Hollywog's Pond

A little late.

Last week was sticky hot for Seattle. I think we may have reached 90. That is just so wrong for this area. I got a migraine from missing so much sleep because my apartment (and the outside air) never really cooled down.

Wednesday and Thursday I went to art walks. I borrowed my apartment manager's min-pin for a walk to the first one not really thinking through that I couldn't go inside most of the participating shops with a dog. It was a lovely evening for a walk so I didn't mind. Thursday's art walk was amazing. A friend had invited me as she was showing some of her pieces and I thought it would have been a small boutique type setting. Instead, there was an entire building that leases its spaces out to artists and the first Thursday of every month they open it up to the public with most items for sale. There was quite the variety of mixed media. Mostly oils and sketches but also a lot of photography and a few sculptures/installations. There were people selling dresses and shoes for suggested donations of $10 and $5, respectively. It looked like a feeding frenzy. There were quite a few pieces of art and some jewelry that I would have liked to have taken home but most everything was too rich for my blood. So I've decided to try to go back every month or so and get my art fix that way.

Friday was a super fabulous dinner! Five courses with five wine pairings from a Woodinville winery, Facelli I believe. A culinary school (Art Institute of Seattle, Portfolio) put it on and in addition to being muy tasty it was really cheap (for a five course meal). $60 tax and tip included. What a steal! They do this every quarter and I think that sounds like a nice treat. They have weekly dinners as well (1, 2 or 3 courses). The view from the restaurant is outstanding as well. From Rainier to the Olympics, gorgeous! I stuffed myself stupid and it was awesome. I still have the cheese course at home in the fridge because I couldn't finish. :)

Saturday I went and saw The Hangover. I believe it has the same director as Old School and it was very funny. Some scenes depicted things that were just wrong but it was hilarious overall. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas they say.

Sunday was quite the adventure. After completing obligatory housekeeping duties I went on a hike with a friend. They had a book, something like "60 hikes within 60 miles of Seattle" and so we went to check out Squak Mountain. It is quite possibly the worst signed trail area I have ever encountered. I am so thankful my friend insisted on taking the book because we really would have had to call Search & Rescue at some point. It stated that there were many intersections and to stick to the main trail to avoid confusion. The problem was that at least half of the intersections looked like main trails, and 99% of the intersections were unmarked. The book wasn't very specific and our ~6 mile hike turned into almost seven hours of aimless wandering. Well, we had an aim but it was crazy! We gave up trying to find the right trail and just looked for signs of civilization. Eventually we found a horse ranch and followed the back roads to a main road. Thankfully we picked the correct direction on the main road and made it back to the car before dark. Bad pedestrian road too. Two lanes, no shoulder, 45 mph. The only injury aside from sore muscles is a half dollar sized blister on my right heel. Ouch. Thank goodness for the multi-pack of band-aids I bought Saturday; I'm going to need them.

Today our work department is going out kayaking for a bonding experience. Yay we get to leave early! I didn't realize that so I will have to decide to get wet in jeans or try to run home and change before then. Should be fun either way!