Grown-up furniture

T & M have been working on a redesign for her office. It’s been an ongoing process, eventually T convinced M to spring for some nice Herman Miller furniture. (This is one of the down-sides of working with T – he has good taste, but definitely not cheap.) But since M has been on a major campaign to get rid of the excess stuff in her life (also known as The Purge) and with all of her diligent Craigslist/Ebaying had raised enough money to make a nice dent in the cost of the furniture, which just makes the beautiful furniture that much better. There’s something so rad about converting a bunch of useless crap into a beautiful desk. (Especially having seen how much work went into it… )

T & I were invited over for delivery day, mostly T so that he could help assemble, but I tagged along to hang out and see the big unveiling. Getting “real” furniture is exciting and somewhat daunting. When you bring home that IKEA shelf, it just doesn’t have the same gravity if you make a mistake assembling it. I couldn’t resist taking some photos of the big day:

And at last, the removing of the plastic:

Here’s M, modeling one of the shelf-panels:

And finally, a sneak peak of the impressive new office set-up. M will definitely have prettier pictures of this in the future, but for now you get my blurry version of the mogul in action:

Congratulations, on the awesome new office. I hope it wows your clients into spending lots and lots of money.

Art on the town

Tonight was First Thursday at the Seattle Art Museum (a.k.a. SAM) and since M & I had been planning to go see their Alexander Calder exhibit, it seemed like the perfect excuse to go. (The only thing better than art is free art… ) I caught the bus from work to meet M & T who drove over together. While I was waiting, I snapped a picture of these cool car sculptures they had hanging over the lobby:

On the same floor as our Calder exhibit, there was a Michelangelo exhibit. The ticket taker helpfully informed us of what rooms contained which artist. I found this amusing because it’s hard to imagine two artists that would be easier to tell apart, but whatever. I also loved the sign above the entrance, which I tried to photograph (and promptly learned there was no photography of any kind) so you’ll have to settle for this “artsy” one:

(A quick rant here: I understand why photography isn’t allowed for some artists/exhibits – i.e. watercolors, older works, etc. where even the 10% of flashes that go off would definitely damage the work, but metal sculpture? Really? I love photographing works to inspire me later, so it was most annoying not to be able to take NON-FLASH pictures. GRRRRRR!!!)

Anyhoo, the Calder exhibit was wonderful. I wished it was twice as big, but wonderful nonetheless. It was fun to watch people watch his sculptures. Everyone just sort of slows down in the presence of a giant floating mobile. It’s awesome. Particularly enjoyable was a little baby who was mesmerized and stared at the sculptures, completely enraptured. They had a nice range of his work and displayed them really well – a number of pieces had strong front lighting that would cast shadows onto the floor and wall behind the piece, which really added to their impact. Two thumbs up, even with the large crowds.

Less wonderful and far more head-scratch inducing was the Michelangelo exhibit. According to the bus ads and billboards around town, it was supposed to be an exhibit highlighting 12 extant sketches that the artist had intended to destroy. Unfortunately, these particularly sketches really should have been destroyed or at the very least not had an exhibit built around them. They were basically drawings of a hand/a foot/a femur of a minor figure in the far upper left hand corner of a panel on the Sistene chapel. But the best part was to pad the exhibit, they had these completely random/vaguely Michelangelo-related objects. For example, an entire room of pictures and pieces of the house his great-grandnephew remodeled 100 years after the artists death. (???!!!)

My favorite was a model of the cart they used to move David into the Academia, complete with scale model of David in the cart (and next to a large poster of David, lest you not realize that’s just a model… ) The little plaque accompanying the cart was written in the craziest style I’ve ever seen. Allow me to paraphrase: “Here we see a scale model of the cart that was used to move the statue of David from the Pitti Palace to the Academia. How did they get the statue into the cart? (Using ropes and pulleys) Was it heavy? (Yes, it took a long time) What is the statue made of? (Marble quarried from NameOfPlace) Wasn’t that dangerous? (Yes, many people were killed or maimed.)” and so on… The whole thing reminded me of one of those weird museums they have in small towns where something of interest happened or someone famous lived once upon a time.

We also wandered around the contemporary pieces and saw an exhibit of Imogen Cunningham’s photography, which was cool — especially since she’s one of M’s favorite photographers. I was really sad I couldn’t take pictures of the contemporary work, since there were a few awesome pieces (awesome in their hilarious absurdity for the most part… ) So, I scoured the internet and found my two favorites. First up is an unfortunately tiny picture of Jeff Koons’ St. John the Baptist:

For those who aren’t up on their art history, this is a gaudy gold-plated ceramic statue based on Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting:

(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

(No, I have no idea why the Koons’ statue is holding a pig and a penguin. I’m sure there’s a reason… ) My other favorite was surreptitiously photographed by someone on Flickr and is Maus and Mann by Katharina Fritsch:

(Yes, that’s a giant mouse/rat on top of a pillow and a mannequin… ) Behind this piece was this amazing robe made out of thousands of military dog tags, but I remember neither the artist nor the name, so you’ll have to visit the museum to check that out for yourself. Or maybe google “Giant robe made of dog tags.” That might be fun regardless…

Afterward, we headed for the exit. While we were waiting for the elevator, I snapped this cute picture of T:

And this little detail of the mural above the elevator (words to live by, no?):

Filled with cultury goodness, we headed over to J’s office to pick him up and then over to Brouwers for some beer and moule-frites. MMMMMMM! Good food, lots of laughing with friends. Not bad for a Thursday!

Couples day out

If you’re married then you know that there comes a time in every couple’s life when you have to take the boy shopping. M & I had both reached that point, so we decided to bite the bullet and take a trip to the outlet mall. (The same outlet mall long time readers might remember from last year’s shenanigans.) Initially, it was just going to be M, T and I because J hates shopping, but to everyone’s surprise he volunteered to come along. T was nice enough to make bagels for us for breakfast, as it’s very important to fuel up. We also made sure to hit the Starbucks as our first stop upon arrival so that no one would be under-caffeinated and cranky.

I didn’t take too many pictures in the flurry of shopping, but had to grab this one of the hilariously named Fudgery:

Sigh. If you could see the people at the outlet mall, you would know exactly how unnecessary this establishment truly is… Anyhoo, we did pretty well for T, scoring him some new pants and shirts to replace the unwearable things he has now. M didn’t do as well for J, but managed to pick up a few things for herself as did I. She also taught T the right way to say that things look like crap on the wife: “I just don’t care for it.” as opposed to “That makes you look really boyish and flat-chested.” Very valuable skillset.

After all of the shopping, we were hungry and faced with the excellent nutritional options of crappy food court or McDonalds. Sadly, McDonalds was the healthier option of the two. (I know, let that roll around your brain for a moment… ) While waiting for our food, I snapped this forlorn picture of M:

Followed by one when her food arrived:

I’d taken a wider shot than normal, with the intention of cropping it as you see above, but didn’t notice when I took it the hilarious expression on the woman behind M. So, mystery woman who is so irritated by my taking a picture in a McDonalds, smile – you are on my blog:

And just for the record, I think the “Ironic trucker hat” look is way out of fashion, just sayin’… We had a good laugh at the unfortunate line break in the Big Mac container “100% Beef mingles” which led to some very hilarious guesses as to what constitutes a “beef mingle” and that we were probably better off not knowing, etc. (Well done, McDonalds package designer, well done!) Afterward, we headed home, where M & I watched the live stream of the Hawaii Ironman on my laptop and J took a nap. Luckily, he had evil Georgie looking over his shoulder. (You are getting sleepy… )

T decided that the dogs deserved a little treat, so he broke out the Frosty Paws (a special brand of ice cream for dogs) He has to hold it for them so that they don’t swallow it whole, container and all:

They are pretty cute eating it, so it sort of assuages the yuppie guilt of buying ice cream for dogs:

We had a great evening filled with wine, yummy dinner, (roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans – cooked by yours truly) some Rock Band and lots and lots of laughing. It was a great day and more than made up for the stressful week that preceded it. Thanks, M & J – you guys rock!

Girls night!

It has been a hell-acious week at work and the boy is working a night shift, so what better time to grab your best girl friend and go see that movie your husband has absolutely no desire to see? In my case, that movie is The September Issue (and of course the girl friend is M!) I showed up at her place grumpy and bedraggled from putting out the day’s forty-seventh fire but was immediately cheered by her offer to open one of the bottles of “good wine.” (In our world, “good wine” is any bottle that didn’t cost ~5 dollars from Trader Joes.)

M was nice enough to let me bitch about my day and invited me into her office to see how cute Mushroom is in his new catbed:

And no, it is not an accident that the cat bed matches the rug, M is in the process of re-doing her office with the help of T. Pictures will be posted of the grand unveiling, (assuming I can score an invite – tee hee!)

We left for the theatre early so we could find a parking spot and be leisurely. Sure enough we scored an awesome spot in the residential area not too far from Ms. Cyclone’s former address. On the way to the theatre, we saw this interesting architecture/signage combo:

Yes, folks that IS a neon sign on that pretty old apartment building:

What are people thinking? Seriously… We were super early, so we killed some time hanging out in T’s favorite coffee shop — Uptown Espresso and then wandered over to the movie theatre:

The movie was very good and both M & I enjoyed it. If you have any interest in the fashion industry at all, definitely go see it/rent it. A very nice start to the weekend, that even the fact that I had another work emergency waiting for me when I got home couldn’t ruin…

Concert going

In an effort to expand our social calendar, we accompanied M & J out to Redmond to see Flogging Molly at Marymoor Park. I’d never seen a concert at Marymoor before and I must say, it’s a very nice place to see a show. There’s a big expanse of lawn in front of the stage, where those of us who are more mellow can set up our lawnchairs and picnic blankets and see a show.

We got there pretty early and got great seats on the little hill toward the back. We enjoyed a nice little picnic dinner:

There was a really eclectic crowd – everything from middle-aged white people to teenage punk rockers. There was also some fabulous fashion choices. My personal favorites:

Oh, yeah! Before long, the opening acts took the stage. First a band called something like “Fits & Tantrums” and then a  self-proclaimed Reggae/Ska band called “The Hepcats” followed:

The first band was fine. All of the Hepcats songs sounded the same to me but they did have some groovy dancing. J had joined the folks up in the front for some moshing action and had talked M into hanging out with him until the Flogging Mollys started. T & I wanted no part of that action, so we hung out in our picnic spot. Shortly after Flogging Molly started their set, M re-joined us.

The Flogging Mollys were great and put on a really enjoyable show. Our fellow concertgoers were equally amusing. There was a super drunk + stoned girl who kept us wildly entertained with her crazy dancing – sort of a hybrid of contemporary dance, two-step and drunken swaying. It was rad. An ugly couple took a self-portrait in front of the stage with way too much flash. All in all, a great evening out with friends.

All roads lead to Conoco

Sunday morning started early, but fortunately there was coffee to ease the blow. We were on the road by 7am, which is significantly earlier than I’m able to drag my sorry butt out the door on my own. M was riding with us for the first section and got her first lesson in drafting from Erin. She adapted to it quickly and is definitely a fan. The first part of the ride was on lovely asphalt and just zoomed by. We pulled over for M to turn around, which gave me a chance to snap a few pictures. For you California readers, doesn’t Prosser look like the central valley area?

The highlight of the stop was M asking about rattlesnakes, being assured by Erin & I that there weren’t any and then almost peeing on a dead one. Good times. She was nice enough to snap a shot of Erin & me with my camera before she took off though, because she’s cool like that.

After bidding farewell to M, we continued on our way and made our first stop at a Conoco gas station for water and potty breaks. There were tons of cyclists, so clearly it’s a popular stopping place. Then it was time for some climbing. Erin had planned out a good IM Canada prep ride that had a 6 mile climb, a big loop of rollers and then a second time up the 6 mile climb then another 20-30 miles and then home. The climb itself was fine – good shoulder, decent pavement and not a lot of traffic.

(photo by M)

There was only one thing that made it hard, a crazy headwind that at times felt like an invisible person was pushing against my bike. But I just put my head down and pedalled away.

(photo by M)

After climbing that big hill, we got to turn around and fly back down it which was awesome! You never appreciate how big a hill you just climbed as much as when you get to go back down. It was crazy. We did another big loop, stopping at a different Conoco where I got a Coke and some Nutter Butters (mmmm!) Then more riding and a second stop at the same Conoco that we’d stopped at initially. We called M to schedule some water delivery up on the ridge that would follow the second climb.

The second time seemed easier than the first, headwind-wise, probably because I was remembering it being impossibly awful. After the second climb we headed out into the wheat fields on top of a windy ridge. They’d harvested recently, so the fields looked like this:

It was gusty and the road was chipseal, but otherwise the riding was fine. Eventually, M arrived with water and my second bottle of Infinit chilling in a cooler. She was our hero, because it was definitely hot out there.

We suggested that she ride down the hill we’d climbed, so she’d properly appreciate our achievement. We hit the road again and after a while I saw M up ahead. She’d stopped to take a few pictures of us riding in the pretty scenery. Here’s Erin:

And here’s me:

The last section of the ride was along a busy highway which, with the gusts of winds and trucks going by, was not my favorite thing. Right before we had another big downhill section there was an overlook where we could stop and see all of Prosser below.

Not having M to take a picture of us, we tried the DIY method. (M definitely has job security, because I suck at this… )

Then it was down the hill and home in a flash. The descent was fun, except for a gusty section that was a little scary. Before we knew it, we were back in Erin’s neighborhood with approximately 85 miles completed (my bike computer is not accurate, hence the approximately.) It was sooooo nice to have a riding companion for such a long ride, not to mention such a nice area to ride in. I’m very grateful to Erin for being such a fabulous hostess on all counts.

Girls day out, Prosser style

The next morning I awoke to the sound of birds. After a delicious breakfast, we headed out for a short ride with Erin as tour guide:

That’s her house in the background, isn’t it adorable? We did a very enjoyable 90 minute ride that went by quickly and felt great. Erin’s cat Bandit was chilling in his kitty house when we got back so I snapped a few pics:

Isn’t he sweet? Her other cat Cheddar was busy hunting in the garden, so I didn’t get his picture but trust me, he’s a sweetie too. I went for a short run, while M went for a short swim at the outdoor public pool that was two blocks away. Erin was nice enough to home and make lunch (such a good hostess!) which we devoured when we got back. After some quick showers, it was time for a little wine tasting.

Prosser is a big agricultural area, with a ton of wineries. We hit Mercer first, which had a pretty swanky tasting room. Erin has done some volunteering for the local wineries, so she knows a lot of the folks and has the inside scoop on the Prosser wine scene. Mercer sometimes does tours of their processing plant, but alas not today. They did let us go into the barrel room, which was pretty freakin’ cool (both literally and figuratively)

Outside the parking area, they had these cool wooden crates stacked up. In this photo, you can also admire Erin’s fantastic parking job. (And this was BEFORE the wine tasting!)

Next stop was the winery where Erin used to volunteer. (I can’t remember the name) The highlight of this visit was the door to the club room, which was a sliding bookshelf, a la Scooby Doo. Super cool:

Our third and final stop was this really cute little winery called Chinook. Their tasting room was in a converted house where we were greeted by a very sweet golden retriever. Here he is, hard at work:

Despite some seriously ugly labels, the wine was very, very good. The folks running the tasting room were very nice and it was fun to chat with them. After dropping our wine off at Erin’s house, we hit the road to Kennewick for pedicures and the 40th birthday celebration of one of Erin’s friends, which was really fun. It’s always interesting to hang out with people who have known each other for a really long time. Especially if there are embarrassing high school photos involved. (Vive la big hair!) Sadly, we had to leave the party early as we had an early morning ride time so we had to be the lame people going to be at 9:30 on a Saturday night. Such is the life of the triathlete in training…

Beach house Sunday

I’ve blogged about the Florence beach house before, but I just love this place. Even with the late night arrival and having to sleep in the bunk house, it’s worth it. The first day was super foggy and a little bit chilly. We took the boys to the beach:

It was pretty windy, but J found himself a nice napping spot in a ditch:

The beach was this weird combination of blue skies and fog, giving everything this slightly unfocused, dreamlike quality:

(I’m sure M’s pictures will do this far better justice than mine. so I’ll link to her blog when she posts them.) The rest of the day was very lazy. I took a long nap, read my book then we had a yummy pasta dinner, watched the Wrestler (meh) and took a late-night field trip to Fred Meyer for groceries and ice cream. All in all, an excellent recovery/vacation day.

Milfoil and parking follies

Tonight, M and I went to scout the swim course for this weekend’s Seafair Triathlon. Unfortunately, there was a ton of seaweed/milfoil at the beginning of the swim which triggered a huge panic attack for M, so it was not a successful swim outing. We decided to console ourselves with some thai food in Capitol Hill, since both of us were starving. We’d brought the dogs along, since Todd was out of town and they regard car trips as “doing something” and M got this great shot of me and Smokey Joe:

When we got near the thai place, parking of course was a problem. We saw a spot that looked a little on the tiny side, but M appealed to my parking vanity, so I decided to go for it. Four hundred turns later, we were in:

I knew it was tight, but Jeebus!

My title of parallel parking master remains intact!

So even if the milfoil got us down, the parking follies cheered us up…

Just fondue it

M & J were gracious enough to invite us over for another J cooking experiment – this time fondue was on the agenda. M had set a lovely table, and I caught her in the act of setting up her shot:

T was in charge of burning the house down… I mean… lighting the burner:

And J presented the main star, a very delicious cheese fondue:

And voila, a beautiful dinner:

And trust me, it tasted as good as it looked!