Winter DrivingZ

These past couple of days, or should we say last week, some residents and media has been very vocal over the state - or maybe lack thereof - of snow and ice removal on our wintry roads. People complain that is it bumpy, that they get stuck, that they can't go anywhere, etc, etc. But, based on the crowds out in the malls and grocery stores, I doubt the (fun) snow really had any real dampening effect on most peoples' driving.

For us used to driving in this "stuff", it has just been fun and interesting. Feeling a big 4x4 slowly tug its way through gigantic snow drifts is an amazing feeling. Why spend tons (literally) on salt and other environment (not to neglect the impact on the cars) damaging chemicals, when we all know the snow will be gone in a few days? Just roll with it.

And, so yesterday morning, it really started to get wet, wet, wet, and much warmer. Whatever snow is left by tomorrow will only be in piles, if even that. Seattlites have gotten a few days of rest - we do not need to rush around EVERY day - and more importantly, we have again been taught a lesson not to mess with mother nature. When it snows, sit tight, or know what you are doing before you go out, instead of complaining about the winter weather's effects.

I could have lots more of this (snow). It just makes everything so amazingly beautiful!

Winter PictureZ

Sort of hard to imagine that this is Kirkland, WA, in December. We NEVER have it this nice (in the winter that is...)!


Click here for better resolution photos.

2008 Yearly ChriZtmas photo

Due to Herbie's unexpected passing (link), Christmas was put on the backburner a bit this year, and everything got delayed. But sooner or later, even Christmas catches up to you. This is what we managed to compile this year:



If you like to see what it took to only get this far, embedded slide show might highlight the efforts in getting these guys (and girls) to fit inside a tiny frame...



Better resolution

Do not really understand how we only a few years ago (link) could get all seven into one frame...

All that said, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Very Happy New Year to all family, friends, and others scattered around the globe!

And for the ones getting a link to this posting a tad late, apologies will not help, but I guess better late than never...

Lake Washington CruiZe

One of Beth colleagues, Anne and her husband John, invited us out for a winter cruise on Lake Washington to follow the Christmas ships as they "charoled" on Montlake and Lake Union. It was sort of "perfect" since we bailed out on the ships when they were passing Juanita Beach just on Friday night (after an hour Beth was too cold to stand out and wait for them). Many times I've planned to put the boat in the water just for this (wintry) event, but sort of glad I haven't.

John has a huge Viking 40 SportFisher, and even onboard this one, with hot chocolate, food, and dessert, some were still a tad chilly.

Apart from the amazing charoling from the "Peace" ship (Argosy Cruises), the decorated vessels are truly awesome. Taking photos in the dark night, from a moving vessel, of other moving vessels, is no child's play so you just have to imagine what it really looked like. Beautiful is probably the best word in any case! My guess is that there were some 100+ boats/yachts/ships/kayaks (yes, even kayaks) out on this white and wintry evening. An evening with the lake flat like a mirror!


This one followed us in from Lake Washington, other decortated ships behind.


View of Montlake with the amrada in the background.


Two frozen babes onboard Viking...


Maybe the BEST Christmas sign I ever seen: "NO L"! - Awesome!

Znow in Zeattle - but no Znow Ztorm

Wow, what wonderful weather. We are actually getting snow in Seattle! It started Thursday morning and we got a good few inches - enough to really make it a true joy to drive! The LandCruiser - even though far too heavy for spirited snow driving - showed its class and we got everywhere and more where we needed to go. Even took a few neighbors out and made sure they got groceries, got to the bank, the post office, etc. All in the spirit of Christmas!

One of our distant neighhbors was not so lucky. she did a nice slide down the hill, firmly planting the right front fender into a tree. Picture to follow...

Saturday afternoon, we took our neighbors to the airport and snow started coming down again just south of Bellevue. Leaving the airport for Fremont and Ballard (to pick up the annual Christmas ham) made for interesting driving and wonderful sceneries through downtown Seattle. On the way home, crossing Seattle, the 520 bridge, and then up through Kirkland was like a Christmas miracle. I wish we could have this EVERY YEAR!

And I am so glad that we don't salt the roads around here. There is really nothing better to drive on than a nicely packed snow road. That and it keeps the cars "pure" - compared to many states out East where even brand new cars start to rust due to excessive salting and just "shitty" weather in general.

After checking on-line, we thought our neighbors had been able to take-off, before it got pretty bad at the airport, but turned out they endured a 5 hour delay on-board w/o anything else than water and dry pretzels. The crew visely wanted to really be on standby in case there was an opening in the weather. Smart, since there are not that many connections SEA-LHR on a daily basis, so better get out when one can. Just talked to the "touristas" and they safely arrived in Vienna, only about 4 hour late - which is nothing compared to the tons of travelers that are stranded out at SeaTac.

For us remaining here, sometime around 7 PM last night the wind started to kick up, and we had for a few hours something that - for a Seattleite - really could be called a small blizzard. We even got fairly decent snowdrifts on the roof, and it is just plain pretty. I guess you have been too long in Seattle when you start to really enjoy these small tricks by nature, tricks that were fairly common during the time in the French Alps or in Northern Sweden.

For some photos, check this post!

Bye Bye Herbie Boy!

Due to the unexpected passing of Beth's Grandfather Herbie, we had to quickly bail to a wet and wintry Michigan for the funeral. Herbie is now going to spend Christmas with Grandma Anna who passed away in the spring. They both obtained the very respectable age of 90+ years, so even though they are gone, they lived long and good lives!

These sad events has put the Christmas holidays on a delayed schedule this year, so for all of you out there waiting for cards and so on, hang tight. They will be coming - eventually and electronically!

Just another reason why we don't want a Palin in the White HouZe

All that said, Michael Palin is of course always welcome. We need more British Comedy in our lives!

Ford Zucks

I've never liked Ford, maybe with the exception of the pretty "sturdy" ones we could find in Europe back in the late 70ies (Granada, Orion, etc) - before they all rusted away...

Once on U.S. soil, I've kept the Fords at bay. Hundred of times I've rented from Hertz (then owned by Ford) for the sole reason they also provided Toyotas, Mazdas, Subarus, Volvos, and in rare cases Hondas. When renting a car, you really do not have to worry about the quality of the vehicle, but you do have to worry about driving it. Most Fords were more like "riding", while all the other cars allowed themselves to be "driven".

One trip from Lynchburg, VA, down to RTP was the nail in the coffin for Fords in my life. A brand new Taurus (or maybe it was a Taurus under the Mercury moniker, the Sable) was to be driven down the parkway down to the RTP airport. Never has a drive been so scary since not even this BRAND new car could provide illumination of the road, less any other form of "control" normally associated with "driving" a car.

So, when I stumbled over this story on Consumerist.com today, it sort of just reminded me how bad Fords are in my mind, and how crooked many car dealerships are (not only Fords, but it does not help if the dealership has to make up for poor product design). I've had Nissans, Audis, Toyotas, Hondas, even Saabs, and not one can even come close to what this poor fellow experiences with his Ford truck. On the contrary, these "import" vehicles run perfectly fine even when they pass the 100K mile marker. We should ask that from any car these days!

Why kill WolveZ?

These majestic and beautiful animals, brutally killed from the air. If you are out to hunt, at least give the animals a fair chance. Arial hunting is just slaughter, nothing else, and promoted by someone that could one day be the Prez.

Just one heartbeat away from being PreZident of the United States

If you missed this skit from Saturday's SNL, watch it here. Brilliant!



Also very scary when realizing that the message in this skit is way too close to becoming reality - "one heartbeat away...". Yikes!

Finally back HOME from "Zvenska" land

Short notice, but we are back home after two weeks in Sweden.
Probably never felt as good in coming BACK HOME as it did this time. More about that later, but there were a number of details that drove me nuts in Sweden this time.
Just needed to get a small entry in here, since it has been a tad stale lately.

What iZ wrong with people?

The vocal minority has gotten upset over (somewhat) hot babes serving the morning java. It is a free market, and if these genius coffee marketers manages to get a "leg up" on the competition, the better. If you do not like these "servers", I can assure you that there are lots of "traditional" coffee stands to choose from as well.

As long as these baristas serve coffee as good or better than the local Starbucks, they'd have my business (if I lived close to them will say).


'Sexpresso' too hot in Washington state

ThiZ waZ juZt to good to leave out...

I did not write this myself, but almost wish I had. It is good...
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/saturdayspin/369510_sorbo05.html

The following is reprinted from Seattle P-I on July 5th, 2008.


No surprise when animals attack hunters
CATHY SORBO

It had to happen sooner or later.

We were due for another "marauding bear" killing and this time the poor furry fellow happened to be on a food run in a neighborhood near Key Center, about a 60-mile crow flight from Olympic National Park.

The bear had been seen around the neighborhood for a few days and finally tried to enter a house, mistaking it for a large trash bin.

On a KIROTV.com video, a Key Center resident said, "Wow. I'm kind of surprised. I didn't think bears bothered anybody out here."

This is another story of one rogue bear who was simply trying to survive -- one bear who when confronted reared up, an act interpreted as "aggressive" giving authorities adequate reason to shoot to kill.

I'll bet the Krispy Kreme people are super-miffed that they didn't get any free press from supplying bait for a trap.

Surely we humans should be able to figure out how to navigate around our inevitable encounters with wildlife in a way that doesn't end with firing 16 bullets into a living creature.

Why not implement a neighborhood bear alarm, similar to the concept of a tsunami or lahar warning? Well, not to worry. Bear-hunting season starts in August, so that should make all the bear killers happy.

Speaking of happiness, there are many things that make me happy: visits from out-of-town friends, unsolicited hugs from my daughter, Kozy Shack Chocolate Pudding. But one thing stands out from all those warm and fuzzies, and that's when hunters are attacked by the animals they hunt.

In fact, a lot of people don't know this, but the TV show "When Animals Attack" was originally titled, "When Animals Attack It Makes Me Giggle."

Call me callous and hard-hearted, but I can't help but cheer on the animal that defends its life against the human dressed up in clothes that resemble shrubbery armed with the high-powered rifle, night-vision scope, GPS unit, tree-stand, animal scents and alcohol-fueled macho bravado.

Recent headlines that have given me great pleasure include:

"Hunter injured by rhino," "Mountain lion pounces on local hunter" and "Swedish hunter attacked by elk."

What compounds the wrongness of killing animals is the notion that sneaking up on a wild animal and putting a bullet through its head is a sport.

If anything qualifies as a nonsport, it is the carefree killing (or injuring and abandonment) of the lovely wild species that peacefully roam our forests and mountains. I don't care if you eat what you kill, in my opinion there is absolutely nothing at all sportsmanlike to this pastime.

In Washington, there has been a dreadful incline in cougar slaughter. The reason lies within the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's greed and lack of foresight while attempting to placate hunters.

This passage can be found in an April '08 article on the Web site of High Country News:

"The spike in cougar deaths resulted in part from a radical change in the state's game-management plan. After the hound-hunting ban passed, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officials quickly liberalized hunting regulations in order to control the cougar population and maintain the revenue from cougar licenses.

"They extended the hunting season by six months, doubled the legal bag limit, and rolled half-price cougar tags (traditionally sold to just 1,000 hunters a year) into big-game hunting packages."

And you know how hunters are. Once they get the big green light to overhunt, they are eager and more than willing to do so. Hey, bring the kids! Junior's old enough for his first kill.

Hunting is not a sport. It is simple-minded blood lust that cheapens life and creates a revenue stream for a chosen few.

Cathy Sorbo is a Seattle-based comedian; cathysorbo.com.

OK, sure what Cathy Sorbo writes is controversial, but why is always the animal that has to be on the short end of the stick. If you hunt, you go to war with the animal. It is after all over "life and death".

Downtown DevelopmentZ

I have to hand it to the City of Kirkland Council Members. They meet every two weeks, and lately their meetings have been long, often going past midnight. Regardless what decision they make, people will not be content.
If too restrictive in their decisions, developers will be pissed, if too "lame", many of our wonderful city's citizens will be upset.

Sitting on the City Council these days is no "walk in the park", but literally a "call" where you need a fair amount of "passion" for our thew city of Kirkland and its future.

Last night was one of those nights. Council chambers were almost full, and one could easily see who was a developer (or anyone with a direct financial interest), and who was a resident with a keen interest in this town's future "evolution".

I am firm in my belief that one of the unique things with Kirkland is its location along the shores of Lake Washington. The lake and access to it needs to be protected at all cost. Buildings should be limited to 2 stories along Lake Street and we do not want to become another "Bellevue" or a Redmond TownCenter. Kirkland is a true "local" destination thanks to our quirky and cosy downtown, a downtown that is not really planned, but a mixture of buildings in various shapes and ages.
Butr, last night, "we" lost. The McLeod project will be allowed to proceed and build a taller structure along Lake Street. I'm sure it'll be a fine buiolding, but it'll also be "new" and "clean", without the character that only older buildings can provide.

Park Place on the other hand, should be allowed to be redeveloped. It sits farther away from the lake, and there are few residential areas that will be affected by taller buildings. On the other hand, traffic can be a mess, worse than it is today unless something is mandated on the planned development by Touchstone Corporation.

Hence, force the developer to build a garage that is big enough to cope with the demand of the office space daytime, and the "destination" traffic night time, likely a garage with 4,000-5,000 stalls. Access to that garage can not be on our surface streets, but need to have sort of direct access ramp under 6th Avenue straight into the garage. If that does not happen, downtown Kirkland will be clogged with traffic, far surpassing current volumes, volumes that already "lock up" our city in the morning and afternoon.

Long Zilence

OK, I admit it, it's been a VERY loooooooong silence. Working, traveling and one of the literally shittiest spring we've had in Seattle "ever", has not really allowed for any time updating this area.

A good friend in Florida pointed out yesterday that I had not updated this space in a long time, so here comes the first one. At least.

I have a gazillion (well, maybe not that many, but still quite a few) unfinished entries from the spring. I'll promise to work on them and they will pop up now and then on the dates that they sort of refer to (=older posts).

Tough day just paZZed...

Today was a tough day. Wife had to put her beloved Yorkie, Herbie, down due to an aggressive mast-cell tumor. The little guy literally had a huge cancer tumor on his penis, at not even 7 years old.

Surgery would have been an option but due to the very aggressive nature of mast -cell tumors, and the fact that he had his entire intestinal tract scarred, there were really no guarantees that an exhaustive procedure would yield the desired results.

In order not to risk him suffering and dying due to blockage in the urinary tract, wife made the very, very, tough decision yesterday to call the vet.

So today Dr. Hanna Ekstrom (actually a Swedish vet in Seattle) came home to us in the afternoon with her assistant Jennifer (and a red tool box). Over the next hour, they very, very peacefully laid Herbie to rest.

It was a tough day for Beth, but deep inside she knows she made the right decision, the right decision for little Herbie. A day like this little does it help to know that you just finished years of hard studies and ready to enter the next phase in life - when you have to "pull life support" on your best friend.

GraduaZion Day

Today was a BIG DAY!
Wife graduated from the Nursing Program at BCC and duly received her degree, hat, cape and pin! Congratulations are in place but for from enough for the effort!

It has been everything from VERY hard work, stress, anger, concern, irritation over teachers that are far from logical, to joy and laughter as test has been "check off" (most of the times with very high scores), and friendship that will last a life time. I'm impressed and VERY proud of her, especially since much of what they study is so specialized, and literally "chinese" to a generalist as myself.

I know she's very relieved but at the same time, just as this is the beginning of a new carreer, it is also the end of an intense period with fellow friends/students. Bonds are formed for life, and few "institutions" are as good as forming strong bonds, as attending a number of years together at higher education institutions.

The class "scatters" but it sounded like many will remain and work in the Seattle area. Hence, good opportunities to catch up and meet again.

Check out the photos below of the happy girls!

Billy iZ finally Indexed

Sometime in the late 90ies, I suggested to Grrringo that we should start a "Billy Index" (just like a BigMac Index) but it sort of never got anywhere. So I was sort of happy when I opened up Wall Street Journal and found this. Maybe not really an index, but at least a nice price comparison. However, there is one major flaw. The price in IKEA's native Sweden is not there. What gives? This is after all one of the more venerable pieces of furniture, possibly even the piece that has been sold the longest worldwide in in the largest quantities. Who does not own, or have owned, a Billy?

Seattle SuperZonics

Good old Chairman Schultz. I like you, I like the coffee you make, and even though I really dislike franchises/chain restaurants, I do frequest Starbucks - often.

I don't really care for professional sports since it has left so much of the "sports" behind and only turned in to big business or potentially (for a few), entertainment. Although I did not really care, I think it was stupid to sell of the Sonics to some rogue buffoon from Oklahoma.

And while I do appreciate your efforts to now block the move of the team to that far away dusty town in the middle of nowhere, by various degrees of legal wrangling, I think at the end it is all a little bit of cheap PR/publicity for you to save face.

This in light of Starbucks' lowered earnings and lackluster (financial) performance over the last year. If you dump a few hundred big ones into the legal mess, you'll get it back many times over by "looking good" to the Seattleites who desperately wants to keep their beloved basketball team. I just don't buy it, but your efforts are never the less appreciated!

The two dumbeZt...

This week, the prize for the two dumbest in the Pacific Northwest goes to....

This week, we have had two incidents - both ended luckily w/o any major injury to humans or animals, but they still only proves that we are still surrounded by some pretty stupid people.

Man falls into crater
Last Saturday, someone decided to snowmobile up to the crater rim on Mount S:t Helens. Remember the volcano that "blew up" a number of years ago, and that until recently been off limits due to increased pressure inside the mountain (=fear of another massive eruption). Hiking to the rim make for a wonderful trek, a true Northwest classic. But some fat ass decided to instead take his sled into the area, and drive/ride all the way up to the rim. Up there he crawled out to the edge, which turned out to be a corniche (snowy overhang). The corniche collapsed under him and the guy tumbled some 1,500 feet into the crater. His son would have gone down with him as well, had a fellow sledder not just barely been able to hold onto the sons foot. The guy who fell did survice the fall, w/o any major injuries but had to be airlifted out of the crater later in the evening with a helicopter.
Story in Seattle Times.

I sort of would have understood it if he'd hiked up, but he rode up inside an area that should be closed off to snowmobiles. Hikers/climbers fall all the time, many times the falls are deadly, but it is different when you try to "conquer" a mountain under your own muscle power, compared to when you just ride up on your fat ass.
If you make it to the top climbing, hiking, running, you have actually "accomplished" something.

No, I don't dislike snowmobiles, they are great fun, but they really should not be allowed inside pristine recreation areas where nature, wildlife, and views are truly unique. It is enough with the noise from just ONE sled to ruin the entire day in areas like that.


Driver follows GPS - blindly
Than a few days later, a local tour buss full with teenage students rammed into an old concrete bridge inside the Washington Arboretum and ripped a large part of the roof off the bus. The bridge is almost 100 years old, and hence has been there "forever". The driver, not injured in the accident claimed that he "just followed his GPS". What happened to basic map skills and direction finding abilities? One can not just follow the directions of a GPS. One actually have to look up - literally - and drive the bus as well. Not just "follow" the GPS' instructions. It should be something that any driver should be aware of, but even moreso of a professional, like a tour bus driver hauling kids around.
See more in Settle Times and a few days later.

Seattle is easy. We have ridges that go north south. Each of the have water on East and West side. Bridges crosses the water (Lake Washington) East-West. The entire area is a built up on a grid system. As long as you know what "quadrant" (SE, NE, NW, SW) you're in, the rest should sort of follow.

No, time for drivers in general to "shape up" and start driving - instead of chatting on phones, putting on make-up, reading (yes, I see it every morning), or more focusing on everything ELSE than driving.

Another good Zunday

It is late Sunday evening, dinner today consists of a re-heated pizza (albeit a very good one) and a beer. But not just ANY beer. It is a beer that was given to me for Christmas by Ben, our friends' oldest son. He and other brother Dustin made a batch before Christmas of some excellent brew, and here it is, in full splendor. This photo was taken on the second serving and it still had a really "fatty" and dense head. People who only drink Bud or Miller simply would not understand the importance of a nice "head".

As for taste, it was a complex and mysterious blend of sweetness and murkiness that only a few Christmas brews had been able to produce over the years, most notably the now sorely missed Youngs WinterAle.

But I now have a new favorite. Thanks Ben!

Detroit EmergenZy Over... - maybe not

Latest news is that Grandma will be getting a pace maker. Operation to take place in the next few days. Being close to 93, I guess it is somewhat of a good sign that the doctors believe a pace maker will help her.
Way Go Anna! Hang in there!

Flying Pie PiZZeria

With good friends Phil and Connie we decided to drive East out to Issaquah and have a bite to eat and a brew at Flying Pie Pizzeria. We've been talking about it for months, but we never got around to it until Phil suggested it on our monthly beer meet-up on Wednesday. Deal!

The place is a self proclaimed dump, squeezed in to a corner of an old strip-mall in downtown Issaquah. But what this place might lack in "styled" interior (well, it is actually styled pretty nicely, but no money was spent in the process if you see what I mean) it makes up for several times over in the quality of food and the brews.

Simply great pizzas, with hearty ingredients, and no skimping on the quantity. You will not leave hungry! And with a pitcher of Black Butte Porter for $11, who can complain?

We were joined later by David and Linnea (reasonably new Issaquahists, been there about 18 months) for a truly enjoyable evening. I for sure will return to Flying Pie in the not too distant future!

Cause, with things going the way they are on the Eastside, this place will likely be squeezed out down the road and replaced by some me-too chain store at ground level in a "styled" condo complex. Good places that are outright cheap, not part of a godawkward franchise or styled to look like every other restaurant in Microsoft land, simply does not seem to survive on the East shores of Lake Washington. One normally have to drive up on Capitol Hill, Wallingford, or Queen Anne Hill, to find them. At times like this, I badly miss living in France!

So, do your duty. Drive out to Issaquah and support Flying Pie Pizzeria. And while there, take a few steps down the road to the Rogue Brewhouse for some delicious brews and make the outing into an evening.

Detroit EmergenZy Over...

Well, maybe not, but wife came home tonight. Was supposed to have arrived last night but NorthWest for some unknown reason just cancelled the flight - with NO advance alert and with no efforts to book passengers on other flights. According to a very trustworthy source, wife was in the "oh was she angry" mood at DTW on Sunday afternoon.

As inslut to injury, she never got to spend that extra day with grandma since she pulled down a bad flue and was stuck in bed most of the day before flying back home in the evening.

Grandma is still hanging in and we hope she'll be able to get home soon.

Detroit EmergenZy

Another call from father-in-law. (maternal) Grand-ma is very, very, sick after a heart-attack and hospitalized. Better come home now!

Worked some time in order to get a flight for wife to get back home. She left at 10PM. SMSed me that she got into an argument with the gate agent over her carry-on (supposedly too big, but a lot smaller than many the bags that passed during the argument), and that the guy next to her smelled really bad. Sounds like a fun flight. She arrives just before 5 AM. Assume she'll head straight to the hospital.

Winter Ztorm?

The Pacific NorthWest sometimes never ceases to surprise me.

This is an area of endless natural beauty, of mountains, of sunshine, of rain, of wind, of ocean and archipelago. In the winter time we expect (and hope for) snow. Plenty of it. It is what provides the water needed to support an evergrowing population the the Puget Sound region, it is what provides "the base" for one of the best past times ever; skiing. It is also stunningly beautiful! A filthy dirty area can temporarily be "cleaned up" by a decent layer of the white fluff.

So, when we finally get some snow in the mountains, it is the main headline on the news, it generates an emergency declaration by the Governor, and it creates havoc for people driving. Why?

I can understand that it is of a great inconvenience to be landlocked on either side of the mountain when WSDOT is forced to close the roads due to overwhelming avalanche danger. But a little (or a lot) of snow on the road should not be antyhing that stops traffic. In most other countries, traffic just continuous, albeit at a little bit slower pace.
Here, even when a large portion of drivers are humming around in AWD or 4x4 vehicles, traffic is chaotic when snow's on the ground. Elsewhere, small Fiats, VWs, Renaults, or Saabs and Volvos do just fine in the snow. Here, people can't even drive vehicles that have high clearance, big wheels AND all-wheel-drive. State Patrol is forced to shut down the freeway long before there's any snow on the ground.

But a little snowfall (yes, even if it is measured in feet...) is no catastrophy. It is an expected winter occurrence and it has been like that for thousand of years. Why can't we learn to live with it? No, for some reason, we have to follow the lowest common denominator and close schools and workplaces, advice people that it is slippery outside, that "snow" is something that is "dangerous" and has to be avoided at all cost.

A distant friend in California got the following sent to her from her HR department. Her take on it was that Americans are no Vikings. I could not agree more...

• Walking on snow or ice is especially treacherous and wearing proper footwear is essential. A pair of well insulated boots with good rubber treads is a must for walking during or after a winter storm. Keeping a pair of rubber over-shoes with good treads which fit over your street shoes is a good idea during the winter months.
  
  When walking on an icy or snow-covered walkway, take short steps and walk at a slower pace so you can react quickly to a change in traction.
  When walking on a sidewalk which has not been cleared and you must walk in the street, walk against the traffic and as close to the curb as you can.
  
  Be on the lookout for vehicles which may have lost traction and are slipping towards you. Be aware that approaching vehicles may not be able to stop at crosswalks or traffic signals.
  
  At night, wear bright clothing or reflective gear, as dark clothing will make it difficult for motorists to see you.
  
  During the daytime, wear sunglasses to help you see better and avoid hazards.

All makes sense, but why does it have to be so "regulated? Set the winter Free! Now!

Znow in the Mountains

Snow's been falling mightily during the past week up in the mountains. Even good ol' I-90 has been shut down due to avalanches and control measure to prevent them - halting more or less all traffic across the Cascades.

But today the pass was open. And there was snow! We decided to make it a field day and drive up with one dog. Ended up at Hyak and then hiking all the way to the top of the mountain. Poweroutage so the lifts were not running and the slopes were empty. A few boarders and skieers doing the same thing as us - walking - but it was a perfect day to allow Phoebe to run around and get pooped. She found a few other dogs as well, and the best match was "Shadow", a 9-months old Rottweiler puppy that just wanted to play. But, this was at the end of the day and Phoebe really was tired after running up and down the mountain and trotting through some really deep snow.

The sad thing is as soon as you enter I-90 to drive back home, is that there is slush, and more slush. The wonderful white wonderland at the summit turns to a mix of grey and brown as you roll down the freeway. Sometimes I really wish we could have the same weather down here in town as up on the pass!

Pictures to follow shortly...

Brother is HOME

Been from afar monitoring my brother's health by talking to him, chatting with family, and a few calls to the medical staff that were caring for him at the University Hospital in Gothenburg.

Since this is all in past tense, you can figure out that he was allowed to come home today. Due to the time difference, I have not been able to talk to them today, but got an e-mail from my sister-in-law and they are of course happy and relieved. Family's reunited! According to the doctor who released him, only about 5% of the ones that gets a brain hemmorrage is as lucky as he is. He's back home w/o any residual effects what-so-ever.

Probably the biggest surprise today was for Emil who was greeted on his 8th birthday by a dad back from the hospital! Needless to say, he was exstatic!!

Staffan will now just need to take it "calma" under some period going forward and see what he has the strength for and dares to to. Over two weeks laying in a hospital bed can drain the energy from anyone.

And, almost forgot: Sister-in-law started a blog out of what were the e-mails that kepts us all up to date on Staffans's progress (simply too many people called her asking the same thing - draining her enetgy and leaving no time for the kids).
Her blog can be found here, Laila's Blog

Ztate of the Union?

This evening was president Bush' s 7th and final State of the Union address.
As much of a distaster he is/has been as a president, is it really necessary to broadcast his speach live on ALL news channels simultaneously? In our little Comcast world, that means that we could see the same Bush speak on channels 02, 04, 05, 06, 07, 09, 44, 47, and 48 - not counting the C-span channels I did not scan this evening.

Simply too much (and that would be the same regardless of who happended to be president)!

Goodbye - White Kiddie!

Today was a sad day. We had to put White Kiddie to sleep. He was just too sick and frail after having lost over 60% of his body weight since October. Over the weekend he started having severe problems controlling his "bodily fluids", and was simply miserable, hardly being able to walk. Neither bloodwork, nor urine samples did really give any hints of what it could be.

Actually surpised over my reaction, but the tears were gushing out of my eyes when his little body was handed over to me at the vet clinic. Never thought that I would take his "passing" that hard. Made even worse since he had his eyes left open.

But, he left us on a beautiful and sunny morning, where there were over 4 inches of fresh white snow on the ground. It was sort of almost like the weather gods wanted to paint the landscape in his honor.









Eulogy over a Great Cat:
An early fall day in October 1993, in Dallas, a big white cat showed up at my door. He sort of picked me out, and decided to make friends. For the next year, he was living around and outside my apartment, "guarding" the courtyard, and keeping neighbors entertained. We all cared for him, but he likely spent most of his time with me, always extremely "appreciative" for having somewhere to call "home". I gave him the name "White Kiddie" since it was fitting - he was entirely white and I have never really liked the word "kitty".

I was traveling so much so I had decided not "take in" a cat or any other pet, but a cold day in early December 1994 I broke down; "You've been hanging around here so why don't you just move in - permanently". And he did. For the first week I held out on putting a litterbox in my apartment, until I one morning woke up to a smell and a small turd behind a couch. That was the only accident in Dallas, but he starting having more later in life.

One memorable afternoon, I opened up the front door. On my little rug was a very dead mouse with its stomach ripped wide open. Perfectly aligned were 5 small mouse fetuses, and next to it was a very proud cat sitting. I guess that was his small housewarming gift to me. It was sort of hard not to accept the wonderful gesture!

White Kiddie always went out in the morning with me, and was waiting at the bottom of the stairs when I came home, or sometimes meeting me by the car. A couple of neighbors cared for him when I was out traveling, and he was just a staple of the apartment complex (or at least our courtyard since I never told the complex I had a pet, and had no intentions in having them find out either - succeeded with that during my 5 years at the same place).

This even after my weird neighbors downstairs one day sent me an e-mail, telling me that "the cat" had bitten the wife (Rachel). White Kiddie ended up in the slammer, and I sort of hal-heartedly told the neighbor that if they did not mind, I'd like the cat to come back to the neighborhood (this was before he had moved in). He had to spend a couple of days in the slammer, before he could be picked up, but they would not keep him for more than 10. I was out of town and missed the 10 day limit, but when I came homw, White Kiddie was waiting at the steps. Only thing I can imagine is that my neighbors felt bad and picked up the cat. They never told me and I never asked them, Everyone was happy so why stir the pot?

Summers in Texas can be hot, but that did not really bother me. I was among my friends who held out the longest before turning on the A/C (preferred to have the windows open and let the natural breeze cool me), but one summer it was actually White Kiddie who sort of forced me to turn the switch. He came in from the outside and sort of just fell to the floor, forming a long white ribbing on the carpet. That was his way of saying he was TOO hot and that it was time for me to turn the A/C to "on".

White Kiddie was a trooper and he lived a good life. No, he lived an excellent life!
He only had two vet visits in Dallas, and that was due to an attack by another cat. The fact that the vet cut his claws, made him vulnerable and he was attacked once again, ending up for three days at the hospital. All in a period of two months.

One day I found out that he actually followed "commands", and this was not something I had taught him. I could ask him to sit, and he would sit. I could place food in front of him, and ask him to wait (he did), sitting there until I gave the word "Varsågod" (please go ahead) and he'd walk over to the food and eat - lots of it. Maybe bad for him, but he loved Friskies. Tried a lot of other stuff, but dry catfood, Friskies, was his favorite.

One weak moment in the spring of 1998 when I was considering moving back to Europe and leaving the U.S. for for good, I was looking for potential homes for him (those days it was almost impossible to bring an animal in to Sweden). Initially I decided to take a long vacation (5 weeks skiing) and at the very last moment, one of my great neighbors (Dee Bernhardt) took him home to care for him until I came back - a wonderful gesture!

Later that spring, we took a weekend trip together to Ardmore, OK, to visit yet one older former neighbor that had looked after him when I was traveling. White Kiddie did OK on car rides, but really did not like it and found the best spot in the car to be down under the brake pedal.

I ended up staying in the U.S., and the Friday in October we were to relocate from Dallas to Seattle, White Kiddie decided to "disappear" for a while. I had to reschedule the flight three times that day, and it was not until Dee called me and said that he had walked over to her place and was happily sleeping on the couch, that we could "move on" and get on the last flight out of Dallas. Texas was now history for us.

Finding a new place in Seattle, in the midst of the dot.com boom in 1998 was not easy. It was not made easier by my own firm requirements: cat friendly inside, cat should be able to be outside as well (White Kiddie went nuts if he was forced to stay inside), and I should be able to bring my frontloading Swedish washing machine.
I did drive several hundred miles on the Eastside, and looked at an unimaginable number of places, but it was not until by pure chance (isn't it always) I found a couple in Bellevue that were looking to rent out their condo. They were OK with a cat, and the place boardered a greenbelt. Perfect. We had find a new permanent home!

White Kiddie settled quickly in his new surroundings, even though a few evenings I thought he was gone when he never showed up until way past his "bed time". I thought my move to Washington would mean less travel, but instead I was on the road more than ever, and was again lucky to find a lady neighbor that could "babysit" when I was out of town.

In spring of 2000, the family got extended and White Kiddie was joined by Beth and her two yorkies, Pebbles and Sebastian. Wasn't that many days until they sort had settled and knew their ranks. White Kiddie as "the Governor" was leading the household.

Later in 2000, White Kiddie moved into the "Governor's Mansion" in north Kirkland. He liked it and found himself quickly at home, but at the same time I really think he always missed the hot days in Texas (even though he sometimes was miserable in the heat). He got an unexpected buddy in a grey Persian, Oscar, that Beth brought in as Christmas present our first Christmas together.

As cuddly as White Kiddie was, as much one had to "watch out" when he came around. He was "snow white" and he was shedding, all the time. If you were standing next to him in black pants, he just loved to walk up and surround your legs, effectively forcing a change of pants. No wonder I really never had any black pants until Beth forced me to buy a pair once - they just did not work - and in Texas there were shorts more or less all the time in the evenings home so it was never an issue.

White Kiddie met my parents a number of times and eternal cat lovers as they are, they quickly bonded. Everytime they visited, White Kiddie was sleeping either besides them, or on top of them. Last time was in fall 2007 when my dad was here for a number of weeks. There was not one night when he did not have at least two cats in bed (a black one and an white one - yin & yang).

As he got older, White Kiddie was drawn to heat sources. When the furnace started, he was sititng in front of the heat register in either the kitchen or the office. When I started preparing for a fire in the fireplace, he quickly moved into position to sit guard in front of the wood stove. A few weeks ago, Beth bought him an electrical heat pad he could snooze on. He seemed to like it, even though the pad never got as hot as we'd expected.

More is to be added over this lost friend and I have just added a little slide show here below. I also have "older" photos that need to be scanned (pre digital) when time is found. After all I owe it to him. White Kiddie spent more than 15 years at my side. 15 years that certainly changed my life dramatically (move, marriage, house, dogs, travels, etc, etc).

Stay put!

Brother

Parents visited him yesterday, and they seemed upbeat after they came back home and I talked to them late in the evening.

This morning, I called the hosiptal to talk to him, but I could hear him in the background mumbling that he was too tired to talk, so I ended up chatting with the nurse a while.

Turns out his headache had gotten worse this morning, he had thrown-up, and they had proceeded with a cerebral angiogram in order to be able to "see" more. What I could get out of the nurse was that they still cannot see where/if a vessel had burst, or how serious it is. Images were to be reviewd by experts, I assume that'll happen early Wednesday.

Needless to say, anything that resembles bleeding in the brain is serious.

Call from Zweden...

Early Saturday morning (and I think they held out a few hours in order not to wake me up) I got a call from my parents. My brother had been hospitalized after a heavy sneeze on Friday evening. Turns out he likely burst a blood vessel somewhere in his brain and ended up with an anuerysm. Situation severe enough he was quickly transferred to a specialist hospital.

At the moment it looks like it is a less severe case, and he is able to move all his limbs, speak, and "act" normally, but is very, very, tired after the worst headache of his life.

He is hospitalized at the University Hospital and is getting great care at the neurointensive ward where he'll stay for at least another week, while they'll monitor him and wait for the body to absorb the coagulated blood.

I called him Sunday evening his time and we talked for a while. Sounds "normal" and upbeat, but I also think he now realize how serious this can be. So, a close call, but so far, so good.

Everyone; keep your fingers crossed for his speedy recovery!

Being so far away, the worst is probably getting 2nd or 3rd hand information (from his wife, or from my parents via his wife (information that has already been "filtered" by hospital staff), and it really felt good in being able to talk to him, directly. Curious as I am, I want to chat with his doctor as well...

SteinklinkerZ...

A (great) group of beer drinkers that meet up the 2nd Wednesday of every month at a "new" brew place.

Well, we sort of have run out of "new" places so we recycle them now. And sometimes, like tonight, it was just a "pub" since the brewery "Mac & Jack" does not have a tasting room open in the evening and recommend instead people to go over to "J. Michael's Pub & Eatery" in Redmond, just across from Ben Franklin. Only a stone's throw from the brewery. Sort of hard to find (if you're looking for a pub), and it sure does not look anything like a pub on the outside. But, these girls have good brews, and good basic pub food.

All in all, just another very agreable evening with the "Klinkers".

Old - French - FriendZ

After leaving Europe in the early 90ies, I sort of lost contact with many of my French friends. Been using different search engines to try to find them, but no luck.

Via a tip from a good friend in Sweden, I was guided to Copains d'Avant. Signed up, and low and behold, I found someone that "could" be the right person.

Trial message sent over, a few days of silence, but eventually an answer. Sure enough, it was the right person! He connected me to his wife (very old friend of mine) and I learnt that they unfortunately live separated (joint custody of a daughter though) since many years.

Just getting a few e-mails, some photos, and later also a long chat over the phone brought me back to the heydays of the 90ies in Paris. I was also amazed that my French is also still pretty much "there". I thought it had gone into a stage of "permanent hibernation", but chatting with old friends in French sure brought it out relatively quickly. Just proves that going to a "French coversation" class never can be the same as "the real thing". You need an emotional and "expressive" French person on the other side of the conversation. It is like jumpstarting a car with a fresh battery!

Isabelle and Xavier, sure is time for me to cross the Atlantic again, and thank you for being there all these years!

Cleaning up the deZk...

Spent the past days cleaning up the desk, filing away papers, paying bills, and generally getting the office closer to being just that, an office. Sometimes I wonder I how I managed to keep it in order when I was traveling all the time (but I did).

By the way, swung by the Swedish Cultural Center for the first Pancake Breakfast of 2008. Always yummy!
After that took the dogs for a walk through Pike Place Market and downtown. Phoebe just loves to venture where there's tons of (friendly) people. As it is January in Seattle, it started squalling after a while and we ventured back to the car and home to make a fire. I bet however that this was a great day on the slopes, but no point in heading up during the weekend, fighting the crowds when the week seem to be even better - and less crowded.

Less crowded, one of the better skiing days of late, was up in Alpental on Superbowl Sunday 2006. Empty slopes, sunny skies, and perfect snow. Can it be better? All football fans couched in front of their TVs, leaving the mountain for "us" to enjoy!