West of Whimsy

In Other News . . .

This is what I've been doing lately:

Yep - I'm taking a painting class!  More details on that will be forthcoming . . .

In the meantime, I'm being featured on Rachael Taylor's blog today - Yay!!  Did you know she was voted the happiest person on Twitter in the UK?  Yes . . . she really is that lovely, and I'm so honored that she wanted to showcase my photography on her site.  Awesome!

Happy Happy Friday!!

RIP Peanut Man . . .

Rick Kaminski aka "The Peanut Man" from Safeco Field passed away yesterday at the age of 67.  There is a lovely article in the Seattle Times about him here.

He was a Mariner's icon, and will be dearly missed . . .

Polka Dot Love . . .

Isn't this polka-dot treasury adorable?  And look!  There's my umbrella!

Country Mouse . . .

Most of my friends know I have a city mouse/country mouse complex - so spending a few hours on a farm for Jessica's party was a little slice of heaven!

An old barn, horses, chickens, and antique farm tools?  Just what this city girl needed . . .

Bee Tee Dubs . . .

Conversation with my older boy this weekend:

"Mom, Bee Tee Dubs . . ."

"What?"

"Bee Tee Dubs . . . "

"What?"

"BEE TEE DUBS Mom!"

"I'm sorry - I have NO idea what you're saying!"

"BEE TEE DUBS - you know BTW, By the way . . .?"

Seriously?  I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants!!

So . . . Bee Tee Dubs?  I am in Portland right now!  Drove down yesterday in the pouring rain (this summer has sucked so far in the Northwest - jeeeez!), to visit Jessica & go to a concert/benefit auction that her friends organized to help with her medical bills.

Got a few photos of Jess & the boys before the party, in their "Jessica's ARMY" t-shirts - so cute! . . .

The event was amazing - and I was thrilled & humbled to see just how many people she has in her community that are rallying together to help her fight this battle with lung cancer.  The moment that moved me the most?  A young man who looked like he didn't have much money, made a $180 donation!  And then I heard him say, "She's my teacher, and this is the money I made from selling my textbooks."  Oof - that one got me a little choked up!

It was so good to see her & catch up in person even for just a couple of hours, before she started chemo this morning.  The next eight weeks are going to be rough but I'm confident with her amazing attitude & support network that she's going to make it through!

All Star Baseball . . .

Queen Anne All Stars rocked the house last night with a 14-3 victory over Woodinville - Sweeet!  Of note, my kiddo hit not one but two homeruns - AMAZING!

A few photos from the evening . . .

All photo credits go to Bob Atkinson - thanks Bob!  Why wasn't I taking pictures?  Well . . . in my most spectacular performance of absentee parenting ever?  I missed the game because I was getting my hair done.  Nice One!  Thankfully I have the chance to redeem myself tonight since they are playing again.  Phew!

Lazy Summer Weekend . . .

Made it through the week, and am happy to have a lazy weekend ahead of me!

One thing I forgot to mention in my last post is that it is totally illegal to light fireworks of any kind in Seattle.  And given that I don't have $5000 just laying around should I/we get caught?  I think we'll have a different plan next year.  

As a tribute to my lazy weekend (which isn't going to involve fireworks, or much of anything except watching a bunch of baseball), I am posting this treasury from last week.  Clearly I didn't get it up in time, so now one of the items is gone - but I love it so much that I'm going to share it anyway . . .

This represents summer in a small town to me - a much different pace than what goes on here in the big city, and something my country-mouse self is longing for right now . . .

Post Holiday-Weekend Blues . . .

I've been a little sad this week following the long holiday weekend.  A combination of having to be inside when the weather is beautiful (finally!), a fleeting visit from my sister and her family (never long enough!), and a weird fireworks related accident in our neighborhood Monday night . . .

Just to be clear, my kids & all their friends are fine, and were for the most part being safe and making good choices.  (If throwing mortars in trash cans can be called "safe" or a "good choice" - ahem . . . have I mentioned that I'm genetically part teenage boy?  Ha!)  That said, I was rather surpised (& distressed actually) at the absence of parental supervision during the fireworks bonanza.  I'd say there were probably 40 or so boys ranging in age from 9 to 18 roaming around the area where we were lighting fireworks, and only FOUR adults.  I kept saying "Hey - where are these kids' parents?  Who is going to call 911 when someone gets hurt?"

I don't know if that comment conjured bad ju-ju?  But just minutes after I got home my younger son called to tell me something had gone terribly wrong.  It's taken me a couple days to process all of this, and yes there have been tears involved . . . ugh.

What happened (which is not what the article says) is this:  Some boys made a "home-made device" out of two M-80's, which they put in a trash can.  (I know - no comment . . .)  Apparently only one of those two exploded, and when the kid it belonged to went to go pick up what was left? (STUPID!)  The second one went off in his hand. 

Gratitude for the small things - beautiful weather & a nice early morning view

The whole thing has made me so sad, mad, & just sick.  I know it was stupid.  And in that moment of stupidity a boy's life was changed forever, which is tragic no matter which way you spin it.  (He was 18 - but that still qualifies as a kid in my book.)  The thing that got me the most though was that my kids had to see it.  They weren't there in the moment, but of course they went to go see what happened and got a grim look at a kid who was missing two fingers and the gore that went along with that.  My boys are weeks away from being 10 & 13 years old, and frankly I would have preferred it if they'd made it through life without having to witness an injury like that.  Oof.

However, they did see it - and if nothing else it taught them a really big lesson about what can happen when you're not careful with fireworks.

As for me?  I think I've decided to change gears, and next year I'll be doing sparklers, snaps, and maybe a few of those "snakes" that make a long, boring, ashy trail . . .

Special Edition (4th of July 2.0) . . .

Modeling Mortars & Roman Candles . . . On our way to blow some sh*t up!

Happy 4th of July! . . .

One baseball rake + one bottle rocket + one 13 yr old boy = a really cool photo!

(Taken a year ago today . . . thank you Hank for unknowingly being such a great subject!)

Have a safe & happy 4th of July!