Dave Kean

A slightly different tack today, I could have shared x-rays of my head, but decided maybe not this time. I live in Washington, it’s a beautiful state and I am close to both mountains and the sea.

There is no place like the Pacific Northwest in the summer, and if you live here you know that. We live for those three or four months of great weather that makes the grey, leaden skies of the rest of the year bearable.

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There in the center of Seattle over looking the waterfront is Pike Place Market, it’s in every tourist itinerary and people who live here shop there too. It’s a rather iconic part of downtown and a fitting symbol for a city I’d miss.Tweet

Ended up working in Seattle for a few hours today, it was not planned, but this program is what it is. A little chaotic, very challenging with a lot of stuff going on, but professionally a very satisfying when it all comes together and I perhaps make a small difference like today.

After spending a few hours at Boe Field I was heading through Seattle and decided to visit the Seattle Art Museum, it’s a while since I’ve been there and the current special exhibit is a selection of about 40 of Nick Cage’s “Sound suits”

It’s performance art in a rather stunning setting. The scale is easy to comprehend, the creativity is wonderful. A variety of shapes, textures and materials are stitched into something we can actually relate to, even thought the only human form is the occasional foot poking out the bottom or even in some cases just the ankle.

First thing in the exhibit is the one non-human form. A life size bear (grizzly, not teddy) looms over you. It’s a bear in shape, but it’s constructed totally of sweaters. It rather sets the scene for the rest of the exhibit, the form is familiar, the texture is not.

The SAM is a compact, but as ever an excellent space and collection, there are a few new items, but it’s a great way to blow an hour on the way home.

I wandered through Downtown Seattle on the way back to the car, the blossoms are out and once again I’m reminded why this part of the world is special. I’ll miss it. It’s been a good day, I learned some interesting things about what’s going on, life is fascinating. Happy Easter.

This was the view from the living room early this morning, the sun is out. I love this view.

After two days of watching racing and helping out the organizers a little my car was rather muddy.

By the end of two days of racing the track surface has the consistency of wet concrete with a lot of gravel in the mix. Difficult to drive on and it gets everywhere on the car. I only tootled along some of the better bits of the track in the Miata, getting out long after racing was done, and the car was packed with mud underneath. I must have washed off 25 pounds of mud today.

It was fun, and spending a few hours today with friends over lunch was telling and important. I have a very, very rich life.

Last night had quite incredible light, there was a huge storm rolling in the trees were thrashing and the sky was almost yellow at one point. It was a short, but very spectacular storm and quite something to watch through the patio doors.

The storm blew itself out and left today another wet spring day. I’m ready for the rain to stop, but it was spectacular last night.

So this week we’ve had driving rain, snow, thick fog and today when I left work the sun was out. Dare I hope that we may have a dry weekend?

Yesterday morning, a "real pea souper" as someone put it yesterday in their finest put on British accent

I like this view far better. Top down and the sun out!

OK, I have chosen to live here up to now and it’s easy to complain about the weather, especially this time of year. Yes I know Seattle and the Northwest has a reputation for rain, and as much as people who live here defend it with an “Its not as bad as people think”, there is some truth to it.

Yesterday in the car

It’s almost April, the threat of snow is long gone, but it’s wet and that’s just how the early spring is. The summers are awesome, but when I move I’ll not miss the long grey winters.  This last month or two has seemed particularly bad for the rain, since I got back from Winnipeg three weeks ago it has rained every day except two or three.

Leaden skies and saturated ground in the Snohomish River valley

As is typical at this time of year I do feel the desire to go somewhere warm and feel the sun on my arms for a day or two, pool time with a book would make it even better.

I am a big fan of the longer evenings, it was 6 or so before I got out of work tonight after a long, but productive day. Best part (actually, second best behind the fun evening) was that it was still light out when I made it home. It may have still been raining today, but we are edging closer to the summer.

I had an appointment before work this morning and was a little late leaving the house. This was the view out the front window, this really has been a wonderful place to live. While I am looking forward to the next stage of the wonderful adventure that life is, it’s mornings like this, as cold as it was, that make me take a moment and think “yeah, I have it pretty damn good”