Happy Halloween!

 

 

 

 

 

construction: month two

 

Previous posts: September

Over the last month, the foundation was completed (including radiant floors, plumbing etc) and framing of the basement began.  Jack caught one potential mistake related to insulation in the foundation before it happened.  We’re lucky be able to visit the site so often.

vexillology

I came across this delicious new word recently in a novel and it stayed with me because I was once a young vexillologist. 

Vexillology: the "scientific study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general". The word is a synthesis of the Latin word vexillum ("flag") and the Greek suffix-logia ("study").

I started collecting national flags when I was about eight and my collections, which I believe is my parents’ basement, grew to about 50 flags.  My dad made me some holders that we mounted to the wall and they were quite nicely displayed.  I had a t-shirt and poster of all the national flags on my wall.  I do not, however, have a picture of my collection.

While we’re on the subject of vexillology, let me share two flag related tidbits that I learned in the past few weeks. 

One, New Zealand will be voting next year on whether or not they will change their flag to something more representative of their culture.  Since their flag is pretty unoriginal, I would support it, though I don’t like the designs that look more like logos than flags.

Two, the Union Jack has directionality to it that I’d never noticed.  Flying flags upside down was a nautical distress signal that didn’t work very well for the Brits.

sailing season

 

In second grade, in my autobiography, I proudly wrote that I could drive a boat.  At that point, driving only meant the act of steering with a tiller so I was telling the truth.  However, the more I learn, the more responsibility that falls under the umbrella of “driving,” so I’m still working on it.

Over the past seven months, I sailed out of Shilshole in Ballard quite a bit.

• 2 social sails
• 4 full days of sailing for sailing classes
• 3 practice sails with the women’s team
• 13 races

Although I’ve been on sailboats since I was a baby  (see picture of my first cruise at 6 months), I learned a lot this year. 

I took the ASA 101 and 103 classes.  In the 103 class I learned a lot about the engine, docking and dropping anchor.  I think most of my apprehension about docking was really a lack of comfort with engines.  I feel a lot better now and hope to practice more over the winter.  In the 101 class I refreshed my knowledge of the points of sail and rights of way and some terminology. 

Racing was a good experience, though we were not very competitive.   We had an all women’s boat of 5-7 people and we did noticeably improve our process, if not our results.  For your amusement, here’s a list of all the reasons we Did Not Finish races:

• grounding – This was a regrettable first race but we got off on our own by heeling and turning on the motor.  It was in mud and there was no damage, thankfully.
• seasickness – We had to take someone back just before the start though it turned out to be food poisoning.
• over early – We crossed the line early along with a bunch of other boats.
• radio off – The committee boat had to leave to rescue someone and we failed to radio in our finish time.
• wind too strong – We weren’t allowed out once.
• ridiculous spinnaker tangle – We had to keep sailing downwind, without crossing the finish line when the spinnaker got tangled in the jib roller furler.    It took four of us about 15-20 minutes to untangle it.   No one fell overboard and we didn’t have to cut any lines, but dang it was a stressful mess.

To our credit, we did not have any accidental jibes or collisions.

Highlights were some really good starts and spinnaker raises/douses, seeing improvements, a few experienced guest crew members (including my dad once) and the beautiful scenery.  I saw many sunsets, some dolphins, and daredevil kite boarder that buzzed the back of several boats.  It hardly rained at all.

play Development Dead Zone

Next time you are walking in downtown Seattle, I invite you to play a new game I came up with.  To play, stand on any sidewalk in the city, where you can see at least two blocks in to the distance (no hiding in alleys).  Slowly turn in a circle, looking high and low, and if you can’t see a building under construction or a crane, you get 10 points.  That’s it.  Get out there and try it!  I haven’t scored any points yet, but I’ll keep trying.

Even though I am well aware of how much development is happening, I am still regularly astonished by it.  Here’s a snapshot of where large projects are underway in our neighborhood.  For a ongoing updates, check this site.

Here are a few recent pictures, from the Yesler Terrace project where they are rebuilding several blocks all at once, and Occidental Park, which will have a big impact on Pioneer Square.