Clark Griswald is alive and well in Seattle

I hopped aboard one of the King County Metro Transit Historic Fleet buses tonight for "Santa's Seattle Holiday Lights Tour." For $5, you couldn't get better entertainment! Almost 3 hours, we started out in Pioneer Square traveling north. Green Lake was awesome. Apparently, once a year, the community lights luminaries on the path which goes all the way around the lake. Then people, dogs and kids walk around the lake, many with lights on their heads, their dogs or strollers! Really, really cool. Then, the homes in the Green Lake neighborhood were decked out beautifully.
I'm pretty sure it was at the corner of 8th and 80th, is Clark's house! We're talking lights on the roof, the sides of the house, and every tree or bush in the yard. It was awesome! The entire neighborhood of Olympic Manor is not to be missed. Look down any of the streets, and it's Vegas baby!! Many of the boats in the Shishole Marina in Ballard had lights on them, and Ballard in general looked pretty shiny! Then, we ended by going through the shopping area downtown - 7th to Pine and down to 2nd, which included all of the trees with white lights, Macy's enormous star, and the big tree in front of City Centre (I think, or it may have been Westlake), well, at any rate, with blue-ish LED lights, it's a beauty.
Oh, and Santa did come on our bus, and shook hands with everybody and wished us all a very Merry Christmas, my wish for all of you.

The Nutcracker

The Pacific Northwest Ballet production of "The Nutcracker" Friday night, was nothing short of amazing. I had not seen The Nutcracker since I was a child, and it wasn't this big of a production. The dancing was beautiful of course, the music familiar and lovely, executed by a fabulous orchestra, but what really blew me away was the sets, lighting and costumes!
The sets were so good, it was hard to tell what was real, and what was not. Absolutely gorgeous, moving seamlessly from one scene to the next. Unreal. We were in the front row of one of the balconies, really good seats.
The dance by the peacock (dancer's name, Kylee Kitchens) was particularly breathtaking. Grown up Clara (Kaori Nakamura) and the Prince (Jonathan Porretta) were equally stunning.
A really nice way to kick off the holidays, especially in the company of two old friends - we go back to the seventh grade together!

The Wild Kingdom in West Seattle

I live in a nice apartment/townhouse community, with a creek and greenbelt running behind the complex. Since Abbey and I moved in, we've noticed an abundance of squirrels running around. She thinks she can catch them, but, she can't! In screwing with my poor little dog's head, I call them all "nutty the squirrel" as if there is only one. Whenever I say, "there's nutty the squirrel," her radar is up.
Last night, I pulled into my parking spot, which is right in front of my unit. There is a big pine tree in front, and much to my shock and amazement, two huge raccoons were right in front of me - one with his paws up on the tree, the other standing on the ground - both staring at me with their little bandit faces. Now, I'm a born and raised Alaska girl, and I've never seen a raccoon that close, and couldn't believe how big they were! I sat in my car staring at them in my headlights, while they stared back. They slowly strolled away. Cute, but I know they can be vicous.
In the house, I put Abbey on her leash, to take her out to do her business. Running into one of my neighbors with a dog way smaller than Abbey, he confirmed the residency of the raccoons, and said another neighbor feeds them. Great. His advice - don't corner them, because they will attack! Holy crap.
Another neighbor with a small dog, also told me there is, or was, a coyote back in that greenbelt, too.
Go figure. I move to the big city, and there is more wildlife here than there was near my house in Coeur d'Alene, or Alaska. Except - in Alaska we did get moose in the yard from time to time, and in Idaho, there were the deer, and once a flock of wild turkeys looked like they were heading to the front door when I lived out by the lake.
So now it's nutty the squirrel, raccoons and maybe a coyote - in Seattle!!

So many darling little faces today at The Seattle Humane Society. I attended a meeting for potential volunteers, which I plan to become. I am convinced that dogs especially, are the sweetest souls on earth.
I was very impressed with the facility. Clean, clean, clean! Very nice staff and volunteers working at their various tasks. With King County getting out of the sheltering business soon, they expect to take in as many as 13,000 little orphans in the next year, up from about 7,000.
Clearly, they need all the help they can get.
Critters make the world so much better. I don't know what I'd do without my dear Abbey, or Abagail as I call her when she is in trouble!

It just can't get any better than this! I just scored tickets - well, I bought them - for U2, June 20, 2010 at Qwest Field. Color me happy! Can't wait!

I thought the discovery of the underwater billboards for Ivar's Clam Chowder was really cool. Turns out it was a well orchestrated hoax to sell chowder! Hey, it was a great marketing campaign. According to this morning's Seattle Times, Ivar's sold 83,000 cups of chowder in September 2009 compared to 19,000 cups in September 2008. That's a whole lot of chowder!! The whole thing started when a barnacle covered billboard was pulled out of the water near Alki Beach earlier this year. Apparently Ivar Haglund, who died 24 years ago was indeed quite a character and a great self-promoter. So the hoax was that he was so ahead of his time, that he predicted locals would be traveling by submarine around the Puget Sound area, thus the underwater billboards. Local historian, Paul Dorpat even got in on the fun, stating in The Times that he became part of the theatre in the spirit of Ivar Haglund.

I wish it had been real, or better yet, that I'd thought it up!

Culture - I love it!! It was hard to find inland!
Today I saw "Lord of the Dance" at the beautiful Paramount Theater. The creation of Michael Flatley, he is no longer in the show, but the new "Lord" was spectacular. How anyone can move their feet that fast is beyond me. I was totally captivated, leaning forward against the railing almost the entire show (2 hours including an intermission).

Mind you, this is not just dance. It is a story: "A new dark power had emerged to challenge the lord of the dance. The little spirit travels through time and space to help the lord of the dance protect his mythical people. On an incredible adventure the encounter love, desire and danger." The little spirit dancer was just adorable, and "The Duel" between the lord and his challenger at the end was breathtaking.

All the dancers were flawless. The costumes - and there were many of them - first class. All the women dancers always had on black tights no matter what, which made their already trim legs look willowy and weightless as they moved their feet and legs at God only knows how many beats a minute. The women danced either in quiet dance shoes, or taps.

But when the men came out, the show ramped up, because they always tapped. The speed and strength left me in awe. In fact the guy sitting next to me, who was great, asked if I was okay a few times!! It was funny - I imagine my mouth was hanging open!

If you ever get a chance, see this. I only wish I'd kept up with the tap classes I took in elementary school, oh, about a hundred years ago!

Microsoft, Boeing, Costco, Amazon, Nordstrom, Starbucks....just an example of some of the heavy hitters that were born here in the Puget Sound area. So why is King County so deep in debt?
I find it exciting to be in the birthplace of these giants. According to this morning's Seattle Times, Costco and Nordstrom have posted sales gains for October - perhaps a sign that folks are shopping again. However, Microsoft is laying people off, and the unemployment rate is expected to hit 9.9 percent. Yikes! Will this ever end?

The first post

I’ve been told it rains in Seattle, but every time I would visit, for the most part it was sunny and beautiful, green and glorious.
Originally from Anchorage, I’ve been an inlander for the past 13 years, and I’m happy to be back by the water. My 4-year-old King Charles Spaniel, Abbey, and I have been enjoying afternoon strolls along Alki beach, or Lincoln Park, watching the ferries come and go, enjoying the view, the people and yes - the sunshine!
I’m new in town, as a real live resident anyway. I moved here on a leap of faith, seeking out a fresh start and new opportunity. I chose Seattle because I am somewhat familiar with the city as a result of visiting often, and it’s an easy hop on a direct flight for my friends in Anchorage to come visit me, and vice-versa. Also, I’m not too far from my only son, who started college this fall.
So far I’ve spent more time than I’d like to taking the wrong exit and ending up taking twice as long as it should to get from point A to point B. However I look at these faux pas as a learning experience. The most “fun” was ending up in the port area, highly intimidated by the huge trucks on either side of me. Now, I have a GPS, and more faith, so I am doing much better!
One week into this new adventure, heading north on 99 attempting to get to Westlake, I realized I’d overshot it when I ended up in Green Lake. I pulled off by the park and lake, only to see one of Seattle’s finest sitting there in his cruiser in the parking lot. I’m thinking “He can give me directions!”
Pulling in with a big smile on my face, he crooks his finger for me to come over. Before I can inform him of my predicament and get directions on how to get back on 99 going south, he orders me to turn my car around and park in front of him. I comply, but I am clearly not understanding what is going on.
The officer tells me my plates expired in 2007. He didn’t know how to read Idaho stickers, so I asked if I may show him, and indeed they didn’t expire until 2010. I explained I just landed in Seattle a week ago, and I haven’t had time to get a Washington Driver’s license and plates yet. I have them now.
Embarrassed (I think), he asks for my license, registration and proof of insurance. Now I’m really in trouble. I sat in my car for a good 10 minutes eating a cupcake from the cupcake shop in West Seattle, waiting for the bad news, which I got. A $124 ticket for pulling in the parking lot the wrong way. Keep in mind, I was stressed out from moving and being lost. Fatigued and frustrated I started to cry. I do think he felt bad, but he didn’t back off on the ticket. He did tell me how to get back on 99 going south, and I did reach my destination, although a bit unraveled.
The upshot? I mitigated the ticket by mail, explaining the situation in detail. “Because of my good driving record,” this won’t go on that good record as long as I keep my nose clean for a year, but I still have to pay a $100 administrative fee. Welcome to Seattle I guess.
I’m still glad I’m here. The grocery stores and markets are absolutely amazing. I’ve never seen such beautiful flowers and produce! I even attended the Pearl Jam concert at the Key Arena, which was big fun. I’d seen them three times already, but this was their kick off of a new tour, and my first big night out as a resident.
Now I’ve discovered shortcuts to places I visit often, and I even made it to the airport and back to greet a friend with no catastrophes. Cheers to most of the drivers in Seattle, too. I find they are courteous and patient, except for one guy who blasted his horn behind me because I wanted to make a left turn into a drive-through espresso joint. He must have been in a big hurry, so I aborted the plan and drove around the block and still got my coffee!