New Years Eve and the bus

For some unknown reason, I've had this irrational fear of taking the bus. Last night, New Years Eve, I really didn't want to hassle with parking, or for that matter being on the road on amateurs night out. So, I braved it, packing the correct change, and my umbrella a.) since it was drizzling, and b.) as a weapon!
I'm not really so frightened of people, as I am of getting on the wrong bus and ending up in Canada or something. But lo and behold, I got to Second and Seneca, walked the eight blocks or so to Pioneer Square, and landed right where I wanted to be, at the Underground Comedy Club, for a gut-busting funny show. I met my new friend Mira, and we had a really fun time. Laughter was a good way to usher in a new year, and say goodbye to the rather awful 2009.
Getting back, the bus was a little late, but those of us waiting at the bus stop at 2nd and Columbia, were a lively group, sharing stories, and even that was fun. To top it off, the bus driver on the return didn't charge us a dime! I guess they are just thrilled that people chose to take the bus on New Years rather than cause problems with their cars.
So, in this fledgling new year, I've already conquered one of my fears! Yay!

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!