Saturday, July 15, 2006

Cycling along the Sammamish River


Just as I was settling into my work routine this morning, our friend PJ called to propose a bike ride along the Sammamish River Trail. Reflecting on all the sun and fun we both missed out on last summer, I had to go for it. The weather couldn't have been nicer - mid-70's, sunny, with a slight breeze to help ventilate. Lots of folks were out with the same idea on such a gorgeous weekend, but the crowds thinned out as we made our way toward the wineries. Just before the sod farms we rode by a model air field where enthusiasts were launching their non-motorized planes. It was the first long ride of the season, so we took an easy pace to build up our "bicycle butts." What an awesome way to start the weekend.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Helen's Weekend Project


Helen's become enchanted with the large variety of birds that live in the Northwest. Since we haven't planted any trees or shrubs yet, the only birds we get are crows and finches. So Helen got a nice bird house, which she painted and put in our back yard.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

A picture is worth... (part 2)

If you're gonna call yourself Creative Girl...you gotta do better than this.

Monday, July 10, 2006

A picture is worth...

My blog friend Stella recently despaired about not having the time, energy, motivation, or a combo platter of all three to write in her blog. Stella laments that sometimes she takes the easy way out by simply posting a picture instead of crafting some rivoting observations. The truth is she puts most of us non-professional-web-pundits to shame and I'm personally in awe of her.

As you can undoubtedly surmise from my efforts, I'm a firm believer in the power of pictures (or lack of motivation - take your pick). I recently came upon a primo example to prove my thesis. So here it is - dedicated to my friend Stella.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Stop the drama puh-leeze!

During the morning commute I listened to Frank Deford lament about the death of American tennis because there were no Yanks left in this year's Wimbledon tournament. Deford ascribes such significance to the event as to call it the "first crack in the edifice of the American Empire."

What sappy, self-absorbed, melodramatic crawp! Wasn't it just a couple of years ago that the Williams sisters dominated women's pro tennis? The sisters won 5 of the last 6 Wimbledons! Didn't Andy Roddick and Pete Sampras sneak in back-to-back US Open Championships just a couple of years ago? What is Deford talking about???!!! The way he makes it sound, US tennis is suffering a drought of biblical proportions. To compound his folly, Deford spends half of his commentary providing us with his reasons and excuses why American tennis has been lulled into hibernation.

It's exactly the type of sensational journalism that feeds the American stereotype. We experience a hiccup in American dominance in one of our traditionally strong sports and it's the end of the world. Frank...do us a favor - keep this type of drivel pent in until no American wins a major for at least 3 years.

Sunday, July 02, 2006

Blue C


Helen and I took advantage of the holiday weekend by heading into Seattle. Based on our experiences in New York, we hypothesized that the city would be empty as people head out of town. We headed to U Village intending to grab some lunch, look around the shops, and catch the Yankees-Mets game at The Ram.

I'm happy to report we went 2 for 3. We did wander around the shops, all relatively empty for such a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Lunch was at the quirky "Kaiten" sushi joint Blue C. The entire place is built around a conveyor belt system which whips around bringing an assortment of dishes to every seat in the house. You just pick off what you want, or wait for the next group of dishes to roll by. The decor is simple and modern, almost Warholesque. The not-quite-subdued techno beat playing in the background was tuned just right - a few decibles below annoying but always noticeable. You could tune it out if you were talking or you could surrender to its invitation for bopping in your chair.


The food was quite good. Fresh, good quality, and enough of an assortment for both the raw buff and the sushi-squeamish. We especially enjoyed the Spider roll, Unagi roll and the Japanese cream puffs. I quite recommend a visit if you're in U Village and in the mood for a quick meal.

The Yankees-Mets game was rain delayed so I ended up watching the game from home. All in all, a most enjoyable Sunday.