Fleet Week

The first week in August marks the conclusion of the Sea Fair festivities. In conjunction with that, there are parades, the Blue Angels fly, and fleet week starts.

During fleet week, several ships come in to port and the majority of the sailors are given liberty. The rest give tours of the ships to anyone who is interested. This year there were four ships - two American and two Canadian. We went last year, and it was really interesting. Time didn't permit us to do the tours this year, but we did go down to the Sound to watch the ships come in. It was a beautiful day, and a very impressive site.

I know I'm late, since we're nearing the end of August, but here are some pictures from the day. Kendra was in fine form, and our friend Kai was with us as well.

I Need A Job

This unemployment thing is killing me. I have worked harder in the past two weeks than ever! I never realized how sedentary my job truly made me. I have muscles that hurt that I didn't know I had. I have a whole new respect for stay at home moms.

We did have some fun this week. Our friend Naomi from LA came to stay with us. She needed a break between grad school semesters, and airfare to Seattle was cheap. We had a wonderful visit with her. I think we ate our way around Seattle, and topped it all off with a sunset cruise (aka the ferry to Bainbridge Island.)

Here are the pictures from her visit.

Day 1 On The Unemployment Rolls

I jumped up bright and early this morning and donated blood. Might as well get off on the right foot in the karma tally, right?

I spent the morning cleaning and doing laundry, then Kendra and I ran a couple of errands. As soon as she went down for her nap, I did the most important thing - filed for unemployment. It takes 6-9 weeks for a determination of eligibility, so now we wait.

Busy Weekend, As Usual

We had a very busy, but very fun weekend. Friday night we enjoyed the fabulous weather and took the dogs to the dog park. Kendra tried walking Turtle for the first time, and it went remarkably well. Of course, the dog was dead tired from playing but that was part of the plan.

Saturday we took Kendra to Gymboree, which is always fun because the parents stand around and socialize. We drug the dogs with us, and after class took them to Sand Point dog park. It's a fairly decent sized park, and ends at Lake Washington so the dogs can go swimming. Surprisingly, both dogs got in and swam around for a while. It wasn't very hot outside but I'm sure the cold water felt good.

Saturday I met a girlfriend for movie, and Dan took Kendra to the Torchlight Parade. The parade was so long, I met up with them afterwards and watched a bit of it myself. Kendra loved the marching bands and the dancers; she was not impressed with the giant animal shaped balloons.

Sunday we went down to Pike's Place Market to buy some fresh, wild-caught salmon. We wandered downtown a bit, then Kendra and I headed to the park for a playdate. By Sunday night we were all exhausted.

Monday we started our new session of swimming lessons, and this time slot seems much more feasible than the previous one. There was hardly any traffic to deal with, and we were home at a much more reasonable hour.

Today Kendra is helping make home made vanilla wafers (courtesy of Alton Brown's inspiration). We are having a mini-baby shower for one of the ladies in our toddler group this afternoon. Everyone is bringing a casserole for her to freeze, and something to share with the group. We're meeting in a local park so the kids can play. It should be fun!

A Blow

I was just informed that my last day of work will be August 6, unless I want to move to Ohio. They really want someone in the office there, and with the new computer system coming online (that I don't know) I can't say I blame them.

But it really sucks. I will be unemployed in 3 weeks.

Pearl Knotting

So my pearl knotting class ROCKED! I really enjoyed it, and ended up with (what I think) is a pretty cool necklace. I had no idea that pearl knotting is a technique that could be transferred to so many different areas of jewelry making!

I have signed up for an open studio session at the place I'm taking the classes. That means I get expert help from the staff, fun women to sit and bead with, and the use of all their awesome tools (which means I don't have to buy them!!) I'm really enjoying this!

In other news, I apparently have bursitis in my hip. It's what has been causing me pain for the past year or so. I'm on heavy doses of steroids to help reduce the inflammation, and if that doesn't work I'll need an MRI to map the problem and a cortisone injection directly into the hip. Ouch. Here's hoping the steroids work!

Jewelry Hobby

Because I have so much spare time, I decided to take a couple of jewelry making classes. Last night's class was "Say It On Your Wrist." It taught us how to make stamped jewelry - bracelets, pendants for necklaces, whatever you can imagine.

We practiced on copper, but the final pieces were sterling silver. You simply spell out what you want to say and use a hammer to stamp in the letters. A bit of antiquing to make the letters stand out, and you have a beautiful, unique piece of jewelry.

I made three things. A bracelet for me that says "Magic finds you if you let it." A bracelet for Kendra with her name, birthdate and a couple of paw prints, and a necklace for me with Kendra's name and birthstone.

Tonight I have a class on pearl knotting!