World Wide SketchCrawl - Volunteer Park, Seattle

Did you ever notice how easy it is to get up in the morning for an activity you really enjoy. For me our Urban Sketchers get togethers are one of those events that I effortlessly rise for. We met on this cold and cloudy day at the Conservatory in Volunteer Park. When we were let in you are instantly warmed by the climate needed to preserve the tropical and desert plant life. OK, it was cold, but not that cold (40 degrees) I'm just a cold weather wimp.......

I did a couple of outdoor sketches that lacked any inspiration as soon as my fingers went numb. We had a great turnout (more than twelve) and joined by a reporter Florangela Davila from KPLU who interviewed most of us and will be airing a story about the Urban Sketchers sometime after Thanksgiving.

In a mad scramble (my time management sucked today...) and with help from fellow sketcher Tim Taylor, I met Tamra and Kiersten at the Key Arena to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert. The last sketch was done during the post-concert dinner at Fuller's (Pike Place Market) on the paper table covering of a gentleman eating dinner by himself and enjoying a good book.

A fun, long day...need to remind myself not to take it for granted.

Could Be The Dumbest Thing I've Ever Done

I'm putting down hardwood bamboo flooring in our house and was at the point of framing the fireplace hearth, this meant ripping floor pieces the long way on the table saw. Instead of a normal table saw we have a ShopSmith which gives you the option of using the lathe, joiner or the now dreaded table saw. Unlike a normal table saw, the blade under the cutting surface is exposed and after cutting the wood I reached under the table to turn off the saw and stuck hand into the running blade. As luck would have it, I just mangled the end of the ring finger of my drawing hand, it could have and should have been much worse.........

Down Time

We been dealing with a lack of Internet access and cable TV, seems our 23 year old cable connections no longer support the new technology. So off to the library to use their wi-fi and sketch. Comcast is in trouble, we are starting to get used to life sans cable....

Dad's 80th Birthday Celebration

With a lot of help from friends and family, Dad's 80th birthday celebration turned out to be a fun day of basketball and food. Reporters from a number of papers showed up to cover the event, the following link is to the Seattle Times article written about Pete still playing basketball at the age of 80. My thanks to all who participated/attended and donated to the Maple Valley Food Bank, you made his 80th a very special day.

Sims Cabin View

It was very cold and any sketching involved trips back to the cabin to get circulation back into the fingers.

Mt. Bonaparte - Sketchers on the Roof

The Sims Cabin

It's a five and a half hour drive to the Northeast part Washington where Scott's cabin sits on a ridge high above the valley floor that Highway 20 wanders through (connecting Republic to Tonasket). Our mission this weekend was to roof the new shed/restroom building, a task none of us has any experience doing.....The final product was acceptable (just don't look too close).

We found lots of tracks near the cabin - bear, deer, cow and SUV....but only came across a few deer using Scott's property as a refuge during hunting season. It was bitterly cold at night and mornings, snow is coming and soon this area will be completely snowbound for the winter.

What ever the hardships, the view and serenity is so completely relaxing.

Meeting Alton Brown

Food Network celebrity Alton Brown came to Seattle to promote his new book 'Good Eats The Early Years' and by buying the book, I got two tickets to see him talk about it and get it signed by the author.

Mr. Brown didn't disappoint, his hour of discourse and Q & A was hugely entertaining (comedy club funny...) and no one seem to mind the wait to meet the author and get their book signed. Brown has lost fifty pounds over the last six months and an upcoming show will deal with that change.

It takes something special for me to miss Friday Night Basketball, yet, this was an worthy reason to miss one of my favorite activities.

The sketch above includes an onion and four of my favorite things in the kitchen, a mortar and pestle, hot sauce, wasabi and my Henckels chef's knife.

Weird fact - we share the same birthday (July 30th) For a Foodie - this was a good day.........