marypcbuk

Heading out of Seattle, we spotted some wildlife... There are two burnished and coloured copper sculptures by the reed beds in Lake Washington as you get close to the end of the bridge. I've been trying to get good photos of them for years.I like the way the U Wash stadium in the background looks like chess knights poised for battle...


I just upgraded from the Casio Exilim FC100 to the FC150 for the extra high-speed modes (and (I think) more manual options though I haven't found many more yet) and traffic was slow so I had another go at snapping them as we passed - and caught the bald eagle perched on the top in much more detail (in some of the shots you can see the white tailfeathers...


And then we looked up to see the other bald eagle on the streetlight...

Simon and I will be in town - ping us! Work, fun and both...

After a writing day on Sunday we did a little pottering around yesterday: brunch at Coastal Cafe (lobster scramble, cuban hash, syrupy bunuelos and coffee), then more coffee at 'Inspired by Starbucks' with daveon (trendy coffee and wine bar - but how far does that stand out in Madison Park, let alone in Seattle?) then back to D&MKs to meet the new puppy. Tara alternately melts on your knee then rushes around and steals toys from Tyson: seeing a tiny puppy win a tug of war by sitting down on the toy is very funny. Then off to a Windows house party (in a bar!) and dinner at Bings (with a name like that it's journalistic duty!). then far too much time browsing domino knitting ideas and I don't even have yarn with me! oh, and book buying. but there's more of that in our future!

The house we're staying in now is minutes fron downtown Bellevue, two turnings from old Main Street and on a slope above Lake Washington. In fact it's right across from the sliproad where elimloth took me on my first ever trip to Seattle when I wanted to go look at the lake. It's lovely to look out at night and see the reflections of the marina lights or to look across the water on a sunny morning. We deduced that the open space across the lake was a park because somehow people just don't wander around like that in a garden and set off to find it.

Down a steep unmarked lane is a charming if steep park with a swimming hole. We didn't see the geese dogs in action (the sign promises they only scare the geese away). And sbisson does rather feel that the perfect park prequesitely posits a pond. We managed to find the road that runs over the park to drive into Seattle, heading for the Space Needle anmd the Northwest Folklife Festival at the Seattle Centre. Kind of a mix between Camden Lock, Cropredy and a worldcon with a smorgasbord of music, dance, craft stalls, food, buskers and people running around a fountain that occasionally belched steam as if it was about to take off. We indulged in glass jewellry from North Idaho, I'm now the girl with the pearl earrings from Chumil and we kept going back for mango lemonade. Morris is alive and well and bashing its stick on the ground when appropriate: we saw at least six morris sides, many of whom melded and mingled to make larger sets or dance against each other. I played peekaboo with the hobby dragon who later picked up a rubber duck. And we met and lost elimloth and spiritmoving several times in the crowds.

At this point we felt like a nice long sitdown, which we got in the car driving up to Mukilteo for a glimpse of Whidbey island (for anyone who follows Microsoft developer tools, it now makes perfect sense that you have to get past Whidbey before you can see Orcas). We watched the ferry shuttling back and forth over a feast of seafood at Ivar's. Clams and king crab are both enormous and wonderfully fiddly to eat. Chowder and slamon are more manageable. And the trio of chocolate decadence, creme brulee and carrot passion cake were so rich even with double espresso latte that we brought the cake home for breakfast.

Behind our table was a fake carp made from driftwood, with tin tack scales and fishlifter fins. In the porch is the carp mascot that used to stand out on the deck until a giant wave smashed into the restaurant in 2003 and washed it out to sea. I gave it a good rub, which is supposed to bring good luck for a safe return!

And now to pack; tomorrow we fly to New York for a day and then home the next evening.

Bruisewatch: my foot has many purple patches with much of the displaced blood running along the outer edge of the foot and turning several toes into pale purple sausages. I can put weight on it now but twisting, turning and walking at an angle up or down slopes is still painful. The opposite knee is much mess swollen (let's hear it for camphor and methyl salycilate patches) but brushing or bumping it is still scarily painful. Looks like I'll try out the new doctor's surgery as soon as I'm back.