Needle City

Alright, alright, already! I'll tell you what happened in Seattle...

We had a blast! I took the bus from Salem to Portland, then trained from Portland to Seattle on Thursday evening. Chika took me to Moshi Moshi for great sushi and even better conversation. I'm feeling more and more at ease about being absent for Grandpa's celebration as I debrief with family.

Delicious pastries Friday morning, New Moon and a nap on the couch, then we met up with Maggie to say "Happy Birthday!" and have a cocktail. We met up again later for an artist meet-and-greet party at a wood shop that uses restored city trees to create fabulous furniture. Totally cool venue for a live band and some free beer/wine (bring your own container). Maggie and I did a little exploring behind stage and found a drum set...





And there was a SWING!





Here's Chika:


Jean, the business partner and co-owner of "The Dupe"


Chika and Maggie and I met up with Sheridan, a high school buddy of Maggie's, to play pool and have a few beers in Magnolia. We met way too many creepers on their way to the men's restroom, but I think the laughs were worth it.

Saturday morning, Chika and Jared and I made breakfast at The Dupe, then headed north to see Sharlee!! What a surprise!! She showed us photos and e-mails to give a quick update on the family, and then we signed her out and drove to Edmonds to watch a ferry come and go. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and Sharlee radiates enough to light up a whole room. She's staying at the CRISTA Senior Community.



Here are Chika and Jared visiting with Sharlee by the pickup.


The view


Chika, Sharlee, and Larkin


It was hard to say goodbye, but Chika and Jared had already pushed back an appointment with Jean and Dylan to talk mortgage and refinancing. I read some more (now on to Eclipse, the 3rd of the addicting vampire/werewolf series!), and then we biked our way to the Fremont Solstice Fair. We enjoyed the nude roller bladers (secretly, of course), food and craft booths, musicians, and general glee of the affair before we met up with Maggie and her friend Margot. Here they are with a chicken, saying "I'm no nugget!" to advertise a Vegan/Vegetarian restaurant.



We also found Travis, Jared's work buddy, and Stephanie and Arlo of Slow Loris.


Here are Arlo, Jared, and Travis. Stunning in Lavender.



As if all of that wasn't enough to cram into a day, Chika and Jared graciously joined me at The Moore Theater for what was called Artistic Intervention. The entire historic theater had been taken over by musicians and artists of all types, funky displays and performances happening in the hallways, basement, on stage, in the balconies... nearly every space was taken by creative juices and appreciative visitors. I was impressed by the brass band and accompanying dancers:



The night was young, so we said a quick hello to Bernie and Ryan, my old ResLife bosses who moved from Willamette to Seattle U and now Cornish. Sure miss them, and can't wait to spend some quality time together in the near future.

Our people were hungry so we headed to a delicious pizzeria with Jean and Dillon, met up with Maggie again, and settled in at Jared's office to play Rock Band. The fun that followed should probably remain a secret, but I'll share a few priceless pictures.

Maggie, a natural rockstar.


Jared, a monster on the sticks.


Dylan, totally in control on lead guitar.


Chika, lead vocalist and tambourine extraordinaire.


Lark, killin the base line, and not in a good way.


My new favorite picture of Jared.


Yeah, we're related.


We're all quite versatile artists.


Slept a little before Chika took me to the train station, much, much too early in the morning. Sorry about that! I left feeling groggy, but full of warmth and love that comes from visiting family and friends. JEALOUS?!

Here is Baby, the hilarious cat that comes with Jesse, the roommate.


Hugs to everybody. I'm looking forward to more happy visits.