Built on Stilts

This elevated structure is The Department of Natural Resources in Olympia, just a stone's throw from the State Capitol.

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Say It Isn't So

About a half hour north of Olympia is the city of Lakewood. It's where I grew up, went to school & worked. My mother still lives there. The photo above is of Lakewood City Hall. The reason I posted this photo is that the Lakewood Police Department suffered an unimaginable tragedy today. This morning four officers met at a local coffee shop as they often do to share information and start their day. A man walked in and shot and killed those four officers. Not only is Lakewood in shock, but the whole surrounding Puget Sound area as well. Information and updates have dominated the news today. Please join us in taking a minute to think of these officer's families.

Please click here for more about this story.

Out of Business

What a gray drizzly day it's been around here. A good day to confine yourself to the indoor sports. The buildings are part of the Olympia Brewery in Tumwater. It's been waiting quite some time for a buyer. Those of you that have been following for a while might remember this post which explains things a little more.

I hope everyone is having a relaxing "post Thanksgiving" weekend.

SkyWatch Friday - Silver Linings

Last night it poured and poured and poured. Today it was so nice I went out and washed the car. Late this afternoon I just couldn't pass up this SkyWatch Friday scene.

For more SkyWatch Friday photos click the link below.

Artfully Thankful

Well, I thought it was finally time to plop down in front of the computer and take care of today's post before I head back to the kitchen for desert number two. I really have to hand it to my wife and oldest daughter. They slaved in the kitchen most of the morning and ended up delivering a meal fit for a king. My mom and sister joined us which was nice. I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving too.

Artwork courtesy of our seven year old daughter.

Where are you headed tonight?

Are the locations of these businesses simply a coincidence? Do they hand you a set of wings in one and a pitchfork in the other?

Monochrome Weekly - WorkSource

What is WorkSource? Their website describes it as a joint venture of organizations dedicated to addressing Washington State's unemployment needs. Besides holding workshops and training programs they also offer free use of computers, copiers, faxes & phones, internet job listings, job referral and placement, access to unemployment and numerous other job related services.

For more wonderful Monochrome Weekly photos click the link below.

It's a Hard Knock Life

Guess what? We picked up my Mother in Law's puppy today. First on the agenda, a bath with good old oatmeal shampoo. Next, on to her new home where she had a bowl of food. This, is what happened shortly after her meal. So far life's not too tough for this little girl. Next, Mom gets to name her. Actually she's of the belief that once she gets to know her, the dog will name herself. Right now it would be "Sleepy ".

Swan Song

Recently I was taking photos at nearby Capitol Lake. I spotted these two swans near the shore doing some underwater feeding. They would both stick their heads underwater for up to a minute or so at a time, then come up for air. They repeated this over and over for quite some time. When I got home and loaded the photos on the computer my wife informed me that these swans were not native to our area and that someone must have released them. Native or not, we have since seen them in the same lake cruising around happy as can be. I guess we can consider them locals now.

Floral Friday - Not so Mellow Yellow

My contribution to this week's Floral Friday. I will gladly accept help on the name of this one.

For more botanical beauty click the link below.

OMG!! Tonight's The Night!

Well, here we go again. I had another photo in mind for tonight's post, but "guess who" somehow persuaded.....er.....threatened me into showing off one her early birthday presents. Our oldest daughter is going to be 15 this coming Sunday, and like many girls her age couldn't wait for the Twilight movie "New Moon" to come out. Little did she know that her conniving parents (and a good friend) conspired and purchased her ticket months ago. We managed to say nothing until a few hours before she was to go. She then proceeded to make all sorts of teenage girly squeely noises. She complained of rapid heart beat and breathing difficulties. She even had to stop eating her dinner she was so nervous. She was though, very very happy. One more thing you have to understand. The movie starts at midnight and she does have school tomorrow. (heh-heh). You know, I'll bet that doesn't really matter to her though. She was very appreciative. Anyway, Mom and I hope she has a wonderful time at the movie.

And, for you closet fans.....she's "Team Edward", because Jacob doesn't sparkle!

I've Been Cubed!

Last night I eluded to the fact that I missed Monday's post. Here's the reason. My early Christmas present from my wonderful wife. A 2009 Nissan Cube. Laugh if you want to, but if you ever get the chance you really should drive one of these. It is a blast. Plenty of power, handles like a dream and enough room to comfortably fit our family of four.

She's The One!

First of all, I have to apologize to everyone for missing yesterday's post. I won't go into the reason right now, but tomorrow you'll find out why. Now, two days ago I told you all that we took my Mother in Law to pick out her Birthday/Christmas present. Well you see that cute little girl my wife is pointing to? The one with the red collar and that "Pick me" look? That's the one Mom picked out. We get to pick her up this coming Sunday.

Scenic Sunday - Sheep Shot

Today we did some early Christmas shopping. We picked up my wife's mother and let her pick out a Rottweiler puppy at a breeder's. She picked out a cute little female that, I would imagine, will do it's best to eat her out of house and home. After we took Mom back home we passed this sheep farm. This photo was taken in Yelm. In the distance are the Bald Hills.

For more Scenic Sunday shots click the link below.

Open The Doors and See All The People

A late fall afternoon view of The Olympia Friends Meeting. Today was about the coldest day we've had so far. It got down into the upper 20's last night so we woke up to frost this morning.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Floral Friday - Illuminated Trumpets

Tonight I'm going to lay out a challenge. It's Floral Friday, and I want you to name this flower.

For more botanical goodness click the link below.

Hungry Visitor

This past weekend I was sitting at my computer answering blogs, (it's important time consuming work), while my wife was working in the kitchen. All of a sudden she said "Grab your camera and get over here." I don't even ask any more. If she says "Get the camera", I get the camera. When I got there this guy was out in the back yard, patiently waiting for someone to toss some goodies his way.

Remember Whensday - First Trip to Olympia

When I was a kid my family lived in Spokane which is in eastern Washington. In 1962, during the Seattle World's Fair we moved to Tacoma. The next year one of the things we did was to take a drive south to Olympia to see the Capitol. Things were a bit different then. Not only were we able to tour the Capitol Building we were able to take the walk all the way to the top of the dome. I can still remember the clanking of those metal steps and how tired our legs were by the time we reached the top. After the earthquake of 1965 they stopped allowing visitors to go up to the top. This photo is of myself and my sister. You might remember her from this previous post. Love the suit and tie huh?

See more Remember Whensday photos of the past by clicking the link below.

Ruby Tuesday - Tribute to a Friend

Today's post not only has a little something for Ruby Tuesday in the way of that heavy duty winch, it is also a tribute to my good friend standing on deck. The day this shot was taken my friend Kelly had taken me on the grand tour of this "catcher-processor". It wasn't the first that I had been on as he'd worked on others and I'd seen them too. He spent a number of years in what most people consider the most dangerous job in the world. He was a chief engineer on various crab boats in the Bering Sea. Definitely not a job for just anyone. I post this photo as a tribute to Kelly. I lost my good friend a few months ago. I hope he's got a much easier job now.

For more Ruby Tuesday shots click the link below.

Monochrome Weekly - Look Into My Eyes

We had a reunion in our house today. Remember this little guy that thought my finger was a sausage? Now remember our crazy Boston Terrorist Muffy? Well, we had the chance today to watch my wife's cousin's little boy. Every time he's over Muffy, being the motherly type has to

keep a close eye on him. As you can see here, they're buddies.

For more Monochrome Weekly shots click the link below.

Scenic Sunday - Olympia Eastside View

On a Scenic Sunday I thought I'd share this shot from the eastside of Olympia looking west through part of downtown and on to the Capitol.

For more Scenic Sunday photos click on the link below.

Post # 200 - Sausage Saturday

No, it's not some wacky new theme day. Last night I got so wrapped up in one of the three movies my wife rented, I lost all track of time and missed posting. It was "Taking of Pelham 123". It co-starred John Travolta and Denzel Washington. Not a bad movie. Right now the family is waiting for me to finish this post so I'll come sit down and watch movie # 2, "Horseman" with Dennis Quaid. We'll see how that goes. Besides being a movie night, my wife and I had to do the dirty deed. Yep, we had to go shopping at Costco. After seeing enough food to feed a small country I'm already thinking about breakfast tomorrow. The little number you see pictured above will be on the menu too. Bacon sausage. I know, it sounds weird but it's really good. Well, off to the movies. Have a nice night and an even better Sunday evening.

PS: My oldest daughter, you know the one...."Little Miss Famous", she wasn't too crazy about me posting sausage. I'll have to post another shot of her pretty soon. That'll keep her happy.

The Olympia Rafah Mural Project

While driving through downtown one of the things you would have a hard time missing is this huge mural on the side of the Labor Temple. This is The Olympia Rafah Mural Project. It was created after the death of a young local woman in Gaza. I'm showing you this mural not to make any political statement whatsoever, but merely to show you another piece of what makes Olympia the city it is. If, however you would like to read a little more about this wall and what it represents click here.

Remember Whensday - Space Needle

Back in high school my best friend John and I took the photography class they offered at our high school. We really had a blast. Most of what we shot at that time was black and white, which I really grew to love. The teacher would give us an assignment of what to shoot such as stop action, or textures, or whatever. It got to the point we carried our cameras just about everywhere. I saved up my money and bought my first 35 mm camera, a Yashica TL Electro X. It was a simple camera, but still delivered pretty good photos for the price. I believe I paid about $135.00 for it. One particular weekend my parents decided we were heading to Seattle for the day. John and I grabbed our cameras, a couple rolls of film and off we went. I have quite a few good shots from that day, but this one caught my eye as I was going through them. Why not? The Space Needle is a northwest landmark, and my contribution to Remember Whensday.

For more Remember Whensday photos click the link below.

Ruby Tuesday - Red Hot Fountain

Waaaay back in July I showed you this fountain on the Capitol Campus. Well, this past Saturday (Halloween) night my wife and I headed there to take some photos before going out to dinner. Besides hob-nobbing with the Governor and her husband we managed to snap a few shots before our stomachs started growling. The reddish-pink lights they had trained on the fountain could be seen from quite a distance. I thought it would be great for Ruby Tuesday.

For more Ruby Tuesday photos click the link below.

Monochrome Weekly - The Old Thurston County Courthouse

Often, when a building outlives it's usefulness it is merely torn down and replaced with a larger more modern one with twice the office space, but only a fraction of the character. Sometimes we get lucky though. Sometimes the public speaks out loud enough that one of these old gems lives on. This is the case of The Old Thurston County Courthouse. For a short, but interesting explanation click here.

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November Theme Day - Doorway to Eternity

Since Halloween and the November CDPB Theme sort of crossed paths I thought it would be fitting to share these gates that mark the entrance of The Masonic Memorial Park in Olympia.

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