Category Seattle
Gritti in PDX
One of my best friends from my days studying in France is a German girl named Grit. She lives in Berlin, works as a freelance journalist for the Deutsche Welle, and is one of those special souls who, if I didn’t already have a twin sister, I might have suspected of being my twin separated at birth. About […]
Seattle Anniversary (and Housewarming!)
Can you believe it has been a year since I moved to Seattle? Exactly one year ago today, I set out from DC to drive across the country to my new home. I had never lived in Seattle, and I knew no one. I had accepted a job that I had hoped would give me back my evenings and weekends, and I was betting […]
Easter Weekend: Tulips and concerts and General Conference and baskets of goodies
Did you know that the world’s largest producer of tulips, daffodils and irises is right here in the Pacific Northwest? Well, it’s true. Back in the mid-Twentieth Century, some tulip farmers from the Netherlands immigrated to Skagit Valley (just north of Seattle) and started growing their bulbs in the rich, wet earth. Now, sixty years later, thousands […]
Crossfit, Concertos and Acrobats
It’s Monday morning and so far every single person I’ve met has asked me, “Did you do anything fun last weekend?” Well, yes, I did. For one, I competed in the first round of the Crossfit Open, which is the qualifying competition for the Reebok Crossfit Games. I obviously have zero pretention to actually being competitive […]
The Ride: Chilly Hilly
The cycling season starts early in Seattle! Every year on the last Sunday in February, thousands of cyclists turn out for the Chilly Hilly on Bainbridge Island in the Puget Sound. It’s a short (33 miles) ride and, as you might have guessed from the name, famous for it hills and chilly weather. I had […]
Flowers in January
Last night when I got home from work, I smelled something lovely. A fresh, floral aroma floating around my front door. How nice, I thought, one of my neighbors must have walked by a few minutes earlier, leaving a trace of perfume. Tonight I came home and, as I fumbled with my keys in the […]
Dad and Lady do Seattle
As you know, I’ve been looking forward to an inter-holiday visit from my parents for the past several months. Now that I live on this side of the Mississippi (and within driving distance of Reno), they wanted to come see my place, explore Seattle and spend time yours truly. This meant getting the house into […]
Ashley does Seattle
A few weeks ago Alaska Airlines announced a new flight from Kalispell, Montana, to Seattle and starts promoting it with super-cheap round-trip tickets for travel between Thanksgiving and Christmas. My dear sister Ashley, adventurous bargain-hunter that she is, saw the promotion and decided it was time for a siblings weekend in Seattle. Next thing you […]
Another Halloween win for Ashley
The nice part about having a sister who’s an evil genius for costumes? She’s there for you when you when you need to win at Halloween. At first I was excited when my friend Dana invited me to her annual “Epic Halloween Party”. For the first time in, like, forever I thought I would […]
The House: Of Moss and Men
This weekend’s house story is one of me winning against nature — and by “nature,” I mean “the moss that’s growing all over my back patio.” The moss itself isn’t a problem. In fact, after seeing moss gardens like this one . . . Zen garden at Tofoku-ji shrine . . . in Japan this […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 