Saturday, November 18, 2017

Fall glory:  some sunshine, clear air, blue skies with clouds, Mt Rainer in clear view as we crossed 520.

Kitchen appliance shopping, went to Sears in Bellevue to look at Kenmore.  Sears seem tired and defeated; a retail colossus once now on the verge of oblivion.  The way of the world...all becomes new.

Went by Lowell and Carol house to wish them Happy Thanksgiving and to give them a baby short to take to Luca in the Bay Area when they go.  We will be off to Tulsa.  Good friends with whom we have spent some Thanksgiving holidays.

Too much time on Facebook chasing down friends of old in Tulsa and San Francisco.  Used to be that you drifted apart and gradually people faded out of your life.  Now it's possible to see their photos, find where they live, etc.   Sort of fun to research and discover, but how can you move forward and change if you never have to leave anything, anyone behind?  Like, people on Facebook with 800+ friends; no way they can actually keep up and be really involved with that many people.

Friday, November 17, 2017

Long day at the VA Hospital as a volunteer "NaVAgator".  I wait near the main entry and as people enter I help them find where they are going in a large complex of buildings with inconsistent room/floor numbering and different elevator banks.  Most of the folks are struggling with health issues, many of them mobility impaired.

Off to Tulsa in a few days.  I've set up a get together with my cousin, Bobby Jack (goes by "BJ" these days) to reminisce about our family when we were boys.  He's 4 years older than me.  Should be interesting.

Ughhh...Christmas presents.  Stresses me out.

Ongoing problem:  I don't have a job so why is it so hard to get stuff on my personal "to do" list done?  Ring me up with the answer, please.

November 14, 2017

Started the day off in the backyard cutting the downed rhodendron into smaller clumps and filled up the weekly yard waste container.  The rhody will take about six weeks to get rid of one container per week.  Also put away the hoses and the table from the deck....winter is on us.

Yoga at 2 pm with Chiarra and and then next door to Celine Patisserie for treats, including the proprietress who's a cutie from Romania.

Went to Home Depot to shop for new kitchen appliances.  Lots of choices and features some of which seem really weird.  How about a glass door front on a frig which, when knocked on twice, will light up part of the interior?

Then to Rositas at Greenlake for good Mexican!

November 13, 2017

Windy, rainy day which kept us mostly inside.  The quite large rhododendron in the backyard, which has been part of the yard since we moved here, split in half due to the wind and collapsed into the yard.  Cats all seem edgy due to the wind.

Shopping for a full suite of new kitchen appliances.  Our dishwasher is at least 20 years old and it is failing, etc.  An interesting perspective on this purchasing effort:  this will likely be the last appliances we ever buy! 

We will be doing Christmas here at our house for the first time since 2004.  It was too sad to consider after Seth's death in 2005 and we have spent the last 12 years traveling to Munich, or Sleeping Lady, or Washington DC.  I must work hard to stage manage this so Kathy has some chance of not suffering inordinately from sad reminders.  I think Lauren may be looking forward to it.  Sean will be off to BC to visit his parents on 12/22 and then Lauren will come stay in her room "with cats".  It may help her healing to have a Christmas at home.  That ended for her in 2004 just like it did for the rest of us, and maybe she's nostalgic for whatever childhood magic there might have been when both kids were young.  When she left for Germany for her junior year in Munich it was about 10 days after Seth's passing....little did we know then how much would change and how hard it would be to try to find a new "normal".  I hope we can make a little progress here in December.

I'm enjoying the Veterans Hospital volunteering and am now a member of the "vets and family advisory council" or something like that.  Al Adams has been nudging me along and I'm glad he did.  I look forward to going "to work" on Fridays to help people find their way around the maze.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017.  Overcast and cool with a few drops of rain. 

Walked around Green Lake, admiring all the trees with yellow leaves falling when the wind blew.

House Back to Ace Hardware, so convenient I only live one block away, to get ideas and materials to do a temporary repair to threshold of our old patio door that is in the master bedroom.  The area under the threshold is rotted.  I dug some out with a screwdriver, but decided not to go too far at present trying to fix it.  Current strategy is put in some wood filler goop and then install a metal threshold over the hole where the plastic threshold was.  That should hold us for a few months until we get the door replaced, and the water damaged floor repaired.

Lauren was over for dinner last night and we had a pleasant time.  She told us about her trips to Minneapolis for the translator's conference, to Frankfort for the book fair, and to Berlin to visit Lizzie.  I cooked spaghetti, per her request.  We also brainstormed a rafting trip down the Colorado through the Grand Canyon for next May.  L shared some frustrations with her work environment and politics there, which we liked because we're glad she opens up on problems.   Also discussed going to Tulsa for Thanksgiving, and then the Christmas holiday.  Sean will go off to Kelowna for a few days to see his parents.  I brought up New York for Christmas which the temperature for Kathy and Lauren...may live to regret my impulsive idea.

We off to Victoria for a few days, courtesy of Lowell & Carol giving us their timeshare slot at the Rosewood Inn.  Plan to check in with cousin Derrick and family, go the Provincial Museum, Butchart Gardens, Empress for tea, etc.   Our first night Kathy has reservations at some Irish Pub with folk music.

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Kingsman: Golden Circle  went to Thornton Creek Cinema and saw an action-packed, star studded, special effects movie that was pretty entertaining.  Lots of drollery and comedic moments mixed in with martial arts and explosions.  Elton John was in it, and John Denver's songs were featured.

Then went to Kona Coast for dinner.  We had a nice chat with a young man from Oahu who here going to University Washington and is eager to home for Christmas.  Kathy happened by chance to be wearing her Eddie Aikau t-shirt which lent some credibility to us speaking of Hawaii with affection and the knowledge gleaned from about ten vacations to the various islands.

Weather has turned typical Northwest with steady rain, gray skies, and deepening gloom as the days grow shorter and darker. 

Lauren has been traveling and we're not sure where she is.   She went to Minneapolis for a conference of the American Literary Translators Association, flew on to Frankfurt for the book fair, and then went up to Berlin to hang out her pal, Lizzie.  We're certainly pleased that her career in publishing, and her job at Amazon, are flourishing.

Thanksgiving: planning to go to Tulsa (Lauren's idea).   Kathy seems full of various anxieties.  How will Sean Ennis (Lauren's boyfriend) find our relatives?  Will Geri be up to her typical manipulations?  Etc.   We have booked an extended stay suite with two bedrooms so those of us from Seattle will have some respite from hanging with the relatives.  I'm planning to promote trips to Gilcrease, Philbrook, Brady district as ways to get out the red house and also to give Tulsa a chance to show some positive elements.

Travel calendar for first year of retirement:

Very busy year on the travel front thanks to Kathy's enthusiasm for trip planning.

• October (second week):  New York City.
• December (first week) :  Tulsa for Granny and Gary birthdays
• December 15 - 19:  John to SF to help Jim move to Veterans Home in Yountville.
• Christmas:  Whistler BC with Lauren
• Jan 26 - Feb 11 Honolulu and then Maui (with Lowell & Carol)
• Mar 12 - 22 London for Bookfair with Lauren!
• April 27/28  Ocean Shores with Ananda and Linda
• May 5 - 14 Sedona AZ with Lowell & Carol
• June 17 - 26   Albuquerque, Pagosa Springs with Gary & Cyndi Stacy, visit Don Woodlee in Mora, New Mexico
• Sept 22 - Oct 4  going to Maui with first visit to Hana on the east side.  Then we'll go to Lahaina for one night to stay in the old Best Western next to the banyan tree.  Then to the Mahana, our "old same place" that we love.  Lowell & Carol will be at the Westin Ocean Shores, as will John  Schilling with his niece Vera and her boyfriend.

I don't think we'll travel so much in 2018, but we've had a damn good time of it.  We do plan to stay focused on "big" travel the next few years while we're both reasonably fit and mobile....don't want to tarry and be caught by surprise by the "slow go" years as we age.

Parents Day at Amazon - on Friday, 9/15 we went to Lauren's building, "Doppler", to join her for Amazon's second "Parents Day".  It was quite the mob scene with all the proud parents being shown around by their high-achiever children.  We went to the 17th floor outdoor dog park (lots of dogs everywhere!), tried our hand at doing a 6 second video wearing silly hats (did not turn out very well!), walked up Westlake to visit an archive room in the building that contains their library, ate lunch at a ramen restaurant in the first level of Doppler, and played mini-golf in the hallways of another building near Mercer Street.  I was pretty impressed reading Amazon's leadship principles.  Weather was sunny and the visit with our girl was very pleasant and topped off by getting to meet her boss, Gabriella Page-Fort, and a new colleague, Liza.  Gaby was very complimentary about Lauren.

Ananda visit  -  Ananda came by Saturday afternoon, 9/16, to hang out and spend the night.  We had nice spaghetti dinner and then watched a very well done video of a Pink Floyd tribute band.  The music and the light show were incredible.  Sunday morning we had some pancakes and then he and I walked around Greenlake.  Our walk started under gray clouds with a hint of sprinkle and by the time we got round, the rain and wind had come on strongly.  About time we had some rain after a long, hot, smoky summer.  He identified the various duck species for me and we saw a great blue Heron at the Aqua Theatre waiting patiently for a fisherman to land a fish and toss it to him...gobbled right up! Ananda departed at 4 pm to collect Linda from SeaTac.  She was returning from visiting her Dad in Anchorage; he's 94 and having some health challenges.

Thursday, Sept 14, 2017

Random Bits

Last Sunday night we went to St. Michelle winery to see Pink Martini, with Lauren and Sean.  Fun show and we had a nice picnic dinner that Kathy prepared.   The show was our birthday present to Lauren.

Mom would have been 97 yesterday.

Kathy and I going to Amazon Doppler bldg tomorrow to meet up with Lauren for Amazon Parents Day.

Weather was sunny and about 70 today.  Noticeable change to Fall in the past week or so in terms of lower temps and earlier "full dark".

On Tuesday I hurt my back with lifting weights at home followed by sitting down on yoga mat at 8 Limbs.  Immediate sharp pain and stiff lower back.  Recovering well though.  Reminder to be thoughtful about exercise...don't give it up...but keep in mind limitations and longer recovery from injuries now that I'm over 70.

Just got first distribution from 401 K ($65,000) after 29 years of putting money into it.

Hawaii:  beginning to pack for 9/22 departure.  First time we have gone in the fall and first time we have gone twice in the same calendar year!  Our first two days will be in Hana and then we'll go to Kaanapali.

Gettin' shit done....or not

Is not easy.  I seem to have retired in some bone deep way.  I make to do lists and then stuff stays on it for months.  It's bothering me so need to pay more attention to procrastination and how to overcome it.  One element for sure is too much time on the computer surfing the web.  Our house needs some maintenance work and of course we have some "make it nicer" ambitions, also.

June 3, 2017

Went to Alderwood AMC, courtesy of the Xmas gift certificate from Sean Ennis, and saw "Churchill" starring Brian Cox.  Mainly focused on Churchill's distress in the week before D-Day.  He foresaw another disaster like Gallipoli, but was opposed by Eisenhower, Montgomery, and Alan Brooke who all wanted to go for it.  Pretty good.

Then while driving to freeway discovered a Lynnwood version of Thai Isarn (we've eaten at their Kirkland location with Carol and Lowell) so had dinner there.  Service was slow and two of the dishes were so-so, but fried chicken and sticky rice were good.

Another lovely summer day today with sun up until 8 pm or so.

Now going to watch House of Cards season 5 is positively creepy how it seems to have anticipated Trump and some of his moves.  I'm hoping that Frank Underwood is going to get found out finally and truth & justice will prevail.  What can I say?  I'm an idealistic liberal.

London - breaking news late today of two different terrorist incidents.  A van on London Bridge ran some pedestrians and there were stabbings in Borough Market.  Both locations that we visited in March while vacationing with Lauren.

Various notes on different parts of my life at present:

Yoga - Started taking classes in October at 8 Limbs with Kathy.  We had a great teacher, Matt, who has since retired due to, we think, some terminal illness.  Great guy and a great way to get introduced to "over 50" yoga.  Lately we are going to Phinney Ridge Limbs for the over 50 class led by Chiara. I can really see this as a great exercise regime for aging since it focuses on flexibility, stretching, and strength.

This week we have gone twice to Chiara's class, on T and Th, and Weds went to "yoga tune-up" at Wedgewood.  We have some prepaid passes that will expire and we're trying to use them all before being gone to Colorado in June to meet up with Gary & Cyndi Stacy.

Yard -  looking good now that we're retired.  We did hire the Vietnamese gardener "Long" to do a major work over on the north side but I'm getting the feeling we can get ahead of the work and stay there.  Vegetable garden looking good and the potatoes are in great shape.

Long term I think I'd like a condo with a view:  no yard, very little property maintenance.  But....we've been here 38 years come December so it will be hard to leave the memories behind.

Social Security -  logged into Chase and discovered I had a deposit from Social Security of $3,156.90!  Surprise!  I went to SSA on Aurora in April and they said I would get a letter and then payments would start in June.  The payments started but never got a letter.  While was on the SSA website looking at my account I printed a "Benefits Verification" letter which seems to say I got payments for the first five months of 2017....which I did not.  I'm fairly sure those amounts are what I would have gotten if I had been collecting, but since I had suspended my claim until my 70th birthday I was not collecting.  But, the language in the letter and the past tense affirmative read like I was paid.  I will likely go back to the Aurora office to discuss in person.  It's a small place and the wait is not that long.

Sunday, May 28

Another sunny 80+ summer day in Seattle.  We went to the Folklife festival at Seattle Center for the first time ever.  Lucked into a perfect, free street parking spot in the shade of some trees.  Folklife is multiple scenes/locations of singing and dancing.  Our first stop was a beer garden for a cool one.  We lingered there to watch a couple of different Mexican groups sing and dance to mariachi music at the adjacent stage.  Then wandered around people watching,  The center fountain was a mob scene with kids and young people, along with a few oldsters!, playing in the water.  Ate a delicious vegetable piroshki from Kaleenka.  Highlight of the day, and what drew us to Folklife, was a chance to sing along with several hundred people to Pete Seeger songs.  There were three or four musicians who took turns leading songs.  Final song was "This Land is Your Land" which had me choked up and on the verge of tears.  The predictably liberal Seattle crowd really got into singing that one.  We made another stop at the beer garden, which fortunately had a bit of shade along one fence.  To top off our outing, as we left the center in the direction of our car, we found ourselves in front of a Taylor Shellfish location so in we went so Kathy could eat oysters.  I had a great salad with manchego cheese, currants, nuts in greens with a tasty dressing.

Monday, May 29

Seth would have been 35 years old today.  Here's a link to an appropriate poem which I learned about from seeing the Sam Elliott movie on Saturday:  Dirge Without Music   I do not approve and I am not resigned.

We stayed home on another lovely day and did not do much.  I mowed the lawn and Kathy worked on the bed beneath "Seth's tree".  It's a Korean dogwood that blooms in the late spring and in fact has flowers on it today.  We got a pizza from Flying Squirrel and watched some TV.  Saw an animated movie, "Sausages", that we'd heard about from Lauren & Sean.

Yesterday went to Egyptian Theater on Pine Street to see Sam Elliott and an advance screening of his new movie: "The Hero".  It was a package deal as part of the Seattle International Film Festival.  This was our first time to go to a SIFF event even though we've been here for 40 years.  It was hot sunny day and we had to stand in line for a while.

The movie was pretty good.  Sam played a dope smoking actor mainly getting by doing voice over work for commercials.  He's divorced and alienated from his daughter.  The action is kicked off by getting a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer which sets of reflections about his relationships, the work he has done,etc.  There's a scene in which Sam is reading lines with his pal for a possible role audition. The situation is a father talking to a daughter he's not seen for years and how he gradually convinces her that he's returned to save her from situation.  Elliott really nails the emotion of this conversation, which of course, has nuance due to the parallel father/daughter situation in his character's personal life.

After movie we walked to 11 & Pike neighborhood to "Chop House Row", a redeveloped older building to find, Marmite a restaurant I'd read about.  It was closed but it shares a space with "Spirit in the Bottle" and they were open for dinner.

We sat outside in a passageway through the middle of this complex of new buildings full of restaurants and crawling with lots of foot traffic.  Dinner was good.