Stadium District, Tacoma

Kind of hard to see Mt. Rainier with all the clouds.

No idea what kind of flower this is but the entire bush was beautiful!

The Washington State flower, rhododendron

This was in the window of a funky and very retro drug store.

I've never eaten here, but Frisko Freeze  is a Tacoma landmark on Division Avenue.  It opened in 1950.

Tatanka Takeout isn't in the Stadium District, but on Pearl Street, in the small town of Ruston, on the way to Point Defiance.  Their bison burgers are fantastic and I always get a couple of bones for Pepper & Sagan.

Stadium High School, Tacoma

Beautiful Stadium High School is located in North Tacoma.  

Killer view of Commencement Bay.  I wouldn't get much work done in class if I went here, I'd be too busy staring out the window.

The brickwork is amazing.

My Home Away From Home

I'm gonna miss this place and I had a hell of a run in the legal world.  It opened doors for me, I met some amazing people and made a lot of friends.  Except for some short term jobs I had when I first moved to Washington, my bosses have been the best.  Truly ethical people who did their part to help the little guy.

Work

Now that I'm leaving, I'm having to take photos of everything since it's going to be a good, long time before I return.

This is where I have worked for over 10 years, in Fircrest.  I love my boss and my friend/coworker and  I never thought I'd see the day when I would leave. I've always teased Steve that he wasn't allowed to retire because I was not looking for another job.

Looking west down 19th Street.

And east up 19th Street.

Tacoma Community College across the street.

The "Lindsay" in the firm name left in 2006 to become a Court Commissioner.  Steve said it cost too much to get the sign carved so he wasn't going to replace it.  I suggested he just take a belt sander to it.  lol  ;-)

TAPCO Credit Union next door and their sign with the time and temperature.

My eye doctor's office was on the first floor.

My office windows on the left and my printer room on the right.

Deb's truck and distinctive I-B RED plates.

Back stairs & my boss' car.

My & Steve's cars.

View from our front door.

Rest in Peace, Old Paint

Well, our uber reliable Toshiba copier finally died.  It hit a million copies in February, 2010, and died in May, 2011 with 1,136,045 copies on it.

It'll be sad to see it taken away next week.

A Bittersweet Time

The For Sale sign went up last week.  I do love my house and I am sad to leave it.  I will miss Washington State and the PNW.  

I've done a terrible job labeling boxes.  When I finally unpack some time this summer or early fall, it will be like christmas, opening up the boxes to see what's inside.  

I don't have a lot of kitchen boxes at all.  I've packed my baking stuff and mugs, but I'm leaving nearly all the pots, pans, utensils and plates behind.  Maybe as I get closer to leaving, I'll see if there is anything Brian doesn't want.  He's not been dealing well with my packing, and he has gotten mad that he comes into a room to see it stripped and packed.  But I can't wait for him to decide he's able to cope w/ splitting things up. I know what things are 'mine' and what are 'his', and I'm honest enough to divide the stuff fairly.  The stuff stacked on the chair is to go to Goodwill.  

Still have my room, the family room and my craft closet left to pack-n-purge.

Disconnected or Apathetic?

I snagged this picture off Facebook.  It really, really cracked me up.  It's sort of the way I've been feeling lately about everything. 

Don't get me wrong, I am really glad that bin Laden is finally dead.  But I'll be honest, it's a hollow victory. It's nearly 10 years too late.  He's had all this time to name and train his successors, and how many more people have died in the Middle East since 9/11?  There will always be some fundamentalist whack job waiting in the wings to do Allah's alleged bidding.  When I saw the status updates announcing the news on Facebook, I didn't really feel like it was going to be one of those 'where were you when you heard' moments.  Like when the Challenger exploded or Kennedy was shot.  It was like,  yeah OK, so they finally got him, but nothing's gonna stop.  The wars aren't going to end now.  The terrorists are still going to try to attack us.  What's the retribution going to be?  It's like living in earthquake country, always waiting for that other shoe to drop.  Is it gonna be today?  How about today?

Do I feel this way because I'm so caught up in my own world right now that I can't devote the energy to realize the history-making moment this is?  Or am I just so bloody sick and tired of hearing about the wars and al Quaeda and all the other by products of that Middle Eastern quagmire we've gotten ourselves into but good.  Was this a history-making moment for you?