Good weekend

[kodalai]

On the freeway going home from work the other day, saw an unexpected mattress on the road. A few hundred yards further on, a flatbed truck stopped on the shoulder. Hope they got that straightened out.

My friend Rachel (whose wedding I went to Indiana to attend back in May) was coming out to visit, so we walked around Seattle for a while seeing the sights. The weather unexpectedly cooperated for the occasion, showing the 65 degrees and shiny blue skies that they pull out when they are trying to trick people into moving there. She is also considering moving out with her husband and daughter, so he can go to school here, and to have a nice place for her daughter to grow up.

Spending time with her made me look at Seattle with new eyes again -- she mentioned that unlike other big cities she's spent time in, Seattle feels very interconnected and homey. For all its quirks and failings, I can see what she means.

We went down to Des Moines (that's Des Moines, Washington for anyone who wondered) to try out a restaurant that one of my friends had discovered. It was fantastic. They had a pretty small menu, but they did everything on it well -- at least, everything I tried out from my friend's dishes. How often do you encounter french fries which are so delicious by themselves that they require no vinegar or ketchup? My own salmon was fantastic -- tender, not overcooked, with a light sweet glaze outside and delicious butteriness in the inside. I actually asked the waiter to take a compliment back to the cook, and since the water was also fantastic, left a nice big tip for them. Pretty low prices, too, which I attribute to the reasonable portion size, since it certainly didn't come out of the quality.

Today I took advantage of the last day of a New York & Company certificate that I had to go shopping for long-sleeved shirts for the fall. As usual, why are clothes companies incapable of attaching long sleeves to ordinary shirts? It's a constant struggle to find something with long sleeves that is not either a button-down or a sweater, and just forget about finding any kind of pretty print or pattern. No matter how interesting our clothes manufacturers make t-shirts, the instant long sleeves go on, that all vanishes.

Back to work tomorrow... sigh...

Also: Gratuitous kitty pic!

Comments

[nekojita.livejournal.com]

Aww... I think kitties and their attachments to boxes is a defense mechanism - no matter what trouble they get into, if they find a box, they're instantly so adorable you have to forgive them.

[kodalai.livejournal.com]

If so Chrestomanci has a lot of defense mechanisms, because he looks cute doing just about anything. >.>

[beccaabbott.livejournal.com]

3/4 length sleeves. They're everywhere! On a shopping channel the other day they offered a t-shirt with long sleeves and made a huge, effing deal about the fact. Sheesh.

[kodalai.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was able to pick up a couple of 3/4 sleeves, but full length? Nothing doing! It's just such a bizarre absence. Or maybe I'm just looking in the wrong stores? :\

[annabellerings.livejournal.com]

I once ran over a mattress on the Dan Ryan (that's I 57 for those of you not from the Chicago area). I was pulling over for a cop who was speeding down the expressway with lights flashing, and didn't see it lying flat on the road until I was on top of it. XD

[kodalai.livejournal.com]

Er... the cop wasn't pulling YOU over, was he? o.o Hope your car's undercarriage was OK either way...

[samikitty.livejournal.com]

kekeke. seattle is really pretty when it's bright and sunny and a light breeze is coming in off the ocean. i like how seattle has little ... defined districts, each with their own character.

and my funny 'furniture on the road' story goes:
once, going over a 4 lane bridge (2 lanes each way), there was a huuuge traffic jam. when we got to the blockage, we discovered that it was... two dudes trying to stuff a giant sofa (of the old-school 80's poofy variety, complete with floral upholstery fabric) into the back of a PRIUS. while one guy was on the phone. we edged past that... and took the next exit into the suburb where i live... while looking at bits and pieces of someone's living room (also from the 80s) littering the side of the road... and at the end of this trail... a big flatbed truck pulled over, only half full with furniture. on the empty part of the flatbed was a very panicked-looking man screaming into his cellphone.

i lol'd.

[kodalai.livejournal.com]

Yeah... The whole west coast has a very special light, especially in the afternoon, that I haven't seen anywhere else. I think it has to do with the light coming in over miles of water instead of mountains, etc.

Also, that furniture on the road story is awesome! XD I wonder if those two dudes were the owner of the sofa... or not? >.>

[foxglove6.livejournal.com]

I get a lot of plain long sleeve tees from Old Navy, Gap, and Ann Taylor Loft (on sale). They're usually just plain colors but at least I can bulk up the wardrobe that way.

[kodalai.livejournal.com]

I should try Old Navy, perhaps! I'd like something fancier, but hey, anything that works :)

[parallax-view.livejournal.com]

So you soft sold Seattle to Rachel, eh? =P

Kitties love to get into the weirdest places at times. Was Chrestomanci attached to the box for very long?

[kodalai.livejournal.com]

No, not long -- essentially the next time I went to bed I cleared the box away, and he didn't take interest in it again. <3