Silent Snowy Night

Snow covered cars.

Our snowy shadows.

Christmas overload.

Maybe this little tree needs me.

Come on in.

Rainy Day Project

If you live in Seattle you may find yourself defensive about rain. When people write Seattle off as a place where everyday is a gloomy, soggy mess it's upsetting! But we still have to face the facts...it does get a little drippy in the winter. That being said Seattlites are all the more creative because of our days inside. We own some of most fun, unique umbrellas and galoshes. And last year when "wellies" were all the rage, we were the only ones who could legitimately wear them. When the season changes and you find yourself staring at a 10 day forecast with the same rainy/cloud stamped next to every day, it's time to find some fun indoor projects. I present ... Rainy Day Project #1 : Refinish A Coffee Table (Or Other Piece of Furniture). I started with a coffee table we got from friends. I didn't hate the stain but it did have a lot of nicks and scratches on it. And I could have stood to have it a little lighter. Here's the coffee table before: I took it down to Owen's parents and used an electric sander to take off the finish and smooth out any dents. Then used a completely clear finish to make sure people could put drinks on it or whatever without me worrying about coasters. Here's the finished product:

Smart Girls Have More Fun

In Seattle we know how to nerd-out. It's a stereotype that just might be true. We can tell you how far away the nearest internet cafe is from any given point in the city. (Because we're probably standing next to two). We get down with webinars, webisodes, the blogamosphere, hyperlinks and we know all the Ctrl shortcuts on our keyboards by heart. I'm never more happy than when I'm basking in the glow of my two monitors, writing Google ads at work, or reading my favorite blogs. Let me tell you, finding new Maria Bamford webisodes really takes the edge off a rainy winter day.

So I present my latest feature: Nerd-Out. Where I will share my latest internet obsessions. Get ready to click some links!

1. Amy Poehler's Smart Girls at the Party webisodes: Amy interviews girls about their interests and talents. The webisodes are geared toward parents and their daughters, but I still like them. The first guest on the show is a 10-year-old author. It's funny and adorable. Unfortunately it is sponsored by Barbie. I know they are trying to market her as something empowering for young girls, but there's something about that beeotch I don't trust.

2. Yellow Sticky Notes (a film). I save a lot of my notes to myself, in fact last night I was looking through the first notebook I kept here in Seattle. Amid more journal-y type entries are also grocery lists, directions, and to do lists. My favorite note to myself is "buy presentable shoes". Anyway this film is about how consuming those little to-do lists can be. It's shot flip-book style on, of course, yellow sticky notes.

That's all for today ... stay tuned for more nerding out in the future.

West Seattle Art Walk

It's the second Thursday of November and you know what that means? Art walk! I'm going to the West Seattle Art Walk for the first time tonight and let me tell ya, I'm excited. I found a blog that posts who and what will be at each spot. Very cool. There's even a little walking map. I'm excited to check out all the art, jewelry, crafty goodness and, of course, the free wine that's rumored to be a part of art walks.

Prices: Looks like a range of between $30 and $300 for the pieces that will be shown on November 13, 2008.
Location: West Seattle - Map of stores participating.
Website: West Seattle Art Walk
Hours: Second Thursday of every month from 6-9pm.

Nature Run On Alki

My run didn't start out great. I stepped in a huge pile of dog poop. Huge. Yellow. Pile. I saw it just before my foot squished directly into it. I tried wiping it by dragging my foot around in the grass, but Mizuno running shoes have this big section cut out of the bottom. It make the shoe lighter but it's sorta annoying because big stones can get lodged in it. Or big piles of dog poop can get get packed into it. So I went in search of a stick to dig the poop out. I found one. As I dug this yellow, mushy poop out of my shoe the smell hit my nose and I gagged. But I needed to get it out, I kept digging. The next wave of poop smell hit me and I threw up my lunch of chicken salad. Digging poop out of a shoe, while revisiting lunch is a great way to start a run. I hope I at least threw up in the driveway of whoever decided to leave their dog's enormous dump on the sidewalk.

After the poop digging and puke session, I thought about cutting my run short. I was cranky. But I decided going down to the water might cheer me up. I got down there and saw a news van. Of course I ran past it in hopes of making the evening news, even though it meant going on the long route. They hadn't set up the cameras yet so I'm not famous yet. But as I ran along Alki it was like some kind of staged nature show. A seagull flew out of the bay with a HUGE crab in its mouth. It landed and let the crab go, because this crab was fighting for its life. I waited for the seagull to look away from its catch then ran at it scaring the seagull away. I wanted a look! And this crab was super weird. One huge claw, and one that looked like a needle. It looked like a tick. I had planned to save its life, but I quickly decided not to touch it. I think it was a snow crab... based on this picture.



As I ran I saw seagulls swooping into the water to snatch fish in their beaks. There were all sorts of birds hunting that I've never seen. Then a pack 3 or 4 sea lions showed up. I slowed down so I could run along side of them. I wanted to make sure they were sea lions so I stopped and asked an older couple with binoculars. The man was really excited about all the birds. I can't remember all the names he listed. But some were very rare ducks. It was hard to turn his attention to the sea lions so I could ask what they were, but his wife was like me and more interested in them. Which is understandable, because between a little duck and a huge sea lion, the sea lion is obviously much more exciting.

I'm excited for winter running on Alki, there are more animals every day and less people chugging Coors and lighting bonfires. I'm still waiting to see a whale... I don't care if it's illogical.