How?

How the hell do you make an omelette? For real. Because all of my omelettes turn out like this:

Walking in the Woods

The weather this weekend isn't exactly inspiring for nature walks, but I saw this book and couldn't resist. I like getting lost in beautiful places and these are all near Seattle!

Appreciation

That feeling... When it's only 64 degrees outside, but the sun is out so you are very appreciative :) 

Belltown, 4th Avenue 2:33pm

40,000

Just hit 40,000 email... 

Doesn't make sense to even try to delete any of it at this point, right?

Yakima

Hiked the Skyline Ridge Trail. 

Stopped for a shot at the Tree Top factory:

Volcanic Earthquakes

I woke up this morning to several alerts from my Earthquake app because of nearby seismic activity at Mt Hood... I only get alerts with 2.0+ magnitude shakers so this was significant. Mt Hood is understood to be dormant so it's perplexing that there is a swarm happening. Perhaps it is related to the nearby Mt St Helens swarm? There has also been sightly elevated seismic activity near Mt Rainier over the past couple of months. 

From Wikipedia:

Mount Hood is considered the Oregon volcano most likely to erupt,^[9] though based on its history, an explosive eruption is unlikely. Still, the odds of an eruption in the next 30 years are estimated at between 3 and 7 percent, so the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) characterizes it as "potentially active", but the mountain is informally considered dormant.

 Magma chambers must be filling up and one of these volcanoes might have a little eruption at some point in the near future!

Deep Thought

What if we just filled in the water with dirt so that Seattle was no longer an isthmus? Filled in Lake Washington all around Mercer Island from Renton up to Bothell. Build another north-south highway. It would really alleviate the bad traffic!

99 Problems

The Viaduct (aka 99) is closed for two weeks so Bertha can tunnel underneath. It's usually loud and traffic-laden, but as you can see in this photo, it is nice and empty. And. So. Quiet. 

Throne on Wheels

Oh, I went there. Here are some reactions people had when seeing Rocco in a stroller:

"Oh my god, yes."

"Awwww"

"Can I take your photo? I'm a professional photographer."

"Happy Mother's Day!!!"

It was a sunny 80 degree day today so I thought Rocco might like to stroll to Olympic sculpture park. It's too hot for him to walk that far so the stroller was perfect. If you know me, you know that I don't give a f*ck what other people think :)

Noes

No street parking on my block for three weeks starting tomorrow because of the viaduct closure? The viaduct is like 5 blocks away. Makes no sense. So I emailed the city asking what's up. 

So Pretty

Tiguan so pretty with new wheels and a wash!

Working on a Painting

A small one... Just 9x12

For my masculinity series...

80 and Sunny

A third day of 80+ degree temperatures in Seattle! I definitely brought the Texas weather back with me (minus the storms). 

But... Signs are pointing to a formidable La Niña coming around August or so, which would mean lots of cool temps and rain in the Pac NW. The east coast would get lots of snow and an active hurricane season. Lucky them. We shall see what transpires! 

Thorns

Love how Rocco thinks it's a good idea to sniff thorny plants. 

Austin, TX

I had such a good time in Austin! Live music and BBQ every day. A few too many Shiner Bocks. Two-stepping. And a fire pit or two.

Beer in the fridge at Lone Star Court!

One of the fire pits right outside of my hotel room.

I took the photo after eating my ribs... Just couldn't wait. 

Made a trip out to Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Walked up to the Texas State Capitol building in downtown Austin.

Saw Dierks Bentley and Kacey Musgraves perform (after witnessing Matthew MacConnaughey auction stuff) at ACL.

Headed over to Zilker Park Botanical Garden and got lost in a beautiful place :)

Spent a lot of time in the South Congress area just waking around and drinking iced turbos from Jo's. I also spent a couple hours hanging out on the Congress bridge to see the millions of bats fly out at dusk. That was cool. Lots of people had blankets and just chilled in the park waiting for the bats. Others, like me, stood on the bridge. Still others paddled in the Colorado River on kayaks or in boats. 

One of the highlights was going to the Broken Spoke to hear Dale Watson (pictured above) play. I two-stepped with a nice gentleman from Midland, TX all night and had a great time.

The man from Midland recommended I go to Gruene Hall so that's what I did the next day. I saw another band play and had a cold Dos Equis. That place is like a chicken coop. Very cool vibe and I will be back!