pleasure & pain

Pleasure: Getting out into the mountains and to places like this

Pain: The payment in blisters of 4,000 feet up followed by 4,000 down

Rock (hard) mountain

Saturday fun: A little spot of very fresh air on Rock Mountain Trail (map).
4,000 ft elevation gain to 6,880-ish and a jaw dropping view.

Thanks to Chris and Martin for a great hike (and to Bruce and friend for breaking the route up onto the ridge line)

Is it this way?

Or that way?

Or just up, up, up!

The view; priceless

And to prove it was a proper walk, the obligatory foot shot :-)

Much, much, more on flickr.

Bliss

Is this the best bit about baking chocolate brownies?

Pumpkin Boy

F had a school trip to the pumpkin patch today.
Doesn't he look cute? Yup.

huh?

Another funny day

Wednesday = ride the bus to work day and an amazing sunrise which, by the time I got off the bus and up onto the car park roof, had degenerated to this.
As Prof. Ken Close used to say, "you've missed the best bit".

For those that are beginning to think I've gone potty on clouds: http://www.cloudappreciationsociety.org/

By popular request

Come on, you must have seen this one coming?
By <ta-da!/> popular request, I give you, 25 cloud piccys <drumroll/>.

Who says it always rains here?

Today's Coffee Table Thought

"People buy expensive machines to do garden chores — cut grass, blow leaves — to save time and to save work. But because the lack of work makes them unfit, they then buy expensive gym memberships so they can use other machines that make them work.
Just as well they saved all that time on garden chores,
otherwise there'd be no time to go to the gym."

Coffee table, not thought, from Seattle Marriott Waterfront.

some cloud

H thought 25 piccy's of cloud was a tad excessive — "you and mum went away and took pictures of clouds?" just about said it all.
Thought I might get away with sharing three of them — you're a more discerning audience.

Matt's in the market

Fantastic food (thank you Robbie for the recommendations, the patter & the lamb burger napkin) at a great place — Matt's in the Market — highly recommended if you're out and about around Pike Place. If the only space is at the bar, grab it (and grab it even if it isn't the only space).

hole in the head(s)

 

The problem with taking funny pictures of Fay; is that she retaliates.

Actually, that's the problem with digital camera's that have an instant piccy-preview...in the 'good old days' of film she'd wouldn't have known a retaliation was needed until a week later.

thank you victoria & james

The boys had a sleep over and we escaped for a day in the big city & a little (slightly early) celebration — thanks guys!

Funny Day

This morning the sun was trying to creep between the Cascades and the Cloud

By this afternoon, the sun had given up, and the clouds were dropping wet stuff on us.

Campus Walks

 

Walking between buildings on campus to get from meeting to meeting is great, and usually quicker than the shuttle — but this time of year the colours are wonderful, even for those of us with dodgy eyes.

The down & up of 14 - 9

A very generous James, Victoria and Brian invited me over for a spot of world cup rugby, live from France to PNW via various boxes of electronics.

A very satisfying outcome said Brian...

unless you're supporting France. It appears that Bart's facial hair theories have something to them [cached]!

Lost

Lost my shoes today :-o

Found them, outside the office.

dad to son: it was this big

Dad with [autumn | fall] colo(u)r at cottage lake park

Piccy by H with a Canon SD1000 (which is nearly as small as he is)

more fountain

A trip to the Seattle center is now no longer complete without a stop at the international fountain, this time with the Kirkland Posse. One day someone will update the sequence, and we'll have a [car | bus] full of wet children. Fun in July, not so fun in December.

bricking it

work's going green

NWBrickCon

FAB day out in Seattle at NW Brick Con (read all about it) with D, F & Co. Top marks to the little people & the mindstorm extravaganza. H found another titanic; this one took 6 months, at 6 hours a day, to build.

Joy killers

Given all the unsavoury things that kids can get up to these days, I'd have thought the last thing society would want to do is blight bits of architectural concrete with 'skateboard prevention brackets'.

Of course, we could always ban skateboarding completely, and while we're at it wrap <18 year olds up in bubble wrap (cotton wool being so 1970). If we did that, we also wouldn't need advice like this.

Bagel Technique

Friday morning == team bagels, thanks to Marcio, seen above demonstrating optimal toasting technique, for yesterday's batch, fresh from Noah's.

buzz turtle

i see no salmon

at least none sighted by us in upper bear creek last weekend

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to you (+ 1 week rat-at-ta)
Happy Birthday to you (+ 1 week rat-at-ta)
Happy Birthday Dear H
Happy Birthday to you (+ 1 week rat-at-ta)

Sorry H, manic week, so piccy delay. We had a fab time, hope you did toooo!

Boys will be... star wars characters?

For no reason in particular, a piccy of H...

...and a piccy of, err, well, ah, um, Jango Fett?

Deer Swing

Young stags in the garden, spotted by F on route to swimming and called in by H.