This past week was the third week in five I spent in Seattle for meetings and training. Thankfully, this time it wasn't all work and no play. We had a couple opportunities for fun in the evenings. Tuesday night we enjoyed dinner at Salty's on Alki Beach and admired the Seattle skyline.
Wednesday we went to the OTHER side and ate high in the sky at the Space Needle's Skycity Restaurant. While I've enjoyed going to the Space Needle several times in the past, this was the first time for dining there. It was really nice and lots of fun. Definitely a spot to bring Jamie the next time we get to venture here together.
Friday morning saw me back at Sea-Tac bright and early - or rather so early it was still quite dark. A long wait in the Starbucks line paid off when I scored a great seat to sip my tea and enjoy the atmosphere and hanging sculpture I've come to love.
The foggy, rainy weather didn't let up Friday morning for the trip home. I thought for sure the view out the window was a loss.
Thankfully once we climbed above the bottom cloud line, the window dried and the view improved immensely. And just in time too - the mountain peaks were gorgeous!
The lady in the seat ahead of me wore a vibrant red hand-crocheted scarf. It glowed in the sunlight streaming through the window. I had to close my eyes several times to let them recover or I was afraid I'd see red forever!
For the first time I can remember - I actually made my connecting flight at Chicago's O'Hare airport! All the pretty lights in the tunnel can't make up for missing a flight and getting stranded only six hours from home. This time I was actually able to enjoy them slightly before rushing to the next plane.
Who knew!?! Even the tiny airport support vehicles have special tow trucks! As we were taking off, I watched in amusement as these two puttered down the side road.
Then we climbed back up in the sky, surrounded by layers of clouds which trapped and funneled the sunset, giving us smooth sailing home.
Missouri came to Ames today to face off against the Cyclones in Iowa State Football's last home game of the season. This was our last weekend to be suite hosts so we lived it up large.
We enjoyed a quick meal in the skytower and watched the stadium field below come to life before the game.
The wind was brisk today and the game was scheduled to start at 6pm. Not a good combination for warm seats for all the fans.
The Iowa vs. Ohio State game was on the TV in our entryway. Lots of guests stopped and watched with us. Some were rooting for Iowa. Several were rooting against Iowa. It was a lively bunch. With only :53 left in the fourth quarter, the screen froze, then turned blank. We didn't find out until much later that Ohio State managed to win, 20 to 17.
Jamie made friends with Ava tonight. A couple weeks ago she wasn't so sure of his beard. Tonight she walked right up to him and gave him a high five. It made his night. Near the end of the game when Ava's family was heading out, Jamie asked to pose for a photo with her. She was tired and decided she wasn't in the mood for frivolity like smiling for the camera. Next year will be different - Ava will be a whole year older and Jamie will be even better friends with her :) Then the photo will turn out great!
After all our guests left and we'd finished our duties, we said goodnight and goodbye to all the other staff and headed out into the breeze and down the hill towards our car. It was a good season and a good night.
Hope your night is good too!
Last night Jamie picked me up from the airport and we went on a wild and crazy date night. How wild and crazy, you ask? Well, lemme tell ya - it was good.
We started the evening in the hardware store. Really romantic, huh? It actually was. Jamie's fun to shop with and this wasn't just any hardware store. We went to the Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity Restore. Inside you can find all sorts of wonderful home improvement bargains - and all proceeds benefit the local Habitat for Humanity. Talk about feeling good when you shop! This creates some really nice retail therapy ;)
Then we got stuck in traffic and Jamie wowed me with some fancy driving on several side streets to get from the pileup on the interstate to Jordan Creek Town Center. We waltzed into P.F. Chang's and asked for a table. We were handed a buzzer and told the wait would only be 60-70 minutes. No sweat. Huh. We were hungry! Guess we weren't the only ones with the same idea. To distract ourselve from our grumbling cavernous stomachs, we went for a stroll inside the mall.
Barnes & Noble was calling my name. Inside was a gaggle of carolers dressed in period clothing. Causing a bit of a curious stir, we kept an eye on them out of the corners of our eyes until they left the store and began caroling out in the main part of the mall. Seeing a little old lady dressed to the hilt in an accurate 1800's costume talking on a cell phone is a bit of a trip. While inside, we heard lots of loud popping outside and I peeked out the window to see a really cool firewords display going off next to P.F. Chang's. Suddenly the overfull parking lot made more sense.
In between brief moments standing outside the store to watch the fireworks and then browsing around back inside to warm up, we scoured the books. In the end, we only purchased one little one and Jamie rushed me out of the store and back to P.F. Chang's in hopes they'd found a table for two hungry travelers.
The great Ming horse greeted us. I asked Jamie if we couldn't get a real horse right now, could we please get a Ming horse statue like the one at P.F. Chang's? There were several outside - perhaps they had an extra. Those statues are really cool and one would make quite a statement in the front yard or in the garden. I'm not sure what he said right then because it was kinda under his breath but his head began shaking and I don't think it was from the cold. Maybe next time.
Supper was great and I'm excited we get to have the leftovers for lunch today. Hmmm. I think I'll go ask Jamie if he's ready to take a break from the yardwork. I'm getting hungry again.
What a glorious morning! I woke up to the smell of butter and cinnamon. It was delicious! Mmmm. Jamie is such a great husband - not only did he let me sleep in this morning (thank you, by the way), but he made French toast from scratch all by himself! And it was really good :) He said he was going to bring it to me in bed (the marvel of it all!) but I was so sound asleep he couldn't bear to wake me (awwww - I love him all the more!) so he kept it warm for when I woke up on my own. I would have shown you a picture of the beautiful French toast he made, but it was so good I forgot to take a photo until it was all gone. Now I'm feeling very full, very blessed, and very thankful this morning. Bring on the cold weather if it means more Saturdays like this!
The cat quite possibly likes the fish now. In fact, he's really intrigued by them, but he doesn't want us to know.
When Casper thinks we aren't looking, he'll park himself beneath the aquarium and stare intently upward at the little floating thingies which keep bobbing ever so enticingly inside.
Sometimes he'll stare so intently, the Shubunkins notice him and get uneasy and hide.
If we chuckle or burst out laughing or Casper even merely senses he's being watched, he'll turn around, give us a nasty look as if to say, "I wasn't looking at anything. I still don't like those thingies and I don't like that shiny clear box chuck full of water. Leave me alone." And then he saunters off, tip of his tail flipping full of annoyance from side to side as if to make his point from end to end.
Then it's down to a really tough choice: tease the cat to inform him we really know what he's up to, or pretend to ignore him so he still feels like he's truly in control of his domain in this house. But we know better... Who am I kidding! It's really him. He just lets us live here. I still can't get him to relinquish his spot on my side of the bed.
"Whatcha lookin at?!? I'm tryin' to get some rest here."
Remember when I'd told you how badly I'd craved a lazy Saturday morning with breakfast in bed?
The hotel where we stayed last weekend must have been listening in because they left this near my pillow:
It was so tempting. So cruel, really. We didn't have time to enjoy something like this and grabbed a quick bite at a nearby Starbucks instead. Maybe next time. If I happen to blog about liking mints on my pillow, do you think the next hotel will listen? Can't hurt... (hint, hint)
Look closely - especially at Lincoln's eyes. Can you tell which nationality the artist was? Did you guess Chinese? If you did, you'd be right.
This cast bronze statue of Lincoln was a gift to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in 2009 from artist Yuan Xikun of Beijing, China. The original statue in Beijing is seven feet tall. Lincoln's pose with the spyglass in his hand refers to his, "overarching command and fortitude during war" rather than a specific time or event, according to a little sign nearby.
Artists put features of themselves unknowingly into their work. For example, some speculate DaVinci's Mona Lisa is actually a self-portrait of Leonardo as a woman. I think it's really cool how Xikun's bronze has almond-shaped eyes and a rounder face than photos show of Lincoln. It's almost as if Xikun's respect for Lincoln is so great, he's superimposed his own eyes onto Lincoln.
What do you think? Does this cast bronze statue of Lincoln by Yuan Xikun have Chinese features?
