Great and busy week!

It has been a busy week. We spent the day at Viking Fest in Poulsbo, the kids disappeared for five hours on rides, Geri came early from Seattle to watch the parade and eat ice cream, we hung with friends in on their sailboat and then walked the beach with dogs and other friends. We have been riding more, which is great for the fat horses. The second and fourth photos are an art walk we went on in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle with Eve and Paulo. Even though not traditionally gallery-like, the classic car restorers garage was one of my fave art pieces. Lovely, lovely cars. The window shot is a musician that had been playing in an antique store sitting on a padded toilet visible in the window. They were pretty good, not sewer like at all.
Thirdly, Rose is goofing off having a hilltop zen moment at the most amazing park on Bainbridge Island that has a planetarium, every kind of sport field imaginable, and a great big circle trail around the place. The boy bathroom had copious amounts of pee on the floor and that was not so cool, but otherwise an excellent park.

Finally, finally I got to go on the Navy destroyer Turner Joy which is parked, or anchored, as you grammatically correct people may choose to say, on the Bremerton waterfront and I have wanted to clamber all over it for ever. (It is open to the public and you can go almost everywhere on it, every deck, every level -- ROCKS.)

Random - and yet again -Procrastination

I have book material due to a publisher on Tuesday. This Tuesday the 16th. So what am I doing? Writing about how I am not working on that. Writing about how I cannot write on that topic but somehow can blather on about procrastinating on not doing what I 'should' be doing. Talked with Ma this morning for two hours. She doesn't know it yet but I am coming out to Michigan when she has her second hip done. I am not sure I helped with the first hip, but I felt alot better being there since I knew she was fine. And she was seriously drugged up. I am not sure the kids along was a help.... but they had a blast, too. Talked to my aunt and uncle this week. They are snowbirds and head down to Fla. every winter. Except this winter was 'winter' down there, not the usual balmy insect-infested sand in your underwear Florida. They told me they saw a plane crash in the Gulf of Florida. That was wierd news. How being near tragedy is almost like seeing a movie star. There was almost gushing going on. I got the blow-by-blow of every detail.
I know when I saw the Coast Guard accident off of Vashon Island that killed a young man, I was probably gushing. It is so out-of-the-ordinary.. and both these times there was really no reason for the deaths. They were both accidents that came out of 'showing off' - one with a Coast Guard boat, one with a former military training jet that was doing tricks too close to the water. What a sad way to pass to the other side.
Still procrastinating.

Nuclear Submarine Base Auction

Why you don't go on the base uninvited .(Photo courtesy www.gzcenter.org)

Mae and I ventured onto the Bangor Submarine base this weekend. For those of you NW news readers... we were not "hiding in the trunk of anyone's car"... my son's school fundraising auction was on base. I was thinkin' that this may not have made the auction a very 'inclusive' event, since not everyone would feel comfortable giving all their home and license information to the auction committee so that they could be admitted on the base.
I was pretty sure this was my only opportunity to see what was behind the razor fencing and bomb barriers. Did you know they have their own McDonald's? And mini-malls? And nightclub/bars? It is like a little city! The auction was fine. It is hard getting used to the lack of parent involvement in everyday school life at this place... as in, I go to the school at least 3 days a week, and only recognized about 9 people at the auction. These parents are not at the school. Our old school I visually knew everyone. The hallways always had parents walking up and down, volunteering all over the place. Another adjustment for me. "Stay out of our children's education" HAHAHAHA. Not really going to happen, from this gal. I bid on the fundraiser items for the school-- and tried to win the "4 young Navy men for 4 hours" donated by the commander of one of the subs..figuring they would be quick at digging out the barn, setting my new fence posts, and leveling the arena (area)...but the bidding went over my limit! Afterwards, we decided to go out. The night was young, we didn't have our kids to get home to, the horses were fed. Headed out to old Silverdale. New Silverdale is basically one big strip mall, all built on farmland in the past 30 years. Old Silverdale has leaning buildings and a strange mixed-use feel to it. We parked behind the restaurant/bar with the flashing lights and boom, boom of music. Walked up to the front door and heard they were playing "pass the duchy on the left hand side", realized we could have given birth to the clientele (age-wise) and walked across the street to the tilting, leaning late 1800's with the rusty fella's smokin' out front. Walked in, past the pool table and the people leaning on the bar. The three person band was playing my fave song from Stevie Ray Vaughn (Vaughan?) so we plopped down in our heels and fancy jackets and had a beer.
The folks were friendly, the music dandy, and the pool table was not crowded --that is all I need for a good night! After drinking my usual 1/2 beer, we went for dessert, talked fine cheese, and got up too early the next day for work.