Today was the time for one of the highlights of the Season;
The John&Jan Holiday Party (aka known as the evening of "RSVP school")
Always an enjoyable evening with a great mix of people, wonderful food and some good brews/wine. I'm not religious, but it is sort of a "blessing" to have such great neighbors!
Thanks Guys for your wonderful hospitality and lets make sure we make 2007 just as good as 2006!
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Christmas Zoo
If you haven't gotten our Christmas Card, don't fret. Not one else has gotten it either - yet. They are coming off the Costco printing press any day now, and will soon be on it's way, wow!
Getting 2 dogs, 3 cats and a wife into the same picture is not the easiest thing to do - especially when the wife is about to head out shopping...
Last year, we had the camera hooked up to the PC and took some 100+ photos in order to get "a few" decent ones.
This year, due to "Canon issues" (software no longer supporting remote shooting), we had our neighbor over as a "trigger finger". John is not slow, but he is nowhere as fast as a PC running at full speed. Hence, the "photo samples" to pick from were not as plentiful this year. On the flip side, I don't think we've seen John laugh as hard in a long time, and as a result the camera moved around a bit. A benefit not given when using a tripod :-). Taking these few photos was a real adventure, not the least for wife who escaped with only a few (cat) scrathes this time.
Honorable mention here is for sure Canon's support. A gentleman spend well over three hours on a call with me Friday(?) evening (un-installing, cleaning/rebuilding registry, etc). Just that simple call likely cost Canon more than what we paid for the camera back in 2002, but the fact that support IS there when one needs it - and very dedicated support that is - has guaranteed that Canon will have me as a return customer even for the next camera. I never got your name, or more likely forgot it, but I know you were heading out for a whiskey after you were "done" with me. If you are reading this, Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Apart from that, Christmas has been great (as every year). It is a truly magical holiday, regardless where you happen to be. A holiday with food, family and friends. Thanks to EVERYONE for wonderful company, food, drinks, and chats. Especially a huge thanks to Magnolia for making a Swedish "jul" buffet as close as anyone can get to "mama's"! Many years since I had one like that last time (and you are not even born/raised in Sweden - amazing).
And the of course to John and Jan for making us part of your family. We would not be here if it wasn't for you guys!
And when typing this, our mailman Steve stopped by to drop off some cards and a package. He is truly a great guy. Always happy (even in today's pouring rain), comes to the door to greet the dogs and hand deliver packages, and never in such a rush that we cannot take a few moments and reflect over life and living. USPS at its very best, truly!
(for more photos, look at the 2nd posting "Christmas Zoo - more pictures")
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you; Family, Friends, and Strangers!!!!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you; Family, Friends, and Strangers!!!!
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Christmas Ztorm
We've just "recovered" from a little wind. Experts say it was the strongest gusts we've seen around here since the 60ies, and of course it left some damage in its wake. The weathermen (and girls) had accurate predicted this a few days out. We had a small precursor that blew down some stuff (neighbor's fence) and gave us a little feel of real autumn.
That was on Tuesday. Thursday afternoon I was in downtown Seattle for a meeting. Stepped outside Westlake Center to catch the bus home around 3.50 PM. It was raining, and yes it was wet, but it was truly manageable - still. My bus never came, but there were endless buses passing indicating "To Terminal", "East Base", and a lot of other unreadable messages. While it was raining harder, the wind also picked up. After not too long it was raining horizontally! After the 45+ minute wait (getting soaked up to you know what, despite both umbrella and long gore-tex jacket), the bus finally got there. I was lucky, the door opened up just in front of me, the bus was full, and there was really no room for anyone. Two stops later, the driver announced that he was not stopping anymore to pick up people. Sort of a nice announcement, but it did nothing to help the people waiting for the next bus out in the rain. and, heck, our bus was stopped most of the time anyway. Instead of the 20 minute ride to South Kirkland Park&Ride, it took over 2 hours this time. Gridlock bonanza!
I felt sad for the woman sitting next to/under me, since I had to stand the entire way and was dripping fresh "Chateau Nortwest" destilled water directly on her knee. She got soaked, but did not seem to mind. Maybe my (rain) water was better than the alternative, getting soaked from several other directions since the bus was so cramped we really had no choice. Once in Kirkland and picking up the truck, it took another two hours to get home north along the lake (normally 5-10 minutes).
I was up most of the night, following the ever increasing wind, and seeing us (and everyone else) losing power at exactly 12.50 AM Friday morning. It was sort of interesting to see "civilization as we know it" die at literally the flick of a switch. A few areas in downtown Seattle had power, but well over 1 million power customers were "cut off". Most of the Eastside was in the dark, apart from those that had generators. In a way actually a very pretty sight since all other activity stopped as well.
With a good load of firewood, high efficiency fireplace, food stuffed away and a (natural gas powered) hot water heater that never fails, we could have continued for a while. Wife started to get grouchy when it was getting too dark to knit or read in the evening hours, while I could just sit and watch the flames in the fireplace. It is so peaceful.
In any case, peace was not back in the household until I realized I had old Petzl headlamp among the climbing stuff in the basement. But, shortly after that, PSE also reconnected the power to us. We were lucky though. Many are still out.
As a footnote one should probably also stop to ask how a strong country like the US, can not manage to get its power grid at least up to some basic standards. This was "just" some wind. What happens next time if there are actually "targeted efforts" to really cut and disrupt power to the population, instead of "just some wind".
In any "natural event", there are also tradegies to be found in its wake. I feel for those who lost family members and friends, but at the same time I simply do not understand why people do certain things, not expecting some dire conesquencies:
- Putting generator inside the livingroom (one fatality)
- Putting generator inside garage with garagedoor closed (four+ fatalities)
- Putting a charcoal grill inside bedroom (one fatality)
- Walking dog over fallen powerlines (one fatality + dog)
On top of that, thousands of people did not have batteries, candles, food, or simply got upset just because their cable TV did not work, or god forbid, the remote control did not open the garage door. In situations like this it is best to; 1) be prepared; 2) help others in need; 3) chill out and wait for it to pass. There's really not much one can do to battle the "forces of nature". They always win anyway.
We got our power back Saturday night but could see the "poor souls" over at Finn Hill still in the dark and for many are still out. A few pictures of the carnege left in the wind's wake...
That was on Tuesday. Thursday afternoon I was in downtown Seattle for a meeting. Stepped outside Westlake Center to catch the bus home around 3.50 PM. It was raining, and yes it was wet, but it was truly manageable - still. My bus never came, but there were endless buses passing indicating "To Terminal", "East Base", and a lot of other unreadable messages. While it was raining harder, the wind also picked up. After not too long it was raining horizontally! After the 45+ minute wait (getting soaked up to you know what, despite both umbrella and long gore-tex jacket), the bus finally got there. I was lucky, the door opened up just in front of me, the bus was full, and there was really no room for anyone. Two stops later, the driver announced that he was not stopping anymore to pick up people. Sort of a nice announcement, but it did nothing to help the people waiting for the next bus out in the rain. and, heck, our bus was stopped most of the time anyway. Instead of the 20 minute ride to South Kirkland Park&Ride, it took over 2 hours this time. Gridlock bonanza!
I felt sad for the woman sitting next to/under me, since I had to stand the entire way and was dripping fresh "Chateau Nortwest" destilled water directly on her knee. She got soaked, but did not seem to mind. Maybe my (rain) water was better than the alternative, getting soaked from several other directions since the bus was so cramped we really had no choice. Once in Kirkland and picking up the truck, it took another two hours to get home north along the lake (normally 5-10 minutes).
I was up most of the night, following the ever increasing wind, and seeing us (and everyone else) losing power at exactly 12.50 AM Friday morning. It was sort of interesting to see "civilization as we know it" die at literally the flick of a switch. A few areas in downtown Seattle had power, but well over 1 million power customers were "cut off". Most of the Eastside was in the dark, apart from those that had generators. In a way actually a very pretty sight since all other activity stopped as well.
With a good load of firewood, high efficiency fireplace, food stuffed away and a (natural gas powered) hot water heater that never fails, we could have continued for a while. Wife started to get grouchy when it was getting too dark to knit or read in the evening hours, while I could just sit and watch the flames in the fireplace. It is so peaceful.
In any case, peace was not back in the household until I realized I had old Petzl headlamp among the climbing stuff in the basement. But, shortly after that, PSE also reconnected the power to us. We were lucky though. Many are still out.
As a footnote one should probably also stop to ask how a strong country like the US, can not manage to get its power grid at least up to some basic standards. This was "just" some wind. What happens next time if there are actually "targeted efforts" to really cut and disrupt power to the population, instead of "just some wind".
In any "natural event", there are also tradegies to be found in its wake. I feel for those who lost family members and friends, but at the same time I simply do not understand why people do certain things, not expecting some dire conesquencies:
- Putting generator inside the livingroom (one fatality)
- Putting generator inside garage with garagedoor closed (four+ fatalities)
- Putting a charcoal grill inside bedroom (one fatality)
- Walking dog over fallen powerlines (one fatality + dog)
On top of that, thousands of people did not have batteries, candles, food, or simply got upset just because their cable TV did not work, or god forbid, the remote control did not open the garage door. In situations like this it is best to; 1) be prepared; 2) help others in need; 3) chill out and wait for it to pass. There's really not much one can do to battle the "forces of nature". They always win anyway.
We got our power back Saturday night but could see the "poor souls" over at Finn Hill still in the dark and for many are still out. A few pictures of the carnege left in the wind's wake...
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Christmas LightZ...
Last year I promised myself to NEVER - ever - put up (beautiful) icicle lights again! They are just too much hassle to warrant the end result.
Well, I almost kept my promise. Light decorations this year are a bit more low key, and a few strands of last year's of icicle lights ended up in the garbage (DOAs). But did eventually decide to put up one strand on the railing by the front doors. Once up, of course 2/3s of it was dead, aaaargh! Down again, up with the last known good strand, and voila! It works! So, this will be the small and slow departure from the tradition of decorating with icicle lights.
Why might someone ask? Well, even if you take time to orderly take them down and store them, they still seem to be tangled up once they are to be used. And when it comes to the "icicles", they defy gravity and hang in all other directions then down. Furthermore, troubleshooting these lights is more work than it is worth. So, no more!
But we finally have seen LED lights come out on the market, and this year also first time at a reasonable price. As long there is mechanical contact in a strand, the LEDs should work year after year. On top of that, they are much more energy efficient so we're not going to provide any additional heat for the crows. But LEDs is for next year when rood and gable are "done" and we can have fixed "anchors" for the light strands. Should speed up and facilitate the "hanging of the lights" and possibly also get the wife out to help...
Well, I almost kept my promise. Light decorations this year are a bit more low key, and a few strands of last year's of icicle lights ended up in the garbage (DOAs). But did eventually decide to put up one strand on the railing by the front doors. Once up, of course 2/3s of it was dead, aaaargh! Down again, up with the last known good strand, and voila! It works! So, this will be the small and slow departure from the tradition of decorating with icicle lights.
Why might someone ask? Well, even if you take time to orderly take them down and store them, they still seem to be tangled up once they are to be used. And when it comes to the "icicles", they defy gravity and hang in all other directions then down. Furthermore, troubleshooting these lights is more work than it is worth. So, no more!
But we finally have seen LED lights come out on the market, and this year also first time at a reasonable price. As long there is mechanical contact in a strand, the LEDs should work year after year. On top of that, they are much more energy efficient so we're not going to provide any additional heat for the crows. But LEDs is for next year when rood and gable are "done" and we can have fixed "anchors" for the light strands. Should speed up and facilitate the "hanging of the lights" and possibly also get the wife out to help...
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