A Boating weekend

John Scalzi asks what did you do this weekend?  It was a boating weekend for us.  Out through the Ballard locks to the Bell Harbor Marina and Back after a two night stay..where we saw tugboats, cruise liners, interesting boat names and of course the ever popular sunset with boats in the foreground.                   

An interesting observation that came up over the weekend was about how everyone's worlds are so different...even day to day our worlds can change.  Boating and then traveling to the marina of the waterfront in Seattle was a trip into a different life.  People name their boats such interesting names...

           

I think we finally found a name for ours...it's  a Monk design built by Grande...for those who know about these things.  It's an old Coast Guard vessel since remodeled for pleasure boating.   The name?  The Rio Grande.   It's had at least four temporary names since we got it....prior to our ownership it was called the Last Time.    Nope, not the Last Time...many more times to be had.   It was a fun weekend.  Enjoy the trip into a different world for the moment...Why Knot?  

            

 That's the fun in the photo experience.  Maria

Carousel Horses

This weekend I was down at our Waterfront.  On one of the piers is a wonderful Carousel with horses kept in very good condition.  I thought I would share a few photos I took with you.  Seems like we are on a merry-go-round all the time...round and round we go...work, play, work, play...and then sprinkled in between are moments of silence...sometimes just moments by ourselves and sometimes with others.  Even on the merry-go-round we should take the time to enjoy the ride!  Think about what we have and remember all who did what they could so we could be free.    Another memorial day thought brought on a moment of silence and appreciation.  Maria

    

 

       

 

                                   

 

        

Memorial Day Thoughts 2007

Today's entry is in memory of those who gave their lives fighting for our freedom.   May they rest in peace and their souls be happy.  Today is a good day for a few moments of silence for our soldiers who have gone before us and also for those serving still. 

        

May the end of war come soon...pray for peace.    Peace of mind, peace with our neighbors, our friends, family, countrymen and our world.   Be proud and be humble...but above all be kind.   We are all in this life together.  

This is the Washington Funeral and Cemetary near our airport.  The animations are from the my past collections of Donna's,  Shelley's and Deb's animations...if you have time you may want to visit their sites too.. The photos of the blue angels..not sure where I got that one from ..in an email.   The other photos of the cemetary are mine...next to my father-in-law's grave..he served in World War II.....although he didn't see much action he was out at sea for a long time while he was in the Navy.  :)  Maria

 

                        

 

 

                     

  

 

 

                          

A Walk in the Park - Kubota Park that is

Hello again,

I like the new AOL photo add feature since it gives me quicker way to add my photos.  That means I can actually get to some of my entries more often.  Kubota Park is one of my favorite places to walk and shoot photos.  It is all about the flowers, the green, the water, the winding paths and little hills,  the hidden waterfalls..these are just a few of the photos I took this month while walking with a friend.   The feeling of freshness and being alive is so predominant here and yet there is a controlled manicuring here that adds elegance and beauty throughout the park.   Oh, yes there are the little places where kaos reigns but then it wouldn't be so real.  A little hidden garden of sorts in the community, yes that is what it is and free too....thanks for donations that keep it up. 
Kubota website: Link:  and Directions

Enjoy.           
Yours, truly,  Maria

                                    

  

                                     

                    

It's all about SAM Olympic Sculpture Park

Hello, again!

This entry is all about the SAM Olympic Sculpture Park...the Seattle Art Museum Olympic Sculpture Park, that is to say.  Check out the website and click on the interactive feature..it's very well done.   I, at first, did not understand this art so much.  It seemed very non-esthetic to me...but I have to say I've gotten used to it and after driving by many times on my way back and forth to Ballard I stopped in to check it out.  

There is the rainbow wall, called the Seattle Cloud Cover, thru which you can see the space needle ...I'm sure I'm not the only one who has taken that perspective for a photo.  The & sign is interesting...meaning there is more and more to see or that after SAM there is more like the view of Puget Sound, maybe..?   Well, maybe if you don't go down and look at it closer...it is a series of benches and tables that say Love & Loss. hey, practical art...good one...  

The odd sculptures are both well done and strange to me.  The eyeballs on the sidewalk are actually benches too on the other side..which I liked.  I admire art that is both interesting and useful.   The giant eraser is a tough one but when I read about it, the article disclosed that the old style eraser reminded the Sponsor of this sculpture park of riding a bicycle with his hair blowing in the wind...I just can't get that image totally out of my mind. Although I do admit that the eraser brings back my college days of typing furiously to get a paper done on an electric typewriter.  This was before word processing..I had booboos to correct... but then I'm dating myself just a tad. 

The wavy rusty towering walls are quite a contrast to the shiny boxy art a little ways up the hill.  Of course I had to take a picture of the needle in the trees which were on the sculpture park property but I'm not sure it was really meant as part of the art experience.  There was a very nice green walking path that wound it's way through one part of the park. 

I didn't make it through the whole thing but you get the picture.  It was an experience I enjoyed, surprisingly.  I'd like to go back, soon.   I'm definitely getting used to it. The place really does grow on you.  :)

Maria

Tulips in the Pacific Northwest

Hello, all!   Time for an entry....I haven't tried uploading photos since the change in the process from AOL.   So Ive added individual photos and also created an album of a few photos.   I love the Ken Burns fading feature for these photos since it has an eery invitational pulling energy...the tulips seem to be saying come in and visit..here we are..come in and join us.....it makes me feel in one with the tulips...looking up at the sun and opening the petals for those radiant rays of light in harmony with my other tulip friends..but I digress.   These tulips were in a show garden at the Van Lierop Farm in Puyallup, Washington about 20 miles south of where I live in South Seattle. In a fairly small area the riot of color and light were unbelievable the day I went in mid April.    Thanks, Linda from Washington for the tip.   

                          

  

 

                                      

 

    

Maria

 

Boating in Seattle

Saturday, May 5, 2007, is not only Cinco de Mayo it is also Opening day of Boating Season here in Seattle.  We were going to take our boat out with friends and family but since the weather is not going to be very good and our friends and family mostly can't make it we are cancelling. Maybe next year...:(   These two photos are of the Seattle Skyline, Space Needle and Marina at the south end of Lake Washington here in downtown Seattle, Washington.  The sun was setting and it shed an eerie twilight effect on the boats and marina which I think I captured somewhat here in these photos.  

 

     

      This animation is compliments of D's Designs by Donna

                                                          MARIA