Hot Child in the City

That song always comes to mind when it gets this hot for some reason. Today was a scorcher. I couldn't stand being in my apartment which is on the third floor and has no circulation due to both windows being on the same side of my studio. You have to understand that most places in Seattle don't have air conditioning (unless you are in an office building), so when the temps reach above 90, it becomes quite uncomfortable. To escape, we went to the arboretum and sat under a tree by the water for several hours.


This was my view while I was laying on my back.



This little family was hanging around. She has NINE ducklings!!

Lens Envy

Today was an eventful day. I started out sweltering in my apartment for awhile, then headed out for a brief visit to the rally at SCCC that took place before the Dyke March. I didn't stay too long, however, because I had a wine tasting event to go to. This event featured Gary Vaynerchuk who does wine shows online and has just written a book (which I got signed). He is a great guy and I could have talked to him for much longer about social media and how he's made it work for him!


The ladies watching the rally.



The dogs not watching the rally.



Gary speaking to the attentive crowd.



The official photographer, Malcolm Smith. Yup, a serious case of lens envy going on here! After I saw his website, I was even more envious.

Taking PRIDE in stride

I took a double take when walking by the Macy's window display today. I'm glad to see they are embracing the upcoming Seattle PRIDE weekend!

Fun in the Sun

The sun finally came out today in full force! After work I walked up to Piecora's to meet some friends and snapped a couple of shots on the way.


A good day for soccer!



Bus stop detail 1



Bus stop detail 2



Bus stop detail 3



After dinner we went up to Cal Anderson Park where the girls had fun playing in the water.



Also seen at the Park. You can see more of his work on his MySpace page.

Sittin' on the Waterfront Eatin' and Chillin'

Today at lunch we ate at Red Robin on the waterfront. It was such a beautiful day that we wanted to sit outside. We had a great view of the sound including the Elliot Bay Water Taxi coming in.

Sculpture

I was at the Fred Hutchinson Research Center tonight and saw the new sculpture they are erecting. It looked great against the sunset.

Two Things Challenge: Round/Square

I stepped out of work today with this Two Things Challenge in my head and was immediately overwhelmed with the amount of round or square objects I saw. I decided to limit myself to both round and square things in one shot.

Skate Park

I watched the girls play softball today at Greenlake and afterwards noticed this new Skate Park.














Apparently it's not just for skateboarders.

Photo Friday Challenge: The Great Outdoors

This week's entry for the Photo Friday Challenge.


Seaweed

Grillin' by the Beach

Tonight I spent a lovely evening at a friend's place by the water. We had an amazing dinner which began with grilled oysters.


The best accompaniment to oysters!



After they opened.



I couldn't resist this one even though the horizon is crooked.

Who nearly dies of pleasure?

I saw this album in a record store window. I was tempted to buy it, but then decided that I don't pull my albums out much as it is and do I really want another one weighing me down when I move? I used to look like Jane Fonda when both of us were younger (back in the 80's). I have a good friend that thinks I should dress up as Barbarella for Halloween. Maybe one day, though I think I should be in better shape before getting into one of those outfits!

Mooooooo

This group of tourists is on the Underground Tour which takes place in Pioneer Square. This tour is quite fun and I recommend it when you visit Seattle. Also, if you want to spice it up a bit, try the Underworld Tour. When you are a local, however, it can be a challenge maneuvering around the crowds!



Imagine my surprise to see this under the counter at Cafe Paloma! See the strip of film for size reference.

Fahrenheit 451

Yes, we did read this awhile back in our Book Club. This entry reminds me of that book because I went to a bookstore today and am also posting a photo of a fire hydrant. I don't, however, condone book burning!


I love the Elliott Bay Book Company: so full of nooks and crannies to get lost amongst the books! It's always hard to go at lunch when I don't have time to browse but am picking up a particular book. I did find one of my book club books for this month. Hint: it's a girl's book about puberty by Judy Blume. I have read this book before when I was a pre-teen, but it will be interesting to read it again as an adult! Apparently there is a boy's book as well, but I had no luck finding that one.



Better late than never? I missed getting this in in time for last week's Two Things Challenge, but wanted to post my hydrant photo anyways.

Photo Friday Challenge: Movement

This is my entry for the Photo Friday Challenge for this week. The pendulum is moving so fast you can't even see part of it!

Two Things Challenge: Parallel/Perpendicular

Here are two entries for this week's Two Things Challenge.

Flies, Flowers, and Felines

I finally went into the new Twice Sold Tales today to see if they had my book club books (they didn't) and get some kitty lovin'. This cat didn't seem to mind sharing his sleeping space with a book.




Clearly the fly loves this flower as much as I do!

Dads and Grads and, well, everyone else too!

Today was the first warm and sunny day we've had in a long time. It wasn't surprising that many people had the same thought as me and took a late afternoon walk around Greenlake. I'ts about 3 miles to walk the circumference. Many of the ducks had little ones swimming around with them. So cute!


Those are yellow iris' in the front. I've never seen them that color before!

Romance and Salmon at the Stumbling Goat

I got taken out for a belated b-day dinner tonight at the Stumbling Goat. I've been wanting to try this place for a long time as they support local farmers, ranchers, and independant producers. I was not disappointed!


This drink is called Romance. That would be a "kiss of Chambord" you see at the bottom.



I can't even describe how good this salmon was. Those are sea beans on top. I'd never had them before, but they are tasty.

Friday the 13th with "The Boys"

'Twas a busy Friday night. One of "the boys" I work with was celebrating a birthday, so we went to Collins for Happy Hour drinks. While they drank various shots including the Irish Car Bomb, I stuck to the much more elegant and mild "sipping" drink, The Mandarin Cosmo (this would be a regular Cosmo made with Mandarin Vodka).


Irish Car Bomb. That shot will end up in the Guinness before the whole thing is downed in one fell swoop.



Mandarin Cosmo (in a frosted glass no less)


After drinks with that set of boys, I headed up the Hill to meet S and her "boys" for dinner, drinks, and dessert at Tango. The food was fantastic (as usual) and the waitress had us squirming with delight at her delicious and sexy descriptions of the food and drink. We couldn't help but order whatever she was describing!


If you are a chocolate lover, you haven't lived until you've tried El Diablo!