Ellen Show

Here we are/were last week, waiting on long metal benches in the Warners Brothers Studio parking garage with our tickets to the Ellen DeGeneres show. It's a long slow process with metal detectors, purse searchers and goofy acts from those volunteering to show the world that they truly are idiots before we were admitted to the theater. It was all I could do not to step forward and show the world how well I wiggle my eyebrows.

Once inside we were educated on when to stand, sit, wave, scream and most importantly...when we heard the word dance....to jump up and do the Ellen dance. Most of the young girls wore themselves out trying to be noticed by the powers that be, hoping they'd be chosen to go down and do the dance or at least win a t-shirt. Miley Cyress was one of the guests, along with another actor I didn't know. The best was a young fellow they found on youtube.com who played his guitar and sang for us. Here's hoping this bit of attention helps his career.

All in all, I am glad I am not in that business, but it was fun to see how it all comes together.

Be sure and look for us in the audience tomorrow...March 31st at 3:00 pm on KING 5.

Getty Tram

Home at last...and the one thing that I enjoyed the most on our trip to California was the visit to the Getty Museum. Parking is at the bottom of the hill and trams take everyone up to the museum. We had a little one year old with us so we saw as much as we could as fast as we could. She rode in her stroller and Len rode in one of the many wheelchairs they have for visitors. I would love to get the chance to go again because there is so much more we didn't see. We did see this ...and this.......again...as fast as we could :o)

The Getty

We loved the Getty. The picture was taken in the gardens and they were perfection.

Sitka Oops

The herrring fishery in Sitka, Alaska has begun and it's a wild event. The

Shady Lady of Homer, Alaska seems to be having a bit of a problem.

Here are a couple of videos of the before and before, before the after, which you see in the picture!!! She was pulled over by the weight of the fish in her net and came to rest on the tender, which held her until they were able to right her. The tender did manage to pump a couple hundred tons of herring before everything went to heck !!!

You can also read a bit more about the incident on this blog.

Hollywood

Have you ever wondered what it looks like from the the other side of the Hollywood sign. Well here ya have it.

Old City Dock

Gig Harbor used to have a dandy fisherman's dock ! It was where Jerisich dock now sits and it was big enough for trucks loaded with nets and assorted supplies to drive on, out to deep water where boats could tie up any time without worrying about whether there was enough water beneath them to take care of business. This picture was taken years ago of the remaining pilings and our boat, Sonia, tied up behind. How very sad that they didn't replace it with something better than what took it's place. I'd love to see the old Skansie net shed done away with and another dock built alongside the existing floats, with a large enough area for trucks or tour buses to turn around. I can dream can't I ?

It's not easy being three

Ingy spent a few hours at my house today and it seems the minute she got home, this is what happened.

My feet are killing me

Well...the birthday girl is officially 3 and her feet are killing her. Grandma gave her the new dress and of course the first thing a woman does is find a pair of shoes to match so into my closet she went. I'm sure things things might have been less painful if she'd had the shoes on the right feet.............................

HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY !!!

Happy Birthday Ingy

Our sweet Ingy will be 3 tomorrow. She and daddy spent the afternoon on the beach yesterday and she was the official greeter, waving hello and goodbye to all water craft, large and small , that came and went. It's sad they have to grow up and lose that wonderful innocence. Happy
Birthday, Ingy :o)

Spring Flowers

It's looking more and more like spring and that makes me very happy. The temp. has been down in the 20's at night, but up in the 50's, or nearly, during the day and as long as the snow stays in the mountains where it belongs, all is well.

I bet most of us are glad we don't live in Valdez.

Oh...and just for fun.

Happy Yellow

All done and if this doesn't make you feel warm all over, I don't know what will. They did the work in record time, thanks to one set of grandparents doing their part to keep almost ten month old Jacob out of everthing. My mother wallpapered every room in that house and it's fun to see a few bare walls for a change. I must say, wallpapering is a lot easier now than when she did it. No more cutting the edges off with a razor, though that means no more coils for kids to play with, and not so much paste to mix as it all comes prepasted. We treasured those cut edges, just as we treasured the keys from sardine cans which tells you we grew up before plastics :o)

Layers

How many layers the kids have peeled off I do not know, but they spent the weekend ripping the wall paper off their dining room wall. That space started out as a kitchen and the house surrounding it started out as just a small, flat-roofed box, built by my grandfather around 1940, the same year the Narrows Bridge fell into the narrows and the same year I arrived :o)
The house used to sit on a beautiful piece of land above the beach, overlooking the bay. When the state, in all it's wisdom, decided to build a new road to Bremerton across that land, the house was moved a couple hundred feet to the north. After a few years, my folks added on an upstairs and a new kitchen and, by then, the state realized that the brand new road to Bremerton in that location had been a mistake and built another, where it is now.
Let's hope they do the right thing when they finally decide what they are going to do about the mess through Purdy. My dream is that they build an interchange on highway 16, sending the traffic down along the north end of Burley lagoon, widening one of the roads that already exists. I can hear the people scream.

Skiff Girl

Who says a girl can't drive a skiff? Oh, the opportunities for girls now that weren't there when I grew up. Give her another ten years and she'll be one heck of a crew member.

It was a gorgeous last day of February yesterday and with spring in the air, folks were out in droves enjoying a Sunday drive. Speaking of Sunday drive, here's a piece I put together from our last orchestra rehearsal. We have one heck of a saxophone player and this was his first rehearsal with us this session since he spends winter in Arizona. He really gets warmed up at around 6:30 in the video. If you want to see him play, be sure and mark March 13th on your calendar. Gig Harbor Peninsula Civic Orchestra at Peninsula High School, 7:00 pm.