Seattle, Part 2

Seattle has a wonderful new sculpture garden called the Olympic Sculpture Park. It opened last year. We walked the park last year and didn't get a chance to visit again this year. We did drive by several times and this is one of my favorite sculptures. You can visit the park by going to the Seattle Art Museum web site.


This is the view from in front of the Seattle Asian Art Museum. I love this picture taken of the space needle through this large sculpture. The Asian Art Museum is in Volunteer Park and was the original art museum building.


This is the front of the Seattle Asian Art Museum and if you squint you can see me walking down the stairs just left of center. This was our first stop during this trip. Family members played in the park while I "worked". I try to check out museums and their Asian Art collections for the Asian curatorial staff I work with. SAAM had a Korean contemporary art exhibition and some other Asian contemporary art that I was especially interested in. Now, I just have to write up my notes!


We stay at a hotel on the Seattle waterfront and this picture of the sailboat and ferry was taken from our room. We try to be good family guests and keep everyone on their regular schedules as much as possible. We also think everyone needs "personal" time. While THE grandson naps, we get the "adult" play in. By the end of the stay, we are napping when THE grandson naps.


We watched the cruise ships dock and reload Friday, Saturday and Sunday -- a total of 9 each weekend. Amazing to watch the people unload and then new passengers come aboard. We watched the trucks pull up to deliver all the food and various goods that the new cruise will need. It looked like a well choreographed dance -- trucks, people -- full flats of goods going on, empty flats coming off. The Argosy is a small ship that gives harbor, jazz and lock cruises. Both ships are on their way out of port.

This is one of THE grandson's favorite things to do -- take the ferry over to Bainbridge Island. This is a picture from the ferry on the return trip to Seattle.

I still have a few more pictures to share. Look for Seattle, Part 3!

Seattle

We've just returned from our annual visit with family and THE grandson in Seattle. I have lots of pictures to share. Seattle is a wonderful place to visit -- easy walking city (once you climb the hills) and cool (great break from the high summer temperatures in Houston). Before I share the trip, a big thank you to those of you who have dropped by and left comments or sent emails. I hope you'll continue to visit and keep up with the Tales from Twisty Lane.

I love Pike Place Market. They are celebrating their 101st birthday this year. The Dahlias were beautiful. I have a brown thumb when I try growing them here. I did get them to come up this year (put them in pots) and got one bloom.

Seattle Aquarium

We spent a morning at the Seattle Aquarium. Our little man knew exactly what he wanted to see and was off and running the minute we were in the door.

Fremont Troll

The Fremont Troll gives new meaning to mixed-media! This large, fearsome troll devours an actual Volkswagen underneath the Aurora Bridge. It weighs 2 tons and sports one good eye made of a hubcap. The Troll is a must stop for tour groups. We were lucky to get this picture without people climbing all over him.

Kids can play in the cave, too!

A Big Lion Roar

At The Zoo

This was our first visit to the Woodland Park Zoo with THE grandson. He knew just what he wanted to see and do. He wasn't sure about riding the horse on the carousel and had Gramps move to a seat that didn't go up and down.

We ate in kid friendly restaurants: Buca Di Beppo (a national chain), the Coastal Kitchen on Capitol Hill (always busy no matter time of day and serves breakfast all day). We did get a few adult meals in. The kids took us to Salty's on Alki Beach for Dick's official retirement dinner. Great view of the Seattle skyline from Salty's and good food. A visit to Seattle means wild salmon and halibut. Yum! Dick and I had dinner at Ivar's (halibut) our first night in Seattle and a nice lunch one afternoon at Maximilien In The Market (more salmon).

I have more pictures and will post more tomorrow. I'm still catching up on laundry, mail -- all those little things that pile up while we were away having fun!

Creativity

Creativity. So what is it? The dictionary says:

• Creativity - creative ability; artistic or intellectual inventiveness

So what is creative? Back to the dictionary and:

1. Creating or able to create
2. Having or showing imagination and artistic or intellectual inventiveness
3. Stimulating the imagination and inventive powers
   

Why the sudden interest in creativity? The July/August 2008 issue of UTNE READER had a series of articles on The Future of Creativity in our schools, our businesses, and our lives. Frankly, it was a little frightening. It seems to be one of those use it or lose it things. One of the articles suggested that we are robbing our kids of their birthright: the access to free, unstructured play of their own making. Remember playing with an old cardboard box and in your imagination making it into anything we wanted: castle, fort, car, plane, cave? Some kids, when you tell them to go play look at you and say "what should I play."

It got me to thinking about being crafty and if that counts as creative. Then I thought about just having fun! Why stop playing when you become an adult? Why not continue to play? Learn to play a new instrument. Learn a new craft. Finger paint!

I spend time looking at blogs featuring mixed-media artists/crafts people. I decided I wanted to try and here's my first collage. This is what I collected all laid out on watercolor paper. The little girl in the picture is me. Lots of clip art butterflies. An information sheet on butterflies printed out on ledger paper.


Here's the finished project. I call it Too Cute I. I have more pictures of this little girl doing things she loved. I think there are several more Too Cutes to come!

Too Cute I

Happy Birthday

Two year old twins/litter mates, Rocky and Riley, are celebrating their second birthday today with extra treats provided by their well trained staff.

Rocky (AKA Rocket, AKA Little Dumpling Boy) came to live at Twisty Lane first. His sister, Riley, was already promised to another client of our vet. The kittens were caught along with their mother and taken to our vet to be spayed and neutered. The kittens were left with the hope that someone would adopt the feral kittens. Their mom was taken back to the neighborhood were they were found and released -- never to have kittens again.

When the Little Dumpling Boy was a kitten he used to sleep in my lap on his back with his full little kitten belly face up just begging to be rubbed. He lived with us for six weeks before his sister arrived on the scene.

Riley

Our vet's office called one day and asked if we could take Rocky's sister. Things hadn't worked out with the elderly lady she had been promised to. Riley hid in the air ducts and wouldn't come out. I said "sure, we would take her, but I couldn't pick her up until the weekend." The tech said, "That's ok. I'll deliver her to you." That should have been our first hint what a little Imp-ress she would become. She hid under the buffet for 48 hours before Rocky lured her out to play.

Both kittens (they'll always be kittens no matter how old they are) are still a little wild. They would prefer not to be picked up, although they both seem to enjoy being petted and cooed over when they are in our arms.

We hope you'll celebrate with us by posting on your blog a little something about the critters you share your life with and wish Rocky and Riley a Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday Rocky and Riley from Snap and Dick -- your well trained staff.

Books

I spent most of the July 4th weekend pleasure reading and enjoyed every minute.

"I started with An Incomplete Revenge: A Maisie Dobbs Mystery by Jacqueline Winspear. This is the fifth book in the series and is the one I've enjoyed the most. The Maisie Dobbs mysteries are set in England after WW1. In this book, Maisie's work takes her to a picturesque village in Kent during the hop-picking season. I'm always happy when I enjoy a book for the story and learn something. Two for the price of one! Reading about hop-picking and gypsies was different and entertaining. Add Maisie and her investigative work and it was a story that was hard to beat. I've added An Incomplete Revenge to the Best of 2008 list.


The second book I read was Anatomy of Fear by Jonathan Santlofer. This is the first book in a new series by Santlofer featuring forensic artist Nate Rodriguez. I enjoyed the introduction to Nate Rodriguez and watching him work. Santlofer not only is an author but is also an artist living in New York. When he writes about art, he knows what he's talking about. Santlofer includes his own illustrations that really add pizzazz to the book. The story moved right along and I'll try the second book in the series, The Murder Notebook.