Teachers: The true unsung heroes

So many of my friends and blogging buddies are teachers, and I wanted to let you know that, even though I don't have children of my own, I recognize what hard work you guys do, and how underpaid you are. I saw this cartoon in last night's paper and it cracked me up.

"You can do it at a trot, you can do it at a gallop...

You can do it real slow so your heart don't palpitate,
Just don't be late,
Do the Puyallup!!"

Yes, it's that time of the year again, time to "Do the Puyallup". The Western Washington Fair began over the weekend and will run for 2 weeks. The official kick-off started on Friday, with a cattle drive down Meridian Street in downtown Puyallup. It's the 6th largest fair in the USA, and one of the oldest. This is the 106th year. Brian and I are taking Thursday off to go and take advantage of the many delicious food stuffs, crafts and to see all the animals. Some fairly big name musical acts play each night at the Fair, but we don't have tickets for any of the concerts. I entered a cross stitch project one year, and the following year I entered a beaded Christmas ball ornament. I didn't win or anything (I've heard that, unfortunately, it's who you know and that it's very political). I didn't care that I didn't win, I just wanted to participate. Here are a couple of pictures of the fairgrounds: That's Highway 512 at the bottom of this picture. Puyallup has grown into a large city over the years, but has expanded around the fairgrounds. The downtown area has maintained it's charm with old buildings and antique stores. The South Hill area is all malls and traffic. Sort of like what Bonney Lake is becoming.

The skyride you see in the above photo was first used at the Seattle World's Fair in the early 60's, the same fair that gave us the Space Needle. We took the skyride one time, but it was pretty rickety and the landing was anything but smooth; we came skidding in sideways and Brian was really happy to exit the ride!!

I don't adapt to change very well.....

Well, just found out that one of my bosses has been selected as a new Court Commissioner for Pierce County. This has now thrown our office into MAJOR turmoil. My other boss is faced with trying to find a sole practitioner willing to move into our office, adapt to our casual style & frequent use of salty language & politically left leanings. We come in early in the morning, and we close at 4:30. We have a very flexible time off schedule. Whoever comes in here will have to do so, knowing that they can't tell us to change our ways. He is not a happy camper right now, nor are myself and my other coworker.

The position is effective as of October 1, 2006. Steve's #1 priority is to try to make sure he doesn't lose his staff and have to move into another attorney's office. He is going to lobby hard to get someone in here. In the meantime, he's going to have to take over Robyn's caseload, which will double his own caseload. He can't, with any certainty, guarantee me that I won't lose my job, although he is going to try like crazy not to cut my loose. I've been here over 5 years and believe me, there isn't another firm or attorney in this entire county for which I would work.

So please, all of my friends out there, send me good karma and luck because we need it!!!

Technical Difficulties....

Please stand by....

Well I did a stupid thing that ended up coming back to bite me in the butt. I took all my film of my trip to Vancouver to be developed at the place I usually take film. I've never had a major problem with them before so I figured it was closer to work & more convenient than the camera store in Lakewood. I got the pictures back on Thursday and not one of them is usable. I can tell that the problems are with the processing and not just "lousy pictures" because as my friends and family can attest, I take better than average photographs and have done so for over 25 years. So, now I have to take the negatives to the camera store and have them re-develop my photos, which will probably end up costing me more $$ than if I'd just gone there in the first place. I am also going to attempt to get my $$ back from the first place. Oh well!

Crikey!

Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, was killed when he got too close to a stingray while diving in Aussie, filming a segment for a TV show. OK class, let's see a show of hands! Who here DIDN'T see this coming?

Welcome home Val!!!

I hope you had a blast in Alberta!!

Thanks to The Valentine Cat for the pictures!

For Ann

Ann liked the name "Tulalip" from my last blog entry, so here are some pictures I got off the internet. The first is the tribe's crest, an orca whale, done in the art style of Pacific NW Native Americans. They have one of the biggest casinos in the state, right off of I-5 north of Seattle, and the tribe makes a fortune from it.

Orcas live in the chilly waters of Puget Sound and their numbers are few. Occasionally a young orca will become orphaned and end up making friends with pleasure boats, and sometimes with really tragic results. I haven't seen one yet, but I hope to one of these days when I'm on the ferry to Vancouver Island.

Weirdly Wonderful Washington Words

I've lived in several places where the towns take their names from Native American words, but WA State takes the cake for having the most tongue twisting names. It took a few months to learn how to say them correctly, and I still make mistakes (my pronunciation of "Willamette" caused my bosses to collapse in laughter). To this day, my mom still hasn't grasped the correct pronunciation of "Puyallup". Everyone takes one look at that word and says, "Pulley Up". It's especially amusing to hear sports announcers try and say it when mentioning a player's hometown; it gets mangled every time. Puyallup: Pew-AL-up

WE have two towns that have especially amusing names. I've often said that it's too bad they weren't right next to each other so that the highway exit sign could read: "Humptulips Tillicum". Yes, those really are town names. Humptulips is a teeny tiny town on the Olympic Peninsula, and Tillicum is south of Tacoma, near Ft. Lewis & McChord AFB.

Here are some more of my favourite towns, rivers, Indian tribes, etc. You can figure out how to say them if you read them slow enough.

Snohomish

Ilwaco (il-WAH-co)

Skokomish

Onalaska

Skykomish

Steilacoom (STELL-a-cum)

Stillaguamish

Tieton

Snoqualmie

Okanogan

Sequim ("Skwim")

Wenatchee

Hoquiam (HO-kwee-yum)

Toppenish

Stehekin (sta-HEE-kin)

Sekiu (C-Q; or SEE-kyoo)

Semiahmoo

Quillayute, also spelled Quileute

Chimacum

Tulalip (too-LAY-lip)

Issaquah

Sammamish

Enumclaw

Anacortes (anna-CORT-iss)

Swinomish

Dosewallips (DOE-see-wahl-ips)

and lest we forget our gigantic bivalves harvested along the Hood Canal, the "Geoduck", which is pronounced "GOOEY-duck."

Have a happy long weekend everyone!

Since the USA Channel has screwed us over all week, here are some cute pictures to get us all through till the Sunday night Bravo LOCI fix!!

I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday weekend. Not sure if our international friends get Monday off for Labor Day or not....do you?

Fall is my favourite time of the year - new shows, NFL and college football begin, foliage, the return of the rain, geese beginning their southern migration, the smell of wood stove smoke on a crisp morning.....it doesn't get any better than that. The trees in Vancouver have already begun to change colour, so it won't be long till we start as well.

Tennis Schmennis!

This is me every time I go to watch LOCI on the USA Channel and find that tennis has pre-empted it!!!
We want Bobby! We want Bobby! We want Bobby!

Charmed, I'm sure

My good friend, Mele, took this photo of me, right before we left California to move to Washington, in May of 1999. Charming, ain't I? This is when I still had my natural hair colour and before I had to wear glasses full time. Here's one of me and hubby, taken the same day, in front of our townhouse in Fairfax, CA. Yes, I'm very short and he's very tall.

Photos on EDO's blog

Just wanted to let my fellow VDO blogging buddies that they should head over to Elizabeth D'Onofrio's "photo album", at http://donofrioe.com/family.htm for some great candids she shot while visiting the LOCI set. I will, of course, not post any of her photos here. But there is one photograph in particular, taken in Vincent's apartment which caused me to giggle a little bit.....Vincent's not in it, but in the background, you can see his toilet paper roll in the bathroom. Elizabeth even makes a comment on her blog about wishing it wasn't in the picture. Nothing like bringing a person back to reality when you realize that your idol wipes his ass just like the rest of us!! Elizabeth's son, Hawk, just got hired on to LOCI, I think somewhere in the production department, so that is cool as well!

Um, OUCH!

Yes ladies and germs, it's that time again....time for the yearly "squeeze-o-gram". And let me just say, OW!!! Clearly a man designed that machine. There was an article in the Vancouver paper last week that said a study was done with children who were allowed to watch TV while undergoing a painful medical procedure, such as drawing blood, and the kids didn't respond very much to the pain. So I'd like to pitch this idea to Medical Imaging Northwest: Put TV's in the mammogram rooms that show LOCI on a continuous loop; I'm sure I wouldn't feel the pain either if I'm allowed to watch sexy Bobby/Vincent during the exam. Better yet, can he just perform the exams on me? This cartoon cracks me up:

San Vanciscouver? Nah....

Got back from my trip to Vancouver, BC yesterday. Everyone told me that they think it's like San Francisco, moreso than Victoria. I can see why they might see a resemblance because of the way the streets are laid out and how they look. But the shopping I found to be more like maybe New York or Boston. Very trendy, not much in the way of what I call "cool stores", which are stores that cater to people who like dragons/beads/hemp items/tarot cards/pentacles/locally made jewelry & crafts/antiques/crystals/tie dyes/batik/incense, etc. So in that respect, Vancouver is nothing like what I was expecting, except for the locally made jewelry. It is, however, under a great deal of construction, or as I like to say, suffering from an "ediface complex". There are so many steel & glass buildings going up that it could be nicknamed Cranetown. Then I realized that the city is getting ready for the 2010 Winter Olympics, as evidenced by the vast amount of Olympics souvenirs already being sold; they are getting a lot of mileage out of showcasing the First Nations' Inukshuk figure. Well I have a newsflash for them, they need to spend more money sweeping up the vast quantities of cigaret butts all over the streets and sidewalks. It's not as clean a city like Victoria.

I'd scored a room at the Westin Bayshore Resort for $75 a night on Priceline. Wicked nice hotel, right on Coal Harbour and at the entrance to Stanley Park. My room was obviously not the best in the place for that price, but it was very comfortable and I had a partial city view. I used the outdoor pool one day but it was much colder than it looked. And of course the most important thing, one of the cable stations showed "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" at 5 pm so I still got my Vincent fixes. I had great meals up there, but I found that I had to seek them out because I'm not very adventurous when it comes to ethnic food, am allergic to shellfish and don't like seafood. The best meal I had was at Bojangle's Cafe - a fantastic salad and quiche.

North Vancouver was definitely the best part of the trip. I'd had very cloudy weather the first two days I was in the city, and I was unable to see the mountains to the north. But I woke up to clear blue skies on Friday, with temps in the high 60's to mid 70's. I believe the first words out of my mouth were "Whoo Hoo!" as I leapt out of bed and threw open the drapes!! I drove over to N. Van. to see the Capilano Suspension Bridge which was so amazing that words can't even describe it. Or describe the feeling of being on a swaying bridge that high over a gorge! But I felt totally safe. It's very sturdy and anchored. When you get to the other side, there is "Treetops Adventure", which are more suspension bridges built up in the trees, about 100 feet off the ground. The way they are constructed is very eco-friendly, with no harm to the trees at all. Truly a sacred place....and I'm glad I got there at 9 a.m. while it was still quiet enough to enjoy the peaceful setting.

I next drove up to the foot of Grouse Mountain, and took the Skyride up to the top. Man alive!The view was incredible. I was hiking on a trail, came around a corner and my jaw dropped when I saw Mt. Baker in Washington State right there on the horizon. I expected that I'd see it, but it still took me by surprise because I forgot how big it is. It's not a mountain that we see regularly, like we do Rainier, because it's way up north, so we forget that the other volcanoes are extremely large as well. I could have stayed on the summit all day long, but as it was a Friday, I wanted to get across the Lions Gate Bridge back to downtown before traffic got too heavy (and I'd read that Critical Mass had another "event" planned to screw up rush hour traffic). The helicopter rides were all booked so I was unable to do that. Oh well!

The only thing that infuriated me was on one of the trails, I came upon a bench in the woods, and next to the bench were 2 discarded coffee cups. I could not believe it, and the first thing that came into my mind was, "probably left by an American." I don't understand how people can just discard their trash on the ground like that. So I carried them out and tossed them in a trash can. Reminded me of the time we went to Yosemite with my parents in 1992, and Brian & I picked up trash as we hiked along the trails. Pop cans, fries boxes, napkins.....what the hell is wrong with people? What must their homes be like?! How can they have absolutely NO respect for the earth?

I shopped in Gastown, which was quaint, but every single store was a tourist trap. So from that standpoint I was disappointed. The really great shopping was on Granville Island. I bought 3 pairs of earrings made by different local artists. I saw A LOT of stuff I wanted to buy, but our house is already pushing maximum density when it comes to knick knacks, candles, glass, window crystals, posters, memorabilia and other bric-a-brac, so alas, I returned home from 3 days in Vancouver with a tshirt, a ton of postcards, the earrings, and a cute stuffed toy Husky dog dressed like an RCMP officer (I named him Diefenbaker). Chinatown was sketchy....I wanted to see the Sam Kee Building which is the narrowest building in the world. But most of the buildings were boarded up and there were some hinky looking people walking around so I hoofed it back to Gastown. I mean, I have a giant purse, a back pack and a camera. No, that doesn't scream "tourist" at all.

Had no problem with the border crossings. They didn't even look at my ID going into Canada, just asked me where I was staying and what my plans were. Coming home they at least looked at my drivers license, asked what I bought and sent me on my way. Of course I didn't mention the Cuban cigar or the hemp-related, but entirely legal, novelty items I brought back for the hubby.....

I'm glad I got Vancouver out of my system, but I don't see myself returning there any time soon. I will return to Victoria in a heartbeat though; hopefully next summer. Victoria is more my kind of city and there's still so much to do and see there and on Vancouver Island. Victoria is familiar, and I feel about Victoria the way I do about San Francisco: It's my home away from home.

I'll try to post some pictures I shot on my blog later on, once they are developed. I shot 7 rolls of film, but no digital. I stuck with what I know best.

What a great show!!

I have to admit, I wasn't sure what to expect from David Cassidy, after all these years, but the concert on Friday was outstanding! I was so afraid that the show would be lame and I'd kick myself for ruining the fond memories of my youth. Boy was I wrong! The only thing missing from the show was my 2 cousins, Sharon & Diane. I wished so much that they were there with me, singing along like we used to when we were 7 & 8 years old. I nearly called them on my cell and held up the phone, but they are on the east coast and probably would not have welcomed a call so late at night.

David's still extremely hot. For a 56 year old man, he still has all the moves that made young women scream and faint in the 70's; as it is women were screaming, "I love you David" and passing him their phone numbers!! He's an excellent entertainer, and really knows how to work the crowd. He was funny and self-deprecating, yet sincere in his appreciation for the fan support all these years, which endeared him to the crowd immediately. You just can't not like the guy. David opened the show w/ Deep Purple's "Hush" which was amazing, then he sang a whole bunch of great Partridge Family songs, as well as 2 Beatles covers and some of his solo stuff. He played both acoustic and electric guitar, and paid a lot of attention to the fans in the first 2 rows. I suppose I could have edged up myself and perhaps gotten a hand shake or hand slap, but I just couldn't make myself do it. Hopefully my photos turned out!!

I'm off to Vancouver on Wednesday. Catch up to everyone later!

Guilty or innocent?

So this is the guy who is confessing to the murder of JonBenet Ramsey. At first, I thought he was the right person, but after the past few days of hearing the additional information, I don't think he is the murderer. Obsessed with her, definitely. And if I was facing jail time in Thailand, I would probably confess to any number of crimes in the USA just to get me out of Thailand. Prisons in America are no picnic, but I hear they are hundreds of times worse and more brutal in SE Asia.

I've thought all along that the family had something to do with JonBenet's murder. Even if they didn't, prostituting her in beauty pagents like that was bordering on abuse. Sexualizing any child, especially a 6 year old is just plain wrong. It's bad enough when 10 year old girls go around dressing like hookers!

What do you all think?

Hurray for Friday!!

I hope everyone has a groovy weekend!! I'm off to see David Cassidy at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma tonight.

Thanks to Eliza for the above pictures. Who wouldn't want to lick those wonderful fingers?! Be still my beating heart. You are never too old to have a celebrity crush.

Rene Magritte

Belgian artist Rene Magritte has been my favourite artist since I was in high school, when my best friend, Liz, showed me a book of his paintings. These are some of my faves.

The third painting I posted, of the lion and the man with wings, "Homesickness", is Liz's favourite by Magritte; at least it used to be! My fave one is the first picture, of the train in the fireplace, "Time Transfixed". I used to have a poster of the 4th painting of the 3 spheres, which name escapes me. My friends and I used to refer to it as the "Geffen balls" because they look the logo for Geffen Records.

Finally!

My boss has left for his annual trip to see his family in Detroit so my schedule has eased up slightly. Don't get me wrong, I love both of my bosses, but the days before he leaves can get pretty frenetic. He seems to think I'll be sitting around playing computer solitaire while he's gone so he's left me with about a million projects to do before he gets back. Well he's wrong about the solitaire. I'll be blogging instead. lol Thanks to the VDO Vault for these pictures.

The Rick Mercer Photo Challenge

Rick Mercer is a Canadian comedian and does a lot of political comedy, in addition to producing one of my fave shows ever, "Made in Canada", about the TV/film industry. I've been a huge fan of Rick's for years, as he is very, very witty and his show, "The Rick Mercer Report", keeps me in stitches. Of course it helps to know a little bit about what's going on up there to get most of the jokes, but he takes a lot of shots at Bush too.

He recently hosted the Photo Challenge, where he posts a photo on his website and lets the viewers/bloggers take over and submit their versions. Here are a few of the idiot in the White House, which cracked me up. The first photo is the original post by Mercer, the rest were submitted by, in order: Kyle, Cindy Green, Mark Telfer, Maurice Motut, Cindy Green again and Bob. I like Cindy Green's visions best.

The 4th picture shows conservative Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, lurking behind Bush. Harper was voted into office during the winter and replaced about 10-12 years of liberal rule. Harper wants to make nice with Bush.