We woke up to snow again yesterday morning. Luckily the monster sizes flakes were falling to a ground temperature of about 40* so nothing stuck. Typical weird spring weather here. The afternoon brought lots of wind and gusts. I spent part of the afternoon watching the two Doug Firs that were planted about 15 feet from either side of the house 90+ years ago. They've been trimmed over the years to protect them from high winds but they still really get to moving in a storm. Every time we have a windstorm I think that maybe they should come down. I'd hate to do it but it's better then getting crushed in the house.
A pretty quiet weekend all and all. My Sister is up visiting from Florida and she and my mother stopped by for a while. Aside from that, there weren't too many goat visitors this weekend. The baby is doing good. I think we've settled on the name Silver Moon for the marking on her nose that at first looked like a moon but not so much anymore. She'll probably end up with a weird nick-name like Moonie. She's a feisty little baby and very human socialized. Too much so if you ask me. She's growing and changing quickly just like any baby I suppose. She jumps and spins and tries to head butt. She's also a cuddler, always wants to climb up into your lap. Good, cheap, farmy entertainment I tell you.
I found my new desk on Friday. I'd been looking for weeks. I wanted a plain old wood desk with a center 'pencil' drawer. As easy as it sounds it was tough to find. Most of the used office furniture places now sell pieces of cubicles and apparently the modern worker no longer needs a pencil drawer. The one I found is pretty cool. All wood with a fine grain that I can't identify yet. It's large (huge!) and from the 1940's I'm guessing. At least that's what the drawer pulls and styling look like. I took the big company truck back out to Greenlake today to pick it up. Luckily the store owner was nice and helped me get it loaded up. I would have seriously hurt myself trying to move it on my own. Once I got it back to the new office I took a better look at it. There's something about old furniture that intrigues me. I was hoping this piece would have something lost inside or something unique about it. When I took out the center drawer I found the remnants of tape and a torn corner of an envelope that had been stuck to the bottom of it. I love this kind of stuff. I wonder what was hidden there and what kind of stories my desk could tell?
Monday, March 16, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Hello
I've been having a hard time posting lately. Not that I don't feel like it, I'm just tired of hearing myself talk. Talk, type whatever. You ever get like that? I've been thinking about it a bit lately and I find myself just wanting to be quiet and listen. I guess it's part of getting older and maybe more mature. I sure wish I knew this or thought these things say about 20 years ago. Better late then never I suppose. I don't mind getting older. I seem (to me at least) to be happier as I get older. I have more patience with people. It's easier to see others opinions and opposing views. I'm appreciating things more then I did when I was younger. Nothing deep or moving here, just thoughts. I guess the best part for me in learning and having these 'skills' (?) is that it's balanced by still feeling like a kid. Still loving to play and be silly. I've said it before (and I'll say it again) I don't think you really ever grow up when your not a parent.
ANYWAY...
It's all goat, all the time here lately. I feel sorry for the little thing and seem to be the only one who thinks they should be left alone as much as possible and not handled. Hard to do when everyone and their brother wants to come by and hold the cute baby. I say my piece and just stand back and keep out of the way.
Feedings are nearly every hour when were at home, every two when were not. Jay stops by the house during the day while were at work. Momma really seems to have all the mothering instincts down except for the nursing. Nursing now consists of Jay hold Belle immobile while Lolli or I keep the little one on her teet, getting as much milk as quickly as she can. The Vet says to keep at it and eventually Momma will relent and let baby feed on her own. Hard to believe it's only day 3.
Today baby started to show some real activity. Chasing after Momma in the paddock yard and trying to do an unassisted launches off the ground. She jumps straight up in the air, testing her legs I suppose. It's hysterical to watch. No real name yet but Lolli & Jay have taken to calling her Moon-xxx - Moon-whatever strikes them at the moment. This comes from the light marking on her nose which at first resembled a star but has grown into a half moon - We'll see, I think we should get to know her personality a little better before we name her.
I'd post more pics but Mr. Man dropped my (new) camera in the goat barn and it no longer works. He say he bought the insurance for it when he bought it a Christmas but where the receipt might be is any ones guess.
Hope your all doing good -
B
ANYWAY...
It's all goat, all the time here lately. I feel sorry for the little thing and seem to be the only one who thinks they should be left alone as much as possible and not handled. Hard to do when everyone and their brother wants to come by and hold the cute baby. I say my piece and just stand back and keep out of the way.
Feedings are nearly every hour when were at home, every two when were not. Jay stops by the house during the day while were at work. Momma really seems to have all the mothering instincts down except for the nursing. Nursing now consists of Jay hold Belle immobile while Lolli or I keep the little one on her teet, getting as much milk as quickly as she can. The Vet says to keep at it and eventually Momma will relent and let baby feed on her own. Hard to believe it's only day 3.
Today baby started to show some real activity. Chasing after Momma in the paddock yard and trying to do an unassisted launches off the ground. She jumps straight up in the air, testing her legs I suppose. It's hysterical to watch. No real name yet but Lolli & Jay have taken to calling her Moon-xxx - Moon-whatever strikes them at the moment. This comes from the light marking on her nose which at first resembled a star but has grown into a half moon - We'll see, I think we should get to know her personality a little better before we name her.
I'd post more pics but Mr. Man dropped my (new) camera in the goat barn and it no longer works. He say he bought the insurance for it when he bought it a Christmas but where the receipt might be is any ones guess.
Hope your all doing good -
B
Monday, March 9, 2009
Ma Belle
I know I haven't posted in a week - Lots to tell but right now we're busy with this little girl.
Belle went into labor yesterday. Jay delivered her first this morning, unfortunately breech and still born. He got her to the Vet. who was able to save one of the two remaining kids. Belle's a bit traumatised, as you would think. Now it's just a matter of getting baby to nurse or we'll be bottle feeding. Come on kid!
Belle went into labor yesterday. Jay delivered her first this morning, unfortunately breech and still born. He got her to the Vet. who was able to save one of the two remaining kids. Belle's a bit traumatised, as you would think. Now it's just a matter of getting baby to nurse or we'll be bottle feeding. Come on kid! Friday, February 27, 2009
A Slacker's Friday
The morning was looking pretty grim. Not for the weather outside because it is an awesome spring-like day here today. You would never know we had 4" of snow yesterday morning. It was looking grim because I had finished most of my work yesterday and it was looking like a whole lot of hours stretching out in front of me till the end of the day.
Local history: Volunteer Park was so name for the men who volunteered to fight in the Spanish American war. They gathered at this site to sign up to fight. The land that the park sits on, and the adjacent cemetery was once set aside in a bid for the state capitol. A fight that Seattle lost to the current state capital Olympia.
Luckily Jay solved that with a un-planned road trip for me to go down to Tacoma to pick up parts. I'd been chatting (IM'ing) with Kathy about mountains this morning so my goal was to get some pictures on the way down. After deciding to live rather then attempt to photograph Mt. Rainer from I-5, I came up with a different plan.
So after I drove 45 south to pick up the parts, only to find out I that I then had to drive north for an hour to deliver them I decided to stop here: (click on the pictures to make bigger)
This Stair-Master wannabe is the old water tower that sits in Volunteer Park in downtown Seattle.
Local history: Volunteer Park was so name for the men who volunteered to fight in the Spanish American war. They gathered at this site to sign up to fight. The land that the park sits on, and the adjacent cemetery was once set aside in a bid for the state capitol. A fight that Seattle lost to the current state capital Olympia.
Here's why it's worth the climb.
Holy Names & St. Joe's
South Bellevue & Lake Washington
Mt. Rainer
Kirkland & The 520 floating bridge
Downtown Bellevue & The Cascade foothills
Downtown Seattle
I still need to work on my camera skills. I'm sure it must take better color shots then this. It's a 360* view from up there at one of the highest points in the city. I miss living downtown sometimes - like today.
My birthday is tomorrow, thank you for the birthday greetings. I'll be 46. My mother and her husband are taking us out for dinner and to a jazz club tonight. Their friend owns the club and step-papa's paying so I'm sure we'll have a great time. I'm not sure what Jay has up his sleeve but I'll let you know.
My birthday is tomorrow, thank you for the birthday greetings. I'll be 46. My mother and her husband are taking us out for dinner and to a jazz club tonight. Their friend owns the club and step-papa's paying so I'm sure we'll have a great time. I'm not sure what Jay has up his sleeve but I'll let you know.
I took the video below last night while Jay was out in the goat barn. Yes, we now have a baby monitor in the barn. I didn't post it last night because I was laughing so hard while taking the shot it almost seems mean, like I'm laughing AT him - not the case. I'm laughing because he's just so dang sweet. I might lose my nerve and pull it. Jay does look at this blog every once in a while and he'd skin me alive if he knew I posted this.
Hope you all have a great weekend. I can't wait to get back out into the SUN!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
My Day (or) Why I Hate The Department Of Planning
Yup - time for Mr. Crankypants again.
I heard on the news last week that the city is reducing staff at Ye Old Permit Office. Well, this makes sense - no money floating around means no new buildings being built and equals no need for permits. I did not however think of the downstream impact. I went downtown last week to get a simple permit to install an exhaust fan. No big deal. There are different kinds of permits. 'Over The Counter' for simple stuff, and Full Plan Review for more complex jobs. (i.e. leave your first born) One type of the OTC permits is called a 'Subject To Field Inspection' or STFI - yes, they call it a 'Stiffy', it's supposed to be the simplified permit to save us all money.
There are a myriad of rules applicable to each type of permit. The Department of Planing posts these rules on what the call 'Customer Assistance Memos' or CAM's. Now these rules are all suppose to be followed for each permit but once you've been getting permits for a while you learn which pieces of information you really need as opposed to what's in the CAM. And by 'learn' I mean you get tired of watching the counter staff tear apart your permit application packet, tossing what they don't feel they need. It's completely arbitrary how they enforce the rules and totally depends on who you get at the counter. Oh, and just to make it interesting they can, and do change the rules at their whim and do not update the CAM or notify their customers.
Woe to those who might be tempted to point out to the ridiculous-ness of it all to the counter staff, your going to have to deal with these folks again. Believe it or not these people know me, and pretend to like me. Lovely.
So I go in last week with my dinky little permit application for a job that has a total cost under a $1000. The first new twist is that they now require a schematic drawing of the work. The dude hands me a blank sheet of paper. (?) He thinks I can scratch this out on the counter. Like I have all the measurements in my head. (???) Not knowing any of the details of the job, I tuck tail and head back to the office. Jay will have to draw them up. So we get that together and I go back in today with my little drawing and application packet and I'm told that I also need the legal description of the property. Ok, I can handle that. It's on the application form, always has been, no matter that they've never required it before. The gal gives me the phone number of the city agency that has that information. So after dialing the number and wading through the 7 part telephone dialing tree. I get to the right department and I'm told the description is too long to give out over the phone. I'll need to look it up online and print it out. The funny part you ask? They are asking me for information that they already have in their own computer system!
So! Fine. I head back to my house as it's closer than the office and print out my legal descriptions and go back to the permit office. Now bear in mind the cost of the permit and the labor to get them is charged to the customer. So the city has just cost the customer double my labor on top of the permit cost that is already about 1/5 of the total project. What it really comes down to is they're positions are under scrutiny so they are going to go by the book the whole way. If it takes twice as long to get a permit, fine it's no matter to them. It's job security.
I finally leave victorious with my permit in hand and start the climb back up the 8, long, up hill blocks, in the rain, to my car. I'm with in sight of it. I've almost made it and...
a pigeon poops on me.
I'm certain it's in the employ of The City of Seattle Department of Planning and Development.
The End.
I heard on the news last week that the city is reducing staff at Ye Old Permit Office. Well, this makes sense - no money floating around means no new buildings being built and equals no need for permits. I did not however think of the downstream impact. I went downtown last week to get a simple permit to install an exhaust fan. No big deal. There are different kinds of permits. 'Over The Counter' for simple stuff, and Full Plan Review for more complex jobs. (i.e. leave your first born) One type of the OTC permits is called a 'Subject To Field Inspection' or STFI - yes, they call it a 'Stiffy', it's supposed to be the simplified permit to save us all money.
There are a myriad of rules applicable to each type of permit. The Department of Planing posts these rules on what the call 'Customer Assistance Memos' or CAM's. Now these rules are all suppose to be followed for each permit but once you've been getting permits for a while you learn which pieces of information you really need as opposed to what's in the CAM. And by 'learn' I mean you get tired of watching the counter staff tear apart your permit application packet, tossing what they don't feel they need. It's completely arbitrary how they enforce the rules and totally depends on who you get at the counter. Oh, and just to make it interesting they can, and do change the rules at their whim and do not update the CAM or notify their customers.
Woe to those who might be tempted to point out to the ridiculous-ness of it all to the counter staff, your going to have to deal with these folks again. Believe it or not these people know me, and pretend to like me. Lovely.
So I go in last week with my dinky little permit application for a job that has a total cost under a $1000. The first new twist is that they now require a schematic drawing of the work. The dude hands me a blank sheet of paper. (?) He thinks I can scratch this out on the counter. Like I have all the measurements in my head. (???) Not knowing any of the details of the job, I tuck tail and head back to the office. Jay will have to draw them up. So we get that together and I go back in today with my little drawing and application packet and I'm told that I also need the legal description of the property. Ok, I can handle that. It's on the application form, always has been, no matter that they've never required it before. The gal gives me the phone number of the city agency that has that information. So after dialing the number and wading through the 7 part telephone dialing tree. I get to the right department and I'm told the description is too long to give out over the phone. I'll need to look it up online and print it out. The funny part you ask? They are asking me for information that they already have in their own computer system!
So! Fine. I head back to my house as it's closer than the office and print out my legal descriptions and go back to the permit office. Now bear in mind the cost of the permit and the labor to get them is charged to the customer. So the city has just cost the customer double my labor on top of the permit cost that is already about 1/5 of the total project. What it really comes down to is they're positions are under scrutiny so they are going to go by the book the whole way. If it takes twice as long to get a permit, fine it's no matter to them. It's job security.
I finally leave victorious with my permit in hand and start the climb back up the 8, long, up hill blocks, in the rain, to my car. I'm with in sight of it. I've almost made it and...
a pigeon poops on me.
I'm certain it's in the employ of The City of Seattle Department of Planning and Development.
The End.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Weekend stew with just a dash of goat
In the end Bess delivered 3 kids still born. We took her back into the vet on Saturday morning as she wasn't standing. She'd developed toxemia that was making her joints sore. The Doc gave her a shot of antihistamine which seemed to do the trick. She's doing much better now. She looks impossibly skinny. It's hard to believe that's how she normally looks. Belle is doing just fine. She looks all sturdy and motherly. Bess was just too small.
After that fun Bear and I took a walk down to Kuboto Garden. We walked down through the woods rather then driving around. Walking through our/the woods give you a healthy respect for forestry management. It's just a jungle. It was hard to keep to the path. It was pretty easy to navigate just a couple of years ago. Now it's so over grown and has so many downed trees. It's not exactly a safe place to walk. A few years ago when we were down the a sudden wind storm came up and started blowing the trees hard enough to send a limb crashing down on poor Bear. At least we know now to get the hec out of there when it's windy. The walk was good exercise but that was about it. The garden does have a lot of exotic and unique plants but it's still way too early.
I got back to the house, showered and called my friend Lorrie to go meet me for lunch. We didn't have a plan but ended up at 13 Coins since it was close to where we met up. It's a old local chain of about 4 or 5 restaurants. It was one of 'the' upscale places our parents used to take us for 'grown up' meals and special occasions. Going there typically meant we kids would get wine with dinner. The one we went to is near the Seattle Times building. It's got that old hack reporter kind of feel to it. I'm sure if you go to the bar at 5:00 on any weekday you can find the newsroom crew all there drinking scotch. Some things never change. We had a nice lunch talking about our families. I'd been carrying around one of their gift cards for over a year and only remembered it as we were eating. I gave it to the waiter when we paid the bill thinking it would have had most of the 'gift' whittled away over time. We were pleasantly surprised when the waiter came back and told us it covered our lunch with 1 penny left over. I kept the card for good luck and tipped the waiter like 45%. After that we wandered around a couple of my favorite antique stores. Nothing insisted on coming home with me. It's always that way we I actually have money to spend. Which I don't. Cuz it should stay in the bank. I just have to keep telling myself that.
Got back to the house and helped Jay build a new shelter for Mr. Deeds. He's now got his own paddock now near the top of the hill with his new house smack dab in the middle of it. The house was Jay's design, scratched out on a piece of plywood as he built it. It's about 4' wide and 8' long with 5' side walls and a very steeply peaked roof. It's big enough to get inside comfortably enough to clean it. With the peaked roof it looks like a small clapboard church. I teased Jay that I was going to put a cross on the top with a sign out front reading: 'The Right Reverend Mr. Deeds'. He didn't think I was too funny. But, a couple of hours later when he asked me what color he should paint it he didn't even pick up on it when I said white. Some times it's just too easy, like taking candy from a baby. I'll have to make the cross and the sign here at work on the QT while he's out in the field. - pictures soon.
I never did hear from Bruce this weekend. I assume he got caught in up having fun. I'll bug him later for details on who he saw (at least the people I know) and how everyone is. He was here to see old theater friends, either those that are still here in Seattle or those who went to NY or LA and are back licking their wounds. Which is a common thing for actors here in Seattle, I mean it's a good home base to come back to for them when times get tough. For me they're people who it's nice to see once in a while but not people I want in my everyday life. It's simple enough: Theater people = drama.
Now it's Monday, post lunch and I'd better scratch up some busy work to do or it's going to be a long afternoon.
Be good, and play well with others.
After that fun Bear and I took a walk down to Kuboto Garden. We walked down through the woods rather then driving around. Walking through our/the woods give you a healthy respect for forestry management. It's just a jungle. It was hard to keep to the path. It was pretty easy to navigate just a couple of years ago. Now it's so over grown and has so many downed trees. It's not exactly a safe place to walk. A few years ago when we were down the a sudden wind storm came up and started blowing the trees hard enough to send a limb crashing down on poor Bear. At least we know now to get the hec out of there when it's windy. The walk was good exercise but that was about it. The garden does have a lot of exotic and unique plants but it's still way too early.
I got back to the house, showered and called my friend Lorrie to go meet me for lunch. We didn't have a plan but ended up at 13 Coins since it was close to where we met up. It's a old local chain of about 4 or 5 restaurants. It was one of 'the' upscale places our parents used to take us for 'grown up' meals and special occasions. Going there typically meant we kids would get wine with dinner. The one we went to is near the Seattle Times building. It's got that old hack reporter kind of feel to it. I'm sure if you go to the bar at 5:00 on any weekday you can find the newsroom crew all there drinking scotch. Some things never change. We had a nice lunch talking about our families. I'd been carrying around one of their gift cards for over a year and only remembered it as we were eating. I gave it to the waiter when we paid the bill thinking it would have had most of the 'gift' whittled away over time. We were pleasantly surprised when the waiter came back and told us it covered our lunch with 1 penny left over. I kept the card for good luck and tipped the waiter like 45%. After that we wandered around a couple of my favorite antique stores. Nothing insisted on coming home with me. It's always that way we I actually have money to spend. Which I don't. Cuz it should stay in the bank. I just have to keep telling myself that.
Got back to the house and helped Jay build a new shelter for Mr. Deeds. He's now got his own paddock now near the top of the hill with his new house smack dab in the middle of it. The house was Jay's design, scratched out on a piece of plywood as he built it. It's about 4' wide and 8' long with 5' side walls and a very steeply peaked roof. It's big enough to get inside comfortably enough to clean it. With the peaked roof it looks like a small clapboard church. I teased Jay that I was going to put a cross on the top with a sign out front reading: 'The Right Reverend Mr. Deeds'. He didn't think I was too funny. But, a couple of hours later when he asked me what color he should paint it he didn't even pick up on it when I said white. Some times it's just too easy, like taking candy from a baby. I'll have to make the cross and the sign here at work on the QT while he's out in the field. - pictures soon.
I never did hear from Bruce this weekend. I assume he got caught in up having fun. I'll bug him later for details on who he saw (at least the people I know) and how everyone is. He was here to see old theater friends, either those that are still here in Seattle or those who went to NY or LA and are back licking their wounds. Which is a common thing for actors here in Seattle, I mean it's a good home base to come back to for them when times get tough. For me they're people who it's nice to see once in a while but not people I want in my everyday life. It's simple enough: Theater people = drama.
Now it's Monday, post lunch and I'd better scratch up some busy work to do or it's going to be a long afternoon.
Be good, and play well with others.
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