Photoessay #352 - ABC Wednesday Q - Quilt

This quilt has been on display at the Lake Forest Park library for some time. My shot, somewhat askew. I have never quite caught on how to use the library effectively since they stopped stamping the dates in the back of the book (which is, um, some time ago) I just can't keep track of what I have out and when it's due so I rack up library fines.

Photoessay #284 - ABC Wednesday G is for Ginsburgh

I should have used my last Monday's post (The Ginsburghs) for this but have plenty of other pictures. Ginsburgh was the name I was born with, my parent's name. I include here my high school senior picture, myself in my 17 year old glory. At that time (1969), everybody had to go to the same studio, that garment I'm wearing was just a fake top that all of the girls had to wear. Black and white photo. This picture, arrayed along with the rest of the senior pictures in the yearbook first convinced me that I was not white. I did NOT look like the rest of the white suburban California teenagers. Why should I pretend that I did?

I did trade in this name when I married for my husband's much more anglo name. I could have kept Ginsburgh...but did not. How do I feel about this 31 years later? Ok.

PS I found my first letterbox today. I heard about it from reading other personal blogs. What a fun time-wasting hobby. I had to try it. Bought a little journal, my neighbor gave me a little stamp and old stamp pad. I was in business. Shadow and I found the box in a local park. All a little complicated and challenged my fine and gross motor skills.

Photoessay #277 - F is for friend

F is for friends, I highly value all of my friends. So I looked for pictures, I've taken a lot of pictures in the past year. I recognize that my friends are so so important to me. I would not give up a one. I think that's why I like parent group so much, it's structured to facilitate friendship. Old friends and new friends, friends from projects and neighbors. I started looking for a representative friend picture, keeping my mind open.

And this picture spoke to me. Again, I just let it hit me. It's a cliche, man's best friend and all that. I do value people more than animals, I do, I do. But I also have this old dog who has been with me quite a long time. She's very gentle, very loyal, follows me around the house all day. I know she's very old for such a big dog, that she's coming close to the end of her lifespan.

I'm a dog person and I recognize Shadow as being as much of a friend that a dog can be.

Photoessay #263 - D is for Duck

The University of Oregon Duck softball team started their season last weekend. Officially we are out of it, but not much. Susanna is the student assistant coach. She resisted it, she didn't want to travel but she loves the game and before you knew it "how can they run the infield without me?" She traveled to Palm Springs for the opening tournament. Some tough times, the Ducks went 2-3 with some tough calls and some errors. All part of a new coach's experience. We are not intending to go to any of the pre-season tournaments ... wait we are going to the "Cascade Clash" in Eugene. The Ducks open Pac 10 with a single game here in Seattle. We will go down for a Pac 10 weekend or two. Dennis still wants to make the trip to the Bay Area. To see his uncle, the Humphreys, the Beittels. Yes, we will likely do that.

Picture is from her playing days. Not sure where I got this picture, it's in Eugene against UCLA. That's Lisa Dodd playing first base. Concentrating on receiving the throw, not paying attention the air-borne Suzie who's about to collide with her. Could be GoDucks. Could be Ducknews. Susanna barreling down the line. Not sure why she's sliding into first base. Flying through the air, as usual. She might have been out on this one.

Photoessay #257 - C is for Charlie

My brother! I was messing around thinking 'c', 'c'...what can I use for 'c', there's a million 'c' words.

But 'c' is for Charlie, my only brother. We do get to see each other more often these days and he's well connected with our family of origin and my family. I even turned him somewhat into a collegiate softball fan and he accompanied Dennis and I to Hawaii just about a year ago. I've written about his stained glass passion. He's also a scientist, as my niece says UCSD (Uncle Charlie, Science Dude). Looking forward to seeing him often in the future. He can count on me, I can count on him.

Photoessay #249 - ABC Wednesday B "Blast from the Past"

Dennis finally dragged out the boxes of old vinyl LP records from behind the file cabinet. We've thoroughly enjoyed shuffling through them and playing them on our cool new Rite Aid record player. Stacks of albums clutter up the office which we just cleaned out. Piles everywhere. Currently listening to "Woodstock".

Some conflicts regarding provenance. I claim some of them, Dennis indicates that he owned some others (we've been married nearly 32 years). We BOTH claim the Richard and Mimi Farina album but I happen to KNOW that it's mine. Hmmm, several came as gifts from old boyfriends.

But the others? If not mine, and not yours? Nope, that one doesn't look familiar. Dennis doesn't remember it. ???? Then I see "Winge" on the front of an old Donovan album. Hey, hey, I say and the dust falls from the memory rollers. Didn't Linda and Kirk give us their old albums a really long time ago. They were going to get rid of them? Yes, yes, Dennis says, I remember now.

We'll blame all of those Loggins and Messina albums on them....

PS sorry about last week. A was for airplane and I had a picture but I never got it posted.

Photoessay #237 - ABC Wednesday Z Zero

A lot of numbers adorn this scoreboard but I want to focus on a particular ZERO, the one under the the '7' across from the 'ASU'. The last home game of the season for the University of Oregon Ducks and last appearance at Howe Field for the senior players.

The Oregon Ducks had a tough season handicapped by an illness of their primary pitcher. They started out tremendously strong, their competition pre-season did not include too many ranked teams. During Pac 10 play (where EVERYBODY is ranked), they struggled by with one pitcher. If Melissa got in trouble, nobody to go to except maybe Kristi the first baseman who hadn't pitched since high school. Still they won 7 Pac 10 games (losing 14). Arizona State, led by ace pitched Katie Burkhart and strong hitter Katie Cochran, had defeated Oregon the day before in an 8-0 mercy win. The Ducks battled back on their Senior Day, narrowly defeating ASU 6-5.

As always, that seventh inning is the toughest, can you hold on against such a powerful team especially with Katie Cochran the last up? The zero is registered and the Oregon Ducks come away with their senior day win.

Second picture is the team on their way to their meeting after the win. My girl on the right, the clue is that she's covered with dirt. As usual.

From http://www.goducks.com (Official U Oregon athletics site)

Oregon’s 2007 senior class went out in style, with a little help from the freshmen, as 18th-ranked Oregon knocked off ninth-ranked Arizona State, 6-5, on Sunday afternoon at Howe Field.

The game was the Ducks last regular season contest of 2007 at Howe Field. Oregon travels to the Bay Area to wrap up its regular season schedule at Cal and Stanford next week.

It was only fitting that senior Suzie Barnes, who last night was voted by her teammates as this year’s most inspirational player, was the catalyst in both innings that put runs on the board for the Ducks.

Photoessay #230 - ABC Wednesday - Y - Blue Yoo

It makes more sense to put up my ABC Wednesday post up on Tuesday because I do it so late in the day and there are so very many time zones in front of me.

I was planning to use this picture today anyway...so fuss around with the title and I have a 'y' post.

Blue Yoo

The locals refer to the University of Washington as the 'U' or 'Yoo'. As in 'Ilana's goes to the U'.

This scene, taken from the I-5 bridge should be very familiar to Seattle residents. The view of the University of Washington which borders on the Ship Canal (foreground) and Lake Washington (background). Taken last Sunday in the late afternoon on the way back from the Underground Tour. You can see Husky stadium with its twin overhanging stands in the middle right. When we first moved here, they built the second set of stands and the assembly did not go correctly. The huge partially constructed grandstand collapsed during construction. The loads or angles or something weren't correct or balanced and it became a huge pile of ruined, twisted, tangled steel. Yikes, what a mess! Glad it collapsed then and not when it contained thousands of Husky fans.

Suzallo Library, the large brick building in the center left borders on Red Square, a big central brick plaza with a parking garage underneath.

The snow-covered Cascades peeking through in the far background on this clear January day. Glassy sapphire hues on the water. So many blue tones! I maintain the light in Seattle is so blue, year round though I'm not quite sure what I mean. Dennis thinks it's some distortion introduced by the car window or the camera.

The 'yoo' for you!

ABC Wednesday - X

I was really stumped on this one but decided to go alliverative (if that's a word) or 'sound like'

So I will go with 'excited' and I will feature a picture that I posted Oct 2, 2007. The most 'excited' picture I can think of.

http://azure-turquoise.blogspot.com/2007/10/photoessay-134-first-pac-10-game.html

Susanna, as a freshman in 2004, first Pac 10 game, Civil War (that would be University of Oregon vs Oregon State). Oregon goes into bottom of the seventh inning (softball games are 7 innings) trailing by 7 runs and comes back to win the game. In the pouring rain. Susanna scored the winning run. The moment was caught by the Eugene Register Guard (photo reproduced without permission)

The look on her face says it all.

ABC Wednesday - Letter W

Water

Just a few short weeks ago, a storm hit the Puget Sound area with near record rainfall. Lots of flooded basements in my neighborhood. When this small development was built, the builders diverted a small creek behind the backs of the houses. But when it rains a lot, the creek reverts to its previous course...sometimesthrough some people's homes. Not ours just by providence. We did some drainage work some years ago plus the creek course runs through our backyard not our house. Still, that afternoon, we watched the water puddle up in our backyard towards the house. Inexplicably (to us), in the middle of the afternoon during the heavy rains, the pool of water inching to our back door suddenly drained. Probably into a neighbor's basement. My husband came home from work early because the main street by their facility became "Lake 220th" and the parking lots flooded. The facilities people were letting cars out of the parking lot but not in.

Another picture from the Seattle Times showing a Home Depot store in Chehalis. I-5 was closed for several days.

Photoessay #210 - ABC Wednesday V---um tuesday

Hey, guess what, today's Tuesday!!!! The pre-holiday stuff with 4 high school college girls being here isn't getting to me, not at all

Vase

I bought this Vase last summer on a trip to Rockford. I visited the very best place in Rockford, the Anderson Japanese Garden with my brother, sister and niece. I will include a picture of the garden (along with some siblings). A beautiful oasis in the center of a typical midwestern small city. I always try to go there, though I'm thinking of a January visit when it won't be open.

My brother and sister both have summer birthdays, my idea to buy similar vases for the three of us. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of the other vases, but they were similarly variegated in other colors. We all picked one out.

Wonderful gift shop with many asian-themed ceramic items. I usually don't fall for gift shops, but I always enjoy this one. Maybe because I'm visually starved in Rockford?