Sunday 17 June, 2007 @ 2028

Greetings Fair Readers,

Well, it's raining again. I must say the rain gods have done pretty well by us this weekend and kept the precipitation to the evenings and overnight. This is the 50th anniversary of the Edmonds Art Festival and like most other years there was little to get excited about art-wise. There were a few shining points but most exhibitors were the same old dreary lack of creativity hobbyists that tend to populate these local shows. It surprises me here though as this is a very large event here on the west coast and they claim it is juried for entry but we still see a lot of crap displayed. Maybe there just aren't enough "good" artists interested in coming to Edmonds.

As always this happy festival falls on Father's day weekend so it was that as well. Henry and I had a wonderful day and enjoyed each other's company for the last weekend before school is out. Henry came down with his Mum this morning and he and I did some shopping,helped his Mum pick up a new bike she purchased and he took me out to lunch at Panda Express. We came home, wandered up to the arts festival only a few blocks from the house and wandered about. Henry's class did a group tapestry and that was one of the shining moments of which I spoke earlier; not just his classes work but the student portion of the festival that was housed in the neighboring community center. There are serious talents among the young people of our community. I hope the local school systems can encourage and nurture it and not just beat it out of these kids before they reach their upper grades as is so often the case. We came home and watched a movie and Henry went back to his Mum's a bit ago. This actually works out for me a bit better as I have a lot on which to work this week to get caught up before I head out on holiday the middle of next week.

It's been quite a couple weeks for dining; I have had the opportunity to lunch @ Assagio (http://www.assaggioseattle.com/) where I had the penne ala vodka, Bai Pai (http://www.baipairestaurant.com/) and enjoyed the chicken larb we shared to begin and the green curry w/ chicken and then just Friday enjoyed Il Terrazzo Carmine (http://ilterrazzocarmine.com/) where I had the pennette con salmone with fresh local salmon and asparagus in a vodka cream sauce served with pennette. this coming week we are headed to Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizza (http://www.tuttabella.com/) on Tuesday and then it appears we will be celebrating my friend Eva's birthday with Ezell's Fried Chicken (http://www.ezellschicken.com/) for a picnic with the work team at the home of our team's manager and then a brunch at Eva's apartment on Saturday to celebrate Queerfest during pride weekend. Whew! It's a wonder I've maintained on the scale and hopefully I can get another week of the same with all this fine dining.

Today while out and about we ran into some friends we haven't seen in some time; Eric and Caleb. Caleb is a year younger than Henry and used to live on the same cul de sac where Henry and I lived when I was still married to Henry's Mum. Eric has started a new business renting pop top folding tent trailers (http://popuprvrentals.com/). This is really great news as Henry and I were looking at renting one of these fine rigs for a long weekend here or there this summer in between the summer markets and when last I looked there were no rental establishments for these trailers south of Bellingham any longer. It was good to see our friends and good to find out there is now a service for which I had been searching locally.

I spent a few hours working on our website this weekend and am frustrated by a couple of issue but am continuing on and hope to have the site up and running prior to next weekend. I was able to set up a PayPal account by which we will be able to accept credit and debit card payments for the cookies as we continue to grow. The site will have an upcoming events calendar I'll be using to update our friends and customers as to where we'll be over the summer as I'm able to procure reservations with the assorted markets in the Puget Sound so be sure and keep checking the URL http://mywoofworld.com/ for more updates.

That's about it for now, so just remember - be excellent to each other!

Wednesday 13 June 2007 @ 2121

Greetings,

Another week half over and looking forward to the weekend. Still trying to get into a Saturday market this week but so far no luck. The Seattle Neighborhood market association decided they want to stick to people food only right now but I asked that they keep us in mind if the reconsider. We just made a commitment for the Oak Harbor market on Thursday evening the 28th and the market master was very excited to have us involved. If it goes well we'll try and get up there a couple more Thursdays over the summer. The same market master runs the Coupeville Saturday market and she has another dog treat vendor there already and although that does not preclude us from being there, she was very kind and let us know that he is pretty established and the first couple weekends might be a bit slow for sales. We'll still give it a go later this summer plus we have friends in Coupeville with whom we can visit while there.
This weekend if I can't get into a Saturday market I'll get some work done around the house and also try and work on the website. We are continuing to get an order here and there from friends and this could make things easier for everyone to contact us. Plus the idea of many different markets this summer hopefully will lead to orders year round over the website once I get it up and running. I am hoping to add a calendar so we can let folks know where we will be on any give dates this summer.
On the home front, we are starting to see some strawberries on the small plot we planted as well as some peppers and our bush peas are really taking off. We are hoping to get some weeding done soon before everything gets too overrun and we're hoping to have a July 4 party this year as well since the parade goes right in front of the house.
Henry is working on a biography of Henry Ford and finishing his final draft tonight. He is looking forward to the end of school after next week and we're working out a camp schedule to get us through. It appears he'll only have to attend about 4 weeks of camp this year and we're all happy about that.
Work is good at my real job, I was recently promoted to Senior Business Analyst and continue to work on bigger and bigger projects. I continue o enjoy the increased visibility as a SME but also continue to love the fact I have no direct reports. Analyst positions seem to suit that kind of work and I continue to consider myself lucky to be one.
Signing off for now, need to find some images of early and later model Ford vehicles for Henry. All the best

Sunda 10 June 2007; 2110

Greetings Fair Readers,

Today was the first of our business ventures at the Fremont Street Market. As those of you fromSeattle know, Fremont is the self proclaimed "center of the universe"and is a very eclectic neighborhood. It has a tremendous streetmarket on Sundays that is part famer's market and part flea market. Today we had a lovely Spring day here in Seattle and were able to do our first market as Woof World. We were quite successful beginning the day with 115 boxes of K9 Kookies and selling 61. We more than broke even and have enough to pay back the seed money that I lent the business for the change bank and the market booth fee. I am headed to the local bank to open our checking acount and it feels mighty official. Here are a few pictures from the day.

From our booth up the street

You may know this fellow

Is that a happy face or what?

That's about it for today. It was a terrific day and we had a great time. We even had an inquiry for wholesale orders already. This could be the start of something big...

Bye for now

Saturday 9 June 2007; 10:34

Greetings Fair Readers,
It's been sometime since my last post (over 6 months!) my how time flies?!?!
We had a nice winter, cold and wet but so far a fairly nice spring with a number of days of very nice warm sunny days here in the NW.

Henry and I completed the 2007 Washington Tour de Cure in May and Henry was one of the top fund raisers and was invited to a privte meet and greet with 3 time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond but Greg'sMother wastaken ill just prior to the event so he was unable to make it to that or the ride forwhich he was scheduled to be the leader of the 45 mile route. He did however send a signed yellow jersey for each ofthe two kids that were high fundraisers and Henry was one of those two. When Henry heard Greg's Mom was ill, he printed an 8X10 of himself finishing the last Tour de Cure on glossy paper and autographed it, "To Greg, From Henry". It was a high point of the evening when Henry presented that to Greg's manager who had delivered the jerseys. The day of the ride was very nice and although it began with rain, it ended up being sunny and cool to start but warm by the halfway point. We made some new friends, the Peterson's and Henry rode with another boy named Conrad most of the way.

Conrad rode with his Mom while his brother Nyk(the other high fundraiser and recipient of the other signed yellow jersey) rode the 45 mile route with his Dad, Kurt. Conrad's Mom Celeste was a much stronger rider than I so she held the front, the boys stayed somewhere in the middle and I brought up the rear most of the day so we were ableto let the boys ride on their own quite a lot and still keep an eye on them.

Once again it was a terrific adventure and between us, Henry and I raised over $3000.00 including the matching funds that are still to be tallied for diabetes research. It is a fun event and we will continue to participate in the coming years. Here are our Tour de Cure websites. Thank you all for your support of us and this great cause.

Henry - http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?px=3320838&pg=personal&fr_id=4393

Jim - http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=4393&px=3287783

Our newest project is Woof World. Henry and I have gone into business and will be touring the Puget Sound farmer's markets throughout the summer as purveyors of handmade tasty all natural dog treats. We are in high production mode and beginning to pack the car for our first foray into the market in the Fremont neighborhoold tomorrow. We are very excited about this venture and have completed many, many packages of our treats. We have put all 6of our curent flavors through extensive taste tests with our friends and have a number of testimonials to their goodness.

Here's one from our neighbor Gracie, "Woof, bark bark bark, grrrrrrrrr WOOF!"

And another from our founder Butch, "WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOOOOOOO grrrRRRRR".

This has been a lot of fun and we have begun making friends in the farmer's market community for advice and direction. The recipes are all original and we have been in development for a number ofmonths. I am taking this opportunity to teach Henry a few things about business and economics as well. We started with $300 in seed money and he is starting to learn about budgeting and operating costs; even taxes as we are now official and have a state business license and must collect sales tax. I will do my best to update this site with our new adventures throughout the summer and our successes and failures. We are now working on a Woof World website, http://mywoofworld.com/ check often as I am working on getting the site up and running as we speak and hope to have going by July 1.

In closing, let me provide a couple pictures that I think say it all as to why we're doing this.

Saturday 4 November @ 1930

As promised, here are some photos of Halloween in Edmonds






The spooks were out! SPOOKY!!!!!!!!






Henry in costume with the little devil from the Starbucks Halloween marketing campaign. Both his Mom and I were very happy he went with something so original





Here's a "face" shot















And our last minute pumpkin ( we forgot to carve pumpkins over the weekend) with a little light on him

More updates later!

Wednesday 1 November @ 2000

Greetings Fair Readers,

It's November and I realize now that I have fallen behind in my updates. Please accept my sincerest apologies...

A brief catchup of the past few weeks -

We turned the heat on today as we made it all the way through October (my goal this year) on our carbon diet for the sake of the planet. I was very happy we got to indulge tonight after school as this am the inside temp on the house was 49 and by the time we arrived home, it had only warmed to 51. It's good the for the planet and good for the pocketbook but there were a few times I was definitely tempted to give up on this quest for saving anything.

We signed Henry up for winter basketball today and he is excited to get started with that in the next couple of weeks. He is still bowling and is consistently one of the better bowlers in his league both in scratch and handicap but because there are such high handicaps involved on some of the other teams, his team the Bombin' Bowlers remains in 5th place of 8 after the past few weeks.

Stephen King visited the office today for a reading and book signing so I attended and yes he is everything we could expect of him; strange, eccentric and quite hysterical in his demeanor and stories.

Yesterday was Halloween and Henry was the devil from the 2006 Starbucks Halloween marketing campaign. Both his Mother and I were very proud that he was so original in his choice. We had a few last minute issues as the costume his Mom worked on wasn't exactly as he had envisioned but we worked through it and on to the downtown Edmonds merchants Halloween festivities where we all had a great time and even indulged in the Edmonds bakery yearly treats of fresh mini donuts...MMMmmmMMM! Henry had a great time and decided to stay with me for a couple hours while we handed out candy to the neighborhood trick or treaters. He was at first quite disappointed that we had so few although we purchased 4 bags of (good) candy this year. We finally hit the mark he set to be happy about it after 10 and we had a total of 11 kids. We spent the in between time finishing his homework to much bitchin' and moanin' but it got done nonetheless. I could not find my camera so pictures will be forth coming once I get them from Henry's Mom.

I kicked my fitness regimen into full gear about 4 weeks ago. At first, I decided to just get to the gym and workout 3 or more times per week and didn't really make much progress but at least I went. I made it 6 weeks and found that I was actually missing it if I didn't go.
At that point I enlisted a trainer and paid for a nutrition plan and have followed up for the past 4 weeks. Well since 10/02 I have done pretty well; Dropped 36# of fat, gained 18# of muscle and dropped total body fat from 38.7% to 29.5%. My lean body mass is 196#. I'm getting stronger everytime I go to the gym, my arms and legs are getting bigger and my waist and ass are getting smaller. I remain positive and am excited that at the age of 46 I finally like exercise and I'm paying attention to what I eat w/o being militant about it. I drink less but still indulge on occasion with pizza, beer, whisky and other not so healthy alternatives but these remain in moderation and even though I went a bit nuts yesterday for Halloween I counted it as a "free" day and I'm back to where I need to be in my eating today. Life happens so I just need to moderate when I can, indulge occasionally and then moderate some more.

I have a new manager @ work and things are going well. My work partner, Eva and I are moving out of the Help Desk and this is my first job move in 12.5 years working for another department. We're going from support to provisioning and will be responsible for managing not only service providers for all stores and support persons but will soon fold all phone carriers and hardware providers into our quiver. We will go from about 5 suppliers to almost 20 in the next 12 months. Gonna be busy.
I'm also still pursuing jobs in the International IT department with the blessing of my new manager and hope this will pan out. That is the direction I would like to go and I see more than ample opportunities for growth there but even if that doesn't pan out, I am excited about the direction of my current positions and the changes we are making as we look to the future.

That about wraps up the last month or so and I will diligently work to update more often as well as get some pictures out here of the past few weeks. It's getting cold, down to 31 @ night so winter is upon us.

All the best,

Jim

Sunday 24 September @ 1500

Greetings Fair Readers,

Here we are already to the last post for September! Fall is upon us here in the NW and we have been enjoying the mild weather and the turning of the leaves. There is a lot of activity in the neighborhood as everyone is getting yard work done in anticipation of the winter months and the fall festival season is on us as well locally.

Yesterday Henry participated in a local event call the Running of the Balls as part of a larger Everybody Plays Day. The kids rolled numbered tennis balls down one of the steep hills in town for prizes and there were organized clinics in baseball, football, soccer and basketball for the kids as well as food samples and fitness booths and music for all. It was a sunny day and everyone appeared to be having a great time. Henry was one of the volunteers that worked to set up the event with his Grandmother through the Edmonds Rotary Club. During this, he was able to meet with Edgar Martinez (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Martinez) one on one as he accompanied his Grandmother as she worked with "Gar" to autograph some of the prizes for the event. A nice little side trip for Henry as he had no school on Friday and that helped fill the day.

Kind of a fall cleaning and chore day around the ol' homestead today, mowed the lawn hopefully the for the last time yesterday and today I've been doing some chores and enjoying the lovely weather with the sun out and a nice breeze coming off the sound so all the windows are open and I'm alternating between cleaning the house and yard chores to enjoy the day while getting stuff done. It's a tough day for me as I met with my trainer yesterday and he ran me through a new routine @ the gym that beat me up. I could barely get out of bed this morning but with some patience and stretching I'm actually able to move around and accomplish my chores today.

I got a new boss this past week and she is #3 in the past 6 months now. I have worked with her a bit in the past but we are getting along fine so far as we start to work together. My work partner took a long weekend so the beginning of this week will prove to be quite busy but as usual, I'm keeping my head barely above water. As September ends so does our fiscal year so this is the busiest time of year for me just as it is for most in the support center. We are expected to open 200+ stores in this month alone and along with that come the inevitable support headaches as we work with our suppliers (my job) to get this all done as well as support all the existing store.

One of the best parts about fall is the harvest season. I love the fresh food that is continuing to make it to the local farmer's market and the wines that are being released as well as the knowledge that all the holiday foods and wines and beers are right around the corner. The best part of fall is the cooler weather so we can actually cook some of the hearty meals that I miss over the summer. Don't get me wrong, I love the grill and will continue to use it numerous times a week throughout the winter but now is time for long braised cheap cuts, stews and roasts along with root vegetables and the other bounty of the late summer. Last night it was pan roast pork loin chops with grilled fingerling potatoes and green beans. I reduced the pan drippings with some fresh garlic, added in my Mama Lil's wonder sauce and fortified it with a hint of dijon mustard and it is great. I will use the rest on a grilled chicken breast tonight with a risotto of chanterelles w/ just a hint of chevre and a pinch of rosemary and garlic. Perhaps a salad of romaine, red bell peppers and hazelnuts to top it off. Last night I had a bottle of 2003 Turley Old Vines Zinfandel to accompany, I wonder what sort of plonk I can come up with tonight?

It's almost whisky season too but that's for another post...

That's about it for this week, so until next time may your glasses always be filled...

Monday 18 September @ 0454

Greetings Fair Readers,

Well, another week gone by. I'm up early to go to work and thought I'd update you all on a very quiet week.

Henry began Fall league bowling and likes his one teammate so far. This is a 12 week league and so should be fun for all. He finally settled on the skateboard of his choice which was his Birthday gift from his Mother and I; it was a kit to build up himself and came with 2 decks so he had some fun with that and he is now getting used to this new ride. We spent 3 hours @ the local skatepark yesterday with him trying out the new board, me reading the paper and drinking coffee and both of us taking advantage of a non-rainy fall morning.

That's about it; I said it was quiet. Off to work for a couple hours before I get Henry up and off to school...

Sunday Evening 10 September 06

Greetings Fair Readers,


Here I am viewing the world from my home office. I just wrapped up some stuff for our happy UK team members that I committed to having on their desks prior to their arrival Monday am so it's time for a bit of catching up and then some relaxation.

Although this was not a Henry weekend for me, his Mom generously allowed him to stay with me for some extra time as he has been with her for the past couple weeks and weekends so we had us some fun. The annual Edmonds auto show, Hot Autumn Nites, was this weekend so we had big doing's just around the corner from the house between that and the Saturday market both taking place. Henry, Kristin and I walked the car show on Saturday morning and saw some fine vintage steel, both stock and rods. There were even a few beater vintage rides for sale if anyone was interested in picking up a hobby piece but not being mechanically inclined and not really any more of a fan than to say "nice ride", I didn't walk with a new albatross, I have plenty about my neck already.

Salmon has been inexpensive lately so I have been enjoying wild caught Alaska silvers a lot lately. One night grilled with some Mama Lil's pureed w/ frsh garlic & white balsamic to make a sauce. The next night, again grilled with blackberrys pushed through a sieve and some whole butter to tighten it up. Some grilled yukon golds & sauteed carrots rounded out the meal with a bit of Eyrie 2001 reserve pinot. I did have to wonder what the poor people were doing for sustenance.

School started this past week after the holiday and Henry enjoyed seeing his friends and hooking up on a daily basis once again. He has made good friends with some kids within walking distance to our house and a few short minutes from his Mom's house so he has been socializing well this summer but he seems to already be back in the routine. There is a new teacher that joined his center's team, Mr. Stee and Henry likes him so far. He still has the same home room teacher, Mary Ellin and of that we're very glad but this will be the last year in this center then off to another group of 4th, 5th & 6th graders all together again as it has been these past couple and this year.

As always with the beginning of the school year, it's been hectic but we've managed to keep up. I got the house semi-clean this past week, still made it to the gym 3 times and even got Butch out for a long walk one evening so at least we're still on track.

I have been asked for some inside photos of the house so I'll add a couple and then sign off. I'll do my best to update this once a week or so going forward even if it's short or just a couple photos. Just double click on any of these to enlarge

All the best, J & H




Living room & dining area from the office



















Two more views of the living room










The kitchen from the dining area doorway













And from the back door to the back yard and our alley parking. The door on the right is the laundry room

Summertime and the livin's easy; Sunday 3 September @ 1022

Greetings Fair Readers,

I have heard from a number of you that is has been a long time since I have updated the outside world so I will now attempt to remedy some of that.

It has been a very busy summer and Henry and I have a lot of fun. As all of you will know that have read the last post here, we spent the first week after school was out in Puerto Vallarta with a stop in Utah on the way. It was a bit hectic to travel so shortly after the school year and we may rethink that in the future but we had a good time nonetheless.
Here are a couple photos from the trip

Henry @ the pool

Henry playing bocce














Henry with new friends Jen & Lizzie





Henry & Jim after the Fiesta night












Henry ( in the blue swim shirt) @ the dolphin encounter





As you can tell, we had a great time and both want to go back sometime, even if it is during the hot rainy season.

We were home for the 4th of July and the parade runs right past our new house on 4th Avenue in Edmonds. I set up the shade tent and set out some snacks and cooler of drinks, had over some friends, Henry and his Mom and the outlaws. All was well with the world and we had a great time. They all left for the rest of the afternoon after the parade but returned for fine view of the fireworks @ the nearby Edmonds Memorial Stadium from the comfort of my back deck. Our new house (we've been living here 9 months and I still think of it as "the new house") is convenniently located for many of the civic functions we enjoy here in Edmonds.



Here are the kids in the shade for the parade










We were lucky enough to take a bit more vacation time later this summer as well. We went out to the Olympic Peninsula and camped for a few days n the coast and took in a few music shows back here in the Seattle area.





Henry lost a couple of teeth this summer










We loved the beaches...

...And hiking in the rain forest

...visiting new places...

...And taking in a little music

Los Lobos @ Woodland Park Zoo

Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile...Too bad summer's comin' to an end but we did manage to fit in a birthday party for one 8 year old. Yep, it's been 8 years now. We had a bouncer in the backyard and Henry invited some friends. A good time was had by all

A feast for an 8 year old king

Butch

Presents!

Last week we went for a sail with our roitating dinner party. Much fine food and wine but more importantly great friends out yachting...

Henry at the helm as we raise the sails and head into Lake Washington out of the Montlake Cut

Margaret & Cara

First Mate Dixie w/ Mark & Joe in the background

Captain Tori

Paul & Cassie

Lenard

Well, that about wraps up summertime for us. I hope to settle back into our routine since school starts Tuesday. I'll work tomorrow and get some stuff done and my work partner is on vacation this week so it will prove to be busy no doubt but I'll try and be more timely in my updates to you all. For now, may all your pains be champagnes...