A Visit To The Barber

Yes folks, today was that time to visit the male bastion - The Barber Shop.  Where else can you go and have multiple TV screens up on the walls blazing with different sports as the 5 barbers discuss all the days sports with the first pre-season game of the Seahawks front and center.  Heck, even two of them use chewing tobacco and thus are spitting away throughout my stay.  If it were not for the fact that Ronnel was such a good stylist I would likely move along, but I have followed him to three different places and he has done my hair for 7 years.  He even came to the hospital and my apartment when I was recouping from last year's illness.  He is quite into sports and it is amusing to listen to him and the others talk away.

The one thing I really like about the shop is the classic elements mixed in with the modern electronics.  To the left is what the chairs look like and believe you me that they do tip back some clients for a straight-edge shave.  I opt to not go for that.  But Ronnel is good and even trims the eyebrows and ear hair.  Oh yes, the pains of growing old.  This particular shop has been around for about 15 years now and Rex, the owner is funny.  He has a joke for everyone coming in and even though he is not that much older than the rest of the crew, you know he is the father figure.  Haircut and beard trim run $20 and that is a darn fine price this day in age.  Granted, if I could pay another $5 and not have to listen to all the rap music playing in the background, I would.  But beggars can't be choosers.

A Moment For Hump Day

My sister sent this to me this day as it has been a heck of a week.  I liked it and with all the craziness I have to say it gave me perspective.  The owner is suppose to be headed home tomorrow and while I truly hope it happens, I will believe it when I see it.  At least we have ridden the hump for the day and now into the evening we go.  Happy Wednesday!

Voter Tuesday

Today is primary day here in Seattle.  The big race of the day is for mayor in the Emerald City.  I have to say that for the first time in a long time I did not vote for the incumbent.  Not that I think he is doing a horrible job, but rather Ed Murray is a good viable candidate that I wanted to make sure was in the main election.  In Washington, the top 2 vote getters move on no matter what party they are affiliated with.  It is kind of ironic that back in 1965 on this day, Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, guaranteeing voting rights for blacks.  And we all know what happened earlier this year at the Supreme Court.  Are we advancing forward or retreating?  One has to wonder sometimes.

I do not try and let work enter into the blog a lot in that I like keeping the blog on a happier note, but there are times when something happens that just cannot be ignored.  The owner has been in town now for going on two weeks.  The whole office is just tapped out and of course he wants more and more out of everyone.  Last week he thought that one of the staff had sabotaged the accounting system.  Well, in the end it had been his consultant logged in remotely from California that screwed up everything.  Then yesterday Mark decided to do some updates on the accounting system server and at 7:34pm I get a text from him asking me to get ahold of Damon as he is getting a message stating "No bootable device" on the computer.  Yes folks, he had messed up the computer big time and had no one to blame but himself.  Needless to say, Damon and I got to have a good laugh as it was just another example of someone knowing just enough to screw up things big time.

So now, the entire accounting department is locked out and having to do busy work as Mark thinks he has found the answer.  Damon offered to fix it if Mark flew him up here.  Of course he will not do that, he has too big of a pride factor going.  But one has to wonder how long will he continue to let the whole accounting department flounder.  It does have to make you laugh, but in the end it is sad.

Is Seafair Sunday Safe?

What happens when the signature event of the signature day suddenly changes?  How about a 25% drop in attendance or 40,000 people.  That is what happened this year becasue the Blue Angels did not perform due to sequestration.  Instead, Seafair brought in a group known as The Patriots and while good, they were not the Blue Angels.

Yesterday was the highlight of the whole Seafair celebration.  The Air Show and the Hydroplane Races on Lake Washington.  Ask any driver on the H1 Unlimited Hydroplane tour, and he will tell you the Albert Lee Appliance Cup at Seafair provides the biggest stage he will be on all season. The less than huge crowds lined the shores of Lake Washington and the extended live television coverage tried to make Seafair as spectacular as usual for the drivers of the “World’s Fastest Race Boats.”  But in the end, it was just too noticeable not to acknowledge.

Even the drivers took notice.  Brian Perkins, driver of the 21 Albert Lee Appliance, is a good example. After working his way up to the ranks of Unlimited Hydroplane drivers by working as a crew member and driving smaller boats, the North Bend resident finds himself representing the event’s title sponsor in a race he calls, “The biggest race of the season for us, but boy where are the crowds?"   In years past you could not find an open space along the water nor on the log boom.  That was not the case this year.  "I literally grew up in the Seafair pit area.” He added, “Our shop is in Maple Valley, our entire crew and their friends and families are all local and our sponsor’s name is on the event. To say we have a lot of incentive to do well in Seattle would be an understatement.”  While they performed it was sad so many did not see them do so.

 

Dinner At Jodie & Rob's

After a day of the weekly chores and getting the apartment cleaned up a bit, it was time for a nap.  A true luxury of the weekend in my humble opinion.  It was not a real restful nap as there was a lot of excess noise coming from down below on the street as dozens of people continued prepping for the Pioneer Days parades and such.  That is when I am glad to have an AC to blur out a lot of that noise. 

Around 2pm, I headed over to their place and it was good to see them.  I had done my duty and mailed my ballot so it should be there in time for Tuesday's election.  I also had to mail my utility bill.  It is the only bill I write a check for any more.  The only reason for that is that if try and pay online they charge a $7.50 "courtesy" fee.  That is just crazy.  Well, it was done and done and off to their apartment.

We christened their new margarita glasses.  Jodie was the Margarita Queen for the afternoon.  Each one custom made to the person's desire.  Mine was salted with a unique lime salt and then there was orange liquor plus the tequila and fresh fruit.  Mighty tasty to be sure and we had water on the side as it was a tad warmer than it had been the last few days.  It also kept the alcohol level in check as we did enjoy them throughout the afternoon.  Sometimes with strawberries tossed in for fun.  They provided a  selection of salted and unsalted nuts to nibble on.  Later on we feasted on pickled asparagus and Beecher's Flagship cheese which I had brought and some garlic stuffed olives.  No worries about vampires tonight! 

A word or more on the cheese...The first wheel of Flagship, Beecher’s signature cheese, was handcrafted just as Beecher’s Handmade Cheese opened its doors in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market in November of 2003.

Flagship is a semi-hard cow’s milk cheese with a uniquely robust, nutty flavor. It is carefully aged for 15 months under the watchful eye of the cheese maker to fully develop its complex flavor and ever-so-slight crumble.

Now mind you all this was a preamble to the main event.  Rob put a pork loin on the rotisserie and let it slow roast as we played The Train Game - American version.  It had been spice rubbed and wrapped and left overnight before being skewed and put on the grill. 

Now mind you this is a beautiful picture and one Rob took as I left my camera at home but I told him I so needed a picture for the blog today as it was Foodie Sunday.  While this is a lovely picture and shows it on the skewer and all, nothing quite says food porn like the following picture - same roast, different angle:

The maple syrup glaze just made the skin crackle and shine in the sun.  It was truly a thing of beauty and in many ways just declared "Momma take me home and spank me now!"  Yes, we heard it say those very words!  Grilled baby bok choy was a nice added side dish and Jodie made an apple jelly with Dijon mustard glaze that really made the pork pop.  Catan was played after as the food settled and then came dessert of a mango cream cake and I took a bottle of the Nebbiolo dessert wine Michael had turned me onto earlier this year.  It was a very enjoyable evening.

What The Heck Is Going On?

Last night I happened to notice across the street that the man who runs a drumming store put up caution tape and blocked off access to his parking lot area.  I thought it was odd, but gave little thought to it.  When I woke up this morning I looked out the window and see a bevy of hairs being put up along Lake City Way similar to that in Portland for the Rose Parade.  What the heck is going on I think to myself.

Then I have my usual chat with Michael on Saturday morning and we are laughing and chatting and getting along, but I keep hearing things outside that are unusual but don't think much of it.  Well, once off the phone, I look out and what do I see but this:

Yes folks, all sort of air-filled creatures being assembled across the street and so it got me looking and searching for what is causing all the commotion.  And in doing a Google search I found:

Pioneer Days

2013 Lake City Pioneer Days and Grand Performance ParadeA Summer Festival of FunAugust 2-3, 2013

Salmon Bake at Lake City Community Center
Friday and Saturday, August 2-3, 2013   12PM-6PMWe’ve freshened up the menu and added International Dancing to this essential part of the Pioneer Days tradition!  Eat inside and have a dance or take your meal out to seating in the park. Watch for details soon.

Street Festival!
Saturday, August 3  10AM-6PM
The new footprint for our 2013 Street Festival stretches four blocks on NE 125th and wraps the fun around Albert Davis Park. On  28th Ave NE is the Food Fare. Veer right for the pony rides. Seattle Gymnastics is bringing back the mats for tumbling fun.
Follow the music into the park for family seating, the Beer Garden (opens at noon!) and live entertainment (with more seating) on the grass.
This will be a Festival like never seen before!

Vintage Car Show at Lake City Professional Center
Saturday, August 10AM-4PM
Always a favorite at the festival, show cars start arriving at 8:30 AM to register and find their perch for the day on NE 125th and in the lot behind Lake City Professional Center. Be sure to swing by, take a look, have a chat, and for those of a certain age, reminisce among these beauties. Awards are presented at 4PM.

Rotary Kid’s Parade
Saturday, 6PM
Generations of kids have strutted down Lake City Way in the Kid’s Parade. Bring yours to Wells Fargo at 135th & Lake City Way at 5PM.

Grand Performance Parade
Saturday, 7 PM
Bring the family, bring dinner and sit back to enjoy the parade! Clowns and Cowboys (our own Lake City Vigilantes), Pirates, Drums and Drill Teams. It’s the final parade of the year for Seafair and we do it up right! Settle in along the route, (Lake City Way from 130th to 123rd) and enjoy.  Get involved with the Festival this year!!

All I can say is that I am glad that I am getting out of Dodge in time to miss most of this insanity.  Heading over to Rob & Jodie's for an afternoon of beverages and games leading into an evening of dinner and avoiding the chaos going on in my neighborhood.

Doing My Civic Duty

Voting Day - I was to get this done a couple of days ago, but work has been a tad intensive and so I decided to sit down this evening and get it done along with bill planning as pay day is on Monday.  Here in Seattle it is a primary and the mayor race is the big one. 

Tonight's dinner is an easy and simple chicken hoagie sandwich.  Took a hoagie roll and added mayo and mustard.  Then the chicken breast I heated up with some BBQ on it and then topped off with some cole slaw.  Should have gotten a picture, but too tired and hungry.  Enjoy the night.