Moving......Again

I'm sitting here blury eyed from spending the last hour or so looking at craigslist and IKEA for new furniture for our future residence. It's that time again where Joe and I are packing up and moving; only this time instead of going 3000 miles we're only going six blocks. Charlie needs his condo back sooner than expected so Joe and I spent a whirlwind of a weekend looking at potentional new places for ourselves. We decided that location weighed more heavily than relocating to the "east side" near my job and so we've signed ourselves up for at least 6 months more of city living. We seemed to find the good, the better, and the bad through our search yesterday. From dingy hallways, to left over food stuck on a cutting board (I had to hold my true reaction to this until after we got outside!) we did get to see the variety of housing that Seattle has to offer. With the economic crisis and the celebration of Valentine's Day (yes apartment complexes actually acknowledged Halmark's holiday), we got a good deal on a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment in a high rise just six blocks from where we currently live now. We will still be considered the area of "First Hill" but the buildings around us are a little more updated than our current surroundings. We can still get to a lot on foot and have the space not to drive each other crazy which is always a plus! We just started the paperwork today with hopes of signing the lease and then moving in by next weekend. I am dragging my feet at the thought of packing and hauling things. I counted up the number of times that I have done this in the 10 years since graduating high school and I will be up to number 9 if you include my stint in England. I think it is safe to say that as of yet I am not worthy of permanent ink in anyone's address book and sharp #2 pencil seems to be the better tool. We have been spoiled by having full use of Charlie's furniture and besides our boxes of "stuff" and clothes, the only think we can lay claim to is a used futon and an IKEA coffee table. Considering our space, we have some work to do in filling it. I have dreams of owning "big girl furniture" which includes not having pieces to put together using wooden pegs and instructions that may miss a step (big shout out to IKEA here!). But alas that is where my search has taken me- both IKEA and Craigslist for the in between stage of furniture once again. Maybe big girl furniture magically appears when I turn 30, or maybe I'm destined to the life of buying and selling furniture on the internet, either way I I have two years to find out!

The Pacific Northwest's Answer to New England

After a long week of meetings, paperwork, and my first experience with attorneys, Joe and I took the nice weather as an opportunity to venture outside of the Seattle perimeter to the Olympic Penninsula. Our destination was Port Townsend- a small town across the Puget Sound and north up the coast. It has great views of both the Cascades and Olympic Mountains and the feel of quaint New England. We were able to take a vehicle on the ferry, and after 35 minutes arrived on Bainbridge Island. From there we drove an hour north to get to Port Townsend. It is an area that boasts Victorian Houses as a tourist attraction as well as the ship yard at the entrance to the town. The main street sits below by the water while the rest of the town looks like it's sitting on a cliff above. The main street is filled with speciality shops, restaurants, and more coffee shops in one square mile than I have seen since moving out here! There were coffee stands in the hardware store, a music store, and about every other building. Of course there were beautiful views of the Sound with sailboats testing the waters and birds enjoying a little sunshine. We had fun looking at antiques and peeking in windows of shops with clothes of questionable taste. Joe and I sampled one of the cafes for lunch and later the famous town ice cream shop for dessert. We sat by the water enjoying the sunshine, fresh air, and the views. A discovery I made while reading about Port Townsend is that is the most romantic place to kiss. As we sat by the water, I entertained Joe with ideas of how a love story could play out in this town as it carries that feel up and down each street and beyond. He teased me with my continous desire to cross fantasy and reality. Chalk it up to one too many reads of my favorite chick-lit authors! :-)

Only In Seattle........

Only In Seattle.......
- Would people wear shorts and sandals when it hovers around 50
- Would you see men dressed in drag with a full face of makeup wearing a glittery head dress and be the only one to stare (as was my experience on Saturday night)
- Would there be an earthquake at 4.5 and we'd hear about it first from the east coast (thanks Emily! :-)
- Would you see cars that had their windows bashed in, full of crap, with rope tied around it and wonder if it was art
- Would you be forced to pay for yet another garbage can to put food waste into and pay another fee for the garbage man to take away
- Would people be apathetic about the Super Bowl because they are still bitter about the Super Bowl against the Steelers years ago
- Would you get money deducted from your grocery bill for using cloth grocery bags (not complaining there!)

Thought I'd share a few of my observations/experiences from the week.......Gotta love the west coast!
And on one final note I just like to say "GO STEELERS!"

Another Week Gone By.......

Another week gone by.....How did we get to the end of January already????? It's been a mostly quiet week of going through the motions of daily life and somehow facing Monday once again. Of course the Seattle area was walking around with smiles on after Tuesday and the start of Obama's rein. The level of hope felt with facing hard times can be felt each time you're walking down the street or over hear someone talk about the inauguration. The optimism felt in the this part of the country is certainly at a high level and a comfort with everything else going on.
I enjoyed another painting class this week. Our assignment was to use only one color of varying values and create a picture from a magazine. We used a little "window" cut from paper to see little snip-its of advertisements and photos to create something new. I'm sure I've done this in the past but had forgotten how simple it is to find something new out of something already created. Being the perfectionist that I am, I was able to complete my painting only to find that there is more work to be done once I bring it home. Now I just have to find a little area in our living quarters to call my "studio."
Saturday found us with a bit of sunshine and so Joe and I ventured out to an area called Green Lake (just north of Seattle) where there is a huge lake with a trail going all around it. The neighborhood itself is quaint with houses that are not by any means extravagant but have their own appeal with unique colors and architecture. Off the main street is the lake and boy does it draw a crowd. There were people on bikes, roller blades, and foot both young and old enjoying the day. Every other person we passed was either walking a dog or was pushing a stroller. I asked Joe if he could pick one which would he want to have. Let's just say his answer was not the same as mine. Also in view was people wearing shorts-(really in 40 degrees?) and many cups of coffee. I love that here you can exercise while getting your daily dose of caffeine. With Starbucks on the outskirts, you can enjoy a cup of joe, a little exercise, and fresh air. Just a little piece of heaven to experience. :-)

Getting a Good Dose of Vitamin D

I feel bad as I type this knowing the frigid temperatures that the east coast has been experiencing but we have had two nice sunny days here in Seattle. After the doom and gloom that has been our days of past, we were suprised with not one but two days with sunshine. I was out this afternoon and had to take my coat off. I have made myself spend time outside to soak in some Vitamin D to save for a later date. Again I don't mean to rub it in:-)
Through my travels on foot I've taken note of many posters advertising celebrations for the inauguration. My favorite by far has been the poster that reads "Shoe Toss" with Bush's face underneath. Upon further reading, this gathering is inviting people to toss their shoes as a way of saying goodbye at the last eight years-in a very creative way I might add. Gotta love my liberal environment!
So now I'm going to take a minute to plug a new music discovery that has been getting some acknowledgement on TV shows. Her name is "Lenka" and she is in my opinion a musical extrodinaire from Australia with music that you can't help feel happy after listening to. I had the privelege to see her live on Monday night at a small venue dowtown that once found itself the hotspot for Burlesque shows and X-rated movies. It has been revamped to take on this modern day lounge/restaurant with candlelit lighting and strategic seating of booths and long bars. It's a great place for an intimate evening with your favorite artist and I left feeling as though I had discovered my new favorite place in Seattle.
Another art class brought to my attention a new way to relieve stress while creating art at the same time. All you need is some paint and a few Q-Tips. We were learning about color and how it is perceived when placed on different backgrounds. We were given a few basic instructions and then could pretty much "dot" til our little heart was content. After a day spent with preschoolers and having been drooled on more times than I care to mention, let's just say my creative juices were flowing.
Joe and I both got hit with colds this week. I faired better than he did. Is it my imagination or do women deal with things like this better than men? Just another thing to add to the list.....

Raining, Flooding, and Traffic- Oh My!

It's been an interesting week here in the state of Washington. If you've seen the news or online posts you know that we were dealing with lots of rain that subsequently caused a lot of flooding all over. Joe and I didn't feel any of the effects with our commutes or in the city but there are many people who lost their homes or were surrounded by water and couldn't leave their homes as the case was for the secretaries at school. The ski slopes near Charlie and Jim's cabin saw an avalanche that wiped out a chunk of the mountain. The road to drive on in front of the cabin became the scene for a tubing extravaganza and no I don't mean snow tubing. Their neighbors posted a you tube video of themselves tubing down the road. It looked like a small river on what should have been the road. I can't bear to turn on the news as there has been constant coverage of damage all over and dealing with the aftermath.
All of the rain and high winds made my commutes home from work very LONG! I'v sat in traffic so much this week that all I saw were headlights when I closed my eyes at night. I had my first art class on Tuesday night. After sitting in 2 hours of traffic I was rushed and flustered as I arrived on campus. Seattle Central is only about 10 minutes from where we live but of course parking is at a premium (a common theme in this city) and I knew where the main building was but unsure of where the fine arts building was located. I felt like the new kid on the first day of school with the feeling of being lost, surrounded buy a frenzy of students with their backpacks and books trying to get to their next class. I was grateful when I found a map and could orient myself with my surroundings and where my destination was. The confusion did not end there as I ended up in the wrong class (right title, wrong group of students) before finding my way thanks to my instructor who had to come round up those of us confused and misplaced (there were 3 of us). Of course I was the only American misplaced as my counterparts were au pairs from Sweden. After a frazzled start, the next two hours consisted of an introduction from our instructor (and further into the class little snip its of his life as they related to things we said during our introductions). Did I mention my instructor is 79 years old, carries a backpack, and wears brand new Nike sneakers? He struck a chord with me with his soothing tone of voice and interest in each of us. I could picture him sitting around his living room as the grandkids crawled on his lap and he tells the stories of days gone by. His slight difficulty in hearing caused some entertaining interpretations of the true message being relayed as introductions went around the room but I think it's going to be an interesting next couple of weeks and a good outlet for me.
Tomorrow night I'm indulging my interest in live music and checking out yet another venue in the city before heading to class number two on Tuesday. At least I have an interesting start to my week.

Back to Reality After The Holidays

I'm sitting here looking out our bedroom window with a view of the city skyline and the snow covered tops of the Olympic Mountains. How can a girl not feel a sense of serenity with this kind of landscape in view? I'm savoring these last few hours of calmness before I head back to work as my January schedule is already packed. I'm doing something in 2009 that I've wanted to do for a while now. I've signed up for an 8 week painting class at the community college. I miss having a creative outlet and hope that this helps me get through the dreary months of January and February.
Joe and I rang in the new year in Portland. It's about a 3 hour drive south and we got a hotel room for the night and spent New Year's Eve wandering the streets of the Pearl District and visiting the Classical Chinese Garden. This is the largest garden outside of China that was built over a cement parking lot. The architecture is amazing and there is such a sense of tranquilty as you walk around. We hope to go back in the spring when the lotus flowers are in bloom as it's supposed to be quite a sight.
I've learned after spending 4 years with Joe and going on a number of trips not to plan every minute (although my type A personality longs for a map and knowing where to go and what to do). I tried to hold back and looked up two things to do and left the rest up to chance. That's a big step for me! We figured out a lot of downtown without a map and strolled the number of one way streets. We stumbled upon this great cupcake shop with gigantic cupcakes with a tower of icing that Joe couldn't wait to sink his teeth into. Also in the Pearl District is a book store that is the largest independent bookstore in the country. After spending the afternoon and making many observations of the people around me, I came to the conclusion that maybe Portland is more laid back than Seattle is. It just had a different feel to me. Joe and I would like to go back and spend some more time there. We definitely had many thoughts of Aunt JoAnn and Uncle Michael while we were there.
That night we were in the eastern part of the city at this place called the Kennedy School. There are two brothers out here called the McMenamin brothers that went around Oregon and restored old buildings and turned them into pub restaurants. We actually have 3 in Seattle as well. Well this Kennedy School closed down in the 70's and at some point the brothers decided to turn it into a hotel with a restaurant, movie theater, and "mini bars" that represent detention, the boiler room, and the honors room. Each room is decorated to make it unique and the school is filled with different mosaic creations on the wall and some of the original work from the school. I found out after mentioning the school to Aunt JoAnn that she taught at this school for a short time in the 70's. Joe and I rang in east coast New Year's in the detention room where the bartender was filling us in with things to do around the city. It was a pretty neat place to see.
Last night we celebrated Jim's birthday at this cozy Greek restaurant in the area of the city known as Queen Ann. It was such a clear night and the restaurant was located so close to the space needle if felt as though we were almost underneath. My eyes still get excited to take in such views.