Past Their Prime



I see dead flowers. But I still think they're pretty, and I like the fresh yellow pollen they left on the clean white table.

The End


So here are all the limbs from another angle, waiting to be carved up and hauled to the dump.

More From September 1st

Here's another angle. This is the pile after I had dragged down all the limbs I could reach on the hillside and hauled them off the deck. On the bright side, I will have fewer leaves to rake up this fall.

The Wayback


These pictures were taken September 1st, after the neighbors above us had hired some tree trimmers. The trimmers seemed to be overzealous on the trimming, and their "clean-up" left something to be desired. Luckily, the neighbors came down to help clean up the hillside and cut and haul the fallen limbs away...

Favorite

This is my favorite picture of the day. I love the colors and textures. So cool. Good job, Nature!

She's Back!


We got our Statue of Liberty back. There was a big ceremony for her return, which I apparently missed most of, but here's the aftermath. She's been MIA for quite awhile--getting repaired. But it was nice to see her back again, especially on September 11th.

I need to find the picture I took of the original statue on September 11, 2001. I got a picture of her wearing the first of what would become hundreds of flowers. Our building had been evacuated that day, and I came home and went for a walk with my camera because I wanted to see something beautiful instead of what was on TV. So I walked down the beach and saw a woman walk up to the statue, climb up the base and hang a big handmade lei of dahlias around the statue's neck. And that was beautiful. When I returned later, there were dozens of flowers and cards and candles. For weeks after, I could barely bring myself to walk down there, because there were so many reminders of so much sadness.

Back to the Market



I got an email from Granny the other day, setting me straight on her early going-to-Pike-Place Market days. So here it goes: "We in our neck of the woods drove through Issaquah and then Renton and then Rainier Valley. I can remember going to the Market before I was in school and eating at Manning's and taking home some Manning's coffee. This must have been in 1923, because I started school in 1924." How cool is that? She was there as a little kid in 1923, and I was just there this morning (84 years later)!

The next thing I need to do is figure out where Manning's restaurant was...

More From the Market

Pike Place at 100+



I know I've mentioned it before, but really, I heart Pike Place Market. It turned 100 on the 17th of August and I am very grateful that it's had such longevity. I love the fact that Granny shopped there over 60 years ago when it was quite an expedition to head from North Bend into the city to stock up on supplies (no bridge across Lake Washington then--they'd take the Lake Washington ferry across) and now I get to shop there too. Happy 100th birthday Pike Place Market...and many more...

Sweet Pea Power



I love sweet peas.

Grey Walls, Saturday Morning


The first grey wall is ours. The last shot is a detail of the corner of one of the few "funky" old houses (actually a triplex, I think) left in our neighborhood. I keep my fingers crossed that it will retain it's current character and not get gussied up or turned into a condo.

Move Over Root Beer...


This was an inspired idea, if I do say so myself. Instead of root beer, I used what is basically an Italian "coffee soda." It was a little on the sweet side, (just like a root beer float) so I'm thinking that maybe adding a cold shot of espresso might be just the thing to unsweeten it a bit, thereby perfecting this creation.

Friday Night Steak


My apologies to my vegetarian friends, but sometimes, there's nothing like a delicious grilled steak to start the weekend off. (And when I say sometimes, I really only do this a few times a year.) I covered this ribeye steak lightly with olive oil and my favorite Italian sea salt combo (it contains garlic, rosemary and sage) and fresh ground black pepper and slapped it on the grill. After it came off the grill, I topped it with my rosemary-garlic-gorgonzola compound butter. Then I ate it. (But not the entire thing - I didn't finish the whole thing until Saturday night.) It was tasty.

"You Know How to Thistle, Don't You?

You just put your lips together and blow." (Oh, Lauren Bacall...what a line!)

This is another picture from Port Townsend. I like how defined the flower is. It looks like you could comb it. (Although I did not attempt to.)

St. Mary Star of the Sea

This is a picture of a flower growing near the parking lot of the Catholic church in Port Townsend. I liked how obnoxiously bright it was against its concrete background.

Dahlia: Belly of the Beast


No, not the Dahlia Lounge and no, not this beast's belly. I just liked the centers of these huge dahlias...they make it look like the blooms could go on forever...a never-ending supply of petals.

Tonight's Two Favorites


I just got back from taking a walk around the 'hood. I walked about a mile down Alki toward the city, until I reached a patch of sunflowers that I noticed from the bus the other day. After taking some pictures of them, I turned around and came home. So the first picture is (pretty obviously) from the sunflower patch and the second picture is a "capsized" rowboat that someone on 56th has as part of their garden decor. (Not surprisingly, there are many beach themed items adorning yards around here.)