Neighbors are back - and so is the Znow!

Sort of hard to imagine. When we dropped off our neighbors at SeaTac for their winter trip to Europe, it started snowing when we were driving through Bellevue.

Today, two weeks later, we were driving towards the airport to pick them up, and even though most snow has melted/rained away, it started SNOWING as we were driving through Bellevue. What's up with that town?

Later in the evening, when everyone was safely home, I took Phoebe for a late night walk, and it was almost prettier than during our very heavy snowfall around Christmas. The snow tonight was so wet and heavy, but it was also very "untouched" due to the late hour, and one realizes how much "dampening effect" the snow has on sound/noises. Snow just makes everything so very peaceful.

Back home after the walk, I peaked out into the backyard, and our poor bamboo was probably in worse condition tonight, than after the Christmas snowfalls. The bushes are supposed to be some 30+ feet tall, but were weighed down so much by the vet snow that they did not reach to more than maybe 5 feet. But, bamboo's been through this before and it must be a very resilient plant, or rather grass, so it'll recover. Note to self: Go out early Monday morning and shake off as much of the heavy stuff as possible to help the bamboo recover!

LutefiZk and a very true Christmas dinner in Ballard

Kristine hinted in early December that we'd be invited to a "LuteFisk" party on December 28th at her house. An honor in itself, but due to snow in Seattle some other stuff got in the way, and she rescheduled for tonight.

But what an Amazing Party in Ballard! We expected only a small dinner, with some fish that taste like "snot" (quoted from a good friend), but upon arriving we entered in to something that much better can be described as a Scandinavian cabin at Christmas - with the bonus of being filled with fun and interesting people!

After a few hours of mingling, hanging around the wonderful woodstove (there is NO BETTER heat than the one generated by a wood stove - I don't care what others say), we eventually got seated.

And, expecting "just" lutefisk" we were treated to a full Scandinavian "julmiddag" with not much missing. I am NO FAN of lutefisk (memories of grandma's tasty but a fish so bony you could not eat it still hangs around), but was positively surprised when having a really good bite of this "sloppy" fish in early December at Sons of Norway up in Bothell. Kristine was up for a challenge, especially when declaring she had never cooked lutefisk before...

So, after a very tasty "sill sallad" (once again, a first since I never liked this dish at home), the fish came out and it was GOOD! I even had a few extra servings, on top of the meatballs, the beer and the wine. Coffee, prinsesstarta, an excellent selection of schnapps, and great friendship made this a night to remember.

(all photos are a tad "retouched" due to the dark environs, resulting in more visible images but pretty poor photo quality)

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?