Mata Hari bracelet

Trophies

Chase and Ian at T.A.L.L.

Baseball

Years ago, my father and I went to an exhibit at the Albright Knox Art Museum called 'Diamonds are Forever'. It was all about baseball. Writers, sculptors, painters, artists of all kinds, all expounding on the wonderfulness of the game.  One of the writing exhibits showed quotes of famous people and what they said.  One said, "You know it doesn't have to mean anything, it's just very beautiful to watch."  I think that was said by Woody Allen? Can't remember for sure. I do know, however, he definitely had it right.

Two Generations of Nephews

Lucas, Tristan and Ian at Niagara Falls, New York

Generations

Sir Tristan, his father Jeff, his maternal great-grandmother Doris, his maternal grandmother Linda, and his paternal great-great-aunt, Marlene.

I had a wonderful time Friday night, such a good time, in fact, that I forgot to take a picture. {heavy sigh} That is one of the main reasons why I'm never going to spend a small fortune on a camera. I always seem to forget I have one!

Camille's friend, Erin, came over for dinner, we killed at least three bottles of wine (but who's counting?) and we drove Mike crazy. We were all talking. Sometimes at the same time. I told Mike, that's what women do. :D

I wish we lived closer to each other. I'd love to spend more time with them. Mike is so lucky to have found Camille, and Camille is so lucky to have such a wonderful friend in Erin. I'm fortunate to have all three in my life.

I know I won't be able to afford a trip out there next year, but I'm definitely going to shoot for the year after. In the meantime, there is always Skype.

The Science Experiment

Here are Ian and Uncle Michael looking (safely) at the sun:

Sun spots:


Michael said...
I use a pair of binoculars, aligned so the sun comes through them and is projected onto a piece of paper. You actually have to focus the binoculars in order to get a sharp image.

I'm holding the binoculars against the windowsill to steady them, and by my foot is a clipboard with a piece of white paper, onto which the sun is projected.

If there are sunspots, you can see them clearly.

Views from the top of the Space Needle

All photos taken by Ian Tabor

Flowers in Seattle Center Park

All photos taken by Ian

Tyska Traveling Fish

Here they are, in front of the Space Needle, Seattle, Washington.

Seattle Science Center

Here we are in front of the whispering dishes, a hands-on exhibit that teaches about sound waves. It was so cool. You can actually whisper into the little eye at the top of the pole, and across the sidewalk about 25 feet away, another person can hear you.

Here is Ian standing in front of the anti-gravity mirror. I absolutely loved the Science Center. Everything was hands-on for kids, but I have a great time and learned a lot, too. Most of the time I was so busy checking things out, I forgot to take pictures!

Pretty Flowers

This is a flower in Jeff's front yard. It's beautiful, and I want one. I just have no idea what it is. :D

Playing with T

Me, T, and G'ampa

Coloring with G'ampa

Playing with T

Playing in the Sand

Sir Tristan of Snohomish

Blinded by the Light

So here is my brother, trying to look at the sun.

No, really. He's a very smart guy.

LOL!

Actually, this was in preparation for a little science experiment he did with Ian later in the day.

Michael said...
I was gonna say... what the hell! The sun is behind me!

I never did figure out how to get that damned diffraction grating to work, but I did manage to show Ian the spectral lines from a fluorescent lamp. It's part of the foundation information he needs to understand how we know what stars are made of, and how we know which direction they are traveling.

Serena said...

I couldn't help myself. Actually, if someone looks at the shadows, it's obvious you're not trying to blind yourself. :D

Ian had a great time. I've answered all kinds of questions about the sun, the earth's rotation, gravity, sound and light travel, and all of the questions came from out of the blue. I love it when he thinks. :)

Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1908)

Vacation Update

Sunday, July 31:

After finally getting up around 10 in the morning and eating some amazing blueberry pancakes Camille made fresh (yumm!), we spent the day with Jeff. Ian, of course, is living-breathing-sleeping baseball, so we went to some batting cages, went to a park to play some baseball, had dinner at the local Red Robin, and then went to a neighborhood school that has a diamond to play more baseball. Jeff said he slept like the dead that night. :D

Monday, August 1:

My legs are a little sore today...not used to all that running around. :) The pain is around my shins. Hope it goes away. I'm pretty much Ian's only baseball playmate out here. Jeff, who we love to exhaust, has to work.

I got up at 7 and read a bit over a quiet cup of coffee before Ian got up, the quiet only broken by the sounds of text messages/phone calls from my boss. It's nice to know he has trouble getting along without me, but ... really? I'M ON VACATION!!! :D

While Mike took one of his mid-terms and worked on his communications course assignment, I took Ian for a long walk. We went to Starbucks, of course, and then continued walking to Wal-Mart. We only brought two baseballs with us, and it was getting ridiculous shagging them down constantly, so we bought a small bucket of baseballs for $9, and a cheap set of badminton rackets for $5.

We then headed back to the neighborhood diamond, and having that bucket of balls turned out to be a great idea. He was able to hit 10 times before we had to chase them all down. It actually worked out much better in another way, too. Every time we collected the balls, we took a water break. Kept us both hydrated in the 80 degree heat.

The days here so far have been absolutely beautiful. Much less humidity that we were dealing with back east, and the temperature is far less extreme. It's hanging around the hi-70s, low 80s, with about 50% humidity, which feels wonderful. I'm getting some sun, but I can also breathe. I love it like this.

After dinner, I took a walk with Camille. She is giving me other ideas for a career choice after I finish my studies that don't include teaching Math. As she so eloquently puts it, "Those kids you'll be teaching are not as nice as your son." She is absolutely right. Teenagers today are much different than teenagers of my day. Respect for your elders is a thing of the past.

So I am going to open my mind to other choices: auditor, financial adviser, actuary. Research to begin when I get home.

Tuesday, August 2:

I slept in until 9 this morning! Do I feel guilty? Nope. I'm on vacation. :)

I took Ian back to the neighborhood diamond for more baseball. He never tires of it. Who am I kidding? I don't, either. My legs are still sore, though. Definitely not used to this much physical activity. I'm the only person I know that goes on vacation and loses weight. Just wish my legs didn't hurt quite so much.

Tonight we are seeing a Mariners game. The feel of the stadium is so much different from Coca-Cola Field in Buffalo. For one, it is much bigger, seating up to 47,878 fans to Buffalo's maximum of 18,025. People are different out here, too. In Buffalo, we sit in the stands and talk with everyone around us, total strangers, about the game, the latest baseball trades, etc., but out here, people don't seem to talk to each other like that. Actually, they don't seem to talk to each other at all, unless they came together. Interesting feeling.

The Mariners won. Jeff and I had a bunch of laughs at Ian's expense. When the game was beginning, and the announcer said, "Now batting....Ichiro Suzuki!" Ian's head whipped around SO fast! Good thing it's attached. :D He was so still, concentrating on that game so hard, it seemed he was barely breathing. I think I only see him that still when he is sleeping.

Wednesday, August 3:

5:55 a.m.: The melodious tones of my cell phone receiving another text...from my boss. {heavy sigh}

Today is laundry day. To save on the amount of luggage we cart across the country, we packed enough for four days, planning to do laundry half-way through our week. It works out well.

A nice, calm, easy day for relaxing in the sun.

I told Mike about the pain in my legs, and he said, "Ugh. Shin splints." I think he's right. Stretching and no more running around on a concrete baseball diamond are in order.

This evening, we will go to Jeff's and visit with my grand-nephew, Tristan. That would be Sir Tristan of Seattle to all of us minions. Jeff and Tristan will be flying back with us on Saturday.

Thursday, August 4:

We will see the Space Needle and the Seattle Science Center on Thursday. More photo opportunities for the Tyska Traveling Fish!

Tyska Traveling Fish

Here he is at Safeco Field after the Mariners game in his brand new Ichiro shirt:



And here he is in China Town in downtown Seattle:

New posts....

....back to May 5th. Finally had time to catch up. I love vacations!

Take Me Out to the Baaalllll Gaaame...

We started out around 5:00 p.m. or so for Safeco Field...


...but alas, the trip took longer than we expected:



Ian wanted to get Ichiro Suzuki's autograph on his baseball, but it was not to be. Due to the incredible traffic in this area, which gets worse every year, we were unable to arrive at Safeco Field much before game time.

Apparently, more and more people move here, but nothing is done about the infrastructure. A shame, because it is such a beautiful area. It shouldn't be so inconvenient to get around.

Jeff said...
This reminds me... I have a "cleaning fee" for the drool on my car door. LMAO

The Cascades

Everywhere you look, there are mountains in the distance:

The Cascades