79 and feeling fine

Bellinghamsters don’t usually have to deal with below freezing temperatures for more than a few days at a time. This time, I think we may be about halfway through a two week run. It was 12 degrees last night which is not a big deal in Minot, but trust me, that’s HUGE up here. It’s 18 degrees now at 2 pm. Not real inviting for outdoor activities if you know what I’m saying. Supposedly Blizzard 2.0 is due any time now. More snow! And high winds! Woohoo! Mr beatgrl just called from Fred Meyer to say the checkout lines stretched to the toy department and he’d be turning around and exiting immediately. If you know this store that’s really something to picture since it’s about 2 miles from one end of the store to the other and there are about 30 checkout lines!

I now leave you with some warm and cheery pictures.

Deoxys is happy in his 79 degree water

Lovely cyclamen in the kitchen window waits until the dreary winter days to bloom.

Loved the dress…

Atonement. I eagerly awaited the release of this film, despite being somewhat annoyed by Keira Knightley. She was spectacular in Pride and Prejudice, but everything I’ve seen from her since is just the same bloody thing. Can she at least try kissing with her mouth closed once? So anyway back to the movie. I am a sucker for period dramas, and Atonment did not disappoint on this score. It was gorgeous and detailed. But that is as far as it went. Emotionally, it missed the mark. At least compared to Ian McEwan’s book, which was devastating. Get this movie if you want to see Keira in an incredible green dress. Otherwise, read the book.

How I know it really is a whole new world

The other day I agreed with something GW Bush said (no bailout for big 3), then I went shopping at Wal-Mart (The sacrifices you make for your children – the first 4 stores I tried were sold out of Bakugan marbles)

What is it?

This thing just landed in our downtown “arts district” the other day:

It looks to me like some kind of alien shish kabob/air raid siren/big brother spy pole/shuttlecock. But what do I know?

Here’s another angle taken out the window of a my car. I’m wondering whether it is meant to be tilted, like it may crash into that building at any time. Or have they just not finished installing it yet?

I used to drive right through this new plaza every day on my way home from work, but now the street is gone. Those pedestrians think they are so superior.

For the record I’m glad there is a big weird thing downtown. The lights shining out of the Mexican lantern part are really pretty, too.

Bonus: Here is the original site plan for this corner, found at the city’s website. Nothing here to prepare us for what landed.

A fine post Thanksgiving Sunday

I’ve been way to lazy to write here in a while. The past week for me has consisted mainly of cooking, cleaning, cooking, cleaning, more cleaning, cooking, and even some eating. Our Thanksgiving guests blew us off and made other plans, so the meal I had been prepping and shopping for for a week was suddenly in limbo. However, the 24 (!) pound fresh turkey was already in the lovely orange/herb brine and was going to be roasted either way. And the pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce were made. We could have had a nice dinner with just the three of us, but a turkey that big, when it came out of the oven in all its crispy brown herb rubbed juicy basted deliciousness, begged to be shared. We took the turkey and pie and cranberries and yukon potatoes and romanesco over to some friends who were having a potluck. A potluck that was missing a turkey. Now, back at home we have moved on to the turkey soup, turkey sandwiches, turkey chili, turkey pad thai, turkey enchiladas. Yeah, it was a lot of bird.

It’s been raining for days, but it let up yesterday, so Natchrl8r and I took the boy and his friend to the beach. On the way I stopped to take a couple snappers at the downtown waterfront. There used to be a pulp mill and tissue mill right in the middle of town. Now that GP has moved on, probably to countries with fewer environmental regulations, the old buildings are being demolished and the area will be redeveloped. Every day I go by the area, I see a bit more water and island views.