Archive for the 'life' Category

[Everything is uphill in Seattle]

Monday, March 29th, 2010
everything-is-uphill-in-seattle

After what felt like endless weekends of nothing going on (not that I really mind that so much: it gives me time to knit & watch absurd amounts of television) I had two weekends in a row when Stuff Happened. Like so.

Last weekend, knitwear designer Stephen West did a trunk show and a shawl class up at Village Yarn and Tea. I’ve been a fan of his designs for a while, but had yet to tackle one, so I signed up for the class, which was an excellent decision. I learned a few new tips and tricks, but more importantly, I got inspired again. We can all use that from time to time.

stephen west trunk show0005 & stephen west trunk show0003

This weekend, as probably all of Seattle knows, the Alaskan Way Viaduct was closed for inspection. They do it twice a year, and while it’s closed, they do public walking tours. That’s how I found myself, shortly after 9 in the morning, donning an orange vest and a hard hat and walking up the Seneca St off ramp. A very odd experience. I wish that we had been able to explore more of the structure, but we did learn a lot in a brief time about safety measures on the Viaduct as well as regarding the process of taking it down and elements of the tunnel option for the waterfront (of which I am still not a fan, for those playing along at home.)

viewfromviaduct0006 & viewfromviaduct0001

The whole thing was worth it if only for the chance to get a photo of Seattle’s Ugliest Mural. I saw it every day the three or four months I lived in West Seattle, and I was always horrified. The closer you get, the more terrifying it is.

ugliestmural0002 & ugliestmural0001

Two obligatory walking-up-1st-Avenue photos:

obligatory lusty lady & SAM hammering man0003

Later that afternoon, I met up with Puck & their gran to see the live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion. It was a lot of fun, and I am looking forward to listening next week to see what other Seattle material they can dig up.

paramount car & PHC keillor's stand post show

After coffee with them, I went up to the Phinney Neighborhood Center to see Ellis Paul. I feel like I could totally live in Phinney Ridge if I was the sort of person who wanted to have babies and dress them in organic clothing and be annoyed that Seattle’s draconian drinking laws prohibit children in bars. Instead I want no babies and I ride the bus and drink coffee, so I live on Capitol Hill. But going to the neighborhood makes me feel like I’m in some weird parallel universe.

phinneyneighborhoodcenter0004

Anyway. The point was Ellis, whom I have seen live a lot. He’s probably rivaling the Paperboys & Peter Mulvey at this point. I try to make a point of going to his shows, even when they’re in weird neighborhoods, because as I said on Facebook, I always feel better about the world afterwards. And no, that’s not a given for a concert. For example, a Richard Shindell show is obviously always worth seeing, but for me that’s because his shows are cathartic. I have yet to attend a Richard show that didn’t make me cry.

At an Ellis show, though, something special always happens in a way that it doesn’t happen for any other artist, or at least not with such regularity. The last time I saw him at PNC, Antje Duvekot opened, but late in the show when he wanted to perform “Conversation with a Ghost”, she was nowhere to be found, so he wound up singing with a member of the audience. One half of a couple, by the way, that drove at least 6 hours to be there. And of course she was amazing.

The next time, in West Seattle, Ellis got a deep back catalog request. He gamely attempted it, but soon it was clear that he didn’t remember the words nearly as well as a fellow in the audience, who he brought up to help out.

Tonight at the half, a family pointed out to him that it was Earth Hour, so he came down into the middle of the hall (which in itself was not uncommon) and did “Let it Be” off mic in the dark. I am not a religious person (which is perhaps the understatement of the century) but times like that are transcendental.

…and that’s all for now, folks. Though poking at my Flickr, it seems I have a backlog of knitting to show you. Perhaps later this week.

[Posting fail!]

Friday, January 15th, 2010
posting-fail

I just looked at my Ravelry profile and realized I haven’t updated here since the beginning of November.

Oops.

I have, however, posted a lot to letterboxed, including an entry on 2009 in film that everyone ignored. And I just uploaded a bunch of photos to Flickr, with the intent of taking some serious coffee shop time to organize, tag, and post about. I know you all are pretty excited about that. Don’t front. And maybe someday I’ll even take pictures of all the stuff I’ve knitted. Maybe.

Until then, here’s part of how I managed to see 108 films in 2009. Evidence that I am a sucker for a laminated pass. Click through to Flickr for notes.

film2009

[Staycation!]

Thursday, October 8th, 2009
staycation

I have no plans to travel anywhere until I have no idea when, which meant my vacation time was getting a little out of control, plus I was getting a little burned out. So I took off a week to do nothing at all. Upon reflection, I should have taken two, if only so I could have knitted more and watched all of The Lord of the Rings extended editions. Hobbits!

ANYWAY.

Things I did without photos:

* Took a trip over to Bellevue to knit with lovely ladies I met through my yarn club. Gentleman at Panera v sweet and subbed turkey into a most amazing salad. Om nom nom.

* Spent five hours running errands and came home with… two yardsticks. Dear craft store: I am never going to you again. You have not once had anything on my list. And you are an hour each way by bus. (The yardsticks are for this yarn swift, which I am still determined to make.)

* Went out to breakfast at Glo’s with Carry on, Jeeves. Ate tasty frittata! (Note: TextEdit thinks I mean “frigate”. No. This is not an O’Brian novel.)

* Watched the third season of “Felicity” which was, I am sorry to report, surprisingly upsetting. Cheating! Stalking! More cheating! But Greg being adorable. I would like him as my older brother, please. Someone kindly see to that.

* Knitted lots, including a stack of Nearly Finished Things, but Not Quite Finished Enough for photos. They all need to be blocked first.

* Laid out my tshirt quilt. I still need to do some math and buy fabric for it before I can actually make it. If it goes well, I will make a second, because I have tshirts coming out of my ears.

Things I did with photos… later. Once I upload them. But this already is almost too late to bother posting so to delay would be madness!

[Labor Day Weekend]

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
labor-day-weekend

Things I still have to post about: movies seen since July, things I did at work this summer, stuff I’ve made.

What I’m going to post about instead: this weekend! Two of my aunts & one of my cousins came over to the coast, which was lovely. Pictures after the jump! (more…)

[Tourist in my hometown]

Friday, May 15th, 2009
tourist-in-my-hometown

Last week, my friend Chris visited from New York. One of the awesome things about having company is that I get to do all of the Seattle things I wouldn’t do otherwise. After the jump probably way too many crappy pictures of Seattle & a few of Portland. (more…)

[Four things from the past week ish]

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
four-things-from-the-past-week-ish

Something I found irritating:

80.365 condos for change

Something I crocheted:

83.365 ties the room together

Something I was given at work:

86.365 admin day

Something I went to see:

program

[I heart Ballard]

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009
i-heart-ballard

Yesterday evening I trekked over to Ballard for a concert. Trekking indeed. It takes an hour to get there from my office. North Seattle Community College is the halfway point, and I finally managed to take a picture of these sweet little houses across the street from the college.

65.365 wee houses in n seattle

If only Ballard were a little more accessible, I would be very tempted to live there. But then it wouldn’t be Ballard. Also it would be nice if they had a grocery store walkable from the heart of the neighborhood. Though, the QFC is coming back in that condo development, yes?

More after the jump. (more…)

[February]

Thursday, March 5th, 2009
february

I walked home from the movies one day mostly so I could get a picture of this Obama Lincoln mural…

obamacoln

…and took the opportunity to get pictures of a few other signs too, including these two:

quick stop & phelps

More February after the jump. (more…)

[In the last month and a half I…]

Tuesday, February 17th, 2009
in-the-last-month-and-a-half-i

…went up to Canada for New Year’s. (This is a bit of a tradition now, and this year was particularly great because I wound up having a five day weekend, and thus a nice long visit. It also snowed every single day I was there, which was pretty ace so far as the puppy was concerned.)

&

…got a new camera and had to test it out. Much more after the jump. (more…)

[Axial tilt is the reason for the season]

Saturday, December 27th, 2008
axial-tilt-is-the-reason-for-the-season

This has been a really odd December. I have succeeded in not working a single Wednesday all month. The first two fell to a death cold, the next two to snow days (yes, really, more on that later), and the 31st I’ll be in Canada, as is my New Year’s tradition.

Christmas is frequently weird anyway. I don’t really celebrate it anymore since my family moved away, plus my job is very holiday-intensive. My office, eaten by the holidays (and many more photos after the jump): (more…)