Another visit to Route 66

I just returned from a 4-day whirlwind trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico. I went to visit my friend Maria for her birthday - I had to pack an extra duffel bag to carry gifts. We did nothing but shop the entire time I was there, so not only was my huge duffel bag packed with new clothes, but also a new bag she gave me, a pink Seattle oversized tote that I ended up taking as carry-on on the return trip and lugging it around the airport and practically throwing my back out!

I lost 3 pounds during the trip. We concentrated on eating properly, altho we should have eaten more snacks. I had "altitude sickness" symptoms on Friday and at 4 in the afternoon had to drop everything to go home and lie down before I threw up. I had woken up with a headache and sore throat and being out all day shopping and with the noise and color just finally overwhelmed me and I felt like I was going to be sick right in the middle of the grocery store. Albuqerque is at about 5,000 feet (a "mile high" city), and is desert so it is super dry. Couldn't be more foreign to a sea-level humidity-loving Seattleite! I managed to come home before getting so dried out I had a bloody nose.

Aside from that little bout, which after a one hour nap I felt good as new, it was OBSCENE how much shopping we did. Great clearance sales everywhere. I also was able to fit into jeans two sizes smaller than what it is in my closet now, altho they usually are still too big in the thighs. The last day I was there we walked along old Route 66 on "Nob Hill". Not much of a hill but lots of neat shops. Couldn't see the "Nob" part of the real estate, either.

So the scale officially reads the lowest number ever since starting my lifestyle change in October. I cleared a bunch of things out of my closet last night to make room for the new clothes and Steve took two big bags of clothes to the donation bin up at the college by our house for me this morning.

Sandia Mountains surrounding Albuquerque, NM
We'll be in Portland this weekend for the Blue Man Group show and our fancy night at the 5th Avenue Suites. I am looking forward to parading Sophia around Portland. She has a new pink hoodie sweatshirt I bought in NM. I took her to work with me yesterday, since I was going to be running around a lot, and we had 3 walks! I started in Renton, went up to 145th and Aurora, and since I had to drop stuff off in Newcastle on the way back, I crossed Lk WA on 520 and picked up Steve for lunch. Sophia and I walked at Fort Dent Park (Tukwila), Bitter Lake Reservoir Green Space (Seattle) and Lake Boren Park (Newcastle).

I finally received the paperwork I needed from the online school I took my real estate course from, so now I can schedule my exam! My boss is happy.

It's cold out! If you're going to be out walking, don't forget your hat!

She's bAAaaacckkkkk!

**sigh** back in my 2nd skin

This morning I got my MINI back! It took about 3 minutes (or 15 blocks or so - and one good corner!) to remember where everything is and get back in the groove! It felt really stiff, and the engine does feel different, but I got used to it again real quick! I am back in the left lane telling the slow poke in front of me to move to the right where he belongs.

So I got to have one day of relaxed and fun driving before heading to New Mexico on an early morning flight! But I know my baby will be waiting for me when I return!

Have a good weekend!

Scenes From An Opening

Olympic Scultpure Park by SAM (Seattle Art Museum)

We attended the grand opening of SAM's Olympic Sculpture Park Saturday morning, bright and early. We've been looking forward to it for years - I used to drive past the construction site when I worked on lower Queen Anne.

Lots of people! But Sophia was able to walk around and not get stepped on, so not too crazy. The only time I picked her up to hold her was while the Garfield Drum Band was performing - and as they marched past us she struggled a bit because it was pretty loud and scary sounding.

Lots of speeches, which we didn't hang around for since we arrived well before all of the official festivities. We got to enjoy the art without too much crowding, and the sun even peaked out at the end of the visit.


This is my 2nd favorite sculpture in the park. It is called "Typewriter Eraser - Scale X" (10). This is from quite a distance away, across the street in another part of the park. One art critic said "I love the way this piece looks here — like a wild-haired kid on a runaway unicycle!"



This is an up-close view of it from the other side. As I get ready to take my picture, another woman points out the plaque at the foot of the sculpture says it is illegal/not permitted to photograph this particular sculpture. Seems silly and they will never be able to enforce it! So much for "public" parks.



This piece is called "Eagle". We've agreed we just don't get it. It doesn't look anything like an eagle - and they definitely are not orange! It was created in 1971. I think the artist was stoned or something.



Here is an amazing performing artist. We guess right she was a jellyfish! She said she was going to be a "rain person" but since it wasn't raining, jellyfish it is. It was interesting to watch her walk around on those tall stilts.

Lots of rich and famous people were there today, but we didn't notice them in the crowds. Bill Gates was there, and Paul Allen, and Mayor Greg Nickels, and lots of other "movers and shakers" that donate a lot of money to the art scene in Seattle.



This is part of what is going to be my favorite art piece in the park. Called "Love & Loss", it's not complete. There is a beautiful artist's computer rendering of it as part of the online guide at the link provided below. It is the bottom-left piece on the map. If you click on it it will show you a picture of what it will look like when it is done. I can hardly wait!



"Wandering Rocks". Steve says it looks like that triangle puzzle designed like the Rubick's Cube.



"Stinger". The plaque explained it, and the brochure is out in the car. I am still contemplating this one.



"Wake" I think you have to stand among the pieces of this one to truly appreciate it. And look at it from above, also. From all directions.



"Father and Son" The Son can't be seen since he is in the tall water column to the right. The two fountains alternate every hour and they can never truly see or reach other.


I took more pictures, but you will just have to go see the place for yourself! I can't wait for a warm spring day and to sprawl on the lawn with a book and Sophia sunning herself by my side!

Online Olympic Sculpture Park Guide: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sculpturepark/

Double-O 7

You know, I completely glossed over how we spent New Year's Eve, our 9th wedding anniversary. We attended a big radio station party thrown by Jack 96.5 FM. They were doing a 007 James Bond theme with costume contests, special Bon martini's (shaken, not stirred) and a huge fantasy casino. Well, we went to the pre-gala dinner first actually. We were the youngest people at our table. And I must finally be all grown up and self-confident because for the first time in my life I ENJOYED sitting down at a table with 10 strangers and making conversation. The dinner was pretty nice, too.

One of the women we enjoyed dinner with was fascinating - and in the jewelry business. She is the one who took this photo of us upside down. When I asked her why she did that, she explained that by holding the camera upside down, the flash is at the bottom and throw light up under your face - erasing unflattering shadows!! I was amazed...look at this picture! I decided sitting at the same table with her was my good fortune for the year and this little tid-bit, something I never thought of, well worth the price of admission!


We had a pretty good time, and played blackjack for hours. I got a real kick out of all the Bond costumes and stayed until almost 1 AM to find out who won first prize in each category. We even danced a little bit.

And at midnight we counted down with all the others and then watched out the window of the Bell Harbor Conference Center to see the fireworks at the top of the Space Needle. We had a super time!





I hope you found a memorable way to celebrate the beginning of 2007!

Sign Language

I love my horoscope this week!

Virgo (Aug. 23–Sept. 22)

Don't deny your nature. Virgos do well with specific chunks of time that are specifically allotted for specific activities, including relaxation. In fact, it suits you right down to the ground to work insanely one week in order to relax on the beach the next (although it must be said that your version of relaxation would exhaust any non-Virgo). Trying to mix things up is trying to impose someone else's method or strategy upon your own. I don't know why you'd even consider that, since you're better at this than the rest of us. Trust yourself. Your way is best, even if other people don't understand it.

Courtesy of the Seattle Weekly (online) http://www.seattleweekly.com/diversions/0703/horoscope.php

You really did need a hat

And other New Year musings...

So I have discovered, at the ripe old age of 36, that a HAT, of all things, does wonders for keeping you warm when outdoors in inclement weather. All those times your parents screamed out the door after you, "Hey! You NEED a hat!", they were actually right. It's amazing what a difference a hat makes.

I've never considered myself having a "hat" face, and really have not found many hats that look good on me. I now have two hats (three if you count the one in this photo) that I look good in, and they have been in pictures in my blog: a purple corduroy newsboy cap I bought from a street vendor in Rome on New Year's Eve, and a black beret my friend Maria sent me in preparation for our trip to Italy and after we were reading "French Women Don't Get Fat". I have mittens that match this hat, found at a J. Jill outlet store in Marysville - sadly the scarves were sold out. But I have similarly colored scarves (purchased in Italy last year) and Steve bought me this grey polar fleece jacket to wear with all my pink accessories since my winter wool coat is darg green and DOES NOT go with PINK.

Mini Van ≠ Mini Cooper

So I have been without my MINI Cooper for almost a month, having driven thru a freakin' lake during the flash flood preceding the 100-year wind storm on December 14th. Our insurance company finally gave the go-ahead to the shop we had it towed to (Car Tender on Capitol Hill, supposedly one of the best) to order a replacement engine. I'm told there are only 4 engines in the United States, and I am getting one of them! The engine may arrive early next week and then be installed within a few days. Yeah!

I am fortunate to have such a great friend as Colette Napoli, someone who has been supportive and a great strength and example in my life. I look up to Colette a lot. She is ten years older than I, and as someone who has never found the right man to actually marry never let that stop her. She is very successful in her career and her personal life, and owns her own home about 3 miles from ours. She moved here from Manhattan/New York in 2000 and I met her at a neighborhood function the summer before we bought our house in October 2001. She helped us pack and move and unpack in the new house even when my own family wouldn't. I feel like I have known her for a lot longer than 5 years and don't know what I would do without her!

Unfortunately Colette has been sick the last few months and has had to take some time off from her job to just stay at home and rest. It's been nice, on the one hand, because her job's most recent incarnation had her traveling almost 3 weeks out of 4 and she was rarely home and we hardly ever got to see her. Now I get to see her whenever I want because she is at home recuperating and going cabin crazy and needs the company! I try to find fun things to bring her, or sometimes run an errand. Since she also is at home and not feeling up to going out much she also let me borrow her Chrysler Town & Country off and on since having transportation troubles of my own. It's like driving an RV maybe. You sit very upright in the captain's chair style seat and it lumbers around corners like a drunken something. But, the heat works, you can hear the radio over the engine, and there's no tornado from the lack of air seals around the doors!

Our little Chevy LUV spent another 3 days in the shop last week while the mechanics tried to figure out while it was still pulling to the right when braking. They finally figured out that, since it had sat so long, when they first flushed the brake system and repressurized it, it knocked a bunch of gunk loose and so there was stuff in the lines interfering with proper braking. Anyway, I am very lucky they found the problem and replaced the master brake cylinder. This place is awesome, by the way (Courtesy Tire on California Avenue in West Seattle). They spent about 12 hours troubleshooting the problem but only charges us and hour and a half for the actual installation work. They felt bad because we had to bring it back for something they thought they had fixed the first time - and it was driving the manager crazy trying to figure out what was wrong with it!

Not going anywhere in this weather...

So, is it spring yet? I just had to reschedule an Italian greyhound fundraising event that I’ve been planning for two months. Luckily both facilities we amenable and understood, since the proprietors had trouble leaving their own houses. I drove home Wednesday night after dropping Colette's van back at her house and the beginning of this snow storm and was a little worried, I admit. I've put 400 pounds of sand in the back of this truck just to keep from spinning out on DRY pavement. The engine, a Buick V6 "Fireball", put in by someone who liked a lot of torque in a small truck, wants to do 30 mph without my even touching the gas pedal (well, it feels like 30 mph, hard to say since the speedometer doesn't work). I spent a lot of time in neutral on the 3 mile drive from Colette's house to my own. Please realize, West Seattle is nothing by hill after hill, so you can't really blame me for being a little nervous. As you can see, Steve's car is missing as he is at work today. He was home yesterday, tho. And Wednesday night he stayed at work late waiting for the melee to die down and he didn't get home until about 9 PM.

Life does go on...

I spent some time outside today filling the bird feeders and thawing the bird baths and taking some pictures of how beautiful it is. The birds are very busy, along with the squirrels. Steve even identified a Thrush yesterday, not a bird we normally see here. The Black cap chickadees are my favorite, the Stellar jays a close second, and they can stuff two whole peanuts (in the shell) in their beaks before flying up into our cedar tree to stash them above squirrel's reach. Sophia goes out now and then to explore, and then comes back and lays before the fire on her pillow. The cats lounge around the great room enjoying the heat, and the view of all the bird life outside the windows. You can barely see the trickle of smoke from the chimney as the fire burns low and still makes the room 74 degrees without even trying.

My boots are with the cobbler getting resoled so I don't have any safe way to take the dog for a walk. She probably doesn't mind. I am half-tempted to put her boots on her and take her for a walk anyway. But I doubt I could get them on her without a second pair of hands and some help from Steve. She doesn't like them much.

I finally finished my real estate pre-licensing course. 6 months must be some sort of record. I know it is for me. I don't think I have ever taken so long. I obviously lacked motivation - even my boss offering a 10% raise after getting my license wasn't enough to get me to spend night after night trying to finish the class. I have been licensed before and have gone thru all the training before - but my license had been lapsed so long I had to start all over again. What a bummer! Anyway, we had such amazing weather for months so I didn't get serious until late October, and I would work on it for a few nights then social things would interfere and it would be a week before I got back to it. Anyway, my boss is really happy now and I am just waiting for the paperwork from the school to arrive in the mail so I can go take the state exam. Work has been going really great, and we've stayed busy the entire time. Altho I obviously can still take a snow day when weather warrants it!

Fun things coming up...

You know me, I always have things in the works. I will be traveling to Albuquerque, New Mexico on January 25th to visit Maria for her birthday. It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing. I saw a blurb on the news about the post-holiday fare sales, so found a pretty good deal. I figured if I can spend that much on a hotel room at the 5th Avenue Suites in Portland (February 3rd for the Blue Man Group "How to be a Megastar Tour 2.0" playing at Memorial Coliseum), I can spend that on a plane ticket to go visit a best friend. I will miss Sophia while I am away in NM but Steve has promised to take good care of her for me. And the following weekend we'll be taking a trip to Portland for a fun show! I have hired a sitter for Sophia for while we are at the concert (you can't leave your dog unattended in the room). Steve's sister and her boyfriend will be joining us for what should be an awesome show!

Learn more!

Blue Man Group: http://www.blueman.com/about_bmg/index.shtml

5th Avenue Suites, Portland: http://www.5thavenuesuites.com/