.

20160823_054335
20160823_054832
20160823_055649



Between there and the marina, I got three more selfies for the contest.

20160823_052044
20160823_054720
20160823_055943

The tide has actually been in the news lately, because low tides and the hot weather we're having have been creating a foul stench that's blanketing the entire North end of town. It wasn't even that warm this morning, but I could sure smell it.

20160823_060625
20160823_061151

The beach is divided by several streams of water where the creek empties into the bay. People have set up these rocks to walk across, but the moss makes them look pretty slippery.

20160823_061252_HDR
20160823_061430

I made my way back to the parking lot and wanted more mileage, so I did a loop at Boxcar Park, where I met these two brave gulls. One of the Everett Snapchat video filters has seagulls, so they got to star in a video with that.

20160823_071726

I was surprised this came out as nice as it did, since it was so bright I couldn't even see my screen.

20160823_072548

Then I shared it on Snapchat, which shows horizontal photos vertically, and like it even better turned 90 degrees.

Snapchat-4012956403249512459

Today"s awesome walk, 6.94 miles in 2:28, 15,753 steps, 291ft gain
6.94 miles in 2:28, 15,753 steps, 291ft gain

I could really use a nap, but I've got a conference call this afternoon. Maybe after that.

xoxo

$
0
0


Got that nap in after all. It was one of those weird naps where your thoughts start breaking out of your control and you see strange things in your mind's eye that aren't as vivid as a real dream. Can't remember any of it, though.

Sam's being super sweet tonight, almost as if he knows how gross the messes he made today were to clean up.

Just like old times

$
0
0
It didn't make much sense to swim today, because we're hitting the road tomorrow and today's the last workout of the week. So I went to the beach and tank farm on the day I used to do it before the swim team started hogging up the pool on Thursdays. The sky was mostly cloudless, so the views were subtle, and the sun came hard and fast.

20160824_060350



The heron (if it's the same one) was shy as ever. I got this photo, but when I tried to switch to video and walk by, he squawked and flew away.

20160824_060654

I love when the water is as colorful as the sky.

20160824_061811

I've seen a lot of stuff on the beach, but by far the weirdest thing I've found was a boat, today. I don't know if it will even float when the tide rolls in, it's pretty trashed.

20160824_062205_HDR

The last bit of shade.

20160824_063524

Today"s awesome walk, 6.18 miles in 2:12, 14,050 steps, 293ft gain
6.18 miles in 2:12, 14,050 steps, 293ft gain

I got tired of the heat and headed up to the main road through the woods. That was really lovely. And I saw that they've started remediating the hillside they cleared for the water main project.

20160824_073155

Further Snapchat research indicates I was wrong about exports. I thought for sure it wouldn't export any story with more than 20 snaps in it, but today I had 21 and it worked, so the error message about not working with more than 20 videos was correct after all. Strangely, some emojis I added on the passing train you'll see in the video didn't make it into the export.



Funnily enough, I happened to be getting ready to watch a movie on the YouTube app on our Blu-Ray player a bit ago and my library popped up, so I watched that video on my TV. It's weird to here one's voice loud on the sound system speakers, but I'll say it sounds better than it does coming from my phone.

Today's the first time I used the Roomba again since the poop incident. As you see at the end of that video, I kept Sam downstairs with me just to be safe. Everything looked and smelled fine when I came back upstairs, but I couldn't find Rhonda! Turns out she managed to get all the way to the far end behind the couch, then wedge herself in.

20160824_102854

Check out how well these green onions are regrowing!

20160824_084903

I was worried that I wouldn't be able to enjoy them because I've been changing the glass and water every couple of days so they don't get slimy, and we're heading out for a few days. oven mentioned in the comments of this photo on Facebook that once hers get slimy, she moves them to soil, and now has a whole planter full of green onions. Turns out one of the slots in my indoor herb garden was empty, so I moved these over. Hope they enjoy it.

Driving for real this time

$
0
0
I can't say how long this went on, but for quite a while, every day, my friend JP would come home with me after school and we'd play Super Mario Kart in battle mode for hours, with the album Star by Belly playing on repeat. Kind of silly since we had a six-CD changer, but it's such a great album. We played the game so much and were so evenly matched, that it was only fun to play with each other, and nobody else stood a chance.

When I heard they were touring and saw that they had Seattle and Portland dates, Portland sounded like more fun. I don't make it down there nearly often enough, and it's a good chance to see the friends who are down there, try some restaurants I haven't been to, and try once again to wrap my mind around the city's layout. I swear, I get so turned around there, it may as well be a forest.

Garrett wasn't interested in the concert, but decided to come along, and we added a couple of nights in wine country leading up to the day of the show. Good food, good wine, and Garrett? Perfect! The hot weather down there right now is really the only thing I'm worried about.

I'm really excited to finally have a chance to see this band with badrobot68. I'm sad to report that wring was supposed to come up from California and join us, but can't now due to an injury. I was really looking forward to seeing her again. At least I was able to buy her tickets to give to a couple of other friends. Here are a few of their singles off Star if you're not familiar.





And I'm happy to report that the tickets say, "General admission, mostly seated." My lower back can't take standing around for hours, even though I can walk for hours. Makes it hard to enjoy things like concerts and museums, so I'm grateful for seating. Pretty much anyone interested in this show should be.

SchadenFriday

CATURDAY

Saturday Night Special

$
0
0
I recently binge-watched all of The Real World season 2, except for the first two episodes, which the DVR didn’t catch for some reason. But that’s fine, that’s the road trip part with only three of them. In 1993 I was a college freshman and sophomore a year before my first internet access, so MTV was a pretty big deal. They even still showed some music once in a while.

It’s so interesting to see how different everything was when people had to do things like share a land line and figure out how to get somewhere using a big paper map.

Anyway, those of you who have seen the season no doubt remember Jon Brennan, the country singer, auditioning for a movie called Slow Burn, which he didn’t get the role in. I found it on YouTube. It was released under the name Saturday Night Special, and Billy Burnette from Fleetwood Mac got that role. His character gets the job as the singer at the bar where the movie takes place with the original singer, played by Allyce Beasley, passes out during her set. She was not credited for this role, and I don’t blame her for not wanting to be listed in the credits.


The haul

$
0
0
20160829_095942

Wine country is fun, but I'm struggling to find the word for the type of fun it is. It's almost a scam. If you like wine, be prepared to spend some money and not drive.

More about the rest of the trip later. We took today off. I went for my normal swim this morning, though I wished once I set out that I did a walk instead. The fog was spoopy and perfect.

20160829_072108
20160829_072117

Trip report

$
0
0
When we told Garrett's parents Bev and Dennis about our road trip, they insisted we borrow the cargo van they recently bought. They wanted one because you can put a small port-a-potty in the back. The main reason they haven't wanted to do any road trips is worrying about finding bathrooms, so they'll just have their own. I'm a little surprised they didn't also get curtains for the windows to go with it, though. So we had breakfast at their place on our way out of town, and here's my obligatory photo of Bella.

Hi Bella



Our first stop was Burgerville in Centralia for lunch, one of Garrett's favorites. It was ok. Normally on car trips to Portland I've gotten a much earlier start and had breakfast in Centralia at Country Cousin, and it was really weird to eat somewhere else. From there we went through Portland and beyond to our final destination, Carlton, with stops at a couple of stores for supplies along the way. Our rental house was really great. Good air conditioning, which was very necessary, and my bed was so perfect, I'm trying to buy one just like it. The reason? After two nights on it, my shoulder that's been sore for two months was almost all the way better. The company that made it isn't making things easy for me. That particular model isn't listed on their website, so I called to find out if they still make it, and if not, what they've replaced it with. A guy took my number and said he'd call back, but it's been more than 24 hours and I haven't heard from him. One bedding chain in the Portland area has it in stock, but they only deliver so far and don't have the option to ship. So I guess I'll try calling again tomorrow. I need this bed.

The house was in a great location, right across the street from Cana's Feast Winery. We had a very nice tasting flight there, though there was a minor setback when a corkscrew broke, which I've never seen happen before. Garrett was taking a drink at the time, and wine shot out of his mouth as he stifled a laugh.

Oops

The winery is stunningly beautiful.

Cana"s Feast Winery
20160825_160213_HDR

We'd had a huge lunch at Burgerville, so a wine and snack dinner while we watched the movie WarGames was perfect.

This works.

Morning coffee on the deck the next morning with a view of the winery was also very nice.

20160826_065431_HDR
20160826_070340

No sense in jumping right into the wine tastings again on day two, so we drove to McMinnville to visit the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. It was super cool to get to see The Spruce Goose in person and even go inside it! Of course I made Garrett pose for his g-wave in the blinding sunlight first.

20160826_092700

20160826_093420


It's pretty neat to see stuff so big that you have to take a video instead of a photo. While we were there, we watched James Cameron's Deepsea Challenge in IMAX 3D. Kind of cool, but also kind of annoying when you realize he's only getting that opportunity because he bought his way in and there are certainly tons of people who are far more qualified to be in his chair.

Once we got back to the house, we walked over to The Carlton Winemakers Studio, which is just down the block. Had an excellent tasting there, including whites this time because it was so hot out. Everything was good, and we have a new inside joke because the woman who helped us said we were obviously "such great friends" when I put the tab for the tastings and two bottles of wine we selected together on my card. From there, we walked about a quarter mile to the Scott Paul winery. Normally it would have been lovely, but in 90-degree weather, it was unpleasant.

So hot out. Better find shelter.

Their wine's good, though. It was tempting to get a case and join their wine club, but we couldn't carry it back with us and they wouldn't be open early enough the next day for us to stop by on our way out of town. They have an annual seafood dinner event that sounds pretty cool. From there, we went to The Horse Radish for an amazing lunch, and of course, more wine.

20160826_134541
This makes up for the hot weather.

After that, I was ready to head back to the house, but Garrett wasn't, so he headed over to Troon. The heat was so brutal and I was glad I stopped when I did, and I could tell Garrett was even more miserable upon his arrival than I was upon mine. But we cooled down quickly and had a fun evening of box wine, frozen pizza with salad, and a true American classic, Showgirls.

After breakfast and showers the next morning, we drove straight to the Portland Saturday Market, so I could drop off that large picture I picked up a while back for the owner of Unusual Cards. After dropping it off at the booth, we wandered around the market to kill time before meeting up with Alan, AJ, Jayme, and Andrew for lunch at Theo's. The market was the first and only place I saw Honey Buckets in Oregon.

20160827_112211

After checking into the hotel and having a nap, we met up with an even bigger group for dinner at Green Dragon.

IMG_20160827_185954

Clockwise from the bottom: me, Mindy, Heidi, Marijane, Jayme, AJ, Alan, Julie, Garrett, Douglas, and David. Douglas was my very first boyfriend back in 1997, and he's been with David ever since shortly after he and I broke up. It was really cool to sit between Garrett and Douglas at dinner; they're the beginning and end of my love life.

Belly put on a great show, starting exactly on time, with no opening act, and playing two sets with a short break in between. Alan, Jayme, and Mindy joined me for the show.

20160827_201504
20160827_220658

Brunch the next morning was with our friends Scott and Paige at their new home in Vancouver, Washington. They just moved there recently from where we visited them in Florida. That was a lovely time and we probably should have planned to stay the night, since the longer we stayed, the later our departure. Traffic was pretty bad in some spots and the trip took a while. Even though I'd much rather be on that mattress from the rental, there's no place like home.

Plant update

$
0
0
One thing a lot of people probably don't realize about air plants is that the way we generally see them for sale and in displays is quite different from how they'd be found in nature. For one thing, most people cut the roots off. They're not needed at all because unlike with other plants, they don't absorb water. They're used to hold onto rocks and trees, and are extremely tough. You can cut them with scissors, but it's very hard to break them. The other thing is that we generally see them as individual plants, but when they reproduce, it's as a cluster, and they'll more than likely stay together if left to their own devices.

I've been wanting a butzii cluster for a while now, but they're surprisingly hard to find. The first time I ordered one, they canceled on me due to lack of stock. Then I found a really big one with probably over 100 plants in it, but it was very expensive. I kinda wish I ordered it now, but at the time I was nervous about spending nearly $100 on just one cluster. Thankfully, I finally found one just before our trip, at a very reasonable price. I sent the seller a message asking them to hold off on shipping so it wouldn't arrive while we were gone, and they told me it was a good thing I ordered when I did, because I got their last one. It's here now, and I really like it.

Baby butzii cluster I just got. Did you know you can hang air plants by their roots?

Often when you buy a cluster, it comes with a wire attached for easy hanging. I have an ionantha cluster which came with a wire, but I'm not convinced it's a true cluster. I think they took several similarly-sized plants, held them together by the roots, and used the wire to create the appearance of a cluster. And that's fine. The new one's a true cluster, which I can tell because there's no wire. I was able to hang it up just by clipping some root to the shelf.

My friend Jayme gave me these awesome magnets when we saw him in Portland.

Awesome magnets my friend Jayme gave me!

I've got my eye out for more clusters now. But I probably won't get any that are really expensive right away now that I've decided to do a monthly tattoo appointment. Of course that's what I say now, and it's subject to change.

The wait is over

$
0
0
The closest beach to our house, Howarth Park, has been closed since last May. A routine inspection of the bridge that leads over the railroad tracks to it revealed some structural issues, so they closed it. Once they determined the scope of the work, it took forever to get the permits in order, and scheduling the work was complex due to the trains. But they finally did it, and announced yesterday that it was open again. I was already going to Edgewater Beach today, so I figured I'd pop by on my way home.



Since I knew I'd end up at Howarth Park, I decided to skip Mukilteo Beach this morning. It was raining, too, and I wasn't sure what the gravel there would be like when it was wet. On the way to the train station to get to Edgewater, I really liked the plaid pattern formed by the shadows and light with this fence.

20160901_055527

I've always loved these trees but of course am constantly wondering if one will fall and block the road and the tracks.

20160901_060236

The boat I found the other day is still there. The tide was very high, but still not high enough to make it float.

20160901_061246

Walking in the rain was nice, but it meant there wasn't much to see. This was the only bit of sky I could see beyond the cloud cover while I was down there.

20160901_062803

Today"s awesome walk, 4.47 miles in 1:30, 9,865 steps, 157ft gain
4.47 miles in 1:30, 9,865 steps, 157ft gain

Knowing it's a bit of a hike to get from the parking to the beach over at Howarth Park, I cut the main walk a little short. It was disappointing to see the gate to the lower parking area was still closed when I got over there, but only three of the six spaces in the small upper lot were taken, so I got one and headed down. It'd been a while since I saw this particular view.

20160901_073135_HDR

It was so awesome to get there and see the gate to the bridge open. It's been locked and reinforced with a big wooden wall all this time.

20160901_073335

The beach is a little different now, too. There used to be a wall separating an upper and lower part, which they've taken down. You can still see where it was, but eventually it'll wear down to make a continuous hill. I didn't grab a photo of that. I could also swear this beach is way sandier than it used to be, as I was sinking a lot and didn't see as many rocks as I remember, but maybe that's mainly because I always used to time my visits with low tide.

20160901_074335

And now I'm curious to know if it's possible to walk all the way to Pigeon Creek Beach when the tide's low. It sure looks like it from this spot.

20160901_075508

That little trip to that beach gave me almost another mile and was a half hour, so my totals today weren't too shabby. I'm looking forward to going back. And I noticed that the property where the Lion House that's available to buy and move still sits that construction has finally started on the new home there.

20160901_080457

SchadenFriday

$
0
0



Bit of a slow week. Please leave some in comments!

CATURDAY

Bed update

$
0
0
The mattress I wanted is no longer available on the manufacturer's website, and the Portland-area chain that has some wouldn't let me place an order once I entered my zip code. They deliver, but don't ship. So I called the manufacturer to see if they still have any left, and if not, what their new mattress that's most like it is. Dude said he would call me back. That was on Monday, and on Thursday I gave up, figuring shipping would be a lot, and I'd still have to get rid of my old one myself.

I went to Mattress Depot USA (toot toot!) on Thursday with a printout of the description of that mattress and asked for help finding one that would be similar. I found one I liked a lot, but unfortunately couldn't get same-day delivery because I sleep on a full and they don't keep that size in the showroom. It'll be here on Thursday between noon and 2pm. I walked out with the mattress cover that extends the "turns out I don't like this and want to try something else" guarantee from 30 days to 120, plus a really awesome cool touch pillow designed for side sleepers. It was a 2-for-1 sale on those, so Garrett gets one, too. These last few nights on the old one are pretty unpleasant, but at least there aren't that many.

Island time is not normally fast-paced

$
0
0
Earlier this week, my friend Lisa asked if she could come to Spencer Island with me sometime. I said I go just about every Sunday and to meet me there this morning at 5:30. Turns out that could have been a little later as I forgot to adjust for the later sunrise. It was still neat, we just did the paved loop first and then the island so we'd be able to see more stuff over there. It was a gorgeous morning, but since I had company, I didn't use the camera much. There was another car parked next to hers, and we noticed on the way back in that its windows were halfway down, so I figured someone was sleeping in it. If so, I can't understand why they chose the spot right by the wastewater treatment plant. It's really stinky right there and there are plenty of other places around there to snooze. I'd at least consider closing the windows if it was me.

There wasn't any fog at all that I noticed on my drive in, but as soon as I crossed the bridge, fwoomp. Fog everywhere. Totally cool.



I might not have even spotted this industrious little guy if Lisa hadn't pointed him out.

20160904_063139

I also didn't notice that two of the tables had impromptu vases on them, she pointed that out as well.

20160904_064235

I love when there are tons of birds.



We got pretty wet in this area. Lucky for her, those pant legs zip off and she could ditch them when we were done walking.



Today"s awesome walk, 6 miles in 1:54, 12,770 steps
6 miles in 1:54, 12,770 steps

I almost never get above three miles an hour, but we kept up the pace really well and only stopped to look at stuff a few times, so we came in under two hours for six miles exactly! It should have been a longer route, but they've closed off the Northermost part to do some work. That was a bummer, but I got another entry for the contest, which ends after this weekend.

20160904_073755_HDR

Today was the first video I've converted from the dashcam in a while. I liked the fog.



Later on, we had a lovely afternoon with Bev and Dennis. She pulled a ton of little carrots from her garden for us.

What"s up, doc?

Garrett made some amazing bacon cheeseburgers on the grill, which were even better with Bev's microwave pickles, which is a way to make them that I've never heard of.

IMG_20160904_134120

Poor Bella was stuck inside, as usual.



A quick thing I've been meaning to mention

$
0
0
Hanging around in Portland last weekend was interesting because I finally found myself in just the right spots where it really reminded me of Seattle, specifically Seattle several years ago. There's an intersection near the hotel where we stayed that was the spitting image for 12th and Madison before it started getting torn down and rebuilt. Plus if you look down the hill from there, you see downtown, just like in Seattle. It reminded me of being there on vacation for the first time when I wanted so badly to live there, and I did, just two months later.

It would have really left me wanting to move down there, if I missed Seattle all that much. I just don't, though. I miss a lot of people and a couple of places, but for the most part, I'm really happy we moved. We found a great house in a wonderful neighborhood, with just about anything we could want nearby. I've got my awesome walking spots which I have mostly to myself. And I swim all the time, which is a first. I've aged out of needing cool places to go and I already found a husband, so life in a small city just suits me.

But it was definitely a trip. Nostalgia is very powerful but I'm much more interested in the rest of my life from here on out.

Disruption

$
0
0
Mondays are usually swim days, but since it's Labor Day today, the pool's closed. So I just headed over to the waterfront instead.

20160905_061630



Not too much to see today, though I did finally explore that creepy overgrown bit of land at the North end a bit today. Turns out there are two paths going up. Maybe they form a loop. I didn't go very far on either one because I started finding garbage and discarded clothes. Pass. Someone set up a little pirate shelter on the beach next to it, though.

20160905_065501

The sky was cloudy and nice the whole time, and the tide was high.

20160905_065026

Today"s awesome walk, 6.23 miles in 2:06, 13,741 steps
6.23 miles in 2:06, 13,741 steps

I wasn't even committed to going out today since it's a day off. I turned the alarm off before bed and figured if I was awake, I'd go, and if not, no big deal. It was a pretty rough night of sleep, and when I finally gave up, I looked at my phone to see what time it was. Exactly 4:00am, the time my alarm normally sounds. Figures.

EDIT: oh yay, after most of yesterday's stuff fell off, my Snapchat story fell below the threshold (20 videos max) and could be exported. It starts with one of our Skip-Bo games yesterday.



Slug city

$
0
0
It rained throughout the night, so I decided before I even got out of bed that I'd walk somewhere paved, and the Lowell riverfront trail jumped to the top of the list because I generally go to the tank farm on Thursdays and Lisa might come this week. I adjusted my departure time to take the later sunrise into consideration, and started my walk at about 6am. That place is one of the ones I find a bit creepy in the dark, so I waited a little bit to put my earbuds in.

20160906_060933



Thankfully the creepy gives way to calm rather quickly.

20160906_061321
20160906_062015

Unsurprisingly, they've added a fence blocking off that huge area they recently cleared. Also unsurprisingly, it's a pointless fence that you can just walk around the side of.

20160906_062156

The sky was overcast enough that I didn't see any of the sunrise or much color, though I could make out a band of pink when I got to the Northern section of the trail.

20160906_063051

Lots of progress on the new houses.

20160906_064916

And so many slugs and snails. I'm always impressed by my ability to enjoy the scenery while also watching where I'm going so I don't crush them.



Today"s awesome walk, 4.46 miles in 1:32, 9,935 steps
4.46 miles in 1:32, 9,935 steps

I didn't get out as much as I'd have liked this long weekend, so the plan so far is to head up to Marysville for lunch and to see Don't Breathe, and stop at WinCo before heading back in. Plans are, of course, subject to change.

A swell afternoon

$
0
0
I did indeed head up to Marysville for lunch, a movie, and some shopping. Our two nearest movie theaters are at Everett Mall and in Marysville, and are five and ten miles away, respectively. So depending on what's going on with traffic, it's not necessarily a big deal to go twice as far. Plus I wanted to go to WinCo afterward, and the Marysville one's more convenient to their theater and the highway than ours is from our theater. A nice advantage Marysville has is that I haven't been to as many of their restaurants, and I had a very nice paper wrapped chicken (actually in foil) appetizer, plus Szechuan scallops. Really good.

Paper-wrapped chicken (a house specialty) (yes, it"s foil)
Szechuan scallop

The movie, Don't Breathe, was really good. I recommend it highly if you like high tension.

And for the first time in a while, I got some good clouds on my dashcam. For far too long, we had cloudless, sunny skies, and then we had overcast ones with no detail. Today was pretty, even if it was warmer than I care for.


Viewing all 7433 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images