As promised, here are the Sea Otter pics from my trip to the aquarium last week. I was lucky and got a great spot during the Friday morning “Otter Talk” and feeding, so the otters were very active and the reflections off the glass weren’t too bad. The otters are Lootas (might have spelled that wrong,) her grown daughter Aniak, and Aniak’s 20-day old pup who hasn’t been named yet. The pup is pretty cute, she sort of scoots around on deck, and floats rather than swims in the water.
I spent a recent day off wandering downtown Seattle and the waterfront, including a trip to the Seattle Aquarium. Despite the invasion of four (!!!!) busloads of school children, I managed to get a few (ok, more than a few) pictures. Here are the fish pics, baby sea otter pics will be coming in another post in the next few days. Keep an eye out for those, cause she’s awfully cute!
(note – this is a river otter, not a sea otter)
The sand has eyes!
Underwater Koosh Balls
What’re You Lookin’ At?
Under the Surface
Tropical Fish
Pacific Coral Reef
Coral Tank
Tropical Reef
Coral Reflections
Camouflage Fish
Serene Sea
I got bored tonight while waiting for a large download to finish. And in a fit of boredom, I thought “hey, why don’t I go change the theme on my website to something I’ve never seen before, that takes a lot of customization I don’t have time to do right now, and see what happens?” Yeah. So. Oops. The site (mostly) works, the widgets on the right work (again, mostly) but about half the menus across the top are broken (again.) So I guess I know what my next rainy day project is.
Seattle woke up to another snowstorm this morning, which means a lot of people stayed home and a lot of streets were closed. I, of course, headed out with my camera to see what I could find, and found my way to the infamous Denny Hill, which becomes a sledding yard once it’s closed to vehicle traffic.
Lots more snow closure signs around the city today:
But some of the buses are still making it through, even the big double-deckers:
Looks like some Starbucks employees took a break to have a little fun in the snow:
And a LOT of people gathered at the top of the hill on Denny for sledding fun:
One guy even skiid down:
And then it was back to sledding as usual:
And someone left their opinion of the storm on their un-drivable car:
We got our first day of “real” snow in Seattle this winter, which means we got about 3 inches of snow and everyone panicked. Although in our defense, we get some really wet, slick snow, and we have some really looooooooonnnnnnng, steeeeeeeeeeeep hills. On the other hand, there’s just always some people who don’t understand that “4 wheel drive” does not equal “4 wheel stop.” Especially downhill on ice.
Since I didn’t have to drive anywhere, I bundled up, grabbed my camera, and went out walking to enjoy the snow and see what craziness and/or beauty I could find.
Cars try to drive on the steep hill that is Boren Ave:
I’m not sure I’d even WALK down this hill, let alone try to drive. You can see some nice skid tracks partway down:
Carriage house is a beautiful nearby historic house. It looks very pretty in the snow:
A historic apartment building during the snowstorm:
Typical Seattle Snow Reaction – abandon the cars when they get stuck partway up a hill, then hang out with everybody who’s come out to watch others try to drive:
If you can avoid driving in the snow, this is the best way to watch others try it: from a comfy chair with a beverage of your choice. (Note – not my beer.)
Sometimes stuck drivers get lucky, and helpful people push them the rest of the way up the hill:
And this is how SDOT handles some of our hills – just close them down because they can’t be kept safe (borrowed from my 365 Project.) Yes, we actually have official “Snow Closure” signs in addition to the usual “Road Closed” signs:
Due to a serious lack of storage space in my small kitchen, I’ve kept “pantry” items on a small set of bookshelves in the dining area of my apartment. Over the past few months those shelves have been getting more and more crowded, and eventually just ran out of space altogether. So just before New Year’s I ordered a large Expedit shelving unit from Ikea, also known as a Really Big Shelf. While I waited for it to arrive, I spent some time organizing what should and should not go on the new shelf, and sorting what should go into storage bins vs what should go on the shelves. Finally, the shelf arrived, and building day was here!
First, I moved the old shelves around a bit and cleared off the big wall for the new Really Big Shelf, then got out the tools I’d need:
Then I started unpacking the boxes. Of course the cat had to inspect the first box as soon as it was emptied:
Four boxes later, I finally had all the parts out and organized:
Since there were an awful lot of small tan pegs to blend right into my tan carpet, I dumped all the bits and pieces onto a small tray to keep track of them. I also put an allen bit in my electric screwdriver so I didn’t have to hand-crank all the bolts:
Following along with the instructions, I built an “L” out of the bottom and right-hand side of the shelf. To make this easier later, I built it face down, meaning the little hold for the wall bracket are at the TOP on the side frame:
Next I hammered the first set of pegs into the bottom of the shelf, and attached the upright pieces. Those pegs don’t like to go in properly by hand, I’ve found it’s much easier to just tap them in with a hammer. Saves lots of frustration:
While I’m adding cross braces and more uprights to my shelf, Max is checking out the tunnel in the hallway created by all the parts boxes:
After more pegs, more cross braces, and lots more uprights, I finally have the interior complete and ready for the side and top pieces:
And it’s up!! One Really Big Shelf, framed in and upright, ready to be bolted to the wall:
Note – this is a Really Big Shelf, and while it can be built by one person, standing it up really, really should be done by at least two people. Once it’s up, be sure to bolt it to the wall using the included brackets.
Once the shelf was filled with the appropriate storage bins, pantry containers, tea, teapots, cookbooks, and all the other assorted items that don’t fit in my kitchen, I put the dining table back in the dining area:
And there you have it, one Really Big Shelf along with two smaller shelves to create a pantry-like storage area. The final step will be framing some photos to fill in across the top of the shelf.
To see what sort of things I’ve stored on the shelves, click the picture below to view it on Flickr, then roll your mouse across the photo to see the notes:
I love a good beef stew, but it can be hard to find a good recipe that can be cut down for a small crock pot. This week I have finally perfected my mini beef stew recipe, perfect for 1-2 people plus just enough leftovers to take to work and make coworkers jealous at lunchtime.
I do this in my 2.5qt mini crock pot, but it would work in a 3 qt crock pot as well, just add a little bit more of each ingredient, and some water to top off the liquid.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or high 4-5 hours, until meat and potatoes are tender.
It’s a very wet, windy Thanksgiving week here in Seattle. Apparently there is some confusion about the proper method of keeping the rain off with an umbrella.
As usual, I am way behind on posting pictures from my trip to the east coast in June. I spent the last 3.5 days of the trip in New York City, specifically in Manhattan. What a fun, busy, crazy city.
The first night in New York, my friend and I hopped on a double-decker bus and took a night tour of Manhattan and a few surrounding areas. In mostly chronological order, here are the photos from the tour.
City Canyon:
39th St Sunset
Evening Gold
Sunwarmed Brick
Brooklyn Pier
Tower of Reflection
After a lot more time than expected, I’m finally getting the photos from my vacation posted online. Here’s the first round, from the day I spent wandering around some of Washington, DC. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t that great, so I didn’t get nearly as many photos as I’d hoped.
A sparrow (they were EVERYWHERE over there!) contemplating the paddle boats for rent along the Tidal Basin
The Jefferson and Washington monuments
Columns of the Jefferson Monument (taken with my fisheye lens)
Around the outer edge of the Jefferson Monument (again with the fisheye lens)
The top of the Jefferson monument (and the weather finally clearing up, late in the afternoon)
Monuments and museums across the Tidal Basin
Reflection of the Washington Monument in the Tidal Basin
Low hanging branches over the path
Walking around the Tidal Basin
Mama and ducklings in the Tidal Basin
