Half Dome, May 2011

You just can't take a bad picture of Half Dome - it's stunning no matter how it's shot. That said, I do really love this Yosemite location where Noel and Robbie were in the late Spring with the overhead branches framing the picture. Here's the last of the images grabbed from Noel's files. You can almost meditate to it!

Yosemite, May 2011 - take 2

Here’s another picture of Robbie from Yosemite. I love this one, too, but unlike the other one, Robbie looks about 3! On the first day of the trip, Yosemite was cold, even for the locals. When all bundled up, Robbie transformed into a colorful Michelin man. His puffy ski hat that he picked out for our Tahoe trip in February covers his head and highlights his round cheeks, while he also gets lost in the plaid ski jacket. It’s kind of funny to me to see these images back-to-back, only taken a day apart. Warmer weather = older looking Robbie.

Yosemite, May 2011

Noel and Robbie spent nearly a week in Yosemite National Park this Spring. I haven't seen too many of the pictures, but I was processing a few of my own shots last week when I noticed I was using a card that still had a lot of Noel's Yosemite images. So I stole a few and processed them on my own. I don't know why I love this one of Robbie. It has to be a Mom thing - seeing how big he looks, how much simple fun he's having playing with floating sticks by the river, seeing him in California. Or maybe I just love the long sleeves and heavy boots, which we never wear here!

Beach time at Paradise Cove

Got a call while in Costco yesterday afternoon that two Hawaiian Monk seals were spotted in KoOlina and a volunteer was needed to help keep an eye on the animals at Paradise Cove until sundown. Sure! A perfect two-for-one...helping out and getting the boys to the beach. We dropped off our refrigerated goods at the house, grabbed our beach gear, and headed back down the hill. The two seals were around for about an hour before they headed out of the cove, but I stayed a little longer while the boys played around. They're in the cell phone picture above. If you look close, it looks like Cub is trying to pull Robbie off his boogie board. A very nice family hanging out in the water gave us another one after hearing the boys fight over the one we have. They were flying home today and had received it from another departing family at the beginning of their stay. Wish I could say I'm going to pay it forward, but we're keeping it!

Almost forgot to add a "first" for us: A mongoose ate our beach snacks. Well, one of the snacks. It was raining softly and the clouds were threatening a little more, so I semi-tucked our bags near the bushes lining the sand and covered them with a few towels so our stuff wouldn't get too wet. I made a fatal mistake of including our snack bag in the mix. As I went back to check my phone at one point, I heard some wrestling coming from under the towels, then saw a mongoose run off as I approached. He'd eaten through one Ziploc bag and was working on the contents inside. Luckily it was an easy mess to clean up and one easy lesson learned.

Yellow watermelon

A unique find at the farmers market this weekend…yellow watermelon! New to me, maybe familiar to others around here. A few months back I was excited to see melons (cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon) popping up in the market stalls. Melon season had arrived! I’ve picked up a few of the smaller Thai watermelon variety so far this year, but that’s pretty much all I’d seen. On Sunday I was at the market a bit earlier than usual and was rewarded with the last yellow watermelon from the vendor. I brought it home and it sat on the counter for a day, then it sat in the fridge for two more days so I feel it was prime time for eating when I finally cut it open.
The verdict? Kind of strange, to tell you the truth. I’d love to do the geeky thing and have a blind taste test with a normal pink variety. The yellow tastes sweet like a watermelon and the texture and seeds are definitely the same, but the color really does play games with the mind and taste buds. I thought I tasted a hint of cantaloupe, but I really think it was the color tricking me! I probably won’t buy it again unless I want to literally insert an unexpected pop of color into a summer recipe. Yellow watermelon margaritas anyone?

A morning at the Arizona Memorial

I love it when friends and family come to town. Of course it’s great to see them, but it also usually ends up the time I do a lot of touristy stuff. This happened this weekend when a high school friend came to town and Robbie and I joined her and her boyfriend at the Arizona Memorial. The first time I did the tour was back in late 2000 when I was on vacation. In the last couple of years, the Memorial’s Visitor Center was remodeled and under heavy construction. They did an amazing job providing new museum-quality exhibits, interior and exterior displays, and lots of shaded seating. There is still plenty of space to wander around and take in the history around you in what at times can feel like solitude yet you’re surrounded by folks all around.
I opted not to bring Jacob and was glad. Just too young…Robbie solo was just right. I “sold” the experience to Robbie as “a boat ride” to get up close to the Memorial we usually see from the Mall’s monorail. He had trouble (read: a whining meltdown) when he learned we had to see a short film before taking the boat ride. I still don’t know why. But he settled down for the movie and was really focused and quiet and I was really grateful. He’s not quiet getting the concept of time and history. Of the 1941 attacks, he referenced it as happening “yesterday.” Yet another thing I’m not too worried about right now. Once on the actual Memorial, he seemed more interested in the fish swimming around, but that was also fine with me. The picture attached is the Arizona’s mooring quay, seen from the Memorial, with the Ford Island Bridge in the background.
From the Memorial, we drove the mile to the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet. The one and only time I’d been there was back in ’06. Once every five years is fine with me! That’s all I’ll say about it. It was all OK in the end as I enjoyed the time with friends and we were able to buy a boogie board for cheap to replace the one we lost a few weeks ago. Win-win!

Arizona Memorial: The tree of life

When I took the tour back in 2000, I completely missed - or it just didn’t stay with me - the boxy, open-air windows cut out of the far end of the Memorial walls. I think I noticed them this time around because in the last 10 years I’ve started quilting and jewelry making and look for patterns more than before. Nevertheless, they struck me as beautiful yet odd because they seemed neither military or naval images, nor Hawaiian symbols. After the tour I walked over to the information desk to get the inside scoop: They are the artistic interpretation of the tree of life from by Honolulu architect Alfred Preis, the architect of the monument.

Tropical beauty or community eyesore?

Whether for good or bad, community associations are here to stay on Oahu. Leeward Oahu is a hotbed of ‘em, and we pay dues to not just one, but two (!) in our area. We dread any sort of correspondence from them and cringe when large legal envelopes show up in our mail box. Don’t get us started about how they are “requesting” that we all (100+ houses) paint the exterior of our homes. It is quite a sore subject around here. They even went so far as to research and provide us with pre-approved paint colors and labor estimates, delivered in said large legal envelope in our mailbox.
I was not surprised when I got a knock on the door late last week and was asked to trim the bougainvillea bush that was growing through our backyard fence and encroaching on the “common area” that consists of ground cover next to our neighbors’ shared driveway. (The picture is a little deceiving - the longest branches would have to grow another 12 or more feet before it would reach the other driveway and get in the way.) No doubt it was not troubling anyone but the grounds keepers, but I like to live by the “know when to pick your battles” approach so this morning I went out and trimmed it. Said a prayer for our little geckos as I was removing their habitat, filled the green barrel, and according to my iPhone app, burned about 200 calories.
Here’s the before shot, with my ever faithful and trusty Cal by my side as he is during all my domestic adventures. Whatever happens here in our little corner of the country won’t ever diminish my love for America, though…Happy Fourth of July all!

KoOlina sunset

I've had friends in town this week, staying at the Marriott KoOlina Beach Club. While we were waiting for them to come back from a Leonard's malasada truck run, we were at the lagoon. Here's a towel-wrapped Cub looking at the water when he didn't know I was taking his picture - the only picture I could get. So frustrating that neither of our little guys liked to be in front of the camera at the same age.

Blackout!

This is one of those posts that should be lumped under, “Lucky you don’t live Hawaii” (a play on the local series “Lucky you live Hawaii” which highlights fun events around town, or just celebrates life in and around the islands). I’m home this morning doing random chores and the like and wanted the Giants / Cubs game on my computer in the background. I logged into mlb.tv using Noel’s paid subscription to watch. Think again! Blackout restriction? Whaaat?
The text reads, “We’re sorry. We have determined that you are located inside one of the applicable Club’s home television territories and are therefore blacked out of watching the game you selected.” We are 5,000+ miles away from any MLB team. Our local cable broadcasts Angels and Dodgers games. Noel has been frustrated with this in the past and I think the blackout applies to ALL West coast teams from Seattle to San Diego. Why does MLB do this? Are they just mean?

Rainbow over Waikiki

We've had a busy few days. We spent Father's Day in Waikiki at the Aquarium and later at dinner. Yesterday we were back in Waikiki for the day as I dropped off the boys with their Grandma while I went to an interview. Later in the afternoon we hit the beach for a little late-day play in the strong waves. Robbie had a blast; Cub just wanted to nap. Light rain showers came and went a few times, which created a thin rainbow over Diamond Head. More rain today so far this morning. That's OK. I've got plenty of chores to catch up on.

An evening on the other side of Oahu

Had a nice micro-night out while the boys were with their grandparents last night. After dropping them off in Waikiki I drove out to Hanauma Bay for a presentation by Dr. Alex Karamanlidis, Greek wildlife biologist with MOm/Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal (www.mom.gr/), a group working to help save the Mediterranean Monk Seal. With a smaller population than the Hawaiian Monk Seal, the Mediterranean Seal is more critically endangered. (There were once three thriving populations of Monk Seals around the world. The Caribbean Monk Seal is extinct. Sadly, the last seal of that species was spotted in 1952.)
Dr. Alex is in Hawaii learning and working alongside scientists and biologists working with the Hawaiian Monk Seal populations, one area in particular is DNA and genetic research (I think. I wasn’t taking notes, and my memory is always shaky when I don’t have a pen in hand). He shared history of the seal, some fascinating stories and videos of present-day seals, and other interesting notes about their organization in Greece.
So what does that have to do with the chocolate, froufrou marshmallows pictured? I’d been busy most of the afternoon and skipped dinner. Heading home through Hawaii Kai, I decided to stop over at Whole Foods and treat myself to a few light items from the buffet bar. I also picked up the marshmallows because I’ve wanted to try them out after multiple segments about artisan marshmallows on the Food Channel, etc. My verdict? Not exciting. Fun for a while, but even with my sweet tooth, I would probably pass on them next time. I had two and felt kind of sick to my stomach almost immediately, to tell you the truth. They are heavily dusted with cocoa powder while the inside is a much lighter brown. I’ll have to figure out a way to use up the rest as I don’t think the boys will go for them.

Green barrel days

Today is my mom's birthday. While we aren't with her celebrating on the West coast, I will be thinking of her later today during a very Mom-like activity: filling the green barrel. A year or two back, our community received green barrels for green waste (finally!). Sadly, I can count on one hand how many times I've actually filled it and left it curbside. One of those days will be today. When the early evening comes around and it's cooler, I'll hit the backyard for a fun game I call, "Did we plant that or is it a weed?" In the picture above, I *think* the green shrub-like plants are weeds. So don't laugh, it's a tricky game! The picture is poor; I think those *plants* look kind of nice and fit cleanly at the base of the tree. I might grant them a stay in the side yard until the next green barrel day in two weeks.
I've mentioned many times I did not inherit my Mom's green thumb. I strongly believe you can overcome this type of genetic deficiency with a little hard work, but so far, I clearly have not worked hard enough.

The escape artist

I woke up Monday morning to find an empty cone at my bedside and a cone-free and very content dog under the bed. I felt sorry for Cal Sunday night and left the cone loose. Too loose! He wiggled out of it and low-crawled under the bed during the night. That can't be good for his surgically repaired knee! The cone has been tighter at night the rest of this week.
Luckily for Cal (and my conscience), he's pretty good about scratching and licking his stitches. When I'm in the room with him, I try to leave the cone off so he gets a break. But when unattended, the cone must go on. We didn't crate him this week per post-procedure instructions. Instead we contained him in the kitchen with a baby gate with a little room to move. My heart sinks when I think we may be doing the wrong thing.

Summertime

I'm giving the title of "Summer Mixed Media" to this work. Robbie made me a flower using rocks and sidewalk chalk on the concrete a few days ago.
Summer is in full swing; warm afternoons and longer days have arrived. We spend a few hours a day in the front yard on our rusting fleet of bikes and big wheels that Robbie has nearly outgrown. We got Robbie a larger bike without training wheels last summer but we don't have enough safe space in the front to ride it. For now, they seem to be happy working with what we have.

Return of the cone

Summer is here; the boys are out of school for the next two months. We started our vacation Friday morning by dropping off Cal at the local pet hospital. A few weeks ago he ruptured his "doggy ACL" and needed it surgically repaired. I was still reeling from the hit to my credit card balance and admittedly did not think about his recovery until after the procedure. It's tough! We brought him home late Saturday night, coned, still a bit drugged, and stressed from more than a day caged in the clinic. It took me about a half-day to realize he won't go to the bathroom (quickly) with his cone on, so we are probably going to have to take it on and off for a week or more until he gets his stitches out. And then for most of the next 4-8 weeks I'm supposed to carry him around to keep him off both legs so he doesn't harm his recovery. Another thing I want to avoid (and I'm told it is common with these injuries) is rupturing the doggy ACL on the other leg, or make it more likely to happen in the future. I'm really going to need a vacation from my vacation this year.

Enough already

OK, this is my last Seattle post. I think! I’m nearly out of post-worthy images on my iPhone 3 camera roll and I think you, my faithful one or two readers, are tired of my Adobe Photoshop Express iPhone app image processing that I've used and abused this week. (I do have to give a shout-out to the Effects > Vignette Blur tool – a combination of its “Vibrant” color tweaking-effect and the classic vignette. I love how it makes the colors deeper and really pop! The vignette gets old fast, but I like it here in the photo of the pig tracks, steps from the pig statue at Pike Place Market.)
I’m considering a new theme for next week – maybe some foodie posts?

Pig at the market

This is a pretty well-known statue that sits at one of the entrances to Seattle landmark Pike Place Market. I know there's a story behind this, but I'm at bit busy at the moment to look it up. Just got back from the boys' elementary school's annual May Day show. Pre-schoolers sang and danced to "Alligators All Around." So cute!

More from the fish market

I'm not much of a seafood eater, but family members that picked up fresh fish and shellfish at the market said it was yummy. We also had rainbow trout but we didn't get it from the market. My nephew (with the help of my uncle) left a fishing line on the dock and he caught a small lake-stocked trout. For the record, seeing a four-year old with the catch he waited fairly patiently for is a lot of fun.

More tulips

Flower vendors at Pike Place Market were selling tulips - and lots of them! They're at the end of the blooming season in the Pacific Northwest and stall after stall had buckets of tulips for sale. I didn't know it until this weekend, but the Pacific Northwest has a similar climate to Holland, therefore tulips thrive in the region this time of year.