left my heart in emerald city

my office when in seattle

cecily at gasworks park with tiny flower

moses at gasworks being a spaz

cecy bought geek girl glasses here & mo a water rocket

i spent most of the '90's in seattle.  it's a place where i experienced a rebirth of sorts--a place where, at the time, all things seemed possible.  the place where i first wrote for stage, first performed (i mean, the first time i performed not in a black orchestra dress.)  where i first sang hildegard, taught writing, & swam in a lake.  (the first lake i swam in seattle was lake union with c., e. and i. , and with writer/painter/ musician brian k., julie's and my common friend from byu, and c's friend from his freshman year in college, who was our guide to all things seattle when we first moved here.)

eva and ingrid were 3 and 1 when we moved to seattle from oakland.

it was a pretty weird and cool time.  above all, i met some people here who changed my life, who i'm still friends with, and who are some of the most true artists in the world, i believe, with some of the  truest hearts.  it's only now that i realize how much more important that is than all the stupid stuff i used to care too much about.

here's a run-down on today:

1)  top pot donuts--chocolate sandcastle, pink feather boa, pink rainbow, bavarian creme, valley girl lemon, & chocolate sprinkle.  ovaltine for the kids.  last summer i graded portfolios for several days in a row at top pot, for a total of about 12 hours.  thanks top pot!

2) archie mcphee--only store of it's kind, you can buy a "girl's skull" (a skull covered in pink flocking), a game called "bacon vs. tofu", a giant inflatable birthday cake, almost anything in the form of a plastic miniature, wigs, mustaches, whoopee cushions, etc.

3) lunch at julia's in wallingford with marni and c.

4) c. took moses and cecily to gasworks and the troll while i napped.

5) grocery shopping.  lula made bruschetta and we ate ben and jerry's greek yogurt ice cream.

6) attended nephew thomas' big band concert at university of washington.  as only a freshman, he's one of their top drummers.  kid's a genius.  i was blown away.  his father is a genius of the drums as well, and his grandfather, but it was really fun to hear him play out.  he never glanced at his music and, in case you don't know, in big band, the drums are the main thing, keeping the whole band together. so, yeah.  we were all über proud.

legwear:  thick grey.  it's coooold and rainy here.

inspiration:  julie's list today.  i loved it.

looking forward:  reading another chapter in isabel fonseca's bury me standing: the gypsies and their journey before bed tonight.