Polaroid Photobooth
What do you get when you cross a professional photographer, a polaroid
camera, costumes, too much champagne before food, and a wedding?
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Dusty
In the late afternoon, one can sometimes see how long it's been since my screen has been asleep. It's time for a cleaning break!
The fog is burning off
The morning fog is burning off and the sun is getting ready to toast us on both sides. Our spending time with friends at this beach house on Case Inlet in the south sound and having a great time is only affected by the fact that my laptop is staring at me with it's pulsing white eye, an unfinished project on the hard drive with a looming deadline that is barely attainable if I put in more than a couple hours of work while on this mini vacation. Two weeks ago my father passed away. I will tell that story when this project is done. The whirlwind that followed the phone call has not yet dissipated. An already aggressive deadline made more aggressive by the need to be with family during the week following his passing and not opening the laptop to do an ounce of work during that first week. While the fog was present this morning, it lifted to reveal the blue sky. I hope that after next week, the fog that has settled over my father's death will lift and allow me to reflect on his life and our relationship.
Orange sky
Because of all the wildfires up in Canada, our sun had an eerie orange tinge to it all day yesterday.
My buddy, Baxter
Every once in a while I get to pretend I have a dog for a week or two at a time. It's nice to loan them out instead of owning one, but one day I will have a buddy of my own. In the meantime, for the next couple weeks, I'll take Baxter out for at least 2 walks every day, have someone excitedly great me as I walk in the door, and have an office mate that only stretches and groans every once in a while.
Last hurrah
Our friends, Derek and Steph are leaving Seattle to live in China for a few years. We had a lot of fun this weekend.
2 weeks without a car
Two weeks ago, I sold my car. I bought the car after moving to the house we bought down south, after being a one-car household for over a year in Greenwood. I spent a bit of money on the car to buy it and to fix it up. It made me happy while I had it and when I didn't have to drive it to the shop for the umpteenth (wow, that clears spellchecker and now I find out it's a real word. mind blown a little) time.
It's been fun getting reacquainted with my bike and the bus system again. It forces me to be more conscious of the plans I make instead of sitting at my desk doing work until it's too late and then need to jump in the car to go the 2 miles to the dojo or to my office up on Phinney. I also get a little extra exercise and a nice warm-up before my massage clients and aikido class (uphill both ways).
I remember now that I love my bike too. The brand is a Raleigh Cadent 1.0. It's a pretty simple road bike: one of the cheapest I could find that had some quality. I paid $600 for it about 5 years ago and it's been a great bike. I've only had to do a couple of basic maintenance things like change the bar tape, replace the chain, change out the brake pads, fix a couple spokes, and just tightening screws here and there. It's got a rack so I can hang my paniers and carry my gi, sheets for massage, groceries, beer, etc. It's an excellent road bike with a geometry that's a little more upright and designed for comfort.
And yes, that's a garfield reflector on the front wheel. It came as a prize in a box of Frosted Flakes and I've had it on every one of my bikes since I was a kid. I like to think it brings some good luck.
If you live in Seattle, one of the cool things the city does is called the One Less Car Challenge. You get a bunch of incentives by getting rid of one car in your household. Incentives like $175 Zipcar savings, $200 gift certificate to REI, $100 off Tiny's Organic, and some free memberships to bicycle clubs in the area. I think with my gift certificate, I'll treat my bike and my ass to a new Brook's saddle.
I think an English saddle in brown leather would go nicely with my English bike (that was made in China).
How to make oneself poop one's pants
Driveway greenhouse
Lauren has been worried about her tomatoes with the cold spring and cool evenings, so she architected (that's not a real world) a structure loosely based on the shelter we helped build. I was the braun. She was the brains.
Between asphalt and electrical lines
The theme this year for the fourth of July? Get as close to Canada as possible without actually being in Canada.
View Larger Map And watch whales.
And boats.
And build some stuff. 
And have a great time doing it.
For the fourth, we got invited to camp on a friend of a friend's land on a remote island north of San Juan Island. In exchange for the boat ride out there (needs to be chartered since no ferry goes out there), we helped build a structure that would be an open-air shelter. The awesome folks at Five Dot Design Build were responsible for the plans and the building of said structure. In 3.5 days, we got everything but the roof on and it never felt like work. We stopped to run over to a bluff to watch the passing orcas any time someone heard the unmistakable sound they make when surfacing and we got to see plenty.
It's interesting to imagine an island sandwiched between civilizations (Sydney, B.C. and San Juan Island) that has no water or power or any infrastructure. During the winter months, the island is inhabited by 15-20 people. There is a school on the island that will stay open as long as there are at least 2 students enrolled. The library is chock full of books and film reels. There's a little museum documenting the island's 125 year history. A lighthouse sits at Turn Point, on the western side of the island and provides a marker for shipping traffic where it needs to turn in Haro Strait on its way to Bellingham and Vancouver.
I can't really imagine myself living full time in a place like that, but it's definitely a place I can see myself visiting time and again to recharge and refresh. Life is simpler and just a little bit more beautiful without asphalt or electrical lines.
